we have two reports beginning with nbc's kristen welker at the white house. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. you can see the activity behind me. they have a great night for it. tonight's state dinner will be held on the south lawn. the menu will include bison wellington and lemon pudding. earlier today, the topics revolved around international hot spots. despite mounting pressure after this week's killings in afghanistan, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to gradual withdrawal. >> i don't anticipate at this stage we are going to be making any sudden additional changes to the plan we currently have. >> reporter: a plan the president said is working. >> al qaeda is on its heels. and has been decimated. >> reporter: the public may not be buying that view. >> why do you think the british and american people look at a situation that they think is frankly a mess? >> the situation is considerably improved. we want afghanistan to be able to look after its own security with its own security forces so we are safe at home. >> reporter: mr. o

it's the obama team's way of saying game on. >> kristen welker in washington at the white house. thanks. >>> the global financial noose is tightening tonight around iran. the world's biggest electronic payment system will take an extraordinary step this coming saturday cutting off iranian banks from its network, one of the harsh sanctions designed to make it virtually impossible for iran to finance and build a nuclear program. during our conversation with british prime minister david cameron at number 10 downing street in london earlier this week, i asked about the threat of a nuclear iran and about israel's signals it may be planning its own attack on tehran's nuclear facilities. like president obama, the british prime minister is saying not so fast. >> i don't think as we stand today that military action by israel would be justified. i don't think the israelis should take that action now. we told them they shouldn't and said we wouldn't support it if they did. we've been very clear. i'm a friend of israel. israel has a right to exist as a democratic state. it's very, very impor

kristen welker, nbc news, atlanta. >>> and up next here tonight, planet earth as you've never seen it before. >>> we talked a lot about warm weather. tonight, the opposite extreme, a journey to the part of the world few of us ever get to see with the start of a new seven-part series, discovery channel's "frozen planet." nbc's michelle franzen has our preview. >> reporter: the stunning scenes look out of this world, but this is life at the polar ends of the earth, a breathtaking display of beauty, alongside the brutality of nature. all captured by a team of photographers and scientists who spent four years braving unimaginable conditions. for discovery's new series "frozen planet." >> this is really, really extreme filming. we called it kind of planet earth on speed because it was so extreme. >> reporter: so extreme director chad hunter says the sub-zero temperatures tested the limits of everything, including the human body. >> the moisture in your tears, your blinks get stickier and stickier and your eyelids freeze shut and you have to open your visor and punch yourself in your eyes t

kristen welker, nbc news, the white house. >>> this is andrea mitchell in washington. they are both young, smart, devoted family men with the world on their shoulders, looking like two friends trying to blow off steam, but this duo travels better than most. marine 1 to air force one then a motorcade to an ncaa basketball game. if it was david cameron's first basketball, you couldn't tell. >> getting some tips. he'll help me fill out my bracket. >> he's going to teach me cricket. >> reporter: at downing street, the prime minister said he was taking a crash course to get ready. he was the perfect guest, trying to make up for that dust up a few years back. >> i'm a little embarrassed as i stand here to think 200 years ago my ancestors tried to burn this place down. you're clearly not taking any risks with the brits this time. >> reporter: despite the pomp and circumstance, at heart this so-called special relationship is personal. as indicated by their gifts. the obamas gave the camerons a fancy barbecue grill and monogrammed bean bag chairs for their children. the cameron

kristen welker traveling with the president in south korea. kristen, thanks. obviously going back to that medvedev moment. it's that word flexibility. what flexibility does the president want to have after the election? that's what a bunch of republicans who are obsessed with this one issue, there's a few of them out there on capitol hill, about missile defense. you're going to hear from a few of them over the next few days. more to come in this special edition right here. we're in the senate swamp. that's the nickname for this area between the capitol and the supreme court. >>> in a few minutes, hiring our heroe heroes. giving veterans a chance to get back to work. a look at the president's schedule. right now he gets to sleep. we're closer to half a day ahead of us. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. we'll be right back. at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car, and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness, where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer

