we are live in kabul, afghanistan, tonight. welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. we'll have more on our reporting from afghanistan in just a moment, but first, we want to update you on some of the big stories making news in the united states tonight. >>> susan rice, the united states ambassador to the united nations will not be the next secretary of state. a somewhat surprising move in a letter to the president, president obama, she withdrew her name from consideration today. she says she's concerned that her criticism of her handling of the attack in benghazi would lead to a lengthy and disruptive and costly confirmation process. the president will meet with rice tomorrow at the white house. >>> and speaking of white house meetings, president obama and house speaker john boehner met at the white house for about an hour tonight. an important meeting and we're glad it was an hour. maybe they can get something done on the fiscal cliff. the hope is that they'll have a meeting of the minds on the tax hikes

>> a female police officer shoots dead an american as visor in kabul. -- advisor in kabul. this is al jazeera live from doha. also coming up on the frahm, a gunman kills two firefighters as they drive baddle a blaze in new york. the opposition rejected any transition involving the regime. >> the midnight mass has already taken place ushering in christmas and messagesor peace and reconciliation around the region. a female afghan police officer has shot dead a u.s. contractor. the killing is thought to be the first insider attack by a female. there are attack happened inside kabul's central police station. a policewoman named nargis shot the advisor. it will concern nato officials. although there is still only a small proportion of the country's 350,000 security forces that are gradually taking over security from nato. >> if the united states and afghanistan slows down its training efforts, its joint training capabilities and capacity building up security forces then both the afghan government and the united states will be doing exactly what the enemies want. >> there has bee

there are about 15,000 police officers in kabul, just the capitol city alone. trying to get your arms around that, it's really difficult to explain. here in the united states we have background checks, people know where you've been, what you've been doing since you were born. so by the time you are 18 years old, everybody knows who's who, you can go on to your facebook account and figure out what you've done for your last 18 years. you don't have that in afghanistan. a lot of these people that come in and want to be soldiers or policemen can only be veted by the elders in the village. so you don't know who you are. what we tried to do was bring in bio metrics and you'll probably read about that now, how do we reset and establish a good background way to determine who should be armed and who should be in uniform over there and who shouldn't be and that's some of the things we were doing. corruption is very real. but it's acceptable. we don't like it but in afghanistan, people accept corruption as a way of life. so another challenge was how do we change the mind

there are about 15,000 police officers in kabul, just the capitol city alone. trying to get your arms around that, it's really difficult to explain. here in the united states we have background checks, people know where you've been, what you've been doing since you were born. so by the time you are 18 years old, everybody knows who's who, you can go on to your facebook account and figure out what you've done for your last 18 years. you don't have that in afghanistan. a lot of these people that come in and want to be soldiers or policemen can only be veted by

contractor in kabul in a so-called insider attack. walked into the of police chiefs come down with a weapon and shot the man. the victim was an advisor to the afghan police. five afghan police officers were killed in a similar attack on sunday night. jennifer glass has more from kabul. >> we don't know the motive of this police woman who walked into the headquarters in central kabul today and killed this u.s. contractor. it is part of a growing number of insider attacks here in afghanistan this year. this contractor becomes the 62nd farmer to be killed by insider attacks. to discuss insider attacks i enjoyed by the former member of parliament and political analyst -- thank you for being here. what affects our these insider attacks having? >> i think if we are not careful, it will have the effect of the enemies of afghanistan and the united states want to have, which is to create a public opinion that all afghans are like this, and everybody wants to be doing this. that is not the case. i think this is perpetrated to affect the will of

