le announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! hi, everyone, i'm tamron hall. following the major final vote in what is shaping up to be congress's least productive year in history. set to vote on final passage of the two year murray-ryan budget deal after voting to advance the measure this morning. the democrats got the 60 votes needed to clear the procedural hurdle with the help of 12 republicans and democrats expressing reservations about not continuing unemployment benefits all voted in favor. 67 in favor and 33 against. democratic senator patty murray who crafted the bill with paul

ryan hailed the agreement as a step in the right direction. >> this bipartisan bill takes the first steps towards rebuilding our broken budget process and hopefully towards rebuilding our broken congress. we have spent far too long here scrambling to fix artificial crisis instead of working together to solve the big problems we all know we need to address. >> once the budget is crossed off their to do list, harry reid is signaling senators could be in for another week of late night votes on the defense bill and president obama's nominees including janet yellen. >> christmas is one week from wednesday. we have a lot to do. we can complete all of our work by thursday. by friday, by saturday, by sunday, by monday or tuesday. but we'll finish it we must. i've lined out what we need to

do. >> even with those votes there's still a long list of unfinished business for congress, including a vote on the farm bill, an extension of unemployment benefits and raising the debt ceiling and increase in the minimum wage and immigration reform. nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joins us. before we get to that major to do list. let's look at what will happen this evening regarding the budget. >> reporter: we expect this will easily pass now because of the way the senate rules work, they only need 51 votes. we expect there may be democrats who may choose to vote against it as a way to pro test the absence of unemployment benefits being extended within the package and expect a lot of republicans, even though who did vote to move forward to vote against it and republicans who are up for re-election in 2014. this is a way to move the ball forward and create some of the deficit reduction that many in both parties want to see although it takes years down the line for that to happen. but there are concerns about it

also allowing government to spend more. this has been a compromised deal with support from both parties. but even that has made it a little bit tougher than some would have thought on the senate side because there were so many house republicans that voted for this. but the dynamics are different. the upside to it, it appears it will pass. there won't be a shutdown. that threat is off the table. but it won't be as many senate republicans as some might have thought. >> what's been the reaction to majority leader harry reid saying they could be in for the senators for another week of late night votes? >> reporter: i have been here, you have been here for christmas eve votes and new year's day coverage. we've done it year after year. there have been more pressing crises where there was an immediate financial or larger impact that could be triggered by the holiday that caused some of that in the past. majority leader reid has the ability to make that threat. it's a powerful threat especially when the holidays are

upon us. most people think they'll get the bulk of the senate work done by the end of this week. some of those issues will go into early january. i'm told to expect a consideration of the unemployment benefits extension in early january. and it could be done retroactively to fill the gap of those who lose the checks. >> joining us now, bill nelson of florida. are you there? >> i'm here. >> let me get your reaction, just a short time republican senators held a press conference criticizing this budget deal. senator graham said the cuts that would happen to the milt tri retri retire reas pension is unacceptable and they are rushing through a deal and they should slow down to fix the pension problems as it relates to military retirees. your reaction? >> i agree with it.

we are saving $20 million cut to the military. there are various things that go into this and this 1% cut in the cost of living for a military retiree but at age 62 the cola goes back to the full cola. that's one of the tradeoffs. my preference, i would not have preferred that. but in terms of the overall package, you will find that moat in the defense community vigorously support this legislation. >> as you well know, sir, one of the other tradeoffs to use the phrase you just expressed, is the issue of the extension of unemployment benefits. our own kelly o'donnell is reporting that some democrats in the senate may ultimately vote against it this budget based on

that. you in the past said no one will love everything but we should be able to compromise to get something done for the good of the country. delay of the unemployment extension for the good of the country at this point? >> well, unfortunately, it has to be done. think back to the last year or two years, this is about the first consensus building agreement that has been made. this is a necessary step as we go into other things. and i think come january the 6th, one of the first items to be taken up will be the extension of unemployment compensation. >> all right, i think that certainly many who support your party may welcome that news. but i have to ask you, welcome news, what our first read calls so far the least productive, least active, most unpopular

congress on record. the laundry list of things that concern the american people, passage of the farm bill. there's still the issue of food stamps and that continues to be a sticking point. as i mentioned, extending unemployment insurance and raising the debt ceiling by february 7th and increasing the minimum wage which our new wall street journal poll shows 63% of americans support that, as well as immigration reform. when you hear least productive, least active, most unpopular congress, what is your reaction to that? >> i think it's an accurate assessment. and i am as frustrated -- i've never seen it like this. hard to get agreement. but all of those things that you mentioned, now that this budget agreement has been done and this week we will also pass the defense bill, those two big ones behind us, then we'll start

