it makes for a bigger challenge for the majority leader. if it's majority leader mcconnell. he'll have a difficult time early on getting his caucus together and coalescing around a goal and policy agenda that works for everybody. >> we'll be back with more inside story on al jazeera america. after a short break if the g.o.p. assumes control of the senate this election day adding the chamber to their comfortable majority in the house, how will the next two years set the table for the 2016 national elections? stay with us. >> you're watching inside story on al jazeera america. i'm ray suarez. i heard two scenarios in recent days about what a republican senate would mean. one, it would build down conflict with the president. the congress able to deal with the obama administration from a position of strength would want to get things done. or internal splits inside of a more republican caucus would mean no compromise, two years of gridlock leading up to the national elections. with us, bill, william and john. waldo mcmilne. you want to look responsible, smart and capable, but not

in the senate and an overwhelming majority in the house. repeal obama care and stop amnesty and other forms of lawlessness. we watched over the course of this campaign soccer moms being moms,ormed to security national security is a primary this new republican nine say -- republican majority. hear from the voters was that they were sending a new republican majority to act like a minor league political party. party inthe majority this country across state legislatures and governors in our midst. on the end ofs underscore this -- they did not send republican managers to be competent managers. they would put us on a course of limited government and expanding economy that would put americans back to work and make sure that revenue to take care of our federal governments first responsibility, to keep our families safe. next is the president of citizens united. them a thank you. i am going to be very brief. a wonderful evening last night because conservative ideals won the night. it really proved that barack obama and harry reid have been a nation

today's majority proposes something. tomorrow's majority opposes it. we see that in the house all the time. but when the senate is allowed to work the way it was designed to, it arrives at a result that's acceptable to people all along the political spectrum. that, my friends, is the whole point. we've lost our sense for the value of that, and none of us should be at peace with that. because if america is to face up to the challenges we face in the decades ahead, she'll need the senate, th the founders in their wisdom intended, not the hollow shell of the senate we have today. not the hollow shell of the senate we have today. first, one of the traditional hallmarks of the senate is a vigorous committee process. it is also one of the main things we've lost. there was a time not that long ago when chairmen and ranking members had major influence and used their positions to develop national policy on everything from farm policy to nuclear ar arms. these men and women enriched the entire senate through their focus and their expertise. just as importantly,

republicans the majority in the house and senate. two years left for president obama in the white house. is there a moment here -- you worked for four u.s. presidents, democratic presidents, republican presidents, is there a moment to break that gridlock or is it sort of a done deal that the gridlock will continue the final two years? >> all of the newspapers today are reporting that we're going to be more mired in gridlock, but i do think there will be a moment. it will be brief and it has to be well used. one element we left out of the conversation so far here is the president also has to work with democrats in his own party. he'll have a more fractious democratic party. this is not the fourth quarter but a lame duck period. they'll look for their own ways to protect themselves because they saw what happened if they got too closely tied to obama this time around even in obama states like colorado and iowa. i think the president needs to reach out both ways, and i think it's very much in the republicans' interest to show they can be

today's majority proposes something. tomorrow's majority opposes it. we see that in the house all the time. but when the senate is allowed to work the way it was designed to it arrives at a result that's acceptable to people all along the political spectrum. that my friends is the whole point. we have lost our sense for the value of that in none of us should be at ease with that because of america is to face up to the challenges we face in the decades ahead she will make the senate, the founders and their wisdom intended, not the hollow shell of the senate we have today. not the hollow shell of the senate we have today. first one of the traditional hallmarks of the senate is a vigorous committee process. it is also one of the main things we have lost. there was a time not that long ago when chairman and ranking members had major influence and use their positions to develop national policy on everything from foreign policy to nuclear arms. these men and women in rich to the entire senate to their focus and their expertise. just as importantly they provi

