>> this is interesting, fredricka.ly stages of an economic recovery typically it's small and mid-cap companies that do the best. then you move into the really glamorous part. where we are right now. grinding it out for a couple of years until things settle, but in this kind of environment, oftentimes it's the big companies that do the best. for three reasons. their balance sheets are cleaned up. we know that, because question see how many people they've laid off. any uptick in revenues drops to the bottom line. they have lots of exposure overseas and my favorite reason, they pay dividends. you get a little cash in hand while you're waiting for the other stock to appreciate. >> looking at mostly domestic. you say stretch out, start investing overseas. to what extent? >> absolutely. that old adage. why rob the bank? because that's where the money is. why go overseas? that's where the growth is. to put numbers around that, there are 6.8 billion of us on the planet. only 310 million of us live in the u.s. there are about 4

>> reporter: hey there, fredricka. we're told there are going to be about 24 million people flying this holiday season. as always, it's going to be a very busy time. leading up to that very busy holiday travel season that starts this week, we're hearing criticisms from private group, civil rights groups, pilots and passengers saying the full body scanners as well as enhanced pat-downs put into place as of november 1st are too intrusive and invasive, but tsa is defending the procedures saying they safe and necessary. we spoke with some people traveling on today to get their thoughts on the new procedures. here's what they had to say. >> well, i already feel like it's too much to go through security, and get patted down by people you don't know. the last time i traveled to greensboro and came through this airport i was wearing yoga pants and a sweatshirt and on crutches. they felt it was necessary to pat me down and do all that, and i already think that's going too far. >> yeah. i always believe there's a balance in ever

. >> so the result, fredricka, blood pressure is too high. i need to get more fruits and vegetables in my diet. i need to cut out some of the drinking, just to be honest with you here. so things change right now. if i keep this up for 10 years and go to the doctor i might have a problem. i need to know it, change it now. >> big kudos for getting your checkup after 10 years not doing so. it speaks volumes that was tough to do the treadmill, even though you work out regularly. >> it keeps going up. the incline goes to 25 and you're climbing the matter. >> a real test of fitness. >> you did great. glad you got to the dr. now, get some fruit and vegetables and fiber in your diet. dr. fred speaking. >> i promise. >> lots ahead in the noon eastern hour. we're going to talk first off about aung san suu kyi. t.j. has been telling you about her all morning long. she told the crowd, i'm very happy to see you again. the nobel prize laureate was released after years of confinement. the reason unclears. we have a correspondent in burma but we can't identi

>> very important, fredricka. >> if you're in the "middle class." in other words, in their estimation anybody earning $250,000 a year or less. >> oh, yeah. right. >> you're going to get a tax reversion back to the bush cuts of ten years ago. that's -- everybody agrees on that. where it gets sticky and where we could end up with no tax changes, which would then really impact the middle class, is if we're going to get into this argument as to whether we give the wealthy people -- of course, wealthy is all subjective, isn't it -- the wealthy people a two-year extension on the bush tax cuts or no extension on the bush tax cuts. either way, we need some permanency in tax changes. >> let me give awe scoop, tax lady. 50% of the people -- 50% of taxpayers making over $250,000 are small business people. oh, good. let's really tax them even harder, because know what they do? they only add 95%. only are responsible for 95% of the jobs. that are created. everybody must get an extended tax cut. will it happen? -- >> the fact of the matter is, without that securi

>> hey there, fredricka. you set up the debate really well. there's a big question of what's thorough and too thorough. you have everyone from privacy rights, civil rights activist to pilots themselves criticizing security procedures that they are too intrusive and excessive. at the same time tsa has come out to defend the security policies saying they are both necessary and safe. there's been a lot of talk about it. a lot of stories, a lot of headlines. we want to clear up a few questions for viewers as they get ready to head to the airport for this very busy holiday season. one of the things people should know, they ask if everybody is going to encounter these full body scanners. the answer is no. some places don't have them yet. there are 400 machines in about 69 airports, commercial airports throughout the airports. that's 69 airports of the more than 560 commercial airports there are in the country. only about 12% of commercial airports have these scanners in them. if you encounter one of these full body scanners, many are asking, are the

i'm fredricka whitfield. first up, congress returns to capitol hill tomorrow for a hectic lame duck session. they're jam-packed to do list includes a possible vote on repealing the don't ask don't tell policy on gays in the military. kate baldwin joins us from washington. this is a heated battle, largely along party lines. how likely will it be that there is a vote held this year? >> reporter: the lame duck session is only a few weeks long, and because of that, democrats are not likely to take up many of the more controversial measures that are still out there, that they still haven't dealt with, and that includes the repeal of military's don't ask don't tell policy banning gays from is serving openly in the military. listen to the state of the union today. texas republican senator corwin and they're talking about the chances. >> sounds like a no on don't sg don't tell. >> jonk there's a lot of time and appetite to jam stuff through. the president said he wants to pass a new start treaty in a lame duck sessio