going to every one of those things. remember, immigration we passed a year ago out in the senate. we've got to get our brothers and sisters in the house to finally take that one up. >> so in a sense you believe this budget deal will -- i don't want to say open the flood gates because we don't want to get ahead of ourselves but might allow for a trickle of progress which would be an improvement based on the record. >> i hope and pray so, tamron. >> thank you for your time. greatly appreciate it. >> we're following developing news, six u.s. soldiers were killed when their black hawk tell komter crashed in southern afghanistan. the aircraft had a hard landing and they believe due to mechanical problems. was afterwards attacked by militants when it went down. the soldiers were serving with the nato international security assistance force. the crash is the deadliest single incident for u.s. troops

in afghanistan since august 2012. the senate foreign relations committee has started a hearing on the american response to the sectarian violence that started nine months when muslim rebels overthrew the majority government. it is now a humanitarian crisis in which children are often the victims of brutal attacks. unicef says children are being killed because they are christian and muslim and the numbers are staggering. as much as 6,000 children recruited into arms groups, 2.3 million children, half of the country's population are being affected by the conflict there. the humanitarian group doctors without borders says even hospitals have been under attack by armed mobs. the violence also made it very difficult to different food aid with u.n. warning that a quarter of the country could go hungry.

joining me now by phone is sylvan -- for doctors without borders. in the capitol african republic. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> tell me what you've seen. >> well, it's been quite some time that i have been here and seen the evolution of the rebel ongoing from areas where they unfortunately terrorized a population that played out into the bush with no means to live by, no shelter, no drinking water, limited amount of food and most importantly no access to health care because -- have fled to the capital outside the country. on top of that, you compound that with the -- almost 600 people lost their lives and

doctors without borders treated 200 wounded. >> doctors without borders as i mentioned yesterday, criticized the u.n.'s humanitarian agencies at what was called unacceptable perfo performance in addressing needs of these many victims and the senate foreign relations committee will hold a hearing on the american response to the growing crisis. what do you believe needs to happen as it relates to at least the u.s. portion of this? >> well, the international humanitarian intervention and our partner, the u.n. agency, that they need to give up their activities and we're seeing small steps being taken which hopefully should try to play into a better work for the central african population. they need help now, not tomorrow. >> thank you so much for joining

us. we appreciate it. we hear our connection is spotty but your words i hope have been heard loud and clear. thank you. >> thank you. >> still ahead, pope francis removes an outspoken conservative cardinal from the vatican's influential congregation for beneficiary opens rebishops replacing him. explaining the most talked about position. murder capital no more, homicides in chicago set to hit a 20-year low. but one researcher says the quote inequality of violence in chicago have skyrocketed where the poorest neighborhoods are also the most dangerous. is there an economic solution to the city's crime problem? and you can join our conversation on twitter. we'll be right back. my customers can shop around-- see who does good work and compare costs. it doesn't usually work that way with health care. but with unitedhealthcare,

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pope francis has removed a conservative american cardinal from the vatican's powerful congregation of bishop. he came to the vatican in 2008 after serving as arch bishop of st. louis. he recently gave an interview in which he raised concerns about the pope's comments that the church should reduce its focus on those issues. cardinal burke will still serve as chief judge of the vatican's highest court but the "new york times" reports the removal from the congregation will sharply reduce his influence and to replace cardinal burke, he named the ar shall bishop of washington, d.c., idea to be a idealogical moderate, more in line with the pope. meantime, the leading gay rights

magazine followed in the footsteps of "time" magazine naming pope francis as person of the year as he celebrates his 77th birthday by inviting homeless men to his mass. including one who brought his pet. afterwards, they all ate break fast together. joining me live now, sister janine gran ek, a leading advocate for lgbt rights in the catholic church. thanks for joining me. >> thank you. >> cardinal burke, he was the chief justice for the vatican in his role and as has been noted, he expressed or said in the past that the catholic politician such as then senator john kerry and nancy pelosi and rudy giuliani should not receive communion, this setting up his role as it was before. but as it relates to this move now, by the pope, how would you describe this? is it a matter of a conservative

