. >> former republican senator chuck hagel is believed to be the top front runner for the pentagon postat could set up a confirmation battle. former colleagues on both sides criticized him on gay rights and u.s. support of israel. taxes may go up on wealthier americans. but the fiscal cliff deal could leave in place deficits over the next deck cade. that's what will happen if congress does not follow up tax increases with spending cuttings. gabby giffords is lending her influence with the sandy hook shooting. you remember she was severely injured two years ago in a mass shooting. is lance armstrong about to change his story on doping charges? he told associates he's considering admiting to using performance enhancing druggings. but armstrongattorney is denying that report. uma, wouldn't it be incredible i didn't do it and you got the wrong guy, lance armstrong changes the story. it would be and quite a story indeed. >> we'll see if it is born out. >> thank you for that. >> president obama's hawaii vacation is it about to end soon and while the fiscal cliff may be a short-term fince the

and men tend to know more men, and women know more women, so getting people in that high-ranking pentagon post, it occurred to her in the way it may not have occurred to men, that i know kathryn hicks, or jenean davis. and then finally, michelle fourneau put a lot of effort into making the policy, the place a family-friendly work place, not just important to women but men, an important issue. to find flexible work arrangements, and even in the pentagon when you deal with classified information a lot we now have technologies that do make that possible. and i think that having a leader that emphasized that from the top really did change the work place culture. >> is there a high-placed female that you think is reasonable to expect as the president continues to roll out his second term administration? >> i don't think we're likely to get one. i still think that the president obviously, he could ask michelle fourneau or susan rice to become the national security adviser. both of them would be fantastic in that job. likewise, you know, he -- depending on what happens with the position of director o

do you see anything that should disqualify him from the pentagon post? >> well, i think like a lot of people, the hearings are going to have a huge effect on me. i know i talked to chuck this week. he's coming in to see me next week. but i think the hearings, this is going to be a real hearing process unlike many of the people who end up being confirmed or not confirmed. you know, i have a lot of questions about just this whole nuclear posture abuse. those are things that haven't been discussed yet. obviously people have concerned about his stance towards iran and israel. but i think another thing, george, that's going to come up is just his overall temperament, and is he suited to run a department or a big agency or a big entity like the pentagon and so look -- >> do you have questions about his temperament? >> i -- what's that? >> do you have questions about his temperament? >> i think -- i think there are numbers of staffers who are coming forth now just talking about the way he has dealt with them. i have certainly questions about a lot of things. i

the news comes as the washington post also reports the pentagon has authorized a drastic expansion ofits cybersecurity force to carry out operations such as olympic games. the move will increase the u.s. cybersecurity force by five votes more than 4900 military personnel and contractors. a bipartisan group of senators has reached an agreement on a framework for proposal on immigration reform. according to politico, eight senators including republican marco rubio will propose a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants that would be contingent on increased spending for border security. president obama is expected to formally unveil his immigration proposal on tuesday. french and molly forces continue to make advances in their offensive to unseat islamist rebels from the north of mali. over the weekend, the france, mali operation to control of the key towns of timbuktu, sparking scenes of celebration in the streets. the u.s. meanwhile has confirmed plans to expand its military support to french soldiers in mali. there will now provide aerial refueling and aircraft to allow for a s

commander in afghanistan, provided three options to the pentagon for a post 2014 force.te, went north of 10,000 troops according to the administration official. >> the 10,000 limit really suggests the administration is trying to hold down the numbers. right now the midwest likely final figure will be about 6,000. it gives us a special operating direct axle meant, probably the use of drones for drone strikes. maybe two bases in eastern afghanistan and a small headquarters element in kabul. >> the final decision on troop levels rests with the president. general allen remains the subject of an investigation into whether he exchanged inappropriate e-mails with tampa bay social light jill kelly. >> i don't think this will impact his ability to give the white house and to give the pentagon and the charm of the joint staffs exactly what he thinks needs to be the set of numbers to be considered. >> others think allen may not be getting all he wanted. >> general allen was looking for a higher number, somewhere starting at ten and going up because he not only wanted to do the spec