. >> good evening from kabul.an. tomorrow we have a special report live "outfront," daily live in kabul is hectic. people, traffic, animals. it is chaotic and everywhere you look there are armed men. the afghan nag police are supposed to be taking over control but they are struggling, at least from what we saw, to handle some simple things, like traffic control. will they be ready when the u.s. troops leave? that's a critical question and one we're trying to get answers to. and after the longest war in american history, when will american troops leave and when they do, what happens? we're going to get answers to those questions in our exclusive interview with secretary of defense, leon panetta. and you're going to be meeting these girls. they are just 14 month apart and these girls have big, big dreams. they are pretty inspirational. we're going to share it with you and we're going to ask you the question, what is the future as girls going to be when the american troops go home. all of that tomorrow live from kabu

. >>> the attack occurred in kabul on monday. the police woman was immediately detained following the incident. the motive behind the shooting is not clear. a female officer of the local police force approached and shot dead an american who was working as a security advisor at police headquarters and in a separate incident a police officer shot and killed five colleagues in the northern province of jos john before fleeing the scene. afghan police believe the officer is a member of the taliban. more than 50 members of the nato-led forces in afghanistan have been killed by afghan soldiers or police officers. these incidents are casting a shadow over afghanistan-u.s. ties ahead of the withdrawal of international combat troops at the end of 2014. >> these are events that we are familiar with. we work very, very closely with our afghan partners. they events that affect both isef and our afghan security force brothers. we continue to work to mitigate them as much as possible. >> the taliban has not claimed responsibility for the shooti

the opening cut "blue rondo a la turk ts" was taken from the street in kabul. throughout his career, brubeck was an ambassador for music. in 1988 he play at the reagan i. throughout his career, brubeck was an ambassador for music. in 1988 he play at the reagan /gorbachev summit in moscow. >> all these people that almost hated each other was swinging. >> in 1994 clinton awarded him the national medal of the arts. >> i'll never forget in high

looking at the country as an investment opportunity we'll tell you about the efforts to commercialize kabul. it's thursday december thirteenth four pm in washington d.c. i'm christine for example and you're watching our t.v. while we are winding down two thousand and twelve and you know what that means lots of looks back at the last twelve months the best dogs worst most significant events and people of the year well here it are to you we decided to put together a list of our own of the most influential people of the year our intrepid producers put together a longer list of about twenty three people and every member of our news team chose their top five finalist was compiled from the winners and losers so here is our top five most influential people of the year or five german chancellor angela merkel not only is she the first woman to hold the top german political post she's also consider the de facto leader of the e.u. an organization that holds the economic fate of many countries and its so-called hands. number four is seventeen year old trayvon martin who was shot and killed back in febr

looking at the country as an investment opportunity we'll tell you about the efforts to commercialize kabul. and gun owners across the country are cheering a major court ruling the right to bear arms in public has been up held in illinois this locked and loaded issue always brings out the heated debate on both sides will show you what the media has to say about it. good evening it's thursday december thirteenth eight pm in washington d.c. i'm christine for is now and watching our team. well we are winding down two thousand and twelve and you know about means lots of looks back at the last twelve months best of the worst of and most significant events and people of the year we're at r.t. america decided to put together a list of our own of the most influential people of the year our intrepid producers put together a longer list of twenty three people and every member of our news team chose their top five so our final list was compiled from the winners so here is our top five most influential people of the year number five german chancellor angela merkel not only is she the first woman to hol

hideki yui, nhk world, kabul. >>> and that wraps up our bulletin for today. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> u.s. labor department officials have released the latest jobs report. they say the employment situation improved in november. this is the first employment data after president barack obama was re-elected. the unemployment rate last month fell to 7.7% from 7.9% in october. the jobless rate has now been below 8% for three straight months. u.s. employers added 146,000 jobs in the nonfarm sector such as retail trade, professional, and business services and health care. that's more than economists had forecast. u.s. employers added 138,000 jobs in october. the officials of the labor department say hurricane sandy, which shook the country's east coast in late october, did not substantively impact the national unemployment estimates for november. >>> a legal battle between two smartphone giants, apple of the united states and samsung of south korea, rages on. the california federal district court has reopened the case over smartphone and other patents.

