mr. netanyahu are hoping that he is talking to appease hard-liners in his coalition to keep this government together. yet he must know that he has a pretty strong hand. the last thing that mr. obama needs is another battle to fight. >> on the other hand, there are people who argue that, after his health care victory, president obama is searching for another win. it all depends on how you look at it. certainly, benjamin netanyahu has come to washington and found quite defiant. he believes, of course, that he does not have to make a concession when it comes to making settlements in east jerusalem. for the obama administration, it looks quite different from here. they believe that the settlements -- the issue of settlements are undermining progress and peace talks. anyway, they feel that the israeli government is standing in the way of any progress at the moment. the obama administration would really like to see some kind of movement when it comes to the israeli government behavior, perhaps even private reassurances that settlements will not be allowed to undermine the needed trust to start th

mr. netanyahu apologize for the timing, but not the principles. despite these smiles, divisions linger. >> new construction undermines the trust and dangers proximity talks and a further step towards full negotiations that both sides say that they want and need. it exposes daylight between israel and the united states that others in the region hope to exploit. >> meaning the government of iran. washington's concern is that this will embolden their common enemy intent on producing nuclear weapons. on that much they agreed. the israeli prime minister also warned of a nuclear-armed iran, that the common ground between the allies remains shaky. >> earlier i spoke to the mayor of jerusalem. i put it to him that u.s. relations are at their worst in many years. >> we have a difference between strategy and disagreement. i believe that there is a disagreement about the relationship between america and europe to israel is very strategic and i do not look at it as confused. >> use a strategic, i think you are playing with words. american officials have said

mr netanyahu said the policy had been missing for 42 years and would not change. 300 have marched on kuala lumpur protesting. the demonstration after friday prayers represents a protest against a controversial cartoon in newspaper earlier this month. a chinese student who murdered his remain because of excessive snoring has been given a suspended death sentence. he confessed to slopping his roommate to death in november. the tension between the two spiked when he posted a video of his remains storing on a website. being called the most comprehensive weapons control agreement in nearly two decades, the united states and russia agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenal by a third. it is the culmination of intense negotiations and is a step toward president obama's aim of a world without nuclear weapons. >> and in many ways, nuclear- weapons represent one of the most troubling threats of our time. today we take a step forward in leaving behind a legacy of the 20th-century while building a more secure future for our children. we have made progress that is clear and we have demonstrated the

mr. netanyahu says can i have another meeting with the president?ack and they have another 30 minutes. it is intriguing and you have to read the body language. after all of that, no readout or statement. almost no information. that's an indication i think kiran of how tense a lot of this is. the key point is settlements, settlements in east jerusalem. mr. netanyahu is making it clear, digging in his heels and not compromising. >> the white house juggles so many elements of the president's schedule. yesterday he was signing the health care overhaul into law. did he not want this situation to overshadow that? >> they are very different. health care, i would think he would have to say is so huge that was the big day. this relationship with israel is an intense territory and been going on for two weeks. the whole idea of the visit by the prime minister was to pull it back on track and look where we are right now. really no progress. defy ant statement by him when he gave the big speech in washington. and meetings he had with vice president biden and wit

mr. netanyahu is showing no signs of doing so. >>> happening right now a senate panel is holding a hearingent's pick to head the transportation security administration. robert harding is a retired major general with 33 years in the army. he ran a defense and intelligence contracting firm until he sold it last year. >>> it is now china's move in a chess match with google that could determine the search engine's future there. the chinese are considering the decision to stop censoring the website and it could go further by blocking access to it. >> counting down to history. just over an hour from now at the white house right here president obama will sign the health care reform bill into law, and it kicks off the most sweeping changes in generations and has fueled some of the bitter divisions in decades. those battle plans against health care reform are just taking shape inside the beltway and beyond. cnn's jill dougherty at the white house. jill? >> reporter: kyra, you know, these are the moments that presidents savor because after all he gets to sit down and sign a bill, finally something t

mr. netanyahu, that's a lot of what he talks about all of the time. with this peace process, right now is not going anywhere. in fact, right before all of this blew up the two sides israel and the palestinians had agreed to at least indirect talks and mitchell, george mitchell, the special envoy would be going back and forth between them. now even that is in jeopardy so what secretary clinton has been saying is when you have things like this settlement flack it undermines all of that, and it undermines the ultimate objective which is to get both sides together talking directly and getting the peace process back on track. >> yeah. boy, really want to know what's going on here at the heart of all of this. jill dougherty, appreciate it. be onning taffia, good to see you as always. >>> if you want to buy a car or house you need a good credit score. we'll have top tips to help you. you're in the cnn "newsroom." >>> if you tried to get a loan for something, anything, you know the better your credit score, the better your chances, right? in ines ferre is her

