a dozen now saying publicly they would not support a filibuster including georgia's johnny isakson who met with newtown families but is against new restrictions. >> now i might not vote the way they wanted me to vote but giving them the chance to be heard and tell their story meant a lot to them and to me. >> reporter: the democrats' call for expanded background checks turned unusually personal today for harry reid. >> sometimes people get a passion and purchase a handgun to do bad things with it. even as my dad did, killed himself. waiting a few days helps. >> reporter: the white house is all in leveraging powerful assets like bringing the families to washington aboard airforce one. and deploying vice president biden to pressure capitol hill. >> it's time for these guys to stand up and be counted. >> reporter: the vice president also hosted 13 of those family members for breakfast this morning at his home, making that connection personal. tonight a small group of republicans and democrats are still working on ways to write background checks, legislation that might have broader appeal.

we're going to talk to senator johnny isakson, we'll ask him about appetizers and napkin colors -- rickthe menu? [laughter] jenna: plus, frantic efforts to save a little girl trapped deep underground on a well, and it's all caught on camera. >>> and sticker shock, the tough news for millions of american men and women on campus. how much their student loans are going up. ♪ [ male announcer ] at charles schwab, we've committed to setting the bar high by going low. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 like offering schwab etfs tdd# 1-800-345-2550 with the lowest operating expenses tdd# 1-800-345-2550 in their respective lipper categories -- tdd# 1-800-345-2550 lower than ishares tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and vanguard. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and with all our etfs commission-free tdd# 1-800-345-2550 when traded online in a schwab account, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it leaves our investors with more money to invest. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 something they've come to count on with us. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so as investors continue to set their portfolio goals high, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 we help keep their costs of investing low. tdd#

by the end of the day, they visited nearly a dozen senators, including johnny isakson, a georgia republican. he disagrees with their position, but believes they should be heard. >> you plan to vote against some of the measures that they are supporting, but you still decided to meet with them. why? >> these are parents who lost their children in a terrible tragedy, and if you can't sit down and meet with those people, you shouldn't be meeting with anybody at all. >> what is the answer to the question you posed? are the families moving the senators any closer to compromise on these background checks? >> that's really an open question. the realities are hitting these families hard. more than a dozen republicans, including mitch mcconnell are still threatening to filibuster. but democrats are calling the bluff. harry reid says he's calling a vote on thursday. so the showdown will begin then. >> okay, jeff, thanks very much. now we have a story developing out of cuba. police say these boys were kidnapped by their own parents, taking on a 25-foot sail boat from florida to havana. it reminds us of

so georgia senator johnny isakson said it was productive.id it was an open discussion. a long dinner. senators arrived at 6:45 p.m. didn't wrap up until 9:00. they ate in the old family dining room this is my best shot. why i'm not a meteorologist. right about there. the old family dining room off the state dining room. nice price to have daner and sticking to the atkins diet with the steak and veggies. >> sounds yummy. >> reporter: maybe a good sign they aren't talking too much about it. >>> so two dinners just over a month marked by constructive and cordial constitutions. the president and senators are still at a stalemate in issues like the budget. joining me now, democratic strategist and analyst for the buzz. >> good morning. >> they talked about substantive issues, tough issues like immigration, the budget. gun control. high hopes, will? >> i don't have high hopes, that's okay, though. look, i hate to belabor the dinner metaphor, but the problem, largely we attempt to bite off more than we can chew. obama care, tens of thousands of pag

. >> senator johnny isakson is one of seven republicans who agrees it's time to vote but he is not readysupport major gun control. >> i'm not going to vote for a ban on weapons. i'm not going to vote on a limitation for cartridges. i will wait and see what they talk about on background checks but that hasn't even been written yet. >> what he is saying is that several republicans will vote to end the filibuster. it's not clear yet that there is 51 votes to actually expand background checks. meanwhile, on immigration, some democrats had hoped there would be a bill out as early as this week but our own colleague mike emanuel learning tonight that's being pushed back until next month. bret? >> bret: ed henry live on the north lawn. ed, thank you. stocks continued their upward climb today. the dow gained 60 to finish another new record close. the s&p 500 was up 5.5. the nasdaq gained 16. at least 14 people were wounded in stabbings at a texas community college today. at least two are reported in critical condition tonight. authorities have one suspect in custody. it happened at the lone star

. >>> to that end, the president phoned georgia republican senator johnny isakson a few weeks ago to ask his help in arranging a second dinner with perhaps a different group of republican senators. isakson handled the guest list. it's not been fully released. here's who we know is going to be at the dinner tonight taking police station at the white house, isakson, john thune. mike enzi, susan collins and even marco rubio. there's a chance he may not be able to attend due to a s scheduling conflict. >>> finally this story. there's a reason hollywood has a hard time doing fictional stories about politics. because you can't make up the stuff that beats reality. it involves the senate's top republican, mitch mcconnell, a secret recording by a still anonymous source and the sometimes seedy underbelly of how modern political campaigns are put together. oh, by the way, the fbi is now involved. it started february 2nd, 2013. yes, ground hog day. and it's turning into a day that mcconnell's team is reliving over and over again. thanks to a secret recording that's now public. on that day mccon