doubling its presence in spain this year and is just one part of a push for post military ties across the atlantic as pentagon chief leon panetta makes his final european tour at the post. and a moderate islamist pariah a court and protests that have entered day still to come here on r t we report on what the government sees as a conspiracy between the people and judiciary to depose. for an hour summoned to the floor of the european parliament cyprus was asked to assess its actions over the last six months during which the country over the e.u. it was a period of sore unemployment skyrocket britain eyeing the exit door and talks on an e.u. trillion euro budget collapse however as it turns out that's not how brussel saw it instead heaping praise on cypriot leadership and he's pretty wrong for this report well it was all hunch aches and slaps on the back of them a piece went through what cyprus is done in their six month tenure as the e.u. presidency the president of cyprus saying that it was a time in which they the chief significant results and targets strange words considering that it was also a period in wh

leave the pentagon and the cia the candidate for the post of spy chief presidential counterterrorism adviser john brennan is a strong advocate of aggressive cia tactics and how security kind of arsenal drone program is one of the agency's main tools for brown from an american anti-war activist and author believes brennan's nomination can. because we're we're eliminating so many emotional and in terms of john brennan what is the first time he went public with this drone program where he said and this is a quote there hasn't been a single collateral death because of the exceptional proportion cheaper solution of the capabilities that we've been able to develop now for john brennan to say that the only two possibilities war movie or a full article wire he knows that we were told was which was going to be a luxury but i think for certain folks building it was much more serious than that is that he's delusional paul craig roberts a former assistant secretary of the treasury told us earlier he's saying if brennan is confirmed as the cia heads the agency will further expand its powers grant

the top united states commander in afghanistan, general allen, provided three options to the pentagon for a posthing went north of 10,000 troops. >> with 10,000 limit, that suggests the administration is trying to hold down the numbers. the most likely final figure is 6,000 giving us a special operating direct action element and probably the use of drones for strikes and maybe two bases in eastern afghanistan and a small headquarters element in kabul. >> the final decision on troop levels rests with the president. general allen remains the subject of an investigation into whether he exchanged inappropriate e-mails with tampa bay socialite jill kelley. >> i don't think this will impact his ability to give the white house and the pentagon and the chairman of the joint staff exactly what he thinks needs to be the set of numbers to be considered. >> others think general allen may not be getting all he wanted. >> he was looking somewhere starting at 10,000 and going up. he wanted to do the special forces mission and he also wanted to do a more robust train and assist mission because he felt the afgha

senate is considering president obama's picks to leave the pentagon of the cia the candidate for the post of spy chief presidential counterterrorism adviser john brennan is a strong advocate of aggressive cia tactics and has secured a conversational drone program as one of the agency's main tools fred brafman an american anti-war activist and author believes brennan's nomination can backfire on the u.s. . the message the president is sending is that i need to be able to say that i'm fighting terror for the short for my own short run political gain but in doing that he's sowing a world when which i believe will kill many many more americans and next decade because where we're elevating so many muslims in terms of john brennan look at the first time he went public with this drone program and he said and this is a quote there hasn't been a single collateral death because of the exceptional proficiency precision of the capabilities that we've been able to develop now for john brennan to say that there's only two possibilities one is he's a pathological liar he knows that will murder hundreds

. >>> and the former senator from nebraska who may take over the highest post in the pentagon. >>> buticon valley innovation and climate change, a new report on how the movers and shakers are trying to save the world. ,,,, ♪ [ male announcer ] the distances aren't getting shorter. ♪ the trucks are going farther. the 2013 ram 1500 with best-in-class fuel economy. engineered to move heaven and earth. guts. glory. ram. the new ram 1500. motor trend's 2013 truck of the year. >>> we got light showers around the bay area but those will dry up as the day presses on, it will clear from the north to the south and the week ahead is looking dry. swimming in the bay. more tn two dozen hardy souls braved 49 im from >>> some like it cold when it comes to swimming in the bay. more than two dozen souls braced 49-degree waters to swim from alcatraz to aquatic park yesterday. some wore wetsuits. but one of the youngest, 16- year-old hunter wright wore nothing more than his speedo. swimmers say they have to focus on endurance. wow. >> i bet. okay. >>> if i was going to hop in the bay today, what would i

