situation in syria and president obama's middle east trip overall we have live reports now from john king in jerusalem and ivan watson in jordan. >> let's start with those accusations of chemical warfare in syria yet to be verified. what does that mean for the u.s. involvement in this conflict? ivan watson, you're following the story from nearby amman. tell us what you're hearing about even what happened? >> conflicting reports and most of the information is coming from the syrian government which first made the accusation on tuesday accusing rebels of carrying out some kind of chemical weapons attack in a government-controlled town to the west of aleppo that killed at least 25 people and wounded scores of people. the rebels were very quick to deny that charge. and in turn accuse the government of misfiring one of its own chemical weapons at that town. so we really don't know one way or the other some chemical weapons experts, michael, have said from the evidence we've seen on syrian state tv, it's not enough to really conclusively make the case that any chemical weapons were used. take a

our chief national correspondent, john king, is live from jerusalem this morning. ohn, the president is calling this trip to the west bank a listening tour. what do you think he expects to hear and what does he expect to accomplish? >> reporter: well, he's trying to find out, john and christine, just what it would take to ges get mahmoud abbas back to the negotiating table a day after hearing from prime minister netanyahu what is not a stalled but a dead peace process. pushing the parties to the table too fast there is a risk, because if they're not ready to deal, most people you talk to, whether palestinians or israelis, say if talks started again and then collapsed, you could have another long-term ramifications. what a day this is for the president. only in ramallah for a few hours. as you noted, the rocket attacks fired from gaza, controlled by hamas, not by mahmoud abbas and the palestinian authority, ab an acknowledgement that prime minister netanyahu claims all the time. who would he be negotiating with? fired out of gaza -- i was there the other day. perhaps

cnn's john king is live in jerusalem with the latest. john, all seemed very maty and chummy.ath all that, what is the reality of the state of the relationship between america and israel right now? >> reporter: there's no question, piers, obvious to the world, not just to these two leaders, they've had a frosty and unfriendly relationship. president obama is left of center, believes the prime minister netanyahu has said some things he finds insulting or didn't like. prime minister netanyahu right of center, supported romney in the last presidential election, has at times stopped at president obama, my language, doesn't get it. both of these guys just won elections. they are in the words of a top american official the other day, stuck with each other. and it's very crystal clear today, both of them have decided to try to turn a new page. are they going to be best friends, i think not. but are they going to be better friends? today it appeared they're going to at least try at that. and that makes a difference. when you're dealing with the iran nuclear crisis, the syria civil cri

. >> john king joins us with the political back and forth. christine romans looks at the time frame when each of us will actually feel the impact of those spending cuts. first we want to touch base with shawn spicer, the communications director for the republican national committee. good morning, shawn. >> good morning, carol. >> okay. okay. so americans are really frustrated with washington. they are not each paying much attention to this. still, with republicans controlling the house of representatives, isn't that image of lawmakers fleeing washington a pr debacle? >> i think it would be had the house not already passed twice a bill to replace the sequester. >> come o shawn, it would snb it would be? >> carol, look. here is the thing. schoolhouse rock lays it out. the constitution says the congress has two branches of government that have to come together. the house twice passed a bill that said let's replace the sequester with more acceptable cuts to make sure we get control of the spending but do so in a more responsible way. the senate h

john king is there. >> reporter: the bullets are real.acency the enemy at the security training kacademy. >> we have enemies motivated on us to do attacks in the cities, settlements, wherever there are jews. we're not waiting for the suicide bomber to come. we want to be prepared. >> reporter: expect the unexpected is what gat, a colonel in the israeli reserves, teaches students like these men training to protect jerusalem's light rail service. yet, he has zero expectations president obama's visit will make any difference at this time of increasingle israeli-palestinian tension. >> i remember my mother said when i was a child, i hope you don't are to go through the army. i told her always, since i was a child, i don't think that will be true. and me, i'm not telling that to my kids. i'm telling them, listen, guys, these are the facts, if you live in israel, you'll probably have to go to the army. >> reporter: low expectations done mean there aren't enormous stakes. >> he does not want to be the american president on whose watch iran eithe