kristen welker live at the white house. thank you. >> stay with us. are coming up. >> as far as shamus the dog, the issues of character important in this election. ♪ apple or cherry? cherry. oil or cream? oil or cream? cream. reddi-wip uses real dairy cream. nothing's more real than reddi-wip. oh! [ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. ♪ slowly turned to a scream ♪ there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ amen, omen twenty-five thousand mornings, give or take, is all we humans get. we spend them on treadmills. we spend them in traffic. and if we get lucky, really lucky, it dawns on us to go spend them in a world where a simple sunrise can still be magic. twenty-five thousand mornings. make sure some of them are pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org. frnchts the millionaire with the taste of pancakes to the scrappy undogs war. >> these pancakes are something else. they are as large as my win in puerto ric

martin. >> kristen welker. you be nice to the british prime minister. stay with us.top lines are coming up. >>> the primary tomorrow in alabama and mississippi. we're going to check in with mitt romney's southern strategy and how it's developing. >> morning y'all. good to be with you. >> you didn't have to do this. >> i got it started right this morning with a biscuit and cheesy grits. delicious. ♪ ♪ we were skipping stones and letting go ♪ [ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, rich dark chocolate, toasted oats. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients, from nature valley. ♪ nature valley granola bars, nature at its most delicious. ♪ like, keep one of these over your head. well, i wasn't "supposed" to need flood insurance, but i have it. fred over here chose not to have it. ♪ me, i've got a plan. fred he uh... fred what is your plan? do i look like i have a plan? not really. [ female announcer ] only flood insurance covers floods. for a free brochure, call the number on your screen. i care about my car because... i think it's a cool car. i th

>> kristen welker at the white house for us. kristen, thank you.ning me is senator from new hampshire, jean shah heen, a member of the senate armed services. it's nice to have you here this morning. >> good morning. >> i want to get to afghanistan. shortly after the koran burnings in afghanistan, the protests that followed, you reported as saying the developments do not change the fact that the united states still has serious national security interests in afghanistan and pakistan. do you feel the same way, senator, after the recent shooting spree that left 16 afghan civilians dead? if so, how do you suggest moving forward knowing full well the protests and violence that could ensue? >> first, let me begin by saying what a tragedy these killings were for the afghan families who were affected for the afghan people. they certainly don't reflect the good work that's been done by so many of our men and women in the military. this appears to be one disturbed individual. and the fact is, we have a schedule for turning over full security to the afghans. i

our white house correspondent kristen welker has more from seo seoul. >> reporter: good evening, lester. president obama heads to the demilitarized zone that separates north and the south today. it comes at a time of heightened tension over north korea's nuclear program. as south korean activists protest north korean military posturing, mr. obama is here for an international security summit to discuss ongoing efforts to keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists. north korea's planned launch of a long range rocket in april that can put a satellite into orbit is overshadowing the meeting and threatens to derail an agreement by the u.s. to provide food aid if the north halts nuclear weapons tests. republicans have accused the president of being soft on korea and iran, which has rebuffed efforts to inspect its nuclear facility pss. with that criticism dogging imhim, the president is urging north koreans to get in line. the president also expressed concern about the planned rocket launch to urge everyone involved to exercise restraint. back do you. >> too presidential politics no

nbc's kristen welker live at the white house with a look at the president's week.em like every official event has a little bit of hint of the campaign involved. >> reporter: absolutely. well, you know, chuck, every sitting president sort of has the built-in benefit of being able to stay above it all during the opposing party's primary. this president is no different. he's not been engaging directly with his republican rivals, except to take some subtle and sort of veiled swipes at them, as you just mentioned, at some carefully crafted times. it's really the type of headlines that even the most well-funded super pac can't buy. and it was all on display this week in washington. >> reporter: this week, it was clear. you just can't beat the power of the presidency. >> how's it going, uaw?! >> reporter: while republicans were duking it out in michigan, ground zero for the auto bailout, president obama spoke to auto union workers, reminding them he was behind the bailout and drawing a contrast with republican front-runner mitt romney, who opposed it. >> some even said we

kristen welker, seoul. >>> we're getting late word of an earthquake in chile.he magnitude 7.7 quake struck 60 miles north-northwest in the city of talca in southwest chile. everyone there at a casino there felt it. but there are no reports of damage or injuries. >>> still ahead, as "nightly news" continues, hiring our heroes as they return from war. helping women have it rans get back to work. >>> tonight we're proud to announce our nbc news network-wide initiative in partnership with the chamber of commerce to help 1 million unemployed veterans get back into the workforce. tonight we're focusing on unemployed women veterans, and the mentors helping them realize their full potential. we begin our series, hiring our heroes. >> reporter: women now account for more than 7% or 1.8 million of the nation's veterans. according to the department of veteran affairs, more than 135,000 are unemployed. and there's a growing demand for programs to help women vets work their way into civilian labor force. 35-year-old dawn smith is used to action. as a single mom of four and