hideki yui, nhk world, kabul. >>> and that wraps up our bulletin for today. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> u.s. labor department officials have released the latest jobs report. they say the employment situation improved in november. this is the first employment data after president barack obama was re-elected. the unemployment rate last month fell to 7.7% from 7.9% in october. the jobless rate has now been below 8% for three straight months. u.s. employers added 146,000 jobs in the nonfarm sector such as retail trade, professional, and business services and health care. that's more than economists had forecast. u.s. employers added 138,000 jobs in october. the officials of the labor department say hurricane sandy, which shook the country's east coast in late october, did not substantively impact the national unemployment estimates for november. >>> a legal battle between two smartphone giants, apple of the united states and samsung of south korea, rages on. the california federal district court has reopened the case over smartphone and other patents.

service men and women attended a service at the nato base in kabul, sang some carols, then enjoyed aoliday dinner. >>> and coming up on the "morning news," he may be messy funny, jack klugman from "the odd couple "has died. a look back at his remarkable career. [ female announcer ] introducing u the latest coffee machine from nespresso. modular. intuitive. combines espresso and fresh milk. the new u. nespresso. what else? available at these fine retailers. >>> firefighters in california battled a raging river yesterday to rescue a homeless man. he was living on an island in the los angeles river and got into trouble after a fast-moving storm tore through the area. rescuers used an inflatable boat to reach the island and tossed ropes to the man which he tied around a tree. the man was taken to the hospital and treated for hypothermia. >>> former president george h.w. bush is spending christmas in a houston hospital. the 88-year-old was admitted last month after developing a cough. he's now being treated for weakness and fever. doctors say they are cautiously optimistic about his recov

she couldn't get authorization to drive out and about in kabul. was restricted in terms of our ability to meet with the afghans, found herself asked to sit in an office building in a cubicle much like she could've been in washington drafting memos and tables, as opposed to really getting out and doing this sort of development work she wanted to do. she provides this wonderful insight into just how our search of civilians that were supposed to go down help rebuild the afghan government, how that search was squandered because most of those people wound up sitting in his fortified embassy compound doing paperwork as opposed to getting their fingernails dirty come out in the field trying to do the difficult work of building government, providing many for reconstruction assistance to the afghan people. >> rajiv chandrasekeran, just announced the surge is over. all those troops are down to 68,000 americans in afghanistan. how much was spent? what grade would you give it? >> i would give the surge a c. or maybe even a d. i'm not sure, no, a c- means it's

contractor in the capital kabul. the victim was a security consultant for the police. other officers detained the woman at the scene. her motive is unknown. another afghan police officer opened fire at a checkpoint in the northern province of jasjon. he killed five colleagues and fled the site. police believe he was a member of the taliban. afghan soldiers and police officers have killed more than 50 members of the international forces this year. the taliban has not claimed responsibility for the kabul shooting, but the group claims to have placed members in the military and police force to launch insider attacks. >>> japan's air self-defense force scrambled fighter jets after a chinese aircraft came close to japanese air space. the aircraft was flying near the senkaku islands in the south china sea. the defense ministry says the asdf spotted a wide 12 propellor aircraft on its radar. the plane was approaching from the north. it released f-15 fighter jets from the chinese prefecture. it flew within 120 kilometers of the islands but left without raiding japanese air spa

. >> it was just outside the compound of a private company in kabul. earlier explosion killed 10 guerrillas in the east of the country. we have more from kabul. >> there were out gathering firewood in a rural part of eastern afghanistan. local police believe one of the girls hit a land mine with an ax and it exploded killing of children within the vicinity. they believe it could have dated from the times of the afghanistan's civil war because it was not planted in an area that today would have been an obvious target. they also found in other soviet era mine on exploded nearby. afghanistan remains one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. just this year alone, 967 afghans were killed in the conflict in this country and most of them would have been the victims of improvised explosive devices and aligned minds. east of the city, a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle at the gates of the compound of a foreign contracting company. the explosion was felt two kilometers away rattling windows in the city center. at least two people killed in that exp

