nbc's jim maceda is high above cairo's tahrir square. jim, good evening. >> reporter: hi, kate. well, of course, tahrir square behind me was ground zero for egypt's 2011 uprising, but lately it's had a similar feel and the smell of tear gas is back in the air. clashes between morsi opponents and riot police raged through the night and into a second day. protesters turning tahrir square into a tent encampment and pledging to target the besieged president until he designs or rescinds the decrees which give him sweeping powers and put him above the law. the move has triggered riots across the country, injuring more than 300 egyptians. "if morsi does that, we'll be exactly like iran, said this protester. "he is making himself not just a dicer, he's making himself a god." he said he had to take action to take radical action to save egypt from hosni mubarak's regime. but egyptians like alid mahmoud, a field medic who lost his friend in the uprising feels cheated by morsi and the islamist. they got his vote, but he says they got nothing but a new regime. do you think there will be anot

hundreds of thousands of protesters were back here in tahrir square angry with president morsi for granting himself new powers. police used tear gas and rubber bullets, killing two protesters and injuring hundreds more. beyond the square, muslim brotherhood offices were attacked. the president is trying to diffuse the crisis, cancelling a rally by supporters. and promising to use his new powers in a limited way. people here don't believe him, in fact, it's only galvanized the opposition, who say president morsi is betraying the revolution becoming another mubarak, they vowed to stay here until morsi rescinds his decree. brian? >> ayman mohyeldin above tahrir square for us tonight, ayman, thanks. >>> also in the middle east today, they took an extraordinary step to investigate an old rumor. they dug up the body of yasser arafat to see if he had been poisoned, and they're conducting tissue samples all over the world now to find out. we get our report from our veteran middle eastern correspondent martin fletcher in ramallah. >> reporter: a grim day in ramallah, yasser arafat was reburied today

in cairo's tahrir square, thousands are chanting for regime change. they say egypt's new president is acting like a dictator. president mohamed morsi granted himself sweeping new powers yesterday, basically morsi now has absolute power for six months. his opponents say he's acting like a new pharaoh. the u.s. state department is calling for calm and encouraging all parties to work together. morsi declared all his laws, all his decrees are final and cannot be overturned or appealed until egypt's new constitution is put in place. just days ago, people around the world were praising morsi for his pivotal role in negotiating the israel/hamas cease-fire. today, protesters set fire to a symbol of morsi's power, the muslim brotherhood headquarters in alexandria, egypt. morsi supporters clashed with protesters there. morsi is defending his new powers, saying he's not taking sides and the steps he took are meant to achieve political and social stability. reza sayah joins us live in cairo. reza, is morsi's government strong enough, so early in this administrati

yes, tahrir square is packed with thousands of protesters that still converging on to the square from various points across cairo. dozens of civil society groups have called for these protests, and today, we see there are members of workers' unions, lawyers, and journalists, people from all walks of life converging on the square. it is actually a really impressive show of unity by the opposition that has been certified of the past month, and that morsi has managed to unite with his decree for the first time. they also call for the fall of the regime and president, and it is the same chant we heard during the 18-day uprising against mubarak in 2011, and that only six months after he took office. >> thanks very much for that. earlier today, the grave of yasir arafat was briefly opened as part of investigation to find out weather the former palestinian leader was poisoned. samples taken from his body will be flown to labs in paris, geneva, and moscow for testing. >> palestinian officials say they would petition the international criminal court if the investigation in the yielded prove th

we're along one of the major arteries leading into tahrir square. clashes between security forces and protesters, tear gas. and we're moving away. as the protests intensified, mr. morsy appealed for calm. in a speech to hundreds of supporters who gathered outside the presidential palace in cairo, he defended his decrees and rejected accusations of a power grab. >> translator: i didn't take a decision against anyone or pick a side against another. i have to put myself in a clear path, a path that achieves a clear goal. >> reporter: several hours after mr. morsy's speech, his critics were still out here in tahrir square protesting throughout the night, setting the stage for what seems to be an intensifying face-off between the president and his opponents. >> and let's bringing in reza sayah from cairo. you filed that report hours ago. as we look at live pictures of tahrir square, tell us about the scene there now. are there still protesters? >> reporter: they're still there but things have quieted down considerably. there are some demonstrators still

