. >> chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is live in washington with the latest, mike. >> heathercussions are underway and i'm told we should not expect any news or announcements before senators are briefed tomorrow afternoon. after a meeting with the president late friday, the senate majority leader sounded cautiously optimistic. >> we have one meeting in the white house that was very constructive and we hope it will bear fruit and that's what we hope to learn. i think that the next 24 hours will be very instructive as to what we're able to accomplish. >> reporter: sources say house speaker john boehner deferred to senate colleagues and told him house leaders were consider, accept or amend their plan, what's not expected to be included is increasing the debt limit, something that democrats wanted and republicans have resisted. if senate leaders cannot strike a deal, the president wants congress to vote on what would be plan c. it would focus on three key areas, keeping tax cuts for those making $250,000 or less. extending unemployment benefits and delay dramatic spending cuts unt

. >> and kimberly, we're going to give you the last question, before we go to mike emanuel. >> i have a civilized question for mr. henry. >> and civilized-- >> my goodness, bob. >> it sounds worse than the negotiations on the hill. >> it's worse, thank goodness this wasn't our situation to try and strike a deal, it would be hopeless. if a deal is struck, how much will the deficit be redied, what kind of numbers are we talking about? >> it would be minuscule. where you'd see the biggest short-term impact would be if you eliminate all of the bush tax rates and they go back to the clinton rates. the government would be bringing in more revenue, but that's going to take some time. that's not going to happen immediately and it's a relatively small amount in terms of what the government is spending every single day. that money would be spent pretty quickly. so, again, because we're now at this point where this is just a short-term deal, any of the major entitlement reforms that would actually bring major spending cuts are sngsly off the table right now. so, to answer your question directly

mike emanuel is live on capitol hill and he is our top story tonight. there are actually two bills and they just voted on one of them, mike. >> well, that's right, shep. they just passed the one bill that would replace massive cuts in defense spending at the pentagon with cuts to domestic spending. this was to try to get more republican support. they didn't want to just be dealing with a tax issue. they also wanted to be cutting. well, in the pitch, a star voice from the 2012 campaign on the republican side made his pitch. >> we don't just have a fiscal cliff. we have a fiscal abyss in front of us. and that is the debt crisis that is on our horizon. failure to address this debt crisis means not just 47% of americans, but every american gets hurt. >> so the house is going to debate over the next hour or so the tax aspect of this plan b. then we expect a vote. should happen sometime around the end of this show, shep? >> shepard: you know, the top house democrat has her own idea of what plan b means for the american people, right? >> well, we have heard a l

gregg: chief correspondent mike emanuel kicks off the coverage. ke, where do the things stand in the fiscal cliff talks at this critical late-stage? >> reporter: gregg, there seems to be some hope that conversations between vice president joe biden and senator mitch mcconnell can produce a deal. aides say the two men spoke multiple times last night and will continue working toward a solution. mcconnell called the vice. president bush: after weighing 18 hours from senate majority leader harry reid who seemed to throw in the towel. >> there is still significant difference between two sides and negotiations continue. there is still time left to reach an agreement and we intend to continue negotiations. >> reporter: a big issue is what thresh do you continue the bush tax cuts. the democrats latest proposal, extend expiring tax rates for individuals with taxable income up to $360,000. and couples with income of about $450,000. senate republicans latest proposal allah taxes to rise on $450,000 for individuals and 550,000 for couples. republican aides say

mike emanuel kicks off our fox team coverage live from washington. harry reid said negotiations continue. where do we stand? >> senator reid seemed to be looking ahead to tomorrow's schedule. talks continue but a deal is not implement. another said there's a chance one could be reached tonight. harry reid and mitch mcconnell are the key players. he sounded frustrated after not receiving a counter-offer. a key member of the leadership team offered this update. >> offeringses and discussions between and we remain hopeful that will get a breakthrough. obviously what happened here between the two leaders in the senate had broken down because the senate democrats failed to come forward with a counter offer to the proposal the republicans made last night. hopefully the discussions between the.and senator mcconnell will get us on track. >> republican aides recognize the consequences if it falls apart. everybody gets a tax increase in 48 hours. >> well, it's less than 48 hours now. i'm wonder, are the democrats fighting among themself? >> there's a battle ov