nato spokesman says an american adviser was shot and killed this morning by an afghan policewoman at kabul headquarters. at least 53 international troops have been killed by afghan soldiers or police this year. >>> back here at home, it is crunch time for holiday shoppers. many retailers have extended hours and stepped up promotions to entice those who have waited until the very last minute to finish their christmas list. nbc has more on this. >> reporter: as santa finishes his list and checks it twice before his big trip, most americans are headed out, too, to finish shopping for everyone on their list. >> for my grandmom, something for my mom. >> mom, dad, brother, sister. >> sneakers for my nephew. that's it. i'm done. >> reporter: but according to a survey last week, there are millions of shoppers who are not quite done. 132 million to be exact. 26 million hadn't even started. >> i know who i need to buy for but not what i'm buying yet. >> reporter: to help in the holiday rush, many stores like target, toys 'r' us, and macy's stayed open around the clock this weekend and plan to throug

crocks in large fire has swept through the market in the afghan capital of kabul. the fire caused no casualties. shopkeepers say they have lost millions. >> this would normally be a bustling day in one of the busiest parts of kabul. everything is closed after a devastating fire. hundreds of shops have been burned. the shopkeepers telling us they have tens of thousands of dollars in the shops. much of the merchandise has been destroyed. it will be difficult to estimate damages. it will probably be in the millions of dollars. " south korea says it has proved north korea's rocket launch was not for peaceful purposes. the defense ministry's released a report. north korea says the satellite -- says iraq was used to pay satellite into space. sunday marks the birthday of the japanese emperor. he reassured crowds he has made a full recovery since having heart bypass surgery in february. he took the opportunity to highlight the plight of the aging population. he is part of the oldest monarchy in the world. in south africa, kids from poor neighborhoods are exposed to carbon

since the start of the year, attacks fell 22% in kabul, 62% in kandahar, and 88% in mazhar-i-sharif. compares with 211. critical concerns are also detailed in the report. international forces have been training afghan security forces for years, but the report says very few afghan units are fully dependent from international counterparts when carrying out operations. another issue are so-called insider attacks by members of the afghan military against international forces. which are undermining mutual trust. the report also warns that the insurgency has found safe havens in northwestern pakistan and mentions the limited institutional capacity of the afghan government endemic corruption. these are among the obstacles to long term stability in afghanistan. >>> another story from afghanistan. the first rail service launched earlier this year with support from the international community. it is still in its early stages, but expected to play a critical role in reconstruction in the future. nhk world has details. >> reporter: afghanistan's only railway began operating earlier this year nea

. >> a large fire has swept through the afghan capital of kabul. fire trucks arrived quickly, but there was millions of dollars worth of damage. the bank, located in the market, managed to move their money before the fire. >> this is one of the busiest parts of kabul. as you can see, everything is closed. at devastating fire. it is not just this row of buildings. hundreds and hundreds of shops have been burned, the shopkeepers telling us they have tens of thousands of dollars in the shops. you can see much merchandise has been destroyed. it is going to be very difficult to estimate the damage is here. it will probably be millions of dollars. was it pannede as -- but the influential leader of the nra has gone on television to push for armed guards in every school. >> on friday, the national rifle association was blunt about how to stop the mass shooting in u.s. schools. >> the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> the nra leaders blamed the media, hollywood, and video games for gun violence and refused to answer que

, afghanistan. >> i'm michelle carter from kabul, afghanistan. special holiday greeting in baltimore, maryland, to jasmine, howard, friends and family in aberr deem, maryland, baltimore, and a shout out to the ravens.