it makes for a bigger challenge for the majority leader. if it's majority leader mcconnell. he'll have a difficult time early on getting his caucus together and coalescing around a goal and policy agenda that works for everybody. >> we'll be back with more inside story on al jazeera america. after a short break if the g.o.p. assumes control of the senate this election day adding the chamber to their comfortable majority in the house, how will the next two years set the table for the 2016 national elections? stay with us. >> saturday on tech know. a brutal killing. a thorough investigation. >> we're pushing the envelope. >> but this is no ordinary c.s.i. >> what went on right before that animal died? >> hunting the hunter. >> we're gonna take down the bad guys. >> solving the crime. >> we can save species. >> tech know's team of experts show you how the miracles of science. >> this is my selfie, what can you tell me about my future? >> can affect and surprise us. >> don't try this at home. >> tech know, where technology meets humanity. saturday at 7:30 eastern. only on al jaz

maybe you want to be a major or a colonel. and the only way you're going to is get out ofn the artillery. but there are no field-grade jobs in the artillery. war department initially refused to permit regular army artillery officers to become of volunteer infantry regiments, which is what tidball when they lyfted that re-- when they lifted that restriction. comprised 18 batteries of 100 guns. there were 14 regular batteries batteries.lunteer they all had six guns and about 12-pounder napoleons. a reserve was established in the army of tennessee after the intle of chickamauga september 1863. and there was no artillery reserve in the army of the ohio. now, tidball notes, the name artillery reserve was a misnomer. it wasn't reality in the artillery division. reserve,f being in a it was generally the first in the fight. a corps commander wanted batteries for any invariably sent them to the reserve. the fact that batteries being assigned to divisions made commanders -- they gave them up, though but temporarily, after many objection

by the way, harry reid is still the majority leader. i think the immediate discussion we're going to be having is what should we try to wrap up during the lame-duck? i mean, there are a number of things that have been sort of put off that -- >> say that again. >> cr expires in december. >> we've been talking about whether to do a cr nominate or the tax extender package. there are a number of things that have sort of stacked up. i think i've said it before. i'll say it again. the senate hasn't been doing anything. >> do you foresee any attempts to roll back some of the reports. >> what? >> dodd frank. >> the banking committee certainly is going to be taking a look at dodd frank. i've called it frequently obama care for banks. the big guys are doing just fine under dodd frank. the community banker is struggling. i do think the banking committee is going to want to take a look at how much damage it's done to the little guys who have nothing whatsoever to do with the meltdown in 2008. i would be surprised if the banking committee isn't goin

but as is often the case happens when you have a very large majority, the majority begins to splinter, and the party was indeed badly divided. as one columnist said at the time, overwhelming majorities, like oversized amoebas, tend to split, and that is just exactly what happened. about half of the democratic caucus supported roosevelt's new deal policies and the other half frequently undermined them. the divisions within the caucus finally became fully exposed when fdr proposed the court packing plan. was the straw that broke the camel's back. people had had enough, and it split wide open. in 1937, due to the strain of trying to manage the court packing legislation, majority leader robinson died of a heart attack, clearing a way for barkley potentially to become leader. frequently politics abhors a vacuum. so i'll just add to my prepared text the way the campaign unfolded. robinson dies of a heart attack. they put the entire senate on a train headed to arkansas. and the democrats politicked all the way to the funeral and all the way back, to see who would succeed joe robinson. so, as

the next major battle was fredericksburg. major general ambrose replaced mcclellan after antietam. burnside's plan was to attack richmond via fredericksburg. the battle of fredericksburg was fought from december 11 to december 15, 1862, in and around fredericksburg, virginia. burnside had replaced mcclellan, who was not seen as aggressive enough in pursuing lee after antietam. burnside's plan was to attack the confederate capital of richmond via fredericksburg. he planned to cross the river at fredericksburg in mid-november and move rapidly on richmond before lee could come to stop him. however, bureaucratic delays prevented burnside from receiving the necessary pontoon bridges in time, and lee moved his army to block the river crossings. when the union army was finally able to deploy its bridges and cross under fire, urban combat resulted on december 11 and 12. union troops prepared to attacked the confederate defensive position south of the city on a strongly fortified ridge west of the city known as mary's heights. union major franklin's grand division pierced the first confeder

in a week i'll be elected as senate majority leader.

