five-term iowa senator harkin will not run again. he would be in his 80s he rain and at ed for a six year term. senator harkin has helped to craft mar quee laws including the 1990 americans with disabilities act and big sales person for the obama care . the president acting and said he fought passionately to improve life for families and insure that every american has acess to health care. harkin is the third powerful senator to announce his retirement. long time republican senator chambliss will not seek a third term . jay rockefeller of west virginia announced he is finished after five terms. five-terps in the senate and harkin is the junior senator from iowa. republican chuck grassley outranks him having held the seat since 1980. >> fox extreme weather alert. millions of americans in states with dangerously cold temperatures. they have been in the freeze zone for days now. look at the colors there. purple and pink and a little bit of light pink where it is extreme. arctic air stretching from the midwest to the northeast. people ar

another quote from tom harkin today on my radio show.e's tired of the senate being held hostage by the dead hand of the past. there are just some senators in the democratic caucus that simply don't want to change this rule. and the dead hand of the past was rules set up by previous senate chambers. how frustrating is this going to be? doesn't the country deserve to move forward on legislation? because we all know what the republicans would do if they were in this position. >> ed, i think you're absolutely right. look, in politics, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. we all know that. but right now, one senator could have a staff member call up the cloakroom and say hey, put a hold on that bill. we're not going to go forward to even debate that legislation unless we get 60 votes. so what ends up happening is not only can't we pass the legislation we want, we can't even have the debate for the american people to understand who is on which side. so to me, yeah, i share harkin's views. i am tired of it. i don't mind losing. sometimes y

both rockefeller and harkin are over 70 years old. chambliss would be over 70 by the time of the 2014 election. >> is there the potential for a fundamental change in ideology in both houses? >> reporter: not a fundamental change in ideology, but you do see the senate becoming somewhat fresher. already 60 out of a hundred senators came, when barack obama came in 2005 or later, and fresh members of the senate are more impatient with the dysfunction of the place. we saw some of the effects this past week with the agreement among republicans and democrats to slightly streamline filibuster procedures. >> all right. john harwood, good to have you on with us tonight. thanks. >>> as secretary of state hillary clinton prepares to step down in coming days, she sat down alongside president obama for an interview that will air tomorrow on "60 minutes." four years ago or so they were rivals for the democratic presidential nomination and then she became a key member of his inner circle. the president and secretary talked about her service. >> i wan

iowa's tom harkin will not run for re-election in 2014. he has served ten years in the house before his election to the senate in 1984. president barack obama released a statement just minutes ago praising harkin's work on health care and his efforts to help americans with disabilities. >> actor burt reynolds is being treated for flu symptoms in a florida hospital. he was dehydrated when he went to the hospital and initially transferred to intensive care. his spokes person said reynolds' fever is down and he's getting better. >> the search for three canadians whose plane disappeared in antarctica is over. the wreckage of the plane has been found close to the queen alexandra mountain range. the crew were flying from the south pole to a nearby italian base on wednesday when the plane went off the grid. officials say it's unlikely anyone could have survived that crash. >>> thousands of people marched in washington today, demanding tough new gun laws. gun control laws. it's the first major antigun demonstration since the newtown, connecticut,

kendrick talks about >>> president obama is praising senator tom harkin tonight after the iowa lawmaker announced he will not run for re-election. harkin served in congress for nearly 40 years and the announcement sets up a likely battle between parties to fill his seat. vice presidential candidate paul ryan will be sitting down with david gregory on "meet the press" tomorrow to talk about the future of the republican party. that's tomorrow at 10:30 here on nbc4. >>> starting tomorrow, you might have to pay more for using plastic. retailers argue since they have to pay a fee for every transaction, they should be allowed to pass that fee along to the consumer. if there is a fee they must disclose it at the register or on their website. it is up to each individual business to decide and many large retailers say they have no plans to actually charge a fee. >>> snail mail will cost you more starting tomorrow. the postal service is raising the cost of a first class stamp to 46 cents. other shipping prices are going up by 4%. they are trying to make up for billions in lost revenue thanks toe

