time talking about fighting terror, syria, iran and american leadership abroad. and also the need to combat cyber terrorism. >> no foreign nation no hacker should be able to shutdown our networks, steal our trade secrets or invade the privacy of families, especially our kids. we are making sure the

syria but perhaps be engaged in a different way. reconsider tighten up its security and look at its strategic condition with iran and syria on its side and having to maintain its credibility to some extent with its supporters and with others and with israel in particular. but hezbollah has always talked about in recent years has talked about a deterrent situation with israel. they are very careful not to spark off a war like happened in 2006. but they are seeming the defend lebanon against israeli incursions. the problem is israelis fly reconnaissance and drones over lebanon nearly every day. there are contradictory situations here but hezbollah is a very able group. they're not super-human. >> okay. >> so they're dealing with the challenges this they have now. >> all right rami, thank you very much. we'll have to leave it there speaking to us from beirut. >>> as we reported, a general from iranian guard was also killed. formed in 1979 it was to counter the military and against a possible coup. now it spreads much further own army navy, air force. its paramilitary force is kews force.e kbs force. i asked him for tehran's response to

the topics we understand -- well they are pretty self explanatory, syria, iran saudi is unhappy with negotiations with iran. yemen, and the houthi takeover. and the islamic state of course. what we were told wasn't been on the agenda is human rights. nor indeed oil prices which some could have expected would be on the agenda. but it's a very brief visit, only about four hours, then they will all head back to the states. >> as you say the relationship has been strained on issues like syria and iran. can this visit reset the relationship? >> reporter: well, i think a reset maybe asking too much for one dinner and four hours. there are different levels there is cooperation on the islamic state. although here in washington there is concern about whether money is going towards jihadi groups from saudi arabia. there is a fascinating talk given by a senior member of the defense department -- the under secretary of defense for intelligence last week he was talking about yenman who was talking about there's cooperation between the u.s. and yemen houthis. which isn't probably going to take sau

a obama spent considerabl time talki about fighting tror, syria, iran and american edership abroad. the need to combat cyber terrorm.>> nooi naon no hacker should be able to shutdown our nworks, steal our trade seets or inve the pvacy of filies especiallyur kids. we are making sure the governnt can cbat cyber reats as we haveone to coat terrorism. >> and calling on congress to tter meet the cyber rrorisc threats. >> and speaking to a the house in republicacontro both of ouses. ad t response delivered by e freshman ceer. > americans haveeen hurting. u when we commaed solutions tooft whingn responded wth e same stale mindset that l faid policies like bamacare it is ainet that gave us political talng points not rousutions. > there are a number of irst-year lawmakers in our ea. congresonalelegatn attendinghe firsttate of the uon address. w gorction from so tem tit. > the idea that we' going to rermur tax code to make it mo fair to make it more equitae and make sure work is rewarded and pay is incredibly iortant. ad ihouthat aspect of his sech washe stngest, the rt w most excited toer ha

price of oil going down stretched in syria, iran is simply not flush. and i don't think wants it this time around. >> aaron miller, thanks very much. elise, we'll get back to you later, elise labott on the border between israel and lebanon. >>> coming up a potential deal in the works to swap a jordanian prisoner a jordanian air force pilot for two isis hostages. we have new details coming in. >>> and a string of bomb threats targeting several flights here in the united states. why investigators may have a hard time tracking down the culprit. when you ache and haven't slept... you're not you. tylenol® pm relieves pain and helps you fall fast asleep and stay asleep. we give you a better night. you're a better you all day. tylenol®. >>> there's another developing story we're watching right now. the latest in the hostage demands by isis for a japanese journalist and a jordanian fighter pilot. the isis dictated deadline is now passed for a prisoner exchange. jordan agreed to release an iraqi female terrorist in chaeng for the pair. joining us with the latest

and obama spent considerable time talking about fighting terror, syria, iran and american leadershipo hacker should be able to shutdown our networks, steal our trade secrets or invade the privacy of families, especially our kids. we are making sure the government can combat cyber threats as we have done to combat terrorism. >> and calling on congress to better meet the cyber terroristic threats. >>> and speaking to a the house in republican control, both of houses. and the response delivered by the freshman center. >> americans have been hurting. but when we commanded solutions too often washington responded with the same stale mindset that led to failed policies like obamacare. it is a mindset that gave us political talking points not serious solutions. >> there are a number of first-year lawmakers in our area. congressional delegation attending the first state of the union address. we got reaction from some of them tonight. >> the idea that we're going to reform our tax code to make it more fair to make it more equitable and make sure work is rewarded and pay is incredibly importan