just one part of a push for closer military ties across the atlantic as pentagon chief leon panetta makes his final. at the post. and a suspected gang war claims the life of the person dubbed the king of russia's mafia find out how he was killed in broad daylight right here in central moscow. for now. summoned to the floor of the european parliament cyprus was asked to assess its actions over the last six months during which the country presided over the e.u. it was a period of sore unemployment skyrocket britain eyeing the exit door and talks on an easy huge trillion euros budget collapse but as it turns out that's not how brussels sort instead he ping preys on cypriot leadership he's put a lot of and has this report. well it was all hunch aches and slaps on the back of them a piece went through what cyprus is done in this six month tenure as the e.u. presidency and the president of cyprus saying that it was a time in which they the chief significant results and targets strange words considering that it was also a period in which the e.u. went through rising unemployment no agreement on an e.u. budget and in w

wusa9 asked our facebook following if their civilian pentagon employees, what would it mean to them? we got painful posts. we have one, i have colon cancer and have chemotherapy. no, we cannot afford any pay cut now. james wilson, i'm concerned about my bills. family of four here living on one civilian paycheck. husband disabled. pay frozen for three years and now they want to take two days of every paycheck away from me? i hope congress and the senate lose the equivalent amount of pay. they should furlough some 14s and 15s, higher pay grades, not me. i barely make anything. let those really old people retire, all those 80-year-olds coming to work with their canes. and what about the nation's defense? >> the answer is, catastrophic. it's going to create enormous inefficiencies. >> the heritage foundation. >> god forbid something happen, people could die. there's a disaster, somebody doesn't have what they need. somebody got the information. at the very best, we'll waste a lot of money and we're going to make a lot of things harder because congress and this president failed us. an idea we all knew is stup

pentagon topper. he would be the first enlisted soldier to hold that cabinet post.nal security figures, but his senate confirmation is now shaping up to be a testy battle. republican senators suggested they'll challenge their former colleague on his tough record. he has opposed sanctions against iraq. >>> on the sunday morning hagel's critics, including li lindsey graham will louder than his backers. >> i expect that the president to nominate people different than i would think, i'm going to vote for senator kerry, i think he's very much in the main stream of thought. chuck hagel if confirmed to be secretary of defense would be the most antagonist secretary of defense. he has long severed ties with his party. this is an in your face nomination by the president. >> senator hagel has some criticism on the left. whether he questioned an openly gay nominee by president clinton was fit enough to represent the united states. >> who will. be the best job in helping to secure america? >> anything to disqualify him? >> not that what i see. i know chuck hagel. he's a patriot.

one part of a push for closer military ties across the atlantic as pentagon chief leon panetta makes his final european tour in the post. a suspected gang war claims the life of the person dubbed the king of russia's mafia find out how he was killed in broad daylight in central moscow. french troops fought their first face to face battle with islamic insurgents in mali. ground operation comes after five days of intense air attacks there the army's aiming to prevent the al qaeda affiliated militant suv seize vast areas in the north of the former french colony from moving towards the capital bamako but the operation has led to the first retaliation now the militants have raided a b.p. gas field in neighboring algeria killing two people and kidnapping a group of around twenty european u.s. and japanese workers that have it done a spokesman for marine le pen president of the national front says this could be a result of france's reckless politics now we're on the third level of four actually concerning the privilege of being attacked by terrorist groups on our own soil it is linked to our international actions and wars tha

spain this year and it's just one part of a push by symmetry because pentagon chief leon panetta makes his final european tour in the post. the suspected gang war claims life for the man dubbed the king of russia's mafia find out how he was killed in broad daylight in central moscow that is coming our way in just a minute stay with us. more news today violence has once again flared up. and these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. showing corporations are relieved a. he continues here in r.t. security forces have barricaded pakistan's parliament with three layers of shipping containers as tens of thousands of protesters pressed forward the leader and islamic cleric has issued the government with a final ultimatum he's demanding the parliament's dissolution and sweeping election reforms threatening to spark a revolution if he is ignored when earlier the supreme court ordered the arrest of the prime ministers and brought in a bribery scandal or some government officials have called it a conspiracy between the protesters the army and the courts well let's discuss the possible regional implic

