the president has nominated brett mcgurk to represent our interests against the myriad of significant challenges in iraq. mr. mcgurk, perhaps due to his great upbringing in pittsburgh, pennsylvania is imen enthely capable to assume this position. of course, there are other reasons for his preparation, but it doesn't hurt that you have roots in pittsburgh. he's been engaged in u.s. policy in iraq since 2004, advising every u.s. ambassador at post in iraq. he has an intimate understanding of the political players and history of iraq as well as the role of the u.s., the role since 2004. his unique experience across two administrations is very good preparation to establish a leadership vision for the embassy that reflects u.s. diplomatic security and economic interests. mr. mcgurk is the right choice at the right time in u.s./iraq diplomatic relations. mr. mcgurk, welcome, and we'll hear from you in a moment. if sri lanka's three years after the end of more than a quarter century of devastating civil war, we also see a mixed picture. on the one hand, the end of the conflict has led to str

brett mcgurk had come under fire from senate republicans over revelations of a racy email exchange withhe wall street journal reporter while he served in iraq in 2008. mcgurk and the reporter later married. she resigned from the wall street journal last week. in a major victory for native americans, the supreme court has ruled the government must reimburse tribes for the cost of running federal programs after apparently shortchanging them for years. the navajo and other native american tribes have filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the government withheld millions of dollars by imposing a cap on payments for police, education, and other programs. the court ruled 5 to 4 along unconventional lines with conservative justices siding with the tribes. republican presidential candidate mitt romney visited wisconsin monday as part of a six-day bus tour. his campaign has used the jaunt to assess a number of prospective vice-presidential nominees, including wisconsin congressmember paul ryan. on monday, romney appeared with ryan as well as wisconsin and a governor scott walker on the heels of

brett mcgurk had faced opposition from senate republicans, after disclosures that he had an extramarital affair with a journalist. she later became his wife. in a letter today to the president, mcgurk said it was in the nation's best interests-- and his own-- that he remove his name from consideration. in syria, fresh shelling ripped through the embattled city of homs. smoke billowed from buildings as syrian forces fired on rebel- held neighborhoods. that was despite u.n. appeals to allow evacuations of families, the elderly, and the wounded. a spokeswoman for the u.n. observer mission called again today for both sides to allow humanitarian measures. >> to change their positions and release these civilians without any preconditions. they must ensure their safety. they must protect and respect their human life. if and when the decision is taken by both parties to release the civilians, we are ready and will be there and monitor their evacuation. >> sreenivasan: the surge in violence forced the 300 u.n. observers to suspend their mission on saturday. meanwhile, president obama and russian

. >> reporter: the embarrassing emails hit the web two weeks ago, just one day before brett mcgurk's nomination hearing in the senate. the exchanges documented a budding romance between mcgurk, who was married at the time, and gina chon, a "wall street journal" reporter, posted in iraq. the emails ranged from flirtatious teasing to discussion of sexual frustration. can i hide in your brief case and bring a sophisticated recording device, chon asked. mcgurk, who has served five u.s. ambassadors to iraq, was already facing formal opposition from senate republicans who felt he botched sensitive security talks with the iraqis forcing the u.s. to withdraw all armed forces from the country last year. the 39-year-old also faced questions about whether he had the experience to head america's largest embassy. with a $4 billion budget and reportedly more than 16,000 personnel in one of the world's most volatile regions. but as recently as sunday, the white house wouldn't budge. senior adviser david plouffe. >> we made in nomination and we think he would ably son. >> chon, who is now married to

brett mcgurk's judgment was questioning of sexually suggestive e-mails exposed his affair with a "wall street journal" reporter while both were in iraq. in those e-mails, mcgurk implied he would give gina chon access to sensitive information if their relationship blossomed. >>> it turns out two strikes and the federal government is out. former pitcher roger clemens has been acquitted on all charges of lying to congress. it's the second time he's been tried for denying the use of performance-enhancing drugs while testifying before congress. this time, clemens choked up as he left court. >> all you media guys that know me and follow my career -- >> clemens would go on to say that he put a lot of hard work into his career. the government spent some four years investigating him. in the end, the case rested on one witness. and the jurors didn't believe him. >>> and it's not your typical morning traffic jam. take a look. farmer in china decided to take his 5,000 ducks for a walk. they wanted to take a dip in a nearby pond, of course. but they had to waddle their way three-quarters of a mile

brett mcgruk is involved in a scandal. according to reports when the two were married to others, mcgurk had an affair with gina chong. they are now married. >>> word leaders in mexico appear to have a plan to help europe's economic problems from spreading to the rest of the world. >> susan mcginnis has more on that and growing tensions between the united states and russia about syria. >> reporter: fireworks lit up the skies in mexico where the g20 summit is being held. they were being set off as word spread that the group will announce today a plan to fight the economic crisis in europe. it calls for government spending to create jobs and growth, something president obama has been pushing for. >> so that the economy grows, the situation stabilizes, confidence returns to the markets. >> reporter: this comes amid concerns that spain may need a bailout as a result of high interest rates on money it borrows. >> they really can't afford to borrow. >> reporter: a separate discussion took place at the summit between president obama and russian president vladimir putin, this one lasted far longer than expected. >> the fact t

mcgurk. she adds while she was working in iraq, brett never gave me sensitive or classified information, nore trade his knowledge for my affection. nbc seems to have cornered the market on presidential offspring like chelsea clinton. so when the "today" show had an opportunity to interview the 41st president of the united states, the call went out to his granddaughter. and it seemed like jenna bush hager was having a leisurely chat at a family reunion. >> there were waterworks. full disclosure, i tried as hard as i possibly could not to cry, but we are the family cryers. sometimes i know you can hear me, but you pretend you can't. >> right. >> why do you do that? >> it keeps you on the ball. >> what about the role of husband? what's it been like being married to ganny? >> it's been a challenge and a reward. >> i don't want to be too hard on jenna, but whatever this was, it wasn't journalism. would nbc have gotten the interview without sending a close relative? there's just something like fox & friends. we all know the gang doesn't think much of the president. remember that harshly anti-obama