well, we'll see in terms of the help committee which obviously harkin was chairman of. see in two years how the cards shake out on that. i think that's a real question right now. there's been a lot of talk about the republican party being at a crossroads with conservatives and kind of right of center granch. but in a way senate democrats are also at a crossroads. you have a younger generation, more business minded democrats versus an older generation which one by one, cycle after cycle, is retiring. >> let's talk about that. republicans, the gaps there and the more moderate republicans, o olympia snowe gone. georgia senator saxby chambliss announcing he would not run again. chambliss was facing a heated primary challenge by conservatives in his party. that probably fed into his decision there. and recently we've seen very conservative republican candidates win the primaries. i was mentioning earlier. but not being able to go forward. who's going to take up that space for the moderate republicans? >> well, it's hard. because as you mentioned a lot of them are gone or the

harkin says he would be 81 by the time his sixth term ends and says it's time to step aside. >>> at least 30 people killed in violent protests to day in egypt. these deaths come after the verdict in one of the worst soccer riots. 21 rioters were sentenced to death. shortly after the verdict, violence erupted. but outside the court in cairo, families and friends of the 74 people killed in last year's riot actually celebrated. these clashes come after a night of anti-government protests across the country. yesterday marked the second anniversary of the egyptian revolution. >>> here at home, a manassas man charged with the murder of his 15-month-old son. he is accused of drowning the boy during a court ordered visit in october. his mother says the visits should never have happened. news 4's darcy spencer spoke to the boy's mother today about the arrest and what comes next. darcy? >> reporter: imjjim, the little boy's mom is relieved about the arrest but she wants those that allowed this to happen to be accountable. she sat down with an interview as police were still investigating the case. j

. >> iowa democratic senator tom harkin says he will not seek re-election next year.ss, harkin is the third senator in the past few weeks to announce his retirement. the 73-year-old says he wants to allow younger democrats to seek the office. some political observers are surprised by the news, since harkin was planning a fundraiser next month. he also has two-point-seven million dollars in his campaign war chest. harkin's decision could make it easier for the g-o-p to gain the six seats they need to win a majority. >> a big about-face for the u-s military. late last week it announced it's dropping its long-standing rule against women in combat roles. defense secretary leon panetta announced the historic change thursday. he said women are already fighting and dying on the battlefield. major allison black, the first woman to win the u-s air force combat medal, says there are standards for combat roles.irregardless of gender. more than 200-thousand women are in the active-duty military, including 69 generals and admirals. one hundred women have been killed in combat in i

tom harkin said this.n said if we don't fix the filibuster president might as well take a vacation for the next four years because he is not the going to be able to get anything done. i have to tell you i am so disappointed in this and leader harry reid if if democrats don't get anything done on immigration reform can't get judges passed through the senate, can't get anything done on gun control because of filibuster, filibuster filibuster, it's their own damn fault for not changing it when they had the opportunity they had the moment they had the votes. filibuster reform. we were ready for it. it ain't going to happen. 866-55-press. 866-557-7377. alt are democrats such wimps? i don't get it. i don't get it. >> heard around the country and seen on current tv this is "the bill press show." schmooze >> okay, so there's wiggle-room in the ten commandments is what you're telling me. >> she's joy behar. >> and current will let me >> only on current tv. it's a vanguard world premiere event. >> it doesn't anymore

and senator harkin's introducing a fair pay act. why so many different ones?t which the roberts court had gutted. but we want to go forward and we want stronger protections and regulation of people who cheat underpaying women. >> bill: unbelievable in this year 2013 -- >> still fighting for basic federal law to allow a woman to fight sex discrimination and pay and benefits and promotion and hiring yes. it is still very much an issue and i believe we can pass the paycheck fairness act and maybe even the fair pay act but definitely the paycheck fairness act unless republicans want to just block it. which is what they did the last time which was a filibuster. >> bill: you know, it reminds me wasn't so long ago last week the president's inaugural address where he said this is a classic example, that our challenge is to take that promise of equality of the constitution and the declaration of independence and make sure it's real today for all americans. men and women. >> by the way we're still not in the constitution and that fight was -- we're going to reintroduce

