security challenges. the twin problems of afghanistan and pakistan. this morning the president met with advisers on this very topic, reviewing the progress since the troop surge in afghanistan since last december. but the obama administration will have to move forward without one of their key top experts. so what is ahead for the united states warriors and diplomats trying to secure the united states interest in this very volatile but important reach? matt lewis is a blogger with politicsdaily.com. i want to start with you. we're just eight months away from the july deadline when we start to bring down some of the troops, hopefully to finish by 2014 according to the current plan. if you're the fly on the wall that during this discussion this morning, what do you think they're talking about? scramble time or the opportunity to make a change here? >> well, i think the administration is in a damned if you do, damned if you don't position. on the one hand i think the

american public is becoming increasingly skeptical about the mission and why we're still there and skeptical about karzai, the leader in afghanistan. but if we leave the area, you have afghanistan and pakistan that could fall apart, which we can't afford. so i can't imagine how they move forward. but richard holbrooke's final words have got to be ringing in the ears of the obama administration. >> so, the strategy review that's being compiled will come out on thursday. what do you think will be in it? >> well, again, i think she's right. it's a very difficult position. and the trouble with ambassador holbrooke no longer with us is really diplomacy is at the heart of this. you can't win in afghanistan unless you win in pakistan. meaning you can't allow the militants to cross over the border at will and find sanct n

sanctuary in pakistan. so far we don't know how it will go. on one hand pakistan allowed us to operate drone missions. on the other hand, it's unclear whether or not they're supporting the taliban. so it's a tough egg to crack. >> it is a tough egg to crack. and the question that will be asked or was asked in the meeting is are we better off in this war than we were last year? what do you think, matt? >> well, that's again a tough question. by the way, you know, this thing has been going on for nine years and so not only are we having different diplomats take over, we had general petraeus take over. so things have changed. so i don't know if we're better of off. >> it has been said hol brooke pushed karzai severely on accusations of corruption in the government.

there's also the other issues of holbrooke being seen as favoring pakistan by the government of afghanistan. what may be the opportunity to make that relationship better? >> well, i'm not sure there's much of one. karzai seems unstable. he doesn't come across as the most trustworthy guy out there. so we have no good options. we need a stable government in afghanistan. but we're asking our troops as well as the afghan troops to defend a government no one is convinced was legitimately elected. i'm not sure without holbrooke putting pressure on karzai that things get much better with karzai, because of him frankly. >> i want to move on from that subject you were talking about and talk about general petraeus. he's reported progress. and if he goes to president obama and he says we need more time, we're doing well, is the political equity there for the president to say we're going to stay longer or we're going to

double down? >> well, we have thrown our best military minds at the afghanistan problem. it's been a grave of empires for a reason. i don't think the american people are going to tolerate too much more. and military people always have the can-do attitude. give us more time and we'll get it done. what is the mission we're trying to accomplish there? it's becoming greyer and greyer. and the administration is really facing pressure to withdraw the troops except for from the far right of the republican party. >> greyer and greyer. what does this mean for 2012 and the presidential election? >> it's a good question. it's a nine-year war. the longest war in history. but america has occupied places like nicaragua or haiti for 20 years. so depending on how it shapes up, it's not necessarily unprecedented. but there's a chance you could lose the right on this. i think it's within the realm of possibility to be an anti-war republican running. that's at least on the table a possibility.

we saw ann coulter last year, a popular conservative columnist come out against afghanistan, try to label it obama's war. so it's possible that you have obama losing on the right and the left here. that would be very bad internationally going forward. but it could happen. >> stuck with no place to go. >> thank you joanne reid and matt lewis. we have the report coming out on thursday. we'll touch base with you then. some positive signs on the economy today as well with strong retail sales and signs that the stock market is poised for double-digit gains next year. also there's a new survey by the wall street journal showing some leading economists believe the economy will grow next year. in fact, they're seeing a rosier picture even in the first half of the year. but with more than 15 million americans without jobs still. it's tough to believe the experts here. they're also the ones who say that the recession is technically over. steven moore is a senior economics writer with the "wall street journal." steven, thanks for joining us to talk about this subject. i want to talk about the numbers that came out of this survey.

