the senator from north dakota has 6 minutes. mr.gg: i would yield 5 minutes of my time to the senator from north dakota if he desires it. mr. conrad: i thank the -- the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. conrad: i thank the senator from new hampshire, my colleague senator gregg, and i thank the chair. mr. president, this debate is about the economic future of the country. this is the headline on "newsweek" magazine from december 7 of 2009: "how great powers fall: steep debt, slow growth and high spending kill empires. and america could be next." if you go to the inside of the story, it says, "this is how empires decline. it begins with a debt explosion. it ends in inexorable reduction for the army, navy and air force. if the united states doesn't come up soon with a credible plan to restore the federal budget to balance over the next five to ten years, the danger is very real that a debt crisis could lead to a major weakening of american power." mr. president, that's what this debate is about. we are on a course t

that is not the case in north dakota. byron dorgan had a special relationship with that state, congressman at lge, senator, and there is nobody there -- are a pomeroy, congressman at large, democrat, will run for reelection in the house. on balance, is not good news for democrats. >> when you consider what the democrats were a year ago, winning a smashing victory in the presidency and the house and senate, conservatives really in disarray, nowhere to go and no leadership, the turnaround over this year is remarkable. i think it is attributable to one thing -- obama over-read his mandate and when left in the direction that the country was not ready to go, and what we're seeing is the fruits of that. however, there still is a year. as long as there is a year to go, as opposed to a year which has passed, in this coming year, it could reverse as well. i don't think the republicans ought to be assuming there is going to be a smashing success in november yet. >> colby? >> all that said, i don't think there's a likelihood that de

after byron dorgan, another democrat, announced that he would not run for senate re- election from north dakota. he would not seek a fourth term. in the house of representatives, ten democrats say they are bowing out this year. democrats davis, meets, abercrombie, moore, booth, gordon, tanner, baird. why are democrats opting out of the obama mid-term election? to avoid a bloodbath? well, hiss store achelely a president's first m.i.t. term election has led to major losses for his party in those elections. in 1982, republican president ronald reagan's first mid-term election, republicans lost 26 seats. more notably, in 1994, president clinton's mid-term

the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: mr. president, i ask consent that the quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. dorgan: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. so ordered. mr. dorgan: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of s.j. res. 25 andhe s its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s.j. res. 25, joint resolution granting the consent and approval of congress to amendments made by the state of maryland, the commonwealth of virginia and the district of columbia to the washington metropolitan area transit regulation compact.e priding oft objection, so ordered, the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed to the measure. according doing mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the joint resolution be read a

and if you are in north dakota, you might not want to head out today. reynolds wolf joins us with that. >> you got that right. >>> especially more to the east, like north dakota, you might not want to go to minnesota or international falls where it's currently 35 degrees below zero outside. basically you want to stay by the fire and do the hot cocoa thing. miami beach, we're talking about an entirely different situation, highs in the 60s, and we have heavy snow to talk about. it's a full plate of weather phenomena we'll share with you in a few moments. >> all right. thank you. >> a long with that, cold water. you can tell looking at these people. a strange new year's day tradition. >> and look who's talking. rush limbaugh has a message for fans. r arthritis pain... in your hands... knees... and back. for little bodies with fevers... and big bodies on high blood pressure medicine. tylenol works with your body in a way other pain relievers don't... so you feel better... knowing doctors recommend tylenol more than any other brand of pain reliever. ( laughs

senator chris dodd of connecticut announced his decision today, hours after byron dorgan, of north dakota the same. gwen ifill has the story. >> ifill: after 35 years in washington, senator dodd went home today to connecticut, to announce his decision not to run again. >> there are moments for each elected public official, to step aside, and let someone else step up. this is my moment to step aside. >> ifill: at 66, dodd is chairman of the senate banking committee. but 2009 was a long year for him, and his reelection prospects had recently grown shaky. >> i lost a beloved sister in july and in august, ted kennedy. i battled cancer over the summer, and in the midst of all of this, i found myself in the toughest political shape of my career. none of these events or circumstances, either individually or collectively is the cause of my decision not to seek relection. yet together, these challenges have given me pause to take stock and to ask questions that too few of us in elected public life ever do. why am i running? >> ifill: news of dodd's decision came on the heels of senator dorgan's st

the people of north dakota work consistently confident in your leadership.howing it possible tough race 3, to that is your fault in terms of how you voted? -- how much of that is your fault in terms of how you voted? guest: i decided not to seek another term. i prepared and thought about that. i served in the congress in 30 years. i have seen a lot of people say you're too long. -- stay here too long. i was trying to decide, seven more years? this year, plus six more? i have other things i want to do and i made the decision this was the intersection for me to get off. i and then an elected office for 40 years. i started when i was 27 years old. 18 years in the u.s. senate. oppressed person asked me, do you think you have betrayed your after four years, i do not think so. -- after 40 years, i do not think so. i won election to the u.s. house çof representatives in 1980 ina red states and north dakota during the reaganç landsç lide. for me, the questionç is 30 yes in united states congress and this opportunity to do some other things in my life. >> çyou w