our own kristen welker is traveling with the president, she joins us with the latest. >> reporter: president obama heads to the demilitarized zone, it comes at a time of heightened tension over north korea's nuclear program. as south koreans protest, mr. obama is here for an international security summit in an effort to keep nuclear materials out of north korea's hands. a missile launch is overshadowing the meeting. republicans have accused the president of being soft on korea and iran who has rebuked efforts to inspect its nuclear facilities. obama is expected to press the european officials. president obama has also expressed concern about the planned rocket launch urging everyone involved to exercise restraint. >>> today louisiana primary comes after a wild week on the trail, after a delegate match and an etch-a-sketch. >> reporter: mitt romney is taking the weekend off the campaign frail. meantime rick santorum is hosting what he hopes will be a louisiana victory party right here in wisconsin. like those two gulf states he has already won, alabama and mississippi, alabama is largely evan

nbc's kristen welker is in baltimore. one quick pick at the end of the whole thing, unbelievable. >> reporter: it's unbelievable, alex. it's difficult to imagine. and there's so much excitement here about it. check out the parking lot here. that's why all of these folks have been coming here throughout the day. we've seen a steady stream of people coming here. they want a look at this store. they're checking their tickets, taking pictures. we spoke with one woman who actually got four numbers right, so she walked away with $100 a not too bad. it's not that big mega millions jackpot. $640 million which wound up being a little closer to $656 million when it was all said and done. the lottery officials said the winner came into this store last night, bought one ticket, the computer picked the numbers. that's what i love about all of this. i just want to hold this ticket up -- this is not the winning ticket, i wish it were but it's not. just to give you a sense of how incredible it is, you have to get all five numbers right a

kristen welker, thank you. >> reporter: thank you. >> next, sarah palin questions how well the presidentn we come back. >> i think the notion of sarah palin being president in the united states is something that frightens me frankly. i love that my daughter's part fish. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy. instead i got heartburn. [ horse neighs ] hold up partner. prilosec isn't for fast relief. try alka-seltzer. it kills heartburn fast. yeehaw! who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribe

kristen welker had chance to speak to them about what life is like now they that are back at home homee with one soldier who had a really powerful message to send, which is that it's everyone's responsibility to help veterans readjust to life on the home front and to help them heal. >> god bless you and your families, and may god continue to bless those in uniform and the united states of america. >> reporter: from the fine china to the candle lit tables, it look and felt like a dinner. the first was aimed at honoring the nation's heroes. >> these rooms have hosted presidents and prime ministers and kings and queens. in the history of this house there's never been a night quite like this. >> the new greatest generation of americans. >> reporter: 78 members were invited to attend. all representatives of the million plus troops who served in iraq. >> i'm honored. i'm humbled. i'm glad to be here. >> reporter: it's a night corporal aaron didn't live to see. >> i hit a roadside bomb in the middle of the street and threw us ten feet in the air. my sleeves caught fire. my face caught fire. i

kristen welker joins us live on the president being on the offensive. what is he saying? right. he's on the defense on this issue for several weeks now. today, pointing to a report that just came out that showed that u.s. oil imports have decreased. they decreased to 8.4 million bares a day. that's a drop from back in 2009. republicans have been saying that president obama can't take off of the credit for this. they are saying that president bush's policies jump started these gains. the white house is saying the facts are the facts and u.s. dependence on foreign oil is at a 16-year low. i spoke with an independent energy analyst who said there's a lot of factors at play in these figures including technology advances. it's quite a complicated picture. there's no doubt that the high gas prices are taking their toll on president obama according to to that same poll that you just cited. it shows that 50% of americans disawe prove of the president's handling of the economy. that's an increase when 46% of americans disapproved. we expect to see president obama defend his energy