cnn's john king has been watching the president. a very busy day for the president in jerusalem, in ramallah, also meeting with palestinian leaders and so much on the agenda not just iran or syria but the peace process as well. >> let's go through the day. from the israeli perspective, tonight israeli officials saying after the president's remarks you just played, they have. even before the new prove okay tiff words from the iranian leadership what israel wanted was clear, muscular language from the president of the united states and israeli officials say they got it. number one the president said he'll not allow an iranian weapon from the u.s. perspective and will act if necessary with military force and he said if israel makes a decision it needs to act unilaterally to defend itself he would understand that as well. the israelis got exactly what they most wanted from the trip. from the president's perspective a long way to go. we'll get to peace in a second. remember for four years republicans back home have suggested he is soft o

the chief correspondent john king joins me now.ns have accused of president of not being socially engaged with them outside of the office. this seems like a change of strategy. might it work? >> might it work is a great question, but it's about time. let's not say the republicans say they extended his hand and fair to say they haven't extended theirs as well. there have been exceptions. let's hope they are a circuit breaker. in the country watching, you share a belief that washington is pretty dysfunctional. the budget cut debate, isn't it a shame that four years and one month into the obama presidency is the first time he breaks bread with republicans. one can hope this is the beginning of something. a lot of them were saying we have profound disagreements with the president and i want to cut more and he doesn't. they are starting to have a conversation and to get anything difficult done, you have to start to have a personal relationship and conversations. you are right. this is at the moment about this budget showdown. this is a

. >> joining us now is john king and wisconsin governor scott walker. john, let me begin with you.into the house speaker's sound bite by suggesting it was somewhat conciliatory. do the democrats see it the same way? >> well, listen, the speaker has laid down the line that he won't raise taxes as part of any deal to end the sequester or part of what they call the continuing resolution. part of the dysfunction is governing by a gimmick. it's been 16 years since washington passed a unlg about either the way it's supposed to. i'm getting the governor would like to have that flexibility on occasion. so in the continuing resolution, the republicans are working on one in the house, bipartisan group working on one in the senate. it's conceivable that they could send to the president something that funds the government through the end of the fiscal year. but the republicans in both chambers say they won't take away those cuts. and so the question is they are moving forward in a cr, the continuing resolution, in a relatively positive way right now. but there's plenty of opportunity opportuni

john king of cnn had a thought about why that might be so.e gave a speech at the kennedy library in boston. maybe he doesn't realize but here is john king who still worked at cnn, we think. >> if you watch cnn -- i am not picking on anybody. but if you watch cnn, 9:00 o'clock in the morning, 10:00 o'clock, 11:00 o'clock, 12:00 o'clock t it's a single anchor sit nag chair reading headlines that none of you have to turn on the t.v. to get because you can get them here. you can get them on your cell phone or laptop. >> et cetera right. >> it's true. i don't know i give them that much credit. see what drucker can do with it. if anybody can make things interesting, he can. >> did you see the rumor? john king and cathy griffin on anderson -- i'm sorry anderson cooper and cathy griffin as a pilot. >> when you look at the new year's eve eve programming, they do remarkable which is why they bring her back every year going on like five years now for a non-network broadcast. watching dick clark's show and ryan secrest, millions watch. it is like a morni

bob baer, john king, as well. let us know what you think on twitter during the commercial break @andersoncooper. >>> up next, a new report saying 1 in 50 children in america might have some form of autism disorder. now, that's up sharply from just a couple years ago. the question is, can we really trust the new numbers? we're keeping them honest with dr. sanjay gupta ahead. >>> also ahead, new developments in the hit-and-run killing of an african-american man in mississippi. a killing that went almost entirely uninvestigated for 3 1/2 years in this rural county in mississippi. pretty damning new details reveal how much investigators had to go on 3 1/2 years ago if only they made the effort. we're keeping them honest. carfirmation. only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. it's lots of things. all waking up. connec