now president obama also spent a considerable amount of time talking about fighting terrorists syria iranrican leadership. he focused on the need to combat cyber terrorism. we'll be hearing a lot of analysis on his speech in the next coming days, matt. >> particularly o and "gma." thank you erin. >>> pennsylvania governor tom wolf gets to work today on this first full day of office for him. the york county businessman took the oath yesterday in harrisburg. the democrat did not sugar coat his vision. >> for the next four years my administration will be dedicated to three simple things: first jobs that pay second schools that teach and third, a government that works. (applause). >> ♪♪ >> at his inaugural gala last night in hershey, wolf said it was time to fulfill his promises. he must negotiate with a republican led legislature and deal with a projected $2.3 billion deficit. the gop is pushing back on wolf it's plan to tax natural gas drilling to boost education funding. >> let's turn to dave murphy. people wondering about this snow coming in later. >> coming in during the afternoon mainly

if you look at the world at the map you have yemen today, libya, iraq afghanistan syria iran signing a military deal with russia today, troubles in ukraine, what do you say about this president's foreign policy? >> he went to cairo and said if we work out more things would be better. he did not leave a residual force behind in iraq. when the ukrainians asked for military assistance to defend themselves we sent blankets and meals ready to eat. i think our adversaries around the world think america is in retreat. so they react accordingly feeling that they can be pretty aggressive. take the iran nuclear issue. we already had two extensions. there will probably be a third. the iranians know the president loves to talk. >> will sanctions go forward? >> i hope so. what the iranians need to know and we can be helpful to the president on even though he doesn't want it is to say to them if at the end of the current discussion supposedly to end this summer there is no deal you get tougher sanctions. you don't get them now but you get them if there is no outcome. >> you don't think it blows up

, about iraq. >> the reason why you have a problem in syria is because of iransad. why is lebanon not free today? because of iran through its proxy hezbollah. iran is responsible for the murder of hundreds of american soldiers in iraq and afghanistan. >> woodruff: but robert kaplan sees the outlines of a different relationship emerging where former enemies the u.s. and iran now have >> woodruff: why is now the time >> the rise of the islamic state has given new urgency to the situation. situation because the islamic state is an enemy of the united states but is also the enemy of shi'a iran. so that we have a cenchence of interests now. >> iranians and americans are the leading regional international force fighting isis. americans are leading the air strikes, and iranians are leading the ground strikes. >> woodruff: he believes iran could also be helpful in afghanistan and he says it wouldn't be the first time. >> you can see the same history during war on terror 2001 in afghanistan. iranian army security establishments, they were cooperating shoulder by shelter

working as well with, and that isil has gained ground, and our interests diverge in both iraq the syria iran is standing by syrian leader bashar al asaad and has throughout the war. what would it mean for the region if the role of the u.s. diminishes? well it means that iran's influence sort of extends and expands. it means those allies of the united states will be significantly weakened. i think the big question here, you are right to point to the get of syria syria in many ways is the center of all this had it not been for the chaos the war crimes in syria iraq would not have suffered the plow that it did this past summer with the rise of isis, so i think the bigging missing link, and unfortunately i think will come back to haunt president obama. is his broad failure to do the right thing on syria from the beginning and his on going reluctant to get involved and support moderate rebels. effectively means that country continues to implode, continues to break apart and continues to allow iran to determine the pace of events not only in syria but throughout the broader region. i think this is

a light on the story that throughout the middle east, the number of christians who have left syria, iraq, iran, even -- where there has been significant christian minority there, giving that up in palestine, around jerusalem. any thoughts on what needs to happen there? >> well, the interfaith community has tried to address that. i saw where this rabbi brought together jews and christians and even muslim, hindus from all different backgrounds out of, i think he's out of new york and so i think he's trying to make an effort in that area, and i think that has to be constantly done, the interfaith effort. >> you are talking about the value of interfaith dialogue pretty much everything. >> i think that's critical, and respecting other's religion and value in each, i think we have major steps to make in that area. >> indeed. >> anything before we go to break? short one, or you want to come back? >> i think we come back. >> we're going to go out a little early, and have more time with reverend ron swisher. >> maybe we'll wander into 2015 in a minute. ron swisher, a couple other stories that are impor

individuals who are working on this field like syria iran and russia. senior administration officials say that these individuals may not be directly connected to the hack but they are responsible for efforts that undermine and go against the relationship with the u.s. government. now it's not yet known if those individuals have assets in the u.s. but officials say if they do they will be frozen and they hope this generally sends a chilling effect and a clear message. >> libby casey reporting from the white house. heather hurl hurl hurlburt, when the white house says you don't know the intelligence, we can't reveal the evidence because it would reveal methods, why should the public believe that? >> david some folks speaking off the record and talking a little bit more about what that intelligence supposedly is. supposedly this is an entity, a group of hackers that the government and the private firms it works with have been tracking for a number of years that they believe they're responsible for previous attacks that were traced back to north korea from

