ambassador to the united nations, bill richardson. nse time when there was shelling and shortly after the north koreans destroyed a south korean war ship and everyone was on high, high alert. fortunately, i believe the richardson mission to north korea calmed the situation down a bit and things got back to relatively stable situation. relatively normal for as far as north and south korean relations are concerned. and u.s. relations. they haven't really improved but they've stabilized to a certain degree. when i was there, everybody knew that kim jong-il had been very ill and had a bunch of ailments. he did make some appearances but they were grooming kim jong-un his son to be the successor. everyone thought he was 27, 28, 29 years old. we weren't exactly sure how old he was. he had spent a year or two studying in switzerland, spoke some english but it's so secretive the society that that leadership, we really don't know for sure. and everybody had their own speculation. but as i say, it looks like -- it seems at least on the surface, t

. >> this is the environment that bill richardson is entering. ey wanted to send, i believe, a message to the united states and to the world. >> richardson is wrapping up eight years as new mexico's governor, having earlier severed as u.s. ambassador to the united nations and energy secretary. he's been to north korea on several occasions. >> every time i've dealt with them, i try to treat them with respect. i try to be honest with them, but we've had success in dealing with them. we've got an american pilot out. an american prisoner out. we pushed some nuclear negotiations. i got the remains of some of our soldiers out, so every negotiation we've had has worked. and somehow, when ever they have difficulty dealing with either the bush administration, the obama administration, they kind of call me. you know, there's a joke that orrinry people like bill richardson. >> of course, he has to get permission from the obama administration. >> they were a little reluctant. they were a little you know, they want their diplomacy to go through their channels,

ambassador to the u.n., bill richardson.es deeper into a bitter standoff over extending the payroll tax cut as we wait for a new vote on the house majority leader eric cantor if there is any hope for a break through. we want to welcome our viewers from the united states and around the world. breaking news, political headlines and jeanne moos all straight ahead. >>> in a race that seems one front runter after another, the rise and fall. the republican contest, is apparently tightening again. our new poll, a national poll, it shows newt gingrich and mitt romney are dead even. cnn's jim acosta is following the field for us. jim, what's the latest? >> it is hard to call either a leader. newt gingrich is seeing his numbers floating back to earth where romney and paul are waiting for him. the political season greetings for newt gingrich are anything but merry. >> on tvs across early voting states, anti-gingrich attack ads appear to be damaging his candidacy. according to the latest cnn orc poll. republicans across the country, gin

new mexico governor bill richardson's senior adviser is tony nam-kung. he's been to korea 40 times going back to 1990. we're still on the train. i have no idea where it goes. so far, so good. tony, what do you think about this subway? >> it reminds me of an underground bomb shelter, it's so deep. >> reporter: that's what i thought. >> a colorful station with the paintings and the color. it's very crowded midday. a lot of people moving backwards. >> reporter: do people pay for this? >> yes. five per ride. >> reporter: how much is that per u.s.? >> it's about 100 won to the deliver. >> reporter: so it's a nickel. >> most people use six-month passes which they buy for about 100 won. >> reporter: just a dollar. >> very cheap. >> reporter: a dollar they can basically ride for six months? >> that's right. as much as they want. >> reporter: that's a pretty good deal. we're moving now, it's pretty smooth. but sometimes it goes dark. electricity shortages are a problem in north korea. we went to this classroom, the rooms were not well lit, it was so cold you coul

diplomat bill richardson talks about what's ahead for north korea after the death of kim jong-il. and bill clinton and "the office" star mindy share their favorite books from the past year. >>> keep it on this channel for local news, sports and weather. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching. have a good one. [ man ] it's big. responds in a moment's notice. supports in times of need. same with aladdin. aladdin became the biggest in bail by treating people right. no one has lower prices, is faster or more professional than aladdin. that's why more people turn to aladdin than anyone. aladdin bail bonds. bigger because we're better.

governor bill richardson has spent a lot of time in the country.s had an inside look into the north korean leadership. governor richardson, thank you for being with us. >> nice to be with you. thank you. >> our reporter, paula hancock, who was covering this from south korea, but look at the video, we see the same video, it's all provided by the north koreans, said that there did seem to be a difference between the people up close, up front, like anywhere else mourning and wailing the way that they are and the people in the distance who seemed to be onlookers, who seemed to be looking at the whole thing. in other words, was this outcry -- you've been there -- are these people as devastated as they look that kim jong-il has passed? >> well, it's all very choreographed. i do think there's a lot of grief there. it's a funeral procession that is basically based on the cult of personality. kim jong-un, the youngest son, is now the leader. that's the message that is being conveyed. the root of the funeral, the grandfather, the father of the country, then

