plus, the man who chose wolf as the journalist, an interview with new mexico governor bill richardson. >>> and former president bill clinton touches down in haiti. you're in "the situation room." [ male announcer ] this isn't a country where plans made at 9... necessarily apply at 5. this is america, man. home of the highway... last minute detours and spontaneous acts of freedom. ♪ we're wanderers. wayfarers. even nomads. so doesn't it just make sense that we build an electric car... that goes...far. really far. ♪ >>> i'm wolf blitzer in beijing this morning. early morning thursday, already here, we're getting ready to head off to north korea in the next fewer hours. i'm here with governor bill richardson, the former ambassador of the united nations. he's been invited by the north koreans to go there. i'm going along to cover this trip and we'll speak with him in just a moment. tom foreman is standing by. this is an incredibly tense moment. the tensions may be the most serious since 1953. set the scene for us. what is going on with north korea's missile capability. >> that is one of t

that there is not a lot of detail of course while the trip is ongoing, but one thing is certain, bill richardsons going through a rigidly structured visit and governor richardson will be asked important questions about the whole thing when he returns. >> i'm not here as a representative of the obama administration. >> reporter: he may not have been sent by washington, but governor bill richardson's visit to pyongyang may give u.s. officials a fresh sense of intelligence on a aging dictator and the inner circle when he returns. mike green, the former security council administrator says he knows pretty much what will happen when richardson comes back. you have done the debriefings, so what kind of questions will he face? >> well, if he meets kim jong-il, there will be some questions about his health, and the command of the room. but he probably won't. and people are still going to be interested in the government and in hearing what was the propaganda line he was given and trying to read the tea leaves to see if the north koreans are moving in a different direction or not. >> reporter: they will as

governor bill richardson says he has a new offer from the north koreans. the north will allow a u.n. nuclear inspectors expelled last year back into the country. p'yongyang may also sell nuclear fuel, getting rid of some of the material that could be used to build bombs. and consider his proposal for a joint military commission to work with the u.s. to try to reduce tension along the border. >> my meetings with the north koreans, they are always very strong in their position. they were very strong on their message. they are sometimes -- but i notice a pragmatic attitude on their part. >> inspectors have for years tried to get an accurate picture of the north's nuclear facilities. china welcomed the suggestion. they may be allowed back in. in seoul, lawmakers were briefed by the defense minister on the military drills close to the disputed border. officials have so far given a cool response to the offer from the north, hinting it still has not been officially confirmed by the government of p'yongyang. >> the latest headlines, for more than nine months of wr

nuclear inspections of its uranium enrichment during talks in pyongyang with bill richardson. he's the governor of the u.s. state of new mexico. but gibbs said the united states is not interested in words but in actions. he said north korea is not living up to its obligations. >>> a giant christmas decoration has been illuminated by south korea near the border with north korea for the first time in seven years. the north has called the move a provocative act. ♪ the lighting ceremony took place on tuesday evening amid heavy security, attended by around 400 people. the ceremony was an annual event since the 1950s. it was suspended in 2004 under an interkorean agreement to end border propaganda activity. the south korean military's decision to resume the yearly ritual followed last month's shelling of yeonpyeong island by north korea and the sinking of a south korean warship in march. north korea said this is part of the south's psychological warfare and such an irrational provocative act could trigger a new armed conflict. >>> subway authorities in washington have begun random c

envoy bill richardson to attempt to have u.n. inspectors in north korea? >> the u.s. governor bill richardson said he came back with positive signals from p'yongyang, but the view from officials in seoul is the north is sticking with their two track policy like in the past. on one hand, they are signaling dialogue, but at the same time keeping up the military pressure to remind the u.s. and south korea of a doctor -- of a darker picture. analysts see this as a typical from the north as they jointed walk away from nuclear talks for years what continuing to buy time to develop their nuclear program. >>> the greek parliament has approved next year's budget which imposes the spending cuts and sharp tax hikes. this was an exchange for 110 billion euros of bailout from the imf and the european union. earlier, demonstrators against the measure hit the streets. >> in the end, their resistance was blown away. all day, they had demonstrated outside of the greek parliament, striking trade union members determined to stop the government's plans for an austerity budget. previous p

