jake tapper, abc news, the white house. >> years of training led jake to that interview.on't forget, barbara's full interview, barbara walters' interview with the president and first lady, friday night. we'll see you tomorrow. >>> slow-going in the sierra tonight. we're live on interstate 80 and this is why. >> how have these buildings on the bluffs held up against pounding surf? tonight rescue efforts that has been mired in lawsuits. >> police issue a community alert. a roofless late night crime. the robbery and sexual assault of three women in their homes. >> from awc 7 news i team a $38 million building poorly constructed and some can't be used. >> a young iraqi war victim whose mother risked losing her family so he can have surgery here in the bay area. >> good evening. a frigid blast of cold air is hitting the bay area tonight. >> if you twhaitz chilly today, just wait. bone-chilling weather is wreaking havoc in the mountains. chains required along a 40 miles stretch of highway 50 and there is interstate 80 off limits to truckers now. everyone else needs chains to tr

>> thank you, jake tapper. >>> and also in asia tonight, word that the world's most famous political prisoner may be set free. even though it separated her from the husband and the children she loved. abc's jim sciutto has traveled to berma three times, once underkovler. and he has the latest on the courageous woman taking a stand. >> reporter: as word of her imminent release spread, hundreds of suu kyi's supporters gathered outside her home in anticipation, all holding her picture. an opposition leader we spoke with told us it's a moment they've been waiting for for years. it must be a very exciting moment for your country. >> we are very much excited. everyone's excited. her image and her contribution to our struggle have been so great. >> reporter: for many burmese, she is the struggle, their own nelson mandela. held under house arrest for 15 of the last 21 years, she's refused to back down, fighting for democracy in the deeply oppressive country. when she was offered her own freedom in exchange for never returning, she said no, even when her husband was dying from cancer abroad.

and jake tapper tells us what he said. >> reporter: president obama concluded the summit of the g-20 economic superpowers by trying to explain the limits of american influence. >> part of the reason that sometimes it seems that the united states is attracting some dissent is because we're initiating ideas. we're putting them forward. >> reporter: a remarkable admission for a president who won the office running against leaders who set their sights only on incremental change. >> instead of hitting home runs, sometimes we're going to hit singles. but they're really important singles. >> reporter: strike one. the president failed to convince the south koreans to open their markets to american beef and cars. at stake, $10 billion in exports and 70,000 american jobs. >> i'm not interested in signing a trade agreement just for the sake of an announcement. >> reporter: strike two. the president failed to push convince chinese president hu jintao to change policies that make it cheaper to manufacture in china by artificially building up the dollar and holding down chinese currency. today, th

jake tapper traveling with the president tells us what the setback means. >> reporter: at their jointhere in seoul, president obama tried to put a positive spin on his failure to push the south koreans on a free trade agreement. one that could increase u.s. exports by $10 billion and support more than 70,000 u.s. jobs. >> we believe that such an agreement, if done right, can a win-win for our people. >> reporter: but so far, south korea will not open its markets in any meaningful way to american beef or, perhaps most contentiously, cars. because of korean trade rules, u.s. automakers exported just 6,000 vehicles to south korea last year. korean automakers sold 735,000 cars and light trucks in the u.s. and that was not the only major roadblock here. >> we've got a special obligation to deal with ensuring strong, balanced and sustainable growth. >> reporter: president obama made no progress convincing chinese president hu jintao to stop what the white house believes to be the artificial weakening of china's currency. experts say the chinese are manipulating their currency, making it che

and jake tapper has more on all of this from the white house tonight. jake? >> reporter: good evening, diane, and welcome back. president obama is in a showdown with republicans over two major national security issues. one cho today the president called a national security imperative. in a room full of national security officials from his own secretary of state, hillary clinton, to president nickxon's henry kissinger, the president urged congress to act. >> as ronald reagan said, we have to trust, but we also have to verify, in order for us to verify, we've got to have a treaty. >> reporter: 67 senate votes are needed for treaty ratification. and as of now, the president can only count on 60, only one republic is committed to vote for it. republicans say language in the treaty ties the hands of the u.s. when it comes to missile defense, though defense secretary gates and other military leaders say that concern is not based in fact. incoming republican senator roy blount says the process should be slowed down. >> this is a critically important issue for the co

