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Korean pop music sensation Psy makes YouTube history, CNN's Alina Chot chats with Psy about "Gangnam Style"
Korean pop music star Psy is more than another YouTube sensation. His music video for “Gangnam Style” has gone absolutely viral, and so have many of its imitations, making him a household name and worldwide celebrity. This week, Psy shattered the world record for most YouTube views in history. But what is it about the video that makes it so popular? CNN’s Alina Cho sat down with Psy for a revealing interview to ask the phenom himself. She joins “Early Start” with the answer.
Rep. Phil Gingrey won't break Norquist pledge, says U.S. is facing 'fiscal grand canyon'
The fiscal cliff is just 33 days away. At stake for all Americans are tax rates, retirement programs, state-run programs, and more. Yesterday the White House announced that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and top Congressional negotiator Rob Nabors will go to Capitol Hill for meetings. Also, Both President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner made optimistic predictions yesterday, but just how close are both sides to compromising—and reaching a deal?
Congressman Phil Gingrey is a Republican from Georgia. He was just named the Vice Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and he's the Chairman of the Republican Doctors Caucus. Rep. Gingrey offers his insight on raising taxes for revenue on “Early Start” this morning.
A signatory to Grover Norquist’s pledge, Rep. Gingrey says, “I’m certainly not going to break a pledge that I’ve made in regard to not raising taxes.” He considers this a pledge to his constituents. “They trust my judgment,” he says. “We know that…keeping taxes low stimulates jobs, and jobs stimulate revenue,” Rep. Gingrey adds. “We’re facing a fiscal grand canyon if we don’t reform Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security."
CNN Trends: Caviar vending machines in California malls; CNN's Kyung Lah has the scoop
CNN’s Kyung Lah goes to a shopping mall in Burbank, California for a fishy delicacy, served by none other than a vending machine. It’s the world’s first caviar-selling vending machine. “Not just any caviar,” Lah says. “There's the garden variety $12 type, to the $500 an ounce beluga.”
The tightly frozen, custom built machine from Spain is set next to the holiday displays for shoppers to purchase just in time for Christmas. There is “$50,000 worth of rare merchandise inside three vending machines,” Lah reports. “A little luxury for the layman, conveniently dispensed.”
RedState.com's Editor-in-Chief, Erick Erickson, thinks 'it's foolish' to expect a resolution from Congress by end of year
Just 33 days remain until the United States falls off the fiscal cliff. As politicians in Washington continue to hash out their plans to prevent it, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner heads to Capitol Hill for separate meetings with Congressional leaders today. Both President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner made optimistic predictions yesterday, but it still remains to be seen how much each side is willing to give to reach a compromise. Erick Erickson, a CNN Contributor and the Editor-in-Chief of RedState.com, offers his view live on “Early Start” this morning.
Erickson says Congress should not rush to reach a deal before the January 1 deadline. "I think it’s really foolish for anybody out there to think that Congress is going to be able to come to some sort of resolution," he says. "Congress is the one that designed the fiscal cliff.” He says Congress is now "scrambling" for a deal and new members are coming in after the election, "so, why not wait until the first of the year?" Erickson suggests. "Move the marker."
Fmr. PLO rep Buttu: Hamas can't be willed away, Israel should be held to account under international law
New developments out of the Israel-Gaza conflict this morning, with an Israeli official telling CNN's Christiane Amanpour that a ground offensive is on hold to allow time for a diplomatic solution.
Diana Buttu, former PLO Legal Adviser and a Former Palestinian Peace Negotiator, explains on "Early Start" that she doubts that Israel was ever seriously going to begin a ground offensive.
“It’s important to keep in mind that this is being done first and foremost for election reasons,” as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soon seeks reelection, Buttu says. “So I don’t think that this prime minister is going to do anything to put any soldiers in harm’s way just on the eve of an election. So I don’t think that this was an issue to begin with.”
Buttu, who is now a political analyst at the Institute for Middle East Understanding, says this conflict is ongoing because "there is a 45-year military occupation over the Gaza Strip, people denied their freedom, and that fact that this blockade has continued for six years.”
