john simpson reports. >> this is the weird, reclusive figure who ran the world's most secretive country, and did it as though it was his own private playground. looking on was his son, kim jong un, who is around 28. no one knows for sure. he will take over. the old leader died on saturday, but state television only announced it today. the news unleashed a storm of emotion, genuine or otherwise. in north korea, you have to mourn the leader as was light as possible, especially if the cameras are on. but if you are a member of the political elite, you may well be really sorry he is gone. no one knows what will happen to the nation now. as a result, kim jong-il leaves behind a country which is appallingly poor. this girl was filmed secretly while she was collecting grass to eat. there was nothing else. in an orphanage in the southern part of the country, children are being treated for malnutrition. in the 1990's, 3 million people died of hunger. this is where the money which might have been spent on better living conditions actually goes, the world's fifth largest army, a million strong. wi

our world affairs editor john simpson reports. >> syria said yesterday's attack, there has been worser the years but cutting off all diplomatic relations is extraordinary rare in peacetime. perhaps it was to teach a lesson to a country that doesn't play by the rules. a country which seems close to having a nuclear bomb. >> the iranians are being informed now we require the immediate closer of the iranian embassy in london and all iranian diplomatic staff must leave the united kingdom within 48 hours. if any country makes it impossible for us to operate on their soil, they cannot expect to have a functioning embassy here. >> so by the weekend, iran's embassy here in london, just like britain's embassy in tehran will effectively be closed down. almost at the very last moment, iran's foreign ministry put out a statement seeming to apologize for yesterday's attack, but it was too late and the apology wasn't strong enough. in six years, then, britain has gone from offering friendship to iran, that was angrily rejected, to shutting down all direct links altogether. and the basic reason is t

john simpson. i am joined now by a former u.s. defense secretary. thank you for being with us. i guess the question is, how dangerous of a moment is this? >> i think it is dangerous because this is someone who is not tested with a global event, living in a very isolated country, so what is going to happen in terms of his future? >> will vc to eliminate potential rivals to his leadership? -- will he attempt to eliminate potential rivals to his leadership? >> he is one of them. he is going to be their leader. number two, he will try to solidify the reputation of being a strong leader, and that is very dangerous. that is why the neighboring countries are on high alert, because in the next few months, not necessarily in the next few days, but in the next months, he may seek to provoke a reaction in the international community, using that to get more assistance. that is one of the things we can tell from the did you just ran. -- from the bit you just ran. they have butter but -- they have guns but no butter. >> it is possible that there -- that north korea is still there and has to

john simpson. >> this is the weird, reclusive figure who ran the most secretive country and did it as if it was his own private property. looking on is his son, who was around 28. he will takeover to regard -- takeover. the old leader died on saturday, but state television only announced its today. the news unleashed a storm of emotion. in north korea you have to mourn a leader as noiselessly as possible, especially if the cameras are on. if you are a member of the political elite, you may be a release sorry he is gone. no one knows what will happen to the nation now. kim jong il leaves behind a country that is appallingly court. this girl was filmed secretly while collecting grass to eat. in an orphanage in the southern part of the country, children are being treated for malnutrition. in the 1990's 3 million people died of hunger. this is where the money actually goes. the army is 1 million strong. with a recklessness, the north korean have shelled south korean territory, and last year they missed out right war and now i sinking a south korean -- the risk out right war by sinking a s

john simpson, bbc news, seoul. >>> one of the great mystery of modern-day politics and latin america has come to an end. a judge in chile has ruled out the possibility that the former president was murdered. he died when his government was overthrown in a coup in 1973. this report contains some flash photography. >> he was a divisive figure. democratically elected, he was admired by some on the left for his highly marxist doctrine. but it was one which created division in chile at the height of the cold war. with the ever closer relations that he was forming with cuba, north korea, and china. his rule ended in a violent coup on september 11, 1973. it has long been accepted that he shot himself as the forces loyal to punish a stormed the presidential palace. but the court reopened this painful chapter of chile's history earlier this year. the body was exhumed after daughter said they thought the former leader was murdered, either by a bodyguard or the military. his daughter, isabel, a chilean senator, never disputed that her father had committed suicide. earlier this year, the results