nine pm moscow time reports of tear gas fired a mass protest against egypt's president in cairo's tahrir square as leaders accused of staging a coup by granting himself pharaoh like powers. one palestinians killed and more than a dozen wounded by israeli gunfire near the border with gaza in the bloodiest violation yet of the fragile truce. and the leaders clash over the budget with some nations digging their heels in to avoid forking out more cash from their stare at me. for a good evening for me kevin owen if you just joined us this is our t. the top story this hour egypt's security forces have fired tear gas during a rally against president mohamed morsi in tahrir square thousands took to the streets across the country to reacting to calls for nationwide demos from opposition leaders the outrage is driven by a new decree by the president granting himself of wide range of powers his decisions can no longer be repealed by any authority clinton edition but lose could slam her as a coup against egypt timoci the opposition playing the president wanted to salvage it quote. meanwhile morsi is going

it brought crowds and protesters back to the familiar confines of tahrir square. tonight, the president of egypt is embarking on a campaign of damage control. our report from nbc's ayman mohyeldin in cairo. >> reporter: a day of mourning across egypt, in cairo, thousands paid respects to a protester killed by police. and in alexandria, a funeral for the member of the muslim brotherhood, just fifteen years old. both were victims of the riots that broke out after president morsy gave himself sweeping new powers. it ignited a wave of protests among them, and loyal supporters fighting in the streets. the muslim brotherhood were to blame, we elected them, thought they would lift us up, but they threw us to the ground. i will never vote for them again in my life, this woman says, many believe that morsy over-reached, and he moved quickly to oversee the damage, meeting tonight with egypt's judicial council, claiming tonight he would limit the scope of his powers. morsy supporters say he had to act to reign in egypt's powerful judges. >> every time we approached the shore

some 300,000 people flooded onto tahrir square, numbers not seen since the fall of hosni mubarak. the crisis has mobilized egypt's political opposition, who called on protesters to stay put. there have been clashes with police. one demonstrator died of tear gas inhalation. public anger has spread to other cities in egypt. in alexandria, protesters attacked the local offices of the muslim brotherhood. pressure may be mounting, but so far, the president has shown no sign of giving in. >> many of those joining these latest protests also took part in last year's revolution, which overthrew hosni mubarak. >> 1 blogger originally supported president morsi and saw him as a force for change, but the latest developments in the country are giving him reason to take to the streets again. >> he thought his time as a revolutionary was over, but now, he is back at the place where he and his friends protested against then president hosni mubarak two years ago the mode is the same as it was then, but the chant is different. he's calling for resistance to the current president. >> i am even more d

the one camp, the one here in tahrir square, is anti-morsi, anti-muslim brotherhood.also that the united states has been too quick to embrace the muslim brotherhood, and that has emboldened morsi to allow himself to become a dictator or to become a new phara pharaoh. morsi is digging in. he gave a speech last night on television. it was formatted as an interview, but it was still a speech in which he said, i'm sorry. i didn't mean to take all of these extra powers, but i did it for the sake of the nation. >> nbc's richard engel in tahrir square in cairo, thank you. >>> time to look at stories topping the news now. israeli officials are saying that government has okayed settlement construction of 3,000 new west bank units. now, this news comes as palestinians are celebrating yesterday's u.n. vote on statehood. >>> former president george h.w. bush will likely leave the hospital this weekend. doctors say the 88-year-old quickly recovered from viral bronchitis and a secondary infection. >>> a bankruptcy court approved the liquidation of hostess brands. the company says m