“Conflict ends by actually beginning to hold Israel to account under international law," Buttu adds. "Under international law, Israel cannot continue to maintain this occupation” in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank or “we’re going to continue to see this kind of activity.”
Buttu suggests a long term solution. “Demand that Israel completely withdraw from the West Bank and from the Gaza Strip, allow all Palestinians to live in freedom...and that will be a solution that will at least be able to change the status quo rather than keep it,” she says.
Investigation into Petraeus scandal widens – fmr. FBI dir. Fuentes on where it goes from here
The investigation into the sex scandal between Former CIA Director David Patraeus and his former biographer Paula Broadwell continues. The FBI searched Broadwell's home last night, but new questions have emerged about the FBI agent who launched the investigation. There are also questions about why FBI was involved at all.
Meanwhile, congressional leaders have spoken out about why they were not alerted about the affair earlier. Fmr. FBI Assistant Director and CNN Contributor Tom Fuentes joins Zoraida Sambolin live from Washington D.C. to discuss the latest in the investigation on “Early Start”.
The FBI has referred the case to the Defense Department, raising more questions about their involvement. “It suggests that they only see something that’s gonna be internal to military, potentially military violations, as opposed to criminal conduct that could be prosecuted in regular criminal court, or security breaches that are also, would be a violation,” Fuentes explains.
The Army will investigate the case and “determine what they can find and how they wanna proceed, whether the charges are unfounded, or whether it turns out they wanna have a court martial, or refer it back to the FBI,” he adds.
Hurricane Sandy a 'storm of a lifetime'? Rob Marciano has the latest track, warnings
(CNN) - Hurricane Sandy is a wolf in sheep's skin poised to assail New England at the beginning of next week, with the potential to cause widespread damage in the highly populated area.
It weakened early Friday but remains huge and is likely to merge with a winter storm front, turning into a "Frankenstorm," as the National Weather Service calls it, over the northeastern United States, right around Halloween.
Sandy already left at least 21 dead, as it ground over Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba.
It weakened to a category one hurricane late Thursday and could drop down to a tropical storm before rolling onto land, says the weather service. But it warns the storm "could become a menace to the Northeast."
This morning on "Early Start," Rob Marciano reports on the latest track and warnings for the storm, and explains why he says it's could be the storm of a lifetime.
READ MORE: Sandy to become "Frankenstorm" and ravage the northeast
VIDEO: Dept. of Justice files $1 billion Bank of America mortgage fraud suit
Christine Romans explains the claims in the Dept. of Justice suit filed against Bank of America alleging mortgage fraud.
Hollywood star Vivica A. Fox gets personal about life, career and new Lifetime hosting gig on "Prank My Mom"
Hollywood film star and sultry sex symbol Vivica A. Fox is taking a break from the big screen to host on the small screen. Fox is the host of a brand new Lifetime reality series called “Prank My Mom”, where sneaky children pull practical jokes on their unassuming mothers. Fox spoke to Zoraida Sambolin about the show, her life’s regrets and plans for the future.
“Hosting has been something that is kind of fallen into my lap,” Fox said. She wasn’t happy with Hollywood a few years ago, she says. “Hollywood, at the time, was just throwing me roles that I just didn’t care for. I think that sometimes, that they have a problem with women especially when they turn 40.” Fox says she’s sacrificed a lot in her life and career. “I would liked to have had a family. I would love to have children.” Still, she says she is happy, and there is more she’d like to do. “I would like to direct in the future, to be totally behind the scenes.”
CNN's Paul Vercammen explores cases in the Boy Scout's "Perversion Files"
Decades of confidential Boy Scout of America documents are now public record. Called the “Perversion Files” by the organization, these documents contain shocking testimonies from young boys alleging abuse by their scoutmasters. Suspected molesters sometimes continued to scout and abuse young boys. CNN’s Paul Vercammen explores some of those disturbing cases and what the Boy Scouts are saying about them.
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