i spoke with king abdullah about all this today at his hotel in washington. your majesty, thank you for joining us. the arab league is about to wind up its mission, in fact, today in syria. what do you think has been accomplished if anything? >> well, i think it's given our countries better insight of what is going on inside of syria. it's been an interesting mission and i think we've had some gains and some losses on that. and i think what it will do is help develop them, a pan-arab strategy on how to deal with syria. obviously we've been in discussions with the syrians for many, many months on what going on internally. i think all our countries are very concerned of what is happening. and i will have to see what the next stage, what the outcome will be from arab league decisions. obviously we in jordan will abide by the arab league and work together with them, whatever the advice is going to be. >> warner: now president assad last week, though, gave a very, very tough speech in which he said he was going to continue to go after the terrorists with an iron f

. >> closer to home on domestic policy, a very death question about king abdullah as a reformer.ly? >> those countries in the world, no matter what they are, markets or the public, emirates, those that did not get the revolutions, they should at least get the messages of the revolution. and they need to not only change and make reforms at the financial or at the social lvl, but they have to do it at the political level, also. it's very important, because the masses are witnessing and seeing what's happening all around them. i believe v i believe there's no choice but for saudi arabia and whomever may succeed king abdullah, god forbid, after he lives long, will have to withstand the political reforms in our region. >> a year ago there was a belief in the royal court that there was not a consensus to take military action. a year later it seems to be an inevitable move here to keep iran boxed in with sanctions and to not try to block the streets of hormuz. >> i don't believe war is inevitable between iran and the united states or between iran and the rest of the world. i don't belie

. >>> president obama met with jordan's king abdullah today.discussed a range of issues including rising tensions with iran. the president said the u.s. would consult closely with jordan on syria. king abdullah was the first be a ran leader to say syria's troubled president should resign. >>> gop presidential hopeful rick perry is under fire for comments he made about the government of turkey. perry said the government was ruled by what many would perceive to be islamic terrorists. turkey's foreign ministry said perry's comments were baseless and inappropriate. the country has been an ally with the u.s. in the world of terror. >>> celebrity chef paula deen was on the "today" show earlier to comment on her health. she has been suffering for type two diabetes for years. she has promoted food high in sugar and fat. she says the show is entertainment and people need to be responsible. now back to "hardball." >>> this is why my election, which appears to be a recall election, is going to be such a big deal, i think. this is one of the defining but a

that this afternoon the president will host king abdullah of jordan at the white house and then laterht, the president will honor the world series champion st. louis cardinals. that's what's on tap for the president. >>> and joining the protest against two proposed internet regulation bills wikipedia english language site will be blacked out wednesday. beginning at midnight, on january 18th ring visitors will -- 18th visitors will see a protest message. back in 2002 he paid more than 500,000 dollars for a house in miami. reports now say o.j. simpson may be about to lose that home. who's taking over the property. >>> and she was trying to help mom in the kitchen. now her brother saved her from a near disaster. >>> a new study determines how babies learn to talk. this could help diagnose children with autism. all of that straight ahead in the 6:00 hour of "good morning maryland" including weather and traffic. we are back in a few moments. stay with us. i'm good about washing my face. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutro

this afternoon he will host king abdullah of jordan at white house and later tonight he will honor the world's series champion st. louis cardinals. >>> all right. check this out. sooner or later it's all going to happen and apparently burger king is ahead of the curb. they are thinking about home deliveriy. burger king. home delivery. yes. the fast-food chain is testing the delivery idea in some areas of maryland including gaithersburg and germantown. there's going to be a $2 delivery fee for minimum order of around $10. we want to know what you think about this. do you think delivering food is a good idea or it only further encourages laziness? go to facebook and let's us know -- let us know what you think. time for one more check of the forecast and like we said, we have been teasing this cheer all day you said you will do it. >> don't a a-- pay attention. >> i will hold up my end of the deal. >> we are doing this together we are family. satellite and radar picking up on some rain today. but the heaviest rain across the eastern shore and it's off to the south of us but we have anothe

he will be meeting with the jobs council this morning followed by king abdullah of jordan and this evening he will honored st. louis cardinals. >>> and for thee days beginning today, 300 foreclosure case will be heard in florida lasting 30 minutes each the judge will clear out all backlogs of foreclosures. it has some in the state upset. >>> and latest apple founder will no longer be getting his action figure. apple and jobs family pressured the toy maker to shelf the idea out of respect. in icon.com has agreed to halt production. jobs died in october from pancreatic cancer. >>> get ahead start and file your taxes e-filing begins today and corinne redman is standing by with a representative from h&r block of tricks to do iteffectively. >> reporter: we are live outside h&r block in towson. today marks a important day for tax returns because today is the first day the irs will accept e-fileed returns. and this is duane henderson with h&r block. first tell mow what are some of the benefits to e-filing early? >> good morning. this year over 140 million americans will file tacks by using e-file