happening in afghanistan today, an american advisor has been killed at the police headquarters in kabulafghan officials say the advisor was killed by an afghan police woman. they are investigating whether it was intentional or an accident. the woman was taken into custody shortly after the shooting. >>> michael crapo is charged with dui. a police officer saw him drive through a red light early saturday morning. the senator reportedly registered a blood alcohol level of .11. in virginia the legal limit is .08. he released an official apology. >>> all you holiday shopping procrastinators, today is the last day to get what you need. macy's is open 24 hours. the deals and longer hours aren't helping people spend more money. sales fell 2 1/2 percent since the black friday weekend. >>> in football news, robert griffin, iii was back in action sunday to play on his injured right knee the first time in two weeks. >> it was a limited version but he got the job done in a different way. fox 5 sports reporter lindsay murphy has more from the rookie quarterback. >> i was playing quarterback for the w

contractor in the capital kabul. the victim was a security consultant for the police. other officers detained the woman at the scene. her motive is unknown. another afghan police officer opened fire at a checkpoint in the northern province of jasjon. he killed five colleagues and fled the site. police believe he was a member of the taliban. afghan soldiers and police officers have killed more than 50 members of the international forces this year. the taliban has not claimed responsibility for the kabul shooting, but the group claims to have placed members in the military and police force to launch insider attacks. >>> japan's air self-defense force scrambled fighter jets after a chinese aircraft came close to japanese air space. the aircraft was flying near the sunkoku islands in the south china sea. the defense ministry says the asdf spotted a wide 12 propellor aircraft on its radar. the plane was approaching from the north. it released f-15 fighter jets from the chinese prefecture. it flew within 120 kilometres of the islands but left without raiding japanese air spa

now some popular american pastimes are available in kabul, too. fun. >> reporter: it has all the hallmarks of bowling alleys across the world. fluorescent lighting, heart-clogging snack food, and lots of people having fun. but at the strikers bowling alley in kabul, the security is tight, and the rules are a little different. >> we don't allow any sort of weapon inside the bowling alley. >> reporter: this 28-year-old was inspired to open strikers when she returned to her native afghanistan from canada for a visit in 2010. >> one month -- i didn't find any form of entertainment especially for families. >> reporter: she sold some of her family's land, spent $1 million building afghanistan's first-ever bowling alley. at $35 an hour, it's not a pastime that every afghan can afford. but strikers have become very popular with afghanistan's young middle class. and bowling is not the only sport that afghanistan has embraced. in 2004, muhammad abdel abdul reopened the kabul golf club which had been closed for some 25 years. >> i don't like walking -- golf

nhk world, kabul. >>> nurses in india are remembering one of their own. medical workers held candle light vigils for a nurse of indian origin who committed suicide in london. jacintha saldanha had been duped by a radio station. nurses gathered to perform prayers and pay tribute to saldanha. >> it's very unfortunate for a nurse who was in the peak of her career had to die in a very bad way for the royal prank played by some foolish people. >> demonstrators are urging the uk to release the body of saldanha who was of indian origin so her family can perform final rites. they are also demanding efforts by authorities to look into the cause of the incident. >> we are joined here to pray for jacintha's family. a proper investigation has to be done. it is a major issue. it can't be left as it is. >> two australian radio deejays impersonated queen elizabeth ii in a recorded call which was later aired on a sydney radio station. the two hosts have since been taken off the air. following the incident, an independent organization has started an investigation into eth

it happened outside police headquarters in kabul. are treating the incident as a possible insider attack. 52 members of nato forces have been killed this year alone in what is called green on blue attacks. a civilian contractor working for nato. look at this house you remember it you have seen it i am sure. this is the new jersey home became an iconic symbol of the devastation left by hurricane sandy. dozens watched as the 150-year-old home had to be torn down. he live there had for about 6 months. he tried to raise enough money to save it but in the end it had to come down. he told fox and friends at first it was hard seeing his home as a symbol of the storm. >> all of our possessions were in there and everything like that. it's just to see it over and over again. every time it hits us in the face it's a reminder that all of our stuff is gone. >> john says the image of his home helped bring aids and attention to the devastated town. >> back in 2004 the disgraced cyclist sued britain sunday times for liable when the paper printed cla