harkin has been in the senate since 1984. president obama issued a statement saying harkin will be missed while republicans started licking their chops at the prospect of gaining a senate seat. >>> a major gift for mayor michael bloomberg. $350 million to john hopkins. $100 million is earmarked for financial aid for students in need. bloomberg has given more than $1 billion to the school since he graduated in the mid-1960s. >>> the hacked website of the u.s. sentencing commission is back up and running and the fbi is handling the case as a criminal investigation. the site was shut down for a couple hours yesterday. the hackers made it known it was pay back for the suicide of web activist aaron schwartz. he was facing federal computer fraud charges. >>> in egypt, at least 30 people were killed in clashes in. protesters were trying to storm a prison. they wanted to reach 21 people sentenced to death last week for their part in a deadly soccer riot last year. >>> moving to bangladesh a deadly factory fire killed seven, mostly wo

harkin has become a leading liberal voice in the senate. he was also a key backer of president obama's 2010 health care bill. president obama meanwhile and outgoing secretary of state hillary clinton have given their first ever joint television interview. it airs tomorrow night on "60 minutes." the president in that interview thanked secretary clinton for her hard work. >> i think hillary will go down as one of the finest secretaries of state we've had. it has been a great collaboration over the last four years. i'm going to miss her. >> a few years ago it would have been seen as improbable because we had that very long, hard, primary campaign. i worked very hard, but i lost and president obama asked me to be secretary of state, and i said yes, and why did he ask me and why did i say yes? because we both love our country. >> congressman paul ryan today is spelling out what he learned from the election, he speak out as the vice presidential nominee saying moving forward the gop needs to lay out its vision with even more specifics and with a

harkin served ten years in the house before his election to the senate in 1984. he is 73 years old. >>> president obama released a statement praising harkin's work on health care and his efforts to help americans with disabilities. >>> tonight, for the entire hour, we're tackling the story everyone is talking about. you've ahead the name. >> manti te'o, the notre dame star -- >> manti te'o is trying to explain -- >> the manti te'o fake girlfriend hoax. >> biggest manti mysteries. >> in the already strange manti te'o story. >> and if you've heard the story you're probably a bit confused. we're going to run it all down and get some insight from those who know. the experts on this type of con. the producer of the tv show "catfish." another victim who says what happened to manti te'o happened to him. and the pretty face at the center of the controversy. her images stolen right off the internet. >> it's really difficult to wrap my head around this. my true identity is going to be hard to take back. >> reporter: she's here live with our tech pro to arm you with the too

where the gap grows wider between the few who have much and the many who have too little. >> tom harkin is among those who have said repeatedly that this deal does not address the needs of the real middle class, people making $40,000, $50,000, $60,000 a year. does he have a point? >> well, he has part of a point, but on the other hand, this package, as i understand it, extended the eitc for five years and the affordable -- >> earned income tax credit for people who don't know the shorthand. >> right, for the low-income working families. and so, i think there are actually a lot of good things in here that were at risk. unemployment benefits for those people who are having a hard time finding a job. so, i think there was a lot in here for middle and low-income families, things that we weren't necessarily guaranteed we were going to get a week ago, so i'm not sure i agree totally with senator harkin on that. >> some of the issues not addressed -- no entitlement reform, no reform of the tax code, obviously, a punting on the sequester. was this also a big missed opportunity? >> well, you kno

hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't i'm tom harkin welcomes a big picture. automatically the big picture of all joining me tonight are patrick howie medea benjamin and horace cooper let's get back to it austerity continues to cripple the british economy according to new economic numbers the u.k. economy shrank three tenths of a percent last quarter two thousand and twelve this will be the third time since the conservative government came out of the great britain came out and said you know we're going to cut our way to prosperity it's never been done any time in history anywhere and you know it's it's messing with the u.k. when what are people going to learn the financial times this morning b.b.c. was talking about the one zooms are pointing out it's like the consumes patrick well i mean first of all you said conservative government it's a coalition between the conservatives a little bit we have a nick clegg is is you know isn't our ally kerry really isn't a little rosier you know austerity is a two headed beast you can't have a sturdy