wider majorities in our legislature. i'm also grateful to have been a small part of standing with a number of our candidates around the country running for election and reelection as governor. for my part, i'm going to stay focused on the state of indiana, stay focused on keeping indiana in the forefront of growth. >> you're not ruling it out, though, right? >> well, my focus is here in indiana. we've seen unemployment drop from over 8% to 5.7% now. we're recognized the national leader in education innovation. we have the results to approve it. with the upcoming session of the general assembly, the opportunity we have with renewed majorities in the hoosier state and with a great statewide team reelected is to continue to keep indiana in the forefront of now a part of the country here in the midwest that has republican governors from illinois, wisconsin, michigan, ohio and we intend to continue to lead that pack. >> we'll leave it on that note. governor pence, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >>> mitch

there's a different responsibility in majority. is the republicans didn't step in the land lines and nominate crazy people that would become the focus of the elections yesterday. we've got to throw a couple more repeals of obamacare over the white house fence>> it seems to me mitch mcconnell is going to have to allow one vote on the full repeal of obama -- the affordable care act. democrats might or might not filibuster that we'll see how that goes. >> before he gets down to try to seriously negotiate anything with democrats. >> i was at a program today where 1/2 of the senate is knew. there's a lot of people who have a chance to vote a vote on the affordable care act. but then there's a lot who don't know how to legislate or offer amendments. i do think you need to have that symbolic vote so nobody from the right said i stood up and voted to repeal obama care. it's going to be a message. not a sin veer vote. >> steve latourette thank you for joining us tonight. chris matthews is up next. >>> which republicans won last night? the d

they were only three seats out of the majority. they only needed three more seats to get a majority in the u.s. senate and it looked very plausible they could get at the same time, president obama's numbers were not very good approval numbers. every president that had a worse job approval than his lost re-election. everyone who had a better one won. he was in a gray area. we were coming out of a recession but the economy was stuck in low gear and people didn't -- the economy may have been recovering but most voters didn't think that their economy was recovering. after all, median family income had not gone up since 2000 and that had been under democratic presidents, republican presidents, democratic congresses and republican congresses. but it is stuck with whoever is there. republicans had every reason to think they had a good chance of winning. what happened in 2012? instead of gaining three seats and getting the majority, they had a net loss of three seats and they came out of that election six seats out of the majority instead

and because legislators would be pulled for the majority preference. if you have an institution that is not democratically accountable that pull the legislators feel for more protection. the act of 1965 was enacted by elected legislators for a widely felt at the time we felt now is the time. so for a long time the supreme court protected allowed to remain standing with the maturities on the house on and off of the senate. facing republican majorities in the house to see the court me less protective so as they responded to that poll by and large average ended is bound to respond to legislators to see more protections. >> host: what about term limits? >> i think elected judges get a bad rap. again i wonder sometimes with that negative opinion of electing judges is a hangover with those independent judges were better. so with them being elected with the localities have can that be good? so my own belief from people boosted the judicial elections across the state is the outcomes compared to the states that they don't is they do a pretty good job. that we s

this new republican majority in the senate and the more robust majority in the house is likely to lead the israeli government to be even more dismissive of the obama administration. and i suspect we're going to see more tensions there and more friction before we're done, as we know we're going to see frictions ahead, including with the use of the budget process as the administration moves forward with negotiations with iran, possibly towards a deal. and we'll see all kinds of efforts to try and put a crimp in that. we will probably see a newly empowered republican senate move with the house to provide more sophisticated weapons or push to do so to the ukrainian government in kiev. and we're going to see, i think, more frictions there. and at the same time, john kerry is going to be hauled in to testify in both houses, in multiple committees, on benghazi and on all of these foreign policy questions, at a time when his challenges will be dramatically greater. one of my reasons, in my column, it's about the geopolitical implications of plummeting oil rices. if oil prices stabilize, you're

the vast majority people want change. what i think republicans, with the support of her media, has allowed to prevent us from focusing on those issues. and what the republicans have done is make did dish this a referendum, are you satisfied with the economy? most people, including myself, are not satisfied with the economy today. but what they have done is had us forget where we were six years ago. and also, had no discussion -- you tell me what you have heard about republican plans for the future on economic issues. do you think the american people want more tax breaks for the rich and large corporations are cuts in social security and medicare? of course they don't. do you think the republicans talked about that one bit? absolutely not. if they win control of the senate, that is what they will be talking about. my last point before i have to get off, what frightens me very much is what citizens united has done to this country, and the ability of billionaires like the koch brothers and others to put unprecedented sums of