we'll be live in kabul next. but first a look ahead at the president's schedule. we have a photo op today on the fiscal cliff. he heads over to falls church. but the big thing, at night is the national christmas tree lighting. he'll deliver a few remarks there. for years, our own willard scott used to play santa claus and do that lighting. interesting to see what celebrity shows up there. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. [ female announcer ] beef, meet flavor boost. flavor boost, meet beef. it's swanson flavor boost. concentrated broth to add delicious flavor to your skillet dish in just one stir. mmm! [ female announcer ] cook, meet compliments. get recipes at flavorboost.com. [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again. medicare open enrollment. time to compare plans and costs. you don't have to make changes. but it never hurts to see if you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. ♪ open enrollment ends december 7th. so now's the time. visit medicare.gov or call

we take her from the streets of kabul. she has not been here since the day her two sisters were killed in september. >> it happened over there around the corner. i heard a loud bang, and i ran over there, but the police would not let me through. someone called my mom, and i cried on the phone. >> she knows that her sisters are no longer alive. >> they are not there anymore. may be they are happy in paradise. >> one of the sisters was 11. she wanted to become a doctor. the other was 14 and dreamed of becoming a skateboard world champion. she loved skate-istan, a project designed to give hope for children can escape the world of war and give hope, but four children from the project died. oliver from australia came to kabul five years ago, and the project grew from there, but what now? >> it is something that is working. we need to connect with children, we use in afghanistan -- with youth in afghanistan. they must have some sort of base to build up. no foreigner can change anything in afghanistan. >> the children are the fut

nhk world, kabul. >>> nurses in india are remembering one of their own. medical workers held candle light vigils for a nurse of indian origin who committed suicide in london. jacintha saldanha had been duped by a radio station. nurses gathered to perform prayers and pay tribute to saldanha. >> it's very unfortunate for a nurse who was in the peak of her career had to die in a very bad way for the royal prank played by some foolish people. >> demonstrators are urging the uk to release the body of saldanha who was of indian origin so her family can perform final rites. they are also demanding efforts by authorities to look into the cause of the incident. >> we are joined here to pray for jacintha's family. a proper investigation has to be done. it is a major issue. it can't be left as it is. >> two australian radio deejays impersonated queen elizabeth ii in a recorded call which was later aired on a sydney radio station. the two hosts have since been taken off the air. following the incident, an independent organization has started an investigation into eth

i thank you very much for joining us from kabul today on nazi. now more violence has hit the streets of bahrain's capital my mamma where activists say police used tear gas on hundreds of program form demonstrators the clashes happened on sunday after the gulf monarchies king delivered his annual national day address calling for more unity and the country's opposition though threatening more marches later this week as anti-government campaigners continue rallying against discrimination in october twentieth already has banned all public gatherings in an attempt to stem almost two years of nonstop protests in which up to eighty people have been killed and many thousands arrested last week prominent human rights defender job had his prison sentence reduced but this wasn't enough to calm activists who are calling on his immediate release hussein abdullah from americans for democracy and human rights in bahrain so the situation will not change as long as the government is backed by the west. whenever they come under pressure from western allies like un

it happened inside kabul's police headquarters. the latest in a string of suspected green on blue attacks that are hitting morale and eroding trust in allies there. our pentagon correspond respondent barbara starr up early for us working her sources. joins us live from washington with more. >> good morning, alina. in the last few minutes, our nato sources are confirming privately that, indeed, it was an american citizen. a contractor shot and killed by a woman, an afghan woman in a police uniform inside kabul police headquarters. what is not known at this point or they are not saying, whether this woman was an afghan police officer or came into possession of the uniform, stole it. we have seen these kinds of incidents before. people have infiltrated in, may have taliban loyalties, may be other issues at work here. they have seen grudges in the past being enacted upon. so not a lot of detail yet. but this whole issue of both nato troops and contractors being killed by people in uniform of afghan security forces has been plague the a

