it's part of the great american story. our nationn together by moments and places such as these, each with a unique story to share, places that tell the world around us like death valley and yellow stone. and the place honor as well as come rate our greatest sacrifices, the statute of libber tirks pearl harbor, flight 93, these places, these stories are protected by the national park service. however, these places do not exist if not for you. the dedicated individuals throughout time that have gathered to safe guard and share the story of america. now in our 45th year the national park foundation is proud to carry on this legacy. it's a non-profit partner of the national parks. we invite you to join us in telling the story of america so that these moments and special places are here tomorrow and for generations to come. now, here to share a story of the season, please join me in welcoming the first laid of the united states of america, michelle obama. [applause] >> thank you. you're such a gentleman. >> thank you. >> how are you doin

four out of 10 of the nation's transit riders, of the nation's transit riders have their commutes disrupted by the storm and many do today. >> what happens in our port district&affects the entire nation. our losses from superstorm send rippled through the entire country. >> and $2.3 billion is approved to support response and recovery efforts, including $1 billion for direct assistance to the thousands of people affected by the storm. >>> time for a look at the weather. >> not so bad tonight. as gary, you know, you said earlier, you can't have a tree lighting without cold weather and i think mother nature's delivered, wouldn't you say? >> reporter: right. would you imagine if we're doing this 73 degrees, a couple of day ago? >> yeah, like let's bring a banana boat out. >> christmas on the west coat. >> -- coast. >> right. >> and have to have the cold. with temperatures in the 40s, it's tolerable, right? and 36 degrees for gaithersburg. dills down in the upper 30s and here in the city we're at 42 degrees right now and i think we can drop into the mid-30s or so and that is over the next few h

it is my pleasure today to represent the friends of the national world war ii memorial. it is an organization that is dedicated to ensuring that we always remember the greatest generation and their service, valor, and sacrifice. all those who supported on the home front -- we worked closely and proudly with the national parks service and the department of defense to bring event like this throughout the year and throughout the summer. this memorial is a very sacred cut -- a sacred place where we come to visit, to remember, to reflect, and to commemorate the defining moments of world war two -- world war ii , and to honor those who served on the battlefront and the home front and the families that were left behind. this memorial honors the more than 16 million men and women who served in our armed forces during world war two -- world war ii. more than 400,000 of those men and women never returned home. the additional millions that supported the war efforts from america's arsenal of democracy on this homefront. the world war ii generation fought the most destructive war in h

, the national rifle association preparing right now to break its silence. live picture now from washington. that's where they're going to speak. wayne lapierre is going to speak, the head of the nra. we got a warning two minutes ago that it would be two minutes. we're waiting for him to show up. the nra is america's premiere gun rights lobby. it may be facing its biggest challenge in years as many americans shocked, they were shocked by newtown and they're calling for tougher restrictions on guns and ammunition, and while we wait for the group's executive director to appear, wayne lapierre, i want to bring in several of my colleagues now. first off, wolf blitzer is here, jessica yellin is at the white house, dana bash on capitol hill, and jeffrey toobin is in new york for us. as we wait, wolf, let's start with you. is this, in fact, a turning point for guns in america? do you think we'll hear anything like that in this press conference? >> i know a lot of attitudes have hardened as a result of what has happened over the past week in newtown, connecticut. you

to present the 2012 national book award for fiction is lori moore. three story collections and three novels. the most recent being a aid of the stairs, finalist for the pen faulkner award and the orange prize. for fiction and nonfiction have appeared in "the new yorker," the new york review books, "the new york times," the paris review, the yale review and elsewhere. she's been the recipient that the irish times prize for international fiction, the rea award for a short story, the pen malamud award, the o'henry award and the land and fellowship. she is a member of the american academy of arts and letters and it gives me great pressure to introduce lori moore. [applause] ♪ >> the other members of this year's jury for the national book award in fiction are stacy dur as moe, didn't i'll and janet perry. [applause] why would these otherwise sane, reasonable and brilliant people consent to this juror cracks one where you make a thousand enemies and maybe only one friend? while your front porch fills up of packages and your neighbors think you have a terrib