you can look at siberia or north dakota and said that a bit of warming could be good. people in the north could be most at risk because they tend to live in areas that are more volatile. they also tend to have societies that have the least capacity to adapt. if you switched were looking at this from the anti-view, what are the bottom-up solutions? i am sure there will be people running off with the money and lots of scandals and other mechanisms. is going to be an imperfect and messy process. how do we counterbalance that with a reality check from the bottom-up. i know you spent a lot of time thinking about the world of technology in governance and how it might empower? from that perspective, while the big poobahs are working on this, how did you change behavior, including in developing countries? >> one of my roles is to be the editor in chief of our blog for progress. we have a staff of 15 people. you are changing the course of politics by altering the balance of power in politics with new information. those who are in positions of great wealth, and they are constantl

last time i checked there were not scores of auto factories in north dakota. 50 or 60 years ago. so you can throw out statistics. and facts, and everything else, patricia said it factually correct but relatively meaningless to the discussion at hand. >> but, adam, some people would argue, though, that there aren't many automobile factories in michigan, now, because of the unions. >> some people would argue, the earth is flat, charles, but the fact that there are not -- that jobs are going away, in michigan, undoubtedly has something to do with obstinance at labor unions over the decade and no one says labor unions are perfect but the reason the u.s. auto industry entered a crisis also has something to do with horrible management, with building bad cars, with bad regulations, and, so on. i mean, there is so many -- >> let me just say something. the companies -- what companies are afraid of what the unions want to do with car checks, wal-mart. target. michael's stores, the greatest success stories in american history. and, the industries that are on -- flat on their backs or need a

north dakota is a problem. i think the republican governor will wind up with that seat. john, i think the republicans will gain a little more than 26 but they won't gain the 38, 39 they need -- >> the democrats will be filibuster proof? >> no. >> 20 to 30 seat loss in the house is standard. if it goes above that, it's a problem, but it would be highly unusual if the democrats with are able to keep their 60 votes. >> the numbers are very steep for the republicans but nothing -- >> very what? >> steep for the republicans to take over both chambers, but i will say when you look at the generic polling for the congressional ballot, republican versus democrat, republicans are running an astonishing 8 points ahead. the reason is independents that broke 2-1 in the democrats last year are now breaking 2-1 for the republicans. >> i'm surprised that martin sounds so self-assured when he says the republicans will not take over in view of the fact that we're going through an anti-incull ban si rage in the country that will reach peak strength by the elections in the fall. >> i any th

. >> ifill: strong republican candidate is more likely to ep up in north dakota, where popular governoroeven is considerg a run. in cnecticut, a popular democrat, ate attorney genel, richard blumenthal, announced he will run fododd's se. >> i he not been pressured to ta this step, have received a lot of >> i've reived a lot of encouragemen and i emphasize a t. i have two deacell phones righnow. i have 2 deacellfones right now. >> ifill: five democra and six republans will not seek reelection to the u.s. senate ts year. in the house, 10 democrats he announced th're leaving, and an eleventh, abama congressman rker griffith, has switched parts. but 14 houseepublicans have said they willot run again. partleaders are worried about state ras too. in michigan, democrac lieutenantovernor john cherry decided against a n for that state's tojob. anin colorado, democratic governor bill ritter pns to step down. >> ifill: here to scuss thfallout from these high- profe decisions are two who specialize in politi, writ large and sml. amy walter, editor of "the national journal's political ily, "hotline"

in this country, bismarck, north dakota, had wind chills of 50 below zero for a second day. the deep freeze extended as far south as florida. and schools closed in at least ten states. vice-president joe biden's mother, jean biden, died today in wilmington, delaware. she had been seriously ill in recent days. then-senator biden paid tribute to his mother at the democratic national convention in 2008 as she looked on. >> you know, my mom taught her children-- all the children who flocked to our house-- that you are defined by your sense of honor, and you are redeemed by your loyalty. she believes that bravery lives in every heart, and her expectation is that it will be summoned. >> sreenivasan: jean biden was 92 years old. the vice-president's father passed away in 2002. the university of alabama celebrated today after winning college football's national championship last night. the crimson tide beat the texas longhorns at the rose bowl in pasadena, california. the star quarterback for texas, colt mccoy, was knocked out of the game early. after that, alabama dominated the fir

montana, south dakota, north dakota, wyoming.the list goes on of special deals that were carved for special reasons, and the latest, of course, is the incredible, incredible action concerning unions being exempt from taxes that nonunion members will now have to pay in greater numbers. how do you justify favoring one group of americans -- this is union members -- for any reason other than you owe them political favors? and they have political influence? and so the -- so the negotiating went from the back rooms here to the back rooms in the white house. the same -- the same president that said that c-span in a completely transparent process would prevail here so the american people would know who is on the side of the pharmaceutical companies, who probably got the best sweetheart deal of anybody in this whole process. so, mr. president, i believe that the majority of the american people that said according to polling data, 48% of massachusetts voters said that health care was the single issue driving their vote, and 39% said they v