what has to do is sanctions on ten individuals most of whom are based in places like syria iran and russiasenior administration officials say these individuals may not be directly connected to the hack but they are responsible for efforts that undermine and go against the relationship with the u.s. governmental. it's not yet known if those individuals have assets in the u.s. but officials say if they do they will be frozen and they hope this generally sends a chilling effect and sends a clear message. >> a ship filled with stran stranded migrants. the italian coast guard took control of the ship after the crew put it on auto-pilot and then disappeared. this after another ship bringing almost a thousand migrants to another italian port. simon mcgregor wood has more. >> the ship normally carries livestock it was drifting miles off the italian coast with around 450 migrants on board many from syria including women and children. one used the migrant used the ship's radio to tell the coast guard that no one was steering the ship. the mul doaf moldovan ship. hundreds of migrants appears to be a

iran and saudi arabia. for dominance in the region. it has played out in many different countries. but particularly in syriahere iran is backing president assad and hezbollah and saudi's have been backing the opposition. it plays out everywhere. in yemen, which is now a mess the rebels are backed by iran. they leave iran has stimulated opposition inside saudi arabia. this is their number one enemy. i don't see that changing in the short-term in the longer term if we reach a nuclear agreement with iran and there appears to be some realignment, saudi's will not want to be out on a limb. i don't see that happening. that is a basic rivalry. >> you mentioned domestic politics. john boehner has invited the israeli prime minister to address a joint meeting of congress in the spring. does his action undermine ongoing efforts by the white house to reach that international agreement with iran over its nuclear program? the israelis say it's a cover for developing nuclear weapons. >> this is inappropriate on both sides. for the house republicans to have the prime minister speak at this time is inappropriate. there's an

it's a big thing but syria and iran is the two things would be very helpful to me. to whoever we want to start and i think i need both of your opinions, if possible. >> on iran i don't think anybody knows whether i'm not negotiations will work, but we are in the course of negotiations now. >> correct. >> and i think we should see them out and not take steps, which would destroy the negotiations. >> we were told come in all due respect, sir we were told the first time if we would sign a letter showing that we intended the sanctions would take place that it would, it would weaken the presidency. we went ahead and signed anyway and it hasn't weakened the hand but there's been extensive that we don't really know where we stand as far as the negotiations but that's the hard thing i'm having a problem with. >> it is hard but i think the outlines are sufficiently very complicated but clear that a think we're on the home stretch, and to change our strategy now might work but i wouldn't do it at this stage. >> i understand. >> i would wait and see if the administration is su

about though as we have been talking, as we have been covering the war against isis in iraq and syria, iran popped up playing an interesting role there. now also iran is popping up playing a role as it pertains to yemen. walk me through iran's stance on what's happening right now. >> of course at the core of the matter is the rivalry between iran the great shia power and saudi arabia the leading sunni power, especially in the gulf. the saudis actually consider the iranians were backing the haw think houthis. eventually i think the iranians did come to believe this was a good idea. and they have been caught red handed with ships is being intercepted carrying weapons, ammunition and the like. so they are clearly involved. the interesting thing is that the houthis are a branch of shia islam but not the same kind as the iranians. in fact historically they have had close relations with the sunnis almost unique in the world of islam. so there may be more of a basis for a coalition. but i do believe that the near-term prognosis is for more chaos. and that is going to be quite a problem. the houthi

. >> globally among the many bad folks in the world there seem to be three main countries, syria iran north korea. i call them the sick access. i understand that the official definition of nuclear weapons from our government is, you have the bomb but you also have the delivery system. i want to divide the and talk about the weapon, the bomb itself. does north korea north korea have a bomb of some magnitude? it is just yes or no. >> i wish i could give you a simple yes or no. >> can you say yes or no? >> we know they have continued to work on that flex we all no that. >> i'm not sure. >> do you have an answer? >> i would defer to the state department. >> north korea has conducted nuclear tests. >> they have sent satellites into orbit. >> they have conducted nuclear tests. >> do they have the bomb or not? >> sir i do not no. >> i personally think they have the capability to make a one based upon hearings we have had. looking on the other end, the delivery system the president of north korea says he wants to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile and for some reason he said he wan

