for the past couple of weeks i talked to the republicans on capitol hill. he jumped in and endorsed mitt romney, very splashy in iowa. he kept using the term over and over again "electable." particularly in the senate where the republicans want to be in the majority in 2013. they're so in the minority. they look at newt gingrich at the top of the ticket. they are worried. there aren't people that are super excited about mitt romney >> bret: up on capitol hill. >> yes. for republicans on the hill who think about trying to wield power not just complain, they think they need the president in the white house and need a top of ticket to get them in the majority to do things. >> bret: isn't there one school of thought who says folks on capitol hill thinking behind one candidate somehow the outsider element, the grassroots element somehow helps newt gingrich? like anti-establishment. >> it probably helps him quite a bit. i would point out, though, that at the end of the day, the reason that you see outsider candidates, grass roots fuel candidates win they are good

does that include my former colleagues on capitol hill?does that mean that speaker boehner's going to freeze his staff until 2015? if duck durbin had done that to me i'd be i'm out. >> maybe luke can speak to this. >> $174,000 is the salary. in the current structure they would actually freeze the salaries of members of congress as well. it would look terrible if you said look i'm going to freeze joe smith federal worker and then we're going to continue to keep our salaries and could grow over the years. >> certainly, luke, a situation that continues to develop. thank you for your latest dispatch information and sage views as always. the occupy movement is seeking to liberate the foreclosure crisis based on what they've accomplished with wall street. what can we expect for housing? that's next. >>> occupy wall street kicks off an occupy our homes campaign today in 20 cities. the point is to bring more attention to the growing foreclosure crisis in america. if that's news for you, here's your crib sheet. 4.29% of homes in this country are in

there's capitol hill under a cloudy sky. 49. and we have wind out of the northwest gusting around 5 to 15. that wind's going to get a little blusterier as the day gets going. now the rain has xwexited. farther to the west, some breaks in the clouds. ought to have a nice sunrise. pictures coming up for you on nbc 4. be sure to tune in after 7:00 this morning. i'll have those for you. the clouds are setting up for a gorgeous sunrise. we're in the mid and upper 40s throughout much of the region, from the mountains all the way to the chesapeake bay. if you are travel, yes, it is snowing in new york state, new hampshire, vermont, and massachusetts down towards new york city. there may be flight delays getting into new england through the day. elsewhere, scattered showers, carolinas down to florida. if you are traveling to the center of the country, shouldn't have any travel problems, maybe around minneapolis and st. paul. that area is going to get snow shortly after the next few hours. there's snow in southern new mexico, las cruces,

we usually have fact free discussion here on capitol hill. is that as we're moving toward the christmas holidays, most of the members are practicing their religion, which is confusionism. and i think that we're going to see that unemployment insurance benefits as well as the payroll holiday are going to be extended. i don't think people can leave with -- without doing something on that. but i think that the country is probably confused also over the fact that we are putting more emphasis on things than people. and they are -- look, we have five unemployed for every one job opening in this country. that means that we are in the midst of a crisis, a disaster. so even if we're -- it's costing money, we've got to respond to the disaster. so there's a lot going on here on capitol hill but it's almost like a rocking chair, a lot of motion but going nowhere. >> confusionism, i think is my favorite phrase of the day. i know you're chair of the congressional black caucus, as we talk about income inequality in the country, what has happened to african-

gwen: and some is happening on capitol hill. another stare them down standoff on capitol hill. will the payroll tax holiday be extended? will the congress force the president to approve a canada to texas oil pipeline and will the government shut down? the last answer is not yet. the other two are up in the air. where does all the brinksmanship stand tonight, jeanne? >> well, once again -- gwen: doesn't roll your eyes at me. [laughter] >> one game they are really good at is kick the can down the road. and it appears that's where we are tonight. that an agreement was reached on capitol hill early this evening to extend the payroll tax, unemployment benefits for two months. and so they will be back at it in february. and attached to that is some language that would force the white house to provide an earlier decision on the transcanada keystone pipeline. that's going to cut across the country if it's approved. we've not seen that language. senator conrad early or late this afternoon told bloomberg reporter that that language was not problematic. that where they got stuck was tryin