>> in north dakota. >> north dakota. >> well, you know, they look alike on the map and great places and very different. but byron dorgan was a long-term senator and congressman, he had been in congress since 1980. this was a shock that he dropped out. and look, he didn't drop out in isolation, he had an extremely tough opponent coming in the governor, john hoven of north dakota, a republican governor of north dakota in public and private polls, hoven was destroying dorgan, 20 points or more. so i think that played into his decision regardless of what he says publicly and i don't care who the democrats run now in north dakota, my crystal ball has put that seat solidly in the republican column. the governor will win that seat so long as he runs. >> brian: well, swammee sabato take a look at the crystal ball and tell me your long range predictions how it's going to play out. >> i think republicans right now are on track to pick up about 27 house seats, on track to pick up three or four senate seats and they're going to pick up some net governorships in part, brian, and this is really quite

a negative 11 degree reading in fargo, north dakota.he national weather picture and what you can expect at home. gwen's five-day forecast up next.  it's so hard to choose one. you know, during the sign then drive event, you can get a cc, tiguan or fuel efficient jetta for practically just your signature. you can get scheduled maintenance at no cost. there's got to be more to it than that... i'll never doubt you again. so i make them pillsbury aster strudel. warm, flaky pastry with delicious, sweet filling my kids will love. plus i get box tops for their school. toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. that, on the list of things kids love, our party pizzas have just passed toy robots. awkward. kids love totino's party pizzas. >>> a storm moving through the northeast, setting its sights on massachusetts, boston harbor. this is the boardwalk. the sand is now covered by snow. high winds creating strong waves there. 10 inches of snow is expected. they are not alone. a chilly first week of the new year from

more than 30 degrees below zero in north dakota. but the wind chill factor, temperatures there reaching 50 below for a second straight night. arctic chill looking to be among the coldest in decades. you might expect that in north dakota, but the cold stretch is all the way from the plains and eastern united states all the way into the deep south. like i said, 8 in oxford last night. rick is in the extreme weather center. man, it's extreme. this is off the hook. >> you feel like it's been a cold winter so far in the northeast, shep? >> not like oxford? >> exactly. 16 is the coldest we've been in new york city. 8 in oxford. this is odd. it will be worse across parts of florida over the next two days before we see any break. the wind chills still right now into the minus teens. it will be minus 30 or so across some of the plains tonight. all of this cold air diving down across the south. here is our departures from where we should be. still around -- not departure. minus teens once again across parts of the plains. tomorrow into sunday

. >>> frigid temperatures are nothing new to people in north dakota, but some workers in fargo may have gone too far. they decided to take a break in the job by going outside yesterday when the temperature hit five below zero. it even got colder. they would not be out there today with at 20 below zero. >>> uc video of the polar plunge, there you go. we are dealing with cold weather today. outside at this hour, the skies are mostly clear on pennsylvania avenue, the wind is beginning to subside a little bit. a little bit of a wind chill factor. the weatherbug network, starting off, 41 degrees, but look where it is, florida. it feels like 33 degrees. they have a wind chill of 5 degrees in the morning, all across florida, hard freeze. the backstop, walkersville, maryland, 26 degrees, updating to 25 degrees. feels like 20 degrees. the wind chill not much of a factor. it will be really cold tonight. today at reagan national, 36, 42 the record. up and down the east coast, temperatures in the 20's and 30's. pittsburgh, 20 degrees. three degrees minneapolis. miami, fla., 43 degrees. not the best

the north dakota state goes into the republican side. retirements?ing to be other the senate there have been six republican retirements but only two democrats. >> you could argue this has been a good week for democrats. if chris dodd stood for re-election, that looked really, really tough. now, as i think, al or you said, blumenthal is a strong candidate. >> and even the headf the rnc says that to the republicans have no chance of taking over. >> he's getting a lot of hot water for that. george, a good week for democrats? >> not a great week. it's not that bad for them yet. republicans are not going to control the senate. change one vote, suppose ted stevens were still in the senate instead of being out of the senate because of a tainted case of prosecutorial abuse. in the last four cycles, because we have redistricting. used to be the voters picked the candidates. now the candidates pick the voters. we have a 95% re-election rate among incumbents. that's very hard to overcome. >> i think you're seeing clear evidence of a couple of things. at the end