jake tapper has more. >> reporter: this turkey has reason to give thanks. hey, buddy. how are you? much better week than a lot of your friends. brought to washington by the national turkey federation, this bird will receive a presidential pardon. this turkey has no political connections that is enabling it to get a pardon? he didn't put on retainer any of, either of hilary clinton's brothers or anything like that? right? >> not to my knowledge. >> reporter: scooter libby is not his attorney? >> no. >> reporter: the national turkey federation first presented a holiday bird to a president in 1947 and for decades, these birds were generally eaten. the full tradition of the presidential turkey pardon began with president george h.w. bush in 1989. the turkeys are largely selected for their looks. and here he is, the winner of this year's beauty contest, picked from 20,000 birds. i can't tell you his name. that's for the president to announce. he was picked because of his beautiful plumage, his large snood, his thick, lustrous beard and also because he is so well behaved. you don't want

jake tapper is there. jake, what's going on inside the white house tonight? >> reporter: well, diane, white house officials say president obama does not spend nights like tonight watching election returns, rather, he spends them with his family and they e-mail him news when they get it. but regardless, everyone in the white house seems braced for a major change in the political terrain. president obama spent the day in meetings focused on the economy and national security, while his staffers were anxious for election news. days like today, is it nerve-wracking? what's it like? >> you have the role of watching and waiting and that's what we're doing, watching and waiting. >> reporter: white house officials paint a picture of a serene president. but in malaysia, hillary clinton candidly may have revealed his state of mind when she said she'd spoken to the president, and, quote, i think he was a little envious that i'm here. safely in the oval office today, the president tried to contain any potential damage with last-minute interviews in friendly forums. to you

jake tapper leading us off at the white house tonight. jake, thank you. >>> the job numbers come the same week we saw major gains on wall street. the dow now at a level not seen since before the lehman collapse. in fact, a 401(k) worth about $80,000 last week would have recovered $2,800 this week. the market reacting to the midterm election and from the word of the fed that they've injected $600 billion into the company. economy. but we had questions about yet another block buster amount of money. first, where is that $600 billion coming from? are they printing it? >> it's like farmville cash. it is a virtual currency effectively. the federal bank, the central bank of the united states, gets to do something that no one else gets to do. they get to type something into a computer and instantly, there is $600 billion in the world. >> reporter: so it's not a printing press anymore, it's virtual money. >> virtual money, exactly. >> reporter: we wondered, how does this help consumers? >> they're not going to hand each of us a few bucks. >> repo

abc's jake tapper is there for us tonight. jake. >> reporter: good evening, diane. the head of the transportation security administration today said that flying is a privelege, and he said if someone decides that they don't want to have the screening, they don't have a right to get on the plane. the white house has been more diplomatic in its language but today they are standing by the new procedures with or without the public. with images such as these flooding the airwaves and the internet, the white house today found itself acknowledging some mistakes in new tsa procedures. >> has all of this been done perfectly? no. >> reporter: but officials tonight stand by the new policies and the use of the new enhanced screening machines. a new poll shows 64% support using the new enhanced scanners. 32% oppose them. but the public is split on the new more aggressive patdowns. 50 percent say the new procedure goes too far. of those who fly once a year, the number shoots up to 54%. incoming house transportation chairman john mika says the tsa needs to demonstrate more common

jake tapper, abc news, the white house. >> that bird's lucky. have to feel bad it loses so many of its friends. poor thing. >> don't go turkey, go tofurkey. s skwa >>> holiday headaches. the anxiety at airport checkpoints today. >> we do what we're trained to do. >> how bad weather could challenge travelers even more. >>> fierce firefight in the koreas. the rival countries, the fatal aggression, and the u.s. military response. >>> and, poultry problems. the turkey experts ready to help you in the kitchen. it's wednesday, november 24th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> that's right, folks. only here you'll have a chance to hear our biggest questions that we've sort of told people about. the butterball expert is answering all the things you want to know. how to cook the perfect breasts and legs and the perfect gravy and all that nonsense. >> that's right, she's been doing it for 28 years. so she knows what she's talking about. all you folks getting up now, cooking your turkey, stay tuned for sure. >> the expert grandma telling you wh

