tamron? >> peter, thank you. >>> the uncle of three little girls killed along with their grandparents in the tragic fire in stamford, connecticut,sation the family has been touched by the outpouring of public support. newly released recordings from the fire department reveal what firefighters were up against on christmas morning. >> we got victims trapped on the second floor. we're going to rescue mode with the ladder. we have heavy fire in the back of the building. >> funeral services for the little girls will be held next week in new york city. >>> iran's threat to close the world's most important oil route may be easier said than done. according to military analysts, one-sixth of the world's oil passes through the strait of hormuz. it's unlikely tehran would be able to completely shut it down. even an attempt to close the strait could turn iran's few remaining allies against it. >>> president obama paid his respects at a memorial for victims of the 1941 attack on pearl harbor in hawaii. th

i'm tamron hall. "news nation" is following developing news this hour. supreme court taking up another major case. agreeing to rule on arizona's tough new immigration law. the law, i don't know to tell you, was enacted last year. a national controversy and even inspired similar laws in other states. laws in alabama, south carolina, and utah are facing justice department lawsuits and private groups are suing over new laws in georgia and indiana. and nbc news justice correspondent pete williams joins us from the supreme court. pete, at this point we have got a news statement in from arizona governor jan brewer reacting saying this case is not just about arizona. it is about every state grappling with the cost of illegal immigration and about the fundamental principle of federalism under which these states have a right to refend their people. that statement in from governor jan brewer of arizona. >> reporter: well, she certain sly right. the fundamental issue is how much power the states have. the states

>> tamron, here's what i'm saying. i am talking about leadership and the president bringing the leaders together at the white house and saying guy, let's calm down and the three of us sit in a room and work this out. we can do it because we are americans and you know what, i'm the president of the united states who has been calling for a one-year extension this entire year and the house did it on a bipartisan basis. the senate went out of town. why don't you work this out. what i'm saying is good old fashioned leadership and fellowship. something this town needs badly. i worked on a bill this year and we have it passed. it took a lot of friendship to do it. even though the senate democrats that i dealt with disagreed. i believe this can happen. i have seen bigger deals in shorter periods of time, but it takes harry reid and john baner to put their politics aside and sit down and cut a deal. >> i think a lot of people agree, but you know the saying. if you want a friend in washington, get a dog. here we are with the sit

i'm tamron hall. the news nation is falling this president obama and the first lady who just paid a visit to ft. bragg, north carolina. the president went to ft. bragg to mark the end of the u.s. military's involvement in iraq. he has promise that had all u.s. troops will be out by new years eve. in the audience, meks of the air borne division who served repeated deployments to iraq. the president thanked all of those who served and their families and he paid tribute to those who lost their lives in that war. >> over 30,000 american have been wounded. and those are only the wounds that show. nearly 4,500 americans made the ultimate sacrifice. including 202 fallen heroes from here at ft. bragg. >> the president also stressed his commitment to ensuring that returning troops get the jobs and resources that they need once they are in fact back home. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins me live from baghdad. we'll talk about what the president refers to as the stability in iraq right no

i'm tamron hall. within the past hour, penn state assistant coach jerry sandusky has been arrested again on new criminal charges. it is apparently all part of an ongoing investigation. peter alexander joins me with more breaking news. we know that sandusky was taken in handcuffs from his home. what else do we know? >> first thing want to put up is the newest video. the video you've seen is what is looped for the last several weeks. here is the video from within the last couple of hours where authorities showed up, four of them in unmarked cars. we've been outside the sandusky family home for the last several weeks. i spent much of that time at state college. they came, they arrested mr. sandusky who you will see from this video. admittedly a little bit shaky as we were forced to stay a safe distance away from the home as he put up no trespassing signs. new security cameras as a result of some vandalization to the home that has taken place. sandusky when he does walk out of the home, you will see he is

thanks a lot. >> thanks. >>> tamron, thanks. new job numbers out on friday are giving american hope. the unemployment rate has falling down from to 8.6% from 9%. a third of those jobs are in retail, many of them temporary for the holiday season. we get more now from nbc's tom costello. >> from the mall to main street to wall street. today's unemployment numbers seemed to catch the country by surprise. but analysts say you've got to go inside the numbers. >> part of the game comes from people dropping out of the workforce. but another part comes from more jobs and fewer unmroit employed. >> that's critical. 315,000 fewer people were looking for jobs in november and, therefore, aren't counted as unemployed. the jobs that were created come from the private sector and there were more jobs created in september and october than first reported. government employment shrank by 20,000 jobs. the president today used the numbers to urge congress to extend the payroll tax cuts and renew unemployment benefits. >> now is not the time to slam

