there for him they were including a tami duckworth who herself knows the meaning of meeting a physical challenge she lost her leg as an army pilot. senators and congressman from coast to coast filled the senate steps all of them busy during the holidays with the the fiscal cliff hanging in the balance still the maytime today stops and starts and long pauses but he pressed on his goal simply to reach the top. chicago doctors and physical therapy teams were present to over the past 12 months they know better than anyone the struggle both mental and physical what he has has to wonder. if you work really really hard and when you want to quit these guys do not let you that's when you make the kind of recovery that he did. we really train them as hard as we can. 53 year-old mark kirk is expected to continue even for years but it may ebb and flow from time to time his doctors say that he can handle it and as for getting around this enormous building behind me he will likely use a wheelchair while he continues to work on his walking. it's being called the do nothing congress and now another gr

congressman tami duckworth was a helicopter pilot who lost both her legs serving in iraq. >> women have been in combat. in fact, many have been awarded the purple heart and combat action bench, both of after engaging in direct fire from enemy forces. >> under the new policy, womenwill officially be able to depart as infantry units and special forces so long as they meet the physical requirements. >> there is no more nobler mission and a dominant uniforms of our armed services and go into harm's way for america. >> three-quarters of americans support women serving in combat, but there are critics. one young enlisted soldier says that this change will create sexual tension which could create a distraction that could mean life or death. he also said women are designed to love and nurture. men are designed to hunt and kill. >> military units will be able to seek waivers for women seeking certain jobs, but they will have to be personally approved by the secretary of defense. >> as the nation debates gun- control, one school district is under some serious fire. coming up, the outcry from pare

. >>> ahead this morning, we talk to illinois congresswoman tami duckworth. randy forbes, john eustis and twist beatz. wednesday, january 16th. "starting point" begins right now. >> welcome, everybody. let's begin with breaking news. a developing story out of london, where a helicopter hit a crane and crashed into a construction site near a busy commuter hub. it all happened during rush hour. two people confirmed dead. two more taken to area hospitals, and we are live at the scene of the crash in london. erin, give us a sense of what's happened, and what's happening now? >> hi, soledad, what we can piece together from various eyewitnesss we have been speaking to. around 7:45 this morning, very foggy morning here in london, a helicopter flying very low and very fast according to one eyewitness, collided with a -- with a 50-story residential tower called st. georges wharf, being under construction when the helicopter collided with the crane, a crane, at the construction site. it went spiralling down to the ground according to one eyewitness, making a very loud