. >> speaking earlier from seoul, john simpson gave us his impressions of that ceremony in p'yongyang. >> cannot but be surprised and perhaps amused by the extraordinary nature of the ceremonial, of the way in which it all happened. the way in which the authorities there feel that they can control people to the extent that they can make them weep openly and so forth. this is a pretty total regime. this reminds me of romania back in 1989 before it fell. it had that same feeling of unreality. it is not mean that i think that north korea is about to fall. it might be a long time before the change their but it does not feel terribly stable at all. it is too strong for that and no clear sign of any real support except among the army. >> the authorities in nigeria say that 90,000 people have left their homes as a result of violence in the northeastern town of damaturu. memorial services have been held after a wave of killing in the country. the students were followed by bombing attacks on christmas day. -- shootings were followed by a bomb attacks on christmas day. ho hosni mubarak has been

john simpson has more. >> serious though yesterday's attack was, there have been plenty worse over the years. but cutting off all diplomatic relations is extraordinarily rare in peacetime. perhaps it was to teach a lesson to a country that does not play by the rules, a country which seems close to having nuclear bombs. >> the iranian attache in that london is been informed that we are closing their embassy and that all diplomatic staff must leave the united kingdom within 48 hours. if any country makes it impossible for us to operate on their soil, they cannot affected have a functioning embassy here. -- they cannot expect to have a functioning embassy here. >> so the embassy will effectively be closed it down. it almost at the last moment, iran's foreign ministry put out a statement, seeming to apologize for yesterday's attacks, but it was too late and the apology was not strong enough. it in six years, then, britain has gone from offering friendship to iran, which was angrily rejected, to shutting down all directions altogether. and the basic reason is the political infighting in teh

john simpson, bbc news. >> for more on the future of iraq, i am joined by general wesley clark, a former nato allied commander in europe. thank you for joining me. it depends on how you look at. 79 bombings per month is a certain amount of insecurity, but it is a heck of a lot better than 1000 bombings a month, which is what we had uriko. >> the iraqi people have a chance. there is a structure in place. there is incredible potential wealth in iraq from their oil, both from the discovered and undiscovered supplies in iraq. they could double, maybe triple their exports with the right kind of policies and investment. there could be an incredibly bountiful country for its people. it has a chance. we are not have a worldwide. obviously, we have relations their. we will be working closely with the government of iraq. they have to chart their own way. you know, we left panama in 1989, turned over the panama canal, all our troops left. and the panamanians have done brilliantly, despite those who for 20 or 30 years before that said "0, it is the end of the panama canal." i am not trying to compar

. >> speaking earlier from seoul, john simpson gave us his impressions of that ceremony in p'yongyang. >> cannot but be surprised and perhaps amused by the extraordinary nature of the ceremonial, of the way in which it all happened. the way in which the authorities there feel that they can control people to the extent that they can make them weep openly and so forth. this is a pretty total regime. this reminds me of romania back in 1989 before it fell. it had that same feeling of unreality. it is not mean that i think that north korea is about to fall. it might be a long time before the change their but it does not feel terribly stable at all. it is too strong for that and no clear sign of any real support except among the army. >> the authorities in nigeria say that 90,000 people have left their homes as a result of violence in the northeastern town of damaturu. memorial services have been held after a wave of killing in the country. the students were followed by bombing attacks on christmas day. -- shootings were followed by a bomb attacks on christmas day. ho hosni mubarak has been

john simpson, bbc news, baghdad. >> well, for more on the future of iraq, i spoke a short time ago with generally wesley clark, the former nato supreme allied commander in europe who joined me in new york. general clark, thank you very much for joining us. it seems to us that iraq, it is how you look at it. you could say there are 79 bombings a month, still a certain amount of insecurity but you can think well, it is a heck of a lot better than a thousand bombings a month, which is what we had just a few years ago. >> the iraqi people have a chance. there is a structure in place. there is security in place. above all, there is incredible potential wealth in iraq from their oil, both the discovered and the undiscovered deposits in iraq. they could double, maybe trip 8 -- triple their exports with the right kind of policies and right kind of policies and work abroad. they could be an incredibly bountiful country for their first people. so they have a chance. we're not a half a world away. we're over the horizon, obviously. we have relationships there. we will still have a lot of trainers

john simpson. i am joined now by a former u.s. defense secretary. thank you for being with us. is, how dangerous of a moment is this? >> i think it is dangerous because this is someone who is not tested with a global event, living in a very isolated country, so what is going to happen in terms of his future? >> will vc to eliminate potential rivals to his leadership? -- will he attempt to eliminate potential rivals to his leadership? >> he is one of them. he is going to be their leader. number two, he will try to solidify the reputation of being a strong leader, and that is very dangerous. that is why the neighboring countries are on high alert, because in the next few months, not necessarily in the next few days, but in the next months, he may seek to provoke a reaction in the international community, using that to get more assistance. that is one of the things we can tell from the did you just ran. -- from the bit you just ran. they have butter but -- they have guns but no butter. >> it is possible that there -- that north korea is still there and has to be dealt with. what i