abc's senior white house correspondent jake tapper has been with the president and brings us this report. >> reporter: rebuked by american voters and reminded to focus more on the economy president obama began his asian trip talking about as a sort of international stimulus to open markets to american goods and bolster american jobs. >> we're actually doing business we're here. with every 1 billion we sell in exports 5,000 jobs are supported at home. for america this is a job strategy. >> reporter: in mumbai flanked by american ceos, the president announced deals between u.s. and indian companies totaling nearly $10 billion in u.s. exports and maintaining more than 50,000 american jobs. ♪ >> reporter: a cause for celebration as he and the first lady joined in on the festivities marking the hindu holiday of dawali. by the end of the week there was no cause for dancing. some of the world's fastest growing economies refused president obama's entreaties to alter their economic policy, policies the president needs changed to fully implement his export strategy. his job strategy. >> instead of

so let's begin this election eve with jake tapper at the white house. jake, i can only imagine they're getting ready for a very long day and a very long night. >> reporter: that's exactly right, diane. top democrats say they expect republicans to take control of the house of representatives tomorrow. but the fight is on to contain the damage, keep the senate in democratic hands and get every last voter to the polls. democrats in colorado say to get out the vote in this final push they are knocking on more than 600,000 doors. >> have you made up your mind about who you're supporting for u.s. senate? >> reporter: and they're making 1 million phone calls, some of them made today by senator bennett himself, in the fight of his life. >> i would be honored if you cast your vote for me. >> reporter: and as voters prepare to go to the polls in just a few hours, we asked a number of them from coast to coast, in one word, what is your hope for washington in the next two years? >> jobs. >> bipartisanship. >> peace. >> change. >> jesus. >> cooperation. >> success. >

team is tracking the news about what is next for american decision making, as we turn first to jake tapper at the white house tonight. good evening, jake. >> reporter: good evening, diane well, in a conference call with supporters late this afternoon, president obama said there was no sense in sugar coating last night's election results. he said, it was tough. mr. obama said every president needs to have a humbling election night to remind them to reconnect with voters. >> i'm not recommending for every future president that they take a shellacking like i did last night. you know, i'm sure they're easier ways to learn these lessons. >> reporter: so what lessons has he learned? president obama expressed a desire to seek common ground with the new congress. >> i am very eager to sit down with members of both parties and figure out how we can move forward together. >> reporter: as is a long established presidential midterm kabuki. >> the people expect us to work together. >> they demanded that a more equally divided congress work more closely together. >> reporter: for this president, that in

the president still reacting to that atomic political day and night on tuesday, and jake tapper is here, and joins us right now. jake? >> reporter: diane, president obama today announced he was inviting eight republican and democratic leaders of congress to the white house for meetings two weeks from tonight. in addition, they will have a dinner at the white house residence. but what's unclear is whether any true compromise can be on the menu. after a cabinet meeting this morning, the president seemed to plead for bipartisan compromise. >> we can't afford two years of just squabbling. >> reporter: the president's conciliatory tone was met by senate republican leader mitch mcconnell with defiance. >> the white house has a choice. they can change course, or they can double down on a vision of government that the american people have roundly rejected. >> reporter: the republican leader doubled downed on a controversial remark he'd made proclaiming it the top priority for republicans to ensure president obama is not re-elected in 2012. >> if our primary legislative goals are to repeal and r

jake tapper is with the president tonight. >> reporter: good evening, dan. white house officials say one of the goals of this trip is not just to encourage india to resume talks with pakistan but to encourage india's relationship to consider the entire way they look at the relationship with pakistan. in new delhi, president obama visited the tomb of a 16th century emperor. the visit offered a respite after the president faced some tough questions from mumbai's st. xavier college. >> my question to you is, why is pakistan so important to america? so far as america has never called it -- >> that's a good question. i must admit i was expecting it. >> reporter: it's an issue of dire consequence. not just for india. >> pakistan is most dangerous country in the world today. it's the epicenter of the local jihadist movement. >> reporter: they cut off talks about they attacked mumbai two years ago. on saturday, president obama failed to mention the word pakistan of the commemoration of the victims of that attack. >> the murderers came to kill innocent civilians toda