i know that bill richardson has been having meetings with the north. he has some proposals, apparently, he put out on the table. are we learning any more about those proposals yet? >> they're designed, t.j., mostly to see if they can restore some dialogue between north and south korea, some dialogue, if you will, between the north and the united states. they're aggressively seeking china's involvement, china's got enormous influence in north korea, and they'd like china to play a much more positive role. so far they say that hasn't happened. but there's a whole series of steps apparently richardson's putting forward in his meeting with one of the senior foreign ministry officials on friday. in charge of u.s. affairs for north korea. he put -- he started to put some of these proposals earlier today he met with the chief nuclear negotiator and they elaborated. those meetings are going to continue. now, sunday morning, local time, he's going to meet with the top military official in charge of the dmz. and that's going to be a critically important meeting

he is with governor bill richardson, and he is on the phone now.erstand, can you hear me? >> yes, i hear you fine. >> i understand it is 8:15 in the morning there, friday morning, and can you give us a sense when you arrive and what is on the first full day agenda? >> yes, it is a snowy day outside, but it is an important day for bill richardson, the u.s. governor. the governor of new mexico, and the former secretary of energy, former u.n. ambassador. he's got meetings today scheduled with high-ranking north korean officials including the new vice minister for u.s. affairs, a man by the name of rejiang ho and they are in the process of renegotiating and what he is going to be allowed to do and see. there is a major meeting tomorrow agreed to with the north korea nuclear chief negotiator, and he is the first vice minister, and he is the man who invited governor richardson to come here to pyongyang for the meetings. tonig tonight, there is an official welcoming banquet here in governor richardson's honor, and that is first efforts to cool the situati

and with me now from santa fe is new mexico governor bill richardson. a former u.n.mbassador, he's been to north korea seven times over the past 16 years, to help free shot down helicopter pilots, recover remains of american servicemen killed during the korean war and to promote nuclear disarmament on the peninsula. and governor, well cook, thanks for joining us on this christmas eve. >> thank you, merry christmas to all of you. >> warner: you're one of the few americans who has history ever meeting with north korean officials on the ground there. what was the atmosphere of the talks this time? what was their attitude? >> well, it was different than in other times in two ways. the first difference was, the state of tension in north korea over the drills and in the entire peninsula was the highest and most negative that i'd ever seen. the second is that there is a new core of north korean officials that i was dealing with in the foreign ministry. in the defense department in the military, and i was encouraged because there was more of a pragmatic streak in this core o

someone makes a mistake. >> that is the point of governor bill richardson's visit to north korea to try to lessen tensions. far easier shed, said, shep, than done. >> shepard: the russians are trying to blame south korea for the tension. the truth is, jonathan, at its core, this is china and north korea vs. south korea and the united states. it's proxy situation. >> absolutely. russia is an important player in this as well. russia initially criticized north korea after north koreans attacked south korea in the wake of those november 23rd live fire exercises. now the russians appear to be changing their tune. they called the u.s. and south korean ambassador into their foreign ministry in moscow today and asked them, asked the south koreans not to conduct these live fire exercises. asked the u.s. officials to put pressure on south korea to bring about a cancellation of those exercises. at this point, shep, there is no indication that the u.s. is going to pressure south korea to call off these planned live fire exercises it remains a tinderbox out there as governor bill richardson said. >>

blitzer is the only reporter with bill richardson on the trip. beijing, wolf asked richardson about the tension in the region. >> it's the highest i've ever seen. i've been involved with north korea for the last 10, 15 years. we've negotiated release of prisoners, of remains of american soldiers, negotiated on the nuclear agreement. i've been an envoy officially and unofficially. i can't remember when the tension wasn't as high as it is now. and you worried about some kind of action hastening a potential war. and we have to avoid that at all costs. >> you can see wolf's entire interview on "the situation room" today. >>> richardson, who will be in the region for four days, not going as a representative of the u.s. government. he was invited privately by north korean officials, specifically kim gi-gong, the senior nuclear negotiator. with regard to the tensions, there have been tough talk from both koreas after north korea shelled a south korean island last month. >>> south korea just announced today they will conduct naval fire drills near the att

they spoke -- wolf was -- is with bill richardson. vernor has already met with both sides to talk about key issues. >> it sets the stage for a more important meeting tomorrow that richardson will have with the chief nuclear negotiator of north coria, the man who invited him -- richardson here, they'll have a meeting tomorrow and there will be a big banquet in richardson's honor tonight. so i think they're pleased that the discussions have moved forward. >> you can see more of wolf blitzer's report on "the situation room" starting at 5:00 eastern today. >>> to pakistan where three suspected drone attacks occurred in the tribal region. that's the region that borders afghanistan that you can see there in the orange. cnn's pentagon correspondent is in islamabad, chris lawrence. he joins me live from there now. chris, what's the latest? >> one thing that this shows is want only is the u.s. both increasing the frequency and the intensity of drone strikes, but they're now expanding into new areas of pakistan in a very big way. all three of th