>> doug: mike emanuel on the hill. mike will have much more on this with the panel tonight. as developments are happening fast and furiously late on this friday evening. stocks dropped 2 for week. the dow lost 158. the s&p 500 dropped 16. nasdaq ended 26 below. national association of realers say pending home sales increased in november for the third straight month to reach the highest level in two-and-a-half years. major port strike has been averted for now after mediators got the long shoreman's union to postpone it for month to work out time detail osafter new contract. correspondent phil keeting is following that story from miami. >> at least one end of the year cliff has been averted for now. container cliff. there will be no east and gulf coast port strike happening this weekend. but both sides still have much to work out. if they don't, five weeks from now will be right back to a sweeping strike with great consequences. >> a strike in long beach in los angeles a few weeks ago. that was close. if you cost that area, $1 billion a day. >> sticking point has been the cont

chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is live at the capitol following all of the bouncing balls. hey, mike. >> reporter: one concern for republicans as they look at this deal is what about spending cuts? where are the spending cuts? it sounds like they are getting close in the talks between vice president joe biden and the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell but there is not a deal until senator mcconnell knows he has enough support. let's take a look at some of the key points of a framework of the deal according to sources close to the talks. it would raise taxes on income tax amounts above $400,000 for individuals, $450,000 for families. it would address the estate tax, the alternative minimum tax, the medicare doc fix and unemployment insurance. current discussions about how best to address the automatic spending cuts that is called sequestration, the automatic cuts to defense, and domestic programs. a short time ago a leading republican expressed a great deal of concern and frustration with the whole process. >> it's december the 31st. january 1st is tomorrow, 2013, tax

first, chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel on what seems to have been settled and how and s still up in the air at this late hour. hi, mike. >> hi. bret. we hear from the republican senators they are optimistic and hopeful that a vote can happen sometime, perhaps later tonight. senator mitch mcconnell e-mailed and said he thought the deal was done until the white house called to say the sequestered cuts should be turned off. since then, she trying to find a way to bye down months of the cut but says the tax issues shooting forward. >> we will continue to work on finding smarter ways to cut spending. but let's not let that hold up,be protecting americans from the tax hike that will take place. we can do this. we must do this. >> though it is down to the wire. >> it's december the 31. january 1 is tomorrow, 2013. taxes go up. >> frustrated senator john thune says the senate should have acted months ago to keep the u.s. economy going off the fiscal cliff. >> i find it really hard to sit and listen to people come up now and wring their hands and talk about gee whiz. i hope we c

mike emanuel, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> let's talk about the john mcafee saga wanted forioning in his neighbor's death. he tells abc news he played the crazy card to save himself. here's the crazy back story. a neighbor in the nation of belize complained about john mcafee's dog, then somebody poisoned the dogs then killed mcafee's neighbor. the millionaire says he escaped to avoid police who say he's a person of interest in the killing but not a suspect. he turned up in guatemala where he got in illegally but instead of sending him to belize, they flew him to the united states and he's in a hotel in miami. he says he ethics the publicity -- he thinks the publicity surrounding his case is working. >> millionaire madman on the run. you paid attention to the story. because you acted like a madman. >> i did and it worked. >> gretchen: it's not all good news, his cash is still in belize and his 20-year-old girlfriend stayed in guatemala. phil, mcafee says he wants privacy. i can't keep the story straight. what do you know? >> well he's not getting privacy and doesn't seem too

