g.m. was bailed out only three years ago, causing many to joke that g.m. stood for "government motors." the car maker has covered a lot of road since then, so we asked dean reynolds to catch up with the man in the driver's seat. >> reporter: what do you say to the people who call this government motors? >> well, i think it's important that we just do the best job we can. >> reporter: we met dan akerson, c.e.o. and chairman of general motors since september of 2010, along a detroit assembly line producing g.m.'s volt electric car, what it calls a symbol of its rebound. >> we've got a second chance here. a million jobs are saved. the industrial infrastructure and the manufacturing base of america in large measure is still intact. in fact, it's prospering. all three of the big auto makers are now profitable for the first time since maybe the '60s or '70s. >> reporter: the 63-year-old akerson is a naval academy graduate who's run several telecommunication companies but never an auto maker. when you took over did you look at the place and go, "gee whiz? how scr

as darren gersh reports, g.m.'s move reflects what is shaping up to be a very tough year for pensions plans and the people who rely on them. >> reporter: the word of the day at g.m. was "de-risking"-- "de-risking," as in reducing the financial risk posed by the car maker's huge pension liability. g.m. has already frozen it's plan. but it still expects lower investment returns on its pension fund will cost the company $800 million this year. >> there's no question-- for many companies, it's going to be an extraordinarily challenging environment over the next year. >> reporter: analysts call the difference between the pension assets a company has and the pension promises the company has made the "pension gap." for g.m., the gap is $24 billion and for all u.s. companies, it's somewhere between $335 billion and $431 billion. >> the hole's gotten pretty deep over the last few years. unless you see a real turnaround in interest rates, and a real turnaround in the stock market and alternative investments, the hole's not g

glende has no doubt the government bailout accelerated g.m.'ough some business and political leaders, like mitt romney, opposed it. >> i'm glad the obama administration didn't listen to them, you know. i think there are a lot of job opportunities that would have been lost. >> reporter: under g.m.'s profit sharing plan, each employee will receive a $7,000 bonus next month. bill jennings says that will pay dividends beyond this plant. >> i'm able to put my daughter through college because i have a job. central michigan university has another student, and it goes on and on. >> i love the auto industry. i want to see it thrive and grow. >> reporter: romney's opposition to the g.m. and chrysler bailouts could be his achilles' heel in michigan. car companies have add 15,000 manufacturing jobs here in the past two years, and each job is said to support another nine in the state. >> anyone that says we should have let the auto industry go out of business, they'll be lucky if they make it out of michigan. >> reporter: device carlson is c.e.o. of coherri

that's one of the things we're seeing at g.m. g.m.en hiring again, you've been seeing a real improvement in the auto industry. people that support the auto bailout point to that that signs it worked. in the state of michigan, 8.5% unemployment rate. still a lot of issues. it's a manufacturing heavy state no matter what you see. i wanted today highlight one specific state. ontonegan county. 13.7%. now a paper company had a factory there. what happens in a lot of these counties, you have one factory that's really what employment in the county is relying on. in 2009 that factory closed. at one point unemployment in this county was north of 21%. you say it's down to 13.7. that must be good? not really. because what's happened is a lot of people left the state. a lot of people have not come back into the workforce so they're not counted as unemployed. so a lot of the employment improvement in michigan is a little bit of a false story, even though to be fair you have seen some real immovement in auto manufacturing. >> fascinating to look at

g.m. was in very serious trouble. if they hadn't gotten that bailout -- they also declared bankruptcy if you recall. and that allowed them to cancel contracts, very expensive contracts, cut new deals and close some dealerships, thanks in the fair pursuit of business you can't do. so it's not that they did this all on their own. if you look at ford and chrysler they're all profitable. ford did it on its own without any bailouts and having to do that kind of thing. the bailout helped, the fact that the recession is over helped and the fact that crisis made all these carmakers retool and do what they had hadadi to do to make cars that people wanted to buy. some of these g.m., ford and chrysler cars, not so many with chrysler these days but the g.m.s and ford are very good cars. profits up 39% compared to 2010. so they did it with a little help. but the bottom line is they did it and it saved a lot of jobs. >> it's really amazing when you kind of look back with hindsight. because there were so many skeptics, ali, when thi