a cnn crew is accompanying new mexico governor bill richardson, who has held talks with north korean officials in the north. it also reported that the north has agreed to negotiate the sale of 12,000 fuel rods and ship them to another country. if the report proves true, it suggests that north korea may be ready to take concrete steps toward denuclearization of the korean peninsula. south korea's foreign ministry has responded cautiously. ministry spokesperson kim young sun said it is as yet unclear what activities north korea will allow the inspectors to carry out. he added south korea needs to take various factors into consideration before it can determine north korea's intentions. >>> that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo. we'll be back in half an hour. thanks for joining us on nhk world.

bill richardson will leave the u.s. for north korea tomorrow. he has served as diplomatic troublhooter in years past and has made regular visits to the region >> investigators are trying to figure out what caused a fire at a kennel that killed four dogs this weekend. early yesterday morning flames destroyed a farm on neptune lane near pennsylvania avenue in calvert county,maryland. rescuers were able to save 100 other dogs housed in a kennel on the property. the facility is nationally known for its champion american staffordshire terriers. no people were hurt. >>> 6:35. 32 degrees. dskins's not so special performance. the performance was so bad it almost brought one player to tears. ♪ >> flashmob will be spreading holiday cheer later today, but it could also slow down your commute. >> it is cold. we have snow around the region this morning. weather and traffic together on the ones next. >>> he the redskins are watching. beacon house falcons pop warner team won the 75 pound and under championship, winning 19-0. the beacon hse is a nonprofit after

. >>> bill richardson has until friday to decide if he's going to pardon billy the kid. the outlaw was convicted of killing a sheriff back in the 1870s are but apparently a territorial governor promised the kid amnesty in return for testimony in another murder case. he broke that promise. now richardson must decide if that's reason enough for a pardon. >>> a woman is dead at a popular safari park in the north bay. that's after a tree came crashing down in the storm on her tent. we're going to have a live report from santa rosa. plus there are encouraging new signs that the salmon is making a comeback. what that means for fishermen and fresh salmon in the market. >>> that's going to do it for us at noon. have a great day. w t ileororr li irore

meanwhile, new mexico governor bill richardson is wrapping up a five-day mission to north korea. >>> another busy day ahead for the u.s. senate set to vote on whether to move forward on an arms treaty wit russia. the treaty would put lower limits on each country's supply of strategic nuclear warheads. the senate's republican leader mitch mcconnell opposes the deal concerned it would hamper u.s. missile defense efforts. >> all of a sudden we're once again frying to rush things before christmas eve. i think that was not the best way to get our support. >> barring a setback, we believe we're on the path to victory by the end of the week. >> the debate in the senate is set to resume about two hours from now. >>> it is 5:07. the victims of the san bruno blast unleashed their anger. >> don't tell me one thing and say another thing over and over again. >> the new findings that pg&e took shortcuts with its inspections. >>> and the competition for the america's cup heats up. why san francisco may no longer be a shoein. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> showers are coming down heavy. north bay we are seeing

. -- bill richardson arrived in beijing on tuesday after visiting north korea. richardson was on a private trip. let's talk about consumer confidence. >> germany coming out on the high end. consumer confidence is falling in the euros on suggesting that europeans might cut back on purchases as they prepare for further government spending cuts and higher taxes. it is a different story in germany where a survey shows that consumer confidence remains high in the largest economy. >> consumers have been walking into department stores and shopping centers across germany. some items are now in short supply. germans continue to spend even though some expectations fell from november to december. sentiment is much higher compared to last december. in december 2009, the consumer confidence index was 3.6. since then, it has risen to 5.5. consumer confidence for 2011 is expected to depend heavily on the outcome of wage negotiations. trade unions are expected to have more leverage but public sector employees are generally skeptical about whether they will get significant pay i