. >>> frigid temperatures are nothing new to north dakota. some workers in fargo may have gone too far to prove the point. it decided to take a break from their jobs by going outside with temperatures of 52 -- five degrees below zero. the temperature today? 20 degrees below in fargo. >>> the windchill factor out there, and has been tough in the midwest. that has been rough for us. but let the cold temperatures to around tonight into tomorrow, only making it to freezing. the sunshine makes it look better outside, flurries monday night. it then the temperatures warm and to the low, middle 40's thursday, wednesday. >>> thank you for joini

and i oppose the amendment to be proposed by the senators from north dakota and new hampshire. the difference is that the executive order would preserve the senate's regular order. the amendment on the other hand, would create a fast track procedure to short circuit the senate's regular order. let me take this opportunity to share with my colleagues a number of respective groups have been saying about the proposal in the conrad-gregg amendment. on january 14th, the chief executive officer of aarp, otherwise known as aarp, wrote to senators about the conrad-gregg commission. as my colleagues know, aarp is the nonpartisan organization that represents 40 million people age 50 and older. aarp is the nation's largest membership organization for people 50 and over and has offices in all 50 states. listen to what aarp says and i quote -- "we urge you to vote against an amendment to be offered by senators conrad and gregg to establish a fiscal task force and to instead focus on addressing the challenges of the nation's long-term debt to regular order." end quote. aarp goes on. they say

>> the byron dorgan decision in north dakota was a stomach punch because they're not going to be able hold that seat likely especially if the popular republican governor runs. chris dodd's decision was actually a blessing for the democrats. because they were going to have to write off that seat. he was running so far behind in his race. and now they could be competitive if the fairly popular veteran attorney general turns out to be as good on the stump as he has been as attorney general. but itaps into what you were talking about, there is a feeling of there was so much promise and hope only a year ago, and now because of continuing economic woes, all of the bailouts, the problems on the terror front, government is not working the way people expect itted to. >> i talked to a white house adviser who said the problem for this president with independent voters is that fling hey, i may believe in this guy but he can't solve these huge problems. the debt, government working overall, wall street, he can't prevent the little guy from getting hurt by these forces. >> and there's a snowball ef

announced this week, those being senator chris dodd of connecticut and senator byron dorgan of north dakota of whom say they will not run for re-election this year. will these retirements help democrats hold their majority or will they turn the midterm elections into a referendum on the policies of the president? i'm joined now live from washington by my boys. we have msnbc political analyst pat buchanan and democratic strategist peter fenn. hello, again, guys. >> hey, alex. >> good morning, alex. >> how do these retirements change the political landscape? i'll begin with you, pat. >> i think the dodd retirement from the race, if you will, enhances the democrats' chances of carrying connecticut. he was in very tough shape. he had come back a bit, but then he started slipping again. and i think they could have lost that seat up in connecticut. i think democrats are favored now. the dorgan thing is a real problem. i mean, dorgan is sort of a moderate democrat who is throwing in the towel, and that looks like a republican pickup there. and the second thing it does is it sends a message to the

i won an election in 1980 during the reagan landslide in the state of north dakota.e. had i run again, i think i would have won again. for me, the question is 30 years in the united states congress and a chance to do some other things in my life. >> that is an interesting point. you won in 1980. the climate this year was different, and i am looking to get your opinion on why it is so tough right now. if this was -- >> if this was a year ago, we would be asking, do you think the republican party is going to survive? 12 months later, it is different. 10 months or 12 months from now, who knows? it is really tough to predict the political climate six months, let alone 10.12 months from now. i would not be so quick to say things they're going to be tough next fall, that there will be in november like they were in january. >> will a debt panel work effectively for budget issues? >> it would have been better if we had a panel commission that was legislative, but we fell short. you have to get 60 votes, but it fell short. with the president did is not as effective, but i sup

in the country which might not surprise you unless you consider that the actual temperature in north dakota was 33 below yesterday. and the cold does not end in our state. in europe ice is causing major problems at airports. airports in germany have had to close and the charles de gaulle airport in paris, 25% of the flights that were supposed to leave today were canceled. >>> we know the weather affects a lot of your plans so we have what you need to know right at your fingertips. for the latest forecast, closing, delays, or anything else related to weather, log on to myfoxdc.com. >>> there's always a danger that someone will fall into the ice. a situation like this could turn ddly within minutes. so d.c. fire and ems trained on ice today. the main message they want to send? it doesn't matter how cooled it's -- how cold it's been, frozen rivers and streams aren't safe so stay away. >>> the budget ax could soon fall on several departments in montgomery county including fire and ems recruits. also a current proposal would cause many jobs to go away. the school system would have to scratch $22