. >> senators merkley, udall, harkin and whitehouse have made the case for change.have made the compelling case for change. >> senator jeff merkley gives us the latest, next. ♪ you know my heart burns for you... ♪ i'm up next, but now i'm singing the heartburn blues. hold on, prilosec isn't for fast relief. cue up alka-seltzer. it stops heartburn fast. ♪ oh what a relief it is! [ coughs ] [ baby crying ] ♪ [ male announcer ] robitussin® liquid formula soothes your throat on contact and the active ingredient relieves your cough. robitussin®. don't suffer the coughequences™. >> announcer: did you know there are secret black market websites around the world that sell stolen identities? >> 30-year-old american man, excellent credit rating. >> announcer: lifelock monitors thousands of these sites 24 hours a day. and if we discover any of our members' data for sale, lifelock is there with the most comprehensive identity theft protection available. [♪...] [squealing, crash] call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. >>> and we are back. attitudes may be changing, but

harkin was first elected in 1984.his signature legislative work is the 1990 americans with disabilities act. the city of santa maria in southern brazil was in mourning today for 231 people killed in a weekend nightclub fire. police said they'd detained three people in connection with the blaze and were on the hunt for a fourth. we have a report narrated by neil connery of independent television news. >> reporter: the most painful journey has begun. family after family carefully carry those they lost to the funerals of the nightclub fire victims begin. this gymnasium, now a makeshift morgue. the scale of loss and the tide of grief fill the hole. many of those killed were university students. "i feel a lot of sadness because i lost my son," this man says. "he was full of life and health." "the names of the 231 victims are read out as family and friends wait for news. rescuers battled against the flames and thick smoke as the fire took hold on saturday night. investigators are looking at reports that only one emergency e

. >> senators merkley, udall, harkin and whitehouse have made the case for change.y have made the compelling case for change. >> senator jeff merkley gives us the latest, next. >>> and we are back. attitudes may be changing, but the white house has a heavy lift on its hand when it comes to gun control. a task force led by vice president joe biden is looking to reinstate the assault weapons ban. and as the "washington post" reports, broader gun control measures are also on the table. regulations that would require universal background checks for firearm buyers, track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthen mental health checks and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors. those proposals still under consideration are getting considerable pushback from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. one freshman democrat, senator heidi heitkamp of north dakota is calling them extreme. >> what i hear from the administration and if the "washington post" is to be believed, that is way in extreme of what i believe is

harkin was first elected in 1984.his signature legislative work is the 1990 americans with disabilities act. the city of santa maria in southern brazil was in mourning today for 231 people killed in a weekend nightclub fire. police said they'd detained three people in connection with the blaze and were on the hunt for a fourth. we have a report narrated by neil connery of independent television news. >> reporter: the most painful journey has begun. family after family carefully carry those they lost to the funerals of the nightclub fire victims begin. this gymnasium, now a makeshift morgue. the scale of loss and the tide of grief fill the hole. many of those killed were university students. "i feel a lot of sadness because i lost my son," this man says. "he was full of life and health." "the names of the 231 victims are read out as family and friends wait for news. rescuers battled against the flames and thick smoke as the fire took hold on saturday night. investigators are looking at reports that only one emergency e

iowa senator tom harkin's announcement saturday that he's retiring gives republicans a major opportunity. the gop needs to pick up six seats next year to take the senate. right now they have 45 seats. the democrats at 53. nbc news senior political editor mark murray joins me to talk more about this. mark, this puts a number of states in play now. we talk about west virginia after jay rockefeller's retirement and possibly south dakota, massachusetts as well. how possible is it for the gop to pick up six seats in 2014? >> it is possible. but it will be difficult. democrats are playing defense right now, thomas, given these retirements. but also just the terrain that the 2014 senate map will be on. there are democrats up for re-election in arkansas, alaska, louisiana. and now you end up having that open seat in west virginia. all of those four states haven't been hospitable territory for democrats in national elections, particularly presidential ones. but this is an eternity in politics. when november 2014 rolls around. there's a very long time. just two years ago no one thought democrats w