his own. >> happy holidays from kabul afghanistan.ay i had to the fuller family and i want to wish them a merry christmas and a happy new year. [ sniffles ] [ female announcer ] for everything your face has to face. face it with puffs facial tissues. puffs has air-fluffed pillows for 40% more cushiony thickness. face every day with puffs softness. [ male announcer ] this is bob a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left. i don't think so. [ male announcer ] for years, bob took warfarin and made a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but not anymore. bob's doctor recommended a different option: once-a-day xarelto®. xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. like warfarin xarelto® is proven effective to re

with their closest to the president and the vice president and what has happened to the for example kabul bank back and what has happened to that nobody has been given any answers. a story we're following with your help thank you very much for your time there political analyst and former afghan m.p. as you well. as warning to israel that is settlement expansions a threat to peace in the two state solution with the palestinians israel's most recent announcement of twelve hundred more homes in these jerusalem brings the total number of housing units planned in the past few weeks them to five and a half thousand now these are illegal under international law but around half a million people already live in israeli settlements as part of peace campaigner ron pundak he told me their fate and the expansion of homes have become political bargaining chips these days. settlements is definitely within the vocabulary of talking into the center right voters so i believe that between now and twenty second of january we'll see only elevation of the discourse from the prime minister and the round on the

what is the latest from kabul? that karzai has agreed to a meeting with the president on january 7th. >> that's right, draen. well, we start with that bombing today outside of the kandahar airfield. that is, of course, the main u.s. military base in southern afghanistan. you mentioned, of course, secretary of defense was never in harm's way himself. he had already come back to kabul and left there about two and a half hours earlier. it's worth noting, we did just receive a statement from the taliban claiming responsibility for that attack. they said it was a suicide attack and that the attacker exploded himself in a 4 x 4 car full of explosives. now, the secretary, of course, was down there to address u.s. troops who are still there. there's about 14,000 troops in the area. he spoke to a smaller group of about 300 thanking them for their service, thanking them for their sacrifice, and thanking them for spending this upcoming holiday season away from their families. he also spoke about the tremendous progress made s

than four hundred thirty five thousand square foot forward operating base located not far from the kabul international airport now they say the reason for this new home is simply overcrowding that there wasn't space at existing facilities for the additional special special ops forces that would be coming in but economy got more than two hundred twenty two million dollars a no bid contract by the way which apparently covers things like food services pest control information technology and armed security services this contract by the way it runs through may twenty fifteen even though most u.s. forces are supposed to be home by twenty fourteen i want to talk more about the various implications of this with michael o'brian he's the author of the book america's failure in iraq intervention to withdrawal and he joins me now in studio hey there mike how are you doing i'm doing fine how are you i'm good at let me just ask you first i mean how common is this for you know military personnel to be housed sort of put up by private contractors to the best of my knowledge. not common at all it's not d

police officials say an afghan police woman killed an american adviser at the headquarters in the kabul. they are investigating to determine if the death was intentional or accidental. nato military command -- commanders are looking into this. it is not known of the victim was a military or civilian adviser. >> we are fortunate enough to have brianne carter at the mall picking out a gift for us. >> tis the season of giving. we are out here with some friendly shoppers this morning. 17 million people across the country are waiting until the last minute and will hit the stores today. we talked about what i would get what you guys might want so how about my fellow reporters? i know them pretty well so i thought that john is a big hat to god because he has to stand out in the cold. we found him this sweet deal. this might be good for him, cold outside, and jummy olabanji says she is into a lot of bling. better than a sparkly purse. ? we expect there will be a lot of shoppers this morning. we expect it will be very crowded at the malls and there are deals to get as well. it is crunch time for