you are looking live at capitol hill.they want senators to return to christmas vacation and work toward a longer term extension. the tax cut is 2%, roughly $1,000 a year for someone who makes $50,000 a year. >>> back here, police are looking for three armed men that they say stormed a cupertino jewelry store in a brazen heist. detectives are resuming security footage from monday morning -- reviewing security footage from monday morning to come up with suspect descriptions. they enter the store at 11:15 years and the suspects were last seen running west on rodriguez avenue wearing black ski masks. >>> and a murder in a quiet cul- de-sac in foster city is the city's first homicide in five years. a cleaning person found the body of 71-year-old klaus gachter on friday afternoon in his home on waterbury lane. police say they depth believe that this was a random case of violence. so far, they don't have any suspects or people of interest. >>> in santa clara county this morning, 63 illegal immigrants are in custody after a four-

a lot of us on capitol hill and a lot of viewers have seen different versions of this movie before. think back to the debt limit. think to the threat of a government shutdown in march. when john boehner, the speaker, was either close to a deal with democrats or appeared to have one and then only had ex-streak difficulty selling to conservatives, in some cases tea party members but not in all cases. that is largely what's gone on here. this time the volume is higher, the anger is higher and people are dug in much deeper. the senate and republican leader mitch mcconnell cut a deal with harry reid last week. it was on that two-month extension that you described. they got an overwhelming bipartisan vote. 89 votes. it wasn't just senator mcconnell who voted for it. marco rubio from florida voted for it as well. it was when john boehner the speaker took it back to house republicans to present them with the deal according to some report to go say this is the best deal we're going to get. take it for now. we'll fight again in february. they roundly and loudly rejected it. now he's having tr

a lot of grog nog on capitol hill. all right. for their final mission. they are heading home. president obama welcoming them back in his weekly address today. republicans saying one good way to do that is approve the new oil pipeline project, keystone. that they say will create nearly 28,000 brand new jobs. molly henneberg live with more on that. hi, molly. >> reporter: hi, gregg. today, the president praised u.s. troops for their honor, skill and bravery in iraq over the past nine years. >> the troops are now preparing to make their final march across the border and out of the country. iraq's future will be in the hands of its own people. our war there will be over. all of our troops will be out of iraq. this holiday season all of us can finally say "welcome home." >> reporter: as the troops pack up and prepare to come back home, the president went on to say after years of building iraq it's time to enlist our veterans and all of our people in the work of rebuilding america. he said it's time for the country to come together to

. >>> lawmakers on capitol hill may finally have an agreement on aviegd government shutdown this weekend. congressional negotiators reached a deal on a compromise spending bill. it is a massive $1 trillion package to keep the government open. >>> we are monitoring metro. the agency's bus drivers get punched, spit on, even shot or stabbed on the job. it has already happened 44 times this year. metro is cracking down on bus crimes and doing more to protect drivers. sherry ly has the details. >> reporter: shots fired at a metrobus actually passenger on board murdered and a bus driver stabbed in a confrontation with a man exposing himself, all in the laugh three months. but it is the simple assaults jerry garnett sees most often. >> i've been spit on, punched, things thrown at me. >> drivers were raising questions about their own security and their safety. we were hearing from some customers about feeling unsafe. >> reporter: statistics show crime on metrobuses is fairly low but with recent shootings, driver safety remains a serious concern. to protect them, metro will have installed more th

we are not going tma sense of what is going on in capitol hill with the e time that we have.ppened at the national harbor. disney bought $11 million of the property and pulled out. >> in 2009, it was a big announcement. it was going to be a 500-room hotel with an entertainment component. >> the hotels were already there. >> i think that is definitely true.. that happened in 2009. another six months, and disney clammed up about the project. this week we finally got the bad news. no going to happen. they are t trying to sell the land back to the developer. >> w what happened? >> disney said the timingng was not good. disney also haa lot of other projecects. it has i its hands and a lot of other pots. this is a tourism p property. even in d.c. where the economy is still p pretty good that hotel would have to draw visitors from all over the country.. >> i am always amazed when i go out to national harr. the thing g has risen up from nowhere and now it is chock full ofof restaurants and stores and hotels. how is the national hararbor doining? >> beyond the disney project, theree w

