molly henneberg joining us now live from washington. hey, molly. nancy pelosi stepped in trying to avert what many consider to be a bruising battle for the number two position among house democrats. do we now have an outcome? >> we do, hi, jamie, here is the problem though, house democrats have three top leadership positions. speaker, house majority leader and house majority whip. come vjanuary they'll lose the speaker position, minority leader and minority whip. and she says that leaves the minority whip position up for grabs and steny hoyer shall the number two position and majority whip tim cliburn the number three position were fighting over that, over the minority wlhip. so speaker pelosi stepped in and wanted hoyer, but she intends to create a new position for congressman cliburn. it's not clear what it will be, but third in line after pelosi and hoyer the minority whip. >> jamie: what about the tea party members coming in and a lot of people are watching how that translates and transforms congress and are the republicans battling at all over

molly henneberg brings us that live from washington.licans are saying democrats aren't moving fast enough on extending all the bush era tax cuts. what can you tell us? >> reporter: yes, because the end of the year is coming quickly. the end of the lame duck session is coming faster. republicans say preventing everyone's attacks from going up january 1st, should be the first order of business. here's more. >> americans don't think we should be raising tabs on anybody. especially in the middle of a recession. instead of giving american:fz what they want, democratic leaders plan to use the last few days that lawmakers expect to spend in washington this year, focusing on everything except preventing this tax hike. which will cost us even more jobs. >> reporter: there are a number of legislative items that democratic leaders said they may consider in the waning days of the 111th congress including the tax cuts, also a resolution to continue to fund government agencies has to be done in early december. also the dream act which would mandate i

>> shepard: molly henneberg live in d.c. molly, thank you.also voting to move forward on a food safety bill today. this thing would give the food and drug administration more power to try to prevent illnesses by recalling tainted products, increasing inspections of processors and requiring producers to follow stricter standards for keeping our food safe. comes after contaminated peanuts, eggs, and produce that made hundreds of people sick. now that 3-year-old girl who fell into a well. her mom joining the rescue effort. our top story as we go around the world in 80 seconds. argentina. the girl was reportedly playing near that dried up well in buenas aries when she fell nearly 80 feet. rescue teams september down a camera and saw she was alive so they lowered a net. the mother persuaded the girl to crawl on to it and up she came. [cheers] >> officials say somehow she only has a few minor scrapes. india. authorities evacuating dozens of buildings in new delhi. they claim that places are in danger of collapsing from water damage. they are all ne

molly henneberg live in d.c good to see you. republicans say the democrats aren't moving fast enough on extending those tax cuts. what's going on? >> hi, rick. yes, because the end of the year is coming quickly and the end of the lame duck session of congress is coming even faster. and republicans say preventing everyone's taxes from going up on january 1 should be the first order of business. here is more. >> americans don't think we should be raising taxes on anybody, especially in the middle of a recession. but instead of giving americans what they want, democratic leaders plan to use the last few days that lawmakers expect to spend in washington this year focusing on everything except preventing this tax hike which will cost us even more jobs. >> there are a number of legislative items that democratic leaders have set they may consider in the waning days of the 111th congress, besides the tax cuts. for example, congress has to pass the resolution by december 3 to continue funding government agencies. democrats also would lik

molly henneberg live in washington with more on that. republicans want democratic leaders to get to it, to tackle the expiring bush tax cuts before the lame duck session of congress ends in a um of weeks much the top senate republican says all the other legislative priorities should come second. >> this should be an easy one. the bill, the job creators and out of work americans need us to pass is the one that insures taxes won't go up, one that says americans and small business owners won't get hit with more bad news at the end of the year. >> democrat harry reid says he has several pieces of legislation to get to during the lame duck session, including the dream act, which would mandate in state tuition for children of illegal immigrants and ending don't ask, don't tell in the military, or trying to. congress also has to pass a resolution to continue funding government agencies by december 3. as for the tax cut, senator mcconnell has proposed a measure to extend all of them. but democrats who have the majority, also want to vote on exte

molly henneberg with the news live tonight in washington. why did the committee there, the ethics committee decide to go on without the congressman? >> hi, shep. the chair woman of the ethics committee democrat zoe lofgren didn't buy the argument he didn't have enough time. his former lawyer dropped him this fall concerned he couldn't pay his future legal bills. he can hire any lawyer he wants to but the trial in this lame duck session will not wait for him. here is more. >> mr. rangel's counsel withdrew a little over a month ago and further counsel has not been retained and that the committee has indicated an intent to proceed today. >> rangel has said he needs extra time to set up a legal defense fund to pay for a new lawyer. shep? >> shepard: that ethics committee, molly, took one step or an important step in this adjudication process today. tell us about it? >> the four democrats and four republicans agreed to the facts of the case as presented by investigators. that is step one. now they will determine if those agreed upon facts mean th

