and as i said yesterday, if you think the nra has power, just remember, the number one priority was to defeat barack obama. last time i checked, he's going to be inaugurated again. >> earlier protesters gathered outside the offices in washington. the nra, again, declined to comment. the group's social media interaction has come to a halt. the nra had stopped tweeting. and it also took down its facebook page on friday, just one day after it celebrated a milestone of 1.7 million likes. there are signs that the nra might be losing a script on washington. nra member and senator joe manchin now says he's rethinking his positions on gun control. but as dave weigal points out, the nra habit lost any gun legislation since 1999. the five republicans who voted aye are all gone and al gore's tie breaking aye became a focus of the nra's campaign against him. and just somedays before the slaughter at sandy hook elementary, the nra was actively fear mongering over gun laws. an nra spokesman told the washington examiner on december 5th that the organization was preparing to battle with the president. we're not optimisti

president obama has laid out in the past and seen willing to me, at least, to make some cuts to medicareot ones conservatives like. what we don't know yet, the big question is, president obama is pushing for $1 trillion in tax increases, pushing it for a long time. he feels he has a mandate on that now. we know his idea is about raising revenue. we don't know what the republicans ideas are on the revenue. that's what we need to know. that's the whole question, what are they. go ahead. >> we've heard from lindsey graham yesterday or the day before with regards to revenue. he still contends, ari, that you can raise a significant chunk of revenue, he's thrown out $800 billion at least by closing loopholes and limiting deductions, whether it's $30,000, $40,000, $50,000. >> yeah, but he's just talking, right? just talking. what the president has done is outlined a plan. he outlined it once and the american people voted for it, and he outlined it again, not surprisingly, the same core arguments, same basic idea the people who make over a quarter million will have that money taxed and we have t

president obama has held talks on possible gun control measures.he white house has also declared the issues complex. >> we ask everyone present to rise and observe a moment of silence. >> a public gesture from the congress. then the stirrings of what would be an emotive debate. two senators that supported the at that -- nra say that new town has changed things. this is one of them. >> i am an nra rated member and i believe that enough is enough. we need to come to the table and come with restrictions and what they would be planned to be. that is a part of the process. >> the demonstration outside the offices in washington and underlined how feelings were running high. but the right to bear arms remains deeply embedded in the american psyche. yesterday saw the first of what would become a heartbreaking procession of funerals for the victims. on the day of the shootings, many distressed families gathered at the firehouse as the enormity of what unfolded started to dawn. >> impatience is growing. uncertainty is growing. in the and one mother yelled ou

that is to control guns without infringing upon the second amendment. >> i think president obama has two challenges. the first is as someone else put it, to take the mass out of mass murder. that is what is scaring the country. although these are fairly small number of the overall homicides in this country, they're the ones that terrorize people. we saw in connecticut the abity to target children and put them over the cliff now. lou: we should point out we're talking about .0001%. we are talking about so many thousands. >> nine to 12,000 per year it ranges, homicides, not including suicides, which are actually more. so you have this small number, but horrible, horrible kind. taking the mass out of mass murder. lou: this all sounds great, don't think anybody would say i am against mass murder, i am against murder, i'm against violence death, but would people are for us the freedom to choose the constitutional rights. and as you point out, this is a fraction, we are talking about most of the murders in this country or with one shot, one victim, one purpose. and these laws that are bein

has power? their number one priority was to defeat barack obama. ime i checked, he's going to be innaug rated again. >> the nra has stopped tweeting. it also took down its facebook page on friday, just one day after it celebrated a milestone of 1.7 million likes. there are signs that the nra might be losing its grip on washington. nra member and senator joe manchin says he's rethinking his positions on gun control. but as slate points out, nra has not lost any kind of vote on gun legislation since 1999. the five republicans who voted "aye" are all gone and al gore's tie-breaking "aye" became the focus on the campaign against him. and just days before the slaughter at sandy hook elementary, they were fearmongering over gun laws. on december 5th the organization was preparing to battle with the president. we're not optimistic. we're planning for the worst. we told people to plan for gun bans and a supreme stacked with antigun judges. the president has a variety of options at his disposal. we don't take any of them for granted. let's turn to mark glaze

president barack obama has made a move toward stronger gun control in the u.s. he voiced support for an initiative to renew an expired ban on assault weapons and the creation of a new law to tighten gun sales regulations the proposal comes after the mass shooting at the sandy hook elementary school that took the lives of twenty six people including twenty children. has the details. when you consider the tragic events that unfolded at an elementary school last week in the us it is not surprising that finally u.s. president barack obama is taking a position that would reinstate a ban on assault weapons in america now the last federal assault weapons ban which expired in two thousand and four prohibited the manufacturing of eighteen specific models of semiautomatic weapons along with the manufacturing of high capacity ammunition magazines that could carry more than ten rounds now according to white house spokesman jay carney obama would also support legislation that closes a so-called gun show loophole that has allowed some weapons to be sold without criminal backg

noticeably missing: the higher taxes on high-wage earners which president obama has insisted on. the white house responded, saying "the g.o.p. proposal does not meet the test of balance. in fact, it actually promises to lower rates for the wealthy and sticks the middle class with the