, but they literally saved the world. this nation will never forget our world war ii veterans, all of our veterans and their families and especially those who gave all their tomorrows. as the 18 or 19-year old, all of pur tomorrow's is a high rice to play so we can live in beautiful america we are proud to call home. god bless our world war ii veterans, their families, all of our veterans. the protect -- we pray god will protect those serving in our armed forces and the families they have to leave behind. god bless america. thank you very much. [applause] but ladies and gentlemen, we are privileged to have with us members of the united states marine band brass quintets who will now perform the musical patriotic salute to our veterans. ♪ [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, another big round of applause for the brass quintet. [applause] at this time, i would like to introduce the producer, the director of the film "honor flight," mr. dan hayes. [applause] >> thank you so much to the friends of the world war ii memorial and the national

>> well, kim jong-il was to preserve the nation's sovereignty. this included peaceful use of nuclear technology and space exploration. the north koreans insist this launch is such for peaceful use. on april 15th, in his first speech after the last-minute launch, kim jg-un said pea isrecious b thahe dnity of the people under sovereignty of the nation are even more precious. he indicated his intention to follow his father's footsteps and this launch is seen as part of that, i think. >> so why did the north koreans choose to launch now? >> well, experts point to two reasons. and the one is that the timing relates to a scheduled satellite launch by the south koreans. they had planned to send up a satellite on november 29th but postponed. the two koreas are competing to be the top satellite-launching countries. it is opposed by the north. those in pyongyang believe such opposition is caused by what they call the hostile policy of the united states. they insist that the americans change their position and that ask that they launch. another reason is tha

a finalist for the national book award in poetry this year r. david ferry, but wildermuth. new poems and translation, published by the university of chicago press. cynthia huntington, heavenly bodies, published by southern illinois university press. [applause] ten, fast animal, published by -- [applause] alan schapiro, night of the republic, published by -- [applause] and susan wheeler, published by the university of iowa press. [applause] >> i want to thank my fellow panelist and acknowledged them. my former best friends in poetry world for extraordinary minds, just as readers and thinkers. these poets full generosity and excitement is modus were incredible for poets, unbelievably pure. we truly bring you what we searched for and found. so the first debunk belief was that poets are always looking r

so how long before it could be available in the nation's capital? >>> coming up in sports, hockey returns to the verizon center tonight. dan catches up with adam. >>> new developments against a fairfax county teacher accused there is no mass-produced human. so we created the extraordinarily comfortable sleep number experience. a collection of innovations designed around a bed with dualair technology that allows you to adjust to the support your body needs. each of your bodies. our sleep professionals will help you find your sleep number setting. exclusively at a sleep number store. sleep number. comfort individualized. this holiday season, give the gift that's magical: the innovative airfit adjustable pillow at special 30% savings. >>> all righty. see the cars in front of the white house? that is the president's motorcade. the first family is going to go to the ellipse to light the national christmas tree. a little behind schedule, but it is beautiful. they have some great a-list talent there, entertaining the people who are gathered down there, incl

the greatest need. tonight we are blessed as a nation to have a president barack obama as the leader of our nation and asm i know a heart that delineates the great example of christ whose birthday we celebrate across this world. in the president i know a man whose life of service started a long time ago helping those who were voiceless have a voice to live their god given potential. and today as president of these united states, he works hire easily every day in the spirit of service for all of the people of our nation to help build the world where all of god's people will have the opportunity to live their lives showered with the blessings endowed upon them by our creator. so it is with great, great joy and pride that i am honored to introduce to all of you the 44th president of the united states of america, barack obama. [applause] ♪ [nutcraker jazz] >> merry christmas, everybody. michelle told me to be brief because she wants to hear music. thank you for that generous introduction and for your dedication to protecting our natural resources. i want to thank the whole national park foundation and the na

that we may be a blessing to all the nations of the world. e of prosperity, fill our thoughts with thankfulness, and let us not lose our trust in you. let this national tree be a reminder that in some inexplicable way you are standing next to us at all times. all this we ask in your most holy name, amen. >> good evening. i have asked the national park foundation and the national park service. it is a privilege to participate in the national christmas tree lighting. 90 years ago, the scrams tradition -- this grand tradition began. through the years, the tradition has continued in times of peace and times of war. times of prosperity and times of hardship. steadfast and true for 90 years, we have come here. tonight, we gather in the majesty of president's park to honor this place. in our nation is woven together with moments and places such as these. each with a unique and honorable story to share. places like that smelly, yosemite, yellowstone, places that the remind us of our leaders. in the places that honor our highest ideals and remind us of

