still, interestingly, this appointment to the u.s. senateday is actually the second one that governor deval patrick of massachusetts has made as massachusetts governor. when senator ted kennedy died in office, the governor made a similar choice for the appointment to that seat when he chose, also like mo cowan, a trusted former staffer who had no designs on running for the seat himself. and if you think about that, it's actually a pretty respectful way to handle the profoundly anti-democratic process of one person just getting to designate a person to be a u.s. senator because there is a vacancy. we don't generally do that for the house, right? but we do that for the senate, which is a kind of grossly undemocratic thing about the u.s. senate. and when a governor is given this grossly undemocratic power to be the individual designator of who gets to hold a seat in the u.s. senate, how that governor chooses to use that power says a lot about that governor in terms of his or her ethics. they can, as deval patrick did both times, they can appoin

the third african-american in the u.s. senate. i spoke to him after his great victory in illinois at a time when most people knew him as a skinny kid with a funny name from the south side of chicago. the phrase you have been accustomed to using, the skinny kid with a funny name from the south side of chicago. beyond that issue, how did you get beyond getting beyonpeople o vote for a guy whose name they could not renounce? >> they still screw it up sometimes. the call me alabama or yo mama. one thing that i confirmed in this race is the american people are decent people. they get confused sometimes. they're busy. there stressed. they are tired. sometimes they are watching fox news, that will get them confused. tavis: yeah. >> when you talk to them about issues, the things we have in common, our belief that every child should have decent shot at life, the vulnerable around us must be cared for and the government have role in that, people respond. one of the things i started off this campaign believing was that if people knew who i w

as soon as possible. >> both nominees face difficult questions before they are confirmed in the u.s. senate. chuck hagel seems perfect for the pentagon. a former republican senator from nebraska. some conservatives say he is not strong enough supporter of israel, even though he voted many times to send billions of dollars there. >> i will do my best for our country, for those i represent at the pentagon, and for all of our citizens. >> john brennan is a long time administration officials who spent 25 years in the cia. >> i will make my mission to ensure the cia has the tools it needs to keep our nation safe and that its work always reflects the liberties, the freedoms, and the values we hold dear. >> but he is controversial, too. he has been the public face of the legality of drone strike spread >> he understands we are a nation of laws. in moments of debates and decisions, he asks the tough questions and he insists on a rigorous standards. >> four years ago, john brennan had to pull his name out of consideration because liberals did not think he had done enough to dissociate himself from t

. >>> earlier this morning, the u.s. senatel avoid the fiscal cliff and a vote is expected this morning. he said neither republicans nor democrats got everything they wanted and this a agreement should work and the house should pass it without delay. the house of representatives should reconvene at 9:00 our time. will house republicans try to block house of that senate pill. >> they have hundreds of new laws and they just took a affect today. and we will tell you about one that affects you if you use facebook. >> reporter: well there are a total of 876 new laws in the books in our state and one is designed to protect homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure. this new law would prevent banks from starting the foreclosure basis and it will protect people going through alone modification. and you can still go ahead with the for close to our some time. it is now illegal to use facebook user i.d. and password to keep their jobs. colleges and user add mixes are also prohibited in doing the same thing and can no longer ask the students.

a u.s. senate committee is set to decide on whether democrat john kerry should replace hillary clinton as america's next secretary of state later this hour with the challenges he may be facing if he's given the green. and white of which we speak to an embattled online business and freedom of information activist who claims human rights record and be politically motivated persecution of his colleagues around the globe. the first north korea is what it is prepared to carry out a plethora of rocket launches a nuclear test to allow to compete militarily should words turn to war for the message comes a day after the u.n. approved more sanctions against pyongyang over a satellite launch in december and brian becker i spoke about earlier he's from the anti war coalition says the situation is so volatile conflict could break out at any moment. korea is the most heavily militarized part of the planet the u.s. won't sign the landmine treaty one of the few countries not to be a signatory to it because they sa