last week by a gun man on a rampage in the heart of hollywood. 40-year-old john at berry work was spice girls and jaes simpson an executive with death row record. he was shot by this man 26-year-old tyler pwloym walked down the middle of sunset boulevard firing bullet into the area and at cars as he screamed that he wanted to die. 2 of swhors just happened to be in the area at the time shot and killed the man. >> rush of donation saved military care package program after thieves stole the fundin funding. south bay blue star mom lost more than 3000 dollars in this card skimming scam at lucky grocery stores. avenues reports about the theft donation came pouring in and tonight the group has enough to cover the theft. about 500 lucky supermarket shoppers were affected by this scam. >>> republican presidential candidate romney and gingrich traded barb today fall out from romney offer of 10,000 dollar bet at saturday debate. both candidates campaigned in new hampshire today. romney tried to explain the betting remark and gingrich responded to romney suggestion he return the millions he earned from mortgage giant fr

last week by a gun man on a rampage in the heart of hollywood. 40-year-old john at berry work was spice girls and jaes simpson an executive with death row record. he was shot by this man 26-year-old tyler pwloym walked down the middle of sunset boulevard firing bullet into the area and at cars as he screamed that he wanted to die. 2 of swhors just happened to be in the area at the time shot and killed the man. >> rush of donation saved military care package program after thieves stole the fundin funding. south bay blue star mom lost more than 3000 dollars in this card skimming scam at lucky grocery stores. avenues reports about the theft donation came pouring in and tonight the group has enough to cover the theft. about 500 lucky supermarket shoppers were affected by this scam. >>> republican presidential candidate romney and gingrich traded barb today fall out from romney offer of 10,000 dollar bet at saturday debate. both candidates campaigned in new hampshire today. romney tried to explain the betting remark and gingrich responded to romney suggestion he return the millions he earned from mortgage giant fr

former republican senator alan simpson, former republican senator john talent, john sununu coming out as not just for the other guy but explicitly against newt gingrich. as has current republican senator tom coburn who says newt gingrich is one of the last people he would ever vote for for president. it doesn't stop with the republican establishment. the far right shock jock radio host michael savage is offering newt gingrich $1 million if he'll drop out of the race. glenn beck has said if newt gingrich is the nominee he might vote for ron paul as a third party candidate. whether or not ron paul's running as a third party candidate, i guess. this all comes amid mixed signals, frankly, about the sustainability of newtmetum in the polls. new data showing ron paul virtually tied with newt gingrich for the lead in iowa. here's a worrisome figure for republicans in today's nbc/"wall street journal" poll when asked if they would vote for enthusiasm, newt gingrich gets 14% of voters, mitt romney down at 12%. president obama still way ahead of both of them at 25%. so people aren't exactly exc

john harbaugh talking about the on been home win streak. >> the most spectacular play of the season. the throat to simpson.heck out what simpson does -- the throat to simpson. he jumps over washington and lands on his feet. that is a spectacular play. the bengals win the game. i have never seen that. he gets clipped on the foot and goes in. the packers win last night. that is an unbelievable play. >> thank you. a christmas without lights in washington state. a close look at the damage caused by high wind storm. >> a colorado community rallied to save one family's christmas. >> a christmas in spain. >> continuation of the christmas day wheteather. >> this is the bay bridge. we will let you know how things are shaping up here and talk about a problem in kingsville. >> 8 lottery ticket worth $125 million was sold here in maryland -- eight lottery tickets -- a lottery ticket. >> many happy returns. i am brian mooar in washington. that story is coming up. >> last-minute the nation. >> last-minute the nation.

john aderberry was the only officer who was hit. adelberry was a music executive who worked with acts like the spice girls and jessica simpson. >>> it'scool out there tonight. the skies are beginning to clear and the winds are light. this is a live reading at fairfield on live storm tracker 2. temperatures are in the mid- 30s. dewpoints are in the mid-30s, what does that mean? it means fog. 36 in santa rosa. the dewpoint temperatures, the temperature which fog will form right around 35 and 34 degrees. in the next hour or so we're going to see in these inland bay valleys we're going to see fog popping up. it's going to be downright cold overnight. maybe down in the upper 20s in the bay. when we come back we will see you back here, we will have the forecast for tomorrow and where you will see rain drops. >>> caltrans agreed to halt work as part of a settlement with a group called alameda group alliance. the group says caltrans has not alerted the public. caltrans is now doing environmental reviews. >>> state parks saved from closure. >> it's been a small miracle in this whole process. >>> the bay area parks that will stay open and how i