, the nation's second most powerful pro-gun lobby in the country after the national rifle association. we will host a debate on gun control between the gun honors for america and the coalition to stop gun violence. then we will speak to paul barrett, author of, "glock: the rise of america's gun." and we will get a report from the streets of cairo from sharif abdel kouddous. >> of voting among the division. egyptians headed to the polls on saturday in the sixth national election in nearly two years. this time, to vote on a referendum and a hotly disputed constitution. >> all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president obama has vowed to take action against gun violence in the united states following the shooting rampage that left 27 people dead, including 20 young children, in newtown, connecticut. all of the children are aged 6 and 7. the gunman, 20-year-old adam lanza, shot his mother dead at their home before driving to the sandy hook elementary school and forcing his way inside. armed with high-powered

let's just all model kill or be killed with colors matching the national flag. that this country uses. when it reaches and then it legitimizes that. they are made in america on the. live nation and free credit taishan free transport charges free. range month free risk free.

the ceo of the national park foundation is back with me once again. excited. the show is coming together. >> we're about to start our dress rehearsal at 9:00 a.m. going to be a terrific show. great line up. phillips is on stage right now. james taylor. baby face. i can go on and on. we have a lot of talent tonight and a wonderful show. >> i've been covering this for a lot of years and this is one of the better years. sometimes one or two big stars but this is a whole line up. how do you go about getting people to be a part of the show? >> all of the performers are volunteers. they are not paid. the show is for all of america. and we extend invitation s where the performers are geographically. this year we had a wonderful response and actually, almost too many performers. >> that's a good problem to have. and also said something to come out here early in the morning to go through the rehearsal. any special requests from any of the stars and how they have to be taken care of? >> not so much how they have to be taken care of. they are all excited to perf

from the lighting of the national christmas tree. erica grow has been out there all afternoon. people are still pretty excited, aren't they? >> reporter: this is such a wonderful time on the ellipse out here right across from the national mall and we are listening to some beautiful holiday music right now being put on by the navy jazz band. before we got to hear the cast of jersey boys singing us a few holiday songs. there are about 3,000 people here in seats that won the lottery back in october to get these free seats for this event and 14,000 standing room only tickets were also given out for free. so we're expecting that we have about 15 to 20,000 people here right now to see this national tree lighting live, but, of course, you can watch at home right on 9 news now. we are about three or four minutes away from the actual tree lighting from what we've been told. the obama family will come out here and light up that beautiful tree that you can probably see behind me. if your familiar with the tree lighting ceremony -- you are famili

i was basically most of my career at the headquarters in virginia i had the national intelligence estimates, quite a few on cuba over the years, and many of the other latin american countries. >> before we get into fidel

for the first time in the nation's history there will be taking over the executive branch of the national government. the republican party was proudly in northern party, during its brief existence in the mid 1850's damage its rhetoric and assault of the south, and the south major social institution racial slavery. and their determination that is the republicans' determination to well the north into a unit that could win a national election without any southern support, the republicans repeatedly condemned the south as on progressive, undemocratic, even unamerican. this party on the threshold of the presidency. those people who preach the gospel of the union, they took to the public platform in the newspaper columns to proclaim that the crisis of the south was at hand. the south had to act immediately to protect itself from the hatred of evil republicans have this was not the first time sectional crisis that gripped the country. several sharp sectional disputes prior 1860. each of these, each of the major ones have been settled by compromise. here are will point specifically to the four cr

now we must speak for the safety of our nation's children. because for all the noise and anger directed at us over the past week, no one, nobody has addressed the most important, pressing and immediate question we face: how do we protect our children right now, starting today, in a way that we know works? the only way to answer that question is to face the truth. politicians pass laws for gun-free school zones, they issue press releases bragging about them, they post signs advertising them, and in doing so they tell every insane killer in america that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk. how have our nation's priorities gotten so far out of order? think about it. we care about our money, so we protect our banks with armed guards. american airports, office buildings, power plants, courthouses, even sports stadiums are all protected by armed security. we care about our president, so we protect him with armed secret service agents. members of congress work in offices surrounded by capitol police officers. yet