. >> joining me now from the white house is kristen welker.g a new step today? >> reporter: absolutely. make no mistake about it, today marks a new phase in president obama's bid for re-election. you him talking some swipes at his republican rivals. he didn't have to name names because vice president joe biden did. it's customary for vice presidents to assume the role of the attack dog. vice president biden did that today. you played that clip of him c m calling out the republicans by name that they have an opposite economic policy and hammering them for being opposed to the auto bailout. that's what the administration sees as one of its signature achievements. a bit of a glimpse of what we will see in the coming months. the re-election campaign will be focusing on the auto bailout. it's a new phase in this campaign and joe biden in the state of ohio to do it. the speeches came at the exact same time, we asked the white house about that. they batted the notion away saying people have busy schedules and they happen to fall at the same time. the

but let's go to nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker live from the white house. hat exactly is team obama doing here? >> reporter: hi, larry. well, the obama administration has pledged 240,000 metric tons of food aid to north career, things like biscuits, nutritional supplements. they say this is not a quid pro quo. it comes at the same time north korea says it will suspend the nuclear weapons test and will allow inspectors. so certainly a big announcement. you're skeptical, secretary of state hillary clinton also skeptical. she says this is a step in the right direction, an important first step. however, they are watching this situation quite closely. as you know, north korea right now has a new leader kim jong-un, very young, a man in his 20s, very little is known about him. and in the past, north korea has reneged on promises of this sort. so the obama administration certainly saying that this is an encouraging first step, but they are not celebrating just yet because they think there's a long way to go and they want to see action from north korea, larry. >> th

nbc's kristen welker is in seoul south korea with more. >> good day to you, alex.nt a strong message to north korea, they won't tolerate the north's provocations. north korea had planned to launch a long-range rocket. it would derail a deal in which the u.s. would provide food aid to the north if it hats its nuclear testing programs. president obama said north korea risks further isolation if it moves forward. >> i'll say that north korea will achieve nothing but threats. or by provocations. north korea knows its obligations and it must take irreversible steps to meet those obligations. on this, the united states and the republic of korea are absolutely united. >> south korean news agencies are reporting that north korea has moved that rocket to the launch pad. although the white house hasn't confirmed that report. meantime, president obama visited the demilitarized zone, which separates north and south korea. a few hours before the news conference. he said looking at north korea was like looking 50 years into the past. president obama is in south korea for a two-d

. >> and there, too, was our own kristen welker who joins us now at the white house.warm-hearted jokes about the president improving his table tennis which of course they played when britain hosted last year there was serious talk of afghanistan. both leaders is appear to agree on the timetable of a 2014 withdrawal. is that right? >> that's absolutely right. they did oo agree saying that they were committed to that gradual withdrawal that would ultimately lead to handing over force or power to the afghanis in 2014. but what they also did today that was interesting, martin, they sort of reaffirmed the fact that we are in the process of handing it over power, in other words, this is the final phase. that was sort of the picture that they were painting, and they were painting it in some of the starkest terms that we have heard. the president even acknowledging that there is war fatigue. he understands that people are weary at this point, this war in its tenth year. they reaffirmed their commitment to withdraw troops by 2014, but also defended the mission saying that al q

kristen welker, with a little bit of the week's highlights that you might have missed. >> reporter: heyl things that happened this week, high gas prices really continued to dog this president that's because the price at the pump is one of the main things that is still threatening this fragile economic recovery. health care may have seemed like the only story in washington this week, but there's one issue that continues to dominate the headlines and concern the white house even more. gas prices. many believe it's just a matter of time before the obama administration releases more oil on the market by tapping the strategic petroleum reserve. but the white house has been mum on the topic. >> i will say as we have said repeatedly, that this option is on the table and remains on the table but no decisions have been made and no specific actions have been primed. >> no decisions have been made and no specific actions have been proposed. i don't have anything to relay to you about the spr with any specificity. >> reporter: oil analysts say tapping the reserve could help lower the price of gas.

kristen welker is in atlanta with that. and this week's highlights. ms. welker, what you got? >> good morning, chuck. it is a day of fund raising for president obama. he starts off his day in chicago for one campaign event then he comes here to atlanta for three more. the big one as you mentioned a star studded event hosted by tyler perry tickets going for $35,800. but there was also a lot going on this week in washington and here's a look. in washington bipartisanship is often a hypothetical but not this week at least for a few minutes while the house was out of session and the senate passed a popular transportation bill and resolved to take up a house backed small business bill. hope you didn't blink though. the partisan fireworks started right back up again with top senate republican mitch mcconnell claiming democratic senator chuck schumer plans to highlight wedge topics like immigration and women's issues. >> the democrat in charge of strategy over there is sitting up at night trying to figure out a way to create an issue where there isn't one. not to solve our nation's p