after years of threats, the nuclear option is a reality in the senate right now. democratsop republicans from blocking presidential judicial nominees. now gop senators are going nuclear over losing a powerful tool for the minority party, the filibuster. under the new rules, it takes just 51 votes to end that stalling tactic, instead of 60. our senior white house correspondent brianna keilar is standing by, but let's go to our chief congressional correspondent dana bash. dana, this is a huge step for democrats. on both sides they've been thinking about doing this for decades. it could come back, though, to bite those democrats if they become the minority in the senate. >> reporter: it sure could. democrats know this could be a moment they could ultimately regret when they lose control of the senate. they're in the minority and if they have a republican in the white house, but they made the calculation that because the number of presidential nominees since the president has been in office has been spiked so much, that this was the best way to go forward. for a lot of reasons,

american people decided to give the democrats -- not to give the democrats the house or to restore the filibuster-proof majority they had in the senate back in 2009, and our democratic colleagues don't like that one bit. they just don't like it. the american people are getting in the way of what they'd like to do. so they're trying to change the rules of the game to get their way anyway. they said so themselves. earlier this year, the senior senator from new york said they want to fill up the d.c. circuit one way or the other. fill up the d.c. circuit one way or the other. and the reason is clear. as one liberal activist put it earlier this year, president bush's agenda runs through the -- president obama's agenda runs through the d.c. circuit. you can't get what you want through the congress because the american people in november, 2010, said they had had enough. they issued a national restraining order after watching two years of this administration unrestrained, so now it runs through the bureaucracy and the d.c. circuit. as i said, in short, unlike the first two years of the obama administration, there is now a legislative check

you have growing numbers of senate democrat, house democrats jumping on board with legislation to delay or change or make sure that people can keep their health insurance. on the other hand, they have been told by the white house that this website is going to be fixed by the end of november. i think some are stringing this out. they're hoping it does get fixed before they have to pull the pin on any legislation. if it doesn't get fixed, they're going to be in a much tougher spot. but the groundwork is being laid to actually make some big moves here. >> that's the thing, i mean, i don't see them, any of these democrats, proposal real substantive changes to the bill. these are token gestures. well, we'll just wait for six weeks before the enrollment period or something. or we'll delay the penalty for a few weeks. none of that addresses the real heart of the legislation. that's the problem. >> no, that's right. what you're going to see, next week, for instance, is house republicans are going to try to actually put them on the spot, exert some pressure. so house republicans are going to hav

go to citi.com/thankyoucards >>> senate democrats have now pulled the trigger on what's called the nuclearion in a dramatic and historic move just moments ago. the senate voted to change the rules of the united states senate making it easier to end filibusters. the senate majority leader, harry reid, say his took the action because of republicans blocking president obama's nominees. republicans, however, call it a power grab and a smoke screen to shift focus away from obama care. let's discuss what's going on. republican senator rand paul of kentucky is joining us from capitol hill. we just heard harry reid make the case for this historic decision. i want to get your reaction. go ahead, senator. >> i think what we really need is an anti-bullying ordinance in the senate. i mean, now we've got a big bully, harry reid says he's just going to break the rules and make new rules. never been done this way before. typically you have to have a two-thirds vote to change the rules and there has to be consensus and there's tradition. but he's breaking the rules to get his way. meanwhile, we have a bil

and another senate democrat is introducing a new bill to delay the health care law mandate. joining us more eamon javers. what is your take? did president obama really apologize for breaking his promise about keeping his policies? >> that's the question here, larry. the question is was this an apology or not. this is a sound bite that is getting a lot of attention tonight, a lot of commentary on twitter and here in washington, what is exactly the president saying. why is he saying it. the president as you say was asked by chuck todd whether or not -- or he was asked about all those people in the individual markets here who have been forced all of their off plans because they were not conforming with the obama care standards. here's what he had to say. >> i am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me. we've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and that we'll do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this. >> a lot of folks are saying that amounts