john aderberry was the only officer who was hit. adelberry was a music executive who worked with acts like the spice girls and jessica simpson. >>> it'scool out there tonight. the skies are beginning to clear and the winds are light. this is a live reading at fairfield on live storm tracker 2. temperatures are in the mid- 30s. dewpoints are in the mid-30s, what does that mean? it means fog. 36 in santa rosa. the dewpoint temperatures, the temperature which fog will form right around 35 and 34 degrees. in the next hour or so we're going to see in these inland bay valleys we're going to see fog popping up. it's going to be downright cold overnight. maybe down in the upper 20s in the bay. when we come back we will see you back here, we will have the forecast for tomorrow and where you will see rain drops. >>> caltrans agreed to halt work as part of a settlement with a group called alameda group alliance. the group says caltrans has not alerted the public. caltrans is now doing environmental reviews. >>> state parks saved from closure. >> it's been a small miracle in this whole process. >>> the bay area parks that ok, you guys wanted a sp

simpson. richard manetti. cynthia smith. ingrid smith. james smith. mary smith. john sommerville. lindsay sommerville. james stowe. geraldine anee stevenson. john stevenson. rachel stevenson. michale and charlotte stinnette. ilia stratus. [speaking names] anthony swan. mark pager. [speaking names] jonathan wright and thomas. mark tobin. barry joseph valentino. assad idi. [speaking names] luise anne rogers. raymond wagner. janine wyado. thomas walker. keisha weidon. jerome weston jonathan white. bonnie williams. britney williams. erik williams. george williams. stephanie williams. miriam will fall. -- miriam wolf. debra woods. joe nathan woods. joe nathan woods jr.. mark steinberg. and we remember. ♪ remember, remember, remember. ♪ remember my words, remember my voice, remember my heart. remember my hope, remember my love, remember my dream, and remember my home. ♪ remember my life and always be strong. remember my love and remember my home. ♪ remember, remember, remember ♪ words.ber my remember my voice. remember my heart. remember my love. remember my life and always be strong. remember i love, and remember my ho

simpson. kerry has said no estado. >> richard paul one i.d. cynthia john smith. james alvin smith. mary at ms. smith.john somervell. lindsay and somerville. paul somerville. rosalind somerville. james routh stow. geraldine and stephenson. hannah luis stephenson. john charles stephenson. rachel stevenson. charlotte stennett. michael gary stennett. stacey leanne stennett. elliott g stratus. >> anthony swathe. war of the donald margaret swire. mark alex pager. andrew alexander jurong. arafat anthony tomas. jonathan ryan thomas. mark lawrence tobin. .. bonny lee williams. brittany lee williams. eric john williams. george williams. stephanie lee williams. miriam luby wolf. chelsea marie woods. deborah lynn woods. joe nathan woods. joe nathan woods jr.. mark james's einberg, we remember. no go. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> we are going to go a little bit out of order. we were going to have bob mueller but instead we are moving up the attorney general partly because he has to leave and he can't stay for the entire -- stay as long as he can. the attorney general, the position, if there's a jo

simpson. uria sinoa scabo. >> richard paul many --minetti cynthia smith. in grade anita smith. james alan smith. mary edna smith. john somerville. lindsay somers delfts -- lindsay somerville. roslyn haiti somerville. james ralph scope. geraldine stevenson. connell louise stevenson. john charles stevenson. rachel stevenson. charlotte stinnis. michael barry stinnis. stacey stennis. dahlia stratich. >> roger carson -- anthony swan. flora macdonald margaret dwyer. mark alex paget. andrew alexander john. david william trevor. arvo anthony thomas. jonathan ryan, as. rwanda, mark lawrence cohen. alexia kathryn. barry joseph valentino. thomas hinholden than. thomas this sunni. nicholas renia. peter loco. >> les rogers. raymond wagner. janine wyedu. thomas edwin walker. kisha weeden. jerome weston. jonathan wind. bonnie lee williams. britney lead williams. eric john williams. george williams. stephanie williams. miriam levee wolf. chelsea marie woods. edra woods. joe nathan would. joe nathan woods jr.. mark james zenberg. we remember. [silence] [silence] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [silence] >> we are going to go a little bit out

simpson to act as speaker pro tempore signed john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will recognize members for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hore and and the minority whip limited to five minutes each but no debate continue beyond 1:50 p.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. defazio, for five minutes. mr. defazio: later today, something stunning is going to happen that will catch many americans by surprise, the so-called post master general is going to ajouns details that will lead to the end of the united states postal service and universal postal delivery in this country. this is an incredible blow to our economy. they are talking about closing processing centers. let me just be specific, in my area, they are talking about closing the eugene-springfield processing center. if i mail a letter six, seven miles away, it will be carried by truck to portland, oregon and sorted there and trucke