close to tahrir square is the u.s. embassy. today riot police outside the embassy compound fired teargas, pelted protesters with rocks to try to keep them back. the protesters also exchanged throwing stones at the riot police. that incident brings back serious concerns for u.s. officials because several months ago, back on september 11th a similar scene erupted outside the u.s. embassy. there's growing concern about the security force ts and their ability to maintain law and order. we've seen clashes erupt, many of them towards the freedom of justice party. that is the political wing of the muslim brotherhood from which president mohamed morsi comes from. we're talking about the decree that he issued on thursday that gave him sweeping powers to make new laws without judicial reviews, that has angered many and what has galvanized the protesters to come back to tahrir square. egyptian judges are calling for a strike. there's no indication morsi will rescind his decision. he said he will narrowly use his new powers to ally some of

or weary of protesting after two years of demonstrations, all you had to do was look at cairo's tahrir square on friday and it was clear that's not the case. the demonstrators appeared to be as determined as ever and this time they're going after their current president. outrage, clashes, and anguish in tahrir. thousands of angry egyptians back in a public square that has become the arab world's emblem for the democratic right to protest. this was where egyptians demands the ouster of former president hosni mubarak last year. this time the fury aimed at current president mohammed morrissey. >> we're here because we don't want him to rule us anymore. >> one man wants to do everything and nothing at all of what we want. >> on thursday, the new islamist president made himself the most powerful man in egypt by announcing sweeping decrees he says are designed to push forward the drafting of egypt's new constitution and speed up the formation of a government that's still missing a parliament. >> one of his decrees bans anyone from overturning any of his declarations since he took office in june. th

the people who came to tahrir square in 2011 who did not include islamist are very concerned. >>shepard: it is the muslim brotherhood that had protesters and strikes scheduled that canceled those saying they wanted to have calm and reduce the chaos and traffic in the streets but the muslim brotherhood is not so much down with the plans of this president, either. >>guest: well, it is hard to say right now exactly whether president mrs. is and the muslim brotherhood are in line with each other. the muslim brotherhood is a challenge because they do thought want to be seen as antidemocratic or do not want this massive instability if nothing because of the economic repercussions which are substantial. really, they do want to seize control of the future direction of egypt and that is what is happening right now. >> seizing control of the future direction of egypt is troubling because egypt is the heart of stability there. explain to people how important egypt is in that region. >>guest: well, this is the largest country in the region and often considered the heart of the region in t

within the past hour egyptian authorities tear gassed protesters in cairo's tahrir square. angry demonstrators packed the square today denouncing egyptian president mohamed morsi as a dictator and accusing him of a power grab. cnn's reza sayah is in cairo. reza, what's it look like now? >> reporter: joe, it is 11:00 p.m. cairo time. these demonstrators started gathering around in tahrir square about 1:00 p.m. local time. that means they've been going strong for about ten hours. many thought maybe egyptians were worn out, tired of demonstrating after the 2011 revolution, but if you look at tahrir square today, if you look at cairo today, it doesn't seem like it. the demonstrations are continuing. so are clashes. about an hour and a half ago clashes taking place right where we are behind us at the hotel we're staying at. security forces clashing with protesters. a number of protesters ambushed a police vehicle carrying riot police. the police took off. the protesters got ahold of this truck, set it on fire. more security forces came in, shot tear gas and disbursed the protest

group of protesters that are hardcore which is now we're growing again a little bit on the edge of tahrir square itself those are those tear gas canisters falling into tathra square itself this morning that was accompanied by the essential protest that the hard core of that still camped out in the middle of tar risk where they are that was sir you can hear some of those tear gas canisters being fired now at the main protest inside tahrir square numbering in the thousands the tens of thousands at its height people on loudspeakers chanting of their own waving flags calling for gyptian president mohamed morsi to recall to rescind that declaration that he made giving himself sweeping powers last thursday which has caused such a furious reaction right here telling us about police response to the press has has there been any reaction from the government to then best. well for his part mercy himself has tried to calm the situation he's met with egypt's top. judges he said look i'm not the same as mubarak which is what a lot of people are chanting down in the square that you've done the same as mubarak