and 30 minutes later, down the same hallway, senate democrats held their press conference to announce their gay rights legislation. and, in fact, this afternoon, the senate went on to take a vote on the democrats' bill. but the difference between the parties is not just that one party is liberal and one party is conservative. that one party is pro-gay rights and one party is anti-gay rights or one party is pro-choice and the other one is pro-life. that's not actually the most interesting difference between the parties right now. what is fascinating between the two parties right now is that the democrats are essentially totally unified on these kinds of issues right now. and for the republicans, it is complete chaos. take the employment nondiscrimination act today, which is voted on in the senate. right now, federal law says you can't get fired just because of your race. you can't get fired just because of your gender or your religion. the employment nondiscrimination act, which was voted on in the senate today, that would say you also can't get fired just because you are gay. it would

democrats vote for that. if that vote is big enough. there could be pressure on the senate to do that as well. >> i would say there will be 20, 30, maybe more house democrats who will vote for that as political cover. i want to ask joe about a sentence the president said on his policy statement. he said, obviously, we didn't do a good enough job in terns of how we drafted the law, crafted the law, unquote. wait a minute. they knew exactly what they were doing when they crafted the law. am i wrong? >> no, actually, he's sorry they're mad they're losing their policies. i'm sorry you feel that way. >> "if i offended you at all, i apologize." >> this bill is designed to destroy those policies. that's why they're disappearing. this is what they wanted to do all along. they decided those policies were inferior. even if people preferred them and they wanted to get rid of them and substitute in new policies that are government approved. >> they wanted to destroy the individual insurance market as it currently exists, fade away. that is to drive everybody in the exchanges. that was

senate democrats hitting the red button, stripping republicans of one of their most powerful weapons in the senate. will the democrats live to regret it? >>> the world lead. iran looking at a nuclear option of a much more literal sort today. secretary of state john kerry claiming a deal is close to roll back iran's nuclear program but we have been hearing that for weeks. >>> also in politics, i must be slipping. we're almost a full minute into the show and i haven't mentioned chris christie's 2016 prospects yet. the new jersey governor becomes the boss of bosses, today taking over a key leadership role that can only increase his profile and power. good afternoon. i'm jake tapper. welcome to the "the lead," coming to you live from capitol hill in washington, d.c. i want to get to the big news of the day. senate democrats employ the so-called nuclear option. first, it's also a significant day on wall street. let's quickly go to alison kosik on the new york stock exchange. the markets just closed. what's the big news? >> a big milestone for the dow. the dow not just hitting 16,000 for th

coming up - senate democrats go nuclear. will the filibuster rule changes lead to consequence, and harmeli aregawi tracks the stop stories. >> we consider american food may be changing - i'll tell you what, coming up. >> join the conversationment >> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america power of the people until we restore our fr . >>> the senate made history thursday, stepping away from constitutional power of advise and consent on presidential appointments to a diminished power called advise and confirm. after a debate the senate voted 52-48 to end the minority party's use of the filibuster to block appointments to everything but the supreme court. it's been known as the nuclear option. most presidential appointees can be confirmed with 51 votes snowed of 60 required. >> harry reid and president obama after the vote insisted the change was

president obama, vice president biden and more than a dozen senate democrats met to discuss the disastrous obama care rollout. these are vulnerable democrats facing voters next year. and the word is they are frustrated, to put it mildly. we have fox team coverage tonight. mike emanuel looks at kathleen sebelius on capitol hill again today. carl cameron on how obama care impacted last night's elections and how the gop plans to capitalize on it. but we begin with chief white house correspondent ed henry on that unexpected and pretty long meeting for this white house. hi, ed. >> reporter: good evening. a democratic source tells me tonight that some of the senators in this meeting with the president floated the idea of a delay of up to one year for enrollment in fines. the president did not agree to that. but i'm told these senators felt it was a constructive meeting. he listened. the big question now is, is there going to be a delay of a few months or something like that? president obama conferred late today with michael bennett just moments after they wrapped up a dramatic closed-door meetin