g.m. produces cars that-- >> g.m. should not be funding this. be funded by--this is the place that does the volt. >> microsoft has the reputation of being a leader in this area. they need to hear from us. if you dry up the money behind this, then of course they can't continue this terrible activity. >> faiz, thank you so much for joining us and bringing this to light. the editor of think progress. up next, taking rick santorum to task, among other things, being rick santorum. you doesn't grade >>this is outrageous! [[vo]]cenk uygur calls out the mainstream media. >>the rest of the media seems like, "ho-hum, no big deal." we've have no choice, we've lost our democracy here. just refreshing to hear. no other television show does that. we're keeping it real. used to be we socked money away and expected it to grow. then the world changed... and the common sense of retirement planning became anything but common. fortunately, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. take control by opening a new account or

g.m.'s assembly plant in flint, michigan, for the first time in years the overnight shift is back up and running. >> i have a real peace of mind because i feel like i'm back on track. >> the iconic american company still has a long road ahead. the government still owns a big share of stock and g.m. still owes billions from the bailout. on the campaign trail, mitt romney worked to rev up the crowd to his native michigan. >> i love the auto industry. i want to see it thrive and grow. i'm glad it went through a bankruptcy process which i recommended from the beginning. >> meanwhile, rick santorum kept the heat on the president. >> this is a president who is suffocating this economy. this is a president who doesn't care about you. >> reporter: there are signs companies are starting to hire again. in the past week, jobless claims fell to their lowest in nearly four years. economists point to stronger retail and auto sales along with gains in manufacturing as good indicators the country is heade

bury it or is it a offering that g.m. can offer as when you go into a dealership now you can look, very few buy it but it is there with some of the gas guzzler suburbans. >>guest: what we found in a number of suburbans which get 12 miles per hour, outrage ously exceeded the number of volts sold but the way they swinging this the vote is allegedly bringing in shoppers to the show room but they leave with an s.u.v. so the volt is nothing more than a boutique attraction to bring people into the dealership to get them into the gas guzzlers far from anything anyone envisioned on how it would go forward. at the washington, dc auto show it has electric cars coming out, some full electric everyone like the vote which takes gasoline, as well, so the government mandates, the government subsidies on all three levels, and the cars are $250,000, estimated per car to be made given all the federal, state, and local subsidies that go into there and the different manufacturers involved, and this is what is known as a huge government boond

g.m. had record profits last year. car makers and parts companies added more than 38,000 jobs in 2011. that trend is continuing. who gets the credit for pulling all of this off? michigan radio uses this quote to frame the debate. i love n. row -- love this. success is many fathers but failure is an orphan and there are a lot of folks right now who want to say i'm the father of this success. so we're going to start with the white house because president obama was out talking about this yesterday. the white house is calling this auto industry bailout their major success. the obama administration did create the auto task force that restructured g.m. and chrysler. it also found fiat as a buyer after its bankruptcy but one caveat of history to remember. that original billion dollars in emergency assistance, that bailout that went to g.m., ford and chrysler that came during the bush administration. we have to remember that. ford also turned down the assistance with its own plan. turning to another viewpoint, turning to mitt

auto manufacturing plants it all started when the united auto workers union targeted it to g.m. plants and workers showed up at work and sat down inside so that new workers can come in to replace them had nearly shut down the company and before long other plants followed suit and it did take a while but they got the attention finally of the big boys the heads of the automakers. now let's fast forward to today especially this year many of these same issues about working conditions and workers' rights will come up again as the subject is unions of course back up for debate of course and to union wisconsin governor scott walker faces a recall election a couple in a couple months because of his policies but as we said here many states across the country are working hard to dismantle the rights that so many fight for today and also fought for seventy five years ago take a look. it started in late december nineteenth thirty six workers that two general motors plants in flint michigan found their working conditions unbearable long hours no time for bathroom breaks and excessively cold