you can look at siberia or north dakota and said that a bit of warming could be good. people in the north could be most at risk because they tend to live in areas that are more volatile. they also tend to have societies that have the least capacity to adapt. if you switched were looking at this from the anti-view, what are the bottom-up solutions? i am sure there will be people running off with the money and lots of scandals and other mechanisms. is going to be an imperfect and messy process. how do we counterbalance that with a reality check from the bottom-up. i know you spent a lot of time thinking about the world of technology in governance and how it might empower? from that perspective, while the big poobahs are working on this, how did you change behavior, including in developing countries? >> one of my roles is to be the editor in chief of our blog for progress. we have a staff of 15 people. you are changing the course of politics by altering the balance of power in politics with new information. those who are in positions of great wealth, and they are constantl

quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota is recognized. mr. dorgan: i askse waived. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. dorgan: mr. president, first let me say to my colleague, senator casey, his comments about the nearly unspeakable tragedy that has occurred in the country of haiti, i think strike all of us in a very poignant way. i've been to the country of haiti. it is -- it is one of the poorest regions in the world. we have people in haiti living in unbelievable poverty. near the airport is an area called cite soleil i believe it's called. it's a slum of nearly a half a million people living in desperate conditions. the entire country of haiti has suffered such immense difficulties for so long; the people of haiti are wonderful people. and to be visited now by this great, great tragedy with an unbelievable loss of life that will exceed 200,000 people just is heartbreaking to me and i know to all americans who watch this tragedy play out on television as volunteers are digging through rubble and in some cases finding

and i appreciate the work that the senator from north dakota. i might say that we have no disagreement whatsoever that we need to address our fiscal challenge. we totally agree. i think most members of this body. that's not the question, whether we address our fiscal challenge or not is not the issue. i want to get that off the table. we all know that we have a huge problem facing us and it must be dealt with. what we do disagree with is the process, it's how we address it. i have a lot more to say about that later today. i see the senator from arizona on the floor. he's been waiting very patiently. mr. conrad: could i call up the amendment? mr. baucus: certainly. mr. conrad: mr. president, i'd like to call up the conrad-gregg amendment. the presiding officer: is there an objection to setting aside the pending amendment? without objection, so ordered. e clerk: the senator from north dakota, mr. conrad, for himself and mr. gregg, proposes an amendment number 3302. at the appropriate place insert the following: section bipartisan -- mr. conrad: mr

. >> to north dakota, byron dorgen said he'll step down, what were his reasons? >> his was more surprising. he was giving every indication that he wanted to run again for a fourth term. we had a profile of him in our magazine a few weeks ago in which he expressed, however, some frustration with the way things were going in washington, not only partisanship and the combative nature of things but also he was somewhat of a critic of the obama administration and said the focus on health care and climate change was misplaced and they should be focused on jobs. he's a young enough man he can retire from the senate and have another career. he's written some book, he likes to lecture, he would be well courted for lobby, he has a lot of options in front of him. >> is north dakota a possible republican pickup in the senate? >> it absolutely is. in a sense, the two that we're talking today, one has gone from leans republican to likely democrat and this other one from heavily favored democrat to, in north dakota to probably republican. the very, very popular governor of nort

the senator from north dakota cited the figures. we go to 100 -- a public debt that is 100% of gross domestic product. we cross the 60% threshold, which is the tipping point. we're like a dog, we have trouble catching our tail because we have so much debt on the books. potentially this year, but certainly by next year. these numbers are staggering. they're hard to understand. trillions and trillions of debt. and, as the senator from north dakota has also pointed out, the debt is owned not by americans but by foreign nations. today china owns almost $1 trillion of our debt. the oil-exporting nations own, as a group, almost $1 trillion of our debt. we are shipping overseas our -- the dollars which we should be reinvesting in the united states to create a more productive and vibrant economy and a better lifestyle for our nation. by the year 2017 or 2018, the interest on the debt alone will exceed every other account in the federal government. it will be approximatel approximately $900 billion a year. almost $1 trillion a year. more tha

the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: madam president, first of all, let me thank my colleague from the state of washington. she has been tireless in trying to address these issues both in legislation and on the floor of the senate during debate. and it is so important. i too voted against mr. bernanke's nomination today, and i wanted to explain why. it's not certainly that i believe mr. bernanke is a bad guy. he is not. he's a well-respected economiste about the issues that persuade me that we need a change, a change in cull tiewrks a change in personnel in some respects. you know, if ever there has been a bright line in america between those who are too big to fail and those who are too small to matter -- that is, the too big to fail are the ones that are the biggest financial institutions in the country that have been making a lot of money, paying large bonuses, and living high off the hog, and the too small to matter, the fogs on main street that sink everything their family has into a business trying to run a