from tahrir square we have reza.having the opposite effect he's trying for. >> carol, it is a very loud scene here. i'm having a difficult time hearing you. but let me set the scene for you here. it's a dramatic one. thousands of protesters have been filing in for several hours. a number of clashes have broken out in several of the major arteries leading into tahrir square. the way these clashes start are usually with young people throwing rocks at security forces. security forces respond with shooting tear gas. right now we are seeing tear gas clouds in those arteries. and demonstrators are still here. there's a little bit of a calm that's taken over in the past hour. but still the potential for clashes remain as the demonstrators are still here and security forces are still here. this scene reminiscent of the scenes in tahrir square in 2011. in 2011 the outrage was aimed at hosni mubarak. this is current outrage at mohamed morsi after a number of decrees last night that many of his critics here describe as an undem

hundreds of thousands of protesters in cairo's tahrir square screamed for morsi to leave. another mass rally is planned for friday. today the cabinet meets to discuss the crisis. holly williams is in cairo with more. good morning. we saw a big escalation in these protests yesterday. what happened in tahrir square overnight and then again this morning? >> reporter: good morning. well the crowds are dispersed now but yesterday we saw scenes that were reminiscent of the egyptian revolution of two years ago. at tahrir square which you can see behind me the birth place of that revolution was carpeted in tens of thousands of people who poured in from every direction. they even chanted the same slogan they chanted during the revolution the people want the downfall of the regime. this time the target of their anger is not the old dictatorship but the country's first elected president, mohamed morsi who they accuse of overreaching himself before i assuming sweeping new powers. >> egypt and the u.s. have a very important relationship. what side is the obama administration taking in

we see tenlts going up in tahrir square, giving it a look like this is going to be a prolonged demonstration. even we're still seeing hundreds, if not thousands of people still in and around the square at 2:00 a.m. so it definitely a lot of people are are energized, but as the week progresses and people have to go back to work, will they stay in the square demanding that there is some change that morsi steps back on his declaration, that's to be seen, but right now, it looks like it is going to go ahead and have that sort of staying power. >> thanks so much for joining us there in cairo. i don't know you'll keep us up to date. we want to bring you more guests now. josh stacker, he's met and spoken be mohammed morsi more than a dozen times, affiliate with the woodrow wilson international center. colletti, let me start with you. do you have a sense of this having lasting power? is this a deep movement or is this a shallow movement? >> well, it's a very good question. of course, we have seen many times over the last 20 months or so where various groups have rallied in and around tahrir square w

reza sayah is overlooking everything in tahrir square. most of us were thinking that mohammed morsi really very much the peacemaker, key to the cease-fire between israel and hamas. doesn't even settle with the truce and then morsi announces this decree essentially a huge power grab. what is the significance? >> reporter: well, suzanne, the significance is until a parliament is formed here in egypt, until a constitution is drafted, he is the most powerful man in egypt, and, technically, he can do whatever he wants without any apparent oversight. that's why he is being called

. >> reporter: the numbers are building of protesters here in tahrir square, the number of tents growing as the protesters say they are here to stay and digging in. on the street below me, over the past few minutes, we have seen young protesters, lighting bottles on fire and running. the skirmishes have wounded more than 3 people. we have seen the military begin to move large concrete block,

overnight anti-government protesters clashed with police in cairo's tahrir square. they plan to press ahead with the demonstration today, demanding that morsi relent on his seizure of near absolute authority. he said the edict was temporary and only granted him limited authority. holly williams is in cairo. do we have any indication of what the president there is going to do? is he going to back down? >> good morning. well, president mohamed morsi is clearly trying to persuade people that he doesn't want to be a dictator. he met with a group of senior egyptian judges and he told them that his new immunity of the courts would only apply to sovereign matters. the problem with that is we don't know exactly what it means and it certainly won't be enough to satisfy his opponents. in fact, one of those judges described it as a frail statement. for president morsi's critics, they are still extremely angry about the series of decrees that he issued on thursday that give him greatly expanded power. >> meanwhile, protests continue where you are in tahrir square. what are we g