eastern time, and the current senate minority leader and possibly majority leader and possibly majority leader to be mitch mcconnell voted in kentucky today projecting bright moves to the press. >> this is going to be another good day here and hopefully around the country. i am hoping we will have a new majority. >> despite the anatomical possibility of what i am about to suggest, you have had both ears to the ground all day. what i'm wondering if regrets are privately as pessimistic -- if democrats are privately as pessimistic as mitch mcconnell is positive? >> the polls are open. we should not discourage anyone from voting. most republicans and talking to today are optimistic. not giddy. they are still worried about the florida's governor's race. they do not think they will run the table on the senate. they are confident they will take senate control. most democrats are pessimists. they think some of these places they were hoping to win will come up short. we're really right now they are -- if you're betting on one party, you are betting on the republicans to have a better than good n

we expect him to be majority leader. it's still a political process, and it has to happen among the republicans and the senate. it is seen as a forgone conclusion that they'll take that perch. we expect to hear a peace making tone. we've watched the republicans nickname the party of no, that strategy, it turns out, seems to have worked. it was time to see republicans take more control. now they're going to pivot, and send a lot of bills to the president and give him th the opportunity to veto. >> ari ravenhoft is a strategist with harry reid. he'll be with us to help us digest what we're hearing. what do you expect to hear from mitch mcconnell in the next few minutes? >> a lot of what libby has been saying for a while now. a conciliatory town, this is the time to make nice, and then we'll see the mitch mcconnell that we're accustomed of seeing. is the president going to do what mitch mcconnell did to him? is he going to be the no desk? that remains to be seen. of the democrats want him to be. >> you have to wonder if the

on another stricter interpretation, perhaps, no majority minority districts had to stay majority/minority districts but in no interpretation does a 76% district have to stay a 76% district when circumstances change and when the ability to elect candidates of one's choice does not require it. >> well, decreasing the proportion of black voters will generally reduce the chance that the minority's groups favored candidate will be elected. and the district court i think that korng was trying to go to go back to, quote f existing opportunities to exercise the franchise are robust a proposed plan that leaves those voters with merely a reasonable or fair chance of elects a candidate of choice may constitute retrogretion. only 55% black district would only give those voters a reasonable opportunity to elect. >> suppose -- i don't know, i want to know what you think about the practicalities of sending this back. assume in the back of my mind relying on state policy is this -- a state legislature gets up and says n our state there's a history of discrimination against black people, there are fairly

in fact, pretty soon a majority.hose are the alternatives that are presented, overwhelmingly, hardly an exception. my own opinion, which i've written about repeatedly -- without convincing many people, apparently, that i will try to convince you -- is that this is a total illusion. those are not the two alternatives. there are two alternatives, but they are different ones. the one alternative is the international consensus on a two state settlement, basically the terms of january 1976. by now, it's virtually everyone , thee arab league organization of islamic states, includes iran, europe, latin america -- informally, at least, about everyone. that's one option. the other option, the realistic one, is that israel will continue doing exactly what it is doing right now, before our eyes, visible, with u.s. support, which is also visible. and what's happening is not a secret. you can open the newspapers and read it. israel is taking over what they call jerusalem, as i mentioned, a huge area committee -- a huge area, mayb

and that has had major, major concerns on the congressional side of things and is not helping them move anything forward any time soon. >> phil, mark, it is true. there's not a whole lot of love loss at this point between the president's team and harry reid's team, for example. you see so many of these lawmakers like mary landrieu, who are just tremendously frustrated by the position some of the president's policies have put them in. her entering into a runoff. mark warner, so extremely close in this race that should not have been that close. and you don't see the president -- there's not that pass of the background of the president having close relationships that will pull them through. >> it's one thing to have control of congress. now republicans must show they can govern but do this with one eye on the white house in 2016. how can the g.o.p. lead knowing that any accommodation they might make with the president might be perceived as traitorous or capitulation by their right? >> when you look at it, it is the sort of capitulations or deal makings that may carry republicans forward in