mr. netanyahu is publicly rejecting the administration's request to stop construction of new settlements in a disputed area of east jerusalem, an area palestinians claim will one day be their capitol. jane: secretary of state clinton says the u.s. has an insatiable apfight for drugs and that is fueling the drug war in mexico. she was in mexico where she pledged long time support to president calderon, she told him the united states must do more to stop the smuggling of weapons into mexico and said the united states is about to reveal a drug policy reducing demand in this country for those illegal narcotics. jon: high level talks with another key american ally taking place in washington. le over the years, pakistan has stepped up its efforts against taliban forces in its borders and the u.s. is encouraging it to keep the pressure on. mike emanuel is live at the pentagon with brand new information for us. so mike, with the pakistanis in town, secretary of defense gates and admiral mike mullen were asked about this recent aggressive approach that pakistan is taking. what did they have to sa

mr. netanyahu is going to be in town next week. with the trip postponed, can you walk us through plans for that? >> we have not gotten that far down that road yet. we'll have a week ahead tomorrow but i have -- i'm not sure they've gotten that detailed into next week. >> there will be some bilapse, won't there? >> let me get a fuller conversation when scheduling has a chance to breathe. >> "the new york times" reported some talk within the white house of an american plan in the wake of staaled talks -- of stalled talks right now, is that correct is there talk within the white house? >> our focus is on, and our focus for the last several days has been on restarting the proximity talks and calling on both sides to take steps to return to the table and to refrain from any type of actions or announcements that would undermine the trust that's necessary to get them there. that's what our focus is. >> no american plan? >> our focus is on returning to proximity talks. >> robert, from the podium, either indoors or outdoors, you've taken oh

benjamin netanyahu is now in washington. his public response to mrs. clinton's speech will be telling about the direction that israel's government will be taking. diplomacy is only one way to go. demography is not working in israel's favor. >> given the the reality, eight two-state solution is the only viable path for israel to remain both a democracy and a jewish state. >> she ran another alarm bell. >> we must recognize that the ever-evolving technology of war is making it harder to guarantee israel's security. >> whether it is rockets like these are fired by hamas or the threat from hezbollah and iran, she insists that they make peace because america may not have the ability to protect it forever. >> the reform of american health care has divided u.s. political and public opinion for decades. it has been the biggest political battle for barack obama. the slimmest of the margin clearly indicates -- the slimness of the margin clearly indicates the division. >> after a year of trying, these new laws on health care made their way through an exhausted an

netanyahu to implement the principles upon which he was elected. he was elected in order not to and to create more chances for give or hand out anything. >> mr. obama has to press, to apply pressure on israel, especially on netanyahu, to stop evictions and demolishing houses in east jerusalem. >> brown: american jews have also offered sharply different views. jeremy ben-ami, head of j street, a recently-formed advocacy group that supports a two-state solution with a shared jerusalem, supported the obama administration's stance. >> it can't be stated too clearly to the israeli people and to the government that a direct slap in the face to the vice-president of the united states, when he's come to the country to express the depth of the friendship, the warmth of the relationship, a commitment to addressing iran, a commitment to stand with israel's security- - to do this to american credibility at that moment is deserving of that word, of "condemnation." >> brown: ben-ami says recent events expose divisions within the american-jewish community. >> there are those who would fall on a more conservative side of the political spectrum and believe tha

netanyahu. the next day, on the west bank, mr. biden again criticized the israelis. >> as we move forward, the united states will hold both sides accountable for any statements or actions that inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of talks, as this decision did. >> suarez: the palestinians, backed by washington, have demanded israel freeze settlement expansion. thus far, the netanyahu government has agreed only to slow the growth of that building. still, the israeli prime minister said he had not known of the pending announcement, and a spokesman apologized for the timing, if not the substance. >> but we have to be clear-- the west bank is the west bank and jerusalem is jerusalem. jerusalem is our capital and will remain as such. >> suarez: back in tel aviv yesterday, vice-president biden sounded more conciliatory. he said, "sometimes only a friend can deliver the hardest truth". and he argued both sides stand to gain from talking >> building peace and security between a jewish democratic state of israel and a viable independe