bob bear, john king, as well.us know what you think on twitter during the commercial break spl@andersoncooper. >>> up next, a new report saying 1 in 50 children in america might have some form of autism disorder. that's up sharply from just a couple years ago. the question is, can we really trust the new numbers? we're keeping them honest with dr. sanjay gupta. >>> also ahead, new developments in the hit and run killing of an african-american man in mississippi. a killing that went almost entirely uninvestigated for three and a half years in this rural county in mississippi. pretty damning new details reveal how much investigators had to go on three-and-a-half years ago if only they made the effort. we're keeping them honest. great first gig! let's go! party! awwwww... arigato! we are outta here! party...... finding you the perfect place, every step of the way. hotels.com a new ride comes along and changes everything. the powerful gs. get great values on your favorite lexus models during the command performance sa

cnn's john king is with us from jerusal jerusalem. seemed the president selected his audience well. >> reporter: smart politics, don. the president bringing to israel some of the personal style we've seen on the political campaign trail and the policy campaign trail, if you will, back home. traditionally, an american president visits and goes into the parliament. what would be in there? older people, right? older people. no offense to older people, but the president's trying to put pressure on the poll tigs. he said flat out, i'm a politician, we don't do risky things unless we get pressure from the people. he's trying to rally the younger generation of the israelis, who was interested. he was getting applause from young israelis. he's trying to get them to put pressure on their prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, a conservative, somebody unwilling to say stop settlement building. rise up to your government and said, we want a new israel, different israel. don, we could talk an hour about the obstacles of peace, but nudge your side to

john king is on the scene in jerusalem. it's called the beast. it's heavily armored, bullet proof, and can even with stand a chemical attack. but president obama's massive limousine couldn't with stand the wrong kind of fuel. take a look at this. it broke down before he got to israel and had to be towed to a repair shop. this is awkward. >> it is a bit awkward, wolf. the beast is a steel, aluminum titanium and ceramic feat of engineering. it reportedly has a fuel tank that won't explode. tires that roll. even if punctured. and its own air supply in the case of a biochemical attack just don't fill her up with regular unleaded. maybe so, but dysfunction still reared its head on president obama's trip to the middle east. it it wasn't congress causing problems but obama's ride. the heavily armored presidential limousine, known as the beast, was towed away in jerusalem before obama even landed in israel. an official said it malfunctioned wednesday morning when the driver filled up using regular gas instead of diesel. >> they're very, very meticulous a

cnn's chief national correspondent john king is in amman and joins us live. john, nice to see you. it's pretty low expectations for this trip. the white house careful not to really set a bar very high. any surprises come out of it? >> i think they set that bar so low so they knew they could jump it. there were surprises. the best test is not how high the president feels about improving relationships with netanyahu or giving speech to a people that was well received. first a sober discussion about the syrian refugee crisis and going to petra to visit the ancient ruins. he may feel he's in better standing with the israelis and the prime minister, the question is, every american president in my lifetime has picked up this ball, the middle east peace process and tried to deal with it. bill clinton years on it, george w. bush at the end of his term. we'll see if president obama has success. he came here with a somewhat dysfunctional relationship with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, and they were actually have been frosty in the past and either they're great actors or bec

>> it's either you or john king.ast long, i'm sure. all right now developing story in southeast georgia. hunt right now for the person who fatally shot a 13-month-old boy in the face. shot his mother in the leg. sherry west says she was pushing her son antonio in a stroller yesterday near her home when two boys approached, showed a gun, and demanded money. cnn's nick valenti is in georgia. what can you tell us about what she says happened here? >> just so tragic what happened in brunswick, georgia. the fatal shooting happened thursday morning, early thursday morning at about 9:00 a.m. on this corner right behind me here. the mother says that she was on her morning walk, pushing her 13-month-old in a stroller when two young boys aproposed her. she said she had never seen them before in her life. she describes the shooters as a 13 to 15-year-old boy. he was accompanied by somebody as young as 10 years old. now, i spoke to the city manager of brunswick yesterday. he says there is no clear motive of this fatal shooting.