. >> over the past month, president obama has been spending a lion's share of his time negotiating with speaker boehner, that did not work. what can you tell us about the key individuals involved in the process now, president obama, senator majority leader harry reed and mitch mcconnell. what is the tone? >> it's all about the senate right now, that is one of the more remarkable developments. all along we thought it would be between the obama white house and house speaker john boehner and there was a logic behind that. because getting legislation out of the house is the trickier part of crafting any type of deal. but with the house saying look, we need the senate to do something, the last ditch effort is occurring in the senate right now. i spoke to staffers close to senator mcconnell that said there was optimism on their side yesterday, including from their boss, senator minority leader

in general obama has the upper hand. can understand why the left might be growing increasingly frustrated. we're talking about what boehner can sell to his caucus. i do think liberals hated that medicare retirement age change. change cpi might be more palatable. a lot of people don't completely understand what it means and it might be an easy thing to sell. >> let's talk about thea mt because no one else is. this is a tax so onerous and poorly designed that congress has to patch it every year to avoid bankrupting the middle class. i really like tony's description in forbes, step one, compute your regular tax liability. step two, compute your alternative minute tax liability. step three, take a generous pull of scotch and curse loudly. step four, pay the higher of step one and two. what is going to happen with the amt? >> the amt is really important. it might be one of the most important issues that people don't really dig into. we don't talk about it a lot in this conversation, but it does really hit home. people do get

. >> president obama has said he will not make a deal without an increase in the tax rates on people who make more than $250,000, which is something that republicans refuse to do. they want -- do not want to raise tax rates on anyone. as senator corker of tennessee said -- president obama holds the cards. >> what do you think his opinion represents? is this just one senate republican, or does this show kind of a shift in attitude among republicans? >> it certainly shows -- a number of republicans are looking to make a deal with the president. but until speaker boehner and the house republicans come to terms with raising tax rates president obama has said he will make a deal with them. >> we will see if republicans capitulate. let's talk about the job report that came out -- now the election is over, it seems not as much is -- attention is paid to these reports. it showed the economy is still on a track of city growth and the people have not lost confidence that a deal will be struck. >> the unemployment rate ticked down again. like he said during the campaign these come out on the fi

joining us tonight to tell us if president obama has a realistic chance of taking on the pro-gun lobby and weakening the second amendment. -@home prices rising, home sales are up, homebuilder enthusiasm at the highest level in six years. richard smith is the ceo running some of the most prestigious brands. telling us of the housing run israel or an illusion this family used capital one venture miles to come home for the holidays. that's double miles you can actually use... sadly, their brother's white chrimas just got "blacked out." [ brother ] but it's the family party! really jingles your bells, doesn't it? my gift to you! the capital one venture card! for any flight, any time! that's double miles you can actually use! how illuminating. what's in your wallet? let me guess, , am on the naughty list again? ho ho ho! let me guess, , am on the naughty list again? you know it can be hard to lbreathe, and how that feels.e, copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open for 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva

. >> president obama has declared a major disaster in d.c. after super storm sandy. this opens up federal money to help cover any emergency work and repairs from the powerful storm. the money will be used to invest in measures to protect against future disasters. more funds to open down the road depended on further damage assessment. >> coming up, an attempted steal thousands. police say someone tried to blow up an atm machine. >> starbucks can be expensive and not. we will tell you what the company wants you to spend $400 this holiday season. on one item. >> the showdown over the fiscal cliff. a new poll suggests president obama has the american people's support when it comes to taxing the wealthy. this poll shows nearly half of those surveyed once bush eras tax cuts to expire for those making more than $250,000 a year. the poll was taken last weekend. the questions did lean more to the men -- to the democratic party. eric cantor says republicans want to sit down with the president and talk specifics. president obama spoke with business executives, calling for a bal