molly henneberg, live in washington for us. molly, the congressman as we just saw from a little portion of his opening statement, he's defending himself. what can you tell us about the that? >> reporter: hi rick. he is a lawyer, having been an assistant u.s. attorney before being first elected to congress in 1970 but obviously it's been a while since he's been a practicing lawyer. rangel and his high powered washington lawyers hat a -- had a parting of the ways after he paid them $1.4 million to defend him against these ethics charge. he also said he couldn't afford to keep paying lawyers that much money. head going this trial today, rangel had not indicated he had a lawyerenting him and that he would defend himself against these 13 alleged ethics violations. there's also a report today from the "new york post", owned by parent of fox news channel, that rangel may have used money from his political action committee to pay some of his legal fees and that appears to be against house rules. rick: so what happens, molly? let's say

molly henneberg is live with the very latest in this story. molly, what does the ethics committee do? >> reporter: hi jenna. the democratic chair, zoe lofgren says mr. rangel is allowed legal counsel and he's been guided at least four times on how to pay for it and congresswoman luv friend says the matter will go forward. here's more: >> we are prepared to proceed today, we recognize that mr. rangel has indicated that he does not spend po -- intend to participate and it is his right not to participate. >> reporter: several members of the ethics committee criticized rangel's washington d.c. law firm for parting ways with him this fall. rangel has said the firm was concerned he wouldn't be able to pay his bills, jenna. jenna: rangel wanted the committee to allow him to set up some sort of legal defense fund, there was a lot of conversation about that. what is the issue with setting up a fund like that? >> there's no problem with it, except that it takes time to set up and then hire a lawyer and the trial began today. congressman rangel says some

correspondent molly henneberg reports today's hearing got underway with money taking center stage. >> embattled new york democratic congressman rangel told the house ethics committee today he wasn't staying for his trial. >> with all due respect, since i don't have counsel to advise me, i'm going to have to excuse myself from these proceedings. >> with that, he left. telling the committee his former legal team dropped him this fall, doubtful he'd be able to pay his future legal bills and insisted he hasn't had time to raise money to get a new lawyer. he asked the committee to delay his trial. >> all i'm doing is something for the opportunity to have counsel. >> but the democratic chairwoman of the ethics committee wasn't buying rangel's not enough time argument. >> mr. rangel's counsel withdrew a little over a month ago. further counsel has not been retained. >> she said the trial will continue. >> we recognize mr. rangel has indicated he does not intend to participate and it's his right not to participate. >> the 13 ethics charges against rangel include failure to report income on va

molly henneberg is live in washington with that. hi, molly. >> hi.oing house speaker nancy pelosi may have arranged a cease fire between two of her deputies who have been battling over leadership positions in the next congress. right now pelosi is speaker. hoyer is number two, and congressman cliburn is three, the majority whip. when the republicans take over the house in january, democrats will lose that speaker position and pelosi will run for minority leader. so pits hoyer against cliburn in the battle for who will be the minority whip. pelosi stepped in to settle by asking hoyer to be the number two guy and creating a new position for cliburn. she writes in a letter to democrats today saying, quote, i will be very honored to nominate our outstanding colleague, cliburn, of south carolina to serve in the number three house democratic position. i will also ask the caucus to designate that position as assistant leader. on the other side of the aisle, republicans are battling over welcome events for incoming lawmakers. there is a meeting on sunday at

correspondent molly henneberg explains. >> the threat is ever changing and so too much airport security. so says john pistol head of the transportation security administration. >> we want to be sensitive to people's concerns about privacy, their personal being and things while ensuring that everybody on every flight has been properly screened. >> he was questioned today after passengers are complaining about the detail scanning machines in many airport and and the thorough patdown that left a san diego man to record his experience with t.s.a. security. >> if you touch my junk i'll have you arrested. >> i don't understand how a sexual assault can be made -- >> this is not considered a sexual assault. >> it would be if you weren't the government. >> homeland security says there is a specific reason why the government is putting the new procedures in place. >> we need to keep unauthorized liquid powders and gels off of aircraft, just as we need to keep unauthorized metal objects off of aircraft. >> in part due to umar farouk abdulmutallab who tried to detonate explosives hidden in his unde