. >>> elsewhere, last night on capitol hill, house republicans muscled through their version of a budget bill. it does extend payroll tax cuts also has approval of the restone pipeline, something president obama and the senate have said they won't accept. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> aye are 234 -- >> reporter: house republicans easily pushed through what they called their tax cut jobs bill. >> the american people were asking, where are the jobs? the house is listening. we've passed a a large big that contains many of the priorities of our caucus and the white house. >> reporter: but most democratic lawmakers were opposed. >> republicans want to go home for the holidays but they want working people to pay more in taxes next year and lose unemployment check. >> reporter: to make up for payroll taxes for medicare and social security, republicans voted to extend pay freeze on federal workers and eventually reduce long-term unemployment from 99 to 59 weeks. democrats had wanted a tax hike on the rich. and the republican bill would fast track approval of the keystone oil pipeline from c

the findings reveal there's a millionaire's club on capitol hill.involves half the members of congress. 250 of them. the revelation comes as congress debates unemployment benefits, a millionaire's tax, and a potential cut to food stamps. the report cites numbers from moody's analytics. it says while the net worth of congress increased, that same worth dropped by 8% for average americans. this is the kind of information that fueled the occupy movement. now they have ammunition in their claim that congress is part of the 1%. and the cook here at the mini gourm gourmet, even though he likes his job, he's not happy with congress. >> it's really insane. i can't believe hay don't step up and help out. you know, i think if i had a lot of money, if i won the lottery and stuff, i would help. you know, somewhere. >> among the top breadwinners on capitol hill, our very own nancy pelosi, she's said to be worth $196 million. california congressman darrell issa is next. he's worth between 195 million and $700 million. and senator john kerry out of massachusetts.

where in a year where things haven't worked out quite so well for congress, even capitol hill's annualay celebration hit a glitch. with the help from a 7-year-old boy, house speaker john boehner lit the capitol tree. unfortunately, a techial mishap caused the light to go out on the tree unintended comic symbolism, you might say, of a year of short-circuits in the halls of congress, right? >>> i'm lynn berry, this is "early today," just can your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> 4:28 is our time right now. 61 degrees. balmy out there this morning. you can see the washington monument is trying to hide out there in those clouds. good morning. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news 4 today" for this wednesday, december 7th, 2011. >>> today occupy d.c. will kick off its first organized protests since 31 demonstrators were arrested over the weekend. u.s. park police dismantled a 16 foot tall shelter that protesters built because they say it was a safety hazard. today's event could snarl traffic all day long. demonstrators will march down "k" street to the whi

. >> high drama on capitol hill. >> this was not an accident. >> frustrations flare as attorney general eric holder is grilled over fast and furious. >> this project was failed and flawed from the beginning. >> we have exclusive reaction to the explosive hearing from oversight chairman, darrell issa, and jon corzine heads back to capitol hill to answer tough questions. >> i simply do not know where the money is. >> one thing i know about newt gingrich, of since he arrived on the national scene, politics has been nastier, and too often uglier. >> plus we expos the mainstream obama media relentless smear campaign, this time against presidential candidate newt gingrich. we are on the road to 2012, and "hannity" starts right here right now. >> on saturday the republican presidential field lost one of barack obama's most outspoken critics when herman cain announced he would end his bid for the white house. let's take a look. >> as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, i am suspending my presidential campaign. i am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued dist

where in a year where things haven't worked out quite so well for congress, even capitol hill's annual holiday celebration hit a glitch. with the help from a 7-year-old boy, house speaker john boehner lit the capitol tree. the democrats and republicans applauded as the white fir illuminated. unfortunately there was a technical mishap. it caused the lights on the tree to go out. comic symbolism, you might say, of a year of short-circuits in the halls of congress. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today." >>> some funky hairdos from south korea will really flip your wig. more than 80 professional hair designers gathered in seoul for the two-day, 2012 korea hair collection. look at that. it showcases some of the world's most extraordinary hairstyles. designers demonstrated their cutting techniques while models showed off the most bizarre. >>> you'd think being santa is a no-brainer. santa suit, white beard, done. it takes so much more. that's where santa school comes in. in brazil st. nick experts teach everything from how to say their ho, ho, hos to how to deal with children of all backgrou