the. status nations and regions and star . would have a new place in a unified europe i think now many people in the catalonia scott the langley contrary in flanders have simply realize is that you've made the states in order to join the club and the club is defying about several rules and these rules are quiet . clear and simple for you and you know is a causal ca tional policy where the states have to to make a world where do they have to it's about power and everything is decided on the top and not from below and they see in this respect i actually enjoy my my partner's view for the european union as steel is a fact that it was characterized by a certain democracy a democratic deficit which means. i'd like to have a domestic process for the future i don't really think there is going to be a conflict there's going to be an as the conflict but what i really thing is that i find a result a paradoxical final result of this wave or of this period of time a crisis could be the strengthening of the nation state and i think it will

the california national guard as mentioned is the largest in the nation under 54 states and territories. we're the largest by far. and we have a broad spectrum of capabilities that range from on the low end manpower where we can deploy troops for either security missions or firefighting hand crew missions all the way up to the high end where we have a wing, we also have space station systems we can employ and support civil authorities at the direction of the governor. we're the experienced national guard force. we do some sort of civil support emergency response system every three days in california. we support the governor, mainly law enforcement and the fire services here in the state. we tend to do more emergency missions every year than any of the 53 states and territories combined. so, we have quite a bit of experience. with that experience has come a wealth of relationship building that's key to success and any disaster response is being able to work with the inter agency. we're in a unique position because in addition to my federal responsibilities for commanding both the army an

today dan gross and the relatives of victims of some of the nation's worst gun massacres were demanding that congress and the president enact some common gun laws -- common sense gun laws. bruce leshan has that story. >> my little brother derrick once was riddled with bullets. >> reporter: a litany of pain. >> i am here today wearing my son's shoes. >> reporter: almost to painful to bear. >> they're the shoes he was wearing on april 20th. 1999 when he was gunned down at columbine shall. >> reporter: one after the over. dozens of relatives recited their stories. >> a. j. boyd was killed in the aurora theater shooting. >> reporter: every day in america nearly this many families become new victims of gun violence. >> my son miraculously survived. >> reporter: andre's 8-year-old son bear was walking towards the presence pal's office -- principal's office in newtown. >> he saw bullets passing by. >> reporter: a teacher rescued him. >> she pulled him in her own classroom. >> reporter: now he says washington has to rescue america with sensible gun laws. >> it's not a partisan issue. it's an is

the political class here in washington, d.c., the national media machine. >> the nra has blood on its hands! >> reporter: as he spoke gun control activists that slipped past tight security twice interrupted him. >> nra, stop killing our children! >> reporter: on capitol hill, democrats seeking tougher gun control laws denounced his proposals. >> the nra has declined to step forward as a credible and constructive partner. >> reporter: and there was this on the facebook page of mark kelly, husband of former congresswoman gabby giffords, grievously wounded in a mass shooting last year. gabby and i are extremely disappointed. the nra could have chosen to be a voice for the vast majority of its own members who want commonsense reasonable safety guards on firearms but instead it chose to defend extreme pro-gun positions. but the nra's message today wasn't aimed at its critics. it was a stark reminder to its allies, politicians who need the nra's support. toe the line. >> they stifle any meaningful discussion about these issues everyone, whether you are a democrat or republican, you are afra

the national park service has not said why it ended police. and air force colonel from leesburg is thrilled to be home for the holidays. arrived at dulles sunday evening. see his wife and 9-year- son were there to greet him. deployment toird afghanistan. plans to take a in williamsburg. local girl battling cancer is her disease get in a way of helping other children. >> jay korff has the story. leesburg person has reading notes written by country from across the the globe. letters have come from saudi arabia, ecuador, all over europe. >> dear santa claus, my only have gabriella better. clerk learned their 9-year-old daughter had a brain tumor. to the make a wish foundation, she gets to travel to paris. but before going, this fourth had a selfless epiphanies. she asked for letters to santa claus because macy's donates a make a wish for letter the department receives. >> it might have felt really lonely otherwise. >> they blew past their goal of tens thousand. became 150,000, which more into more than to hundred thousand letters. afternoon, it to