just one possible push for close in many ways across the atlantic as pentagon chief leon panetta makes his final european tour in the post. still to come this hour also eight suspected gang war claims the life of the man dubbed the king of russia's mafia how he was killed in broad daylight here in central moscow that's coming up in just a minute after this brief break. more news today violence is once again flared up. and these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations rule the day. these continues here in auntie security forces have barricaded pakistan's parliament with three layers of shipping containers as tens of thousands of protesters pressed forward their leader an islamic cleric has issued the government with a final ultimatum he's demanding the parliament's dissolution and sweeping election reforms threatening to spark a revolution if he's ignored the supreme court ordered the arrest of the prime minister who's in gold in a bribery scandal some government officials have called it a conspiracy between the protesters the and the colts. who's the dean at the school of i

post." back to your calls -- we're focusing on the pentagon lifting the ban on combat roles for women.n twitter -- from our facebook page -- tracey says -- sac joins us from philadelphia, good morning, on the democrats' line. -- zach joins us from philadelphia, good morning, on the democrats' line. caller: when we look at the labor market, allowing men and women to serve together, it will have huge benefits for them. that is what i will say about that. host: from "the washington post, this editorial -- here is more from defense secretary leon panetta yesterday making the announcement official at the pentagon. >> in early 2012, we announced a series of modifications to that rule. it opened up more than 14,000 new positions to women. that included positions that are co-located with ground combat units and certain positions and ground combat units below the battalion level. these changes have been implemented, and the experience has been very positive. every time i had visited the war zone, every time i have met with troops, reviewed military operations, and talked to wounded warriors, i

part of a push for closer military chinese across the atlantic as pentagon chief leon panetta makes his final european tour in the post. the suspected gang war claims the life of the man dubbed the king of russia's mafia. was killed in broad daylight in central moscow that's coming up in just a minute. ever . gone. to live. so. precious children. it's fragile shoulders. leave it to. speak your language. your music programs and documentaries in spanish matters to you. use a little tonnage of angola's kidneys story. spanish find out more visit. continues now her naughty security forces have barricaded pakistan's parliament with three layers of shipping containers as tens of thousands of protesters pressed forward their leader an islamic cleric has issued the government with a final ultimatum he's demanding the parliament's dissolution and sweeping election reforms threatening to spark a revolution if he is ignored the supreme court ordered the arrest of the prime minister who's in brawled in a bribery scandal while some government officials have called it a conspiracy between the protesters the army and the courts. who'

the pentagon station will be the first to get an escalator makeover followed by bethesda. we've posted a full list on www.myfoxdc.com. click web links. >>> lance armstrong's tell all interview with oprah winfrey as he admits to doping throughout his career including his seven tour de france victories. >> yes or no? in all seven of your tour de france victories did you ever take banned substances or blood dope? >> yes. i view this situation as one big lie that i repeated a lot of times. as you said, it wasn't as if i just said no and moved off it. >> right. you were defiant. >> oh, yes. >> you called other people liars. >> i understand that. >> joining us now is doug eldridge with pr consulting firm dlc agency. you've watched the interview from pretty much start to finish. is it even possible for lance armstrong to get across and become a sympathetic figure and feel some emotion? it seems like he's not hard wired that way. >> what we just saw there was almost a saving private ryanesque opening in the interview. right out of the gates the bullets came flying. did you use banned substance

joining me now for our daily fix chris cali sfwl za managing editor of post politics.com, and nbc news chief pentagon krbt jim miklaccewski. snoo. >> you're watching the hearings closely. this thing not going that well for chuck hagel, at least with his critics, john mccain is a very important member of this committee. >> what is so striking, andrea, is that chuck hagel has had a series of meetings with more than 50 of the members of the senate. all the questions that would be put to him must have come up in those conversations, and yet, before this committee there were times where he looked ill-prepared for questions that would have been pretty easy to anticipate. at the same time you had democrats trying to in a couple of instances almost rehabilitate his answers to clarify his point. now, to the good side, he had the opportunity to talk about how his own service in vietnam and that of his brothers has given him perspective that wab valuable if confirmed as the defense secretary, but the back and forth between mccain was striking. it went on and on and it was at a really core issue where mccain arg