harkin served ten years in the house before his election to the senate in 1984. he is 73 years old. >>> president obama released a statement praising harkin's work on health care and his efforts to help americans with disabilities. >>> tonight, for the entire hour, we're tackling the story everyone is talking about. you've ahead the name. >> manti te'o, the notre dame star -- >> manti te'o is trying to explain -- >> the manti te'o fake girlfriend hoax. >> biggest manti mysteries. >> in the already strange manti te'o story. >> and if you've heard the story you're probably a bit confused. we're going to run it all down and get some insight from those who know. the experts on this type of con. the producer of the tv show "catfish." another victim who says what happened to manti te'o happened to him. and the pretty face at the center of the controversy. her images stolen right off the internet. >> it's really difficult to wrap my head around this. my true identity is going to be hard to take back. >> reporter: she's here live with our tech pro to arm you with the too

. >>> iowa senate tom harkin announced he will not seek a sixth term.he democratic is 73-yards and said his age did play a role in his decision. president obama released a statement thank youing harkin for his service. >> today former republican vice-presidential candidate paul ryan called on members of his party to stick together and pick its fights carefully. the congressman perfect wisconsin says republicans should be prepared for president obama to try to delegitimize them during his second term. ryan said it's important that the g.o.p. does not allow itself to be vilified, but rather provide better ideas than democrats. >> we'll need to use every tool at our disposal. sometimes we will have to reject the president's proposals. that time might come more than once. and sometimes we'll have to make them better. the president will bait us. he will portray us as cruel and unyielding. >> at the national review summit republican leaders discussed way to attract more women and hispanics since the face of the american electorate is changing. >>> the work li

i know tom harkin will vote no.h: a couple different things that could happen in the senate tonight. the easiest is unanimous consent. what the senate does is say we will pass this bill unless anybody objects and if anybody objects can be cannot pass it. but it becomes passing the senate and moves on to the house. adam: another vice president was instrumental. let's listen to what he told reporters. >> i feel very good about how this vote is going to go. having been a senate as long as i have, there are two things you should do. you shouldn't predict how the senate will vote before they will vote come he won't make a lot of money and he certainly shouldn't predict how the house is going to vote. i feel very, very good. i think we will get a very good about tonight, but happy new year and i will see you all maybe tomorrow. adam: rich, were you able to hear what the vice president said? i am not sure 310 million other americans are feeling as good as the vice president right now. rich: he speaks from decades of experi

harkin has been in the senate a long time, five terms. is healnounce later today he will not one for a sixth term next year. he'll retire rather than one for re-election. he is now the third senator this year to say i'm not going to run for re-election next year. jay rockefeller also announced he would retire next year. and just yesterday in georgia, saxby chambliss, the republican down there said he wouldn't run. here's where it stands right now by the numbers. 55/45, democrats have a 55-45 majority in the senate. next year, they're going to be defending 21 of the 35 seats up for grabs. republicans think maybe they have a shot to do what they couldn't do this past november, take back the senate. >> paul, the voice of reason, thank you very much. survive the cold up there in washington. >>>. >>> the catholic church is one of the most staunch abortion voices believing life begins at conception. but after a mother and her twin boys guide at birth, a catholic hospital is arguing fetuses are not people. >> there wasn't one person that went in

talking about harkin, saxby chambliss.ited the gridlock in washington as part of the reason him wanting to step away. get your reaction to both of these men not seeking re-election. and also what are your thoughts on chambliss actually citing what's happening in washington as part of the reason for him wanting to get out of there? >> i think what we're seeing right now is a generational change in washington. chambliss and harkin and guys like that are part of that change. and it's interesting particularly in chambliss's case as you point out he does cite the partisan gridlock. but he's also part of that old republican guard. he's very close friends with house speaker john boehner for example. i think you're going to see as the republican party changes some of these old guard republicans leaving the senate for obvious reasons, it's no fun to be in the minority. you don't get anything done. and looking at another couple of years of that is not very appealing. and it's part of what the republicans are doing is trying to figur