mike emanuel in congress. thanks. chief washington correspondent ed henry live in the white house briefing room with the administration latest effort to reach a deal. with a last minute pitch from the president. the president seems to be saying go home for the holidays, take a deep breath. ref lax. come back. get it done. >> good evening, john. high drama here. when the president is leaving for hawaii in 90 minutes from now. first, though, he met at the white house with senator reid and he called the speaker boehner and came out on the podium behind me. he laid out three-point plan that he thinks can pass if ten days. extend tax cut for 98% of the public. extend unemployment benefit for 2 million people. come back to deal with spending cut and deficit reduction. he said that was achievable by january 1 to avoid the cliff. after last night, unclear whether anything can pass. >> just as the economy is really starting to recover, and we're starting to see optimistic signs. we have seen, actually, some up-side statistics

and new to mike emanuel. what do you hear? >> this is a huge type of the day.enator mcconnell is briefing republican senators on where it stands with the negotiations. we will look at the key points of the framework. if you make more than $400,000, it raises your taxes. couples making more than $42350,000 see their taxes go up and making sure that medical doctors do not take a huge pay cuts is fixed for a year and unemployment benefits are addressed and alternate minimum tax is fixed pamly and on the estate tax an exemption for states up to $5 million for individuals and $10 million for a couple. on the tax issues, senator mcconnell says there is a agreement. we should get it done now. >> the president said in the television appearance, we are very, very close to an agreement. we need to protect american families. and job creators from this looming tax hike. everyone agrees the action is necessary. i can report we have reached an agreement on all of the tax, the tax, the tax issues. >>reporter: lawmakers are saying to avoid americans getting hammered by new tax

>> harris: mike emanuel on the phone for us outside of capitol hill. we appreciate it mike, thank you. along with the wrangling over the fiscal cliff. the fourth amendment debated heavily in the senate yesterday and today. and then a vote today to renew the nation's surveillance law. it's called the foreign intelligence surveillance act. and it allows investigators to monitor phone calls and emails involving suspected terrorists outside the united states. without a warrant. as long as the suspects are not u.s. citizens. critics on both sides of the aisle demanding more transparency though. arguing that officials could use the law to secretly spy on americans battering their fourth amendment rights. but chair woman of the senate intelligence committee california senator dianne feinstein saying the law is important to our national security and must classified. meanwhile, another potential below to -- blow to the economy has been averted at least for now. dock workers agreeing to hold off on a strike that would cost the u.s. economy billions of dollars tha

>> harris: mike emanuel thank you very much. more coming up on the get-together tomorrow at the white house whether it will be or not to try to work out a solution. that is coming up at the bottom of the hour. >>> the stubborn winter storm sticking around across much of the nation's eastern half. the same weather system that slammed the south and dumped know snow on the midwest bringing misery to the northeast and new england. causing new trouble for post holiday travelers. an american airlines plane ended up stranded on a snow. >> tarmac in pittsburgh. just outside new york city a southwest jet got stuck in the mud after skidding off the runway. in some of the hardest hit area the roads are even worse. >> i lost count of number of cars in the ditch. a jackknifed tractor trailer and a horse trailer turned over. >> i have seen ten cars in an accident. i saw a lexus fly into the ditch. >> i wish people would slow down a little bit, you know. it is pretty slick. >> harris: the storm will go into the his tor the history br leaving b

mike emanuel is on capitol hill tonight.g resignation,. >> jim demint says is he leaving the senate, shep he is not leaving the fight. in fact, demint might be able to spend more time on issues he is most passionate about at the heritage foundation. he explained his thinking on "special report" a short time ago. >> i think i'm in a more powerful position than a single united states senator. i wouldn't feel good about leaving if we didn't have so many new bright young conservatives now in the senate. but it's time that conservatives take control of our message and let americans know what we can do to make their lives better. earlier fellow south carolina senator lindsey graham sounded truly shocked by the news. >> on a personal level, i have lost my colleague and friend, jim and i have known each other for almost 20 years now and i think we have done a pretty darn good job for south carolina. the time playing good cop and bad cop. the differences we have had have always been sincere. >> with demint leaving it is up to governo