sixteen democratic senators of the white house. tell this president to see the light. considerable irritation with the way he is running the government, certainly obamacare. >> everyone is selling and, if you like your health care plan, you keep it. we don't need it. if this were any great executive, a great leader, and he saw this calamity. he would say to my shut it down and we will start over. this is not up to my standards and i am sending this down. that promise you that i will fix it. lou: i was talking with the new york police officer some months ago. he said, what is the deal with obama? he does not know of the irs, obamacare. he does not know anything, but is suddenly he knew all about the police department in cambridge and all about mr. martin in florida. this is a ridiculous stance, posture for this administration. >> he is just finding out about everything. do surveillance on our government. >> i agree. the last time i was here i said this, and i will say it again. obamacare was never designed to work. this is a bystander president. he does not know anythin

unprecedented republican obstruction, aided specifically by historic manipulation of the filibuster, senate democratsay and may forever change the way business is done in the united states congress. this was senator reid just hours ago? >> the american people believe congress is broken. the american people believe the senate is broken. i believe the american people are right. during this congress, the 113th congress, the united states wasted an unprecedented amount of time on procedural hurdles and partisan obstruction. time to change the senate before this institution becomes obsolete. >> in a receipt or cal twist worthy of cirque du soleil he managed to link to failures of obama care saying washington is broken and democrats are trying to distract from obama kamplt the showdown come as senate republicans mostly flbd three of president obama's nominees. not because of their views or qualifications but in an attempt to permanently keep democratic judges off the bench. what qualifies as nuclear in the 2013 senate means using a simple 51 vote majority

senate democrat's move today? >> we'll gauge your reaction on twitter at bill hemmer. >> and to me at alisyn camerota. much more reaction, and the move by the senate democrats. >> and running for office on obama care. the head of the republican party and using the botched health care roll out to its advantage and more. >> we'll make 2014 about obama care and tattoo obama care on each of their forehead and that's what it will be about. we'll make it about obama care. r clients trade and invest their own way. with scottrade's smart text, i can quickly understand my charts, and spend more time trading. their quick trade bar lets my account follow me online so i can react in real-time. plus, my local scottrade office is there to help. because they know i don't trade like everybody. i trade like me. i'm with scottrade. (announcer) ranked highest in investor satisfaction with self-directed services by j.d. power and associates. to share with family. [ woman 2 ] to carry on traditions. [ woman 3 ] to come together even w

meeting where the democratic senators came to meet with the president and worked behind closed doors i am sure they were very respect fful but they have to be nervous from from some of the election results last night. >> 14 democrat senators were in there. do you have any more details about that meetling? >> 15 of them. i talked to people who were in the room and they were saying there was frustration among the senate democrats. it is beyond the rollout they are not getting enough information and not enough help from the administration in terms of pushing back and explaining this to the american people. specifically the next shoe to drop is what kind of a delay is there going to be in the enrollment deadline. you have colorado who is an ally he is not a critic. he put out a statement that they have to do more with the privacy, people's social security, et cetera. he wants the enrollment deadline pushed beyond march 2014. he didn't specify how far. the other thing another democrat of alaska told us he has been screaming at the white house his words yelling at them to do a

you had a lot of reluctant senate democrats who didn't want to change the rules. who remembered coming to this agreement in 2005 and wanted to stick with it. but over time, they became really convinced that this is a republican party that's lawless, that's not playing. by any rules known to man. >> and do you think it was the judicial appointments that broke the camel's back, not even the chuck hagel nomination, but it was actually not a personality or a policy, it was simply the