this is david cameron's first trip as prime minister he's going to be meeting with king abdullah and also prince naives while he's that they'll be discussing a huge range of issues really including the global economy energy security counterterrorism obviously the situation in syria and the situation in iran at the moment and this is an important relationship really for both parties saudi arabia is obviously the world's biggest oil exporter it's also got ninety five billion dollars or thereabouts invested in the u.k. and the u.k. and the middle east do about twenty three billion dollars worth of trade every year so a very very big partnership on both sides strong relationships with the saudis very important to britain for advancing the ukase interests in the region saudi arabia has recently been hugely roiled and rattled by various developments in the region including the overthrow of their longtime ally hosni mubarak and these recent tensions with iran and there is a certain amount of a lot of powerful opposition to this visit here in the u.k. a group of very powerful members of parl

the british prime minister david cameron has met with king abdullah of saudi arabia the u.k.'s biggest trade partner and arms market in the middle east the gulf kingdom has been rattled by recent unrest in the arab world and has suppressed protests on home soil as well as elsewhere with ruthless force our correspondent laura smith has more on the trip strong relationships with the saudis is very important to britain for advancing the u.k.'s interests in the region and of course as you mentioned saudi arabia has recently been hugely roiled and rattled by various developments in the region including the overthrow of their longtime ally hosni mubarak and these recent tensions with iran and there is a certain amount of a lot of powerful opposition to this visit here in the u.k. a group of very powerful members of parliament the committee on arms export controls have questioned why licenses to saudi arabia for arms exports from the u.k. haven't been revoked in the wake of that trouble they have submitted questions and then publish those questions to the government on licensing of v

president obama will also be hosting king abdullah ii at the white house. they are expected to talk about the economy and negotiating peace between israel and palestine. >> the man hoping to become the next president of the united states faced off in another debate last night, the first of two debates before saturday's primary in a south carolina. >> five candidates shared the stage last night -- mitt romney and those battling to be the anti-romney. if romney wins this weekend, some analysts say this race could be over. >> i know that people will come after me. i know president obama will come after me. >> governor mitt romney was the target at the beginning of the debate. >> we need to satisfy the country that whoever we nominate has a record that can stand up to barack obama in a very effective way. >> the entire field of five went after the common target -- barack obama. the main focus of the night was the current administration's foreign policy. >> that is what we have been doing in the middle east, and digging bigger and bigger holes. >> makes our alli

king abdullah says he expects the violence to continue for some time. >>> now, yesterday we saw how it'sraded. now we'll show you how it's harvested. up next after the break, how cocoa and child slavery is still an all too common combination. >>> chocolate doesn't taste all that good when you discover it was produced by forred labor and cnn has founded it hard evidence that children are being forcibly made to work on cocoa farms in west africa. on friday, we're airing a special documentary as part of our freedom project which showcases this evidence, including some frank admissions from those in charge. >> reporter: leaving the capital city behind us, we drove to the remote northwest of ivory coast, the center of the cocoa trade. here, dirt tracks turn to foot pods. the bus of a local co-op leads us through the bush to one of his farms. like most cocoa plan takings, it's a tiny plot of land run by sharecr sharecroppers. >> this is i aweek old. >> reporter: cocoa beans dry in the sun. it's the middle of the harvest, he says and they have no choice but to use children. >> everybody helps,

. >> a very political phrase from our -- reflecting the views of king abdullah. we will -- to compensate for potential loss of the iranian oil. that's a message to iran that don't keep threatening the world economies with this. because wel if push comes to shove, we'll compensate all that you have. it's a specific market that we will maintain the dollar that seems to be good for the consumers and good for the producers. >> as the european union moves to block imports of iranian oil, how dependent its members are for crude supplies on iran. the e.u. buys nearly 20% of iran's oil exports. italy buys the most of that. more iranian oil than any other country. 7% of what iran exports to the e.u. 7% of what iran exports to the e.u. spain not far behind. just about 6%. next comes france. but not significantly -- significantly less there. 2%. germany, uk, netherlands, each of those really marginal, about 1% each. altogether, european union's oil embargo is expect today cost iran as much as $50 billion each day. it's likely to come at some expense to europe if oil prices

. >> that was president obama today with jordan's king abdullah.lsh is a democrat from vermont. he joins us live from washington. good afternoon, sir. >> hi, martin. >> having just visited the region with other colleagues, is the president right in asserting that regime change in syria is something that america and other international partners should be striving for? >> yes. i mean, when you have a leader of a country using military forces to kill citizens who are in peaceful demonstrations, that's a leader that's lost any confidence not only among his people, but in the international community. >> another delicate matter in the region, as you know, iranian relations, what did you learn about iran as you toured that region of the world? >> we were in saudi arabia, turkey -- >> you look like you got some color on your skin from that trip. >> the sun does shine a little brig brighter there this time of year. two things i would say. number one, there's broad consensus the world is going to be a safer place if iran desists from pursuing their nuclear a