there is a republican majority in the senate, a large republican majority in the house. they've got to face political reality and look they're famous for not facing political reality. but if they don't face it barack obama's last two years are going to be a very unhappy time now. >> let me stop you, we only have a minute left. i want to get a reaction, north carolina, kay hagan was ahead but thom tillis ended up taking that. what happened? >> it was essentially dead heat, a poll showed her with a very slight lead, and summing that 21% would be african american which was a huge assumption. an election to an electorate that's very concerned about the economy and very frustrated. >> rick, charlie crist in florida, rick scott ended up winning the race, why? >> very simple. rick scott's people put up a better field operation at the end of the day and charlie crist could not recreate the bowm administration hispanic voters to come out for him. he campaigned with the clintons, he campaigned with every other democratic surrogate he could get his hands on and nothing created the

majority leader. >> >> you seek compromise not with the new majority leader you want but with the newjority leader you're going to get. i actually think, although mitch mcconnell is an inside player, i actually think of marathon press conference -- he will never be a great communicator. he is doing one thing that i does give people who are bullish on the prospect of compromise of hope, which is he keeps referring to the fact that he has been the dealmaker. he keeps saying that when there have been breakers, i have been the one to strike them. usually with joe biden. people have the notion that he and joe biden are friends. >> they are not friends. >> they have done deals. i think the fact that he eats -- that he is talking about being a dealmaker is a good sign he is ready to do some stuff in the short term and immediate term. >> there was a rebuke to test crews. ted cruz has been out loudly saying we should not pass legislation. mitch mcconnell came out and said we will not shut down the government, which was like a poke in the eye to ted cruz. he said we will not default on the debt

does the new republican majority in congress let d.c.'s new pot law stand or do they try to undo it? d.c. officials are going to have to accepted this to congress for a review very shortly. that will be another test of what this new washington is going to be like. today is day one. it's going to be fascinating. now it's time for "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. good evening, lawrence. >> good evening. i'm glad you binged watch "alpha house" last night. i did that recently, too, and i discovered the amazing performance of rachel maddow in one of the episodes of season two. there is now a new best actor from the cable news world among us. >> i was so -- i was in the last episode. i was so beery eyed by the time i got there, even i liked it. thank you, lawrence. >> well, the senate is now two months away from having a new majority leader. one of the real masters of the senate is here to tell us what to expect from majority leader mitch mcconnell. >> .another american people sent a message. >> i got a call from the president. >>ern w

still a majority of republicans don't see it that way. house republicans had already voted to regulate greenhouse emissions. the gop is also likely to take aim at the obama administration's new rules that curb carbon emissions from coal fired power plants all in the face of science that disagree with the new political majority. >> i'm ash-har quraishi in iowa. corn ethanol fuel mix, has been fighting that renewable fuel standard, but fighting just as hard to see less ethanol in the mix. it was a major source of contention in the iowa race, johnnjoni ernst pledged. >> oregonians vote to legalize recreational marijuana. residents in washington, d.c. vote to decriminalize possession and cultivation of marijuana giving the city council the authority to draw up rules for retail sales. but congress has to review new laws within the district of columbia within the 60 days and a republican dominated house and senate could overturn that vote or just let it slide. and don't expect any congressional determination of redefining marijuana at a federal

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majority vote in the senate. majority wins. majority vote in the house. harry reid would -- >> even on bills that would embarass the white house? whether something on obamacare? something on keystone pipeline? >> 53 times on keystone. >> president would veto bill. >> would he allow a bill allowed would embraer asker the white house democrats would vote for would get majority? >> i think he would accept the deal i just talked about, which is speaker boehner agrees to majority votes in the house. majority votes in the senate. so -- >> part of this is the way constitution is written. history of the country. senate was set in a way with 60-vote thresholds so people asked to vote in the senate do so for proposals that need bipartisan support, to keep things getting done in the things that mainstream america would look for. not things on one extreme or other. why for treaties you need 67 votes. why you need 60. idea of nomination was supposed to be 3/5 so you got nominees like the secretary of commerce, like -- >> senator you made a perfect argument. >> we have