. >> now, obama spent considerable time talking about fighting terror, syria iran and american leadership focused on the need to combat cyber terrorism. matt back to you. >> oh, erin, thank you. >>> the world's largest retailer is hoping to boost sales by handing out tax refunds to customers. maribel aber is live at the nasdaq in times square to explain. hey, maribel. >> reporter: hi, matt. wal-mart customers can pick up their tax respect funds in cash at its stores. you'll have to arrange ahead of time with your tax preparer which may charge the feast wal-mart says it's aimed at customers who don't have bank accounts. talking stocks, the stock market ended a choppy trading session with slight gains. futures pointing to a mixed open and wall street will watch for housing numbers later. finally guess what was the most common internet password last year? believe it or not it was 123456 that's according to the research firm slash date tam the next most popular password was simply password. matt and tam hope you guys are more creative than that. >> we don't even use querty any. >> let's take

wanted to droppel down an iran ally in syria. now if iran comes into iraq, that will empower iran and iraq. the original purpose of creating the whole mess in syria would be defeated if iran is united with iraq. iran is in iraq any way because recently iranian general was killed. a full massive invasion so without iran nobody is willing to take any risk to enter into iraq. that's understandable, by the way. >> getting back to this court. where does this leave turkey? i know there is concern there about the kurds and their growing desire for independence. what do they make of this? >> as you know the turkish government has been negotiating with the pkk for two and a half years. >> i'm going to have to interrupt you. we've got government reaction from japan on the hostage crisis. we are hearing one of two hostages may have been killed. let's go to harry fawcett who is in japan. what are you hearing about this? >> reporter: here in tokyo there has been a news conference given about the the kidnapping. they are now sating that not say

since i made concern is learning about syria, iran, sanctions as we are in a tug of war right now. the president has said in a static otherwise we will the subsidy al and all the time has gone by so tellus where we are. having taken in the center of you shall? should this be something the president could use this is the sense of the senate to follow-throughs with his best to work with me? these are things i have not made up my mind but also syria i believe it seems i a our direct leadership and also our air strikes cannot be as effective as they should be. i am understand that i just don't believe we should have massive forces on the ground as three have in the past. strategically we can do certain things. because they could never be cured. >> bed trying to are the syrians that the $5 million is what we set aside for that could be due something different? and the kurds seem to believe was the one to fight in that part of the world and how to read get the turks to participate? with the two things that are very helpful. >> i don't take anybody knows if the negotiations will work that

syria and iran are the two things that would be very helpful to me. i think i need both of your opinions, if possible. >> on iran, i don't think anybody knows whether or not negotiations will work, but we are in the course of negotiations now. i think we should see them out and not take steps which would destroy the negotiations. >> we were told, in all due respect, that the first time if we would sign a letter showing that we intended that these sanctions would take place, it would weaken the president's hand. we went ahead and signed it anyway, and there has been extensions. that is the hard thing i am having a problem with. >> it is hard, but i think the outlines are sufficiently clear now -- very complicated but clear -- i think we are in the home stretch. to change our strategy now might work, but i wouldn't do it at this stage. i would wait and see if the administration is successful. >> doctor, your thoughts on syria, our training and the commitment that we have, whether there might be a better investment somewhere else? >> i am not sure whom>>

saw as the increasing influence of the shia led government in iran the cold war style battle between the two was played in remember monoand syriawhen he was assassinated in 2005 many people claimed the backed syrian government. the iran factor also influenced king abdullah's stance towards the arab spring. he seems to support regime change in libya and to be lukewarm toward the revolution in egypt. and yemen. and saudi arabia cold war reached it's peek in syria what iran clearly backed, king abdul la is one of the staunch ohs supporters of the rebels. but at home, the king confronted his fears a uprising in a different way. he spent win hundred $30 billion on housing jobs, and other social benefits in a bid to win the hearts and minds of the majority in saudi arabia. his calculation works, despite online calls for a day of rage to protest against the lack of democracy, the antigovernment movement never took hold has often been tested. patty control haines reports. the past two u.s. presidents have shown what critics say was a little too much deference to the king abdul la president george w bush did this, president barack obama

syria began the u.s. led air strikes there against i.s.i.l. meanwhile iran, a backer of syrian president bashar al-assad opened nuclear talks with the u.s. which have been extended into 2015. but the u.s. already had its policy plate full with russian president vladimir putin. after the ukrainian protest movement for a pro-west one last winter, russian militias moved into the ukrainian east half. the u.s. targeted top russian officials as well as top russian economy with sanctions. but in july the downing of malaysia airlines flight 17 over ukraine by pro-russian militias further complicatethe crisis. >> russia and president putin has capacity to compel them to cooperation. that is the least they can do. >> putin denied involvement. >> nobody should or does have a right to use this tragedy to achieve their hone selfish objectives. >> a massive group remains parked on the russia-ukraine border. for the first time in 120 years russia knocked u.s. off the top spot of becoming the biggest economy. while the u.s. was responding to the malaysia airlines tragedy in

