Republicans Push Payroll Tax Cut Plan
ROMANS: Good morning. Twenty-four minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning. Right now, U.S. stock futures are trading slightly higher following on that big rally yesterday. The Dow was up 490 points or nearly 4.5 percent, putting the Dow in the plus column for the year, all because of that big intervention, the move by major central banks around the world to ease the flow of dollars into the global financial system. We're standing by, also, in about six minutes for the latest initial jobless claims report. It's expected to show maybe 390,000 people filed for the first time for unemployment benefits last week. If that's true, that would be seen as a good sign for the labor market. Anything under 400,000 is seen as a good sign and, of course, we're going to get the big November jobs report tomorrow. Republicans now are pushing a new proposal to extend the payroll tax holiday. In order to cover the $200 billion plus price tag, though, Republicans want to freeze federal worker pay, reduce the federal workforce by attrition, and prohibit millionaires from receiving unemployment benefits and food stamps. The GOP says some 2,300 millionaires in 2009 actually were getting jobless checks. Long-time talk show host, Larry King, joins the long list of people interested in buying the Los Angeles Dodgers. He's part of a group of investors who want to take over that franchise. King says he's been a Dodgers fan since he was a kid, and it would be a thrill of a lifetime to become a partial owner. And you have just 31 days to use them or lose them. We're talking about your vacation days. And according to a new survey by Expedia, the average worker only uses just 12 out of their 14 vacation days. That means Americans are giving up about $34 billion worth of their time. The reason, most folks say they simply can't afford to get away. Up next, a CNN exclusive, inside the "Occupy Wall Street" operation. Cameras have never been allowed inside their offices until now, and we've got the looks. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 26 minutes after the hour.