john king and jessica yellin standing by.re coming up later in "the situation room," ivan watson as well. thank you for watching. we're following some important breaking news here in the united states, two americans have just been placed on the fbi's most wanted terror list. we have new information coming in to the cnn newsroom. our coverage will continue right after this. i remember the day my doctor said i had diabetes. there's a lot i had to do... watch my diet. stay active. start insulin... today, i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore. my doctor said that with novolog® flexpen, i don't have to use a syringe and a vial or carry a cooler. flexpen® comes prefilled with fast-acting insulin used to help control high blood sugar when you eat. dial the exact dose. inject by pushing a button. no drawing from a vial. you should eat a meal within 5 to 10 minutes after injecting novolog® (insulin aspart [rdna origin] injection). do not use if your blood sugar is too low, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredie

>> gretchen: isn't john king still an employee there?lieve -- hear what he said yesterday. it's got people scratching. >> gretchen: let's start in the meantime with your headlines. overnight we learned a woman in her 60s was found dead on a cruise ship and the f.b.i. is calling it suspicious. her husband found her body inside their cabin. the royal caribbean ship was on its way back to baltimore from a 78-day cruise to the bahamas. an autopsy is being done and agents are interviewing the woman's husband. >>> new video now of oscar pistorius' brother. he's going to court for murder charges. he's accused of driving recklessly and killing a woman in 2008. his lawyers say that blood tests prove he was not under the influence and the death was just a tragic accident. >>> tomorrow oscar pistorius' lawyer will be in court because they're apparently going to be fighting over his bail. >>> six months after the deadly attack in benghazi, a move in the right direction now. the marines announcing a new plan to put special ops on navy ships in the mi

for more, we're joined by john king. esident has been criticize criticized in the past for not reaching out to members of congress socially. we're not just talking about republicans. we're even talking about democrats. this is a bit of a shift for him. is this the first time he's done this or just another photo opportunity? >> it's the first time he's done it on this scale. remember, he's had john mccain and lindsey graham for example over to the white house recently to talk about immigration and they also did talk about this sequester. but the president's going to leave the white house, go to a hotel in washington, d.c. there will be more than a half a dozen republican senators there. the president extended the invitation. the republicans apparently came up with a list of who's going to attend. we'll see if they sequester the wine list or free throw the conversation. remember last week, the president was running around the country saying if the budget cuts went into effect -- we've seen in the last 24 hour, going to have

cnn's john king, our chief national correspondent, is in jerusalem.rning, john. >> reporter: good morning, carol. look, the question now is how further does the rocket attack complicate the peace process, the lack of a peace process, really c really, the effort to get a peace process going. hamas controls gaza. it may have been a fringe militant group, but hamas controls gaza and any militant group that would do this would assume had hamas' blessing. so was it a message to the israeli government? a message to president obama? or could it have been a message to mahmoud abbas, who, yes, is the president of the palestinian authority and the leader of the fatah political movement, but he has great differences and a great internal rivalry within the palestinian territories with hamas. that is one of the big questions and one of the big obstacles to getting a peace process going again. president obama did not spend too much time on this in his first term, but he is determined to focus on it in the second term, and listen to the optimistic tone here, despite

him, it helps him back home and the white house feels 1,000% it accomplished that goal. >> cnn's john kingery much. appreciate that. >>> the marine corps is reeling from another tragedy, just days after seven marines died in a training accident in nevada. military investigators were trying to piece together why three marines were fatally shot early this morning at the marine corps base in quantico, virginia, south of washington, d.c. one of the dead was the gunman, the commander said all three were permanently assigned on the base officer candidate school. >> the shooter, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound by law enforcement at the scene. two other victims, a male and female, both active duty marines, were pronounced dead at the scene. the three marines involved in this incident were all permanent personnel assigned to officers candidates school. all of the candidates in the school are accounted for and safe. >> names of the victims are being withheld until their families are notified. very sad store. >>> police say they will leave no stone urn tunturned in the shooting death of a 13-m