mr. obama meets behind closed doors with president benjamin netanyahu. ttwo-countries are at odds over the housing in disputed east jerusalem. the united states rebuked israel for making the announcement during vice president biden's visit to israel. >>> and toy p suggesting thoi you at a knew as early as 2002 that electronic surges may be due to electronic problems and not floor mats and pedals. toyota called it baseless. now attorneys are seeking a class-action lawsuit against the company. >>> when we come back -- oh, my god, it's spring and there's still snow! chad's looking in to it. he'll tell us where it is and how much longer this is going to last. in the middle of the night, why would you go one more round using it ? you don't need a rematch-- but a re-think-- with lunesta. lunesta is different. it keys into receptors that support sleep, setting your sleep process in motion. lunesta helps you get the restful sleep you need. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving or engaging in ot

the prime minister netanyahu will address the same group at a gala banquet tonight. >>> clinton and bush paid a visit to haiti today. this is mrbush's first visit to the nation. mr. clinton, the u.n. special envoy to haiti has been there twice since january. they are spearheading u.s. fundraising efforts for the nation. >>> the red river in north dakota is receding but residents of fargo are not out of the woods just yet. environmental hazards linger long after the river's waters decline. the floodwaters can contain pesticides, sewage and animal carcass. the red river crested at nearly 19 feet over flood stage without doing major damage to homes or other buildings. >>> our warm weather is pushingp the predictions for cherry blossoms. the national park service says the peak blooming period is april 1st through the 4th. the opening ceremony for the cherry blossom festival is this saturday at the national building museum. good thing that was not today. it would have been a rainout. >> i've seen forsythia out now and some of the smaller cherry trees out. i thought that might happen. dallas had probably as bad a winter as we did. w

netanyahu left the white house last night after meeting twice with mr. obama. a dispute over israeli housing in jerusalem has frayed relations. but, an israeli spokesman says the atmosphere at the meetings was good. no comment from the white house. >>> amy bishop, the professor accused of killing three people at the university of alabama, remains in jail this morning. bishop appeared at a hearing yesterday. she was ordered held without bond while waiting for grand jury action on the charges. meanwhile, though, police say the gun used in last month's shootings of three professors was bought for her husband 20 years ago by an acquaintance in new hampshire. >>> near san diego now, hundreds of people attended a forum on the federal megan's law last night, named after megan kanka. it provides information to the public about registered sex offenders. but, the parents of a california teen who was abducted and killed are pushing for something tougher. cbs news correspondent ben tracy reports. >> reporter: brent and kelly king are still grieving the loss of their daught

mr. pence: today i had the privilege of welcoming the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu, for hisvisit to the united states capitol. the american people consider israel our most cherished ally and we her closest friend and guardian. as we met, israel lives under the shadow of a threatening neighbor seeking nuclear weapons, but remarkably this administration seems intent on focusing on a controversy over construction in undisputed areas of jerusalem instead of the threat of a nuclear iran. as i just told the prime minister, i never thought i would live to see the day that an american administration would denounce the state of israel for rebuilding jerusalem . if the world knows nothing else, let it know this, america stands with israel. as the president meets with prime minister netanyahu today, i urge the president to stop all this talk about settlements in jerusalem and start focusing on isolating a threatening and menacing and rising nuclear iran. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. pence: the american people and the american congress in both parties s

mr. medvedev and i think we're very close to getting an agreement. >> on israel, i would like to ask you briefly about the visit yesterday by prime minister netanyahu. diplomacy involves not just the event but how it's handled and there were normal trappings of the foreign visit, in terms of press coverage and even a readout. can you explain why the white house decided to handle it that way. >> let me categorize, the president and the prime minister met first off at the oval and had an honest and straight-forward discussion about our relationship, about regional security and about comprehensive peace efforts. the president asked the prime minister to take steps to build confidence for proximity talks so that progress can be made towards the come puerto ricans presence i have -- comprehensive middle east peace. there are areas of agreement and disagreement. and that is ongoing. the prime minister arrived a little after 5:30. that meeting concluded a little after 7:00 last evening. the president went back to the residence. prime minister netanyahu remained in the white house and consulted with his staff in the roosevelt room and then requested to see