i'm tamron hall. thanks for joining us all week long. get newsnation every day right here on msnbc. martin bashir is up next. opens its doors... or creates another laptop bag, or hires another employee, it's not just good for business. it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $13.2 billion to small businesses across the country so far this year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible. photo center prints and... two htc sensations from t-mobile. hey dad! hey son! i'm at study hall. that's great, you make me so proud. thanks dad. [ clatter, scream ] what's that? nothing... [ man ] game on! ♪ i gotta go! was that a chicken? [ male announcer ] get low prices on the latest smartphones. for a limited time, buy any smartphone and get a $100 walmart gift card. save money. live better. walmart. test.. everything. and what it doesn't cover can cost you some money. that's why you should consider an aarp medicare sup

tamron? >> thank you, chuck. as he gains traction ahead of the january 3rd caucus gop presidential hopeful and former senator rick santorum told us this morning his campaign has viability outside of iowa. >> this has been different than anybody else that's risen in this race. they haven't been tested and we have. people know there is authenticity here. they can trust me. what i say i'm going to do is what i've done in the past and we've got a good, strong record and a great vision for the future of shrinking the size of government dramatically. i've put out a plan to balance the budget in five years. i voted toughly over the years to cut spending and rein in entitlements. i've led on those things. we've got the record to back it up. >> santorum is projected to finish third in the iowa caucus next week. >>> the u.s. navy is warning that it won't tolerate iran closing the strait of hormuz, a strategic oil route iran is threatening to close if the u.s. imposes sanctions against it. 1/6 of the world oil passes throug

tamron?aters. it is six past the hour. back to ann and natalie. >> i'd love to someday get to see them. >> before we get to weather you found special guests. >> these kids your daddy is serving overseas and his name is major dacy siguri. >> hi, daddy! i love you! >> and we know that daddy can catch. >> he's watching online so yeah! merry christmas. we love you, too. >>> let's get to maria larosa with a check of your weather. >> i'm going to send a little love to one dad in afghanistan as well, your lovely girls back here, what would you like to say to your dad? >> we love you, daddy. >> a special thanks to mom holding down the army at home. welcome to new york. as we look at the forecast today, we've got snow right now happening in new england, all that's going on in the east. good news for travel from new york to boston, the east, so good news for travel from new york to boston eventually improving. and it's average cold. for the day today, no monster system that will snarl holiday travel, a

tamron. >> thank you very much, michelle. joining me now is say former prosecutor and candidate and thank you again for joining us. >> thank you. . >> let me get reaction from mcqueary's testimony and some of the things i can say here on television that are not too graphic. you did not call the police. he said i did not. why would you not report the sandusky incident. he said it was a delicate matter. he talks about how he went to his home and sat at the kitchen table and said i saw jer we a young boy and it was sexual and i needed to tell him about it. what do you make of what we heard from him today? >> i think his testimony is consistent with the grand jury testimony consistent with the police report released by prosecutors. he is saying and his reaction goes to his credibility. what he saw in the shower was extremely sexual in nature and disturbed him to the point where he left and had to go and speak to his father about the allegations. all that goes to his credibility as to whether he saw what he said he saw in the show

tamron hall is filling in for natalie this morning. good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah and matt. good morning, everyone. u.s. tensions with iran are flaring up this morning. tehran has alarmed american officials and the world by declaring it would close the main artery for oil exports from the persian gulf if the west imposes sanctions over its nuclear program. andrea mitchell has the latest. there are several questions, but first, what is iran up to and what do you think the consequences could be for us? >> reporter: those are good questions, tamron. it could be serious. iran has made threats to shut down the strait of hormuz before but this time it could be more than bluster as tehran has military exercises near the strait and is issuing angry response to the toughest sanctions from both europe and the united states against iran's banking system and oil trade. today china weighed in, a key ally of iran, urging calm. any oil interrupted of course in the state of hormuz, the key passageway for 50 million barrels of oil a da