earlier today, the protest turning violent on a street near tahrir square. at least three protesters have been killed since the weekend. nbc live from cairo. and the crowd in tahrir square has been growing, building over the past hours. explain what we're seeing now. >> reporter: well, behind me, probably tens of thousands of egyptians have gathered, been here since the early hours of the morning. in fact, some have been camped out for the past six days. many songs, chants, slogans reminiscent of two years ago, calling on the same things they did two years ago, which is for the president of egypt to step down. they've changed the name, obviously, to reflect egypt's new islamist president. you mentioned that incident today with the tear gas and the police, that took place outside the u.s. embassy. riot police there fired tear gas and rubber bullets to try to keep the crowds at bay. one of the central issues of the protesters behind me is that since the end of the revolution, egypt's police force has not been reformed. many of the senior officers are still in

pm moscow time reports of tear gas fired a mass protest against egypt's presidency in cairo's tahrir square as the leaders accused of staging a coup by grabbing himself era like powers we've got the latest tonight. one palestinian is killed more than a dozen wounded by israeli gunfire near the border with gaza there in the bloodiest violation yet of a fragile truce. and the latest clash over the budget for some nations digging their heels in to avoid forking out more cash from their stereotypical. alone a very good evening chief you just joined. in this is r.t. first this hour egypt's security forces have fired tear gas at protesters rally against the muslim brotherhood backed president mohamed morsi in tahrir square thousands took to the streets to across the country reacting to calls for nationwide demos from opposition leaders his current true with the latest from egypt's capital. what i really want is today's very heavy police tactics using a lot to tear gas on protesters throwing rocks down on protesters from the top of buildings we've also seen molotov being thrown back and forth so w

more than 200,000 protesters have filled cairo's tahrir square. they are angry with their new president, mohamed morsi who said last week that his decisions cannot be challenged by the courts which gives him almost absolute power. and our holly williams is above tahrir square in cairo this evening. holly, what's going on in the crowd behind you now? >> reporter: scott, we are seeing scenes reminisce september of the egyptian revolution. tahrir square was once again carpeted in people today, tens of thousands of people who poured in from every direction and they were chanting the same slogan that they chanted during the revolution. the people want the downfall of the regime. i was out on this square earlier today talking to people. some people are saying that they won't leave the streets until president morsi rescinds the decrees that have given him sweeping new powers. we've seen very low-level violence here in cairo, but in several other cities there have been violent confrontations between president morsi's supporters and his opponents. >> pelle

midnight moscow time police fired tear gas at thousands of demonstrators marched stone in cairo's tahrir square to protest against a decree granting egyptian president morsi sweeping new pharaoh like we've got the latest tonight. one palestinians killed more than a dozen wounded by israeli gunfire near the border with gaza in the bloodiest violation yet of the fragile troops. and the leaders clash over the budget with some nations digging their heels in to avoid forking out more cash for their a stereotype hit economy. a lot of real good morning to if you've just joined us it's kevin owen here at r t this egypt's security forces have fired tear gas at protesters rally against the muslim brotherhood backed president mohamed morsi in tahrir square thousands took to the streets across the country reacting to calls for nationwide demos from opposition leaders his courage true with the latest details from egypt's capital what i really want is today's very heavy police tactics you see a lot to tear gas on protesters throwing rocks down on protesters from the top of buildings and we've also seen molot

moscow this is the nationwide protests are underway in egypt with thousands gathering in car as tahrir square to oppose president morsi is the latest decree morsi made himself and the islamist dominated upper house of parliament into any kind of oversight including from the courts and is in current and joins me now live with the latest tom what is going on at the moment what is the mood among the protesters where you are. well bill as i'm sure you can hear the sights the sounds and indeed the smells of protest and of civil disorder are thick in the air of central cairo tonight behind me in tahrir square us still. thousands of protesters waving their flags chanting to the effect that mohamed morsi the president has betrayed egypt's revolution and speaker after speaker was grabbing them the megaphones and are calling the crowds to call on mercy to reverse that declaration giving him sweeping powers last thursday in the streets around the area the sirens and the smell of tear gas tickets in the air large crowds have gathered there a lot more young and male in makeup and they are holding standoff