. >> is north dakota a possible republican pickup. >> it absolutely is. in a sense, the two we're talking about, one has gone from leans republican to likely democrat and this other one from heavily favored democrats in north dakota to probably republican. the very, very popular governor of north dakota is a little bit like richard blumenthal. he has been talked about as a senate canada for many years. he won a third term with 70% of the vote. he was reluctant to take on byron dorgan, but now he will probably be talked into doing it. >> do you expect any more surprise announcements? >> i am not, but that's what makes some surprises. it is getting a little late in the political calendar for senators to pull these surprises because it does not do your own party any favors if they have to start recruiting candidates and raising money at this relatively late stage in the calendar. >> how do the 60 votes for the democrats shape up in 2010? >> i think it is a relatively safe bet that harry reid or his successor as majority leader if he loses his own race in nev

by iran, north dakota -- he will not run again.his paper this morning again about that senator dorgan. caller: good morning i think things should be transparent. my question is to all the republicans -- when george bush and republicans made the so- called medicare bill, and they had requested that c-span be a part of it? but you were not a part of it. today everyone makes a big. i am saying to the democrats, when you go back behind closed doors and you put a public option. you need to make this for 2011. people are hurting and need. medical need for the man who called the in to say that the cameras should be all in the white house -- now how would he like to have cameras in the bedroom when he and his wife want to have sex? that is none of his concern. caller: for all of those who listen to c-span, brian lamb is a jewel. we get to express our thoughts. freedom of press is at stake. if you put the meetings behind closed doors, you give it lobbyist like planned parenthood you want to have our tax dollars used under the guise of repro

. >> reporter: bismarck, north dakota, they say enough already. yesterday's feels like temperature, minus 40. >> you don't want to be out in this kind of weather very long because you're going to freeze, yeah. >> reporter: look at the big picture. by the end of the week end, 180 million americans may shiver through record-setting cold. 60% of americans will see and feel temperatures 15 to 30 degrees below normal. from the midwest, places like iowa and michigan, where cars spun out of control, all the way to raleigh, north carolina and atlanta. icy roads and the south's in-experienced winter drivers created pileups like this one outside atlanta. >> my sister, she was just here at the bus stop and she's telling me she slid all the way to the bus stop. >> reporter: people in 38 states know the feeling. all of them places experiencing below-average temperatures. in the deep freeze of 2010. it's a freeze that will last through the weekend in many places including here in the south. and remember lots of people here don't really own significant winter cl

in the 50s below zero in north dakota. minneapolis has seen snow and freezing cold and icy conditions there with temperatures in the single digits and subzero temperatures. there are disabled cars littering highways, a lot of drivers losing control on the slick roads. you mentioned the snow. a lot of snow in the cleveland area and across pennsylvania and ohio they'd seeing at least 6 inches. cleveland looking for another foot by saturday, and that's kept can schools closed and also created a lot of problems on the roads. so, obviously, the best advise, if you don't have to go out, don't do it. if you do, please, be careful. jane jane rick, thanks a lot. jon: there's a problem at a walmart, harris faulkner's on it. harris: pictures just coming in now that we're working to bring you from lawrence, indianapolis. i've tried reaching out to the police to find out whether or not they are any closer to catching at least two suspects that they're still looking for. they have one suspect in custody. i'll tell you what happened, a s

the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. conrad: i have come to the floor to -- the presiding officer: the senate is in quorum call. mr. conrad: i'd ask proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. conrad: madam president, i've come to the floor to discuss an amendment i am offering with senator gregg to create a bipartisan fiscal task force. the task force would be designed to develop a bipartisan legislative package to address the nation's long-term fiscal imbalances. and there would be a requirement that the package come before congress for a vote. under the rules of the senate, our amendment requires 60 votes to pass. if we do not reach the 60-vote threshold, i will continue to push for the creation of a special process to deal with our debt, and i will fight to ensure that any special process results in legislation that will get a vote in the senate and in the house. we cannot afford another commission whose recommendations sit on a dusty shelf somewhere at the libra