president obama has cut short his holiday to revive the talks. >> if we go over this cliff, the house of representative with four days left are not here with the speaker having told him that he will have 458 hours' notice. i cannot imagine their conscience out there wherever they are around the country and we are trying to get something done. >> why is the american economy teetering on the edge of the cliffs? these are some of the things that president obama is trying to prevent with the return to the lighthouse. an employment has fallen to a four year low and currently stands at 7.7%. no deal could mean 2.1 million jobs disappearing parent to it would equate to a contraction of 1.5% in the value of all goods and services america producers meaning less money to afraid with the rest of the world. as far as the republicans concerned, there is that we will not give you a blank check. >> mitch mcconnell, the republican leader in the senate, said that he thought there was still time to avert what he called a budgetary fiscal crisis on tuesday the 31st. all of these attacks increases and sp

obama has been struggling with another file. >> the u.s. fiscal cliff crisis and the republicans and democrats talks between the republicans to avert still not making much progress. president obama has rm asked to make further compromising. >> i have gone at least halfways in meeting some of the republicans concerns. what separates us is $100 milli million. >> the white house presented a compromise plan earlier this week. obama's original plan was to impose tax increases for the wealthy who make $250,000 or more a year. now he raised the threshold to $400,000 or more. republicans represented by house speaker john boehner presented a counteroffer. they're asking to review medical and pension spending. they will pass the bill as early as thursday. it will include tax breaks for the middle class and make the tax increases with an annual income of $1 million or more. >>> you've heard people in the financial markets talk a lot about the fiscal cliff. that's because if the u.s. economy falls off this cliff, ripple effects are expected. >> reporte

obama has vowed to use the power of his office to prevent more mass shootings. the white house press secretary on monday had few details of what the solution might look like. >> the president has long supported reinstating the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. as the president has said, and i just said, this is a complex problem that requires complex and a variety of solutions. i do not have a specific policy outline for you today from the president. it is important to remember this is about our gun laws and enforcing them, but also about a broader series of issues including issues of mental health and education and the like. the president's position on assault weapons ban has not changed. he still supports its re- enactment, but you'll hear from him, i think, as he said last night, in the coming weeks to speak more specifically about what he thinks we can do moving forward. >> as the debate over gun control is revived in the wake of the sandy hook shootings, we turn now from newtown connecticut -- newtown, connecticut to new town, australia, where gun l

washington is also not losing patience the united states has said that it is disappointed by israeli construction plans in an unpredictably sharp reaction the obama administration has talked with others well saying that the construction plan one counter to keep the point also needs to be made that mixed month generally is already holding parliamentary elections which is why many also just think that these anonymous by the prime minister netanyahu are a means of trying to garner up domestic support as well as change the reality on the ground one of the options that mr neosho and like minded people. creating a world by the amount of. satisfy you want this is this you from. let us get to the roads and let the settlers. are the place to stay rather than evacuate them to new areas which will be next to israel most of the international community see the settlement construction by television as illegal certainly the palestinians see it as a real obstacle to creating a viable capital in east jerusalem course the r.t. tell of a. us president barack obama has for the second time been chosen by time magazine's person of the year he beat seven other shortlis

for his lady michelle obama has a 73 percent approval rating.he outgoing secretary of state hillary clinton is also popular with a 66 percent approval rating. and the bal poll shows a majority of americans support stricter gun laws but most are against banning assault weapons. 58 percent of americans now say they support stricter gun laws that's up from 43% and october 2011. the american public is now split on enforcing existing laws instead of passing new ones. 40¢ per set of the public wants to enforce current laws while 47 once the legislation. this is a big law to ban assault weapons which is backed by president obama has not gained much support since october 2011. 44 percent support and assault weapons ban while 51 percent are against it. >> today 200 use of teachers will get the proper training to be able to carry a weapon. the utah shooting sports council said it would waive its $50 fee for concealed weapons training for the teachers. it's an idea gaining traction in the aftermath of the connecticut school shooting. you ties among few sta

. >>> for his part president obama has been trying to turn up the heat on congress applying new pressure on sunday in an interview with david gregory on "meet the press." nbc news white house correspondent has details. >> reporter: on "meet the press," president obama continued his public campaign to pressure congress. >> if congress doesn't act, then everybody's taxes go up, and for the average family that could mean a loss of $2,000 in income and the who economy can slow down. >> reporter: he called an lawmakers to strike a deal or hold a vote on his plan which would raise tax rates on wealthy americans a major sticking points for republicans. >> the way they are behaving is that their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest americans are protected. that seems to be their only overriding unifying theme. >> reporter: after the interview republican leaders accused the president of assigning blame instead of leading. >> when they say leadership falls on you mr. president you don't have a role here in breaking this impasse. you've had a tough go with congress. >> if