major social changes get passedby partisan majority if they are going to stick. a majority of house republicans voted for medicare in 1965. a quarter of the senate republicans voted for medicare. medicare prescription part d that passed during george w bush's administration passed with democratic votes in both the house and the senate. obama care, we had clients who were perfectly willing to work with the president on a health care reform and the basically attitude is we have the votes, we don't need you. so they crammed it down the throats of republicans, changing the rules in the senate to get it through and created a political issue that basically has killed seven promising democratic careers and is going to be an ongoing issue because of the way they passed it. >> i will stipulate that both of you were right in your last answers for sake of argument that the democratics have an agenda that on its own can be popular and in this election, obama care was a big anvil and the president was. 2016 presidential race we have a completely different electorate. obama is

in the senate and an overwhelming majority in the house. beef up national security, repeal obamacare and stop amnesty and other forms of lawlessness. let me be clear, we watched over the course of this campaign soccer moms be transformed to security moms, national security is a primary issue before this new republican majority. one of the things that became clear is that there is an expectation that we will have a defense budget adequate to make the current and future threats to our country including threats from radical jihad-ism as well as nonstate actors and sovereign states. what we didn't see yesterday, what we didn't hear from the voters was that they were sending a new republican majority to act like a minor-league republican or minor-league political party. they are the majority party in this country across the state legislatures and governors. underscore this. at the end of the day they did not send republicans, the new republican majority to be competent managers of big government. they sent a message that they wanted leaders that

this is a major, major projection. be the majority in the united states senate. thom tillis will defeat kay hagan. 98% of vote is in. thom till is has a 50,000 vote advantage right now. it is close. but not close enough. not close enough for kay hagan. take a look at the empire state building right now. taking a look at the red and the blue as a result of 51. republican seats. it is now red. people walking by empire state building are seeing, cnn right now. they see, the empire state build is red. because the, the cnn now proj t projecting the republicans will be the majority in the united states senate. thom tillis, the next u.s. senator from the state of north carolina. and kay hagan loses. andersen a lot to digest for republicans and democrats. >> we have 3 and a half hours to digest it. >> not really a surprise. what we anticipated. a lot of people anticipating. the reality is now. >> north carolina is a surprise. wouldn't you? >> we have been talking about how to make sense of this. newt made the point. sign of he

it needed a simple majority to pass. the minimum wage in san francisco will gradually increase to $15 an hour by 2018. it's currently $10.74. it will go up to $11.05 on january 1. a similar ballot measure in oakland got even wider support. 81% of voters approved measure ff. that will raise oakland's minimum wage from $9 to $12.25 starting in march. >>> the most expensive statewide race was for superintendent of public instruction. both candidates are democrats. and they spent $30 million on the campaign. the incumbent is tom torlakson who is leading marshall tuck. torlakson had the support of teachers union. tuck is a former charter schools executives backed by education reformers. >>> berkeley decided to put a special tax on sugary drinks. they voted by 75% to 25% margin for measure d. kpix 5's cate caugiran reports, it's the first time such a proposal has passed. >> reporter: berkeley known for its liberalism has proven to be one of the soda industry's biggest challenges. in the past the beverage industry has successfu

. >> reporter: it also helps only a majority of voters instead of a two-thirds majority was needed to pass it. >> we felt it would put more pressure on big soda if we did it at 50%. >> reporter: the penny tax on each ounce of sugary drinks begins january 1st and is actually a tax on distributors. it's up to distributors to decide whether to pass that along to consumers. consumers around the cal campus fully expect to see the cost passed down to them. the tax is aimed at reducing consumption to help fight the obesity problem. >> i've been cutting back on consumption. as i'm getting older, getting more concerned with my health, so it works out nicely. >> i'm from the midwest where people drink soda all the time and would be outraged about this, but i think it's pioneering something that might become a trend. >> reporter: that's what the supporters of the soda tax are hoping for, that the berkley win would spur more across the country. the soda industry doesn't think so, because this east bay town is quirky. >> berkley is not any town usa, so we don't expect that will have a lasting impa