he says when he went to homs he put in his mind that the syrian opposition is very peaceful and the g.m. is trying to fame them so he he was like a pioneer in the call and he was killed by the some gang attacks on government targets have become increasingly bloody themselves with twenty eight people killed and scores injured one attack on a military base in a little last week an f.s.a. free syrian army recruits entered to admit its responsibility before the organization later denied it claim and government forces a claim ridiculed by the regime. insurgents and terrorists have committed this attack only an insane person could say that the government is killing its officials and officers and destroying its own administrative buildings these armed terror groups were created to commit these crimes and they have committed them in the past and will continue to do so if the west and the arab states support them last sunday the arab league vote still for full political and financial support for the opposition to unify its ranks it is similar call from the leader of al qaida urging muslims to un

we like it capitalism needs big government because it has big capitalism and big firms when you let g.m. general motors go under or chrysler go under u.s. steel go under you might let ten percent of the national economy go down and no nation can afford to do that but do you see any sort of shift or a change in thinking and i'm not talking we have to step away from the republican presidential candidates because it's only going to be one line or rather it rhetoric are going to get out of that but any sort of large scale shift and perhaps a knowledge in that capitalism may need a little bit more of a role by the state in order to succeed especially in light of these are propelling economic crises that we seem to not be able to get out of. without question occupy wall street as you said has already not just among young people and unemployed people in the homeless raise the alarm that capitalism is destroying democracy but has really made people begin to think about the legitimacy of a system that creates such deep inequalities and lets the one percent get bonuses of ten million dollars whil

bailed out just three years ago g.m. is aiming to make $10 billion a year. "the wall street journal" reports it's well on its way. next week g.m. is expected to report 2011 net income of about $8 billion, its highest level ever. behind the games we've seen strong growth in china as well as strong profits in north america. g.m., such a turn around story. >> looking at that commercial during the super bowl with clint eastwood brought that point home very powerfully. what do you have for us in the next half-hour. >> road trips this spring will cost a pretty penny. we'll tell you how much coming up in the next half-hour. >>> philippines recovering from a monday morning earthquake and tsunami warning. >>> we're back with that story and your weather first in less than two minutes. denny's new sizzlin' skillets are here for a limited time. so strike while the iron's hot. starting at $4.99. only at denny's. america's diner is always open. >>> ten after 5:00 on this frosty monday morning. fog in the mountains and many areas right now with lots of us down in the 20s.

visa, g.m., at&t. it will be in the top 10 but not number one. >> shepard: as a result of this they will have to answer to shareholders, stock holders, would that make changes or at least put pressure regarding privacy and other issues? >> this is key. because what this company owns and a lot of people don't is a lot of personal data on 800 million americans and people on other countries as well. not too long ago they had to have a settlement if with the federal trade commission privacy audits for 20 years. they say of course in their filing today any bad publicity could hurt their stock price. >> shepard: that's how bad publicity goes with public companies. >> that's right. >> shepard: good to see you. >> good to see you. >> shepard: united states military will look to end combat operations in afghanistan next year. the word came today from no less a source than the united states defense secretary himself. comes even as we get wind of a secret report that indicates taliban forces are set to re-take co

blues that is and they certainly aren't the only ones who are known to throw money at a problem from g.m. to greek bailout politics and it's changing the way economies function. good evening it's monday february twenty seventh seven pm in washington d.c. i'm christine and you're watching our t.v. . violence and unrest continues today in afghanistan much of it in response to last week's burning of qur'an that there have now been five days of riots all across the country two american soldiers shot and killed by an afghan soldier and another two killed inside one of the most safest places in afghanistan for americans the afghan interior ministry in all at least thirty people have been killed and many are shocked by what's happening but many others say this was bound to happen and this particular incident has simply exposed a policy and a strategy that is inherently weak and that's failed both in afghanistan and elsewhere when you occupy a country especially one with an extremely different culture it will inevitably become a hotbed of tension of resentment and violence it's a lesson some say

the fact that g.m.hows the kind of turn around that's possible when it comes to american manufacturing and good to remember that the fact there were some folks that won't let this industry die, because of folks coming together, we are now back -- back in a place where we can compete with any car company in the world. >> well, the federal treasury has still lost more than $23 billion on this deal. >> for jon corzine, that's even a lot of money. >> it is. general motors' stock currently trading at $24 a share which is below the $53 a share needed for the united states to recoup our money on the investment we made. and yet, g.m. given their business to england. way to go. >> all right. coming up on our show, dick morris is going to be here. mostly every poll says mitt romney is the one to beat president obama but wait, should we count newt out? >> plus, don't mess with this boxer. one dumb criminal picked his house to bust into. details on how the throwdown that followed. straight ahead. weight loss progra