as the u.s. senate prepares to decide on whether chuck hagel will become the new defense secretary will look at why to be the most controversial pentagon chief in recent years. the british government's raises twice as many taxes as a cut as a new study shows how a shelling out billions in revenues from people's pockets. is not am in the russian capital you're watching r t with me marina josh welcome to the program. now as french and malian forces make more gains in the battle against islamist rebels in the african country concerns are growing over how the conflict is being fought human rights groups and a pan and activists are raising the alarm over the information blackout on the number of civilian casualties during the french led intervention and the western backed troops are now being increasingly accused of war crimes now in the towns liberated by the french army there is also a growing sense of revenge the food filmed by an amateur cameraman apparently shows a mob attacking and mutilating the corps

but the house of representatives just did is a green light to a bill that the u.s. senate passed in the very early hours this morning that would roll back those tax hikes for most of the middle-class. it would hike tax for the rich and delay those massive spending cuts for 2 more months. the house just approved it now. our reporter has been following all this for us. he is live on capitol hill. >> good evening from capitol hill. now the vote continues in the house but by at least 40 votes. the fiscal cliff fix, put together by president obama was senate republicans, has passed the house. conservatives figured they have to go along or get blamed for taking us off the cliff and keeping us there. first, they fought back. it was a struggle between speaker john boehner and more conservative republicans like paul ryan and eric cantor, the house republican leader who walked with the speaker but this afternoon, opposed the fiscal cliff deal that speaker boehner tonight would allow to pass the house. >> the senate passed it this morning, 89-8. mcgrath republicans cooperating. to re

the u.s. senate is gearing up for a potentially heated confirmation hearing for the new defense secretary chuck hagel as candidacy is widely viewed as president obama's most controversial pick for a key post during his presidency the decorated war veteran stance of seeing military forces as a last resort and pro israeli foreign policy has attracted both admiration and criticism but the latter has been far more vocal to camp reports chuck hagel has been under attack since his name was floated as president obama's pick for the defense secretary position it would see attack ads on all major u.s. t.v. channels saying what it carol defense secretary chuck hagel would be also our december and much of january they've been running these ads you know between the commercials of beauty products prescription drugs and whatnot so somewhere between those you could catch attack ads like this one secretary of defense chuck hagel president obama says he supports sanctions on iraq eagles voted against the legal voted

as the u.s. senate prepares to decide on whether chuck hagel will become the new defense secretary will go why it could be the most controversial pentagon chief in recent years. and this five promises to ease the burden the british government raises twice as many taxes as the cuts as a new study reveals how the public continue to bear the brunt of what seen as poor crisis handling. it is eight am in the russian capital you watching r.t. was me marina joshie welcome to the program. as french and malian forces make more gains in the battle against islamist rebels in the african country concerns are growing over how the conflict is being fought human rights groups an independent activists are raising the alarm over the information walk out on the number of civilian casualties during the french led intervention and the western backed mali and troops are now being increasingly accused of atrocities as a local reporter. told r.t. . as we continue moving north we find reports of extrajudicial killings and evid

the u.s. senateis gearing up for a potentially heated confirmation hearing for the new defense secretary chuck hagel candidacy is widely viewed as president obama's most controversial pick for a key post during his presidency the decorated war veteran stance of seeing military force as a last resort and pro israeli foreign policy has attracted both admiration and criticism but the latter has been far more vocal to camp reports chuck hagel has been under attack since his name was floated as president obama's pick for the defense secretary position it would see attack ads on all major u.s. t.v. channels saying what a carol defense secretary chuck hagel would be all through our december and much of january they've been running these ads you know between the commercials of beauty products prescription drugs and whatnot so somewhere between those you could catch attack ads like this one secretary of defense chuck hagel president obama says he supports sanctions on the right people voted against illegal vo

the u.s. senate passed out today confirmation hearing all of one of president obama's most controversial choices for kids up in his team chuck hagel nominated to be the new defense secretary has been under fire for his stance towards iran and is accused of being anti israel his gannett she can explain why certain political groups are so against his candidacy. chuck hagel has been under attack since his name was floated as president obama's pick for the defense secretary position it would see attack ads on all major u.s. t.v. channels saying what a terrible defense secretary chuck hagel would be all who are december and much of january they've been running these ads you know between commercials of beauty products prescription drugs and. those you could catch attack ads like this one secretary of defense chuck hagel president obama says he supports sanctions on iran he voted against the legal voted against labeling iran's revolutionary guard a terrorist group and while president obama says all options