governor bill richardson has spent a lot of time in the country. had an inside look into the north korean leadership. governor richardson, thank you for being with us. >> nice to be with you. thank you. >> our reporter, paula hancock, who was covering this from south korea, but look at the video, we see the same video, it's all provided by the north koreans, said that there did seem to be a difference between the people up close, up front, like anywhere else mourning and wailing the way that they are and the people in the distance who seemed to be onlookers, who seemed to be looking at the whole thing. in other words, was this outcry -- you've been there -- are these people as devastated as they look that kim jong-il has passed? >> well, it's all very choreographed. i do think there's a lot of grief there. it's a funeral procession that is basically based on the cult of personality. kim jong-un, the youngest son, is now the leader. that's the message that is being conveyed. the root of the funeral, the grandfather, the father of the country, then k

we'll get more on this from bill richardson. take you live to the most dangerous border on earth, the one separating north and south korea. >>> when it comes to the republican primary, what goes up must come down. another gop high flier who is now feeling gravity's pull. newt gingrich's slide in the polls. [ male announcer ] the cold aisle can be overwhelming. [ coughs, sniffles ] especially when you're sick. now, with new simpler packaging, robitussin® makes it simple to get the right relief for your symptoms. new simpler packaging, same effective relief. robitussin®. relief made simple. and video chat with up to 9 of your friends with the galaxy nexus by samsung, or get the samsung stratosphere, and for a limited time, get twice the data for the same low price. verizon. >>> south korean armed forces on high alert tonight and not just because kim jong-il is dead. according to south korea's news agency the north did more missile testing just this morning, just before the death announcement came. and now the man supposedly in cha

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. >> for more on north korea's future, i spoke with the former governor of new mexico bill richardson. thank you very much for being with us. can i ask how much of a dangerous it situation is this moment? >> it is dangerous because of the uncertainty. in the last year, i believe that north korea had been moving in the right direction. they started to talk with south korea. they talked about rhee in gauging the six-party talks. the u.s. and north korea talked about resuming food assistance. their rhetoric was a little bit understated. with kim jong il gone, there is uncertainty over the sun. he is an experienced. is he really going to wield power? what will the north korean military do with the succession? so far, they are accepting it. i think that is good. there are a lot of different power centers there. it is a question that we have to watch over the next few days. they are going to have the funeral on december 28. but very little will be known. it seems that the establishment is rallying behind the son. how much power will they give the son to exercise once he is formally installe

we get a threat assessment from bill richardson. take you live to the most dangerous border on earth. the one separating north and south korea. later, when it comes to the republican primary, what goes up, must come down. another gop high flyer who is feeling gravity's pull. the latest on newt gingrich's slide in the polls. okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. you can put a force field on him and be invisible! [ child 2 ] i call first player. no. i already called it. [ dad ] nobody's playing anything until after we get our homework done. thank you. hello? test drive's not over yet. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. [ louder ] hello? but we still need your signature. right now during sign then drive, it's never been easier to get the all-new passat, the 2012 motor trend car of the year, for practically just your signature. that's the power of german engineering. visit vwdealer.com. >>

so has former new mexico governor bill richardson. today a group of legislators sent a letter to cuba's top diplomat stating gross' incarceration is a major setback in bilateral relations. they are asking that he be released on humanitarian grounds immediately. gross' mother who has lung cancer made a direct plea to raul castro with this video. >> we all miss him terribly. i get up in the morning, first thing on my mind is alan and last thing when i go to bed is alan. i can't be without any longer. it's not fair for him or his family or me. as a parent, i'm sure you can understand that because if you had a child that was away in a foreign country and not being able to be with you for this length of time, i'm sure you wouldn't be happy about that either. >> now the letter also says gross has lost 100 pounds and suffers from several different medical conditions. representative chris van holland and senator dan carden sent the letters. van holland's letter was cosigned by 72 house members. carden's was cosigned by 18 senators. >>> troubl

ambassador and former governor of new mexico bill richardson. he's gone to north korea as a special envoy eight times. >> what's interesting in this situation is kim jong-un, the successor, has not been in the military, has relatively little experience in policy making and is also untested. so the military now will, in my judgment, assume even more power. >> pelley: you don't expect the younger kim to actually be running things? >> well, he'll be the titular head. he'll have power, but not like his father. >> pelley: north korea is given to sudden unexplained spasms of violence. last year ittor pitoed a south korean navel killing 46 sailors. and then it rained 180 artillery shells in a south korean island killing four. the kim dynasty began with kim il sung in 1948 when north korea was born. kim jong-il inherited power in 1992 and since then he's presided over a series of famines. it's estimated as many as two million north koreans have starved. kim jong-il lived a lavish and eccentric life-style. he was a fan of hollywood movies and owned 20,00