i'm with the center for national policy. thank you or the debate.my point here is that there's been suggestion by some of the panelists that once islamists come to power, via ballot box, they won't give up power. and we will have sort of renewed dictatorship types in the middle east. but the events in egypt over the past few weeks suggest that you have a new politicized class of people who are not going to take that. so i agree with one of the previous questioners that in some respects this is quite healthy, that you are going to have these deep debates and divisions within the arab world or the muslim world, and people are not going to accept dictatorships like they had in the past. so i was wondering if the panelists could comment on that? >> if i could say, the point i was trying to stress on the comment on egypt in the report would put out about managing change in egypt, there are these multiple centers of power. they are out in the open. this is an early stage of the game. as rob cited the last presidential election results, there's this desire

>> yeah, i wanted to comment on operatability within the california national guard. they worked really well within the framework that we established with cal fire and then beyond that throughout the national guard and the army, all of our aviators train to the same standards so really we're able to integrate any aircrew from any state, any component, into our program at any time because we're operating you noah cording you know, according to the same standards. back in 2008 we had a very large fire event here in california and we aircraft from 22 states responding to that. there is capability to respond within the national guard alone and we have started developing relationships with our title 10 partners, we do similar academics every year like they do so i think that helps generate interoperatability amongst the title 10 and title 32 assets within the state as well. >> well, i don't know about you all but i feel pretty comfortable going into this fire season. it sounds like we have a pretty integrated group not only within the military capability you but state and l

it's posted by the national park service. this year president obama and his family will be flipping the switch like they did last year with help from scott tucker with more on what we can expect. good morning, delia. >> reporter: good morning. it's going to be a wonderful day. bundle up if you're heading down. i will tell you off the bat. the ceremony begins at 5:00 with a completely new perspective. we are giving you an up close and personal look at the lighting ceremony because take a look. we are the closest that we've been so far in the history of covering this event. if you take a close look at the backdrop, we are looking at the white house, folks. it is a spectacular view thanks to the hard work of the folks at the national park service who actually rearranged the seating to make this happen. scott turner is here to tell us more about that. how did you pull this off? >> one of the big changes this year is we took the stage and sort of turned it 90 degrees. the stage was overlooking the christmas tree. today as you see t

the first family lit the national christmas tree. doug kammerer joins us live from outside the white house. hey, doug. >> reporter: hey, doreen. just a beautiful night out here tonight. a little on the cool side. we've got the fray playing behind me right now. you can see they're playing right now. interesting story here, they're with the president. the president ran into them and said, guys, you need to come down here and play at the national christmas tree lighting. of course, the band said, yeah, we'll look at our calendar. no problem, mr. president. we'll be there for you. we just had jason mraz just get done playing. and we show you the fray is now playing right now. and they're playing santa claus is coming to town. a little bit earlier it was actually phillip phillips. we have the video that came out earlier. the "american idol" winner from last year. and he came out a little bit earlier and was singing, too. we're seeing performer after performer. these are all very big names that are going on right now. lead singer of the fra

of political and legal victory to hold israel accountable in a practical way on its violations the national law and its violations of the rights of the palestinian people especially on. the expansion of illegal surveillance palestinians can now apply to join the international criminal court and other global organizations giving them better bargaining chips in dealing with israel but it came at a price within hours tel aviv announced to peace building three thousand more homes in the west bank a sure sign that the situation on the ground won't change overnight. it's not a step forward it's a step aside or even you know a step. back that's really the international community gives hand to this violation the u.s. was also quick to cost account of the palestinian party mood the unfortunate and counterproductive resolution at the united nations general assembly that just passed today's grand pronouncements will soon fade and the palestinian people will wake up tomorrow and find that little about their lives has changed but washington's unflinching support for tel aviv has separated from some of i