claims its first lives just as the leaders of position to weaken these are live pictures from tahrir square in cairo. separatism hold sway in spain which just regional catalonia pro independence parties a majority of parliamentary seats possibly paving the way for a referendum. releases a new book urging internet users around the world to stand up against slave one government. on their online life from a new center here in moscow this is. egypt's president is making steps towards a compromise and has agreed to meet senior judges outraged at the seizure of power which has made his decisions untouchable it comes as the first blood in clashes over mohamed morsi as controversial decrees spilled a teenage supporter of the muslim brotherhood which stands behind the president has been killed in violent protests another man died overnight after being critically injured in fighting near tahrir square last week thousands of taking to the streets for his funeral procession in downtown cairo true has been following events. very heavy handed tactics from the police we see that excessive use of tear gas

it's interesting when you go out to tahrir square the diversity of the protesters.'t seen since february 2011 when mubarak was toppledly. there are people who are worried because not-- some are quite concern pd a constitution written exclusively or largely by the muslim brotherhood, and some are part of this opposition as well. so there's a whole mosaic of people out there in opposition. there are also complicated things because they can't reach a consensus about what would be an acceptable outcome. there are huge protests scheduled tomorrow throughout the country. it's unclear whether people will come out in the kinds of numbers we in anticipated just a few hours ago in light of this decision, and i think that really reflects the division amongst islamists, secularists, liberals, and christians over what the expectations of morsi should be, and what should be acceptable outcome in this issue. >> suarez: has this crisis overshadowed what might have been president morsi's victory lap over brokering a cease-fire between hamas and israel, just a few days before? >> rep

tahrir square.orsi spoke to his supporters saying that he had to do this to break really what is a log jam in writing up a new constitution. he was saying much of the judiciary are very honorable people but there are five or six or seven bad eggs, if you will. these are remnants of the mubarak regime and they're constantly interfering with the process. meanwhile, the country is continuing to be mired in poverty, a lack of social justice and what have you. so he says to protect the revolution, to protect the principles of the revolution and to protect this country's forward movement towards democracy he needed to do this to keep the constitution and the writing of the constitution moving forward. >> now, jim, if he does this, it's been reported he says he will do this just as long as he needs to do it, that it is a temporary situation. what are the guarantees, if any, that are in place that after getting used to that level of power he would then seed that's what he's trying to get today? >> reporter:

back to you. >> we should note here jim, taking a live look at tahrir square as you were speaking. we just saw some of the protesters that you mentioned, some of the thousands of protesters who have assembled there. jim, it seems at least from the outside looking in that all of this sort of campaign out of nowhere in terms of it happening, it unfolding? >> no. it didn't come out of nowhere. although it's not something that has been on the international radar so much. it's been a very -- it's been local politics and it's -- it has been for months now a problem. it was triggered most recently because -- and it gets into the weeds a bit, but because there was a demonstration on monday marking the year anniversary when those 42 people were -- protesters were killed if you recall, many of them were involved in the revolution and they were protesting the fact that there had been no justice at all done for the victims of the revolution. 800 killed something like 11,000 wounded during that period of time and basically the court, which has a lot of remnants, judges prosecutors, from mubarak

obviously his critics still gathered here in tahrir square reject that claim. they believe this is a power grab. that's why they say they're not going anywhere until he rescinds these decrees. >> keeping an eye on egypt tonight. >>> egypt's stock market is not handling the uncertainty well. stock markets generally don't. stocks took a dive. they were down nearly 10%. today was the fir day the egyptian exchange was open since morsi's controversial announcement. one trader says that confidence in the markets is now worse than it was when the revolution began. >> translator: during the january 25th revolution, there were contingency operations that still exist today, but we were optimistic that after month two, the stock exchange would recover. we expected new investment and new policies from the state, but now we're losing more than we're gaining, whether it be in the economy or in politics. and therefore the situation of the egyptian stock exchange is worse than in the january 25th revolution. >> and egypt's economy had been suffering even before all of this. at