you wait -- the ua, got $4 $4.5 billion in direct stock ownership of g.m. when g.m. bond holders and shareholders were wiped out. they were the first in line to receive money. not the uaw. >> bob: to suggest the retirees did not take a hit when their benefits are cut is just not rue. >> eric: they were bailed out. in a regular company, if the company gets bankrupt they get zero. they took a little haircut. not completely blown out of water like bond holders and shareholders. >> andrea: not in obama's america. he's greedy and wants their vote and rewards them with money. >> dana: look at other auto makers and decision where to make their cars. there are more companies making cars in america. they're choosing not to do it in michigan. in tennessee or other places right to work states where nay are not going to run into the problems. >> bob: now we have general motors the largest car manufacturers. a union shop. >> eric: they owe us $18 billion in tax credit going forward. >> andrea: the asian markets were down because of the floods in thailand where they make the asian

i said tara who is the g.m. here, gosh, it must be hard not to indulge each and every day because it smells so sweet and wonderful in here. tell me about the promo you have today for leap year babies. >> if you come in today and show your valid i.d. stating you have your birthday today on leap year, you get a dozen cupcakes. >> reporter: we have rosa and victoria who are making it look so easy. they are frosting. tell me about the unique way of frosting here. >> at sprinkles we do hand frosting with a spatula so we don't do any piping. we want to make sure we get the great frosting to cake ratio and some cupcakes are adorned with decorations or with sprinkles and it's just a great way to get that great bite of frosting and cake. >> reporter: one of these, actually a dozen of these can be yours if the price is right. if you were born on leap day. >> yes. >> reporter: and if you have a value laid i.d. that says february 29. come on down to sprinkles in georgetown. if indeed your birthday is today. happy birthday.

. -- former g.m.d coach coming back. >> the only one talking was me and i was just venting to my assistance. everyone else was just pretty distraught about our performance. that's a good sign. we were all not very happy with the way we performed. i expect us to bounce back. i hope we play better. i did not know what the result will be, but hopefully better. >> the miami had to coach brought a slogan to the comcast center last night. jim understands that this game is a must for the hurricanes. >> the acc is a war every single night and we've had some great games. our win over duke was pretty special. we lost a tough one at home to carolina. now we have maryland and it should be one whale of the game. we played them in our place and it ended up in double overtime. we're expecting that same kind of excitement. >> that -- vernon college basketball to pro baseball. the nationals are down in florida. the pitchers and catchers are down on the deal today and everyone is expected -- excited. some of the regula

>>neil: your thoughts on g.m., freezing pensions for white color workers, and this is a company we took over as taxpayers. what do you make of that? >>guest: in some ways that reminds me of america's own version of greece. a major problem. we bailed them out and rather than traditional bankruptcy, still that would be the sail company but with private owners and the america taxpayers own 500 million shares and get $128 billion pension, the largest outstanding next in america $30 billion unfunded. but here is the thing, finally, they come to realize we cannot guarantee the workers their money. they have to have a 401(k) like everyone watching the show. because we will do that we will give you an extra week vacation and bonuses. sort of like the greeks saying we are having a hard final getting off the 14 months worth of pay for 12 months of work. >>neil: i welcome getting up to speed, but they are doing everything that a private bankruptcy who is done, the only difference, including shuttering the plants and laying off workers. >>guest: we are the back stop, the taxpayers and the stop has

of course, our government still owns a big part of g.m. its stock has to double in value to get all that -- to get back all that's been lost. while taxpayers haven't gotten what they're due, 47,000 workers it was announced today are getting profit sharing checks. checks that average $7,000 each. well, hours ago, the new jersey state legislature passed a bill to legalize gay marriage. governor christie is expected to veto it. he says he wants for the gay marriage to go up for a public vote. but democrats argue that it's a civil right and that the constitution protects it. seven states and the district of columbia currently allow gay marriage. al qaeda reportedly getting involved in the uprising in syria. we will see what the terror group is doing and why it's cause for some concern. plus, highlights from the bizarre birthday celebration for north north korea's dead dictator. that's ahead from the journalists of fox news on this thursday fox report. ugh, my sinus congestion, and it's your fault. instead of blaming me, try advil congestion re