you've got syria, you've got iran, and you've got north korea. i call them the s.i.k. access, because they're in different parts of the world and they are a little sick. i understand that the official definition of nuclear weapons from our government is you have the bomb, but you also have delivery system. i want to divide that definition and just talk about the weapon, the bomb itself. does north korea have a bomb of some magnitude? ambassador? it's just yes or no. >> um, i wish i could give you a simple yes or no. >> can you say yes or no? i just need a yes or no. either they've got it or they don't have it. >> we know think continue to work on the capabilities. >> do they have the bomb ambassador? i just need an answer. >> i'm not sure i can say that. >> mr. glazer, you got an answer? >> i would defer to the state department on that. >> so you don't know whether they have a bomb or not? >> as ambassador kim stated, north korea has -- well, north korea has conducted nuclear tests. >> and thefr sent satellites into orbit. >> do you have a paper horse? do they have a b

you've got syria, you've got iran and you've got north korea. i call them the s.i.k.access because they're in different parts of the world and they are a little sick. i understand that the official definition of nuclear weapons from our government is you have the bomb, but you also have delivery system. i want to divide that definition and just talk about the weapon, the bomb itself. does north korea have a bomb of some magnitude? ambassador? it's just yes or no. >> um i wish i could give you a simple yes or no. >> can you say yes or no? i just need a yes or no. either they've got it or they don't have it. >> we know think continue to work on the capabilities. >> do they have the bomb, ambassador? i just need an answer. >> i'm not sure i can say that. >> mr. glazer you got an answer? >> i would defer to the state department on that. >> so you don't know whether they have a bomb or not? >> as ambassador kim stated, north korea has -- well, north korea has conducted nuclear tests. >> and thefr sent satellites into orbit. >> do you have a paper horse? do they have a bomb

iran is sending forces in syria civil war and lebanon and yemen. but the deal with iraq is expanding teheran's role further and raising the prospect that iran has exploit the fight with isis to dominate the region. does this strengthen iran and can they be counted on to help or should we have nothing to do with them? >> iran is obstructing us from fighting isis. in iraq for example, because they are sponsoring shia. they are not coming against isis the way we want. and in syria, we can't find moderates to fight with us. and across the arab world they are backing the insurrectionist. iran is fighting isis because of domination with syria and lebanon and we don't see what iran is doing. >> we don't see the intentions of teheran? >> yes, that is a problem. the arabs see iowa ran's long arm in yemen. for example, they are backing a proiranian militia. and they will control yemen. there is a presence over the red sea. iranians are threatening ba hrain with energy implications. and hesbollah is all over the map. and if we defeat isis we'll have hesbollah

this has tremendous strategic value for israel syria, hezbollah and iran and that's what happened today is a real danger. what happens today could see escalation that spirals out of control even though i doubt whether hezbollah would go out of its way at this particular moment to go all the way, all out war. hezbollah, which was at the time as nasrallah the time and place to retaliate againstitsisis attacks on syrian and hezbollah targets. >> okay. thank you very much. talk to you later on this evening. thank you. a march took plates in index square the scene of thelast year's aepts government protests. many said i am from abaka, a town near where it was hit. separatists have denied being behind the attack. russian spoeingzman says petro poroshenko has rejected the pizza plan vladimir peat insent him in a year. the military carried out what it called a mass operation to retake almost all of donetsk airport which it vertirtually lost to separatits. the airport is in ruins but it has taken on symbolic value. it was once a city of millions of people. thousands have left. paul brennan repor

syria. they hold iran and syria responsible for the latest developments after the positions on mt. herman came under attack. as you said rightly defiant and on the streets of what could come. what could this become. for many people this really conjures the spectrum of 2006 for the similar attacks that mushroomed in all out war in lebanon. the consensus is what is the political calculation for the prime minister? what is benjamin netanyahu thinking two weeks before the elections in israel? the hope is cooler heads will prevail. we already had the state department spokesperson speaking out and calling for restraint saying they respect israel's right to defend itself but in this instance that there will be restraint shown. >> nima thank you for that this morning. >>> as the former nfl teams prepare to play in the super bowl aaron hernandez plans to go on trial. opening statements scheduled for today. hernandez is accused of killings odin lloyd. the 12-person jury and 6 alternates are 15 women and 5 men. bill belichick and robert kraft are on the witness list. >>> a reprieve for the de