the u.s. senate has started a confirmation hearing of one of president obama's most controversial choices for a key job in his team chuck hagel nominated to be the new defense secretary has been under fire for his stance towards iran and is accused of being anti israel argy is gay and she can explains why certain political groups are so against his candidacy. chuck hagel has been under attack since his name was floated as president obama's pick for the defense secretary position it would see attack ads on all major u.s. t.v. channels saying what a terrible defense secretary chuck hagel would be all who are december and much of january they've been running these ads you know between commercials of beauty products or prescription drugs and what so somewhere between those you could catch attack ads like this one secretary of defense chuck hagel president obama says he supports sanctions on iran he voted against the legal voted against labeling iran's revolutionary guard a terrorist group and while presi

u.s. senator has pleaded guilty to drunk driving charge in alexandria. it all stems from an incident in december where senator mike crapo was pulled over for running a red light. brianne carter has the story. >> u.s. senator mike crapo pleaded guilty to driving under the influence days before christmas. >> i am embarrassed to have to admit publicly that i failed. >> as part of the sentence handed down today, he will lose his license for one year. the idaho republican will have to attend an alcohol safety program and pay a fine. >> i regret the choice i made, because tragic consequences can result from combining drinking and driving. i am truly grateful that no one was injured. >> back on the morning of december 23, the congressman jack was pulled over for running a red light at the intersection of hume and mount vernon ave. he says he was drinking vodka tonic, felt restless, and one for a drive here in alexandria. he failed several sobriety tests. he registered 0.11. this morning the senator issued several apologies. >> i've profoundly sorry for the pain

let's bring democracy to the u.s. senate. >> the polls suggest that the majority of americans really want filibuster reform and want the talking filibuster back. >> right. overwhelming majority. two-thirds, at least. on the other side, 7 or 8 or 9% say, oh, yeah, they should be able to phone in from their fundrai fundraiser, and say, i object, and now you have unanimous consent, and to get out of unanimous consent, you need 60 votes to move forward. very few americans believed that's what they elected a senator to do. >> so a senator could be sitting somewhere off on capitol hill, raising money on the telephone which they all spend hours every week doing, ask there is a vote coming up, a bill being put forward, she can call the cloakroom and say, i filibuster? >> i object. it's not really a filibuster because the filibuster would mean you would be talking. so in this case, they just say, i object. there is no unanimous consent, so they can quickly shift the burden to the majority party, or to some coalition of 60, and if the

the u.s. senate passes an 11th-hour bill to avert the fiscal cliff. this morning, it's the house of representatives' turn. >>> stanford fans are counting down the hours to today's big game. we have live coverage from pasadena on the 2013 rosebowl. "mornings on 2" begins right now. >>> well, good morning to you. welcome to "mornings on 2." i'm dave clark. >> i'm tori campbell. it's tuesday, january 1st, first day of 2013. >>> topping our news -- hundreds of thousands of people gathered along san francisco's waterfront at midnight to ring in the new year. but it was a holiday celebration marred by violence. ktvu's alex savidge tells us a 12-year-old boy was among three people who were shot. alex? >> reporter: well, as thousands packed the waterfront last night, someone opened fire here on embarcadero close to pier 2. a total of two people shot here. one of them a 12-year-old boy. he was hit in the foot but is expected to be okay. now, this happened about 11:30 last night, as people were waiting for the