american politician bill richardson is traveling. we have this report from seoul, korea. >> it was not just the liberal threats from north korea. south korea counted down for its live fire exercises. they blamed the u.s. for being a bigger threat on the peninsula and north korea and called for the drills to stop. but despite such concerns of other voices of restraint in the region, south korea went ahead with eli fire drills on schedule. on the island, villagers and journalists were moved to bunkers and the exercise went on for about 60 minutes, and then they asked why north korea has to carry out these at such a sensitive time. some believe it was that they wanted to prove a point. the government here is try not to be prescriptive about when and where military drills can take place. >> the ongoing live fire exercise on yeonpyeong island is a standard and legitimate defense exercise. the exercise is a matter of national sovereignty. >> earlier, the north had warned that if the exercises went ahead, it would attack the south more stro

state of new mexico, bill richardson visited earlier this month. >> my primary mission was to offer proposals to get a dialogue started again on the korean peninsula, and i believe we've made good progress. >> he said north korean officials told him they will accept the inspectors from the international atomic energy agency. richardson revealed they agreed to sell spent nuclear fuel rods to foreign nations. the rods could be used to develop nuclear weapons. the diplomatic sources confirm north korea is considering inviting u.n. inspectors to yongbyong but it wants the u.s., japan and south korea to compromise on the nuclear program. japan has learned north korea has set a high price for the sale of nuclear fuel rods. five times the going rate. this is seen as a sign the country has no intention of selling the rods. china is calling for an emergency meeting on the six-party talks on the nuclear program, but the u.s., japan and south korea have rejected the plan. speaking to nhk, japan's top nuclear negotiator used a baseball metaphor to describe the situation. >> translator: north korea is thr

governor of new mexico, bill richardson, is currently visiting north korea and said the north agreed fofto have atommic energy inspectors. the north agreed to have other countries buy its 12,000 nuclear fuel rods. they are designed for nuclear reactors that use plutonium. these are seen as stems towards denuclearizizati denuclearizization. >>> the united states has reacted cautiously to reports that north korea has agreed to allow u.n. inspectors to return to it its nuclear facilities. >> we've seen a string of broken promises by north korea going back many, many years. we'd be guided by what north korea does, not by what it does it might do. >> the u.s. government maintains that north korea needs to stop provocative behavior and take positive steps towards denuclearization. >>> the anti-whaling group is set for a new season of protests against japan. the group launched a new boat on monday to intercept whaling operations in the an arctic ocean. it left tasmania to join two other boats that set sail earlier this month. the boat is capable of traveling at 44 kilometers per hour faster

bill richardson has been describing the situation between north and south as a tinderbox and has urged extreme restraint by the north. he says that they it should allow the south's military exercise to go ahead. >> the tokens left behind by mothers forced to abandon their babies in 18th-century england have gone on display at the museum in london. this is on the side of the old foundling hospital. >> here, every page of every book is infested of the motion. each one recourse the moment when an impoverished mother handed over her baby to the care of the foundling hospital. a note was made of the child's scant possessions. unable to write, the mother would leave a scrap of material so she could one day identify her child. among the 50,000 children abandoned, only 152 wherever reclaimed by their mothers. a baby called charles was one of the lucky ones. >> she had sewn in a heart so that when she came back to claim her child, not only was the fabric back together but the heart was rejoined. >> the huge numbers of children dying on the streets of 18th- century london have sparked a new wage

bill richardson was very important.her's opinion on clean energy. bill richardson was an adviser to him. he drafted my father to head up his efforts in campaign finance reform here in new mexico. dad got a piece of advice. one thing that excite my father was the fact that governor richards said was running for president of the united states. he was a big supporter of bill richardson. i give you my governor -- i give you the governor, bill richardson, a good friend of dad.and my [applause] >> senator udall, you are going to have one of the great legacy is that your father brought to this country. boys, clean up that oil spill. [applause] i say that because stewart udall was a man of action. he liked to have meetings. you know how people like to have meetings in commission. stewart was a man of action. i feel that he is here right now. he has his big paws us. he had the biggest hand. if you ever notice? he was somebody who loved to this land. he loved this country. he loved the wilderness. his words were as big as a page.