senator johnny isakson from georgia said although it is still unclear what will be on the bill i think it deserves a vote up or down. and it goes on to say that reid may not have all of the democratic votes, either. senator frank lao umberger, democrat from new jersey is ill and will not vote at least you have a leading democrats not said whether they will support the efforts to move this gun legislation on thursday. and then from those advocating a filibuster, here are some quotes in "the new york times." the republicans let, is what they say. this is from rand paul -- and also, rob portman, republican oh -- in ohio was at the political breakfast yesterday. he said if it was an infringement on second merit -- second amendment rights he would want to block it. and the senator of missouri left open the chance of filibuster. sammy, georgia, republican caller. you are on the air. caller: thanks for taking my call. are you still there? host: we are listening. caller: thanks for taking my call. i hope the republicans, this filibuster, i know they stick to it and don't back down. i don't thi

like georgia's johnny isakson. he met with the newtown families tuesday and told cbs news that despite his opposition to the bill, he won't filibuster it. >> but i think it deserves a vote up or down. >> you're hearing that increasingly from a number of republican senators. but right now the holdup on a bipartisan bill is background checks. yes, americans overwhelmingly support them. but republicans are concerned it will lead to a national gun registry that would allow the federal government to know exactly who owns guns, so that ultimately they might be taken away. christine and john, and the key here, of course, are those two senators, senators manchin and toomey who are having that press conference at 11:00 a.m. they've been talking about this issue. we'll see if they've been able to strike a deal. >> the details of that deal will be very, very revealing. thanks so much. in just about 20 minutes cnn's dana bash talks with former arizona congresswoman gabby giffords and her husband mark kelly. that, of course, ab

and johnny isakson called the talks productive. the question is, will there be another round? we're going to ask him that when he joins us live on "starting point." >>> back in the united states and headed to court now, what do the parents accused of abducting their kids and sailing them to cuba can expect to face in front of a judge today. >>> we're going to take you to one of the hardest-hit areas of missouri, where tornadoes leveled homes. look at those pictures. tate, where cutting taxes for families and businesses is our business. we've reduced taxes and lowered costs to save businesses more than two billion dollars to grow jobs, cut middle class income taxes to the lowest rate in sixty years, and we're creating tax free zones for business startups. the new new york is working creating tens of thousands of new businesses, and we're just getting started. to grow or start your business visit thenewny.com [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] ow! ow! [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium-rich tums starts working so fast you'l

johnny isakson. roger wicker from mississippi.e of reasons why we have these guys on this list. all of them voted yes. there was an initial filibuster attempt to stop the debate on background checks. these guys all voted to overcome that fill buster and at least allow the debate. so at least on some theoretical level, you look at roger wicker, put him on there and found no evidence that he was really interested in voting for the back ground check, from a -- sort of very conservative state. he has an a-plus rating from the nra. he did vote for this. some of the others, though, he did vote to get to the debate. some of the others, though, really did flirt with background checks. one that stands out the most there is tom coburn. tom coburn spent, you know, a long time negotiateding with chuck schumer and looked like this was going to be the big republican get for schumer and was going to get a very conservative oklahoman and this was how background checks would get through. and -- trying to figure out why tom coburn changed his mind,

like georgia's johnny isakson.e newtown families tuesday and told cbs news that despite his opposition to the bill, he won't filibuster it. >> but i think it deserves a vote up or down. >> reporter: brianna keilar, cnn, washington. >> our thanks to brianna. it is 15 minutes past the hour. >>> the florida couple accused of abducting their own two sons and sailing off to cuba are back in florida this morning where they have been placed under arrest. the parents have. cuba turned the hakken family over to the united states yesterday. they were first spotted right there, by a cnn reporter, tuesday, at a marina in havana. florida authorities sent a plane to fly them back to tampa overnight, along with those two precious little boys, who have been returned to their maternal grandparents. >>> imminent is how one u.s. official describes the threat of north korea test-firing a mobile ballistic missile. and it could come without any advance warning. intelligence reports indicate the north has already completed launch prepara

i did not know until he left the effect he had and which lasted today or be i do not want johnny isakson to be mad at me if i say something nice about the president. i am really struck, mr. specificity and directness of the budget increases which the president with the entire rest of the world claiming every miracle that he does not have. what he has done to make your mission more amenable to your leadership. and not without problems, but he has given a vote of confidence and more importantly , i do not usually say things like that adherence. i just wanted to. the 10.2% increase is huge. ,ou throw those numbers around we soon forget them. this will not be forgotten. nevertheless, i am very concerned about the persistent problems that been addressed prior to me. the needs of a rapidly growing the veteran communities for the backlog of claims. i am not sure if it is 600,000 and at one point, i heard it was one -- 800,000. there are so many. yes, you are attacking that. you are bringing in mental health, i think you have over 1200 people all over the country and hospitals and screaming and

we have people like senator johnny isakson republican of georgia. >> i won't vote for a ban on weapons i want more dead kids, that's what i want. >> stephanie: jacki he won't say why. because he think you should know why that's ridiculous. >> if you don't want to vote for it, don't vote for it but allow the open debate because that's what the senate is supposed to do. have a conversation about what's happening and the evidence will come to light. where the public stands and where the support lies. >> stephanie: i don't know if you heard earlier, we were talking about the sequestration forcing cancer patients that live in rural areas to sometimes go thousands of miles to get treatment. you know, this is part of like -- this is even part of the healthcare debate. sequester. that's forcing this. >> the sad part is that's the way our healthcare system works anyway. there are people in rural areas who don't have access to the services that they need because the insurance company won't cover a certain provider. people in rural -- when we were fighting this fight, we had a lot of conversation