my colleague tamron hall is up next. take it away. breaking news. >> we have a lot to talk about. great show. thank you. the fight of the morning after pill. health and human services kathleen sebelius to make the morning after pill available to girls under 17. why some progressives are criticizing the obama administration saying the decision boils down to a fear of teenagers having sex versus public health. why is russian prime minister putin going after secretary of state hillary clinton and we have new details on the breaking story out of virginia tech. two confirmed fatalities. we have the latest for ow "news nation." ♪ [ female announcer ] we never forget the nearly 12 million cancer survivors in america today... and the countless lives lost. we owe it to them to protect funding for cancer research, prevention and access to care. congress, make cancer a priority and give millions of americans what they need most. ♪ and just let me be [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ your ticket home [ male announcer ] this is zales, the

tamron, one thing you mentioned in the opening was the two bills i introduced. the original payroll cut that had a cut for cutting it in half for workers and businesses. republicans didn't want that. they didn't like other features. i came up with a compromise working with our leadership and so far they haven't embraced that either. we have been trying to compromise. what republican senators need to do is consider the impact of not passing a payroll tax cut as we have been advocating for. in pennsylvania no payroll tax cut means in 2012 a job loss of at least 20,000 jobs in a state where we created over 50,000 this year. we want to create more than that next year. this is important to the people and cash in the take home pay and in the pockets of the speaker. we need it. >> what do you think the timeline will be as we wait on the tick tock of the clock? >> it will take a while. we have to do a couple of things. we have to reach an agreement on the payroll tax cut. we can doe that. that is progress made and not enough to reach a deal, but some progress. we need t

. >>> i'm richard louie for tamron hall. the "news nation" is couping down. the final 100 hours to the start of the 2012 presidential vote. the leaderboard is still changing in this season. our poll out today shows mitt romney leads in iowa, but just barely. romney is favor by 23% of likely caucus goers and ron ball by 21 and rick santorum surging into 30 place at 15%. that's a nine-point gain in the last month. trailing we have rick perry at 14, newt gingrich at 13 and plunging 15 points in the last month. here's what front-runner mitt romney told andrea mitchell about his chances of winning on tuesday. >> i want to do well here. i don't think you can predict who will win in iowa. it's a state where you don't know who will come to the caucus and how they will make up their minds, but you hope to get to the delegates. >> let's start the statewide coverage with peter alexander who is covering the front-runner there. mitt romney is getting help from a popular governor who you have been watching who is considered even at one point to enter the gop race himself.

al roker and tamron hall as well. good thing you're here tamron.he nationwide search and we have three finalists. bobby flay will judge the best. these are interesting types of heatballs. not your grandmother's meat balls. >> or mom's. >> or anybody's. >> or bill murray's meatballs. >> one of the most prestigious universities in the country, georgetown, has quite a class. it's all about jay-z. you know -- ♪ new york never mind. i know all about jay-z because i took the class, in my head. we're going to take a look at the unique class that focuses on jay-z. >> thanks, beyonce. he was a movie and tv legend. do you know the real story behind rin tin tin? coming up, we're going to fill you in on his fascinating ride to fame. >> all right. before we get there, let's bring in maya rudolph, one of the stars of the nbc comedy hit "up all night." good to see you. a former alum of snl. so, eva, all right? >> yes. >> she's a talk show host. >> yes. >> a little bit demanding, needy. what else? >> fun-loving, ready for the party. she's definitely got some perso

tamron has the headlines, good morning. >> good morning, everyone.e crisscrossing iowa making a final push for votes, the first in the nation's caucuses just four days away. mitt romney is the front according to the latest polls there. he's campaigning in iowa today with new jersey governor chris christie. rick santorum enjoyed a late surge while newt gingrich has seen his support plummet. >>> verizon wireless is facing a huge public backlash today. the company just announced that his plans to charge customers $2 for paying their bills on the company's website or by phone but verizon says there are many options to avoid the fees such as automatic billing or use electronic checking. now for a look at what's trending today our quick roundup of what has you talking online. a top search on google, a story we brought you earlier, ben breedlove, an 18-year-old from texas who lost his battle from a rare heart condition on christmas day. he inspired millions with videos about life and love that have gone viral around the world. >>> animal lovers are flocking