coming up in three minutes, i will be talking to the metro g.m. so stay tuned for that. >>> 6:01. we're following breaking news this morning. a family overcome by carbon monoxide gas, the mother, father, and three children are all in critical condition right now. >> they're being treated in a hype baric claim -- hyperbaric chamber in baltimore. the family lives along bernard drive just off allentown road. delia goncalves is there to tell us more about what happened. >> reporter: andrea, we're life in the 8300 block of bernard drive. it's been a long night for a lot of these homeowners here. you can imagine with firefighters and emts streaming through the area to try to rescue the family trapped inside with these dangerous lefts of carbon monoxide. take a look at the house at this hour. you can see most of the lights are actually o. that's because when firefighters were here, they went through the whole house to ventilate the house. the carbon monoxide level, get this, 90 times higher than the unhealthy limit. it all started when doctors if children's hospital called firefighters b

in the last year alone, honda and chrysler and ford and g.m. announced multimillion dollar investments in ohio alone and in many cases around the country. honda announced it would build and develop its most state-of-the-art sports car ever right in ohio. we see the same job-creating investments from chrysler, its toledo assembly complex, from g.m. and its defiance plant. like it did when our country need the the forging press, our government stepped up to invest in american auto industry. so those who complain about the auto rescue need to read a little history to understand that so often american manufacturing partnered with u.s. taxpayers to make sure these industries were strong and solid and created good-paying jobs to build a middle class. it's paying off dividends today. it will continue to do so in the future. one last point, madam president -- a unanimous consent request after i speak that the senator from oregon is recognized. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, madam president. one more point i want to make

. >> hello, and welcome to "g.m. c.." thention over the country's nuclear program. one step closer to ridding the world of polio. how immunization is working in india. >> it is midday here in london. early morning in washington. it is 1:00 in the afternoon in brussels where a sec bail out with greece looks all but certain to be greed. the french finance minister has said as much. greece will run out of money. once the deal is done, then what? greece is now in its fifth straight year of recession. the tough austerity package it has been forced to adopt between the euro-zone and the i.m.f. will make it more difficult to engineer a recovery. >> the country is sinking deeper into recession. it hopes it will be released by the euro-zone meeting in brussels later today. >> it can't wait anymore. important structural reforms are ongoing. they will have to continue. but the political commitments are made. it can't wait any longer. in march, greece has financial deadlines and it is a country that could go bankrupt. this is a crucial moment for greece as it teeters toward the

i've seen it at g.m.'s plant in ohio. where workers got their jobs back to build the chevy cobalt and g.m.'s plant in detroit where i got to get inside a brand new chevy volt fresh off the line. even though secret service wouldn't let me drive it. [laughter] but i liked sitting in it. [laughter] it was knight nice. -- it was nice. i bet it drives real good. and five years from now when i'm not president anymore i'll buy one and drive it myself. [cheers and applause] [choud chanting] [crowd chanting] >> look, i know our bet was a good one because i had seen it pay off firsthand. but here's the thing. you don't have to take my word for it. ask the chrysler workers who were brought on to make sure the newest high-tech transmissions and fuel-efficient engenerals -- engines are made in america. or ask a steel worker in tennessee whose jobs were saved from going abroad. ask the ford workers from kansas city who are making the f-150, america's best selling truck, a more fuel efficient truck. and you ask all the suppliers who are

mainstream coverage is the phrase of the can has been pretty sparse this graphic video appears to show every g.m. supporter being hanged obviously clear picture of exactly what's happening in syria right now to know what the western allies that they were basing their assertions on was not really about genuine concern for human rights and democracy this is all about regime change dissatisfied with the wording of the resolution especially in china veto the latest proposal many felt it contained disturbing a case of libya russia and china believes the door a pin for foreign military intervention as a conflict between the two sides escalates the crisis in syria is becoming increasingly internationalized really misses him. the bidens are going to have to be very careful not to make the same mistakes made in libya. looking like. this part the failure of the un resolution some remain optimistic that present our side can still be forced out u.s. presidential hopeful newt gingrich he was america could train the rebels to challenge our side's rule political scientist says the most who's also suspect. it's