. >> of merrill dennis blair has resigned -- admiral dennis blair has resigned. am joined by our count -- the security correspondent. >> there are a few things going on here. there were some security lapses that were important. in particular, the christmas day attempted bombing. and the analysts failure to follow up information. people wonder why they have not win a whole new institution have been created beneath him. why was it not working? that is one cause for his resignation. but also, clashing with the white house. put those together and it becomes untenable. the white house decided they wanted someone new. of course you are talking about the problems with the cia -- >> you are talking about the problems with the cia. is this the biggest issue they have to deal with? >> president obama has to be seen to have a grip on national security, particularly in recent events. it is vital that he is not seen as weak or having failed to protect his country. there are these clashes with the cia. the director of the cia used to be the head of the intelligence community.

. >>> also in washington, the search is on for a new national intelligence director, now that dennis blair is resigning from pressure from the white house. we're told president obama lost confidence in blair because of his inability to share intelligence in a comprehensive way. including the recent failed times square bomb plot. >>> rand paul is scrambling to clarify what some are calling a racial remark. paul is backed by the tea party. in tuesday's primary, he defeated another republican who was backed by the gop establishment. now, he's explaining his stand on civil rights. it came into focus in interviews this week, including one on msnbc. >> do you think that a private business has a right to say we don't serve black people? >> i'm not in favor of any discrimination of any form. what about freedom of speech? should we limit speech from people we find abhorrent? should we limit racists from speaking? >> paul issued a written statement yesterday saying, i believe we should work to end all racism in american society and staunchly defend the inherent rights of every person. paul will spea

brooks or -- >> dennis blair was a victim, i think. i think he is an enormously talented man and a great patriot. he is somebody who rose to a position of preeminence that he did in the navy, solely on ability. he's not a schmoozer,. >> he is a tough guy. >> he is a tough guy and he's not a guy who has touched all the right bases socially in that sense. and i think that this is a job. david's absolutely right, with an awful lot of responsibility and minimal authority. and are you right. we get into a fight with the cia. they have vast resources, great press relations and enormous information, resources that everybody is interested in. and i think he would have a tough battle with leon panetta early on, which was a mistake. first of all, not only the cia but leon panetta is a-- is a gifted, experienced former omb director, former white house chief of staff, one term member of congress, house chairman, you know, leon panetta knows, not simply where the bodys are but where they are buried and who buried them. i think it was tough. and the

national intelligence director dennis blair is stepping down amid pressure from the white house. during his 16 months in his position, blair has dealt with security lapses and spats with the cia. a recent congressional report found his office did not connect intelligence that could have prevent ad bombing attack on a detroit-bound plane on christmas day. >>> this morning pliolice are trying to find out what killed a woman whose body was found inside her d.c. apartment. officials are awaiting on autopsy results to determine how and when the woman did die but they do believe her body was in the apartment for three or four days. sources say police were called to the apartment after the woman's mentally challenged son was seen jumping from a second story window. >>> the search is on this morning for the person who stabbed a man right in front of d.c. police headquarters. this happened late last night in the 300 block of indiana avenue northwest. a man was stabbed in the back. he was taken to a local hospital. no word yet on his condition. >>> today family, friends and co-workers will

first to report president obama has ousted his director of national intelligence, retired admiral dennis blairvising all 16 intelligence agencies. president obama has long had issues with the way blair presented intelligence to him. not, one official said, in as coherent and timely a manner as he wanted, as the national security staff wanted. >> the overall counterterrorism system did not do its job. it's in large part my responsibility. i told the president that i and the other leaders of the intelligence community are determined to do better in the future. >> reporter: in addition, there have been a number of intelligence-sharing incidents in the last year under blair's watch. there was the ft. hood shooting, abdulmutallab who tried to bomb that plane on christmas day, and faisal shahzad, the failed times square bomber, was able to get on that airplane even he was on the no-fly list. those are sharing intelligence issues on his watch. interestingly, earlier this week president obama sought blair's resignation but blair pushed back, saying he was hoping to convince the president to change his

it was specifically critical of dennis blair and the director of national intelligence and the national counter-terrorism center, which admiral blair is the supervisor of. ultimately, this was a long time coming. he has lost turf battles when it comes to the cia. he has not emerged as the face of leading the charge on reforming intelligence. it came to a head today. >> one of the issues that was supposed to change after 9/11 was the sharing of information. it was going to be seamless between the agencies and the intelligence community. there was an admission from dennis blair that that still is not happening. why? >> these are 16 entrenched bureaucracies, each of them with their own players and sources and each of them battling within the political world. without question, according to officials, things have gotten better than they were on 9/11, but they are not where they need to be. admiral blair admitted that in a statement he issued earlier this week. things are still not working as he wants them to. so there is going to be a new leader of the national intelligence organization. >>