we now have the answer and chief national correspondent john king tonight to tell us about it. of speculation about what kind of reception the president might get in israel, how ordinary israelis, how leaders might react to him there. how did it go overall? >> reporter: anderson, i spent a lot of time in this region so you know what seems like concrete under your feet can suddenly turn to quicksand. the president will head home tomorrow feeling pretty happy especially on the point you just raised, reception among the israeli people. he has a very mixed reputation if you look at the polling. i spent a lot of time talking to every day israelis. especially because of the cairo speech early on, maybe he would come out in favor of the palestinians when it comes to the peace issue. all the cultural and historic sites he visited as a tourist but a tourist with a point won a lot of great headlines, lot of praise from israeli officials. one commentator put it this way, if we're this happy when obama comes, what are we do when the messiah comes. >> obviously the prime minister and the pre

john king is standing by. little sense of what has happened so far in the hours since the president arrived. >> wolf in the hours since he's arrived we have seen the optics that both governments want. that's a friendly, happy, upbeat reception. people talking washington, people talk here in jerusalem, across israel, about the frosty personal relationship between president obama, and president netanyahu. you would have no hint of that from watching the last few hours unfurl. air force one landed in tel aviv. a big celebration, even a joke from the prime minister that maybe he and the president should go out bar hopping. said he would give the president a despise. the president went to president obama went to the residence of the israeli president shimon peres, schoolchildren singing there. he's now in the private meetings with president netanyahu and that is the key question. in the private meetings, can they make progress on working cooperation when it comes to the iran nuclear program? what is their assessmen

cnn's john king is in jerusalem this morning. john, this is president obama's first trip to israel. how delicate, how pivotal is this visit? >> reporter: well, carol, it is fascinating. i've been here in the past with president clinton, with president george w. bush, now president obama. in the past the israeli-palestinian conflict is always at the top of the agenda but given the event in this complicated neighborhood that is now more complicated and confused than ever, the israeli-palestinian conflict is down on the list. the president wants to share information and get information from his israeli counterparts about what's going on in syria. did the government in syria use chemical weapons against its own people. that's a big question. obviously the nuclear showdown with iran. the presidentister wants assurance if that diplomacy doesn't bear fruit that the president of the united states is prepared to put the military option on the table. and, yes, the president did say he wants to have peace in the holy land and he will make that a priority. no accident the president says that th

we go to amman, jordan, john king and jessica yellin tell us how the president did in the middle eastre importantly where we go from here. is there really hope an israeli, palestinian peace process can get off the ground? we will get their assessment, they have been there with the president. >>> and two potential republican presidential candidates, senator rand paul, congressman paul ryan, my interviews with them and a lot more coming up here in "the situation room." back to you, don. >> looking forward to it, wolf, thank you very much. >>> what if extinction isn't forever? researchers are working on bringing back some species that haven't been seen on earth for decades. that's next. [ indistinct conversations ] [ male announcer ] when you wear dentures you may not know it, but your mouth is under attack. food particles infiltrate and bacteria proliferate. ♪ protect your mouth, with fixodent. the adhesive helps create a food seal defense for a clean mouth and kills bacteria for fresh breath. ♪ fixodent, and forget it. a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not toda

>> john king, ashleigh banfield, randy kay, chad meyers. i'm not even down there yet.> this is not good. >> oh, my gosh. keep going. don lemon. >> this is passion week. this isn't about the first shall be last and the first shall be last. >> i'm going to get it. let's talk golf right now. tiger woods still leading the arnold palmer. why is he playing so well nowadays? >> it's two keys can. putting and personal. he's never putted better in his life. it goes back to earlier this month. let's get to the personal. three years ago we discovered that tiger was closer to being eddie haskal than cleaver. did you see that facebook? >> i did. to continue the leave it to beaver theme, it looked like june, cleaver, didn't it? >> it did. that's the new normal now. >> that's exactly right. >> america's new gordon and june. >> wally and beaver and all these guys. >> the first shall be last. thank you, terrin. coming up after a quick break, the album that defined a generation hit, find out how pink floyd fans -- i'm drinking -- try fixodent. it helps create a food seal defense for a c