mike emanuel has been following all of the developments with us tonight. it sounds like there won't be a vote tonight at this point because there's no deal at least on the senate side. >> that's right. senate majority leader harry reid said we should talk to vice president biden and mitch mcconnell. earlier republicans suggested changing the way inflation is calculated on changes like social security read offered this reaction late in the day. >> i was really grass fied to hear republicans taking command by social security set off the table. this should never have been on the table to begin with. there is still significant difference between the two sides negotiations continue. still time left to reach an agreement. >> meanwhile west virginia democrat joe mansion introduced the calm act trying to soften the blow as the country goes off the fiscal cliff. it would maphase in tax hikes or the years and prioritize spending cuts. he says he's frustrated and tried to do something. >> it was crossing the wires it's more than frustration it sounds like desperation

black planned mike emanuel joins us. this has been ahead be left with groups urging republicans to vote against pan "b" but less than two th weeks from the fiscal cliff leaders say they tried toax hikr avoid a massive tax hike for everybody. >> it will be a to the democrats in the white house. >> it would extend the bush tax cuts below $1 million also the house votes on a separate measure to cancel the pentagon cuts with sequestration that has upset house democrats. >> these are not a plan. it is a ploy. they are bills to know where. and a deeply cynical move, republicans decide toill o offer another bill to put off some of the sequester.oehner >> speaker boehner has notnd b given up on a grand bargain. >> and our respective rolesspecv we have ea responsibility tor work together to get results.pect it ll conti i expect we will continue to work together.he top >> he did not sound issound so optimistic. threpubl determined to lead off the cliff we will not take the enmiddle-class with him. >> 53 senate democrats voted for

. ♪ >> no market reaction to the report from mike emanuel of fox news that the the democrats proposedax rates where they are for people under $360,000 a year and the republicans are holding at 450,000 a year. so, you've got two competing numbers and that news was reported moments ago by mike emanuel of fox news, no impact on the market. i've got a little bit-- wait for it a little bit of tax sanity from france. and struck down hollande's proposal 75%. and somewhere in belgium gerard depardieu is feasting on cheese with a grin on his face. they'll meet the court's standings. why are you laughing, david? >> it's a tale of two cities, can you imagine 20 years ago thinking that paris would be getting less socialistic while d.c. would be becoming more socialistic? >> it's not-- >> it's slightly a wee bit less socialist the french court says that tax infringes on the principle of equality before public-- >> can i explain that? the french court said in a household where you've got two income earners, both of whom make just under a million euros each, that household would not pay the 75%. >>

gregg: mike emanuel is live on capitol hill. mike, any indication of the president's next move? >> reporter: well, gregg, last time we heard the president talk about the this matter he said he was calling on congressional leaders to essentially make sure taxes do not go up on middle class americans. presumably that would be a package that continues the bush tax cuts for those making up to $250,000. he would also like to continue emergency unemployment benefits for two million americans. and beyond that, details are kind of murky at this point. so we await the president to get back to washington. we know that the senate will be back in session today. we know there have been some conversations back and forth but at this point no indication that steps have moved forward closer to a deal, gregg. gregg: so, mike, if the senate comes back, what do we expect from them today? and then obviously the house? >> reporter: well, house speaker john boehner is in ohio. his aides told me a few moments ago ago if he has plans to travel. last night the speaker and the president of the united stat

chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel live on capitol hill. mike?> reporter: well, jon, we understand that that white house meeting between president obama and speaker boehner wrapped up just moments ago. it lasted 45 minutes, and aides are saying we will not get a readout, but there certainly has been a flurry of activity on the fiscal cliff front. aides to speaker boehner say in a friday phone call to the president the speaker offered to extend the bush tax cuts for those making up to a million dollars so, therefore, those above a million dollars would pay slightly higher taxes in exchange for spending cuts and entitlement reform. let's take a look at the framework of a possible fiscal cliff deal. it includes $1 trillion in cuts, $1 trillion in new revenue. that would include an immediate down payment and then lawmakers working out details in the new year. possibly including raising the nation's debt limit, something the white house has badly wanted, extending unemployment insurance, the medicare doc fix, payroll tax cut and tax extenders. any deb

chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel live on capitol hill for us. three weeks from the end of the year, mike. any signs of progress? >> reporter: jon, it is hard to tell we know the president and the speaker of the house met privately yesterday and as we mentioned both sides say the lines of communication are open but they are not giving out any details of what was discussed or any readout of the meeting. that may be a good sign. the previous meeting was on camera. this one face-to-face privately at the white house and so perhaps they had a chance to roll up their sleeves and get into some of the tough details in terms of finding a deal on the fiscal cliff. this morning a leading republican said any deal should include the major drivers of our debt. >> the long-term indebtedness of this country is baby boomers retiring putting pressure on medicaid, medicare and social security. i hope my party will look out for the country and not just the party itself and pure this president to do something he has never done before, lead in a bipartisan way. >> repo

mike emanuel on where he head now. >> reporter: pessimistic tone for heading for the fiscal cliff in days. president obama and senators cut the christmas vacation short. the leader is happy to review what the president has in mind but to date they have not put forward a plan. late today, mcconnell expressed frustration. >> this is a conversation we should have had months ago. republicans aren't about to write a blank check or anything that senate democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the essential. >> asked if he was going over the cliff, biden joked cliff? what cliff? this has been operated with a dictatorship of the speaker. not allowing the vast majority of the representatives to get what they want. they want them to return in case a deal is in the final hours. today, the u.s. is heading over the cliff. >> what goes away next week is the bush tax cut that they loathed since they went in place a secon decade ago. don't assume the president wants to cut a deal. he wants to see if he'll be blamed for it before they negotiate. they talk about the meeting tomorrow wit

. >> bret: mike emanuel on the hill. good news for people trying to sell the homes.ces were up 6.3% in october from a year earlier. that is the largest yearly gain since july of 2006. the dow lost 14, though, today. the s&p 500 dropped 2. nasdaq off 5.5. new warning for syria. this is warning from nato. new tragedy as they become victims of the bloody conflict. chief washington correspondent is at the state department now. >> it purported to show syrian war plane conducting bombing mission. mortar round struck a high school and reportedly killed a teacher and student. it's escalated to intensity. >> the side suffered military setbacks. the picture beginning to emerge in syria is this may be close to the end of the regime. >> in bruce sells, the foreign minister of the nato alliance with the approval of the turkey request. to be installed. the hundreds of troops are expected to ratify the deal shortly. it will be under nato foreign minister that is defensive only. it will no way support a fly zone or offensive operation. >> we know syria possesses missiles. we know th

greg: mike emanuel live on capitol hill. thank you very much. just ahead, we will ask kyle harrington about what could happen if we do end up going over the fiscal cliff. weill discuss the extraordinary measures being taken by treasury secretary tim geithner to make sure the u.s. does not reach its parliament. and end up defaulting on its debt. at roughly the same time. heather: that's a one-two punch. new developments in the growing crisis in syria. u.n. envoy calling for a transitional government run the country in order to end the conflict. russia's foreign minister mixon grimmer marks of such a plan actually working, saying that it still necessary to reach a peaceful solution. leland vittert has more on this. reporter: the russian foreign minister said that he feared that syria could turn into a bloody chaos that there was not some kind of negotiated settlement. many looking at the video that we see every day now coming out of syria. syria is already in a bloody chaos. more than 40,000 people killed. so far in this uprising. the death toll c

mike emanuel looks at the action in congress today.e correspondent ed henry is in the briefing room where the president just spoke. >> you heard the president himself pleading with republicans and democrats on the hill, too, in his words to at least meet the one deadline, saying that the grand bargain, $4 trillion debt deal is far out o reach. but thinks they can at least do a modest package to prevent everyone's taxes going up at the end of the year. it note he made clear that this was only a possible agreement. they said he was only modestly optimistic, as the senate leaders right now, start work on just trying to scramble to put together some sort of a deal. >> timing, we are out of time. the next if hours will be important. >> with the nation on the vernal of the largest tax increase since world war ii, president obama called congressional leaders to white house for one last desperate shot at deal. max baucus says he sees a slim down agreement starting to gel, because the pressure on all sides is