it was specifically critical of dennis blair and the director of national intelligence and the nationalounter-terrorism center, which admiral blair is the supervisor of. ultimately, this was a long time coming. he has lost turf battles when it comes to the cia. he has not emerged as the face of leading the charge on reforming intelligence. it came to a head today. >> one of the issues that was supposed to change after 9/11 was the sharing of information. it was going to be seamless between the agencies and the intelligence community. there was an admission from dennis blair that that still is not happening. why? >> these are 16 entrenched bureaucracies, each of them with their own players and sources and each of them battling within the political world. without question, according to officials, things have gotten better than they were on 9/11, but they are not where they need to be. admiral blair admitted that in a statement he issued earlier this week. things are still not working as he wants them to. so there is going to be a new leader of the national intelligence organization. >> yo

. >> dennis blair, director of national intelligence -- why did the president lose faith in him, nina? >> by the time we appoint another one, there will let if you are directors of national intelligence over five years. -- there will have been four directors of national intelligence over five years. within i/11 commission recommended this, they envisioned a small, lean and mean operation. a few hundred people, not 1500 or something like that. the commission does not have but the purse strings. you cannot run at this in the intelligence committee if you do not have power of the purse. >> it is a perfect example of why in financial regulations you are dealing with on known -- unknowns. everybody thought at the time that he would have this great theoretical structure, and the dots would connect in the real world, that is not how it worked out. it is an extra layer of bureaucracy that did not have authority. the cia was in the struggle with dni and in the end with a wind. it created unbelievable publications. in the same way that homeland security was going to solve our problems and it ha

. >> dennis blair, chair of national intelligence -- why did the president lose faith in him, nina? >> by the time to appoint another one, there will have been four directors of national intelligence in five years. when the 9/11 commission recommended it, it envisioned a small, lean and mean operation to oversee things. a few hundred people, not 1000 or 1500. the position does not have budget purse strings. you cannot run and oversee an order priorities in the intelligence community if you do not have the power of the purse. this is a position, i think, that does not work very well. >> it is a perfect example of why in financial regulation you are dealing with announced. everybody imagined at the time that we are going to have this great theoretical structure -- dni will be in charge of 16 agencies and the dots will connect to it in the real world, that is not how it works out, because the extra layer of bureaucracy that did not have authority. the cia was in a struggle with dni at in the end they wind. created complications, in the same way that homeland security was going to solve

admiral dennis blair, the director of national intelligence is resigning and craig bosswell has the news edge. >> reporter: after 16 months on the j the director of national intelligence admiral blair is stepping down. the white house said several candidates are being interviewed for the job which oversees the nation's 16 intelligence agency. >> the president believes that it was time to transition to a different director of national intelligence. >> reporter: blair has been under fire for a series of security lapses including the failed christmas day underwear bombing. the resignation comes days after a nal report outlining intelligence failures, even though president obama himself accepted responsibility for the lack of intelligence sharing sow roundo surrounding the attempted bombing. >> the president decided to make a change. >> reporter: some lawmakers believe that blair is getting a raw deal. >> think he's being made a scapegoat and the real problem is the department of justice under general holder running too much of the intelligence activities. >> reporter: in a written statement

. >>> under pressure from the white house, national intelligence director dennis blair is resigning. the retired navy admiral's 16-month tenure has been marked by intelligence failures and spy agency turf wars. sources say the president had clearly lost confidence in blair and had several replacement candidates already been interviewed. the national intelligence director, a position created in response to the september 11th terrorist attacks, oversees the nation's 16 intelligence agencies. >>> and now here's a look at some of the other stories making news "early today" in america. in california, officials are investigating the cause of a fire which gutted a school bus carrying third graders on an l.a. highway. look at this. passing motorists stopped to help evacuate approximately two dozen kids and chaperones. two children were treated for minor smoke inhalation and released. >>> in ohio, a woman suffering from a seizure lost control of her car and crashed into a medical building. luckily for her, dozens of doctors and nurses who were in a conference room next to the crash site rushe

the move comes after admiral dennis blair announced he's resigning. he had lost the confidence of the president. kathryn brown has the latest from washington. >> po

he got into a spat, turf battle with leon panetta. >> chris: you're talking about dennis blair. >> yesful than he is. and the president needs to look at the job and congress needs to look at the job and decide if it makes sense and needs to be something perhaps a little more lower level coordination, because he is clearly not able to be successful, you know, as brit talked about, the terrorist attacks that were not thwarted. they just, we were just lucky. i think that they need to find a way to connect the jobs which is what the job was supposed to do. >> there is an ideological -- not ideological. a fundamental split in the administration between the intelligence agencies on the one hand and the justice department and white house on the other. and what blair being thrown out is from eric holder and the white house that wants to continue investigation of c.i.a. agents for operatives for what they allegedly might have done years ago and wants to continue the eric holder type law enforcement approach to the war on terror. i don't think we should simply say that blair was frustrated in a

