with -- barbara mark and her friends, over there, yeah, waving, her friend's friends table. please help me applaud these wonderful women. esther caldwell with delloyd could not be here, she is expecting twins and is on bed rest. i also want to say that today really the details of today, as you know, those of you who do event planning, would not have been possible without our event chairs. i want to acknowledge the 4 co-chairs, it takes a group of friends to put things together. help me acknowledge meg mccallister, cinta lynn really paid attention to all the details of this luncheon today. just like the script, i'm not used to having a script but i have it keep on time here. so i also would like to recognize our honor area event chair, first lady neat ta lee. she could not join us this afternoon but sends her thanks for your support. but i have the privilege of welcoming and introducing someone you all know, a very special guest with us today, our much-esteemed mayor, mayor ed lee. join me in welcoming mayor lee. (applause). >> so, mayor, this is about women power, not (inaud

. >> senator mark -- senator barbara mikulski has weighed in as well, calling for a two-step approach, looking at the culture of violence and offering more mental health benefits. >> i think this is a watershed moment in our country. we need each other, whether you support gun control, or the nra who should bring good ideas to citizens. we can protect the constitution, but we also have to protect our people. >> in annapolis, gov. martin o'malley says he supports looking into the gun issue, especially when it comes to safety. >> i do not have a bill to present to you. it is still very much a work in progress. it is work that i would guess that every state in the union as undertaking. >> we call several gun stores that declined on-camera interviews, but did tell 11 news that guns are moving off the shelves at record rates. we were referred to a news release that read in part upon what we call it -- we find it callous and disrespectful that certain politicians and gun control advocates are so focused on their political agenda that they could not find it in their hearts to refrain from pu

court chief justice sarah parker, justice robert edmond, justice robin hudson, justice barbara jackson, justice markartin, and justice patrician -- patricia goodson. we have legislative services officer george hall, cleark of the north carolina house, clerk of the north carolina senate. we are also pleased to have representatives from the governor's office here, including the general counsel mark davis, as well as mickey jones, and our single -- and our center -- our singer anette etheridge. thank you all for being here. as north carolina becomes more global, we are mindful that our impact in the world is significant, as evidenced by the fact that we have summit for and councils in north carolina. three of them are here with us today. the honorary consul of france, the honorary consul of sweden, and i suppose the dean of our council delegation, the honoraria council from moldova -- honorary consul from moldova. we have a delegation from st. mary's school here today watching this historic proceeding. we thank them for this moment in north carolina and united states history. as we prepare to begin the

. >> barbara bush spent christmas by his side, former president george w bush expected to visit incoming days. >> retailers reeling tonight after holiday sales missed marks. they were expecting shoppers to spend 2% more than last year but turns out sales grew less than 1%. very disappointing. david with, a look the impact on the economy. >> there is no doubt that this is a real blow but kboitsing to impact people making goods retailers put on shelves. dispatting growth is likely tied to conservative gifting. >> i didn't get as many gifts but smaller gifts that meant more. >> mother nature dealt blizzards and hurricane sandy. haijor see vents. the bare area spared disasters and boost bid good economic news, higher home prices and lower unemployment. >> so i anticipate retail sales will be above average owe this is the executive director of the retail management institute. with numbers showing slowest growth chains may pull back plan tochlz pand that. could impact hiring. retailers are waiting to see if washington can resolve the impass on a tax, and budget plan. >> there is that uncertainty. they'll be more conservative and do store growth. we're going to

contractor, an incident that mark as disturbing new first in the war. barbaraore on that attack. >> well, joe, it's hard to know what to make of this case, but tragic news of course for an american family at the holiday season. this woman now said by the of a beg began authorities to have an iranian passport.a began authorities to have an iranian passport. they showeded her passport and other identification. she was wearing an afghan police uniform. she apparently went to kabul police headquarters supposedly looking for someone important to kill. at least that's what afghan authorities are saying. and she had a weapon hidden on her person. she brought the weapon out, she walked up behind this american man and shot him debt. by all accounts the first time we've seen one of these incidents where the perpetrator is a woman. but there have been a growing number of these throughout the year tragically involving u.s. troop, nato troops, contractors and even afghan forces. >> and just let's talk more about how unique this really is. give us sort of the 30,000 foot vie

marks for his handling of hurricane sandy. how he's leaving the door very open for a bid for president in 2016. here he was on abc with barbara just last night. >> when you were pressed to run for president this time, you said you didn't think you were ready. what did you mean by that? >> i wasn't ready to undertake a campaign. that's an enormous decision to make for yourself and your family, and i didn't feel ready. >> how do you think you're going to feel in 2016? >> well, you know what? i have no idea. >> in your fantasies when you're just talking to yourself, do you say president chris christie? >> no. no, i don't. >> nobody doesn't like barbara walters. president chris christie, it could happen, but he may need to get past hillary rodham clinton on the way to the actual oval office. john feehery is a republican strategist, and bob shrum is a columnist for the daily beast. gentlemen, sometimes i feel the cosmos shifts and all of a sudden things are all of a sudden different. over and over and over again starting with "the sopranos," this incredible focus on jersey. "boardwalk empire," the wives of new jersey, the boss, sp

to research, and yet thee diseases have such a marked impact on the lives of far too many families and communities, like the strong family of santa barbara. my constituents, bill and victoria strong, have worked tirelessly on behalf of their daughter, and all children with spinal muscular atrophy and other rare diseases. the work they've done to help research is going to help families all across the nation. i thank them and i thank you. i also wanted to thank the leadership of the energy and commerce committee, chairman upton, ranking member waxman, chairman pitts, ranking member pallone for their dedication to this bill and to the staff, especially to ruth, for working across the aisle and across that capitol that bring a strong bill now to the floor. i ask my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill. i urge swift passage in the senate so we can improve the health and well-being of all infants and children and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: madam speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. lance, the leader on this issue. the speake