foreign affairs. >>> joining us to talk about north korea after kim jong-il's death is governor bill richardson.n. ambassador who has travelled to north korea eight times and helped broker diplomatic deals and win the release of american prisoners there. governor richardson, good morning. thank you for joining us. i guess my first question to you is your reaction when you heard the news? >> well, extreme concern, because north korea, the peninsula, is a tinderbox. this we knew was coming, because of the health of kim jong-il. the issue is going to be, will there be stability in the north korean leadership? will they continue the recent efforts of engaging south korea and the united states over food aid, over nuclear talks? they'd softened a bit, but the question is going to be, first, will the son, the third son we know very little about him, will he really take power with the north korean military commanders supporting him fully and secondly, will they continue what recently was a little thawing in the relationship with south korea, with china, with the united states on the six-party talks, on

the former un ambassador bill richardson has made several trips. >>> tim tebow mania still going strongwe'll look at america's obsession with tebow. mike and andrea, i hope you can join us. >>> we'll have one more check of weather and traffic when 9news now returns. one more thing before we go. here is a look at oh, i don't know, 100 santa clauss. the idea is for everybody to have a good time in the spirit of the holidays. the only rule is to dress festive and as you can see, plenty of people did that. >> my girlfriend thought it was a great idea. we thought dress up. >>> the firstier in buffalo, we wanted to check it out and hopefully this builds into a good thing every singal year. >> it started in san francisco back in 1994, but is now held in more than 200 cities across the country. >>> why do they always call it con? convention, santa con. >>> beautiful day right now, temperatures in the low 50s. tomorrow showers here and there. and temperatures in the up per 40s. we turn wet on wednesday and mild highs near 60. >> on the inner loop of the beltway, here's a look from sky 9. it is a

>> we will ask bill richardson. >>> in the southwest a powerful winter storm moves into the plains and blizzard warnings up from new mexico to kansas where they could get a foot of snow or more just as holiday travel starts to get busy. >>> team tebow and the denver bronc broncos, the fourth quarter miracles stop as the patriots beat denver. "early" this monday morning, december 19th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs >>> good morning. >>> a lot of late developments last night. >> the death of north korea's long time dictator kim jong-il. he was revered as a god-like figure inside that isolated nation and feared and distrusted by nearly everyone outside of it. >> north korea has test-fired a missile raising new concerns over the future of that country's nuclear program. celia hatton is in beijing with the latest for us this morning. >> good morning. >> reporter: the death of kim jong-il has put governments across asia into crisis mode as they try to decide whether it's possible the country could collapse after the loss of its dictator. the shocked news anchor cried as she announced it. th

when he dropped out of the race the ambassador congressman governor of new mexico bill richardson through his support not to the old friend hillary but to the junior senator to illinois who became our 44th president. welcome. great to see you. how are you doing? >> thank you. thank you geraldo. great to be with you. >> i noticed that at least in the iowa caucuses you doubled joe biden and he became vice president. you got two percent he got less than one percent. >> i was always the second tier candidate. in iowa i was second. more than anything else, geraldo, more than polls or newspaper ads or tv ads, what is important in the early primaries and caucuses is organization. who can get your voters for instance in iowa to caucus. it is not a vote. you have to get people to community centers to schools. this is where i think that while newt is up in the polls in iowa the best organized candidate is going to win. there is where i think romney can maybe have an early upset. >> are you suggesting about 250,000 people vote or so in the caucus. so romney is going to send buses to pick up every on

new mexico governor bill richardson's senior adviser has been to north korea 40 times, going back toe're here on a subway train and about to take off. we'll see where it goes. i have no idea where it goes. so far, so good. what do you think about it so far? >> reminds me of an underground bomb shelter. >> that's what i thought. >> it's a very colorful station with all the paintings and the color and it's very crowded midday, a lot of people moving forward and moving backwards. >> do people pay for these? >> yeah. >> how do they? how much is it in u.s.? >> very little, about 100 to $1. >> so five cents, a nickel. most people use passes. >> so that's $1. >> just a dollar, very cheap. >> for a dollar they can ride for six months? >> as much as they want. >> pretty good deal. we're moving, pretty smooth. but sometimes it goes dark, electricity shortages are always a problem in north korea. we went to this high school where students were so cold you could see their breath. the rooms were not well-lit. here we are, this is kim jong il square, it's really huge, magnificent, and they often h