correspondent molly henneberg reports, the issue and the effort may not be dead. the outnumbered house republicans tried today and failed 171-239 to defund national public radio. >> it's not the liberal bias that offends me so much as american citizens are forced to subsidize it with their hard earned tax dollars. >> democrats defended npr has middle of the road. >> national public broadcasting is one of the few areas where the american public can actually get balanced information. it's not on the right or the left. >> what prompted this latest funding battle was npr's decision to fire one of its news analysts, juan williams, in october. for these comments williams, also a fox news contributor made on fox. >> when i get on a plane, if i see people who are in muslim garb, and i think, you know, they're identifying themselves first and foremost as muslims, i get worried. i get nervous. >> npr responded to the house vote today with a statement saying "good judgment prevailed as congress rejected a move to assert government control over the content of news." meanwhile

it is a big story and will continue to get bigger, as we come up on the thanksgiving break, molly hennebergve in doc. what is coming up. martha: economists and politician from both sides, saying if something is not done about our national debt, it will crush the country. the latest -- look at this, crushing as we speak. the latest proposal from president's commission on reducing the deficit could have you footing the bill, folks, we'll explain that. bill: also, a veteran new york democrat charlie rangel guilty on 11 of 13 counts of ethical misconduct. will anything actually happen to him? we may find out today on that. martha: and the war next-door, you do not have to go to a foreign land to be on a battlefield, folks. >> we don't have to go overseas to see a war. there is a war, on our home front, the rio grande, and the southwest border, recently the violence has really sparked, we hear gunfire and grenades an bombings going off. escalated so out of control... martha: you'll see it for yourself. the man behind "border wars" on nat-geo, ahead. >> over 9,000 deaths... picking a free deterge

molly henneberg live in washington. great seeing you. so what did nancy pelosi do today? >> hi. she sent a letter to house democrats trying to iron out that battle between congress and steny hoyer and jim cliburn, hoyer is the number two guy, the majority leader and cliburn is number three, the majority whip. they've been vying for the number two position in the next congress, that will be the minority whip. pelosi says she wants hoyer to stay as second in command and wants him to be the minority whip and she will create a new position for cliburn so that he stays in the number three spot. in a letter to democrats, pelosi wrote, quote, i will also ask the caucus to designate that position as assistant leader. meaning cliburn would report to pelosi and not to hoyer. >> juliet: we also hear about competing orientation events for freshmen republicans tomorrow. what's that all about? >> one organized in part by the claremont institute, a conservative think tank and incoming gop freshmen lawmakers, quote, to discuss how we can work together as a group in general. but the tea party pa

molly henneberg with the news live in d.c. tonight. molly? >> hi, jon.e former chairman of the michigan republican party came in third to steele in the party elections in 2009. and now he says the republican national committee needs to shift. >> i think we need to change how we concentrate on raising money and getting a good ground game together, spend maybe less time, you know, giving speeches and being on television. and, you know, kind of have a different direction. >> michael steele, the current rnc chairman who did an interview with fox before the election has bristled at the suggestion that he has not been a strong fundraiser. >> do you know how much we have raised in the rnc in the last 18 months? $175 million. we have raised 175, a lot of zeros after it. and, you know why and how? those are dollars that are raised in small increments. $47 is our average donation. we have added over a million new donors. >> political analysts say steele has been cultivating relationships with many party leaders in the states and u.s. territories that may help him

molly henneberg with the news live in washington tonight. what else did the t.s.a.hi, shep that the everchanging terror threat demands everevolving airport security. here is more. >> we want to be sensitive about people's concerns about privacy, about their personal being and things while ensuring that everybody on every flight has been properly screened. >> government officials say they are trying to keep potentially explosive liquids, gels and powders that could be hidden on a terrorist body off of airplanes, shep? >> shepard: what do we know about this national opt out day? >> a virginia man is organizing it. it's the national opt out day next wednesday, the big travel day before thanksgiving, urging air travelers to opt out of the very detailed full body scans in favor of a patdown. take a listen. >> i don't think that the government has the right to look under the clothes of anyone that it wants without reasonable cause. >> sodergren says the patdowns take it too far as well but he would opt for the patdown. shep? >> shepard: monthly will he henneberg live in w