taxes and then ever more higher spending nobody believes if it to cuts already i mean president obama has done significant cuts scaling the guy we're spending look at the baseline of two thousand and eight i mean we had a nine hundred billion dollars stimulus that was supposed to be a one off that's a now that's a permanent part of your baseline. i mean let's go back to the two thousand and nine budget and we haven't and the simplest funds have pretty much run out at this point there's no stimulus yet they knew that we were spending sam if we went back to two thousand and nine spending your deficit would disappear but ok and if we went to seventy percent tax rates where they were under republican presidents like would now be ok then but the wealthy never really cares what the wealthy never do in years until exactly the effective raise significant revenue which we have a revenue problem not a spending problem but let's let's get down i don't want to get out of the going to use of what baseline stuff here is. what we're talking about here what we're talking about here with the fiscal cliff

i think obama has more power than bush had, for instance. >> and yet, i believe it is your view that we know less about the president, less about the white house than ever. why is that and why is it our fault? >> it is, in part, our fault. i think the messengers and the white house get better and better and more skillful. it is a barrier, often. knows how long i spent breaking down that logjam in the white house, saying it, i am doing this book. i have these stories. i have these memos. and they would say, ok, give us the question. it is not something where they are standing there on pennsylvania avenue saying to reporters, come on. we are dying to have you hold us accountable for what we are doing. >> if you do manage to break people down. but what if the white house said, we are going to shut a baba down. no access, no memos. what would you do? >> i would probably do another book like john belushi or something like that. you know, i do not know. i think that -- look. there is a sense in every white house, whether they are misguided or not, that they are doing a good a job, that the

are you comfortable with the fact that president obama has now turned to the senate and said let's fix it. i like the way he looked at obama care and handed it off to congress and the stimulus bill that he handed off to congress. this is the one person doesn't have to bowe to the god of reelection. everybody else is subject to the things you have already talked about, their home. what would lbj have done, blake? not this. >> i would just be frank with you. i think it's an odd gamut. because look, as i just said i'm skeptical about the ability of these two senate leaders to hammer out a deal that would satisfy both of their very competing, completely opposing imperatives and the next step the president said if you guys don't get a deal i'll ask harry reid to put a bill on the floor and we both know in order for that to happen mitch mcconnell will gra have to agree not to filibuster that and the president is daring mitch mcconnell not to engage in a filibuster and it would seem so embarrassing to the public that mcconnell was filibustering a deal for middle-class tax reform. i think that

trillion-dollar deficits. >> yes, the government is spending too much money, and unfortunately, obama hased to spending more money. he has a trillion -- there's $1 trillion of tax increases baked into the cake because of obama's 20 taxes in obamacare. 90% of those tax increases that obama put into obamacare were conveniently put in to take effect after he got re-elected to the presidency. so there a massive tidal wave of obama tax increases coming at the american people, starting in january. has nothing to do with the fiscal cliff. but it has everything to do with obamacare. >> now, it is true that a lot of those taxes did take place after the election. that's something we pointed out and is a fair point. but let me just ask you about the compromise we have to go to. because like i said, again, to get this done, taxes are -- i mean, they're going to go up on somebody. i just believe that this is what is going to happen. i think tom cole thinks it's going to happen. i think tom coburn thinks it's going to happen. i wanted to play a bite from him and get your reaction. here he is. >> sure.

obama has taken initiative to bring plan "c" to the meeting today. >> this is not for show. this is a last ditch effort by the president to bring congressional leaders together to get at least a small deal together before the new year to avoid some of the tax parts of the fiscal cliff. it would keep tax cuts for the making $250,000 a year or less, extending unemployment benefit and with the clock ticking delay dramatic spending cuts until next year. >> i asked leaders of congress to work toward the package to prevent tax hike on middle class americans protects unemployment surance for 2 million americans. lays the groundwork for work on growth and deficit reduction. that is an achievable goal. >> today's meeting is the first with the president since november 16. sign for republicans that mr. obama has not really been pushing that hard for a deal. >> we need presidential leadership on in the just taxing rich people. >> three words the president did not use. he did not use the word sequester and he didn't say "debt ceiling" either. he focused most of his remarx on preventing t