coming up today's senate democrats told the so-called nuclear option changing senate filibuster rules but that still may not be enough to stop republican efforts to sabotage the obama presidency so maybe it's time to let the right split away from the rest of america and put an end to republican obstructionism once and for all. more on that tonight's. dramas that can be ignored. stories of those the few still notice. the faces changing the world. to picture those two days these days. and from around the globe. i think. the word like. did you know the price is the only industry specifically mention of the constitution and. that's because a free and open prize is critical to our democracy shred albus. in fact the single biggest threat facing our nation today is the corporate takeover of our government and across several we've been a hydrogen right hand full of transnational corporations that will profit by destroying what our founding fathers once told us about my job market and on this show we reveal the big picture of what's actually going on in the world we go beyond identifying the p

i would be looking to change the subject, change the subject just as senate democrats have been doing with their threats of going nuclear and changing the senate rules on nominations. if i were a senator from oregon, for example, which hasn't enrolled a single person, a single person for the obamacare exchange, i'd probably want to talk about something else, too. but here's the problem with this latest distraction. it doesn't distract people from obamacare. it reminds them of obamacare. it reminds them of all the broken promises. it reminds them of the power grab. it reminds them of the way democrats set up one set of rules for themselves and another for everybody else. one set of rules for them and another for everybody else. actually, this is all basically the same debate. and rather than distract people from obamacare, it only reinforces the narrative of a party that is willing to do and say just about anything to get its way. willing to do or say just about anything to get its way. because that's just what they're doing all over again. once again, senate democrats are threatening

and we don't have to go back to 2006 to find examples of senate democrats using the rules of the senate to stop passage of what many of us deemed bad legislation. just last year, these recollections prevented an adoption of an amendment that would have essentially prevented the e.p.a. from protecting waters under the clean water act. we stopped an amendment to allow loaded and concealed weapons on lands managed by the army corps of engineers as a minority with minority votes. as minority votes, we stopped some -- we stopped legislation that would av allowed some individuals who were deemed mentally incompetent access to firearms. that's just the last year. removing these minority protections risks that in the future important civil and political rights might just disappear because a majority agree that they should. and let us not kid ourselves. the fact that we changed the rules today just to apply to judges and executive nominations does not mean the same precedent won't be used tomorrow or the next year or the year after to provide for the end of a filibuster on legislation, on bills

. >> senate democrats will be there to talk about health care reform. abc's kristin fisher joins us, now, with all the details. good morning, kristin. >> reporter: good morning, diana and john. senate democrats knew the health care enrollment numbers would be low. the white house had been saying that for weeks. yesterday, when we finally got the hard numbers, they were even worse than expected. the numbers are out and they're not pretty. only 106,000 americans signed up for health coverage through president obama's health care law. far less than the 500,000 that the administration had hoped for. the new numbers for the botched launch of the law, are giving republicans new fuel in their efforts to repeal it. >> when you step back and look at the totality of this, i don't think it's ever going to work. >> reporter: even before the numbers came out, the white house blamed the website's many glitches. >> i can only tell you we fully expected the number would be lower than anticipated because of the significant challenges caused by the website. >> reporter:

senate mantle leader harry reid and other senior democrats say they have simply had enough of republican filibuster threats. and they're invoking what is known as the nuclear option. it would dramatically alter senate rules to allow just 51 votes, a simple majority to overcome a filibuster. let's listen in to senator mcconnell as he continues to make his case. >> judicial nominees, effectively changing them for all judicial nominees, including the supreme court, as senator grassley pointed out just yesterday. so, look, i realize this sort of wishful thinking might appeal to the uninitiated newcomers in the democratic congress who have served exactly zero days in the minority, but the rest of you guys in the conference should know better. those of you who have been in the minority before should know better. let's remember ow we got here. let's remember that it was senate democrats who pioneered, who literally pioneered the practice of filibustering circuit court nominees and who have been its biggest proponents in the very recent past. after president bush was elected, they even held a re