we have natalie here so we have tamron hall standing by at the news desk.rning. >> good morning, ann and natalie. good morning, everyone. after months of partisan wrangling, house republican leaders announced last night they'll accept a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut. a voice vote is going to be taken today. >>> walmart and health officials are waiting tests on a batch of powdered infant formula. a missouri newborn who consumed it apparently died from a rare infecti infection. the manufacturer says the formula tested negative for bacteria before it was shipped to walmart. >>> a terrified family from texas is grateful to be alive. the husband wife and 5-year-old daughter were going skiing this week when a blizzard buried their vehicle under four feet of snow in new mexico. two days later, with air running out, the husband was able to call his brother, who triggered a successful rescue. the little girl is okay. but her parents have pneumonia. >>> san francisco firefighters say they were fortunate to bring this five-alarm fire under control thursda

good morning. >> reporter: good morning, tamron. if the police have any new kribl leads in this case they are not saying so publically. none of the searches has led to michelle parker but the local community strongly supports her family. at a bar in orlando called the barn where michelle parker was a popular bartender a fund-raiser for the family and the search effort drew a large crowd. >> these are all of our friends, family, her friends and family. it's just good to be surrounded by a lot of love here. >> reporter: meanwhile police searched for a second day at a lake near the area where a ping from parker's cell phone was last heard two weeks ago. orlando police and sheriffs divers combed the waters and the shoreline. a spokesman said nothing of importance has been found here. police say the only suspect in the case is parker's ex-fiance dale smith. they have not arrested him. smith knocked a news photographer to the ground before a child custody hearing wednesday insists he had nothing to do with the disappearance. a timeline pu

. >>> i'm tamron hall.hear arguments on arizona's controversial immigration law. with the supreme court already agreeing to hear the fight over the president's health care law, how will it all play a role in the presidential election? >>> plus, the home improvement chain lowe's gives in to a conservative christian group and pulls its ads from a show profiling american muslim families in michigan. we'll have the latest opt backlash and lowe's lukewarm apology. >>> the u.s. is drowning in debt, in excess of $15 trillion and there is little sign of any coordinated bipartisan fix. what is the resolution and how can you be part of it? a national fiscal accountability group has released its new quiz to help americans understand what's going on. with me, david walker. and we're laughing because i just got the quiz and i started taking it and discovered that even though i think i know this stuff pretty well and have lived it, breathed it and covered federal budget deficits going back to david stockman, i'm getting

tamron? >> thank you very much. there is a lot going on today.we go to break, here are things we thought you should know. former washington mutual executives reached a settlement falling well short of expectations. the lawsuit was settled for $75 million. money is expected to come from insurers and the bank's state. sarah palin shopped the ground for a new reality show. tlc and the discover channel are passing on the reality show idea featuring husband todd and his snowmobile career. even congressional gridlock did not stop from celebrating the holidays and al franken created the secret santa exchange and last night 60 colleagues exchanged gifts. senator mike johanns from nebraska got buffalo wing sauce and schumer received two lumps of cole expertly carved into a donkey and an elephant. a trio of texas salsa from a senator. those are the things we thought you should know. >>>> i'm martin bashir. newt said he's a lover, not a fighter. i'm not sure what kind of history he has been studying. the donald fires himself and leaves the stage of the deba

it's definitely worth watch, tamron. >> i think it's sweet and the biggest loser meets virgins. these people are virgins? it's a personal decision that gets a lot of attention and people don't always understand it. >> we're explore all facets of live and they're cute. they have to work on the kissing though. logon to the scoop or be a fan of the scoop on facebook. first, there is a lot going on today. here are things we thought you should know. house of representative is set to vote gabe zimmerman who was killed in the january shooting in tucson that injured congresswoman gabrielle giffords. the house will vote to name a meeting room after gabe. >> a new biography about imf head for dominic strauss khan claims the maid he was accused of assaulting propositioned him. he interpreted her "seductive body language " as a proposition. attorneys for the maid say it's a complete fantasy. leon panetta greeted j.r. martinez at theç pentagon. you have to love that picture. a fan of the show invited martinez to the pentagon. you see the moment there. love that picture. should be my screen