. >>> the obama administration's intelligence director, dennis blair, is resigning. blair, a retired navy admiral, was criticized after failing to prevent the attempted jetliner bombing on christmas day. sources say he learned at the white house yesterday he no longer has the president's confidence. >>> now to iran where the mothers of those three american hikers are remaining in hopes they can convince the tehran regime to free their children from prison. they enjoyed a reunion yesterday. elizabeth palmer has the report >> reporter: proof at last that after 9 1/2 months wait, their children are alive and apparently well. iranian state television filmed the emotional reunion for broadcasts around the world. this visit was always going to be a public spectacle. and the mothers, aware of the stakes, stayed firmly on message. >> gratitude is the biggest word. gratitude to the iranian authorities for allowing us to come and visit our children. >> reporter: at a press conference, the young american hikers brought from their cells to a luxury hotel spoke about their impris

retired admiral dennis blair resigned the post under pressure, yesterday, after just 16 months. he'd been criticized over the airliner bombing attempt over detroit last christmas and the times square bomb plot in new york. presidential spokesman robert gibbs. >> there is no doubt that we continue to have as a result, and we saw this, that the president identified on the attempted christmas day bombing. there are still coordination issues that we have to work through. the president simply believed that it was time to transition to a different director of national intelligence. >> sreenivasan: gibbs also commended blair for his service in overseeing the nation's 16 intelligence agencies. big rigs and other work trucks in the u.s. will have to start meeting gas mileage and emissions standards. president obama signed a directive today, ordering federal agencies to develop the standards. they'd be phased in over four years, starting in 2014. cars and light trucks are already under a mandate to increase gas mileage nearly ten miles a gallon by 2016. those are some of the day's major s

the national intelligence director dennis blair has resigned after 16 months. his last day is may 28. there have been several intelligence failures including the fort hood shootings, the christmas day attempt and a failed times square bombing. >>> a pakistani man arrested had the primary suspects phone number from the times square attempt. they told the judge that the man had an envelope with the first name of faisal shahzad on it and the envelope had a telephone number that belongs to faisal shahzad. >>> turning to the massiveb woes bill in the gulf of thep is agreeing with scientists that more oil than originally thought is spewing from the blown out oil well. the company has set up a camera so people can look at it. it has now reached marches -- marshes at the mouth of the mississippi and louisiana. there are no reports of large numbers of animals injured. bp has been ordered to use a less toxic dispersant to break up the oil. >>> still ahead, how your daily wake-up routine could have a direct impact on your waistline. >>> anybody looking to ditch your morni

dennis blair is giving his resignation today after turf wars and embarrassing press leaks. he is the third person to hold this position. in overseas 16 different agencies. crews in california are tackling a fast-moving california. the fire has scorched more than 800 acres. it started yesterday. fires are officials are urging people to be prepared in case any evacuation becomes necessary. target is recalling about 350,000 trunks. they can close a very quick because there are no locking mechanisms. 118-month old became trapped. the trunks were sold in stores and online. they can be returned to target for a full refund. a baltimore company makes big money off of the problems in europe. courtney donohoe has that story and more in the bloomberg business report. >> stocks around the world are plunging this week on worries that europe's debt crisis is spreading. stocks dropping the most in more than a year yesterday. the bloomberg maryland index lost over 4.25%. that crisis in greece is leaving to profits for legg mason. they invested heavily in greek debt. when the emergency fund

the national intelligence director dennis blair has resigned under pressure after 16 months on the job. his last day is may 28. the departure comes after several high-profile intelligence failures. >>> into the oil spill in the gulf. bp is agreeing with scientists that more oil than originally thought is spewing from the oilwell. the company sent a camera so people can look at the gushing oil. it has reached marshes at the mouth of the mississippi river in louisiana. there are no reports of mass wildlife debts or large numbers of animals covered in the substance. bp has been ordered to loot -- to use a less toxic this person to break up the oil there. >> still ahead, you might need to save up for your next drive into d.c. will tell you who wants to start taxing your daily trip. >>> it's bicycle that, but some local lanes will not be ready. >>> we will be right back >> good morning. brian van de graaff. temperatures in the mid 60's -- mid 50's. 56 in gaithersburg. today's forecast, and children sunshine. clouds are already starting to stream in. -- filtered sunshine. temperatures will c