. >> nbc's capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joins us now. are they going to ruin your weekend? >> reporter: we're optimistic. there is a change in tone here that you can only interpret from that positive signs. we had had so much bickering over whether or not the payroll tax cut could be extended. is there a package to do that as well as averting a government shutdown? well now what we're hearing is that the negotiators working hands on for ways to bring this together, they have much closer, they hope within sometime this afternoon to have really an update for us that would be substantive. it looks like things are getting better. we are not hearing the same rhetoric about this one wants to shut down the government, that one wants to shut down the government. all of that has cold off, which was a promising sign they can get this done. that may not mean they will be holding hands by the end of the day. there seems to be a clearer path for how to resolve those issues and that is probably what the american public would like to hear. definitely m

where in a year where things haven't worked out quite so well for congress, even capitol hill's annual holiday celebration hit a glitch. with the help from a 7-year-old boy, house speaker john boehner lit the capitol tree. unfortunately, a techial mishap caused the light to go out on the tree unintended comic symbolism, you might say, of a year of short-circuits in the halls of congress, right? >>> i'm lynn berry, this is "early today," just can your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. we're off to a mild start on this morning. it is near 60 degrees. the temperature is going to fall. some heavy rain around d.c. that will be moving up around baltimore. rain is likely. a flood watch is in effect because some of the rain could be heavy. temperatures are nice and milds this morning and there will fall into the 40's. there could be some snow tonight. 60 this morning and it could snow tonight. >> thank you. 4:56. 61 degrees on tv hill. >> it washington fight that impacts your paycheck. the latest on t

," thank you from capitol hill. professor miller, you write an introduction to your book, or before the introduction, that overall legislators use constituents are limited and flawed. and even well-meaning legislators cannot represent their constituents if they do not accurately see who is in the district. what does that mean? >> i think much of our attention has focused on a possibly that legislators are being actively corrupted or making decisions to vote against their constituents. but what we've neglected as a whole part of the baxter, kind of what happens before they get to the decisions. what i'm not interested in in this book is the role that cognitive psychology can put in informing our understand of elected officials. psychologists have had this sense that we have limitations of humans. mental limitations but we don't use all the information possible. we don't conduct information searches every time someone asks us to question. so there's this vast literature on kind of our cognitive limits and shortcuts we

mike emanuel is on capitol hill. house made a veto threat and seems serious about it. >> that's right. i don't think republicans on the hill are surprised after the president said last week he would reject such a package but there's frustration. here senator alexander. >> just as we should, republicans are ready to extend unemployment compensation, ready to do it now. so the problem seems to be at the other end of pennsylvania avenue. the president seems to be holding it up. and nerves are getting short, fuses are getting short as we get closer and closer to christmas. you've got important matters like this payroll tax holiday, also government spending package to be worked out before we run into it ending. >> shepard: and it will. first they have to vote on the g.o.p. plan. what are democrats saying about that? >> sounds like the timing is slipping. we do expect it will be this evening, perhaps during the "fox report," 7:00 eastern. bottom line, democrats don't like some of the other aspects grouped in with this such

every year, i look forward to this event to kick off the holiday season on capitol hill. nothing says christmas more than the playing of holiday carol's. i would like to send a special thanks under the direction of captain richard for being here and helping us create such a festive move on the -- sit festive mood on a rainy evening. let's give them a round of applause. behind me, ladies and gentlemen, stands the united states capitol christmas tree. a wonderful 65-foot cedar offer -- sierra fir from the great state of california. in keeping with tradition, the speaker of the house john boehner will extend his holiday greetings to you and like this tree in just a few moments. before we get to that big a moment, i would like to extend a welcome to members of congress, distinguished guests, capitol hill neighbors, and those of you that are here visiting our nation's capital. thank you for visiting us this evening. i would like to acknowledge the members of the california delegation visiting us this evening including senator dianne feinstein