cardinal being as one headline put it ousted for a moderate? >> well, i definitely believe that a conservative cardinal has been replaced by a moderate cardinal. it's significant in the fact that at the time when cardinal burke was criticizing and politicians who voted a prochoice stance and saying they should not receive communion, that cardinal wurl disagreed with him and said that is not the way we approach the sacrame sacrament. certainly much more in line with the pope's thinking, that the sacraments are not meant for people who are perfect but meant to be signs of healing. so i think this appointment of cardinal wurl replacing burke is extremely significant. >> in part he said, this is

again cardinal burke i'm quoting here, one gets the impression or its interpreted this way in the media, that he thinks we're talking too much about abortion, too much about integrity of marriage as between one man and one woman. but we can never talk enough about that. again, the he referring to pope francis. when the pope makes a decision like this, from what you know and i know again the privacy of the vatican and process is something you may not be privy too. is this a comment that would be brought to the pope's attention and then a decision is made? >> the decision about replacing the cardinals about the congregation for bishops and ar archbishops, that was made, i'm sure, well before these remarks by cardinal burke. they may have -- these remarks may have been brought to his attention but there would have been no influence because these decisions are made and it takes

weeks and sometimes months for them to be promulgated and made public. >> lastly here, as i mentioned, the leading gay rights magazine in the united states, "the advocate" named pope francis as person of the year. in this short span of time, the acceptance from the lgbt community of the church and his words to the issues of same-sex marriage, is this something you would have ever imagined? you've been on the front line of this conversation. >> i have. i've been working in ministry on behalf of lgbt people within the catholic church and outside the catholic church since the early 1970s and never would have imagined that same-sex marriage, for example, would be on the agenda of our country, the world or even of our church. it is heart warming to see that francis is returning to gospel and saying, do not be obsessed with issues like same-sex marriage or abortion or

contraception. he's telling the congregation for bishops that when you look for bishops, appoint bishops or select bishops who smell like the sheep -- in other words, he wants men priests now who are in the trenches with the people, who are pastoral, not people who are obsessed with cultural issues. >> thank you so much for your time again. >> you're welcome. >> still ahead, a top drug manufacturer said it will no longer pay doctors to promote its drugs ending one of the most criticized practices in the pharmaceutical industry. we'll tell you how this decision could shake a lot of things up. and targeting beyonce, her ground breaking surprise album, itunes fastest selling ever. now target, the retailer, is feeling left out and is refusing

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oh boy... [ male announcer ] fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. welcome back, according to police data, chicago may be on its way to shedding the title of america's murder capital. homicides dropped more than 20% from last year from 506 people in 2012 to 401 people this year. that is the largest one-year drop in a decade. according to the police department, and the lowest murder toll in half a century. chicago police chief mccarthy, who was appointed by rahm emanuel less than two years ago credits a new strategy that shifts the focus from hot spots as he calls them to hot people.

some neighborhood activists worries that chicago is going too far. grossman calls chicago the new new york when it comes to stop and frisk. joining me now, angela caputo. thanks so much for your time. >> thanks for having me on. >> in goes back to the same debate over for example when people cite stop and frisk here in new york and they make it the rationale for why the crime rate has dropped despite data that says opposite. we're hearing a similar thing in chicago regarding the hot spot transition to hot people debate. >> absolutely. i mean the strategy is hot, people then there are a whole lot of hot people here in chicago. we're talking about two different things, but here police have issued more contact cards in new york city than the peak. police really are going out and interviewing a lot of people and the hot people strategy, that's

actually a little more nuanswered when they are knocking on door and finding people who have relationships and finding people who have a connection to someone who's been murdered. these are more likely to be hot people who would be involved in more violent crimes. >> police are saying and you've reported in your piece, a great piece, where police say they are dropping the hammer on individual gang members and targeting these people in certain neighborhoods but what your piece also points out, i lived in chicago for ten years. you said chicago from being a picturesque city for tourists was a good place to go evenly if you are looking to get shot. that had become this image of chicago. i think there was the piece that aired on an hbo program that referred to some of the young gang members. when you hear this is the place to get shot, you'll hear those

who say, listen, if you have a focus on hot people, hot spots, whatever you need to do to bring down numbers, do that. the other side doesn't believe it. >> yeah, clearly what we have here in chicago is two chicagos. a violent crime and murder is down to an unprecedented level in this half of chicago that's very safe and afluent. the places where the tourists and uppies hang out. then we have the rest of chicago. and these communities, the numbers may be down, but so are the number of people who live in the neighborhoods. these are neighborhoods that were creamed by foreclosure and full of thousands and thousands of vacant properties. the population is very low and people feel very, very insecure and they have good reason to because this is where the bulk of our murders are happening. >> absolutely, when i first moved to chicago in 1997, one of the first things that a local said to me was listen, chicago is one of the most segregated