55 economists from the "wall street journal." what's different this year than last? >> the most obvious thing that's in front of us is it looks like this tax deal will get done. that is bullish for the stock market. it is bullish for the economy. and in businesses that wanted to get some certainty in what the tax rates will be next year. that's number one. and number two is, the fed is injecting record amounts of liquidity into the economy right now. that's got to help as well. at least in the short term. >> yeah, the argument that you pump a lot of money in, it will be used by somebody. it will pump up the economy. >> i think that's like giving your kid sugar in the morning. i'm not sure that's a long run economic growth strategy to just print money. but over the course of the next year. it's going to help. >> up in the first quarter according to this survey. what does that mean for jobs, though? >> well, 2.6% is nothing to shout about. we should be growing at a 5%

right now, given where we are in this business cycle. we lost 11% of gdp during the recession. so if we only have 2.5% to 3% growth, we're not going to generate a lot of jobs. to get the unemployment rate down, we need closer to 4% growth. >> 4% growth. and what's that equation. i heard it put out there as a general rule of thumb. half percent unemployment. >> the way i look at it is if we get 4% gdp growth, we can expect about 250,000 jobs a month. you start getting numbers that high, then you start to bring the unemployment rate down. that's got to be as you said at the out set, that's what everybody is thinking about. they're not thinking of gdp and the stock market. they're thinking about is their job secure and for the people who don't have a job, are they going to have one next year. >> the rubber does not hit the road with gdp numbers. not for you, me or anybody else. so we look at these numbers in the first quarter. >> i think we may have higher

than that. >> 2.6 is nothing. 2 pbt 6 in the recovery stage. as they said earlier, if you look at the last six or seven recessions, we usually grow in the recovery stage at 4% to 5%. i would not consider that a good number. >> it's a perennial at this moment, but has the economy restructured. i didn't want to say that. but you said it. it's going to take a long time to get the unemployment down to below 8%. if we have that 250,000 job mark i was talking about, it still takes three years to get the unemployment rate down to below it's hard to believe five years ago we had 4.7% unemployment. now we're twice that high.

double dip recession? >> no. in the survey, those who were asked, 15% said it might be possible. that was down from the previous survey. parking lotly because we'll get the tax deal done. we've raised taxes next year. all bets would have been off. 2012 is trickier. some of the tax cuts expire in 2012. others expire in 2013. i think that -- look, i think we're poised for real strong growth. one thing i like are smart optimists. that's a great combination. thank you for stopping by today. wikileaks founder julian assange was granted bail today. he remains in custody as supporters come up with over $300,000 to free him. and swedish prosecutors say they plan to appeal that judge's ruling. now regardless of what happens

here, overseas should julian assange be tried on charges of espionage here in the united states? or is the government responsible for not doing a better job? bruce joins me live from washington on this. let's start with what happened today within the last five hours. so the prosecutors are now asking to appeal that decision of releasing him on bail. the next 48 hours will be key for that appeal. what do you expect will happen here? >> well, in order to establish a denial of bail, you have to show some probability of flight. the purpose of the bail is to ensure that the accused here shows. so here he'll have to try to demonstrate that despite his voluntary submission to british authorities that nevertheless with all the massive publicity, they are likely to flee. that will be difficult to show. the general consensus is making out assange as a star and hero

of the first amendment rather than a culprit. that would mean he feels in the long run he may end up more of a hero for the legal system is thrown at him. than by trying to flee and suggest he has something to hide. >> how has that court of public opinion changed? are there more supporters? what does your get tell you? some are coming to the conclusion there may be a few diplomatic exchanges chilled by the disclosures. in the long run the freedom of the press will deter more government folly, aimless wars, the bay of pigs fiasco that afflicted john f. kennedy.