jon: molly henneberg.his hour we'll talk with an ohio mom who claims she was sexually assaulted during an enhanced pat-down at the dayton airport this month. in the meantime you can join our live chat on february february, weigh in with your thoughts on this whole business. we want to know what you think about the pat-down procedures, too much or just necessary. jenna: we have fox news alert for you now breaking news from the white house. spokesman robert gibbs now saying he believes a deal onyx tending the bush tax cuts is still possible and likely by the end of the year. what if some of those tax cuts that are really specifically for those in the upper income bracket the top 2% are replaced by targeted tax breaks for businesses. our next guest will tell us a little more about this as we work toward the compromise. senator, tell us a little more about your idea. >> we all agree that 98% of americans are not going to see their taxes raised in any way. the democrats have a point adding 700 billion thrarz to

molly henneberg live in washington. so, we know it's a lame-duck session, how lame is it? how much time do they have left? >> not much. congress went home for thanksgiving week then back here in washington for about another week or so. that's it. the top senate republican says tax cuts should come first all other legislative priorities should come second. >> should be easy one. the bill, the job creators and out of work americans need us to pass is the one that ensures taxes won't go up. one that says americans and small business owners won't get hit with more bad news at the end of the year. >> but democratic leaders also have other legislative priorities such as the dream act, which would mandate instate tuition for children of illegal immigrants and also trying to end don't ask, don't tell in the military. harris? >> harris: let's talk money now. tax cuts. the democrats are saying that the government cannot afford to extend all of them. >> right. senator harry reed, top democrat says if the tax cuts are extended to families making over $250,000 then the deeply in debt f

. >> julie: molly henneberg in washington. thank you so much.n alaska, write in candidate senator lisa murkowski is confident that she will keep her title. the incumbent maintaining 90% of the 98,000 write in votes recorded so far compared to 87,000 votes for joe miller. you will remember, she made her write-in bid after losing the g.o.p. primary, to miller, in august. nothing is decided, yet. the hand counted is expected to go through the weekend. and, run well into next week and now a pending federal lawsuit over the state's interpretation of ballots is putting the fate of the race in limbo. dan springer is live in you. >> -- in juneau, alaska, tonight. >> reporter: this is the first day of counting the votes in juneau, and the trend continues to look good for senator murkowski and if there is one surprise to all of this, it is how well all of her supporters can spell a not so easy to tell name and she might have enough unchallenged votes when the counts wraps up next wednesday to beat joe miller without a court fight over voter intent and mil

molly henneberg is live in washington with the latest. >> reporter: hi shannon. some passengers are furious about the way they're being touched during the patdown, they say they're just too invasive but the tsa is defending its procedures, john fissell told the tsa that the threats are ever real and airport security has to change with them or ahead of it. he says he and homeland security secretary janet napolitano went through a patdown before putting a procedure in place in airports and here's what he said about that patdown: >> it is thorough. i understand that. but the impression beyond the fact it was thorough. >> the whole purpose -- >> it make you uncomfortable? >> yes. >> so it was more invasive than what i was used to. >> reporter: still, pistole says the screenings are based on the latest intelligence and he does not intend to change the policy. one republican senator countered that there needs to be a better balance between security and privacy >> i'm frankly bothered by the legal of these patdowns. i've seen them firsthand in airports in florida, i wou

molly henneberg is following the story as it unfolds live in washington. >> reporter: congressman rangeldrew last month and he didn't have time to raise enough money to hire a new lawyer before his ethics trial began today, so he walked out of the proceedings this morning. the house ethics committee though decided to go on without him the democratic chairman says rangel's legal representation is up to him and he knew the trial was set to begin today. during the short lame-duck session of congress. rangel asked the committee to push back the trial. >> i don't think it's fair that i participate in any type of proceeding if in fact what you are basically telling me is that the political calendar will not allow you enough time to allow me to get a lawyer at this crucial point in my life, 50 years of public service is on the line. >> reporter: the eight-person panel, four democrats, four republicans is determining if the charges against rangel have been proven, quote, by clear and convincing evidence. if so they'll move onto the punishment phase or the sanction phase. if not they'll continue

molly henneberg is checking that out live for us on capitol hill. >> reporter: moving on up indeed.ay, a big event for the newest members of congress. they are picking a lottery to get office space and it's a collegial event, there are a lot of groans for people who picked the high numbers. here's what happens, the newest members of congress are called up in alphabetical order and pick a button out of a box, that button has a number on it and that number determines who picks what office, in what order. the lower numbers, that's what the members want and they go from 1-# five, the person who picked number button, colorado republican corey gardner, who will go around and look at the offices and pick the one he wants. he gets to go first. there's a little strategy here. if you want to maybe trade your view to get bigger office space, higher up, want to be close to the ground to get to the trains, to the capitol to cast votes, between now and this afternoon, they'll go around the house office buildings and check out the offices. then they'll come back here at 1:00 this afternoon and the