shortened because of an ash from a rupturing volcano and the president is visiting a mosque, and jake tapper is traveling with the president. >> reporter: he tries to fine tune his speech. >> we're trying build bridges and expand our interactions with muslim country the. >> reporter: tomorrow's speech will touch on the same themes from the president's cairo speech last year. a thriving democracy holding the visions of tolerance. >> i saw it first-hand as a child in indonesia where devout christians worship in an overwhelmingly muslim country. that's the spirit we need today. >> reporter: it's a homecoming being that barry obama as he was then called, lived here as his childhood. >> when you visit a place you spent time as a child as president, it's a little disorienting. i'll tell thaw i barely recognized it. >> reporter: the president moved here in 1967 with his mother who remarried indonesian man. she studied locals for her doctorate. he accepted a posthumous gold medal for her. >> you honor her, honor the spirit that led her to travel through villages throughout the country, often on the

abc's jake tapper is traveling with the president. and he reports that the president was trying to make sure india is an ally that really delivers, jake. >> reporter: good evening, diane. this has been the longest president obama has been in one country, and for this country, which the u.s. only wants to see rise in power, this has been a trip full of carrots and carrots. a state dinner at india's presidential palace, where president obama and indian prime minster singh sang each other's praises and toasted a new era of partnership. for india, president obama delivered a plum, backing the nation's bid to be given a permanent seat on the powerful united nations security council. >> i look forward to a reformed united nations security council that includes india as a permanent member. >> reporter: the move is vehemently opposed by india's neighbor and nemesis, pakistan, which suggested it would gravely undermine u.n. charter principles. there's a larger strategy at play. >> the better u.s./india relationship makes it easier to have a goo

jake tapper, traveling with the president. >> reporter: as the president touched down in jakarta, he was still fine tuning his speech. >> what we're trying to do is make sure that we are building bridges and expanding our interactions with muslim countries. >> reporter: tomorrow's speech will touch on the same themes from the president's cairo speech last year. praising indonesia as a positive example. a thriving democracy upholding islam's best visions of tolerance. >> i saw it first-hand as a child in indonesia where devout christians worship in an overwhelmingly muslim country. that's the spirit we need today. >> reporter: this is more than a state visit, of course, it is a homecoming, given that barry only balm ma, as he was then called, lived here for four years in his childhood. >> when you visit a place you spent time as a child as president, it's a little disorienting. i will tell you, though, that i barely recognized it. >> reporter: the president moved here in 1967 with his mother who remarried an ingo niece yan man. she studied local villagers for her doctorate. he accepte

here's jake tapper. >> reporter: to help get the deficit under control, president obama this morning proposed a two-year pay freeze for all civilian federal workers. >> i did not reach this decision easily. this is not just a line item on a federal ledger. these are people's lives. >> reporter: the freeze would impact almost 2 million civilian employees in the expanding federal workforce, a favorite target of conservatives in the elections earlier this month. >> i would freeze federal hiring. i would maybe reduce federal employees by 10%. i'd probably reduce their wages by 10%. >> reporter: federal employees with whom we spoke today had mixed feelings about the president's proposal. >> how are we going to make it? it's going to be very hard. >> if it's going to help the economy and help other people who don't have, it's a small sacrifice. >> reporter: the national debt is currently $13.8 trillion with this year's deficit projected to be $1.3 trillion. this pay freeze would save just a fraction of that, $2 billion over the next fiscal year. $5 billion over the next two years. >> it's