that's going to crystallize here. we had the same phenomenon in 1971 where you initially thought, well, the sky is falling. we'll never get a paris peace conference and vietnam because of diplomatic disclosures. and ultimately the prosecutions fell apart, the u.s. supreme court upheld the right of the newspapers to disclose them. >> you're talking about him alluding to the pentagon papers. i want to hinge on that and ask you, is it responsibility of the leaker or the institution? that really was what it was about. we're talking about the pentagon papers here. >> well, the u.s. supreme court made it clear in the two cases, "new york times" versus united states that the obligation is the government to keep the secrets. it's not the press' obligation or third parties to try to prevent those who would disclose what the government is doing. that's a fairly fundamental first amendment principle that's enshrined for decades.

that could make a prosecution very problematic if it goes against mr. assange. aside from the fact that p pentagon papers case, you had the general of the united states at the the time, griswald, who said the classified information didn't deserve to be classified. the government overclassified. then secretary of defense said he would not give an affidavit saying the b pentagon papers would harm national security. the same attitude that secretary of defense bill gates -- i mean, mr. gates now robert gates had shown here. he short of slugs his shoulder where is the secretary of state is going into semi hysteria. all that suggests prosecution is dubious. >> so what you allude to is if overclassification of certain documents. i want to read something from rand paul. when presented here, as he has said, with embarrassing disclosures about u.s. spying and meddling, the policy that requires so much spying and meddling is not questions, he says. instead the media focuses on how

authorities might prosecute the publishers of such information. end quote. is he right about this? what do you think? >> with regard to overclassification, it was a senator who said that truth is a first casualty of war. in wartime you can expect the government to be exaggerating to the people because of its own political interest. >> why don't we then prosecute people like bob woodward? >> the reason why is because it's not going to be politically acceptable. the same reason why you'll notice that even though "the new york times" and espionage statute applies equally. it's thought that, hey, if government gets too much. they have too much tied up in getting good publicity in the editorials or newspapers. they're not going to go after them. they feel that would be a political net loss where as mr. assange is not a u.s. citizen. you can claim that well, maybe he has rape charges out there.

therefore he isn't as an attractive character to defend. that's the political angle to it. it has nothing to do with what the actual law says. and i want to go back. the fundamental issue that's been overlooked is this. the number of lives saved. the amount of money saved, the number of people deployed far outweighs any diplomatic chill that comes for the disclosures. john kennedy said i wish someone would have leaked the bay of pigs. we wouldn't have gone in there. we wouldn't have had the terrible aftermath. >> well, there are many that disagree with you, but you're very clear about your stance on this subject. appreciate it. no doubt this subject will be around for a while. it's almost new year's resolution time for all of us. the united states top doc joins me to explain why smokers cannot afford to wait until january 1st

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a new warning from the surgeon general may prove most effective here. it says that just one cigarette, one, can cause serious gaj to your body. it kills more than 43,000 people in the united states a year. now u.s. surgeon general is joining us live from washington on the latest study. i was looking at it, regina, the top notes coming from it. it affects every organ in the body. how does this happen, according to the study? >> well, it does.

every breath you take of second-hand smoke or regular smoke goes right to your lungs and has -- can affect the delicate tissue in your lung lining. and the other part is it basically will affect every blood vessel, and it causes immediate damage to the blood vessel and the blood itself is ha -- it clots more. the damage to the blooz vessel and clots can eventually cause a stroke or heart attack. depending on where the clot is. >> so it says that it happens immediately. it's immediate. the damage is mediate. the blood vessel lining is damaged immediate. secondhand smoke or intentional smoke, it's all immediate. and the damage is done. >> and there are 40 million smokers a t @ moment.