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tamron hall coming up on news nation, channelling teddy roosevelt.just a few minutes president obama will deliver a major speech on economy. he's speaking from the same small town in kansas in which theodore roosevelt delivered his famous new nationalism speech more than 100 years ago. the white house said it's remarkable how the conditions then parallel what we are seeing today as middle class americans are being squeezed and they say shut out by wealthy corporations. our news nation political panel including michael smirkanish of the "washington post" and coryn booth will join me. >> with newt gingrich now rising in the polls, some establishment republicans are wondering whether mitt romney has misplayed his hand. joining me now from washington, ben weber a form member of congress and special adviser to the romney campaign. hey, ben, thanks so much for joining us. >> congratulations on the new initiative in israel. >> well, thank you very much. exciting to be here. but back home, newt gingrich is now ahead in both iowa and south carolina. there's a

my colleague tamron hall has a look at what's next. >> great to see you.estigation into one of the most outspoken law enforcement officials in the country. many of you know him. he interjected himself into the immigration and presidential race. now she accused of violating civil rights of latinos. richard engle and jack jake sobs give their thoughts on the ceremony in iraq as 4,000 forces were there prepared to leave in the coming days. an investigation after a fraternity issues a who would you you rape list? it is unbelievable. authorities are now involved. next on "news nation." so you earn 50% more cash. according to research, everybody likes more cash. well, almost everybody... ♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? woah! [ giggles ] try bayer advanced aspirin. it's not the bayer aspirin you know. it's different. first, it's been re-engineered with micro-particles. second, it enters the bloodstream fast, and rus

tamron? >> thank you. and now to eric holder's appearance and investigating the fast and furious operation. hundreds of weapons ended up lost or unaccounted for including two firearms that may have been used in the shooting death of border patrol agent. the general admits mistakes were made, but said the border agent's death is used by some republicans to play "politically motivated gotcha games." he denied anyone lied to congress regarding this operation. >> there have been statements so misleading that a letter had to be with drawn. i think heads should roll. >> nobody in the justice department has lied. >> why was the letter with drawn? >> because information in there was inaccurate. the justice department letter of february -- >> tell me what's the difference between lying and misleading congress. >> i am joined by the homeland security by l.a. quarterly. thank you for joining me. >> thank you. >> if you look at the blogs, for example, or people who write on the web pages that appeal to those on the ri

i'm tamron hall. on "news nation," president obama warns house republicans that a payroll tax cut is about the people. it is the latest push from the president, who just within the hour came out again to strongly urge republicans to pass the payroll tax extension. if this is a game of tennis, the ball is now in the court of the house republicans. we'll get the latest from capitol hill. >>> then, the latest on bank of america's record settlement over claims that its countrywide mortgage unit discriminated against black and hispanic borrowers, by giving them high-interest loans while offering better deals to white customers. >>> and just days before christmas, this is a stunner, best buy says it will not fill some online customer orders. so where does this leave the customer? >>> back on capitol hill, will pressure from senate republicans persuade speaker john boehner to back down and make that deal with the white house? democratic strategist john summers is former communications director for senate maj

follow the show online and my colleague tamron hall has a look at what's next. >> we are talking about tomorrow. mitt romney and newt gingrich going at it and the worst winds in years blasted through the west coast with gusts up to 100 miles an hour.ç hundreds of thousands are people are without power. we will have the latest on this weather phenomenon beating down the west coast. the "huffington post" will join me as well about the push for two popular governors asking the dea to reclassify marijuana. why are they requesting this? "news nation" is up in three. i'd race down that hill without a helmet. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for

tamron, natalie, back to you. >> tamron's come one a football themed dance.cious jam always made the holidays just a little bit sweeter. we forgot to put our names on them! richard, i think they'll know who it's from. ♪ thank you boys. you're welcome. you're welcome. [ male announcer ] happy holidays from our family to yours. i love christmas! from our family to yours. yi mean you've got like five chundred dollars worth of nuts here, you do the math. be five percent more merry with the target red card, by getting an extra 5% off, our already low prices. plus free shipping at target.com ♪ it rides in limos. it has a crew. it gets invited to parties with paparazzi. it hangs out poolside. it has millions of drooling fans. it knows the recipe for success. there's nothing like it. the big mac. it doesn't do interviews. and don't miss the mac snack wrap while it's in the house. the simple joy of famous flavor. ♪ this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try