. >> for a fourth day, they swarm tahrir square to topple the president. they are outraged at his sweeping power grab. a massive protest is planned for tuesday. >> we demand the president of days the people who voted for him. they elected him to work on their behalf, not to do as he pleases. >> the political unrest is growing in scope. the judges sidelined are organizing their run protests. turbulence on the cairo stock exchange in the wake of sunday's major sell-off. traders and market analysts fear a lengthy political crisis. he has since tried to assure his seizure of powers will be temporary. he's has confidence in the search for a compromise. they're asking him to use restraint. >> democracy means the rule of law and the division of powers. therefore, i appeal to the egyptian leadership to seek a compromise. >> that is what the demonstrators in cairo are looking for. they vow to continue until he meets their demands. >> for the latest on the story, we are joined now from cairo, and he is following the events there. the president is trying to diffuse t

hasmorsi's calling him nbc's jim maceda from cairo. >> reporter: craig, in the square below me, tahrir, squares si protesters claiming grab that square who believe morsisays th two-month transition period and after that he'll relinquisthe specl pourershe went thousand supporters who gathered oue palace that he takere weref the kind of like our supre court chiest judges who weredecrcreating jam and difficult a painstaking process of writing theconstitution. he called them xweils eating risk losing this m history if it speed things up. he decreed there will be a o,constitution putting ito more. the problem, of course, is in the writing of epeople who repr behind me h boycotted the process, once them that islamicng to have it be theland. some throwing tear the % side stree u alexandria, d and burned/ the ng next but, e been worse. the man who brokered t deal and supposed to be enforcing it, instead ishere. nbc's jim maceda from cairo, also giving us the on ss alexandria. back here, turni to smping repu was supposedly to a war for the heart and soul for the grandld ? are there a whole even? we w

clashes in cairo today, more protests in tahrir square against egypt's president morsi. we'll have a live report. move over george clooney the on yan's kim junge un the sexiest man alive and beijing doesn't get the joke. good day, i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. no joke today on capitol hill. ambassador susan rice's attempt to clear the air with republicans over benghazi did not work as the white house had hoped. senators mccain, ayotte and graham say they have more questions than they had before rice's comments about benghazi. >> we are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got and some that we didn't get it. >> if you don't know what happened just say you don't know what happened. people can push you to give explanations and you can say i don't want to give bad information. >> that's troubling to me as well, why she wouldn't have asked, i'm the person that doesn't know anything about this, i'm going on every single show. >> joining me now for our daily fix, chris cizilla, msnbc contributor managing editor of post politics.com and our own nbc cap

they clashed -- in tahrir square. they clashed with the president. protesters have been camping out in tahrir square just like they did last year when they overthrew president hosni mubarak who rejected democratic reforms. >>> top gop senators will need more information before they even consider u.s. bead to the united -- ambassador, susan rice. senators met privately with her about an initial comment she made that the libyan attack was a result of protest than terrorism. the senators say there's more trouble ever with her comments. rice said there was never any intention to mislead the american people. >>> we have breaking news out of east palo alto. there's been a shooting. newschopper2 is live over the scene at bay road and palo verde avenue. within the past hour, one person was shot at that intersection, the victim was taken to stanford hospital. right now police are searching for the shooter who ran off into the surrounding area. you can see one police car there at the bottom of the screen. we'll have more on this situation on ktvu.com and on kt

tonight tahrir square the birthplace of the egyptian revolution looks like an occupy site. thousands of protesters have set up camp there. the square may not stay calm for long as president morsi's party the muslim brotherhood plans a massoy demonstration and protesters say they have no intention of leaving. >> reporter: things calmer in tahrir square where you have a few thousand people gathered here very much reminiscent of the 2011 egyptian revolution. you have food stands and people selling tea. here is a tea stand right here and lots of people talking politics. if you look at these groups here, these are all people that are debating their political positions and demanding that mr. morsi rescind his controversy decree. >> they have to start with the decree to be withdrawn and secondly, i would have to hope he would listen to the people. >> we're going oust him just like mubarak. >> reporter: factions opposed to mr. morsi continue to make moves to apply political pressure on the president egyptian nobel laureate and pro-democracy activist mohammed el-baradei, calling on m