. >>> the lighting of the national christmas tree. re's a live look at this hour. the first family will flip the switch shortly after 5:00. >>> let's see what kind of weather they're going to have. i know we've got possible showers out there. but will they hold off do you think? >> they're going to hold way off until after the christmas tree lighting. but i'm glad it's going to be a little crisp and cool out there for the national christmas tree lighting, you know, to get in the spirit of it all. the high clouds have already moved into the area. the monuments there in the back ground. as far as the rain, where is it now? it's two areas that will convene and come together. we've got one area of low pressure down south. it will be making its way northward. then that weather front, you can see it around chicago coming through areas of central michigan. that's what will be arriving here tomorrow. some moisture in the form of rain showers. we're in the 40s right now at 44 degrees. by the time we light that tree, national christmas tree ligh

we start this morning with david keene, who is the president of the national rifle association. friday the n.r.a. made its first public station since the newtown shooting and the reaction from the gun control vacation was scathing, no reaction there. lloyd grove of the "daily beast" summed up the reaction by saying the reviews were so brutal they would close a broadway show on opening night. this was news conference a mistake, mr. keene? >> not at all. and, fortunately, we're not on broadway. this isn't a joke. you know, we remained silent right after newtown because we didn't think it was appropriate to comment at time. but now we've come out and looked at it and the question on everybody's minds we tried address is what do you do to prevent this from happening in the future? you know, it was interesting, bob, because that week i was in israel. and they had a spate of school shootings in the 70s and they decided they needed to have security at their schools. they started out with volunteers. they eventually institutional tides and now they have armed security at the schools and

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> good afternoon, everyone. i'm sarah caldwell. a snowy afternoon in maryland. a pretty scene but making the roads quite treacherous. let's head to ava marie. what can we expect? >> a good question very sometimes mother nature throws a curve ball and it is hard to pinpoint who will get what. a mix of rain and snow across the area. we have seen heavy accumulations harford county, northern baltimore, carol and even frederick. a some places can seat up to four in a suit -- inches of snow. the transition to rain will stop the snow from falling. but until that, watch out for ice. across the metro, the white shading represents snow and pink is ice and yellow and orange are heavier rain. it is a hard line to draw who is getting rain and snow but over all you can see the transition from the south. temperatures close to the freezing mark at bwi marshall, it has warmed by one degree, good news. temperatures mid 30's 4 baltimore this afternoon which could change to rain. but

now, we must speak for the safety of our nation's children. for all the noise and anger directed at us over the past week, no one, nobody, has addressed the most important precedent and the immediate question we face -- how do we protect our children right now, starting today, in a way that we know works? the only way to answer that question is to face the truth. politicians have laws for gun- free school zones. they issue press releases bragging about them. they post signs advertising them. in doing so, they tell every insane killer in america that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk. how have our nation's morals gotten so far out of order? think about it -- we care about our money so we protect our banks with armed guards. american airports, office buildings, power plants, courthouses, even sports stadiums are all protected by armed security. we care about our president so we protect him with armed secret service agents. members of congress work in offices surrounded by capitol police officers. yet, when i

for the safety of our nation's children. because for all the noise and anger directed at us over the past week, no one, nobody has addressed the most important pressing and immediate question we face, how do we protect our children right now starting today in a way that we know works? the only way to answer that question is to face the truth. politicians pass laws for gun free school zones. they issue press releases bragging about them. they post signs advertising them. in doing so they tell every insane killer in america that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk. however our nation's priorities gotten so far out of order? think about it. we care about our money, so we protect our banks with armed guards. american airports, office buildings, power plants, courthouses, even sports stadiums are all protected by armed security. we care about our president so we protect him with armed secret service agents. members of congress work in offices surrounded by capitol police officers. yet when it c

. >>> the head of the national rifle association layed out a plan to stop the killings. ktvu's eric rasmussen found one man who is leading a different fight to treat gun violence as a public health epidemic. >> reporter: he is one of hundreds of petitions that sprung up since the tragedy at sandy hook elementary school. >> reporter: as the national rifle association took the podium in washington. >> the only thing that stop as bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> reporter: he was pushing a different solution. >> there are 30,000 people who die every year from gun violence. same number who die from car crashes. the centers for disease control researches car crashes and barely looks at guns. >> reporter: he and others are asking the centers for disease control to research and measure the magnitude of gun violence in america. the national rifle association lobbied lawmakers to cut centers for disease control funding. >> something so terrible happened that people are saying we got to do something. this is not acceptable. >> reporter: in washington protesters inter