are they all walking around with damaged dna? >> the dna is damaging. . your immune system is weakened. the effects are long term and short term. but, yes. usually when the first puff of smoke is immediately damaged, it can last for about 24 hours before -- it continues about 24 hours after that -- >> that's like one in eight people at least. is this reversible? >> it can. it's never too late to stop smoking. we know that if you stop you can have reverse these effects in one year. the effects are almost half. if you stop smoking in ten years, your chance of lung cancer is almost half. so it's never too late. >> and one of the questions that come to mind is will this be

enough to stop those who need to stop smoking? thank you, regina. >> thank you. >> it's december. we got it. it's supposed to be cold and oh boy, is it cold. but this cold? my doctor said most calcium supplements... aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. also available in small, easy-to-swallow petites. citracal. a body at rest tends to stay at rest...

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in the news now, the justice department saying the government will appeal virginia's health care insurance ruling. monday's decision found the health insurance mandate unconstitutional. this case will go through the appeals court first, not straight to the supreme court. and then american neighborhoods are more diverse than ever. there's some census information released today that shows segregation among blacks and whites fell in 75 of the nation's 100 largest me metropolitan areas. however it persists in many part of the country, especially hispanics. still ahead, why anti-abortion advocates have new fire in the decades old debate.

we'll get to that. plus the weather channel forecast. when can much of the country expect to stee the much awaited warmer temps?

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go see your doctor now. here's a look at how stocks are doing. right now the major averages. the dow is up 38 points. the s&p 500 down a fraction. the nasdaq is up a little over a point. the fed just announced it's keeping the pace of the $600 billion bond spending program. officials cite a slowly improving economy. but still high unemployment the commerce department says retail sales rose for a fifth straight month in november. however, best buy reports the worst third quarter decline in eight years. profits fell 15% in part because of competition from walmart and

amazon on tv sales. that's it from cnbc first in business worldwide. back to you. >> the last two years, no santa claus rally. a little bit of cheer. of course, knock on glass. we hope it continues through. right? >> absolutely. despite that lump of coal, if you will, from best buy. >> yeah, that's right. hampton pearson, thank you so much. it's not winter yet. but you can't tell with much of the country. a bitter cold front is making its way across the midwest and up and down the east coast. even in florida, which rarely sees freezing temps, farmers are scrambling to save the crops, the fruits and vegetables we all enjoy. the big question, how much longer will this last? we have team coverage across the continue. mi first off for you in atlanta, the midwest where areas are taking a pounding from

snowstorms pushing through. with blizzard like conditions. take a look at the northwest. indiana, can you see anything there? they have strong winds with gusts up to 30 miles per hour causing near whiteout conditions. and there's a similar scene in michigan. indiana, where john yang is freezing it out there. >> we're here in the frozen shores of lake michigan, and michigan city, indiana, and when i say frozen shores, i mean it. this is a piece of sand mixed with water. that's frozen solid, a piece of frozen beach. this whole beach is coated with ice. and you can see how the ice has formed. it's water. the waves that had come up onto to beach and were on their way back into the lake that have frozen as they were sort of on their way back down the beach. you look at the waves here on lake michigan, they're relatively gentle or low now.

even though it still looks more like the north sea than a lake. yesterday the waves were topping out at 25 feet. the harbor master had to chase out surfers out of the frigid water. richard? >> love john yang. even when it's cold and frozen, he likes to go to the beach. john yang in the midwest. and what a mess in ohio. up to two feet of snow has fallen in some parts there. the winter blast reeking havoc on roads and shutting down schools and businesses. at one point leaving unprepared motorists stranded and twisting and getting stuck. mike seidel has more on that. >> hi, richard. it's still cold and windy. windchills around zero. the air temperature today hovering in the upper teens. but you'll notice it's not snowing very hard. that's a good thing. the lake-effect is finally up here. we had as much as 31 inches off lake michigan there and the northwest part of indiana.