the white house is now weighing in on the issue and here is jake tapper. >> reporter: with images suchding the air waves and the interget, the white house found itself acknowledging some mistakes in new tsa procedures. >> has all of this been done perfectly? no. >> reporter: but officials stand by the new policy and the use of enhanced scanning machines. and an overwhelming majority of the public agrees. according to a new abc news/"washington post" poll, 64% support using the new enhanced scanners. 32% oppose them. the public is split on the new, more aggressive pat-downs. 50% say the new procedures go too far. of those who fly at least once a year, the number of those who think it goes too far shoots up to 54%. incoming house transportation committee chairman john micah says tsa needs to demonstrate more common sense. >> can't somebody make a thinking decision that you don't have to pat down a 10-year-old or a person who has a prosthetic device? >> reporter: but sources tell abc news that intelligence has picked up terrorists discussing the use of prosthetic or medical devices to con

. >>> we begin with jake tapper at the white house after the elections last night. expected to address the nation in about two hours. jake? >> reporter: we're told we'll hear from a conciliatory president obama in just a bit. extending an olive branch to the republicans. making sure the american people know hat he hears the message, knows the message. they want washington, d.c. to work together. that's the message the white house is taking from last night. the president reached out to soon-to-be speaker john boehner, republican, or ohio around midnight last night. the white house was expected to lose the house. they did not know how bad it would be. one top democrat called it a blood bath, with huge swaths of house democrats taken out in pennsylvania, ohio, virginia, indiana. as the sun set from east to west, the next step, of course, for the president is trying to find areas of agreement. areas where he think he can work with the republicans. small business tax credits. maybe room for a negotiation on the bush tax cuts. the president does not want them extended for

and jake tapper is traveling with the president. >> reporter: before his speech, the president visited the largest mosque in this, the biggest majority-muslim country in the world. >> the cathedral. that's a catholic church over there. right next door. >> reporter: citing out the mosque was designed by a christian, the president praised indonesia's embrace of diversity and democracy. speaking as someone who moved here with his mother at age 6. >> if you ask me or any of my schoolmates back then, i don't think any of us would have anticipated that i would come back to jakarta as president of the united states. >> reporter: and someone who has witnessed indonesia's strengths firsthand. >> he firmly believed that all religious were worthy of respect. >> reporter: the white house live streamed the speech online, and translated it in languages. embrace these progressive values, the president was saying, and you, too, can prosper. >> development is strengthened by an emerging democracy. ancient traditions endure, even as a rising power is on the move. >> reporter: that is not to say, he ackn

i want to be able to say, you know what, they just created 50,000 jobs. >> reporter: jake tapper, abc new delhi, india. >>> in other news now, there is now a ban on all cargo from yemen and somalia into the u.s. the new homeland security rules follow last month's attempts to ship bombs aboard cargo planes bound for the u.s. the explosives were hidden inside printer cartridges. toner and ink cartridges weighing more than a pound will not be allowed on passenger flights into the u.s. >>> we have an incredible espionage story this morning. even in prison a convicted spy kept passing notes to his contacts. ex-cia agent harold jim nicholson pleaded guilty yesterday to passing notes to his grown son so he could collect even more money from russian spy masters. the son did but then cut a deal to avoid jail time. his dad is likely to get an extra eight years behind bars. >>> a connecticut jury recommended the death penalty in a cold-blooded case of murder and home invasion. the jurors were unanimous, deciding that steven hayes should die for the murders of jennifer hawke-petit and her two dau

let's check it out here, with jake tapper, who is at the white house and has the latest on what the administration is feeling going into the polls opening right now. jake, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, robin. the political terrain is about to shift. by this time tomorrow, top democrats feel that john boehner will be well on his way to being the speaker of the house. real question is how big will his majority be? what will be the face of the senate. former president bill clinton stumped throughout the day and in the night, ending in florida. >> i think florida is for everyone. i think i will vote. >> reporter: the first lady hoped luck would be a lady in vegas for engaged senate leader harry reid. >> my husband, he can't do this alone. >> reporter: after which, she crisscrossed the country to philly, to push struggling senate candidate joe sestak. >> can we do this? >> reporter: house republican leader john boehner, smelling victory, blasted president obama for telling latino voters they should, quote, punish, their, quote, enemies, for opposing immigration reform. >> mr. president, i ha