." >> the u.s. senatepproves the deal to stop tax rises in spending cuts, which many feared would send the economy off of a fiscal cliff. leader of north korea makes a rare news." broadcast a reunified korea. >> the gift of peace, the pope celebrates a new year's mass in rome. welcome to "bbc world news." also in this program, top concerns as one in three women in south africa try to lighten their skin. and an amazing escape by helicopter after it crashes into the sea in brazil. ♪ >> hello, happy new year to you. the deal is done now, the u.s. is counting on the and calls fof wrapped -- house of representatives to approve a bill that would avert the fiscal cliff. it was approved by the senate in the early hours in new year's day. the deadline was technically missed, but as long as the bill clears its final hurdle, a few effects will be felt, as today is a u.s. public holiday. >> vice-president joe biden, dropping in on congress until -- as the clock ticks down to midnight. with good humor, a deal with sena

u.s. senators. that's a first. the other, tim scott of south carolina, was also appointed to his seat. and senator kerry's departure means elizabeth warren, who was just sworn in, is now the senior senator from massachusetts. >>> one of the biggest challenges that will immediately confront secretary of state kerry at the state department is the crisis in syria, where there's been a major development today. an israeli air strike inside syria near damascus. richard engel, our chief foreign correspondent, here with us in the studio tonight. what's the significance of israel reaching in and popping a target like that. >> it's quite significant. and this is the first time israel has attacked anything in syria for five years. what we've been able to confirm, an israeli air strike took place and attacked a convoy, probably stationary, just north of damascus. it was packed with fairly sophisticated russian anti aircraft missiles. and that those missiles were on their way to lebanon. they were going to be handed over to hezbollah. hezbollah is very powerful in lebanon, israel's sworn enemy. isra

on the impeachment -- on the day of the impeachment vote in the u.s. senate, as the senate is voting she's having a three-hour meeting with the campaign team about the new york campaign. in many respects she goes back and becomes the person she was as a student, as a student at yale. building bridges, listening to people, finding out what they want to have happen in new york. she becomes an incredibly successful united states senator. she build bridges, her best friends, not her best friends but john mccain lindsay graham. so there now in a difficult place. bill manages to come back, he always was an effective president. he almost redeemed himself by bringing peace to the middle east. she's off doing incredibly important work in new york. her life is more and more independent of his. and she becomes in a sense an independent person one more time. they are still together. they still are in love. but now she's the person in charge and it's her career that is at stake. we have never had this kind of story in the american white house. we have never had this kind

we're watching the debate in the u.s. senate on the filibuster rule and there's a story available online at the hill.com by alex bolton. he point out most the new clasts democratic freshman saying the filibuster reform should require senators to hold the floor and debate. some of the old -- junior democrats including tom udall of new mexico, the chamber will remain gridlocked for most of the time. an issue that the senate democratic leader harry reid addressed on the floor yesterday. >> in waning weeks of the last congress occupied by other matters including the fiscal cliff, madam chair, i believe this matter bickering of 113th congress which just started. so today i will follow the precedence set in 2005 and 2011 reserve the right of all senators to propose changes to the senate rules. it's my intention that the senate will recess today rather than adjourn to continue the same legislative day and allow rules discussion continue. madam president i am confident that the republican leader and i can come to an agreement that allow

as the u.s. senate prepares to decide whether chuck hagel will become the new defense secretary will look at why to be the most controversial pentagon chief and recent years. the british government raises twice as many taxes as a cut as a new study shows how shelling out billions of revenues from people's pockets. it is not i am in the russian capital you're watching r t with me marina joshie welcome to the program. now as french and malian forces make more gains in the battle against islamist rebels in the african country concerns are growing over how the conflict is being fought human rights groups and upin and activists are raising the alarm over the information blackout of the number of civilian casualties during the french led intervention and the western backed troops are now being increasingly accused of war crimes now in the towns liberated by the french army there is also a growing sense of revenge the food filmed by an amateur cameraman apparently shows a mob attacking and mutilating the corps

>>itate's new u.s. senate sets a record for women, and turns out to witness a courageous back for the capitol. and combat surgeon lee warren thought he couldn't save's soldier. >> the captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: for three weeks, everyone in newtown, connecticut, has longed to return to normal. today, many of them caught a bus to get there. more than 400 students, kindergarten through fourth grade, returned to class for the first time since a gunman killed 20 of their classmates and six educators. they traveled to the nearby town of monroe where a closed school was reopened for them and renamed sandy hook elementary. we don't know whether this boy was sininalling peace or victory, but both seemed about right. jim axel sod in newtown for us tonight. >> reporter: one police lieutenant here called the new school th the safest school in america. i.d. checks on every adult who got anywhere near the place. police sat down with the superintendent. >> the thi