>> reporter: i'll tell you, john attar atterbury was a veryl known music producer here in los angeles, worked with singers like the spice girls and brandy and jessica simpsonhis mercedes benz out of a bank of america parking lot. he had just gone in the bank when he was shot one time in the jaw. and remember, when this thing first broke, everybody thought it was the scene of a movie, right? you had some guy in the middle of the street firing at cars in one of the most famous intersections in the world, and he was shooting -- you see it was captured from a different angle of video up on the roof and down at ground level. he was firing at random cars, he walked up and down the street for more than two blocks. the shooter, who had just apparently broken up with his girlfriend, reportedly kept yelling, i want to die, i'm gonna die. eventually, police did shoot him to death when he would not put down his weapon. while the shooting was happening, talk about the irony, sean penn and ryan gosling were in the same area shooting a movie called gangster squad. very same area. it's unclear if they actually heard what was going on, but that was breaking during the frid

john atterberry was in his mercedes near this intersection when his bullet hit him in the face and neck. atterberry had worked with michael jackson, jessica simpsont what prompted this man to open fire. but coroner's investigators say that he was des spoon dent over a long-time breakup with miss girlfriend. he was ultimately shot to death by the police. >>> controversy over commercials for the "all american muslim" tv show. russell simmons may be buying the leftover ad space. just purchased remaining spots for "all american muslim" next week. the show is now sold out. coming up in the next hour, we'll talk with him, to russell simmons live on the show. he's calling for a boycott of lowe's if they don't apologize. don't miss that conversation with russell simmons coming up in the next hour, 3:10 eastern time. >>> switching gears, with all of the child abuse sex stories in the news, all too much lately, we cannot talk enough about how to make sure that you're own kids are safe. we're going to talk to a hockey player who says that he was abused by a coach when he was young and he has warning signs for you and your kids. i'm a b. oh, what do you hunt

simpson, republican conservative senator, put together a game plan to bring back our economy. both parties encouraged to listen to them. >> something president clinton, of course, supports wholeheartedly. johnays gets a lot of attention. you surprisingly have members of congress. six of them. the gang of six. and one presidential candidate, jon huntsman, who some people feel has not seen his time in the spotlight yet. let's talk about christie. >> christie and cuomo, the two best governors in america across from the hudson river together. at time when people are frustrated about what seems to be a failure in governance out of washington, these two guys have shown that you can govern difficult states effectively, close multibillion dollar budget gaps without raising taxes. in the case andrew cuomo, achieve marital quality. and christie, educational qualities. and six bipartisan senators had the courage to come up with a bipartisan deficit and debt plan. let's hope to there's more in the new year. probably huntsman because he's tried to run a simple campaign in an unsimp time. a little christmas cheer as it were. >> listen, he could maybe surprise people in new hampshire. right? you never kno

john boehner. we offered a similar sort of deal. but i think there are two reasons. the official version is they didn't fix the defense cuts involved in simpsonat is a poor argument. you can say ok, i don't like all of this but as a country we are going to march down this road together. the country really -- the real reason is it would have been politically hard. it would involve tax increase and some entitlement cuts and that is politically hard and would have been risky and he thought was part of the paul ryan to have a budget proposal and he could pivot off of that and that was short-term smarter and long-term stupid. over the long term people said paul ryan has a plan. i don't like him but he has a plan. the president has no plan and no vision. over the long term i think it is not only substantively but in error for him not to have done that but politically in error because people doubt his ability to be bold and visionary. >> host: moving topic to topic this is from jodie abrams who's says she is enjoying your conversation. 1969 it was a transformative year for me. i learned that no matter how optimistic things look they can end in disas

john boehner, we offered a similar sort of deal. but i think there are two reasons. i think the official version is that they didn't think the defense cuts involved in simpson-bowles weret i think that's a poor argument. because you can say, okay, i don't like all of this, but as a country we're going to march down this road together. and i think the country really would have been with him. i think the real reason is that it would have been politically hard. because it would have involved some tax increase, it would have involved some entitlement cuts, and that's politically hard, and it would have been risky, and he thought it was smarter to have paul ryan go out there first and have a budget proposal, and he could go off that. i think it was short-term smart, long-term stupid. people say paul ryan has a plan, i may not like it, but he has a plan. the president has no plan, no vision, no boldnd. so i think over the long term i think it's not only substantively been in error for him to do that, it's been politically in error. >> host: your books and columns, i realize we're moving from topic to topic, but this is from joapny abrams who says, first of all, she's enjoyin