john king was catching together with our entire team what's going on. the president warmly received, john. he got heckled a little bit, made fun of it, but in response, most of the young people there stood up and gave him a standing ovation. a very well-received speech, even though he spoke very directly, very bluntly to the people of israel about the peace process. >> some trademark obama political campaigning, if you will, wolf. what we've seen in the united states on display here in israel. number one, choosing to speak in this big speech to the israeli people, not to the older political leadership, but to younger people. the president is saying the challenge of peace is for the younger generations. both israelis and palestinians, to demand that their leaders take risk. to demand that their leaders abandon the old positions that we know over the last 20, 30, 40 years, have prevented a peace agreement on this sacred land. an interesting position from the president here, because he knows if you look down into the weeds, the obstacles to peace are too mu

on a more serious note, what's what israeli president perez said to our john king today. >> obama isarts, even if the mouth of the people doesn't say so. >> kind words of president perez about president obama. but a cnn poll shows that fewer than half of americans believe israel is an i ally of the united states. dramatically broken down by party lines. republicans felt israel was an ally, only a third of democrats thought so. israel is a major ally of the united states. >>> a michigan grandmother is found guilty of murdering her teenage grandson. they saw the glock that sandra lane used to shoot jonathan hoffman multiple times. lane claims she acted in self defense in an argument with the 17-year-old but prosecutors had this evidence. a 911 call made by hoffman. >> 911, what's your emergency? >> i've been shot. >> what? >> i've just been shot. >> where are you at? okay. how did you get shot? who shot you? >> my grandma shot me. >> your grandma and grandpa shot me? >> my grandma. i'm going to die. [ inaudible ] >> i got shot again. help me. >> you got shot again. are they still there

our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin is standing by, and john king are joining us from amman, jordan, where the president wrapped up his trip. he has done well in jordan, now the hard work begins. where do we go from here? >> reporter: the white house feels he accomplished what they set out as his primary goal, which was to reconnect with the israeli people and convince them that he understands where they're coming from on the primary security issues. the big question as you point out, can this lead to real accomplishments, that would be on the peace front with palestinians, simply too many questions that remain outstanding when it comes to settlements and exchange of prisoners, other major issues that the arab world and palestinians are unsatisfied with. and syria, iran, these are still just two looming trouble spots that are unaddressed at this point, but what we do know, the president and netanyahu prime minister of israel ended the note on a renewed -- >> reporter: the frost melted, major concession from netanyahu, they now have a real partnership, ability to work t

. >> john: so you are paid by the taxi king, jerry schaffer. >> i'm being paid not him. >> john: keephe little guys out. >> kings, queens and jacks. >> poor folks pay lobbyists. if he gets his regulation, poor people won't be taxi entrepreneurs. >> only a few will be able to afford it. >> john: washington has been an open place for taxi to become a taxi driver so why monkey with it. >> folks have different legislation, our charge is to implement it. >> john: how many laws have you gotten past? >> very active. >> john: eve repeal any. >> no, we haven't appealed any. >> john: it makes it much harder to be an 6. >> john: put aside what you eat. it turns out, no. some towns ban meals. one banned all fast food restaurants. they want to limit the st i eat. if you sell certain things at the food police disapprove of, you better watch out. >> there was lookout banging on the back gate. >> john: not long ago, federal and state officials raided a food co-opt in los angeles. >> were you drawing guns. >> they searched me. they thought we had cocaine in the fruit. >> their crime was selling milk t