instead we're bringing wasted hours and wasted days between filibuster. >> senate democrats are threatening to break the rules of the senate, break the rules of the senate in order to change the rules of the senate and over what? >> democrats say of all the filibusters ever invoked, more than half have come during the obama administration. >>> a giant headache for the company and union workers as giant grocery stores try to open a new location in d.c.'s shah neighborhood. the workers -- shaw neighborhood. the workers still don't have a contract so giant is bringing new jobs and also new workers. >> what we want to do is keep the health care we've got and to get wages, livable wages where we can afford to live in a city like washington, d.c. and surrounding suburbs. >> we're currently at the negotiating table and working to come up with a fair and equitable contract for all parties involved while at the same time doing what the realities of the market conditions. >> the deadline for a deal is december 20. giant says they hired 184 new employees, 161 of which are d.c. residents. >>> people ga

a number of senators, democrats and republicans, have offered their own amendments on iran, and they've done a couple of amendments in the defense authorization bill. and i know that other senators also have their own sanctions bills that they would like to move forward. i will support a bill that would broaden the scope of our current petroleum sanctions, place limitations on strayed with strategic sectors of the iranian economy that pursuit its ambitions. while i support the administration's diplomatic efforts, i believe we need to leave our legislative session options open to act on new bipartisan sanctions bill in december shortly after we return. mr. president, i would note the absence of a quorum. the president pro tempore: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the president pro tempore: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the president pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president. the american people believe congress is broken. the american people believe the senate is broken. and i be

. >> senate democrats go nuclear. >> this is not a very proud day in the history of the senate. >> the president had to compromise on immigration if -- reform. >> sexual assaults in the military. a senate bill targets the chain of command. rex the retaliation was worse from the -- then the assault. >> with an eye toward 2014. stopming together to obamacare is the essence of pragmatism. >> is a deal with -- is a deal possible? >> the kennedy assassination. it has been 50 years. harry reid was mad as hell and he was not going to take it anymore. the senate majority leader pushed a button on the nuclear option. that is ma called for a vote to change senate rules by a simple majority vote. joined republicans to join the move. reid said republicans forced his hand after what he called unprecedented use of the filibuster on three of president obama's nominees to the ac circuit court of appeals. the move short-circuits filibusters on most presidential nominees except for those from the u.s. supreme court. >> most important and most dangerous restructuring since thomas jefferson wrote them. >>

plus, a growing number of senate democrats are calling for a rewrite of the law. hour to talk about her new plan. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> we're following the

but as you just spelled out very well, the senate democrats changed these rules, and what it's going to lead to now is probably more acrimony. essentially what senate republicans said today to harry reid, it's okay. congratulations you changed the rules. wait until there's a republican president and that republicans become in charge in the senate. guess what. they may change the rules on legislation, and they may change the rules on supreme court nominees. and there will be a whole lot of people like clarence thomas and more clarence thomases on there. so, brian, this is going to lead to more partisan fighting. >> just what we needed to washington. chuck todd from the white house lawn tonight. chuck, thanks. >>> tonight the obama administration is pushing back hard on reports that thousands of u.s. troops could remain in afghanistan for another decade or more as part of a deal now being debated in that country. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel has that report tonight from kabul. >> reporter: on patrol over kabul with the afghan air force. security tight. more than 2,000 t

senate obstruction continued unabated for seven more months until democrats were able to change senate rules to allow for votes on executive nominations. in july, after obstructing dozens of nominees, and some for years, republicans once again promised that they would end the unprecedented obstruction. , nothingat the senate has changed since july. republicans have continued their deliberate obstruction. they have continued this is if no agreement had been reached. there are currently 75 executive branch nominations ready to be debated by the senate. the average is 140 days for confirmation. to the agency that safeguards the water that my children and grandchildren drink, they have waited almost 900 days for confirmation. july that the senate should be confirming nominees to ensure the proper functioning of government. consistent obstruction by the republican caucus has turned consent into denying abstract. been filibustering a nominee for the secretary of defense for the first time in history. they also blocked a member of congress for an administration position for the first time --