so some local areas with heavy snow totals. but most of us have had in the four to eight inch range. traffic is moving. a lot of trucks have had issues with the snow and blowing snow. just causing near white-out conditions. we had a few of those this morning. but the gusty winds up wards of 30 to 35 miles per hour have finally backed off somewhat. just as i say that, here comes a pretty good gust blowing the snow across the this roadway here. it's going to stay cold. temperatures staying below freezing right on through the weekend. and our next battle of wintery weather, richard, will come later tomorrow to thursday morning. a little storm will go across the south. it's been very cold. we had record lows this morning in florida. nashville and louisville, all in line for poor driving late wednesday and thursday. richard, back to you. >> mike, thanks a lot there.

mike seidel, the weather channel in ohio for that. let's head to atlanta where weather channel meteorologist chris warren is standing by more information on the forecast. i have to say between you and i, we're very lucky to be inside as our good friends are out there in the midwest. >> we certainly are. it is cold. two-thirds of the country freezing temperatures. i touch on a few things that mike seidel was just talking about. first, the snow. we still have lake-effect snow. this is the radar now. anywhere you see white, that's where we still are seeing some of that snow. the lake-effect snow. as far as the next couple of days here, notice it is shifting a little bit to upstate new york. then we have an area of low pressure that could bring two to four inches of snow. northern england and parts of maine. mike also talked about the chance for wintery mess. that's what these advisories are for right here. this is where we could have snow, sleet, possibly some freezing rain. so travel in the next couple of days could be a bit on the tough side right in here. now the big question. a lot of people want to know,

when will this cool down or warm up, rather? and warming up is going to be a definite relative term. it's just going to moderate a little bit. in the south we're going to see temperatures warm up a bit. but the good news is we'll be getting above freezing. these are daytime high temperatures for your wednesday. the forecast high in the white box. in the black box, the temperature how far away from average we are. you can see almost 20 degrees cooler than average in many spots. taking you into thursday now. still very cold. most areas below the freezing mark for daytime high temperatures. overnight lows will be colder. as we head into the weekend, by friday, it is still very cold. we're going to moderate in the southeast. but we are hanging onto very cold temperatures. by the weekend we're also watching for the potential of a storm setting up on the east coast. still too early to say what's going to this happen with that. but it is something we'll keep a

close eye on. >> they're giving out west more. it looked warmer earlier in the week. is that the case there? >> the southwest is still looking pretty good. however, the pacific northwest is hammered with showers and thunderstorms. and in oregon, western oregon, reports of a tornado. so seeing messy weather in the northwest. but, yes, richard, the southwest is looking good. >> it is chilly out there. chris warren, appreciate it. abortion rights advocates and anti-abortion advocates are watching capitol hill closely has the republicans prepare to take control of the house in january. abortion opponents led by the next speaker, john boehner, gained 45 seats in the midterm elections. also joe pitts will chair a key health sub committee it is thoughts. he received the endorsement of the national right to life committee. all this is setting this stage up for the shedown on abortion in the new year in the 112th congress. peggy nance is the ceo for

concerned women in america. and the author of no excuses, nine ways women can think about power. the former president of planned parenthood. i want to start with you, penny. what does joe pitts mean to the anti-abortion movement? >> joe pitts will be the new chairman of the health sub committee. and you've got to understand that joe has the job because american women by 15 points swung in this past election for this congress. we have a pro-life house of representatives. we have a pro-life house leadership. and we have 12 new senators who are pro-life. yes, that's going to change the dynamics on capitol hill. it's a new day in america. and we can't continue to fund planned parenthood. >> let's talk about the statistics you brought up as we move into the 112th congress. i want to move to gloria here. hasn't the electorate spoken in terms of what they want in terms of abortion rights.