for example, what could the west be doing to push it further in terms of syria, iran and, in particular, on syria is there merit in russia's view that we ought to draw in bashar assad into negotiations? >> i will start and also finish with that because one of my basic rules i'm sorry, i'm not too generous in this case, is that i would not comment internal electoral processes a few days before the elections. at least in sign of respect of the oldest democracy we have in the world. but on political cooperation with russia on regional conflicts, and in particular on syria, this is one of the most difficult issues i think, to be tackled. and -- and it's going to stay difficult. i'm not saying that this is going to be one of the fields where the cooperation -- political cooperation or political dialogue actually, with russia is going to bring us anything good necessarily and and immediately if ever. one point that we have discussed on the european level with foreign ministers, we spent almost the entire foreign affairs council in december focusing on syria and iraq. is the fact that after no

syria, iraq, iran, the countries you hear about represent no threat to us. >> you don't think iran is a threat to us? >> the threat to us comes from the saudi -- >> you don't think that iran is a threat to the united states? >> i absolutely do not. >> really. >> iran -- they want to be a power, but they are not a threat to us. >> have you never heard of hamas and hezbollah -- >> hamas is a sunni -- hezbollah has not done anything as far as i know since the bombing in the 1980s. it is sunni muslim extremism, bill shiites represent 40% of the middle east population. they are no threat to us. it is sunni muslim extremism funded by saudi arabia, and 9/11, most of the bombings, the embassy bombing that osama bin laden -- >> the kingdom of saudi doesn't fund al qaeda -- >> it the cousin all the high rollers -- saudi arabia, it is the sunnis the sunnis and the extremists. >> what do you do to them? >> pakistan is far less of a threat to us than saudi arabia. >> how many americans have died because of pakistan? how many. >> bill, the people funding the jihad around the world are saudis, they

syria, the u.s.-led air strikes against i.s.i.l. meanwhile iran a backer of syrian bashar al-assad opened nuclear talks with the u.s. which were extended into 2015. the u.s. already had its policy plate full with russian president vladimir putin. after the ukranian protest movement toppled the pro-russian government last winter russian militias moved into the country's eastern half. when crimea voted to secede russia annexed it. u.s. targeted top officials as well as key parts of the economy with sanctions. in july the downing of malaysia airlines flight 17 over ukraine by pro-russian militias complicated the crisis. >> russia and vladimir putin has responsibility to compel them to cooperate. that is the least they can do. vladimir putin denied involvement. >> nobody has a right to use the tragedy to achieve their own selfish objectives. >> a rush of military presence remains parked. like russia china is an ally for the syrian regime. according to the international monetary fund, china knocked the u.s. off the top spot to become the world's larges

iranian influence intruding itself in a whole stretch of states going all the way from iran to the mediterranean. iraq syria lebanon and now as of yesterday yemen to their south. if you look at the map you see our friends, the gulf arabs and jordanians, they are now surrounded by iran and its satellites. and that is happening apart from the nuclear issue. and they look at this and see the united states, this is in the arab view have been abdicated and having withdrawn and now ready to go all the way and to allow iran to go nuclear. >> more with charles in a moment. breaking tonight disturbing news coming out of the nation that is home to one of al qaeda's most dangerous groups. we are getting word that the united states may have just suspended some if not all of its counterterror operations in the country of yemen. it was touted just recently by the president as an example of our counterterrorism strategy after these guys took over yesterday. [ inaudible ] okay. so they're now in charge. we'll go to washington for the breaking details next. charles will be back to weigh in on the new threat in this region.

iran. patti ann: israel's defense minister says the airstrike by israel earlier this month in syria was usefulsetting back efforts by iran and hezbollah, in his words, to open a new front against the jewish state from the golan heights the syrian portion. so is this a proxy war with iran? >> well it has always been a proxy war with iran. you're asking exactly the right question. hezbollah is essentially owned and controlled by the iranians. they are armed, they are financed, they are trained by the iranians and so this is an attempt on the part of the iranians to expand this war that they have been backing since the early 1980s. and so we shouldn't be surprised that this is happening. i think what's more concerning though right now is that inside syria it has been incredibly chaotic. it has been extremely difficult to control and what we now see is irgc, the e heat fighters -- elite fighters of iran that are based there as well as hezbollah along with assad's forces, they are now looking to turn their guns not only at isis and the us in rah front and the other syrian rebels but they're looking