. >> mike emanuel on the hill. what about this sendipending is we keep hearing so much about. where are your tax dollars going. we take a look in part one of the series "the cost of spending." >> we can't spend ourselves rich. >> presidents have been talking about the federal government spending appetite for decades. president reagan. >> what ails usable be s -- us be simply put the president is growing too big. >> this government is too big and spends too much. >> president clinton. >> this is the largest deficit reduction plan in history. >> president george w. bush. >> american families have to balance their budgets so should their government. >> every day families sacrifice to live within their means. they deserve a government that does the same. >> in the recent talks to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff john boehner insists the president has been singing a different tune. >> it is clear the president is not serious cutting spending. but spend something the problem. >> you hear the talking heads every day the back and forth every day. but have you tried recently to get you

chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel live on capitol hill. we had slight movement on the fiscal cliff negotiations, mike, but it doesn't really sound like they're close to a deal, huh? >> reporter: that's right, jon. president obama reduced his new revenue demand from $1.6 trillion over 10 years to $1.4 trillion over 10 years. house speaker john boehner says he is the most optimistic guy in washington but serious differences remain and the republicans may not feel like they have a whole lot of leverage in the negotiations with a democrat in the white house and democrat controlling the senate but they are threatening when it comes to the calendar. take a listen. >> the president seems to be walking you ever so slowly towards the cliff. we've said we're committed to staying here. we're going to stay here right up until christmas eve, throughout the time and period before the new year because we want to make sure that we resolve this in an acceptable way for the american people. >> reporter: of course the president would like to go to hawaii for

chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel looks at the politics of plan "b" from congress' perspective good evening. this is a heavy lift with numerous conservative groups urging republicans to vote against speaker boehner's plan "b." but with the u.s. economy less than two weeks from the fiscal cliff, top republicans say they are trying to avoid a massive tax hike for everybody. >> the house will act today. up to senate democrats in the white house to act. >> it would extend tax cut on income below $1 million. to secure republican support, the house is voting on a separate measure to cancel next year's pentagon cuts part of sequestration by slashing domestic programs. that upset house democrats. >> the bills are not a plan. they are a ploy. they are bills to nowhere. in a deeply cynical move, so cynical, the republicans have decided to offer another bill to put off some of the sequester. >> while the process moves forward, boehner hasn't given up hope on a grand bargain with the president. >> the president and i in our respective roles have a responsibility to get work together to get

let's get to mike emanuel on capitol hill. how much stock are lawmakers putting in the white house meeting? >> depends who you ask. some republicans expressed concern it may be for show, essentially going to the white house, having a big meeting that everybody's talking about for the appearances that they're doing something. other suggest it's critical because time is running out. >> the window may be ajar but it's not wide open. and unless it closes -- or opens entirely today and there's a deal, it's more likely to close than stay open. in other words, if we don't have a deal in the next 24 hours, the question is where do you buy a parachute. it looks like we'll be going over the cliff. the closer we get to the end, the less likely it is you're going to be able to compress an agreement into place to have enough votes to pass. >> while rebounds and democrats may not agree on a lot. we heard from republicans and democrats that time is becoming critical and they're feeling the pressure of the calendar. >> trace: as you talk to l

thank you, mike emanuel. that is a big story in washington, dc. story from the middle east goes to the heart of egypt. they are bracing for massive nation-wide protests tomorrow against the country's president as well as the newly drafted constitution. they are voting, remember, and demonstrators have rallied against president morsi recently who tried to grant himself absolute power. the protests grew when the allies draft add constitution that would give hard-line islamists more sway in the largely secular islamic country. remember, egypt often mediates feuds and peace treaties between israel and the enemy and they are critical to middle east peace. over the weekend the constitution passed a preliminary vote, 57 percent of the ballot, and that is said to be quite a bit less than the president expected but the vote was riddled with irregularities. back you negotiation you in now town where the governor malloy is holding a news conference in hartford. we expected this to begin a short time ago and he now is talking. we will drop in and hear what he