and in the nation is ready for the referendum on time. if the people agree, they will start building institutions upon this foundation. if it is rejected, i will use my authority and duty to create a new constitutional assembly based on an agreement or on direct elections for a new assembly. >> the president's supporters have also been taking to the streets, this time for the funerals of two demonstrators who were killed in clashes with opposition protesters earlier in the week. meanwhile, the german foreign minister says the violence puts the legacy of the revolution at risk. m e to pose a political powers must come together in a dialogue. they must develop a dialogue, when it takes into account all elements of society. >> so far, the call is not being heated. the main opposition groups have rejected offers of talks on saturday. >> for more, we go live to cairo. we mentioned the reports that protesters have broken through the barricade at the palace. how tense is the situation in cairo right now? >> [inaudible] >> a cake, we have to leav

. >>> the newtown school shootings has led to a renewed discussion on gun control across our nation. politicians took to the airwaves debating gun control on the sunday political talk shows. jessica doyle is live in the 9news satellite center with more. good morning, jess. welcome back. >> reporter: thanks so much. it's great to be back. of course we want to say a very merry christmas eve to everyone. in the meantime, we're dealing with a very tough issue, the issue of gun control. we are seeing the drumbeat getting louder for gun control in the united states. we saw that on the sunday morning talk shows yesterday as well as in many other places in the wake of the new town shootings. but advocates for tough gun control laws are running head first into advocates for gun control, gun rights advocates as well as the national rifle association. in the meantime, though, that is not stopping lawmakers like senator dianne feinstein of california from possibly proposing new legislation, maybe as soon as next month that would tighten the gun control laws in america, possibly limiting which wea

she previously served in the state department and the national security council staff. s now the director of the rafik hariri center for the middle east at the atlantic council. welcome back. how serious a crisis is this for this new egyptian government and for president morsi himself? >> it's a pivotal moment in the history of egypt after this revolution we're seeing extreme polarization between islamists and non-islamist forces and between parts of the government that that contain people who were there during the mubarak regime. there are a number of senior judges. so there's a lot at stake centering on this debate over the constitution and whether it should go to a public vote. >> warner: the islamists and secularists have been at loggerheads for over a year. why has it hit such a -- at least it looks like a crisis point now, with this kind of violence between the two camps. >> there have been a couple things that have happened in the past couple weeks. with this november 22 decree president mopls did seize extraordinary powers. basically he's trying to prevent the ju

protestorses toled with security outside the national rifle association event. inside two protestors disrupted proceedings twice. the n.r.a. is a powerful lobby inner the constitutional rights to bear arms. n.r.a. speakers marked the start of a serious national conversation to prevent school shootings. their main idea, more guns in schools. >> the only way -- the only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved and informsed in a plan of absolutely protection. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> the n.r.a. is launching a national school shield program to work with schools to beef up security on sight. >> i call on congress today to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation. >> this was less of a press conference, more like an n.r.a. event to which the media had been invited. journalists tried to find out if their this conversation would involve working directly be the white house. the leadership refused to answer sayin

are a threat to the national security and under the patriot act declare them illegal. it's interesting doug thanks for the call i frankly don't i don't know if that would be possible practical or or whatever but i reluctant to go down that road because that's putting again more power in the executive branch and a big fan of power being as close to the people as possible which would which means congress and that's how the founders were thinking too that's why all legislation has to originate the house of representatives the only branch that is one hundred percent fully thrown out of office and elected every two years duke in st louis missouri a duke. i was just curious about. why we have so much coverage. horrible school shooting but when these bankers on wall street and these other big bankers when they rip us all off quietly why isn't the media cover them to cover that situation. it's a great question do thanks for calling in making and making that point actually it's sort of a point as much as a question i would suggest to you that what we are seeing and what we have

the ground today. it directly implicates u.s. national security interests, and that is the real explanation of why for americans lost their lives in benghazi. a pattern of violent activity in eastern libya was well-documented for the entire year leading up to the attacks of september 11, 2012, and yet the administration did too little to support our libyan partners who were grateful for america's help in the fight for liberation who elected a pro-american government in july, who sought greater u.s. assistance to treat their wounded, train their national security forces come to secure their borders, build their democratic institutions, and expand the rule of law. libyans did not want al qaeda militias running amok in large parts of the country. that is the reality we now face. this is the broader failure of the administration's so-called life footprint approach toward libya. regardless of whom the president nominates to serve in his cabinet, we will continue to ask these questions and demand answers and accountability. i would like to conc