earlier, tear-gas was fired at a separate demonstration near tahrir square. the demonstration on sunday night was a strong show of support for the opposition. tens of thousands of demonstrators stream into the square. they chanted against the president and the main group of supporters, the muslim brotherhood. but it is not clear if president morsi ready to offer concessions. there is a rally called for saturday in support of the president. >> despite the recent turmoil in egypt, could there be some sober linings to the cloud? that is the argument that mahomet all area and from pentico has made in a recent article. -- pick muhammed el-erian has made in a recent article. what exactly is all of the brightness to this chaos? >> it is important to understand the context. egypt is trying to give it -- put from its past -- pivot from its past into its future without the proper institutions and without a mandela-type leader. it is a very bumpy road. there are now checks and balances in egypt. this is no longer a society where you can ram through changes. and there is

i'm going to step aside to give you a live like look of what tahrir square looks like. most of them peaceful but we're still getting clashes and protests. right below they have set fire to an avis rental car center. you heard what sounded like a stun grenade. >> what you see here, they're fighting and police areighting back, throwing rocks and stun agree yads. >> any other fallout besides the fallout and the demonstrations, reza? >> plenty of fallouts from this, ran randi. first off we should tell you that the judges club here in egypt has called for a nationwide judges strike. remember, many judges support mr. morsi. they're working against mr. morsi. one of the leading pro-democracy activists here. he spoke to reporters today and he called for mr. morsi to rescind all his controversial decrees and also the stock market today in egypt. this was the first day of trading after the decrees were announced on thursday, randy, and the stock market is plummeting. so keep your eyes on that. if that continues, more pressure on mr. morsi. >> reza sayah for us in cairo. thank you

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: police and protesters clashed in cairo's tahrir square and elsewhere in egypt today, sparked when president mohamed morsi granted himself broad new powers. good evening. i'm jeffrey brown. >> suarez: and i'm ray suarez. on the newshour tonight, we have the latest on the widespread demonstrations, and assess what's behind the egyptian leader's moves. >> brown: then, the death toll in syria's 20-month war has climbed past 40,000, according to a human rights group. we get an update from margaret warner, reporting from the turkish border. >> suarez: we continue our conversations with newly-elected senators. judy woodruff talks with virginia democrat tim kaine. >> i intend to hit the ground on january 3 very much running. > running. we can make progress quickly if we listen to each other and find those points of common ground they think do exist. >> brown: mark shields and david brooks analyze the weeks news. >> suarez: spencer michels has the story of a growing crackdown on dissidents and journalists in iran. >> brown: and we close with poet

reasons why not is the case the muslim brotherhood was supposed to hold that process today in tahrir square which they then moved outside of the square because their fears of bloodshed guy went pro and anti brotherhood supporters man they actually ended up canceling that because of pressure from people saying that they really would be a lot of violence on the streets if the brotherhood came down to this is really the only reaction we've seen from the presidential office and he said during their mission brotherhoods. and khaled fahmy editor of the all the newspapers says people see morsi is later sacked as the beginning of a new dictatorship. this. divide egypt and even. civil war unfortunately this president is doing the very same things for which. before. dictatorship this is what we are looking. people. looking at this crowd you cannot tell who is muslim or christian who is liberal leftist this is the people who are saying no to new religious fascism making the president above the law the president and the muslim brotherhood behind him have already lost their credibility they have promise

this is cairo's tahrir square live that you can see there. it is dark. thousand more protesters now marching in the square right now. let's listen in. [ sirens ] >> that was earlier today. demonstrators saying they're not letting up until the president, morsi, withdraws some of the sweeping powers that he granted himself last week. egyptian commentator is joining us new york. good to see you here. we see live pictures, folks in the streets in tahrir square. what do they hope? what do they want now that they have a democratically elected president? they can't get rid of him. what do they do? >> people you are seeing in the various squares not just cairo but across egypt, across many cities, they're on the street to tell president morsi, we are your checks and balances. we are the people who will keep you honest. right after you grabbed all of the power for yourself that has made you more powerful than mubarak who we got rid of last year. people are there to say we might have elected you as president but we did not elect a new dictate. >> if that's the mes