john king is helping cover this trip. he is in jerusalem right now. good morning, john. >> reporter: good morning, john. this is a very important visit by the president. you heard when he was in israel yesterday, president netanyahu saying sure, i'll go back to the bargaining table. he urged the palestinians to come back with no preconditions. one of the preconditions of the palestinians was that mr. netanyahu stop construction in the west bank. interesting moment. those in israel believe president netanyahu has to say that but that he doesn't see an opportunity for peace. president abbas has said he wants to come back to the bargaining table but can he deliver the palestinians? those rockets fired just this morning from the palestinian territory of gaza, controlled by hamas, of course. a reminder that mr. abbas speaks for the palestinian authority in the west bank but does not necessarily speak for the palestinians in gaza. president obama trying to navigate a very difficult challenge. he would like to get the peace process resumed. the question is, c

he wants to compare notes about the middle east peace conversation. >> we just lost john king in ammanthe conflict in syria, where there is just reports of chaos and the u.s. now saying they see no evidence that chemical weapons were used. the situation not getting better. >> a disagreement between the israelis, and they were -- from the interviews jessica yellin has, we understand chemical weapons were used. and the u.s. saying no proof of that, a major issue obama said it's a game changer if assad uses chemical weapons and the u.s. has to be very careful they have accurate information on that. the pressure they have militarily if they do. >> people are still dying every day. chemical weapons or no. >> that's what we get into the debate, what kind of munitions were used. we treat chemical weapons that are used and people in syria who are killed probably might not see such a difference. if we should intervene no matter what. >> we'll continue this trip on "starting point." >>> ready for blackberry. long awaited launch. >> have you noted that the winter weather is sticking around a long

and gloria borger and cnn chief national correspondent john king. john, what do you think. it too late for the charm offensive to really have a dramatic impact? >> no, it's never too late if it's real. that's the question republicans and democrats are asking. republicans are saying it is great, mr. president, you're taking some of us out for a meal, great you'll come to capitol hill and see us. are you budging on policy. if you look what the president is asking for when it comes to budget and spending issues, he is asking republicans to accept his plan. that's how negotiation begins. the question is where do you get down the road. the biggest question mark republicans have, not only will he give, will this be consistent. after the first round, will he make quiet phone calls one on one, have another dinner, when an issue is front and center, the budget, immigration, will he bring them back. we will see. >> i don't remember a time, gloria the president spent this much time meeting the republicans and democrats. >> here is a man living under the political equivalent of house a

. >> let's bring in our john king right now, chief national correspondent traveling with the president. >> reporter: good morning. syria issue, the iran issue, big concerns for the president. odd for a u.s. president to be in israel while on the issue list will be down a bit in part because of what's happening in syria. syria neighbors israel and much of the intelligence the u.s. has been getting comes from the israeli government. it's the president's first overseas trip in the second term and his first visit to israel as president of the united states. a lot of questions about his working relationship and his personal relationship with prime minister netanyahu. they will get to the tough issues, including syria and the prospect of chemical weapons being used in syria. as the president hit the ground the number one priority he wanted to tell the people of the united states, the people of israel and the people of the world is that this is in his words an unbreakable alliance. >> i see this visit as an opportunity to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between our nations, to restate america's

cnn's john king is in jerusalem. >> reporter: call to prayer in the palestinian village of masra.hipers under the watchful gaze of israeli forces because masra is side by side with a jewish settlement in the west bank. skirmishes like this are routine but on this day a new twist. anti-obama chants in both arabic and english prove the thrill is gone in arab communities that four years ago saw hope in the new american president. >> obama not welcome in palestinians. >> this coffee shop is full of young palestinian professionals. >> there are settlements, poor people, there is nothing. and all of us are sure that obama disappointed us. >> reporter: do you hear the united states as an honest broker? >> definitely not. i think they want to be. i think it's as if they're easily, i think, israel can easily brain wash people into believing they're on the right. >> reporter: the turn-around on the arab street is striking and shows a big shift from two or three years ago. >> the palestine issue got worse. he backed down on the settlement issue. and the israelis started warming up to him par