cities in the country, the north side where it's predominantly white and the south side where it is predominantly black. in your piece you quote at least one expert who says good policing is not going to create jobs or better schools. rather than focusing on a number and associating it with the crime rate, there has to be a broader conversation on public safety as well as you pointed out the economic instability and inequality that can affect the crime rate. >> absolutely. this is part of the public relations battle that the mayor and police superintendent have right now. the numbers are down. murder is down in chicago, but the people are not feeling it and a big part of why people aren't feeling it is because of these foreclosures and we have the highest long term unemployment rate of young men anywhere in the country and these same neighborhoods where more kids are killed than any other big city in america. people feel worn very thin and

th challenge at the chicago reporter, how can we talk about these things in a way that not only people living in poor neighborhoods understand it but how can the rest of the city understand that this is how can you grow a city forward and have a healthy city and have productive people when so much of your city is whithering on the vine. >> your piece is outstanding and i appreciate you coming on and joining us to discuss it. thank you. >> thank you. >> still ahead, senate ambitions, former massachusetts senator scott brown is selling his massachusetts home and moving to -- new hampshire. but getting elected to the senate if that is his as pieration, by two different states is something that's never been done in modern politics. plus, republican congressman frank wolf considered one of the last moderates of the house gop announced his retirement a short time ago setting up the potential pickup for democrats.

we'll dig into why in the first read. and right now, crews are working to contain a fast-moving wildfire in big sur, california that destroyed hundreds of acres and 15 homes, including the home of the fire chief. >> trying to hook up the hoses and sach your own home while talking on the radio and helping everyone else at the same time. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills.

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we repaid every dollar america lent us. and gave america back a profit. we're here to keep our promises. to help you realize a better tomorrow. from the families of aig, happy holidays. one of the hottest topics in the political world, scott brown is packing up and moving to new hampshire. bloomberg reports brown will close the deal to sell his massachusetts home this week. all of this is fuelling speculation that scott brown will challenge new hampshire senator next year. he made a number of public appearances and scheduled to headline the new hampshire republican party's holiday party on thursday. in the meantime, senator sha heene is under fine from a group called ending spending, trying

to draft brown to run against her. they are slamming her for supporting president obama's pitch on health care reform. >> on health care, jean shaheen didn't tell the truth. >> you can teep your insurance if you like it. it will increase choices for families and promote competition. >> the facts, more than 20,000 new hampshire patients had their coverage canceled and next november, if you like your senator, you can keep her. if you don't, you know what to do. >> joining me live now, deputy political editor kminco montener ro. there's a laundry list if scott brown chooses to run, including, he's running up against history. >> no question about that. the fact he's moving from massachusetts to new hampshire, of course going to be the first hurdle, may not be, you know, the end of the game for him. but we have seen that he's selling his house.

in the final stages of that sale. it was on sale for about $555,000. he does own a home in new hampshire in the just south of portsmouth and the tax collector there has told some in massachusetts and has confirmed to me that scott brown has expressed interest, expresses intention to establish residency and register to vote here. we know he's moving there permanently and will register to vote. it's everything toward him making the run. >> you have critics already, conservatives say that brown is anti-gun, mayor bloomberg backed, former senator from massachusetts. >> there's that -- he's got it coming from all sides here. he's got -- but, the national republicans want him to run. they think he's going to give them the best shot. and that at the end of the day may win out but you know,

remember, kelly ayotte barely got through a primary when she first ran. >> and developing news, congressman frank wolf plans to retire, republican, a moderate here. and that you and your team there point out this could be an opening for democrats. >> no question. this is a 50/50 district. this is swing district. romney won it in 2012 by very narrow margin. president obama won it in 2008, also a narrow margin. that will open up a seat potentially for democrats to target, but also just in, congressman jim mathison from utah, who eked out a win in 2012, he's also redecided to retire. you might remember mia love, he beat her by 2800 votes. the state republicans spend $5 million against him. after all of that, he's decided to call it quits as well,