. >>> overseas this morning, new mexico governor bill richardson is on an unofficial diplomatic mission to north korea. he flew to the north korean capital from china and spoke with chinese leaders about the latest crisis on the korean peninsula. the state department says he carries no official message from the u.s. government. >>> cbs moneywatch time. a mixed day for stocks in asia. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. ashley, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, terrell. asian markets traded cautiously amid new concerns about europe's debt problems. japan's nikkei was flat while hong kong's hang seng lost more than one percent. >>> today, wall street gets the latest on the housing starts and a look at weekly jobless claim numbers. wednesday stocks dipped after an early rally ran out of steam. the dow lost 19 points, while the nasdaq was down 10. >>> foreclosure filings fell last month to their lowest level in a year and a half. 67,000 homes were repossessed in november, a 28% decline from the month before. but, experts warn the drop is mostly due to several

also this week, new mexico governor bill richardson met with north korean military leaders in pyongyang. he reportedly secured a deal that will allow nuclear inspectors back into the country. joining me now here in new york, ian bremmer. he is president and founder of the eurasia group. from boston, david sanger, he is chief washington correspondent of the "new york times." i am pleased to have both of them back on this program. welcome. david, where are we in this story? >> you know, with north korea, you're always wondering exactly where you are, but if you take the day's events in the spectrum of the year, we're looking better than it was just a few days or weeks ago. the north koreans did not respond the way they had promised to the south korean drills and that may indicate that they are pulling back from the brink a little bit. the offers that they made to governor richardson to allow "eyeopener" inspectors back in would... i.a.e.a. inspectors back in would begin to restore things back to where they were around the time that president obama came into office. the inspectors left nor

an opening for pound gang to return to gaia log over its controversial nuclear program earlier bill richardson had said the secretive state would allow inspectors from the international atomic energy agency to examine their facilities he also praised north korea's pragmatism and not responding to the south recent military exercises near the disputed sea border town gang said it would not retaliate over what is called a provocation despite previous threats on the weekend russia called an emergency meeting of review with thirty council warning that neutrals would activate. but the delegates reach the conclusion analysts say the war games are starving the area of balance on the peninsula this is a fourth direct provocation of the u.s. south korean military exercises in less than a month we're really talking about many many ships in the area fifty to seventy ships hundreds of aircraft tens of thousands of troops operating just a few miles three to seven miles off of north korea's coast many miles north of the demilitarized zone that in itself is a provocation so here is south korea u.s. and backin

ambassador bill richardson says the north koreans promised to do just that. he believes after the latest border dispute with south korea the north is acting more realistic. >> a view perhaps that they'd moved a little too far down the precipice and that it was time to come back and pull back and start negotiations again. >> a state department spokesman said if north korea really wants to resume nuclear inspections it should tell the u.n. agency directly. >>> just ahead on the morning news on this tuesday, a check of the overseas markets and on "moneywatch" report with ashley morrison. plus a rare lunar eclipse on the start of winter solstice. first, though, katie couric has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." >> the billionaire's giving pledge. we'll talk with two billionaires who have signed up to give away the majority of their wealth to charity. so that story and more tonight, only on the "cbs evening news." [ female announcer ] keurig has over 200 varieties of gourmet coffee and tea to choose from. it's the way to individually brew fresh, delicious

. >>> meanwhile, new mexico governor, bill richardson, has left north korea after what he calls a positive visit. richardson says the north koreans are ready to allow u.n. nuclear inspectors back into the country. and that will return -- and that they will return to multinational nuclear talks. south korea's president says his country is ready to retaliate against the north, if it continues its recent provocative behavior. >>> in britain, a dozen suspects are being questioned about an alleged large-scale terror plot. they were rounded up in four british cities early monday. all the men were believed to have links to pakistan and to bangladesh. those arrests come on the heels of warnings about possible terror plots, both in europe and here in the u.s., possibly during the holidays. our diane sawyer talked to homeland security chief, janet napolitano about that. >> reporter: what do you say to the american people right now about the degree of anxiety that's just realistic right now, as we head into the holidays? >> well, what i say to the american people is that we are and thousands of peopl

but outgoing new mexico governor bill richardson, currently in north korea, managed to broker a deal. and as of tonight, negotiations are under way. and the standoff apparently has been avoided. >>> if you've heard that roaring sound from washington this week, it's taken a lot of americans by surprise. suddenly, a torrent of votes on big issues in congress. like eliminating, don't ask, don't tell. why is congress fired up just before the new term? john karl tells us. >> reporter: don't call it a lame duck. this congress has accomplished more in the last six days than in the previous six months -- the repeal of don't ask, don't tell which passed over the weekend, the first step in lifting the ban on gays serving in the military. >> a thrilling day. >> this is indeed an historic day. >> reporter: late last night, it was food safety -- the senate passed sweeping new regulations designed to prevent outbreaks of tainted foods. and all this after the tax cut bill -- extending the bush era income tax cuts for everyone, adding even more tax cuts and extending unemployment insurance. and there