one day, one graduate student researching post traumatic stress disorder searched through secret pentagon archives and interviewing vets and reading journals to uncover the story of american atrocities in vietnam. in a war where we killed more than 2 million civilians. the result is a book called "kill anything that moves" where he says the stunning scale of civilian suffering far beyond the result of bad apples but the policy. serious accusations of nick turs joining us now. i want to warn the viewers some of the images in this segment might be disturbing. but nick, the most important question, what is the value to america in unearthing this now and talking to americans about the things, the atrocities that happened in vietnam at american hands? >> well, thanks for having me on. i think it's incumbent on americans to know exactly what war is about, especially because we're involved in serial wars at the moment. afghanistan, iraq, the covert campaigns in pakistan and yemen and generally we don't see civilian suffering on the front pages of the newspaper and doesn't lead the nightly news s

. >> later this afternoon leon panetta due to leaf his post in mid-february will announce that the pentagon ban on women serving in combat roles. the decision could open 230,000 jobs to women who will now be able to serve on the frontlines. lee, this seems like a no-brainer, and, yet, the "wall street journal" has this to say about it. owe despite the professionalism of marines, it would be distract and potentially traumatizing to be forced to be naked in front of the opposite sex, particularly when your body has been ravaged by lack of hygiene. in the reverse it would be painful to witness a member of the opposite sex in such an uncomfortable and awkward position." ravaged by -- that's exactly right. >> body odor that costs the army its victories. >> what? >> i didn't know hygiene or its lack could ravage you. >> as you pointed out, how many times were people fighting in the nude? >> i haven't seen a lot of naked warfare, but maybe i'm just really -- >> the frontlines. loo this is resistance to change. this is something that's been debated for decades. there are many women, as so many peop

. >>> and "the washington post," the pentagon is preparing for a worst-case scenario in which lawmakersled to make its march 1st deadline on the budget deal. that would mean deep, across-the-board cuts including $500 million less for the defense department. leon panetta says it would be a huge setback for national security. >>> "the wall street journal," american express is set to cut 5,400 jobs. the company will slash 8.5% of its staff, mostly from its travel division which has lost business in the advent of internet travel sites. >>> this weekend's "parade" magazine, it's the savings issue. inside, a guide to saving $10,000 this year. >> did you hear that? you can save money. >> that's a good investment because that "parade" doesn't cost that much. so you can save. that's kind of a no-brainer. >> there you go. >> makes perfect sense to me. with us now, let's bring in chief white house correspondent for "politico" here with the morning playbook. you guys have a fascinating story regarding charles schumer. it seems that chuck schumer is the key to chuck hagel's failure or success. tell

. >>> keeping up with the changing times the pentagon will boost its cyber security staff. according to "washington postanother 4,000 people will be assigned to help counter increasing threats against government computer networks. officials say they intend to focus their efforts on networks outside the u.s. [ male announcer ] how do you make america's favorite recipes? just begin with america's favorite soups. bring out chicken broccoli alfredo. or best-ever meatloaf. go to campbellskitchen.com for recipes, plus a valuable coupon. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec-d®. powerful relief of nasal congestion and other allergy symptoms -- all in one pill. zyrtec-d®. at the pharmacy counter. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. at liberty mutual insurance, we understand. that's why our auto policies come with accident forgiveness if you qualify, where your rates won't go up due to your first accident, and new car replacement, where, if you total your new car, we give you the money for a n