fredricka? >> chris lawrence in lisbon, thanks so much for that update on that. >>> a new book is out on the pope and the catholic church, including comments the pontiff reportedly made on condom use. many are wondering if kkd present a shift on. >> this interview is that in a limited number of case where is the purpose of condoms is to prevent disease and in particular, to prevent the transmission of hiv-aids, that they could be morally acceptable. it should be said that this is an informal interview with a journalist, so it doesn't make this catholic teaching, but it suggests the pope is open to it and that is interesting indeed. >> the book where those comments are from is called "the light of the world: the pope, the church and the sign of the times." the catholic church has long frowned at condom use. it is considered an artificial form of contraception. >>> russell simmons has made a lot of money and given plenty back and is committed to making positive social change. hear how the hip-hop

. >> reporter: what a good question, fredricka. congress returns for this lame duck session with some serious and tough business before them. probably the biggest and the most contentious heated issue is what to do about these bush era tax cuts set to expire in january. president obama and congressional democrat ps want to make tax cuts permanent for the middle and lower class but want to let cuts expire for individuals making more than $200,000 a year and families making more than $250,000 a year. republicans feel differently. they want tax cuts extended for all americans, and today on nbc's "meet the press," president obama's top adviser says the white house is sticking to his position but seemed to leave a little wiggle room. >> i'm telling you what the president's position is. we need to move forward to the middle class tax cut. we cannot afford a permanent extension of tax cuts for the wealthiest americans which costs $700 billion over the next ten years. >> i know the arguments. >> note that david axelrod right there said we

i'm fredricka whitfield. getting home for the holidays might be snarled because of bad weather in some parts of the nation in the sierra nevada drivers are chaining up for an early winter storm that has already dumped two feet of snow there. in minnesota, freezing rain and ice are making roads downright impassible. hundreds of spinouts and accidents have already been reported on what's turning out to be a very icy and nasty sunday. let's go straight to minnesota right now where we have a member of the minnesota state patrol joining me on the phone from st. paul. how bad is the situation? >> temperatures have improved from overnight. temperatures are warm noing now. from 10:00 p.m. last night until early this morning it was a very treacherous road conditions. >> what are you telling people as they set off to hit the road and to visit their loved ones this holiday season? >> well, between the snow last weekend and ice last night, i think most minnesotans are probably in that winter driving mode. we want to remi

we've said this before, fredricka, you and i. how could subprime mortgages in florida or in california explode the world economy as they did? and to such an extent, of course, that now we also see those overlending, those mortgages in island, those ghost towns that now exist. they literally blew up the irish economy. >> so how would the u.s. be directly impacted if ireland does, indeed, need this bailout, takes the bailout. what would be felt on this side of the pond? >> i think initially, obviously, there's no direct impact. it's not like "a" to "b" to "c" to "d," but what you're going to notice, for example, as tension in europe shifts to other countries, portugal, spain, maybe even italy, the u.s. dollar which had been weak, the one thing, quantitative easing, qe2, ben bernanke's printing money has weakened the dollar. but i'll tell you this, it will be a jolly sight weaker if it wasn't for the european crisis. they are literally -- the euro and the dollar are like two drunken men swaggering down the street on a late saturday

. >>> we are only seconds away from fredricka whitfield, joining us near a moment.want to give you an update on the latest political headlines out there. the dominos still falling as the republican takeover of the house. speaker, house speaker nancy pelosi, poised to replace steny hoyer as house democratic leader. hoy already move down to the number two slot, making him the house democratic whip. they say the current whip, james clyburn, has agreed to move to a newly created number three slot. president obama and congressional republicans apparently agree on one thing, earmarks need to go. in a statement released yesterday, house republican leaders called on congress to ban earmarks. in his weekly immediamedia addr today the president said much of the same thing. sarah palin she remains popular among republicans. she appears to be maybe losing favor with other americans. new gallup poll suggests most americans, 52%, have a negative view of palin. as i've said a moment ago, my favorite part of this morning, good to see fredricka whitfield. i wish we could show people