that's where jake tapper is this morning. jake, good morning. >> reporter: dan, there are cultural and national security aspects on this swing through asia. but coming through the midterm elections where the american people registered their economic discontent, the president is emphasizing the jobs he hopes this trip will create back in the u.s. at a high school in mumbai earlier today, first lady michelle obama, and then her husband, the president, joined in some traditional hindu dances. almost as if they were characters in a big bollywood blockbuster. at a local college later, the president took some questions. and halfway around the world, he could not avoid one about the midterm elections. >> when the people are not happy, it is their right, obligation and duty to express their unhappiness, much to the regret, sometimes, of incumbents. >> reporter: coming off what he called the shellacking of the elections, fueled largely by economic anxiety, the president on this trip, is emphasizing trade. specifically u.s. exports sold

he did a little after a question from jake tapper but very little emotional connection. very little bringing people into the soap opera of all of our lives an would have hoped for a little more and a don't mean that in a soppy way but just an emotional connection that's how we relate to our people and leaders. and then the second problem i had was there was a concession of respons responsibilitied and get better there was no concession there was a policy problem. he was asked this several times by my colleague peter baker and others, did it say anything about the policies. the stimulus and bailouts and cap and trade, they were unpopular. in west virginia the democrat who got elected took a gun and shot his cap and trade bill literally in the commercial. it suggests there's a problem with the policy or an implication. they may not be the major things but they were elements and he would not go there and i think it's important because to change or win back independents there has to be a policy shift and i was struck by his unwillingness to talk about that. >> charlie: we've

i thought the president's best answer today was the question from jake tapper of abc news asked about how do you feel, the one you refered to, and he said i feel bad. but then he immediately switched and talked with some admiration, appreciation and even sadness about members who had lost. and the votes that they had cast and that he admired them so mu much. it's a tough election when you lose people that are giants and respected on both side of the aisle, like ike skeleton in missouri, but that's the legacy of the past two years. >> you're saying that came through today? >> i don't think the president will ever be a feel your pain president like bill clinton was, i don't think he connects emotionally the same way ronald reagan did. but i think the words were appropriate and there was a ring of sincereity about his words. >> did you hear any music? >> no. and i think tell a story, there's these two modes of thought, which he does, most of us communicate a narrative thought, we tell stories. and if he wants to connect to the american people, he doesn't have to be all sweetness and ligh

with more now here's jake tapper. >> reporter: democrats in colorado say to get out the vote in thisush they're knocking on more than 600,000 doors. >> have you made up your mind about who you're supporting for u.s. senate? >> reporter: and they're making 1 million phone calls, some of them made by senator michael bennet himself in the fight of his life. >> i would be honored if you'd cast your vote for me. >> reporter: as voters prepare to go to the polls in just a few hours, we asked a number of them from coast to coast in one word what is your hope for washington in the next two years? >> jobs. >> bipartisanship. >> peace. >> change. >> jesus. >> cooperation. >> success. >> unity. >> accountability. >> skill. >> moderation. >> order. >> reporter: republicans seem to have the wind at their backs this season, but they're not taking anything for granted. they have an aggressive operation in missouri, for example, for republican congressman roy blount's senate race. >> we're calling to find out if we can count on your vote with roy blount. >> reporter: president obama did radio interv

we get a first look from seoul, south korea, where jake tapper is traveling with the president. jake? >> reporter: good morning, george. greetings from the other side of the planet, at the world summit of the superpowers. president obama and the united states in general, are facing criticism about the lack of the ability to deal with the massive u.s. debt. meanwhile, back at home, the president's debt commission co-chairs have issued a report, with ways to deal with the $14 trillion debt. it has a report with something in it to offend everyone. speaking in south korea, the president said he would not comment specifically on the debt commission co-chair's report. but he cautioned politicians not to be so quick to shoot it down. >> we're going to have to make some tough choices. the only way to make the tough choices, historically, has been if both parties are willing to move forward also. >> reporter: he also suggested that he recently heard a lot of disingenuous solutions during campaign season. >> and unfortunately, a lot of the talk didn't match up with reality. >> reporter: th