majority actually helps. it helps with their margin going in to a very difficulty lex next time so they can possibly hold on to this. created some stars, if ernst wins which is not determined but cory gardner in iowa -- cory gardner these are going to be major republican stars who are in battleground states. >> woodruff: how much can -- assuming republicans take control of the senate if they have 53, 54, if they don't have 60, if they don't have that filibuster number, what can they get done? >> well, it comes down to what each side wants to do. what the president looks at his last two years, if there are couple of places that he wants to work with the republicans and republicans at the same time, i think it's a test for the republicans. i think no question right now is not real endorsement of them by any means. this is a rejection of the status quo. another vote to change. americans believed that those who voted even though voted republican believe the system is rigged against ordinary people. rigged in favo

they knew major events would take place in here.n 1912, the titanic sank on its maiden voyage from england to new york. many of the survivors and the crew members who survived were brought by boat to new york. the senate wanted to investigate what happened. this is a very shocking event. they were afraid that the british white star line was going to try to immediately get any of the british crew on another boat and back to england before they could be interrogated. so a special committee was created. it went up to new york to help hearings at the waldorf astoria. then came here to washington to help the very first major hearing that was held in this room was on the sinking of the titanic. a huge crowd showed up. this was a big event because so many aristocrats, in england and the united states, had gone down on this ship. they frightened the senators, that there were so many people here. the next hearing they held within a smaller committee room. they did not want to have a big show in this room. but it drew a lot of attention to th

major changes, small changes, none. that's part of why senator reid changed the amendment process or controlled the amendment process the way he did and prevented people from making those changes. i do think there are some aspects to the healthcare law that will make it through. the medical device tax is pretty unpopular with some democrats and in addition to republicans. you could see that change potentially go through. i think the question is just how far along do you get? i think perry is on the right track with the individual mandate. if you remove the individual mandate, the whole house falls down of healthcare. i don't see that going through with democrats. i do think we'll have this broader conversation about the healthcare law around these edges with republicans and potentially with democrats. >> the president opened the door to that yesterday in his press conference. anything that would dismantle the law would be a no go but maybe he would consider smaller changes, the medical device tax seems like it's not a r

they picked up more than the seats needed to win the majority. mitch mcconnell is now ready to achieve his long-time goal as senate majority leader. >> i've heard your concerns. i've made them my own. you will be heard in washington. >> republicans picked up seats in key battleground states including north carolina. >> this victory is our victory. >> colorado. >> tonight we shook up the senate. you shook up the senate. >> and in iowa where joni ernest became the first woman ever elected to congress from the state. >> there is nothing we can't achieve. >> republicans here on capitol hill call tuesday's results a rejection of president obama's policies and a direction of the democratic party. democrats now promise they will cooperate with republicans. >> i promise you i will work with anyone in the senate, democrats, republicans, independents, to get things done. >> senate harry reid, the current majority leader, said in a statement the message from voters is clear. they want us to work together. republicans also expanded their majority in the hous

they saved over 2200 homes, a major college. not one single life was lost, not one critical burn case reported. the firemen had set a new record. still people wonder, fire victims as though who read about the fire asked the same question -- >> how can a brush fire gets so far out of control within a well protected city? let's analyze this fire and see what did happen. why is a framework of bare wood left unharmed? why does a roaring fire suddenly stop and heavy brush as of cut by a knife? why do flames spare one house and consume identical dwellings on all sides? a general pattern of fire behavior can be explained. when a brush fire is traveling downhill, a white clearance around the house gives firemen a break to make it -- a wide clearance around the house gives firemen a break. spot fires merged from the original blaze, you will see fire that leaves homey chimneys and brickwork. -- leaves chimneys and brickwork . let's take a look at fire in action. brush fires create their own wind. the santa ana winds were moving in a south

democrats suffering a major, major backlash this morning. what does this mean for president obama's agenda for the next two years? and will democrats' loss tuesday night hurt them in 2016? early starts special election coverage begins right now. good morning, everyone. a very early morning. welcome to "early start: special election edition". >> and i am john berman. it is 3:00 a.m. in the east. as we said, there is major breaking news this morning. republicans have taken control of the united states senate, and they did it in a tidal wave fashion. >> it was a night many had forecast would be filled with close contests. instead, it was near to a blowout for republicans, who picked up more than the six seats they needed to take control of the senate. now races still remain unsettled in alaska and louisiana. but as things stand now, right at this moment, republicans will hold at least 52 seats in the senate, picking up seven over the current congress. democrats will hold 45 seats. let's begin with those republican pickups. west virginia has its