overnight, israel fired back and delivered a warning to hezbollah, syria and even iran.r global affairs correspondent elise labott is near the border. >> reporter: well there's a tense calm over the area right now. military sources say they hope things have calmed down that there won't be an escalation but as you know from covering the region that one wrong move on either side whether it's an israeli soldier or hezbollah fighter on the other side things can easily spiral out of control. israeli prime minister today coming out warning hezbollah and also iran and syria that israel will not accept a new front on its northern frontier along syria, along the lebanese border. very concerned as you mentioned in these recent days after that israeli strike which they have never really copped to by the way, killing those hezbollah commanders and that senior iranian commander as well general. today, netanyahu warned iran saying that it is basically responsible for deploying hezbollah to open up this new front and said iran or whoever did this attack today will pay the price. >> tha

isis has taken over parts of iraq and syria and iran is moving closer towards a nuclear weapon. re is more. >> the saudis are looking at the iranians in the north, the iranians allies which is essentially iraq syria and lebanon on one side and yemen to the south and west under irani dominance and they are scared to death. that is why this is a double attack on us. it is a loss of an ally against al qaeda and a huge gain for iran extending its influence over arab states. >> the king's death did not come to a great surprise but it comes at a time when we are looking at some great challenges in the middle east. do you think that there will be any abrupt changes? >> i think this does not help the lack of stability is such a troubled region and two areas as great successes like yemen as we see those have not been successes but failures. $340 million sunk into that area. saudi arabia has proven to be a crucial ally in gaining stability. i am actually encouraged that they acted so quickly with the plan. i think they are going to work fast to stabilize that area. i don't think saudi arab

as we show the map, you have iraq and syria. iranre where iran and iraq's border meets and baghdad's a little west of that. the iranians are there. the kurds working in the northern part. why doesn't saudi arabia aggressively work on anbar province with us? >> the answer is they should -- >> why aren't -- >> focusing on the civil war in syria and some that they've fueled made it worse. some of these groups are a vittology, not isil but not people we want to see in power. all i'm saying the new leaders in saudi arabia have as tough an in-box as you can imagine and they're ability to make decisions will be very constrained. >> mike? >> could you describe the threat posed to saudi arabia on the ground in the middle east in terms of the definition of the cal la vat, supposed to spring. saudi arabia is torn between who is their biggest enemy? isis or iran on their northeastern segment? >> well saudi arabia is actually facing several ex-essential threats. one hand isis wants to overthrow the monarchy also in the south it's facing a potent

. >> cuba iran syria expected to take center stage when the new congress returns tomorrow. >> tracy, thank you. >>> this morning federal investigators in kentucky have finally cleared the wreckage. the twin-engine crashed and killing four on friday. they're learning more about the lone survivor. a 7-year-old girl dressed for her florida vacation. she was in shorts and short sleeves when she walked through a thick woods and briar patches for 3/4 of a mile in the dark and with near freezing temperatures. larry wilkins describes the moment when she knocked on his door. >> i open the door and this little girl was standing there with a bloody nose and bloody legs and bloody arms. >> saylor is safe with family members now. they're asking for prayers and privacy si. >>> the nypd is investigating the death of a founder of a $2 million hedge fund. he was bound to a gunshot wound to his head near the united nations. authorities have not ruled out suicide but they say gilbert's son has been taken into custody and being questioned. no charges have been filed. >> the new york city skyline honors

>> woodruff: iranian good faith was clear more recently in syria where iran was a key partner in negotiatingestruction of assad's chemical weapons stockpiles. >> there was a try lateral cooperation between tehran washington and moscow which led to the destruction of chemical weapons in syria. >> you'd have to believe in the tooth fairy to believe that iran is not interested in getting very close to nuclear weapons. >> woodruff: richard haass of the council on foreign relations is much less trusting. history wouldn't give you a lot of confidence. one is robb has at times violating understandings with the international atomic energy agency. there have been a lot of things on the side surreptitiously. >> we shouldn't be naive. iran has the capability to build a bomb. it has the knowledge. and even if talks collapse and we launch a war the fact is we can't bomb knowledge. >> woodruff: there are many who say what's really going on is that iran is already so close to being able to build and having a nuclear weapon that these talks really don't matter very much. >> judy, to be very sincere and fran