the cloud is our national debt crisis. as you likely know, the u.s. ational debt stands at more than $11 trillion that could double in one decade. in addition if you had demanded the government owes from trust funds, art that exceed $16 trillion at a place that in some context is increasing by the minute the $2 million. humana strongly believes if we do not address our debt issue, our nations economy will suffer in the fiscal crisis. they must come together as a nation to fix the definitive comprehensive bipartisan plans, including progrowth action reform, spending and entitlement. humana is involved in campaign to fix the dead from the bread bowls and simpson and that was a group of state and policy leaders. we believe the campaign will make a difference in pushing congress smartly and responsibly to the comprehensive deal. and i encourage each one of you to get involved to fix the debt.org. if you take any information not presented to talk to you about it. in the meantime, recognize health care plays a significant role in our nation's spending. contr

the pot is bigger. people who are inclined to pay will play regardless of state and national. you can create lottos around the world. people will play. >> you can't win if you don' play. julian is it a good idea? it is bantered before. national lottery and now only 7 states are left that don'tine do the powerball for instance. >> i hate to agree with john. i just on principle but he is right. this is a rounding error when it comes to the national debt. we are talking about a 16 trillion debt. this is it a rounding error. one way to reduce the national debt which is a combination of spending cuts and revenue increases. obama put on the table t trillion in spending cuts and we'll find another trillion in revenue increases and every economist is unanimous. that the way of increasing revenue is going after the top two percent. >> well, i don't know. wayne, i heard lot of ideas about sphending coming out. >> julian, you need to run for public office. you are the perfect kind of guy that thinks of million of dollars is a rounding error. that's what congress thinks. you can run and so

is just all model kill or be killed with colors matching the national flag. but this country uses violence when it reaches and then it legitimizes the violence they are made in america on the oxy. you know how sometimes you see a story and it seems so for lengthly you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it.

states or on the other whether we have to actually. call this phase of historic a nation state have to think about new forms of social and political organization and i think in this respect. and i think it is that the night is there was a way for optimism and i call it the way it's. so very deep will be actually led from would be attack it from below from and from the world so that nature stable as it were a duly disappear i would rather you do. this nation's time regions and star. would have a new place in a unified europe i think now many people in the catalonia scott the language country or in flanders have simply realize is that you've made the states in order to join the club and the club is defined by several rules and these rules are quiet. clear and simple for you and you know is a causal ca tional policy where the states have to to make the world where do they have to to make power and everything is decided on the top and not from below and they see in this respect i actually enjoy my my partner's view for the european union is still is a fact that it was kind of

let's go to baseball, and the national start to think about spring training. they still have not signed adam laroche. the orioles are showing interest in the first baseman and that would give him a three-year contract. the orioles would have to compensate washington with the first round draft pick, and i don't think that will happen. the wizards have the worst record in the nba. they lost 17 of their last 18 games against the hawks. today they hired a new head coach and general manager. he spent the last 10 years as head coach of the connecticut sorensen has more wins than any coach in the league. the mystics have won only 11 of their 66 games the last two years. it seems to be a step in the right direction. >> the final look at the forecast. hey, look! a shooting star! make a wish! i wish we could lie here forer. i wish this test drive was over so we could head back to the dealership. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. test drive! but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the

the u.s. border it knows will be. a national security agency whistleblower who was the research head of the national security agency's signals intelligence division describes this as turning a key totalitarianism that all the infrastructure has been built for absolute totalitarianism it's just a matter of turning the key and actually the case has already been turned a little bit and it is now affecting people who are targeted for us drone strikes organizations like wiki leaks. national security reporters who are having their sources investigated is already partly turned and the question is would we would go all the way. u.s. army private bradley manning the man charged with handing over classified u.s. documents to wiki leaks spoke out for the first time in over two years saying he considered suicide while in detention during his pretrial hearing the twenty four year old said his detention conditions triggered anxiety attacks and made him want to hang himself manning has been locked up for more than one hundred days the longest