council to the boards discretion of whether or not they'd like to reconsider it if there's wasn't major changes to the petition is that what i'm hearing. >> within the boards discretion yes, ma'am and i'm wonder what constitutes a major decisions because i refer back to the last amendment we did or approval we did with kip and also gateway about their attendance preference this is changing a preference and it warranted a whole process because that was significant enough of a change i'm hearing this change would be from a k through 12 to switch it to a k through 57 so in our judgment is this a significant change or a minor change. >> i'm leaving this determination to 9 board as to where it seems like like a major shift in the focus of the program that's being recommended. >> so general council i our office about whether or not the change in the student assignment process for the two charter schools was significant or not your response it's significant enough it warrants a vote on it and as you see we went through the whole process of committee so now you're telling me that you don't have

. >>> there are two major things.reakthroughs that came through in china despite often tense relationships between beijing and washington. the u.s. and china agreed to major deals involving pollution and military cooperation. both countries agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 25% by the year 2025. the countries have also agreed to major communications on major activities and new rules over military encounters at sea and in the air. the deals are as seen as a -- stumbling blocks remain especially when it comes to cybersecurity and human rights. >> i described to him why it is so important for us to speak out for the freedoms that we believe are universal. rights we believe are the birthright of all men and women whenever they live whether it is in new york, paris, or hong kong. >>> things are still icy between president obama and russian's president putin. photographs of released were the three offhand meetings. and world leaders have been chastised for a lack of pro pry tie. just this morning the poll r

in the senate and an overwhelming majority in the house. to stop amnesty and other forms but let me be clear we watched over the course of this campaign soccer mom speed transformed and national security is a primary issue for this new republican majority. one of the things is the expectation of the defense budget with the current and future threats to our country with said she had is some with the non state actors and sovereign states. what we didn't hear from the voters is sending a new republican majority to ask achalasia minor the political party there the majority party in this country across the legislatures and governors in our midst. at the end of the day they did nason republicans the new republican majority to be competent managers of big government of expanding economy to make sure they generated revenue to take care of the federal government first responsibility to keep their families safe. >> next we have the president of citizens united >> that will be very brief. it was a wonderful evening last night because conservative idea

that is the case on our majors. fifty-five is our average on all of them, 95, schuylkill, blue route, pennsylvania turnpike, northeast extension, lots of good news. we are on stan by for opening of the burlington bristol bridge. they were talking about opening up at 5:20 so we are waiting on that. keep that in mine. travel mass transit in delays. in delays at the airport. we have this accident in montgomery county on 309 southbound right at route 113, but again, all and all not a bad morning. lets check sports with ukee. >>> and the eagles face carolina panters in prime time machine night and likely play shorthanded already down, quarterback nick foles and linebacker demeco ryans the birds are without lineman todd herremans. i understand he will undergo season ending surgery on a torn biceps this friday. he played with that injury last sunday and wound up injuring his ankle in the game. evan mathis could be back time for sunday's game. >> one part of the game plan for carolina game cut down on turnovers. eagles had

majority that's even larger than most pollsters predicted. the party picked up seats not just in g.o.p. strongholds like south dakota, montana, and west virginia. it also won big in battleground states. joni ernst won by eight. cory gardner won by four. >> voters around this state had their voices heard. they are not red. they are not blue. but they are crystal clear, crystal clear in their message to washington, d.c., get your job done, and get the heck out of the way. >> reporter: southern senate democrats are now an endangered species. north carolina's kay hagan was defeated. mark pryor of arkansas lost by 18 points. and louisiana's mary landieu, whose race is going to a runoff, trails in the polls. so she hit the campaign trail again today. republican incumbents by contrast didn't lose a single race, including in kansas, where three-term senator, pat roberts, survived a tough challenge from independent greg orman. >> our conservative republican solutions will now see the light of day. >> reporter: mcconnell's assertion that he wants to wo