the electorate speaks every couple years. the electorate spoke in loud terms in 2008. so what we've seen is a swing that will auger badly for women's human right to make our own childbearing decisions without government interference. and that's really what we're going to find out. i think the voters weren't keen on that issue. they were keen on the economy. they were keen on many other things. they were frustrated i think with lack of leadership on the part of the obama administration. to really articulate what was needed to happen in health care. and joe pitts, he really is about defixing health care reform by any means. that is really been his strategy. and i'm sorry to say that it's women's bod gis and women's lives who are bearing the brunt of it. >> what do you mean? what do you think she wants to do? >> well, joe pitts is clearly in

the pocket of big pharmaceutical companies and big insurance companies, and for example, he even voted to prevent medicare plan "d" from being able to negotiate lower prices for people like me for our drugs. this is much bigger than the abortion issue. the abortion issue is a whipping girl, i'm afraid to say. >> penny, please respond. >> if you're defining -- if you're defining help for women as abortion and federal funding for abortion, yes. that's going to be a problem for you. joe pitts has been a champion for american women and the unborn. we pushed very hard for him to have that slot. it's very important we have people in the slot who understand that we can afford $300 million a year to pay for organizations that promote abortion, like planned parenthood. we have a $14 trillion debt hanging over the head of every man, woman, child in this country. we don't have luxury to pay for

things -- >> penny. i'm looking through your press release that you released only days ago. you are alluding to that spending. what are some of the things that you are suggesting should be passed in these new congress? clearly any form of funding for abortion. you have the lapenski bill. a bill that would prohibit funding for abortion on in levels. >> there's no funding for abortion. let's get clear about that. >> there's plenty of funding for aboring. it's wink, wink, nod, nod, from planned parenthood. the vast majority of what you do is abortion. you get $300 million a year of our tax dollars that we cannot afford -- >> i want to let gloria respond to this. and gloria, i think i know where you're going with this. >> first of all. i am here as a spokesperson for myself as a women's right advocate of long standing. you are welcome to have somebody

from planned parenthood to address those issues. i am going to talk about what i think the real issues are. what you will be seeing from this congress is not just attacks on the right to choose when it comes to abortion. what you're going to see from this congress is a reinstitution of the global gag rule. a tax on family planning preventive services. >> preventive services. that's different from abortion. >> it depends how you define it. >> the way to prevent abortion is to make sure birth control and other family planning services are part of any health plan. now on the state level and the aid and assistance of members of congress to keep those kinds of preventive health care services out of the health care plan. if a health care plan exists after this congress. >> how important are those services in leading up to an abortion question? >> well, they're basic health

care. 95% of americans use birth control at some point in their lives because we do it because we're responsible. we do it to be healthy. we do have it to have healthy pregnancies and to be able to plan and space our families responsibly. >> just for balance we have to give you the last word. is that fine with you? is there a difference between abortion versus these preventive services? >> look. this battle is not over birth control. this battle is about abortion and how our tax dollars will be spent going forward. we are telling you we can't afford it. this is the message that concerned women for america will be giving to congress. >> thank you so much for both of your times today as we discuss this issue as we move into the new congress. thank you. >> thanks. a decorated army doctor today pleaded guilty to at least one charge at a court-martial hearing at ft. mead in maryland. he does not believe president

obama was born in the country. an therefore considers his orders to be illegal. jim miklaszewski is live at the pentagon with the story. how is it going there? >> technically the lieutenant was charged with refusing to get on an airplane and fly to the war zone in afghanistan. what's at root is the fact that the lieutenant lakin has become a darling of the birther movement. all along he's questioned the lawfulness of any order from this commander in chief of president obama because the president has still not proven that he was born in the united states. >> now, mik, when we look at the situation, the lieutenant also pleaded not guilty to two other charges. what's likely to happen now with regard to all of this coming together? >> well, just on this one charge alone to which he pleaded guilty, he could face 18 months

in a military prison. but military officials say that's probably not likely. what's going to happen probably is that the judge will order him dismissed from the military, which would leave him two years short of his full retirement, which in the end over a lifetime could cost him some $2 million in retirement pay and benefits. so he's taking a stand here, but it could be a costly one for him. >> that's a lot at risk for him, for lieutenant lakin there. live at the pentagon with the latest for that for us. still ahead, senator harry reid's new message to the republicans. it could ruin some holiday plans. [scraping] [horns honking] with deposits in your engine, it can feel like something's holding your car back. let me guess, 16. [laughing] yeeah. that's why there's castrol gtx... with our most powerful deposit fighting ingredient ever. castrol gtx exceeds the toughest new industry standard. don't let deposits hold your car back.