gridlock on capitol hill. the dow finished the day 337 points higher. the best day for blue chips in about a month. nasdaq gained 81 points and s & p 500 rose 36. 3million commuters may also notice the congress didn't take action on extending this popular commuter tax benefit. about 300,000 federal workers take advantage of this program in our area alone. if congress doesn't take abc before the end of this year, the pretax benefit drops from $230 a month to $125. >> metro's blue and orange line trains are up to speed again tonight after a mechanical meltdown led to scary moments for passengers. tonight, metro is inspecting its trains, evaluating communications or lack thereof, and dealing with some traumatized passengers. andrea mccarren is live at metro headquarters tonight with the story. andrea. >> reporter: well lesli, metro officials say it's very rare for a friction ring. a disk about this big and part of the train brake assembly, simply fall off. >> i also want to apologize to the passengers and custome

people were taking notes on capitol hill.ite from president obama on "60 minutes." part of the interview that did not air but he talked about the legislative accomplishments. >> the issue will not be a list of accomplishments. as you said, i would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president. with the possible exceptions of johnson, fdr and lincoln. in terms of what we have gotten done in modern history. >> when a roman concurring general returned to triumphant procession to rome, the crowd cheering him and calling him names there was a court hearing in the back, whispe whispering and obama ought to hire that guy. he is owed and he is still around. >> what about that comment? >> he is going to invite a heap of criticism -- >> bret: you are saying you are better than accomplishment of washington, reagan -- >> a long list. a long list. it invites criticism for his attempt to expand the role of government in many ways and why he is unpopular in the battleground state. obviou

let me point out, you're there at capitol hill. you're not with your candidates.e've shown several of them speaking today. this is because the republican jewish coalition chose to exclude you. they say that you are anti-israel, that you are extreme. here's my question, sir. did you at all take a moment to protest your exclusion and -- i hear you laughing, saying, hey, this is america, i should be heard as well? >> well, that's one point of view and a healthy discussion is a good american tradition, too. it's a private organization, too. so me being very much aware of what private organizations can do, i don't have much recourse. but i think in public opinion, people will ask questions, why isn't he excluded? he doesn't say everything like everybody else but maybe we need a full discussion and to paint it and say, maybe he's not supportive of israel, he's anti-israel, that's being dismissed rather carelessly and unfairly. so i've had my chance and we've had a little bit of access to internet to explain my position. so it may well appear here rather shortly. >> okay

. >> it was in a subcommittee an capitol hill where the family's emotional reality clashed with the political where the economics of tears may have failed to resonate as loudly as the dollar. >> if this is what a hearing is like then i understand why communism has a high era proval rating than congress. >> reporter: that from a man who has a story to tell but didn't get the right audience. ed and his son were hoping to testify in this subcommittee, a hearing to debate the cost of putting in a new department of transportation rule that would decrease drive time for truckers while increasing their rest. house rules dictate the majority party in this case the republicans pick most of who speaks, five witnesses trucking companies testified verses just one safety expert. ed's statement was read in to the record but he was not picked to speak. >> the hearing was a farce. if the american people knew what the hearings were i think they would be even more sick than they are now. >> reporter: those words spoken to us but he said they were aimed at subcommittee chair jim jordon. even witho

fox's mike emanuel following the action on capitol hill. reporter: paying for an extension of the payroll tax holiday is the battle on capitol hill. republican leaders say the gop plan offered by nevada senator dean heller is better than the democrats idea of a surtax on the rich. >> our plan reduces the federal deficit by more than $111 billion protects social security. reporter: it's a three year pay freeze for government workers, reducing the government workforce by 10% for attrition and means testing by the wealthy. democrats balked arguing republicans are punishing the middle class. >> they're saying okay, let's pay for it by firing 200,000 people. it's very interesting. this is a contrast that is worth noting, i believe. >> if it happens to be the fbi agent who is in the midst of a very important investigation to keep this country safe, it's another. if it's a medical researcher at the nih. reporter: several senators said they weren't buying any of it. republican mark kirk says he's worried about starving the social security trust fun