dennis blair said he is resigning effective today. his decision comes after a series of intelligence failures including the fort hood shooting and the failed christmas day and times square bomb plots. he has been at the helm of national intelligence for a little more than a year. >>> time now is 5:41. all this week, fox 5 is helping you eat more healthy with five super foods that should be in your tight. today, we are focusing on fish. >> our celebrity chef will show us another tasty and easy to prepare dish that can even you healthy. we'll check your morning commute and your forecast. stay with us. >>> a nice way to get your friday going. up and at 'em already. the weekend is just about here. the rain is out of here and hopefully a nice day on tap for today. >> off to a pretty good start so far. >> very nice. like the music too. here is what is going on. we will see a good amount of sunshine today. it will be another warm day. yesterday and today, the warmest days of the week this week and evens we head into the weekend. it won't be

dennis blair's last day will be may 28th. he is the third person to oversea intelligence agencies in the wake of the 9/11 attack. >>> crews are trying to contain a wildfire southeast of los angeles. flames burned 800-acres. the fire started because of a spark from a lawn mower. >>> we want to welcome back devon lucie. he's the seat for howard bernstein this morning. and you have good news for us this friday. >> great news. we started off with a lot of rain and then the cloud cover and the cool temperatures. finally got the sunshine to come out yesterday and we will continue that through today. we have a lot of great weather heading our way. it will be a little humid, if anything to add at all. then i need too talk about the chance of rain coming in this weekend. one day will have a better chance than the other. i think that will be sunday. both temperatures, 75. could see a wide range in temperatures coming in for the weekend highs. today 86 and warm. nothing to worry about at all. start with the momslikeme.com bus stop forec

current director, dennis blair, is resigning under pressure from the white house. blair's 16-month tenure has been marked by intelligence failures. in a statement, blair says his last day will be next friday. >>> jetblue airlines disputing a report that one. its copilots was arrested for threatening to crash his plane. the airline said the pilot was removed for health reasons, not for making that threat. apparently, he sent his girlfriend an e-mail saying if they did not make up, he would crash the plane. the fbi questioned the pilot cho is now getting a psychiatric evaluation at a boston hospital. >>> there is word this morning of a major scientific breakthrough as scientists have created artificial life. they're sin they had i go cells. researcher says they are the first species on the planet whose parent happens to be a computer. microbiologists say these cells can help in a variety of areas. but this also opens up an ethical debate as those cells could be theoretically used for unethical purposes. >>> they are the same hungry couple that seems to find their way

dennis blair is stepping down amid pressure from the white house.uring his 16 months in that position, blair has dealt with security lapses and spats with the cia. in a statement, president obama said the intelligence community has "performed admirably and effectively under blair despite many challenges to the nation's security." there's still a large plume of oil and gas spewing into the gulf of mexico despite efforts to contain it. bp released more real-time video showing the oil leak and have live webcam of the flow. the company now agrees that what experts have been saying, the daily flow exceeds 5,000 barrels per day. it's siphoning that amount right now from the oil well but more continues to leak into the open ocean. lawmakers are upset. >> lost all credibility, now the decisions will have to be made by others, because it's clear that they have been hiding the actual consequence. >> the obama administration is demanding bp make public all of its information on the spill while the epa insists they use a less toxic chemical to disperse the oil.

president obama is looking for a new director of national intelligence, this after rejecting dennis blair'sast-minute attempt to save his job after months of conflicts with other intelligence leaders. blair announced his resignation on thursday. >>> today secretary of state hillary clinton said north korea must face consequences for sinking a south korean ship in march that killed 46 sailors. south korea's president held an emergency meeting this morning to weigh possibly sanctions against the north which threaten to retaliate with military action. >>> bp now concedes that the oil leak in the gulf of mexico is larger than its original estimate of 5,000 barrels a day. on thursday, the obama administration sent a stern letter to the oil giant calling for all information on the leak to be made public. >>> another emotional reunion today in tehran between three american hikers and their moms. the hikers have denied charges they were spying when they crossed the border from iraq into iran some ten months ago. >>> police in greeley, colorado have confirmed that a body found in an irrigation ditch