probably evens itself out. even if democrats do pick up the 10th congressional seat. >> well, in a move that could have major implications throughout the medical industry, drug maker glax o smith klein will stop paying doctors to promote its drugs. the announcement by the largest drug maker means doctors won't be paid to speak about their drugs at medical conferences and won't be paid to write prescriptions of their drugs or influence prescriptions. gsk is changing the way sales reps are being paid, tieing pay to the quality of services and technical knowledge. this could force other companies to change policies as well given that many have come under fire for their marketing tactic. joining me live now, dr. michael anderson, chief medical officer for university case medical center. >> good afternoon. >> i'm sure you know better than

anyone, you have the skepticism that doctors are getting them to take certain medicines and not because it is good for us but good for their pockets. how do you grade or judge this decision from glaxosmithkline. >> it shows what americans want, transparency. that their physician is picking a medication because it's in their best interest and the doctor believes that's the best therapy. that's how positions choose medications but i think if there are these other deals behind closed deals where docks get paid to give talks or drug repz are paid on volume of prescriptions. they may have the lack ever trust. this is a great move and a lot of medical centers like ours in cleveland have been moving towards transparency. >> you also believe this is a good move in that this money could be used for research as

opposed to paying. >> i think there are great relationships that have exhibited between physicians and pharmaceutical companies, we want to cure more diseases. i believe if we figure out better ways to use these moneys and prove research to push the boundaries of medical research, that's a better use of these kind of moneys. >> this may open the gate or at least add pressure to the conversation and other drug makers follow suit. do you believe that will happen? >> much like i said, our academic medical center called for greater transparency. we published our website and if they are paid consulting fees, americans want more and more trans parency. i believe it's another important step. >> thank you so much for your time and reaction to this decision. beyonce made history and then

rejected by a major retailer. beyonce's surprise album by the way, if you haven't heard, itunes fastest selling ever. why is target now refusing to sell queen bee's hit? life with crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis is a daily game of "what if's". what if my abdominal pain and cramps come back? what if the plane gets delayed? what if i can't hide my symptoms? what if? but what if the most important question is the one you're not asking? what if the underlying cause of your symptoms is damaging inflammation? for help getting the answers you need, talk to your doctor and visit crohnsandcolitisinfo.com to get your complimentary q&a book, with information from experts on your condition. [ female announcer ] trying for a baby? only clearblue advanced digital ovulation tests can identify your four best days to get pregnant -- two more than any other test. maximize your chances of getting pregnant.

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what we can. but we tried our best but not -- not enough. >> the fire started sunday and burned more than 500 acres so far. firefighters say it is only 5% contained and investigators say an illegal campfire may have sparked the flames. nasa is expected to decide today if space station flight controllers will perform a space walk to try to revive a crippled cooling booth of the half of the cooling system shut down last week because of a bad valve. >> and, beyonce's new album created quite a buzz when it was online without any advance warning last week and is now the fastest selling album ever worldwide on itunes. now target is refusing to sell it. spokesperson for retailer tells billboard, at target we focus on offering our guest a wide assortment of physical cds.

when a new album is available digit tally it impacts projections. they take issue with the fact the album was released digitally first. the singer has worked with the company in her past. included an exclusive target issue with six additional tracks. other retailers plan to have the physical album in stock by friday. entertainment editor chris witherspoon joins me right now. beyonce is the start of this but this may be a larger conversation in music. part of it is she wanted complete control of her album and wanted to say when it was time. now you have a retailer stepping in on that. >> let's get this straight, beyonce officially changed this game. >> i love you started with let's get this straight. >> right now target looks like a

bitter ex of some sort. >> but in fairness they think it is protecting its interests. >> exactly. >> if you have -- an album that sells on itunes, fastest selling ever, they think this infringes on their ability to make money. this is their argument there. >> isn't there an image -- the key word is exclusive. target had so many exclusives, justin timberlake -- >> and beyonce in the past. >> and so her going to itunes and releasing this album is a slap in the face to target and going to hurt sales. but i think it makes target look bad. they are the place people want to go to for last minute shopping, for stocking stuffers and a place you would pick up the beyonce album to put in somebody's gift last minute. >> many times over, a writer owning their song and rights of artist and larger issue is control that this particular artist, beyonce wants to have

over her music that gets releases, digital or physical. this is her setting the stage for a larger control conversation as it relates to artists in the past have been greatly taken advantage of. >> it's crazy it's released and she hasn't done one interview or promotion. if you have the album, like i do and listened to repeatedly, she doesn't care if she sells one record. she's doing it her way. it's a whole new style and image, a little more gussied up and raunchy that what we know her to be but good music and quality. it tells a story, a narrative. >> i just spoke to walmart on the phone and good news for beyonce fans, they gave me a statement, the publicist said they are going to do what's right for customers and our customer obviously love beyonce and we want to make sure we have it in stores this friday. it will be over in 4,000 stores nationwide and expecting big sales. they have partnered with her in the past and hoping this leads to other partnerships with her