. >>> new this morning, the pentagon plans to boost its cybersecurity force in order to combat a growing threat of hacking. the "washington postill increase the force from 900 personnel to nearly 5,000. the plan will also reportedly create three different kinds of security groups, national mission forces, combat mission forces and cyberprotection forces. the move comes after a string of attacks including one that wiped out 30,000 computers at a saudi arabian oil facility. >>> the beefed-up cybersecurity force also comes on the heels of a threat of the federal government's web site. the group is claiming responsibility to death of an internet programmer. the hacker claim they gained access to several computer systems and are copying information and threatening to release it. >> it is dangerous. after the wikipedia leaks, you would have hoped we cleaned this up. we haven't. it is something we don't spend enough time and money on. it is a serious vulnerability. >> the government has to first of all figure out where can it protect and how can it protect without becoming too intrusive into everybody's daily lives. >> the fbi says i

shaping what the pentagon is going forward, so i think in a lot of ways his nomination could be more important in that way. the other thing is bob woodward wrote a piece in "the washington post" in which he quotes hagel saying to the president several years ago that he thinks the pentagon has had too much power in recent decades in dictating policy, that the president should take more control. i think hagel probably is going to bring that idea into the pentagon. he's going to leave these big policy decisions to the president. he'll give advice, but the big questions of when we go to war or how we go to are war won't necessarily be his decisions. >> i've heard this criticism from military guys who say, hey, the balance is out of whack right now. it's a little too -- the military side of the quote/unquote as eisenhower said is stronger than the military side. >> i'm not uncomfortable with a relook or continued look at how we project power. i think we've learned over ten years, 12 years, of these unpopular years. both of which i supported, that the projection of military power in some ways has an inverse relationship on our success. and it was bob gates, after all, who stood sh

and lying to the "washington post" and other outlets making stuff up. then when the two subsequent pentagonestigations to the story, they all the sudden lost their memory and they couldn't remember who said what. but it was confirmed. they couldn't remember who said it. so there was -- they changed their story multitypical times -- multiple times. it's a new version he got out. c-span: you never implied to them you were gunning ho for the war in. >> no did you c-span: did you? >> guest: i told him i hate war. i have it on a recorded interview. i mean, and one of the funny things about it is when these guys are general mccrystal and the guys had the memory lapses. i was the one taking notes. i remember what was said. it was a big, you know, i think general from what i understand people close to him felt embarrassed. i think his dad felt embarrassed. they to push back. it's not uncommon if you write a hard-hitting story or a story people regret what they said for them to deny, evade what you just reported for various reasons. it wasn't uncommon. c-span: did you set out to get him? >> guest: n

posts. president obama emphasized the two men's personal connections to the organizations he has tapped them to run. chuck hagel would be the first vietnam veteran to head the pentagon. >> to this day, chuck bears the scars and shrapnel in the battles he fought in our name. >> reporter: and john brennan, who spent 25 years at the cia, would now run the agency. >> john has lost colleagues and friends. >> reporter: as demonstrators protested brennen's connection to controversial interrogation techniques like waterboarding that date back to the bush years -- the president moved to head off that criticism. >> he understands, we are a nation of laws. he insists on high and rigorous standards. >> reporter: but it's hagel's nomination that's receiving a decidedly mixed reaction. his flexibility in negotiating with iran. his past statements about israel and about gays all have become lightning rods. many prominent jewish leaders have been offended by comments hagel made in an interview to mid east peace negotiator david aaron miller, describing pro israeli groups as a jewish lobby. and gay rights activists recoiled at his description of a nominee for an ambassadorship in th

later he served as managing editor of the "washington post" and played a key role in the publication of the pentagon papers. one of his last projects, an attempt to cut thousands of words from the king james bible in hopes of making biblical stories a little easier for the average person to follow. eugene patterson was 89 years old. last night, mallory hagan a 23-year-old from brooklyn, new york, won the title miss america. she wins a $50,000 college scholarship and wears the crown for a year. the hollywood foreign press association hands out its golden globes tonight. the ceremony sets the stage for the academy awards on february 24. in the nfl play-offs last night quarterback collin capnick led the san francisco 49'ers to a convincing 45-31 win over the green bay packers. the play-offs continue this afternoon with atlanta hosting seattle followed by houston at new england. here on cbs. thousands took part in seattle's snow day yesterday. participants earned a spot in the guiness book of records for the world's largest snowball fight, dethroning the current champion south korea. now for today's for