. >> the populous rage that has now caused dorgan in north dakota and dodd in connecticut to say they're retiring, i think that is the biggest political story right now, the first quarter of 2010. after that i think how that plays out will be how the futures of the parties are determined. >> we come right back, glenn beck has a special announcement about the bold fresh tour. he'll talk about his critics. also ahead, elvis' 75th birthday. we have a tribute moments away. >>> i'm bill o'reilly. the very controversial glenn beck is out of the country right now at an undisclosed location. i know where he is, but even if you water boarded me, i wouldn't say. before he left, however, we had a chat. here is beck and i've been watching your show. it pains me to do it, but i've been watching your show. you spent a lot of time correcting misinformation brought about by your critics and i'm wondering why bother? >> because i think it's important to set the record straight. not for them, because they're going to continue to smear. but i think if we continue to show the american people this is what i

this group of workers couldn't be stopped in fargo, north dakota.me striped down to their shorts in a jog in 5 below temperatures. a chicago woman is counting her blessings. rescuers saved her and her dog as they fell through the ice in lake michigan. even florida is seeing freezing temperatures as well. not a fear of global warming at least not right now any way. >> but my sister texted me yesterday and she lives near orlando, that ice was falling. ice is falling in orlando. it's crazy. >> and it's gotten cold here too. and gwen tolbert is keeping an eye on things down in the weather center. >>> we do have a warm-up, but relatively speaking. nothing you want to put your shorts on and be running outside in, that's for sure. let's look at current temperatures. very chilly start to the morning outside, folks. 20 degrees officially in the district. 16 at gaithersburg and 17 degrees at baltimore. and here is a look at mid- atlantic. temperatures, look at boston at 12 degrees and 15 in new york. 4 in pittsburgh. now the winds are light to breezy. anywher

retiring, chris dodd who was facing a tough re-election bat nell connecticut and byron dorgan of north dakota. >> he said he didn't have a republican opponent yet, he said he wants to do other things, his retirement will mean an uphill battle for democrats to hold on to that seat. >> that means the democrats will be defending four open senate seat this is year, it's increasing the pressure on them and the president to get their agenda including health care approved this year. usually presidents in their first term lose seats in their midterm elections, it's clearly going to happen to obama. >> these democrats drank the obama kool-aid, and they're committing political suicide. >> have some perspective here, four democratic senators are retiring this year, but so are six republicans. on the weather front an arctic blast caused havoc across the country this week, two thirds of the nation experiencing record low temperatures. >>> snow has been piling up from kansas city to the carolinas, here in memphis, at least three fatalities have been attributed to the bitter cold. iguanas plummeting from th

-- i am from north dakota it is cold, but not too bad.u mentioned that the government will look to establish a change in infrastructure. what changes do you think we will be able to do? the will to go for roads and dams, what would focus on green? how will the government able to provide something that will help the employment as well as the infrastructure within the united states? >> can you address the gentleman's question? this sounds like a link between the green economy and bring jobs and the stimulus as well. >> the infrastructure side, going back to the fact that the population is moving into the cities, what we will see is that there will be a lot of i.t. and telecommunications along the value change for design and infrastructure within the built environment. i think that is where there's going to be a lot of pickup coming in the future. if we just work on -- in new york city, we haven't believe the pilot program -- we have an lled pilot program just to show that it can work. it is there to help decrease traffic accidents. you can

you woke up to 35 below in grand forks, north dakota. and you had 22 degrees below zero in sioux city, iowa. this cold air will continue to grip the country for the next couple of days. in fact, you know, you will be lucky to get into the teens in minneapolis by the middle of the week, and there you can see that cold air sinking southward and will continue to do so throughout the night tonight. our other big weather story is the storm, the nor'easter and its way off the coast over here towards the canadian maritimes bringing in the cold air and windy conditions. so if you live in places like washington, d.c., new york city, you might get some flurries and that's about it. but will you get some real strong winds moving in by tonight. a lot of airport delays, still a lot of those holiday travelers out there and winds overnight tonight, brooke, believe it or not could be gusting between 45 to 50 miles per hour. normally you will see the strong winds during the day, so this could be catching people off guard tonight and we could have some sp

a bone-chilling negative 11 degrees in fargo, north dakota tells the story across much of the countryxpected to dip as low as negative 33 before it is all over. they may be used to frigid air in the twin cities. >> i can handle it. i'm cold. but of a been around the block. doctors and nurses say freezing temperatures can be dangerous and cause frostbite. >> there is no magic temperature that says you are going to get frostbite or not, you know? it is the amount. it is the temperature outside and the henges of time and the length of exposure. >> reporter: travelers in michigan and indiana are battling the wind a snow. state troopers along the highways urging drivers to use caution. >> you have to have both hand on the wheel certainly. >> white knuckles and all? >> a little bit. >> reporter: snow continues to fall in parts of new england where forecasters are calling for up to 14 inches in some areas. massachusetts, vermont and maine are also battling winds near 30 miles per hour. and mother nature doesn't spare the south. farmers in louisiana bracing for a hard freeze which could cause