it's democrats in the senate, and then all the democrats in the house.of their political viability and ultimately for the president. if he wants to have -- get a lot more done at the end of his second term, he is going to want to have more democrats in congress. that's a basic fact of politics. >> absolutely. the other interesting facet to this is that he's doing this administratively. he's not taking it to congress or to the senate. senator mary landrieu who is a supporter of obama care, supporter of president obama, was going to float a bill to fix this problem but now the president has decided he doesn't need that? >> reporter: yeah. we should say this is very similar to what mary landrieu is proposing. what my source had said is that this would just be for a year. basically, it would bridge the gap that the people who lost their insurance would get it back. that is really part of the big panic out there, that people are getting cancellation policies. and they aren't able to sign up for obama care because of problems with the website and so forth. mar

the division among republicans and democrats coming really to a boil this hour. >> indeed. senate majority leader harry reid is fed up with republican filibuster threats. he and other democratic leaders invoking what's known as the nuclear option. >> what does it mean? it would change a very important rule in the u.s. senate and allow just a simple majority, 51 votes to overcome a filibuster. reid says the change is needed to keep the senate from becoming obsolete. >> but republicans say, it's a bunch of pointless drama. chief congressional correspondent dana bash is on capitol hill with the details. drama or necessary? >> reporter: it depends who you ask, how's that a dodge to the question? this is something that has been boiling for some time. when you look at the to-ing and fro-ing and the partisanship and tension about filibusters, blocking a president's nom fine. since it's a democratic president, the the republicans and minority able to use their power of the philly buster to block the president's nominees. there's no question that when george bush was in the white house and

the prospects are very strong that the democrats will lose the senate next year and there is an excellent chance of losing the white house. and the democrats will absolutely rue the day because they not only will allow a republican majority which will come one day anyway to get its nominees through, but chuck grassley has said that when republicans come into you power, they're going to include supreme court nominees. and that will be a devastating blow to the liberals on the court and to the liberals in the country. so i don't think testimonies will remember this day with any joy in the near future. >> how much do you think this had to do with obama care? some republican lawmakers think it had a lot to do with it. >> it surely is a way to have something to talk about, some victory to bring home in probably the worst month for the democrats in a decade. excluding the 2010 election. but i do think it was an issue that was roiling. they do want to have the power to put judges in because they are losing on all the other elements. so it was their desire to leave a legacy, but it is a very shor

and they are all there and the chairman of the democratic senate committee michael bennett of colorado met with the president first and prepared him and you will get a lot of scared and unhappy democrats nothing phases the mind of a politician than the theft not getting reelected. >> thank you. >> it started with the website meltdown and rippled out from there. and now there is newly released documents that show that the administration really knew that the site would likely crash and a report from hhs. shoes that stress tests were done on the system the day before the launch and they could only handle 1100 users coming in the site in any given moment and according to the official, hss was expecting to draw 60,000 users. do the math, that is a problem. >> we are learning that the state of delaware, four people reportedly signed up and enrolled and paid money for obama care. associated press said officials blame website glitches and background checks for the workers. they have created accounts and 31 completed applications without buying a health care plan. >> meanwhile, the number getti

having spent some time with you over the last two years, absolutely. >> senate democrats are already >> not toward the president. >> thank you both. to go facebook or twitter to weigh in on our fireback question. did the president's apology matter to you? right now 23% of you say yes. 77% say no. i think somebody is stacking that. the debate continues online. we want to congratulate newt gingrich on the publication of his new book, "breakout." >> tune in monday for another edition of "crossfire." erin burnett up next. >>> the president apologizes but does he have a plan for the americans who lost coverage because of obama care in a stunning admission today. >>> plus a super typhoon stretching more than 1,000 miles, slams into the philippines. right now the sun is just coming up. there has been no communication for hours from the hardest hit areas. >>> and did lee harvey oswald act alone when he assassinated john f. kennedy? why john kerry has

democrat senators must help republicans passed legislation to limit the damage of obamacare. --not, those who choose who to ignore the plight of millions of americans should be replaced next november i those who will act. thank you. time aseline kennedy's first lady was described as never before. international fame and the tragedy of a grieving widow all within three years. watch our program tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern and sunday at noon on c-span. monday, our series continues. >> mrs. johnson loved to show off the texas country and her home. the guest to the ranch would also often gather here in the den and various heads of state came to visit. we speak to her connection to the room here. one of the things she wanted to highlight is that native american heritage here in the hill country, and we have a small collection of arrowheads over here. she had an eye for copper and collected various items through the years and had gifts from various friends. mrs. johnson gave the tour of the house in 1968 where she featured the china you see here purchased in mexico, very colorful.