obama voiced his support for reinstating the assault weapons ban and a tightening of regulations but there are fears the potential move could see enthusiasm up on the firearms and ammunition parties report now has the details for us now. when you consider the tragic events that unfolded at an elementary school last week in the us it is not surprising that finally u.s. president barack obama is taking a position that would reinstate a ban on assault weapons in america now the last federal assault weapons ban which expired in two thousand and four prohibited the manufacturing of eighteen specific models of semiautomatic weapons along with the manufacturing of high capacity ammunition magazines that could carry more than ten rounds now according to white house spokesman jay carney obama would also support legislation that closes a so-called gun show loophole that has allowed some weapons to be sold without criminal background checks of the buy or sell since obama has been president for mass shootings have taken place but until now critics say that obama has skirted the issue of federal gun control last week's massacre at that elementary school in newtown connecticut claimed the lives of twenty inn

and today's summit is the first time president obama has met face to face with congressional leaders since mid-november. duarte, tick tock. >> thank you. >>> general schwarzkopf is being remembered this morning as a great hero and tactician. as teresa garcia the general died yesterday at his home in tampa from complications related to pneumonia. >> reporter: general h. norman schwarzkopf received military acclaim as a war hero. he led the desert storm, a coalition of 30 countries that successfully drove forces out of saddam hussein's group. >> we're very proud to be able to do this. >> reporter: schwarzkopf was born in 134 in trenton, new jersey. he followed his father's footsteps to west point. in 1966 he volunteered to serve in vietnam. his name name was stormin' norman referring to his notoriously exploding temper. >> going around and little, is that why -- >> around, through, over the top, underneath, and any other way. >> reporter: desert storm topped his 34-year career. general bush awarded him ahmedal of freedom and he was welcomed back on american soil. the self-proclaimed po

inhumane, a legal, barbaric war against our own country and people. >> "the new york times" resident obama has a personal kill list. according to the paper, obama signs off on every targeted killing in yemen and somalia and the more complex and risky to strikes in pakistan. >> i want people to understand that drones have not caused a huge number of civilian casualties. for the most part, they have been very precision strikes against al qaeda and their affiliates. we are very careful, in terms of how it has been applied. >> it was ramadan, we were about to break our fast with the children. we took a bite, said our prayers. the children had just started eating when the missile struck. my two sons and i were outside, but everyone inside was killed. three people were killed. my brother, my brother's son, and my brother in law. >> how many what people are you willing to sacrifice? why are you like to the american people and not saying how many innocents have been killed? >> in pakistan, he was killed because he wanted to document the drone strike. i speak out on behalf of the a 16-year-old killed i

president barack obama has said he is still hopeful that a resolution can be reached this year. he cut short his vacation in hawaii to restart negotiations with republicans in congress. before christmas, the president called for bipartisan cooperation. >> now is not the time for more self-inflicted wounds, certainly not those coming from washington. >> analysts say failure to reach a deal with poison u.s. consumer spending. the fiscal cliff would trigger tax increases and government spending cuts in january, leaving far less money in the economy. the international monetary fund warrants of knock on effects for the global economy. -- warns of knock on effects for the global economy. the pressure is on in washington to agree on a plan. only then might the applause on wall street be a little more genuine. >> with the clock ticking ever more loudly in washington, let's bring in our correspondent. first off, are the prospects of an agreement as dim as we are hearing, or could there be a last-minute deal? then of course this could happen, but i think it is quite unlikely. there is an

afghanistan regarding missile defense regarding syria regarding iran these are very serious matters obama has continued the policy toward moscow begun by president clinton a democrat and continued by president bush a republican that policy is advancing nato toward russia's borders building missile defense on russia's borders interfering in russia's internal politics most recently the street demonstrations this is the same policy with again twenty years in a row with the soviet union the fundamental american policy toward russia has not changed so it's ridiculous to call blama soft on moscow i mean just because two leaders get together as they always do and say we are friends it doesn't mean a reality here is that the partnership we need between washington and moscow to make the world safer for all of us has not existed since the soviet union ended and we may be farther from it today today as a result partially of this orphanage then we have been in twenty years. forget anonymity there is one place you need id to use the internet and that's china where new rules this is everywhere busa must us

that obama wasn't holding all the cards. i think he has advantage obviously because republicans in all the policy are the ones who will take the blame. but nonetheless, the larger issue, if you are obama, is not who is popular and who is not, he's won his last election. that doesn't matter anymore. what obama does care about and should care about is his legacy. if you go over the cliff he may get a bump temporarily and the republicans will take a hit but his legacy will be his second term. and if he wrecks the economy, as he would, by not being able to remedy the consequences of going over the cliff, then he's going to have a failed second term and a failed history -- history will remember him as a failed president. now, what he probably thinks, if he can go over the cliff, the republicans will take a hit, he will have public opinion behind him and then he can undo the damage one issue at a time by getting a reduction by a return of the majority of the bush tax rates, standing unemployment, whatever else he wants to do he can get that one