republicans accused the president of moving the goal post by suggesting more tax increases are needed to stop the massive cuts aimed at the pentagon and elsewhere. >> revenues have to be part of the equation in turning off the sequester. >> there is some real anger brewing tonight on the left about proposed deal. even rich trumka the evidence the afl-cio head of organized labor it's not a good fiscal cliff deal if it gives more tax cuts to the 2% and sets the stage for more hostage taking. he is referring to the debt ceiling debate that's coming early next year. goes on to tweet republican's fiscal cliff double think fiscal crisis demands cuts in service, no investment in jobs but allows more tax cuts for richest americans. if and when this comes up for votes in the house and senate, it's unclear how many democrats especially on the left will support this, or buck the president, basically. bret? >> bret: ed henry live in the white house. thank you. stocks started the week up. possibly encouraged early in the day about talk of this possible deal. the dow finished ahead 166. the s&p 500 was up 24. the nasdaq gained 59 another deal n

post." in part it reads our story stands as a cautionary tale. we have experienced how careless handling of our information by law enforcement and news headlines endanger citizens privacy. >>> the pentagon says general john allen was cleared of sending potentially inappropriate e-mails to joe kelly. >>> senate majority leader harry reid appears to be reversing course and pushing ahead with possible gun legislation. after meeting with fellow senate democrats on tuesday, he told reporters he expects to have a free amendment process on gun legislation. while it's unclear if an assault weapons ban would be included, reid said he has agreed to take up measures called for by president obama. reid previously said he opposes a ban on assault weapons. >>> and now here's your "first look" at your dish of scrambled politics. president obama's half brother malik has decided to run for governor of a rural county in kenya. >>> the white house released video of president obama and first lady michelle surprising visitors on the white house tour. they shook hands with the shocked tourists as they walked through. >> here's a tweet of the stage at last night's white house staffers inaugural ball, includin

pentagon was his lgbt rights. he rejected james hormel to be ambassador to luxembourg with frankly offensive comments. hagel told a local newspaper i'm quoting ambassadorial posts are sensitive. they're representing america. they're representing our lifestyles values and standards, and i think it's an inhibiting factor to be openly, aggressively gay like mr. hormel to do a better job. this was the late 90s and toxic homophobia was very common common, hagel has apologized for those remarks and said as secretary of defense he will support open service and lgbt military families. now the log cabin republicans the lgbt gay advocacy group did not seem too impressed. they put out an ad chuck hagel hagel's apology, too little, too late. james hormel, the man hagel rejected and slandered had a very different take. quote, senator hagel stated in his remarks that he was willing to support open military service and lgbt military families. if that is a commitment to treat lgbt services members and families like everybody else, i would support his nomination. starting with hagel i'm joined by joel rubin director of policy and government affairs of the now shares fund and a

pentagon's budget. this one yesterday from scott wilson in "the washington post."cessful nomination would had a well-known republican to the president's second term cabinet at a time when he is looking to better bridge the partisan divide, particularly after a bitter election campaign. we just heard senator lindsey graham saying this is kind of an in your face nomination, nothing bipartisan about it. so which is it? >> there are a lot of republicans who feel like senator lindsey graham, that former senator from nebraska chuck hagel stepped away from the republican party, namely in his firm opposition of the surge in iraq, when the party's nominee at the time, john mccain was running a presidential campaign counting the surge under george w. bush. the surge of course the troops going in to iraq, stepping up the troop presence there to try to get iraq under control. you'll remember then senator obama opposed the iraq surge as well. so, the republican party for the most part, many members believe that chuck hagel stepped away from the foreign policy element back then,

post tonight all alone in a place far from home. give some thought to the possibility they'd like to have a pentagon chief who knows just what that's like. and that's "hardball for now," thanks for being with us. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> thanks, chris. and thanks to you fr tuning in. tonight's lead show down over defense. today, the president officially nominated his choice for defense secretary. vietnam veteran and former gop senator chuck hagel of nebraska. already, republicans are signaling a major fight over his nomination. they apparently think the president should have the right to pick his own team, even though hagel has all the qualifications for the job. >> chuck hagel is the leader that our troops deserve. this day, chuck bears the scars and the shrapnel from battles he fought in our name. chuck hagel's leadership of our military would be historic. he would be the first person of enlisted rank to serve as secretary of defense. one of the few secretary who is have been wounded in war. and the first vietnam veteran to lead the department. in chuck hagel, our troops see a decorated combat veter