tomorrow. >> reporter: we've seen a numb of senate democrats to offer plans to get away out of obamacare crisis. the latest, senator jeanne shaheen, democrat of new hampshire, mark udall, democrat from colorado. they would allow legislation to allow consumers to stay on the current health care through the end of 2015 there are a variety of plans out there. senate democrats are saying to the white house, pick one we can use and go forward with. martha. martha: shaheen and udall under pressure at home. we're seeing a lot of that movement from the members of the house and senate. republicans are set to vote on their plan as well, mike, that would allow people to keep their health insurance. it is slightly different. when do we expect that vote. >> reporter: we expect the house to vote tomorrow. a lot of democrats saying to the white house. you need to give us an option or we'll jump on the option from fred upton, republican from michigan, which would trapped father all current health care plans a lot of critics say that would in effect gut the obamacare law. a b

. >>> a major shift of power in the senate. democrats drop the so-called nuclear option - preventing republicans from filibustering, blocking presidential nominations >> uncertainty in afghanistan. surprise comments from afghan president hamid karzai may jeopardise a deal to keep u.s. troops in the country. >> an 85-year-old u.s. war veteran detained in north korea. he is a tourist, not threat. >> the president has been shot, they are bringing him to the emergency rooms >> two surgeons called in to save president kennedy's life - a moment, 20 years ago, that changed the course of history. . >>> welcome to al jazeera america. an historic turning point in the decade-long debate about the filibuster rule. in a power play senate democrats pushed the button on the nuclear option. majority leader harry reid triggered the role change. more from the white house on the controversial change. >> the senate likes to call itself the world's greatest body. after changing a 100-year-old rule that governed the rule around filibuster, the chamber is in f

he says the nuclear option taken last week by senate democrats made things worse. legislative impact of the nuclear option and the first chance for retribution by the gop will be on the budget." mr. calender is one of the few who's worked for the house and senate budget committees and writes regularly on fiscal and budget issues. stan, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> we are at some deadlines that actually you sort of said we were going to end up at, which is they would punt, punt, punt, maybe with a shutdown, but it still wouldn't get resolved until january. okay. you just heard chris van hollen. we've got ten concurrent days that the house and senate -- excuse me e -- four concurrent days that the house and senate are in session together before january 15th. where are we? >> well, remember, they don't actually have to vote on a deal by december 13th. that's the deadline they were given in the legislation for the conference committee. if they come up with something by december 13th, congress could still stick around to vote on it in december if they wanted

senator an equal amount of importance in the chamber. the idea any of them can come up the works is sort of what makes it a special place. now the democrats have said the majority rule can change the rules of the senate and that in such a significant way changes the way this chamber is going to work. >> so, sue, what does it look forward -- the supreme court, what does it mean for supreme court nomination? >> that's one of the big questions and part of the reason they didn't go nuclear and walked to the line and walked back was this idea you could go too far. they drew the line. what they did is it only changes executive nominations like officials and all but the judges of the supreme court and it's a slippery slope argument. and republicans said if you open the pandora's box you're changing the game by which any future majority can change the rules. democrats said they don't intend to change the rules for supreme court nominees but in two years, in four years, in six years, it's certainly a possibility at this point. >> what about the thing in the past, what made people step back was you'll be in the minority sooner or later and then it