director of national intelligence dennis blair issued a statement this evening confirming he will resign as of tomorrow. and mexican president calderon sharply criticized the new immigration law in arizona in a speech to congress. the "newshour" is always on-line, hari sreenivasan in our newsroom previews what is there. >> we have new video 69 oil leaking into the gulf of mexico and you can get realtime estimates of how much oil has already leaked in with our oil ticker. that's on the rundown, k kwame holman talks to one about his seriess of report of people coming of age in pakistan and india and on art beat the story of a soccer film festival touring it small south african tours it. on our web site. >> an that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm jeffrey brown. >> and i'm jim lehrer, we'll see you on-line and again here tomorrow evening with mark sheils and david brooks, among others. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> what the world needs now is energy. the energy to get the economy humming again. the energy to tackle challenges like cli

the resignation of dennis blair. the guest stars on "meet the press" include joe seftack.he chair of the -- and the jersey senator robblet menendez. on "this week" they will talk with michael steele. and democratic committee chair. and democratic committee chair. the guests on "fox news sunday" include sarah palin. on "meet the nation" joe gibbs and lamar alexander. on "state of the union" guests include ed rendell and minnesota republicanngovernor tim polen tefment. also the bp managing director. you can listen to all five of the sunday morning talk shows starting noon eastern on c-span radio here in washington, d.c. also on the web at c-span radio.org. follow us on facebook and twitter. >> monday, preparing for cyber-attacks. dan lungren on "the communicators" on c-span2. >> on book tv, michael graham against acquisitions -- vement accusations on the left. find the entire weekeds schedule at booktv.org and follow us on twitte. >> just weeks after the british election which produced a new prime minister and a coalition government the queen will announce her legislative ob

dennis blair said he is resigning effective next friday.es of intelligence failures including fort hood shooting and christmas day and time's square bomb plots. he has been head for eight years. >>> washington bracing for more change coming this fall as the fall outfrom primary races saw a familiar face lose. for more we are joined by chris wallace host of fox news sunday. good to see you. >> good to be with you, allison. >> the mini super tuesday proved to be use that. some surprises. you will talk about it sunday. >> we are indeed. a bunch of interesting guests. sarah palin who has allied herself with the tea party and supported very much the candidate that ended up winning against the establishment in kentucky. that's conservative and paul that ran against the establishment candidate trey grayson. we will talk to michael steele and timyka anyone. i'm sure one of the issues that will come up, the day after he won the nomination, and paul questioned the 1964 civil rights legislation that banned discrimination in private establishments, res

he's dennis blair, director of national intelligence. bill plante has more. >> reporter: blair leaves after a series of intelligence failures and serious doubts about whether the job itself has any real relevance. in a written statement, president obama said of blair during his tenure, has performed admirably and effectively at a time of great challenges. but still blair's resignation was not a surprise. u.s. intelligence failed to identify the terrorist ties of army major nidal hasan who killed or wounded more than 40 people at ft. hood. and then there was the christmas day airline bombing attempt. there were 14 separate int intelligence failures. the agency has been under increased scrutiny in that the ranking member of the senate intelligence committee said of blair's resignation it must have been challenging to be forced on the sidelines by the attorney general but still catch all the blame for the failings. counterterrorism analyst philip mudd says the post of director of national intelligence needs to enter defined. >> he's leaving

the president's director of national intelligence, dennis blair, forced out by the president. and he's not going without a fight. >> reporter: he made it clear. the president sought his resignation earlier this week. and blair pushed back, asking the president to reconsider. hoping he could appeal to white house chief of staff, rahm emanuel. that did not work. and the president spoke with him yesterday afternoon. and blair offered his letter of resignation, which will arrive as soon as today. i'm hearing from washington officials that a leading candidate to replace blair is the undersecretary for defense intelligence, retired air force general, james klabbard. chuck hagel has been considered. jake steinberg. it seems right now clapper is the leading candidate. >> somebody had to take the fall for the near-misses on the terrorist strikes. you'll have a lot more on "this week" this sunday. >>> we'll have more analysis of what's going on in the markets and the economy, and the impact that bill may have. we're turning to art cashin, the director for ubs financial services. art, we

president obama is replacing his head of national intelligence, dennis blair. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell is in washington. andrea, good morning, and why are they changing this critical post right now? >> hoda, the timing of course is terrible. you've got terror threats, a nuclear challenge from iran. two wars. but the president rejected blair's last-minute attempt to save his job. there were months of conflicts that he had with months of intelligence leaders. blair lost key backing on the hill this week after a devastating senate report came out about the christmas bomber got all the way to detroit before being caught blaming blair's agencies. officials tell me cia director leon panetta has told the white house he does not want blair's job. the leading candidate now is general james clapper, he heads the intelligence at the pentagon. the bigger problem is that the post-9/11 reorganization that reated this whole new intelligence apparatus just has not worked but no one has a plan on how to fix it. >> andrea mitchell in washington,