in the future. >> one of our twister followers should have said queen bee is little kim and king bee is beyonce. i've been schooled. still ahead. i love this gut check, we're all getting them this time of year in the mail, holiday cards and christmas cards with people of friends and family. what's up with the lack of personal touch? a handwritten message? would it kill you? michael smerconish will join us to discuss. and ah, so you can see like right here i can just... you know, check my policy here, add a car, ah speak to customer service, check on a claim...you know, all with the ah, tap of my geico app. oh, that's so cool. well, i would disagree with you but, ah, that would make me a liar. no dude, you're on the jumbotron! whoa. ah...yeah, pretty much walked into that one.

geico anywhere anytime. just a tap away on the geico app.

i'm for the "news nation" gut check. the very first christmas card was sent 175 years ago. it has become a popular holiday tradition. two thirds of americans send cards every year a recent trend

has some wondering if the tradition lost its personal touch. eric hoover writes today's cards may appear more personalized with photos with kids and pets, but when i flip them over i find to trace of ink, no original message. these prefab indicated greetings seem as empty as a stocking someone forgot to stuff. joining me now, sirius xm's michael smerconish, also msnbc contributor and i have not received a holiday card from you. >> it's funny you say that, i have those i've received so far right here and you're not in this stack thus far, tamron. you're on my list. i don't know if i made your cut. >> you are going to make my cut. i'm sending mine out this weekend. what is your take on it? you see these pictures, some of them awkward and sensitive, but then you flip the card and open it, there's nothing. >> it's true, i have to tell

you, i'm guilty as charged. our family, we're guilty as charged. we're busy, it's hard to get it all before the holidays. but it doesn't mean i love you any less because i have to tell you, this is one of the great pleasures of christmas for me. sometime close to christmas day, i'll look at this whole stack, one by one and i may not even remember like that you have kids but if you send me one of those notes and it says they made the honor roll, i love reading it and knowing where you went on summer vacation and learning that there's a new dog in the family. i'm totally into it. but the impersonal stuff sums up where we are. >> you love those things and love they have kids and pets but don't love us enough to write inside the card. it's been a great year, hope you have another. you can't be bothered to xoxo? >> how bad would it be if i confessed i use an excel spreadsheet just to get this

done on time. it gets confusing. we like to remember a lot of friends and i don't want to leave anybody out. >> michael, this does speak -- so many friends. this speaks to the point i was recently in texas with my family and niece who's 13. i said to her, what's the neighbor's kids name, they are so cute. i don't know. i mean, i couldn't imagine growing up in suburban texas, which is what happened to me and not know my next door neighbor. and here my whole idealized vision of americana blew up in an instant when my 13-year-old niece said i don't know who those people are next door to us. this is an extension of who we have become, these isolated families too busy to write hi. >> you're right, it's hard for me to defend it. we're in a world of 140 character communications but it's a lot better than the alternative of doing nothing. if the choices are send an imperson card or do nothing, at

least you can count me among the impersonal. >> i'm show you my holiday card, the only one better than this one, me and don king and i had a wig on with him. but this is my officially my favorite. let's show it. it is our "news nation" team party, we're at miss lilly's a jamaican spot and putting back rum punch and other things. on the back, it will say, hey, mon, that's my jamaican accent. that's what i will put, to you michael smerconish, it's been a great year. >> but you know what, i got cut from that list too, didn't i? where was i when the rum punch was being handed out. >> it had a limited budget. we'll send you jerk chicken tomorrow. >> a little xoxo, means so much. >> for you, you got it. >> have holiday cards gone from ho ho to ho hum?

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if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. if it's 3:00, america is talking and so are we. holiday budget, we dole out the dollars for christmas presents, washington is working on a bigger gift. first real budget by divided congress in 27 years. i'm krystal ball. merry christmas. i'm not sure i'm ready to predetectivepr predict a happy new year on capitol hill. >> i'm tour'e, former house leader dennis hastert weighs in, ari will ask him about the hastert rule. >> and inside look at our world seen through sites like instagram, posting 55 million fophotos every day, we'll get a look at the social media giant