. >> our chief national correspondent john king is traveling with the president in amman right now and is joining us now with the latest. it sounds like the president is still a little bit hopeful at least that this can be resolved, iran's nuclear ambitions, peacefully through diplomacy and negotiation. that is the impression i'm getting though he is obviously not ruling out the military option either. >> reporter: that's the delicate challenge for the president. if you just listen to one event like that one today you might think oh, he's playing good cop. then you listen to some of his statements during the trip in israel where he promised the israeli government if necessary if diplomacy fails look me in the eye. i mean it. i will use military force to prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon. he also said he wouldn't stand in the way if israel wanted to defend itself. so at some points he is muscular at other points more gentle and reaching out. it is the big national holiday, the biggest holiday of the year in iran right now. when he talks about the great civilization he is trying

and john king is joining us now from jerusalem. what are they saying there about syria right now? be a critical moment. >> reporter: it's a critical moment, now, wolf in syria and will be a critical subject of conversation when president obama makes his first trip to israel as president and sits down with benjamin netanyahu. from the beginning the united states has had extremely good cooperation on the intelligence front from the israeli government. obviously, they are in the neighborhood, syria's neighbor to the south. they have a much better picture here, not only of the state of play with the assad regime and its stability. the sources say a few more months at best for assad, but also the movement of chemical weapons. that exchange of information is critical from the united states' standpoint. while israel was out ahead of the obama administration in saying assad must go, you have to understand it's a little jittery in israel at this moment because they look to the south and what happened in egypt, the rise of the muslim brotherhood, given all the uncertainty of who and what wo

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. >> reporter: john kerry, with jordan's king abdullah at his side, stayed behind, wasting no time trying to deliver on the president's promise of a fresh start for middle east diplomacy. shuttling from the king to an afternoon meeting in amman with palestinian president mahmoud abbas, then a quick trip to jerusalem for dinner with israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu. before returning to amman. kerry is also dealing with an even more urgent crisis for both israel and jordan. the war next door in syria. u.s. and israeli intelligence say the assad regime is poised to use chemical weapons. >> once you let that situation spin out of control, it's very hard to -- to stop, and can have enormous spillover effects across the region. >> reporter: the cia is already training selected rebel groups to guard against a takeover by more radical elements once assad falls. the regime's weakness was demonstrated again thursday, by a suicide bombing at a damascus mosque. killing a prominent assad supporter. today, activists said rebels seized a key air base in the south, along the jordanian border wh

let's discuss with our chief national correspondent john king and our chief political analyst gloriaet me start with you. i want to play a clip. this was the president meeting with his cabinet earlier today. >> now, my agenda obviously is broader than just the sequester. because i laid out both in the inauguration and during the state of the union a very robust agenda to make sure we're doing everything we can to grow this economy and to help families thrive and expand their opportunities. >> certainly look, to me and to a lot of other folk, he's walking back some of the dire warnings he delivered a few weeks ago. >> it's a little less armed good armageddon today, wouldn't you say, than it was a few weeks ago. i would sense -- the president was saying these cuts would start right away, it's going to be dire. when that didn't happen at the stroke of midnight on friday, that they worked against themselves to a certain degree. and so now i think the white house is waiting for the effect to snowball, as lisa was pointing out, so more and more people feel them. and then they believe they

our chief political analyst gloria borger is here and john king from boston.aul may be flattered but what's really behind what is going on right now? >> you heard rand paul earlier. he believes that he is debating a very important constitutional issue, that is what he considers to be illegal government overreach. and i think, wolf, you can actually make the case that this is a result of the administration's earlier reasoning that it didn't need to be more transparent about the question of drones, which came up at john brennan's confirmation hearing to run the cia. and that transparency is an issue on the side of the aisle as well. you have this confluence where you have rand paul, not a ron wyden of oregon, a democrat on this side of the issue. >> it's interesting, because attorney general eric holder said it would be an extraordinary circumstance that the president would order and in effect the assassination of a u.s. citizen on u.s. soil. al maliki, a u.s. citizen who was targeted for assassination in yemen. i suppose that's different to do it in the united