the best thing to do is engage them. >> governor bill richardson, thank you for your time. it is 7:12, once again here's ann. >>> now to the showdown in washington over extending the payroll tax cuts that's set to expire at the end of this year. it's revealing some infighting between republicans on capitol hill. nbc's kelly o'donnell has the latest on this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. you don't see this very often. most senate republicans joined with democrats and the white house to agree on a short-term solution to get past the holidays, but house republicans protested loudly, and that's put speaker john boehner in a visible, awkward position where it could look like republicans are messing up a tax cut, and that's all happening with the deadline of a ticking clock. holiday cheer gone sour. >> it's grinch time in washington. mr. speaker. >> another phony crisis courtesy of the extremist bah humbug house republicans. >> reporter: also congress acts, on january 1st working americans would pay higher taxes and jobless benefits would run dry for many

we'll ask bill richardson. >>> a powerful winter storm moves into the plains.lizzard warnings are up from new mexico to kansas where they could get a foot of snow or more just as holiday travel starts to get busy. >> tim tebow and the denver broncos. for them the fourth quarter miracle miracle's run out, but to be owe mania still alive and well early this monday morning, december 19 2011. >>> from cbs news it's "the early show," with erica hill and chris wragge. >> welcome to "the early show." i'm chris wragge. >> and i'm erica hill. the death of north korea's longtime dictator, kim jong-il, he was revered as a godlike figure and feared and distrusted by everyone outside it. south korea is on alert. >> north korea has test fired a missile raising concerns over the country's nuclear program. silvia is live in beijing. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the death of kim jong-il have put governments across ashiaasia. >> the shocked news anchor cried as she announced it. north korea's so-called dear leader kim jong-il dived a sudden heart attack saturday. the

i traveled there with a delegation and bill richardson and much of it was like nothing i had ever seen help but notice, the propaganda murals everywhere. huge pimtures of the founder and his son, kim jong-il. all over the place. almost at every corner. but we don't see any pictures of kim jong-il's youngest son. as we drive in the capital, we see some impressive looking buildings, including the national sports stadium and ice skating rink, but it's getting late in the day. the hotel was a nice hotel. it was very clean. was not very occupied, i should say, the lobby was lovely. the restaurant was nice. the rooms were sort of plain. nothing too elaborate. maybe 1960s or '70s holiday inn in the midwest some place. >> my initial thoughts were wow, this is another trip to north korea, but again as usual, we don't know what we're getting into. >> i sensed that something was very light -- like something possibly dangerous was going to happen. >> i was having trouble sleeping that first night. wound up waking up at 4:00 a.m. and turned on the tv. no picture. just some fuzz on the screen. i sai

the contrast between north and south in 2006 with bill richardson down to south korea, i have been there and i have flown. i have never done the drive. the contrast with the primitive society. people using hoes and rakes in the dirt. it's 17th century. >> this guy is going to keep us busy all week. >> i think for years. scary stuff. >> thank you both. up next, white house communications director and more of the white house reaction to the death of kim jung il, and what's going on on capitol hill and the issue of gridlock being snatched from the jaws of victory. plus -- we have a lot more on the presidential race. stay tuned. this is "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. what makes scottrade your smartphone's most powerful trading app ? total access - to everything. from idea to research to trade. including financials, indicators and real-time streaming quotes. whether you check your investments every day or every minute, our app can take them from thought to trade. at scottrade, seven-dollar trades are just the start. try our powerful mobile app. it's another reason more investors are sayin

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ambassador and former governor of new mexico bill richardson. he's gone to north korea as a special envoy eight times. >> what's interesting in this situation is kim jong-un, the successor, has not been in the military, has relatively little experience in policy making and is also untested. so the military now will, in my judgment, assume even more power. >> pelley: you don't expect the younger kim to actually be running things? >> well, he'll be the titular head. he'll have power, but not like his father. >> pelley: north korea is given to sudden unexplained spasms of violence. last year ittor pitoed a south korean navel killing 46 sailors. and then it rained 180 artillery shells in a south korean island killing four. the kim dynasty began with kim il sung in 1948 when north korea was born. kim jong-il inherited power in 1992 and since then he's presided over a series of famines. it's estimated as many as two million north koreans have starved. kim jong-il lived a lavish and eccentric life-style. he was a fan of hollywood movies and owned 20,00

bill richardson who has traveled to north korea many times points to several major concerns now. >> the peninsula is a tinderbox. this we knew was coming because of the health of kim jong il. the issue is going to be will there be stability in the north korean leadership. will they continue the recent efforts of engaging south korea and the united states over food eight over nuclear snauks. >>> newscasts showed north koreans weeping inconsolably for the man they called the dear leader. kim's youngest son, kim jong un now in charge. very little is known about him, but the ruling workers party has already dubbed him the great successor. the white house says it is closely monitoring the situation in north korea. we are told that president obama spoke with his south korean counterpart reconfirming the u.s. commitment to stability in the korean peninsula as well as the freedom and security of america's allies. going to bring you live reports from around the world. >>> well, the sudden death of the dictator leads an unsettling leadership vacuum on the korean peninsula. anna koran, she's joini