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breaking news at msnbc. there's been a situation in a panama city school, a florida panhandle school. what we're understanding at the moment is during a school board meting there was an individual,

the man coming into the podium at the bay district school board meeting and then saying that he had a motion. he then pulled out a can of red spray paint, is what we're hearing. he painted a "v" with a circle around it and then a reporter is telling her station that he then pulled a handgun and started talking. again, this is all happening during a school board meeting. now one school board member struck tunma gwith her purse. and he pushed her to the ground, and then he started firing randomly. this is the location that we're hearing at the moment. getting this out of panama city. as wet get more details on a very strange situation. yesterday north korea threatened the south with nuclear war. this raises the question, does the war have nuclear weapons? he was shocked at what he found by north korea last month.

we get his personal views and pictures that few have seen. >> his first trip to north korea was 2004. >> i actually wound up in the conference room in the reprocessing facility holding the plutonium in my hands in a glass jar. >> reporter: six more times he took that trip, taking his own pictorial log. after november 7th he says what nobody wants to hear. north korea can now help create new north koreas. nations with nuclear capability that wouldn't hesitate to use it against the u.s. iran could be one of them. first because north korea is able to have millions electrically. that could include missile technology. >> the north korean technology that i saw is ahead of iran's. >> last year he snapped this picture. this year he sees 2000 pristine and beautiful uranium enriching

fuses as his mock up shows here. >> it was really quite stunning to see that. . they built it in one year. almost impossible to do. this is in 2009 and 2010. it could be more. perhaps making bomb fuel, he says. the past old style, sort of '50s america style. >> but the new control room -- >> what you would see in a good facility today in the united states. >> he talks openly about what he sees. >> the north koreans expect me to do that because that's the way they can have an afgt. >> affect. >> that has enough plutonium for four bombs. >> the message was, we have the

plutonium and if we have that, we have the bombs. they want me to take that message back to the u.s. government and say they have the bombs. >> how can you say respect, but despite being under sanctions, he sees what a poor country can afford. like this new ruranium facility boldy saying, we are here. for more on this story including bonus footage and more, go to msnbc.com and find it there. more information coming in on that panama city, florida, shooting. we'll have that right after the break. are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't getting discounts great? yes!

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update on the breaking news out of panama city, florida. an armed man taking hostages this afternoon a at a school board meeting. a s.w.a.t. team moves in, the gunman was the only person

injured and it is believed the man fired blanks at school board members. harry reid is telling the gop to stop trying to halt legislation by running out the clock. he says he hopes to complete work on the tax bill by midnight tonight then this week, he wants to move on to the dream act, do don't ask don't tell as well then do the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. msnbc will be all over that for you. this week, the justice department the joining several lawsuits against bp, legal action will likely come together. this involves civil site suits. that's our show for this tuesday. t"the dylan ratigan show" is up next. time for your business

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good afternoon to you. nice to see you. house of cards indeed. liberal democrats in the house vowing to fight the president's tax cuts deal with republicans. will they back down and is this really the best way to create jobs in this economy with this sort of tax shenanigan? plus, new fallout from the controversial ruling declaring the health care law constitutional. the obama administration filing an appeal about with whether the judge had conflict of interest. and the little probe that could about to become humanity's interstellar spacecraft. show starts right now. house democrats meeting tonight to try to hash out a way forward on tax