. >> reporter: the escalating tensions on the heels of new mexico governor bill richardson's unofficial visit to north korea meeting with government and military leaders during his four-day trip and called for pyongyang to show maximum restraint. and south korea continues to defend military drills saying they have done it on a monthly basis for years. terrell? >> preeti arla in washington for us this morning. preeti, thanks. >>> it's going to be a wet christmas on the west coast. a powerful storm is raising fears of mud slides in and around los angeles. l.a. could get another two or three inches of rain today. on top of the two to four inches it got over the weekend. as ben tracy reports, this massive rainmaker is causing serious trouble. >> reporter: in sacramento, california, you would be better off with a boat than a car. >> i've never seen it like this, in years! >> reporter: in spokane, washington, icy streets caused a multi-car pile-up, and howling winds near seattle sent a tree crashing through a house. >> the roar of the wind was horrible. we were covering our ears. it was awful

bill richardson had said the secretive state would have no inspectors from the international atomic energy agency to examine the facilities he also praised north korea's president isn't responding to the south's recent military exercises near the disputed seaboard it go hearing it said it would not retaliate of what it's called a provocation despite previous threats intended to show that it's going through the council warning that mutuals could argue that tensions on the peninsula the delegates failed to reach a conclusion it's a real games are disturbing the precarious balance of syria. this is a fourth direct provocation of u.s. south korean military exercises in less than a month we're really talking about many many ships in the area fifty to seventy ships hundreds of aircraft tens of thousands of troops operating just a few miles three to seven miles off of north korea's coast many miles north of the demilitarized zone that in itself is a provocation so here is south korea us and backing support and u.s. participation and the united states moving nuclear powered a nuclear weapon aircra

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visit provided an opening for him to return to dialogue over its controversial nuclear program bill richardson said the secretive state would allow inspectors from the international atomic energy agency to examine their facilities and also praised north korea's president says i'm not responding to the south's recent military exercises near the disputed seaboard of pyongyang said it would not retaliate what it's called a provocation this is what previous threats we tend to show an emergency meeting of your security council warning that you drills could aggravate tensions on the peninsula but delegates failed to reach a conclusion. of games at the stove in the protests about incidents of. this is the fourth direct provocation of us south korean military exercises in less than a month we're really talking about many many ships in the area fifty to seventy ships hundreds of aircraft tens of thousands of troops operating just a few miles three to seven miles off of north korea's coast many miles north of the demilitarized zone that in itself is a provocation so here is south korea us and backing su

. -- bill richardson arrived in beijing on tuesday after visiting north korea. richardson was on a private trip. let's talk about consumer confidence. >> germany coming out on the high end. consumer confidence is falling in the euros on suggesting that europeans might cut back on purchases as they prepare for further government spending cuts and higher taxes. it is a different story in germany where a survey shows that consumer confidence remains high in the largest economy. >> consumers have been walking into department stores and shopping centers across germany. some items are now in short supply. germans continue to spend even though some expectations fell from november to december. sentiment is much higher compared to last december. in december 2009, the consumer confidence index was 3.6. since then, it has risen to 5.5. consumer confidence for 2011 is expected to depend heavily on the outcome of wage negotiations. trade unions are expected to have more leverage but public sector employees are generally skeptical about whether they will get significant pay i

new mexico governor bill richardson, frequent administration trouble-shooter arrived in north korea today for unofficial talks. >>> the founder of the wikileaks website won a victory in a british courtroom today. correspondent shannon bream has the latest chapter in the legal fight over julian assange. >> julian assange is now a free man, although with limitations. he was allowed to leave prison after nine days behind bars. assange is resisting extradition to sweden where he is accused of sex crimes. conditions of the release do not mandate he stay away from computers and today he sounded eager to get back to the keyboard. >> i hope this continues my work and continue to protest my innocence in this matter. >> as the legal proceedings pay out, u.s. authorities are making progress on to wikileaks matter as well. >> harmed our national interest and we are certainly in the process of ongoing, active criminal investigation. >> at a hearing before the house judiciary committee today, legal activist ralph nader told lawmakers he believe reaction to the wikileaks document dump is being overblown