&p democratic senator tom harkin suggested the leeissation missed the marr. sen.d-ia)"...it priority, creating good middle plass jobs now // secondly, this proposal doos not gennrate the revenue necessary forrthe couutry to meet its neees..." republican senate miioritt leader mitch mcconnell says neithee side got everything it wanted.sen. mitch mcconnell (r-ky) / minnrity leader"...so it took pn imperfect solution to prevent our constituents from very reaa financial pain. bbt innmy view, it wassworth the effort..."(anccor tagg the republican-controlled house is exppcted to begin considering the bill later today. a final vote is &pexpected in the next day or two, passaae is not t all certtin. in new york, pattiiann browne, fox neww. it's not just the fiscal to worryyabout the debt ceiling.the u-s reached it's legal borrowing limit of yesterday.the treasury department is taking measures suspending some investments inn workers..ut after that... the treasury will not be able to pay all f the counnryys bblls in full... and on time. congress wouud have to vote on raisin

. >> senator tom harkin says it is time for him to step aside. he will not seek another term. he says his age is a factor of the decision. he says it is time to pass the torch. his legislative accomplishment was the american with disabilities act. >> there is a warming trend. we have some precipitation. and never of different types of precipitation in the forecast. we will talk about that in a minute. temperatures are at the freezing point at the airport. we have not seen that for a while. d >> your forecast with meteorologist john collins. >> let us take a look at the radar. i've circled the metropolitan area around the beltway. still some flurries out to the west of us. most of this is out in virginia. no accumulations of that at all. that will let up a little bit during the irving -- during the evening hours. still below the average. we will begin to see these records go up a little bit. the coldest time of the year -- the storm is time of the year from this point out was in february. nothing big in our forecast. the trend is up. we have been below the average. the typical

harkin: madam president? the presiding officer: senator. mr. harkin: madam president, i ask further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. harkin: madam president, on january 29 in 2009, president obama signed the lily ledbetter fair pay act. the critical law, legislation signed into law by president obama after his first election, reversed the outrageous supreme court decision in ledbetter and made clear a worker like ledbetter who had not earned a raise for years still had recourse to challenge her wage discrimination. today we celebrate the enactment of this important law, but at the same time we must recognize it was only a first step. we need to do much more to ensure all workers in our society are paid fairly for their work and are not shortchanged because of their gender, race or other personal characteristic. that is why four years after enactment of the lilly ledbetter fair pay act, i am proud to introduce once again the fair pay act, a bill i have introduced in ev

>> tom harkin's a great u.s. senator, and i think that he's right.n is, though, whether or not the deal that's put together can effectively create a patch that will take us two months down the road. this is no grand bargain. the american people need to know that. this is essentially a two-month fix with respect to the bigger issues of spending, of debt, of tax cuts, and you know, is it true that the people are on unemployment deserve to have their benefits extended? absolutely. do middle class taxpayers need a patch on the alternative minimum tax? you bet they do. should there be some relief with people with smaller estates? yes. there are some things being done here that are good but the fact of the matter is, how do we get into this mess to begin with? what is this perils of lead scenario where governments all of a sudden or the people of the country are on some railroad track and have to be worried about being runned down by the train of economic excess, and why aren't we talking about jobs? we have over 10 million people unemployed. if you want m

the announcement coming because harkin has nearly 3 million bucks left in his campaign fund account. he was planning it for another fundraiser next month. he is the third long time senator to announce retirement recently. along with rockefeller and chambliss. >> the spotlight in the weekly address. south dakota senator talking about getting finances under control. the need to change government spending habits. >> washing ton is addicted oto spending your money. over the past four years our country added 6 trillion to the national debt. at $16.4 trillion the total debt is larger than our entire economy. we can't add a trillion dollars to the debt every year as we have for the past four years. a major credit rating agency has already downgraded our nation's credit once. if we don't start making real progress on spending freerms more downgrades are likely in the future. >> he went on to say the first priority in congress every year should be coming up with a spending plan. he admits it can be tough at times. but says families have to come up with a budget for their household needs and l