. >> reporter: cuba iran syria, also expected to take center stage when the new congress returns tomorrow. and the white house says the president already is going to do something this week that republicans in the past have not liked too much more executive orders things he can do on his own are coming this week milissa, along with the things he's trying to get congress to do. >> always unpopular on the other side. tracie thank you very much. >>> this morning, federal investigators in kentucky have finally cleared the mangled wreckage. a twin engine plane crashed there killing four members of the same family on friday. they're also learning more about the lone survivor a 7-year-old girl still dressed for her florida vacation. authorities say sailor gutzler was in shorts and short sleeves when she walked through thick woods and brier patches in the dark and in near freezing temperatures. larry wilkins describes the moment when he knocked on her door. >> i go open the door and there is a little girl standing there with a bloody nose and bloody legs and bloody arms. >> sailor is safe with fam

iran's nuclear program because we do. unfortunately, this president's promises of military action have rung hollow since he blinked and refused to enforce his own red line against syria in 2013. thus, it may be up to the congress to restore the credible threat of force against iran. and congress can do that. not only by imposing new sanctions but also by offering to transfer advanced weapons, like surplus b-52 bombers and 30,000 pound bunker busting bombs to israel. perhaps israel already has the capabilities to retard iran's nuclear program. i leave this assessment in the capable hands of the government of israel. but a congressional offer, whether or not accepted can remove any doubts in the mind of iran's ayatollahs. finally, our policy should make clear there's only one acceptable outcome to the nuclear showdown with iran. complete unconditional nuclear disarmament, verification by u.s. and western officials, along the lines of disarmament by south africa and libya. lesser terms will not fully protect america from the threat posed by a nuclear iran. which raises one final important point. president obama has shown no intent to change his dangerous course. to shif

we're going to fight there, in syria, in iran, we're going to fight everywhere. >> yeah.i think he has them. he really absolutely has them right where he wants them. and after losing this election, it's kind of a weird thing to say. >> but he has. he does. because now they have to govern and this is what the american people are -- what are you going to deliver? you can't just keep saying no to -- you are not now saying no to the president. you're now saying no to values. >> yeah. >> although, i think the president was doing it last night, people work hard and play by the rules. if a young kid, 17 years old, is thinking of his future, if he has one, so he needs one and i think of boys especially and i'm thinking -- because i was one in some of those neighborhoods before they changed. the chance to go into crime is easy. there's always going to be someone selling you on that. but to actually imagine yourself making really good money as a technical guy, a kid who can really imagine having -- being proud to have it, there's no doorway for that now. there just isn't. you know,

showing enough leadership in the middle east in prior months particularly upset about the crisis in syria and iran. he wanted the u.s. to show they were still very tight with saudi arabia, would provide that kind of stability in the region. that's why it's interesting because the white house initially told us joe biden would lead the delegation to riyadh and changed that and said the president would be meeting with king salaman, the new king. you mentioned yemen to the south of saudi arabia, to the north you have iraq bordering saudi arabia with isis there. across the persian gulf to the east you have iran. and so after taking a lot of heat over not going himself to that paris rally a couple weeks ago, it's clear this time the president realized he needed to go himself and send a signal here. >> we'll have more on that change in just a moment. the king's death is overshadowing the trip to india. but what is the focus of the president's trip there where you are in new delhi? >> reporter: the white house has some modest hopes that maybe they can get a climate change deal with india. that would gain

my main concern i'm trying to learn as much as humanly possible about syria iran, the whole sanctions on iran. as you know we're in kind of a tug-of-war right now. should we should we not. the president has been very emphatic, no sanctions now, don't sign it. you'll mess up the deal if you do. i understand my colleagues are concerned about all the time has gone by and we haven't had a secured briefing telling us where they are. have they succeeded, forward centrifuges out, keep the pressure on. should this be something the president should use if they don't follow through and do what they are supposed to do this is where the senate and united states congress is and they will follow through so it's best to work with me. these are all things i haven't made up my mind yet on that and i'm trying to. a little bit of help there would be -- also syria. i know we have an awful lot of people that think very strongly. i believe america has to be strong. i don't think they can succeed unless they have our direct leadership in kind of prodding them. also our airstrikes can't be effective as they

syria and beirut. you are seeing it in damascus. the reports are that the military leaders from iran in damascus and syria have concern about that. even the free syrian army view the army more as a side than isis. -- assad than isis. >> thank you for joining me. >> thank you for having me. >> islamic state is threatening to kill two more hostages unless they free an iraqi woman for her connection to hotel bombings. the voice is the voice of a japanese journalist who was seized in october. people in new england will spend the next few days digging out of lots of snow after a brutal blizzard pounded the region will stop most of massachusetts is expecting at least two feet. that is half of a meter. the bbc has this report. >> new york city in a state of emergency. a curfew was and forced and band people from leaving. new yorkers were told to get out of the freezing cold. >> this would normally be bumper-to-bumper and the sidewalks would be filled with people heading to work. that is the silence. there is a ghostly feel to the most vibrant city. >> the entire public transportation system was shut down because of snow. >> new yorkers