>>gregg: unless it has the birthday clown on it, thank you mike emanuel. >> the fiscal cliff mess could take a serious toll on our 401(k) retirement accounts and a trader saying the optimism on wall street is evaporating. the dow is down 142 points and change but it has been down more than 100 points all day long. now the anchor of fox news sunday, chris wallace. chris, react to the chuckle head comment by the congressman that it is the same group of obstructionist in the republican party. is that true? or does it say something largerf john boehner? >>chris: both. boehner, since the 2010 election, he has to be happy because it swept him back in power in the majority of the house of representatives but he has had to deal with a portion of the caucus, a lot of the freshmen elected with the support of the tea party who have made life difficult. they want to go further to the right than he has been anxious to go. when he tried in a case like this, or in the debt field, in the summer of 2011, to make some kind of an accommodation, a compromise, which, obviously, involves some give-and-take c

joining us now with the latest on the negotiations is chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel. >> the talks have shifted from the top two senators negotiating to senate republican leader mitch mcconnell trying to strike a deal with joe abide den. the senate majority leader left the capital shortly after making this comment about republicans trying to change the way inflation is measured on entitlement. >> i was really gratified to hear republicans taking their demand for social security benefit cuts off the table. truth is they should have never been on the table to begin with. they are still significant distance between twot sides and negotiations continue. still time left to reach an agreement and we can continue the negotiations. >> the senate is due to return tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. republican negotiator mitch mcconnell said he was concerned about a lack of urgency on the side of democrats. >> willing to work with whoever, whoever can help. there is no single issue that remains an impossible sticking point. the sticking point appears to be a willingness, an interest

mike emanuel is live. we are still getting hard lines from either side about where they stand on this. what is really happening behind the closed doors? are they closer to a dole? >> reporter: jenna you're right about a lot of tough talk in public, but behind closed doors we know the president, the speaker of the house john boehner had a phone call late yesterday, the first call they had in a week. there has not been much in the way of leaks as to what was discussed. most folks on capitol hill may suggest that no leaks means they are getting down to serious movement on finding a compromise to avert the fiscal cliff. because in public the treasury secretary was asked yesterday if the administration is prepared to go over the fiscal cliff. check this out. >> is the administration prepared to go over the fiscal cliff. >> absolutely. we see no prospects for an agreement that doesn't involve those rates going up on the top 2% of the wealthist. remember it's only 2%. >> reporter: most people think a deal will be

chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel tells us tonight it really isn't. >> time is running outeep the u.s. economy from going off the fiscal cliff in the new year. in fact, most experts believe a framework deal must be reac reached this week, most likely by thursday to give the house, ways and means and the senate finance committee several days to work the deal to legislative language. since it will be complex, likely to increase re-knew and cut entitlement spending if the lawmakers want a cost estimate with nonpartisan numbers from the congressional budget office, it would require several more days. the house g.o.p. requires that the bill be posted for parts of three days which means early next week in order for votes by the end of next week. veterans of past capital hill battles note the whip operation convincing lawmakers to vote for the legislation they barely seen will be critical. >> likely that both sides, the president and the speaker are going to have to twist arms, they are going to have to call people. they are going, you know, do anything they can to push a deal ove

mike emanuel joins us live from capitol hill with the latest on the debate. we heard the president go after republicans in the televised interview this evening. how is that being received? >> some irritation. mitch mcconnell is actively trying to hammer out a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, negotiating with harry reid. some question about the timing of the the president's interview. speaker boehner moments ago issued this statement ," americans elected president obama to lead, not cast blame. the president's comments are ironic as a recurring theme of our negotiations was his unwillingness to agree he to anything that would require him to stand up to his own party ." a retiring senator says it is time to get things globe there shouldn't be lines in the sand at the 12th hour now. we ought to be willing to sit down and reach an agreement based on the proposition we don't want to hurt the economy or small business people or retirees. >> some anxiety building here on capitol hill because very little has leaked out of the talks between mcconnell and reid. some take

chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel live on capitol hill for us now. re do discussions go now, mike, and what happened to plan b? [laughter] >> reporter: well, jon, good afternoon to you. all indications are that the focus shifts back to the talks between president obama and speaker john boehner to try to hammer out a deal. one would expect there may be a phone call or a meeting at some point. i've talked to aides on both sides of pennsylvania avenue, and they don't have anything to announce at this point, but you would expect that the two would get back on the phone or meet at some point. as for what went wrong, well, here's the speaker. >> there was a perception created that that vote last night was going to increase taxes. now, i disagree with that, with that characterization of the bill, but that impression was out there. now, we had a number of our members who just really didn't want to be perceived as having raised taxes. >> reporter: and the speaker, of course, also wanted to get the united states senate involved. i've been talking to a lot of se

chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel looks at that tonight. >> republicans frequently argues critical to get a handle on the deficit before the u.s. becomes like greece. there is a terrible economy with 26% unemployment highest in europe, almost no job opportunities for young people frequentenly lead toro riots in the streets. here is leading democrat is suggesting cutting spending too quickly is a real problem. >> the european community now is concerned about all the austerity. there are many, many things you can do to reduce debt. but still have a stimulus aspect of the economy. >> experts though say europe's us aer the city a drag on the economic growth because it relies too much on taxation while failing to reign in the expansion of government. that would seem to back up a republican theme in the fiscal cliff argument. >> if we raise taxes on the top two rate, a million small businesses who employ 25% of the work force it will cost us over 700,000 jobs and reduce economic growth, lower take home pay and those things. that is a bad scenario. >> the league negotiator on th

mike emanuel with the news in washington tonight. top congressional democrat today said it is vital that lawmakers hammer out a deal and soon. >> shep, that's the great unknown in all of this fiscal cliff fighting. some argue the country won't be badly damaged if the country hits the fiscal cliff. republicans and democrats keep arguing into the new year. others are worried failure to strike a deal could send the nation back into a recession. >> i think people understand the failure to compromise and going over the cliff could really jeopardize this recovery. the good news today about more people back at work, the unemployment rate coming down, listen, that can be reversed if people lose confidence in our future. >> the number two senate ranked democrat mr. temperature bib argues next week will be critical in terms of president obama and speaker boehner finding a compromise. shep? >> shepard: democrats are still saying what they have said all along and what the president ran on this is about taxes. >> that is true and they note presid

mike emanuel, thank you. >> reporter: thank you, sir. jon: let's take a look at the dow with all this fiscal cliff nonsense going on. it's up, actually about 8 points right there as you can see. still down below 13,000, though, after heavy losses last week. very light trading also as you might imagine on this day before the market is closed for the new year's holiday. while congress cannot seem to agree on a fiscal cliff fix, it looks like a deal has been reached to keep your milk prices from skyrocketing. both the house and senate agriculture committees have agreed to a one year extension on the farm bill which expired earlier this year. the extension must be passed by a full vote in congress before it can take effect. had a deal not been reached by tonight the government would have been forced to buy milk at inflated prices, raising the doss of milk and other dairy products for consumers could have been 8 bucks a gallon, believe it or not. heather: secretary of state hillary clinton is now hospitalized after doctors discovered a blood

frankly, there were a lot of republicans, as mike emanuel reported on "the fox report" who got electedn a pledge not to raise taxes. and a lot of republicans didn't want to raise -- vote he to raise taxes on anybody. even at levels above a millions. so though speaker boehner had hoped to have a vote on this tonight, he sent out a release a short time ago that they didn't take up the bill because they didn't have the votes. now they go into recess. and he says, mr. president, it's now up to you. continuing coverage throughout the night on fox news channel. i'm shepard smith. o'reilly is back right after this. [ male announcer ] this december, remember -- you can stay in and like something... or you can get out there and actually like something. the lexus december to remember sales event is on. this is the pursuit of perfection. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together