nbc's christin welker is live from the latest in washington. christin, it's such an interesting and powerful moment in the presidency. to realize that it's not just a political office or a governmental office. being president is to be us. is to be our emblematic person and to react almost like the adult in the family the grown up, you know? >> absolutely. absolutely. and president obama today add admitting that he was responding to this tragedy not only as the president, but also as a father who has two daughters. and that is how he watched these horrific events unfold. we certainly saw that raw emotion come out when he addressed the nation a little bit earlier today. the other thing that stood out about his comments, chris, he talked about the need for meaningful action, saying it is necessary regardless of the politics. he didn't go into details today. i expect during the coming days and weeks, we will learn a little bit more about what he meant specifically about meaningful action. the last time he talked about gun control and this type of is

>> christin welker, thank you. we can expect to hear from president obama at some point on this friday afternoon. i think we have amanda ross back. wvit on the ground there in newtown, connecticut. amanda, we were just talking about the process by which authorities were able to get the children out of the school this morning. what more can you tell us? >> well, what they did was when the police were called in, they wept room to room and they took the children and then led the children out of the school. they then walked them out and we did already have quickly parents wait waiting for the children. they lined up as we were saying earlier, there's a little girl who said that she lined up and actually had to cover her eyes so she wouldn't see anything on her way out of the school and then of course parents waiting for them outside. >> my understanding, amanda, also is there were a number of neighbors living close to the school and took in some of the children, as well. is that true? >> you know, that's the first that

thank you so much, christin welker.ll be back with more cove raj of the shooting at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut. to the best vacation spot on earth. (all) the gulf! it doesn't matter which of our great states folks visit. mississippi, alabama, louisiana or florida, they're gonna love it. shaul, your alabama hospitality is incredible. thanks, karen. love your mississippi outdoors. i vote for your florida beaches, dawn. bill, this louisiana seafood is delicious. we're having such a great year on the gulf, we've decided to put aside our rivalry. now is the perfect time to visit anyone of our states. the beaches and waters couldn't be more beautiful. take a boat ride, go fishing or just lay in the sun. we've got coastline to explore and wildlife to photograph. and there's world class dining with our world famous seafood. so for a great vacation this year, come to the gulf. its all fabulous but i give florida the edge. right after mississippi. you mean alabama. say louisiana or there's no dessert. th

and our own christine welker may have uncovered the reason.g for the bush tax cuts to be made permanent for rich and poor as part of a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. and the very same christine welker joins us live from the white house. you reported this earlier today. the speaker's office is now pushing back a little bit claiming there are no parameters on what tax reform would look like. but they aren't denying what you said, are they? >> they're not directly denying it. their point is raising tax rates or keeping them low is a moot point. because they have always been opposed to raising tax rates on wealthy americas. they say it would hurt small business owners. they're calling for overall tax reform, they say. but this has evolved into a game of chicken with both sides refusing to concede anything until the other side does first. so yesterday it seemed like there was some movement. today it seems as though these negotiations are really to some extent falling apart. as you know president obama and john boehner spoke on the phone yesterday.

i want to bring in christin welker. like the president was saying he's got at least an agreement that should be an up or down vote, no matter what the agreement looks like on the senate and then on to the house. is that what you heard, too? >> reporter: that is what i heard. he essentially said, look, i asked reid and mcconnell to get some sort of a compromise if they can't do this in a reasonable time, he's asking them to give an up or down vote on this bare minimum package that he outlined last friday that he talked about today, as well, extending the tax cuts as well as sort of staving off some of those deep cuts that are set to go into effect. but he also said he's modestly optimistic, which suggests this is certainly not a done deal. you also heard him talk about the fact that this is something the average american deems with every day. meeting deadlines. compromising. this is president obama's way of really acting these final days as the clock ticks down. so i think that president obama really trying too use his b