a different story in north dakota.ular senator byron dorgan announced retirement pap good shot at grabbing this seat by republicans. the supermajority in the senate, even with a filibuster-proof margin, health care reform is one example of tough to pass. if they lose the supermajority, harder for president obama to advance their agenda. >>> suspended for shooting off his mouth. the nba crowes foul benching one of its high-paid stars. not for having guns in his locker. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. citracal. dominates heartburn. 24/7... including the eight hours you spend with your eyes closed. prilosec otc. heartburn gone. power on. >>> a look at top stories now. the deep south deal wig an unwelcomed visitor. a hard freeze. meaning big trouble for motorists, of course. this i-report from knoxville, tennessee. where are his pants? shows the problems that drivers had navigating this hill. forecasters say the icy conditions gripping much of the

six close states, republicans are up in nevada, arkansas, colorado, delaware, pennsylvania and north dakotan all the republican polk polling in those states. this has huge national implications. >> larry: we'll get the comments of others when we come back. don't go away. [ panting ] ♪ ♪ all alone all day ♪ on and off and counting sheep ♪ while i was building my friendships, my family, while i was building my life, my high cholesterol was contributing to plaque buildup in my arteries. that's why my doctor prescribed crestor. she said plaque buildup in arteries is a real reason to lower cholesterol. and that along with diet, crestor does more than lower bad cholesterol, it raises good. crestor is also proven to slow the buildup of plaque in arteries. crestor isn't for everyone, like people with liver disease, or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. you should tell your doctor about other medicines you are taking, or if you have muscle pain or weakness. that could be a sign of serious side effects. while you've been building

here is how it looked in north dakota, you see there, that's right, it says minus 22 degrees and that'sot the only place where the mergery dropped, too. meteorologist janice dean has the weather story, jd? >> gregg, we start off the year of 2010 with a chilly start for much of the country. these are our overnight lows across the upper midwest of the the northern plains, and this arctic plunge is going to go as far south as florida. these are the lows across the northern plains and upper midwest, but we've really got the coldest air right now bottled up. minus 21, that's not with the wind chill, that's actual temperature as we go overnight tonight. so, extremely dangerous wind chills. as i mentioned, this arctic plunge is going to fall as far south as florida, jacksonville 36 overnight tonight, lows in the 20's into next week. and this arctic chill is going to be with us for the next several days, early next week as well. the storm we are watching is the same system that brought us kind of a wintery mix for new year's eve, it's going to get its act together across the gulf of maine and b

the arctic air couldn't stop this group of workers in fargo, north dakota. some even stripped down to their shorts for a jog in 5 below temps. ever heard of ostbite? it's bismarck that is winning the prize for the coldest. it is 33 below zero the. a chicago woman is counting her blessings. in fact, rescuers saved her and her dogs after they fell through the ice into lake michigan. >> they did a great job. this ended up really well but it could have been otherwise if they hadn't gotten there in time. >> even florida isn't so warm and while animals in other parts of the country can handle the cold, this sarasota animal shelter is preparing for winter conditions. >>> switching gears a little bit, no doubt mentoring changes lives. the mentoring for young mothers program provides special opportunities to pair an experienced mom with a young expecting or new mother. fox 5's beth parker sat down with a pair that started as mentor and student who say it's a bond that will last a lifetime. >> that's a good idea. look at that. >> reporter: julia is spending her aftern

many records were broken in the upper midwest this morning, including north dakota, grand forks there at 35 below zero and fargo at 33 below. that's all due to antarctic high pressure system. we have low pressure here towards the canadian maritimes. and this low is doing a backwards turn. you don't see that happen very often. it's called retrograding. this is the same thing that brought the rain in new york city on new year's eve. well, it's coming back and bringing heavy snow across parts of maine. check out the picture that's we have that we want to show you. this is just outside of portland in the wyndham area. the snow so far hasn't been all that bad but the winds are going to be picking up and we have had a lot of coastal flooding in this area as well. so that's that system's going to stick with us throughout the day for tomorrow. again, heaviest accumulations in the interior parts of the northeast. if you're trying to travel, don, still a lot of people trying to get around and about from the holidays. we've got delays over an hour at most of the major airports in the northeast,

. >> the populous rage that has now caused dorgan in north dakota and dodd in connecticut to say they're retiring, i think that is the biggest political story right now, the first quarter of 2010. after that i think how that plays out will be how the futures of the parties are determined. >> we come right back, glenn beck has a special announcement about the bold fresh tour. he'll talk about his critics. also ahead, elvis' 75th birthday. we have a tribute moments away. why do women like you love activia light? sometimes i have no choice but to eat on the run... and to eat whatever happens to be around. heavy greasy food that's hard on my diet... and my digestive system. so i eat activia light every day. activia light, with bifidus regularis is clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system. mmmm. the new taste is better than ever. and with only 70 calories activia light helps make it easier to watch my weight. it helps me feel good and look good too! ♪ activia! >>> i'm bill o'reilly. the very controversial glenn beck is out of the country right now at an undisclosed location. i