u.s. senators. here are some facts about the incoming class.he new congress will have 20 female senators the most ever in u.s. history and for the first time it will boast an all female delegation for a state. that being new hampshire. bald win will become the nation's first openly gay u.s. senator. >>> they left without a vote on it and angered a lot of people. new york lawmakers say house speaker john boehner has promised votes or aid to sandy victims by january 15th. the speaker scheduled the first vote for tomorrow for a $9 billion bill in flood insurance. the remaining $51 billion in the package will be voted on in the next two weeks. the decision to cancel the vote outraged lawmakers from new york and new jersey and members from his own state. >>> time now for a check on the weather. over to meteorologist lynette charles. chilly out there. >> it is cold it there this morning. megan it's going to stay that way throughout the day. not going to be dealing with any type of precip. we have some snow to the north and rain to the south. that sta

that's still to come for you but first a u.s. senate committee is set to the side of whether john kerry should become the head of the u.s. state department the democrat senator was nominated by president obama to replace hillary clinton as the country's top diplomat will talk more on the potential challenges kerry may face we're joined now by gareth porter historian and investigative journalist on u.s. national security policy well kind of legacy is hillary clinton leaving for her successor. well the clinton legacy is pretty much i think the legacy of american wars and a counterterrorism policy that has usurped the the usual prerogatives of the state department she has gone along with this fundamental shift in american national security policy which has started really of course after nine eleven in the bush administration but has continued under president obama and what. hillary clinton did which was more important than anything else during her four years as secretary of state was to be part of the coalition the phalanx if you will of p

will no longer be the member of the u.s. senate. erry, formerly the senior senator of massachusetts officially sent in his resignation after 28 years in the senate, and that is because he is about to have a new job. the secretary of state. the senate voted 94-3 to confirm his nomination as secretary of state, in a not at all surprising move. two of the three votes came from -- -- yeah, you will be remembered for that, senator cruz, and also john cornyn. the third vote came from james inhof from oklahoma, god bless him, so they lost, john kerry is leaving. there is already a date selection, massachusetts governor, deval patrick will hold a special election to replace john kerry on june 25th. so far the only person to announce his run for that seat is massachusetts congressman ed markkey, but tonight, steven lynch tells nbc news that congressman lynch is going to announce he is also running for the seat on the democratic side. and of course there is lots of speculation about the other side of the aisle. a certain senator who just lost

the u.s. senate expected to confirm kerry to that post when it votes sometime today. he will replace hillary clinton of course who is stepping down as secretary of state. meantime, a special election being set up later on in june in massachusetts to fill kerry's seat in the senate. >>> it's 4:49. "star wars" 3-d put on hold. we'll tell you why lucas film stopped production. >>> a follow-up to pg&e's plans to evict those small little wooden gnomes all over oakland. see what happened when the utility company found the man who made them. >>> traffic looks smooth. a couple spots on highway 85 that i'm watching coming up. >>> 49ers quest for six rolls on and we feature another stop along the way. super bowl xxix and epic duo of steve young and jerry rice. >> and he is looking for jerry. and rice is there. and he's into the end zone. touchdown 49ers! first touchdown of the game comes after only a minute and 24 seconds. 44 yards. touchdown pass to rice. he sets another record. >>> welcome back on a tuesday morning. we use our camera to shoot that beautiful moon on a tuesday

u.s. senator chuck hagel has been critical of israel's policies he's been critical of the israeli lobby in washington here's what he said the political reality is that the jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here i've always argued against some of the dumb things they do because i don't think it's in the interest of israel i just don't think it's smart for israel and of quote among other things chuck hagel dared to say that u.s. interests should trump israeli interests if they conflict he supported direct negotiations with iran and unlike many other politicians here in washington who keep repeating the all options on the table mantra but these publicly they say that the chuck hagel has been straightforward in saying a strike on iran should not be an option and he has also been a proponent of a more even handed u.s. policy with regards to these really palestinian conflict and the u.s. has been anything but even handed on the issue it's also for statements like this one that he's been on. take a look this is chuck hagel in two thousand and six the united states will remain committed