we are live on capitol hill. back in 90 seconds., first, free money advice. people with a machine. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. >>> time now for the health desk. joining me is gary, a financial planner and the president of objective advice and gail cunningham, thank you both for being here. rich writes, i occasionally receive unsolicited invitations telling me i am preapproved for a credit card. >> receiving the preapproved application, it coming in your mailbox has no impact on your credit score. but if you act upon that, of course the creditor is going to review your credit history. it could potentially lower your very score but not for long. don't worry about it. that is rarely the reason anyone is declined simply because they have too many inquiries. >> that's a very good point. gary, your question is from tom in ohio. i'm retired. my only income is from my pen

that is the latest here on capitol hill. back to you. >> thank you so much. >>> making headlines this morning, a frightening night identify local college ends peacefully after a police standoff leads to a campus-wide lockdown. police say it started what i suicidal man with a gun barricaded himself inside an apartment building next to northern virginia community college. police and s.w.a.t. steams swarmed the scene eventually taking the armed man into custody. no one was injured. >>> health concern at george washington yefort where a case of meningitis has been confirmed. it is a potentially fatal infection. the infected person lives off campus but is not saying whether they are student, staff or faculty member. about 35 people who have come in close contact with that infected person have been notified. the condition can be treated with antibiotics if found early. >>> making headlines also this morning, a chevy chase village police officer is out of the hospital after doctors treated her for injuries she got in a car crash. t

tordion precedented meeting auto capitol hill took -- today an unprecedented meeting on capitol hill took a closer look at who or what is to blame. the news edge at 11:00 is coming right back. >> this is fox 5 news edge at 11:00.  just a second. just, just one second. ♪ what are you looking at? don't look up there. why are you looking up? ♪ get outta the car. get outta the car. ♪ are you ok? the... get in the car. get in the car! [ male announcer ] the epa estimated 42 mpg highway chevy cruze eco. from spending time together, to spending your lives together, chevy runs deep. >>> an unprecedented meeting today on capitol hill. the topic? homegrown derek reis targeting military installations. since 9/11 there -- terrorists targeting mill tear installations. during the first joint -- military installations. during the first joint session -- >> we should be able to identify the enemy that's violent, radical islamist extremism. >> focusing on the followers of one religion as the only credible threat to the nation's security is inaccurate. our military is open to a

still, no deal on capitol hill, and, remember, without a deal the average american worker loses $20 a week going january 1, adding up to $1,000 a year. >> it is about trying to make sure that bad things don't happen to good people ten days from now. >> house minority whip highway year urging republican counterparts to back the senate's temporary two month extension of the tax cut. this is a bipartisan agreement that essentially meant to buy time for lawmakers to try to work out their differences over how to pay for the entire measure. but, remembers in the house, many who opposed any extension, are pushing for a full one year extension. >> a one year bill like the president requested and like the house produced is better for jobs and better for our economy. everyone has already agreed the best policy is a one year extension of the policies. we are fighting for what everyone has agreed to. let's sit down and resolve the differences. >> push back from members of his own party to support a temporary deal. we have team fox coverage at the white house with the latest from president obama,

>>> tonight robbers are terrorizing visitors to capitol hill and most of them are after one thing. >> a nationwide chain runs out of goods and tells shoppers it can't deliver orders before christmas. >> and a dramatic escape as a woman jumps into her burning house into her neighbor's arms. but we begin with damage to washington's most iconic structure. >> new picture and new report telling a different stories about the washington monument. shomari stone tells just how badly the earthquake shook this monument. >> reporter: this explains why tourists and folks want to go inside the washington monument. well, they can't. >> wish it was still open to climb to the top. >> reporter: sarah davies gives tours on horseback but she can't take a tour in the washington monument four months after the 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook it. >> i was surprised this t did that much damage. >> reporter: tonight the parks department released this report showing the damage. the report says the cracks are concentrated around the 450 feet high area. monument has six damaged marble panels, cracked beams and som

captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >>> beginning with the latest from capitol hillher potential government shutdown has been avoided. >> a deal was reached late last night, but one major vote still pending. scott thuman joins us live up from the hill. >> nothing like waiting until the very last moment, right? the house passed their version of the spending bill, and the senate, not yet. it could happen at any time. there is the midnight deadline still at their blooming or we could face a partial shutdown of the federal government. >> there was a palpable sense of relief with only hours left to spare committee spending bill was on it's way to final approval and with some bipartisan compromise. >> certainly, a process we have not seen for a number of years. >> the assessment from the left is not as rosy as they worked with the republican and do nothing

. >>> kate baldwin on capitol hill. the bill is dead on arrival. what's next? >> reporter: yeah. it really does seem, well, if you listen to the senate majority leader, that it is absolutely dead on arrival in the senate. he says there is broad opposition to many of the provisions in the house-passed bill. let's get to that in one second. first, just to further the point. listen here to senate majority leader harry reid from last night right after the house vote. >> the bill just passed by house republicans tonight is say pointless partisan exercise. the bill is dead on arrival. it was dead before it got to the senate. the senate will not pass it. the sooner we demonstrate that, the sooner we can begin serious discussions how to keep taxes from going up on middle class americans. >> reporter: now senator reid said very much the same thing today as he was speaking on the senate floor even going as far to call it a useless partisan charade, kyra. there is likely to be a vote on this house-passed measure in the senate today.

. >> we're going to congress and we're going to capitol hill and it's called take back capitol hill.reporter: but those efforts may be tainted by public perception after the aggression seen on sunday. occupy d.c. protesters were arrested by police and thrown to the ground after they refused to dismantle a barn- like structure they were illegally building. it's this kind of activity our d.c. protesters don't want to be associated with. >> we're not about balance, you know. we're not about hurting anybody. >> reporter: the two movements are not one and the same according to the organizers. although they share common agendas, they have many differences. for example, our d.c. is heavily funded by title sponsors like moveon.org and seiu to name a few. occupy d.c. isn't. >> you were seeing the people who got out of jail having reminders for yesterday's movements. >> reporter: he says he doesn't believe his camp's actions are to blame for any negative attention other groups are getting. he feels the arrests should be celebrated. >> it obstructed the town. it stopped business as usual. becau

in high gear with the last debate in the iowa caucuses, plus a crisis on capitol hill is averted while another battle heats up. this is "special report." ♪ ♪ >> bret: good evening, i'm bret baier. there is no letting up with the front runners on the campaign trail after last night's debate. we saw more attack ads, big endorsement and candidates making a case to the iowa voters. chief political correspondent carl cameron shows us as clock kicks down to january 3, some candidates are turning up the heat. >> after a strong debate performance where he took no shots at the g.o.p. rivals, he got the endorsement of nikki haley. >> i lot of us stood at her door hoping to win the endorsement. i could not be more proud to have the stage making the endorsement, your governor, my friend nikki haley. >> this is a governor that made hard decisions cut taxes 19 times and balanced it with 85% democratic legislature. after last night's debate, the harsh attack fliers from the third party outside groups left on car windshields in sioux city blasting gingrich as opposed to abortion. unrelated damaging ta

. >>> you may want to keep your smartphone out of sight if you're in one capitol hill neighborhood. police say robberies there are up, and iphones are often the thieves' main target. officers say there have been a dozen street robberies alone between sixth and 13th streets southeast to the east and west and south of east capitol street. most of the crimes have taken place on weekends, evenings, and usually on darker residential streets. >> no weapons involved, but they have resorted to violence by striking people and pushing them to the ground, things of that nature. >> just last night police say two men in ski masks held up a radio shack on capitol hill. they say iphones were among the items that the thieves stole from the store. police responded quickly, but the suspects got away. >>> and now to decision 2012. with little more than a week to go before the iowa caucuses, republican presidential candidate mitt romney picks up a key supporter. former president george h.w. bush tells his hometown newspaper, the "houston chronicle" tells people that he does support romney. he said, quo