i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> getting home for the holidays might be snarled because of bad weather in some parts of the nation. it's already started in midwestern and western states. in the sierra nevada, drivers are chaining up for an early winter storm that's already dumped two feet of snow. in minnesota, freezing rain and ice are making roads downright impassable. hundreds of spinouts and accidents have already been reported on what's turning out to be a very icy sunday. i talked with eric rosky of the minnesota state patrol earlier about these icy conditions. >> the situation's greatly improved from overnight. temperatures warming now and the ice has been melted by chemical on the roadway. however, from about 10:00 p.m. last night until early this morning, it was very treacherous road conditions. >> so what are you telling people as they set off to hit the road to visit their loved ones this holiday season? >> well, between the snow last weekend and the ice last night, i think most minnesotans are probably in that winter driving mode. but we want to remind people to take extra tim

fredricka whitfield is monitoring that. what's going on, fred? >> hello, everyone.ll isn't going anywhere, at least for now. the supreme court rejected a gay rights' group request to suspend the military's controversial policy. the justices say it should remain in effect temporarily until the full appeals process is done. a lower court found the court unconstitutional but that ruling was appealed. >>> and to san francisco, for the latest in the battle against the happy meal. mayor gavin newsom is set to veto the city's ban on most happy meals with toys. it would require fast food meals with toys to meet certain nutritional standards but the veto doesn't mean much since they have enough votes to override him. mcdonald's is extremely disappointed with the ban. and now that the thousands of passengers from that cruise ship are back on land, it's time to find out what caused that fire. panama officials will lead the investigation and the u.s. coast guard will also participate. the national transportation and safety board says panama will take the lead since that's the c

i'm fredricka whitfield in atlanta. a look at your top stories right now. are new fears about north korea's nuclear program. a u.s. scientist visited that country's main nuclear research site and he says north korea has a new uranium enrichment facility that could easily be used to produce bomb fuel. a u.s. envoy arrived in south korea today to discuss ways to restart six-party talks with the north. >>> saudi arabia's king abdullah heads to the u.s. tomorrow. a top government official says the 86-year-old needs medical treatment for a blood clot and for back pain. >>> and manhunt is under way in utah after a park ranger was shot. police say the suspect is wounded and is on foot. >>> fareed zakar"fareed zakaria continues right after this. [scraping] [piano keys banging] [scraping] [horns honking] with deposits in your engine, it can feel like something's holding your car back. let me guess, 16. [laughing] yeeah. that's why there's castrol gtx... with our most powerful deposit fighting ingredient ever. castrol gtx exceeds the toughest new industry standard. d

i'm fredricka whitfield. "your $$$$$" starts right now. >> do you want a quick fix or a long-term solution? the clock is ticking on a lame duck congress deciding which option to choose to deal with your taxes and millions of unemployed americans. welcome to "your $$$$$." i'm ali velshi. here are numbers that matter. jobless benefits which last for an unprecedented 99 weeks will run out on december 30th. democrats are pushing for another 12.5 billion to extend the deadline to the end of february. this would extend the safety net for 4 million americans by another three months. christine romans joins me now. congress extended this deadline four times in the past year. unemployment still above 9%. what are we supposed to do? what happens in this doesn't pass? what happens if that lifeline to so many millions of americans depending on this unemployment check goes away? >> 4 million people will not have a check every week and that means that money doesn't go into the economy. we know economists say a quick money t

fredricka whitfield is monitoring that and other top stories in "the situation room."era has one deadly outbreak in florida and in the dominican republic, and both victims had visited haiti where the death toll has topped 1,100 with more than 18,000 cases reported. the clinton foundation said it is committing $1.5 million to fight the outbreak. >>> pope benedict is calling on kazakhstan to release a woman who was convicted of insulting the prophet muhammad, and in dominantly pakistanis, but they say that death sentences like these are almost always overturned on appeal. >>> and makers of seven caffeinated alcohol drinks have 15 days to change the formula or the food and drug administration may seize the product. they are cracking down on the beverages citing a public health concern, and the maker four loko nicknamed blackout in a can will make a change. >>> and kate middleton and prince william were on the cover of every newspaper today. with all titles like "sealed with a ring." they say that the wedding could increase the economy with over $1 billion in wedding merch

fredricka whitfield is here monitoring that and other top stories in "the situation room" right now.at do we know? >> hello again. new york city will reportedly pay hundreds of millions of dollars to ground zero workers exposed to toxic debris after the september 11th attacks. an attorney for the plaintiffs said that they have agreed to a settlement which will end their seven-year fight with the city. 9/11 first responders say they were not properly outfitted and were exposed to toxic dust that later caused respiratory problems. >>> and the mother of a nevada man who had been locked up in the united arab emirates for seven weeks says not enough is being done to get answers about this case. private security contractor nicholas moody was traveling from iraq when he was arrested in abu dhabi on a stop-over. he was allegedly carrying firearms accessories, including a gun cleaning kit, which are illegal there. the u.s. state department says he has been visited by counselor officials. >>> and nasa says the space shuttle "discovery" will remain on the ground for at least another two weeks.