>>> senate democrats vote the nuclear option, they vote filibusters but it comes with a warning. >> my friends on the other side of the aisle, you'll regret this. you'll regret it a lot sooner than you think. >>> phone-friendly skies. the government imposes new rules to let you use your cell phone during air flight. >> apparently official. president kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. central standard time. >> and on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of john f. kennedy, a witness to the tragedy shares her story. >> i was the last film of the limousine before he got shot. captioning funded by cbs >>> this is the "cbs morning news" for friday, november 22nd, 2013. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. well, the senate has changed the way it does business. senate democrats approved a historic rules change that all but ends the use of a filibuster to end most president nominations. president obama welcomed the shift but republicans are ward s precedent has been set. susan mcginnis is in washington with the details. susan, good morning. >> anne-marie, good morning. this rul

it was opposed by all republican senators and three democrats. presiding senator, vermont democrat patrick leahy, made it official. >> so, under the precedent set by the senate today november 21, 2013, the threshold for cloture on nominations-- not including those to the supreme court of the united states-- is now a majority. >> ifill: since 1975, it's taken 60 votes to overcome filibusters against presidential nominees, but today majority leader harry reid invoked the so-called "nuclear option," allowing confirmation with a simple majority. republicans, he said, have abused the process. >> the american people are fed up with this kind of obstruction and gridlock. in the history of our country, some 230-plus years, there have been 168 filibusters of executive and judicial nominations. half of them have occurred during the obama administration. >> ifill: republicans disputed the numbers. minority leader mitch mcconnell insisted the senate has confirmed 215 of president obama's nominees and rejected only two. >> this was nothing more than a power gr

senate is now permanently change. if your point is to have the democrats done some of the answers, absolutely. but the republicans have taken it to an entirely new level, that's simply the reality. >> senator hoeven, you were elected in 2010. >> 2010. >> over the last five years since president obama was elected, the number of filibusters have risen dramatically. 82 of the 168 blocked are filibustered presidential nominees have occurred under this republican minority. is that why you came to the united states senate? you're not even making substantive arguments against these people, you're just blocking. >> but the reality is the change that the democrats made. this is really obama care, too, they passed it only with democrat votes. we have seen how that has worked out. to take it off obama care, we in essence have obama care 2, they breaks rules, changing it with only democrat votes. if you look at presidentacy nominations, president bush had more of his nominations held up. >> that's actually not true according to the numbers. >> we've turned down two. where's the advise and consent if you ha

senate's passed it. there'll be a couple more of those because the democrats have put themselves in a very difficult positionama care is not a complete failure. it won the republicans the house in 2010. it's going to win them the senate in 2014. not too many pieces of legislation have done that much good for the american people. since clinton raised taxes unilaterally in '93. >> let's talk about political implications of this. there are millions of people being denied coverage because decisions that republicans are making. >> because of the law. because of obama's law. >> take a look at the map. >> governors who don't care about their poor citizens. >> look at those red states. those are all states where republican governors and republican legislatures are refusing to implement medicaid. >> implement? expand. explain to people how much they steal from the american people in federal taxes when the governor gets to say i'm going to spend some money. what's the ratio of federal money that comes in. >> how much do we pay because people don't have health care and they show up at the emergency room. that's $1,000

would not have passed a bill for funding the defense department also coming out of capitol hill senate democrats broke a two hundred twenty five year tradition today when they voted to eliminate the use of a filibuster against president obama's pick to fill executive and judicial positions now those nominees will require a simple majority in order to get appointed instead of the sixty one votes they needed before this vote has all but paved the way for federal reserve chair nominee janet yellen to take over for been a key come february today the senate banking committee approved elin's nomination on a vote fourteen to eight her nomination has now been sent to the full senate for a vote if confirmed janet yellen would be the first woman to ever hold that position and one of the most powerful women ever in the world of finance parian boring is at the capitol to bring us the latest. well delon passed she had fourteen senators voted for eight voted against is out of twenty two members of the senate banking committee one democrat voted against her and three republicans voted for her so there's a boat