. >>> jordan's king abdullah is in washington today meeting with president obama. both looking to advance peace talks between israelis and palestinians. king abdullah has taken a more active role in the mideast peace process. >>> what goes up can go up higher. gas prices have been steadily rising and some analysts say gas in parts of the country could hit $5 a gallon by summer, soledad. >> all right. that sounds very depressing for our summer look ahead. christine, thank you. >>> still ahead this morning, europe gets hit with a downgrade, how will u.s. markets react? we're going to talk with our panelists straight ahead. >>> plus, republican presidential candidates make their case. tea partiers in south carolina. we'll talk to leaders to find out if this influential voting block has a favorite yet. >>> storms ♪ south are affecting travel plans. we're going to check in with meteorologist rob marciano who is watching it all for us.as looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebo

on thursday, we'll have a conversation with jordan's king abdullah about syria and other issues. i'm margaret warner. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you online and again here tomorrow evening. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

. >> warner: we talk with king abdullah of jordan, who conferred with president obama this week on what to do about the deteriorating situation in syria. >> i don't see this ending up as a good story. i mean it's great to turn out badly no matter what. when is anybody's guess. >> woodruff: and hari sreenivasan sorts through the chapter eleven bankruptcy filing of photography icon eastman kodak. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the man trailing the republican presidential field called it quits today, as a key weekend contest loomed. instead, rick perry threw his support to newt gingrich, even as gingrich confronted revelations from his past. with polls

. >> next week king abdullah comes to the white house, and it won't be his first visit. they will be talking about the efforts to jump-start the middle east peace process, although that will certainly be part of it. will there be new approaches this time? what will they try this time that the have not tried before? >> welcome as you know, the president has already linked king abdullah for hosting the resumption of talks. they will obviously discuss that issue. they will discuss the king's effort at reform in jordan. and they will discuss the host of issues affecting the region. so it won't be limited simply to the middle east peace process, although that will certainly be part of it. i don't have anything new to report about our approach to that very difficult issue. our commitment to doing everything we can, working with our partners, to urge both sides to come together and negotiate a peace remains a very strong. and we will continue to work with jordan and other nations towards the end. >> are you satisfied with the king's commitment to working to try to get things so

. >>> king abdullah of jor ddan wl meet with president obama today.scuss jordan's evident for the toss create more transparent around inclusive government. >>> mitt's money. mitt romney's finances under attack at last night's republican debate in south carolina. his rivals going after him and attacking him. also about his record as a chief executive of bain capital. free market capitalism, say it ain't so. they're also demanding transparency from the republican front-runner. >> my income tax have been out every year and, newt, i think you're going to let your income tax come out thursday. and, mitt, we need for you to release your income tax so the people of this country can see how you made your money. >>> right now mitt romney and newt gingrich are running neck and neck in south carolina. it is the latest cnn/orc poll. former chairman of south carolina's republican party, you have been a rick perry supporter but you switched to mitt romney. why? >> zoraida, first, let me tell you that i know all of these candidates. i've known them for several years

. >> when the president meets with the king, king abdullah, shortly, how important will the effort to talk israel out of a military strike on iran be? >> i don't have any specifics to provide to you about a conversation that has not yet taken place. there are a variety of issues that the king and president will discuss including the middle east peace process, including syria, including the king's efforts towards reform in jordan, which we support. i would note with regard to syria that one of the signs of desperation that we've seen in the assad regime is the fact that the head of the force visited damascus and the fact that assad is relying on essentially his last friend for support in his repression against his own people makes all the clearer that his time has come, he must go he must step down. >> have you been in touch with the prime minister or italian authorities? do you have any comments? is there any statement on americans taking ships that might be under foreign control is there a danger to us? >> i would refer you to the state department where they've been handling pressure

. -- king abdullah of jordan to bring the parties together. as for the president's engagement, he will continue to take the approach that he is taken, which is engaging directly with leaders in the region, in power in his senior officials -- and powering his senior officials to participate in that action, and take the actions that he hopes will guide the parties together because ultimately the two-state solution can only be achieved -- the outcome both parties say they want can only be achieved at the negotiating table, and he is doing everything he can to bring them together. this is obviously a challenging issue, but the president focused on doing what he can to make it happen. >> in almost two years, he will have brought everyone here. will he bring them back? >> i did not any announcements today, but he will be focused on that and a whole other host of issues. these factors are a reminder that president obama has a consuming day job that he will be engaged in that is entirely separate from political campaigns, and we are quite a time away