winston churchill made a surprise visit to washington, d.c. and the sea spirit of the holiday season amidst all of the chaos was not lost on him. >> we may cast aside for this night at least the dangers which beset us and make all of children an evening of happiness in a world of storm. >> sean: churchill would stay with president roosevelt for three weeks addressing a joint session of congress and going to church with the president. the remarkable period just a small part of a best sell ising book the last lion. it is the third volume of the churchill biography started by william manchester and completed by paul reid who joins me now. a remarkable man, churchill. one of the remarkable figures in history. before we get to this moment, how long was he an outcast and viewed as an extremist in great britain? >> pretty much h his whole political life. >> sean: before and after his time as prime minister? >> absolutely. early in the century he had switched from the conservative party to the liberal party and as he said later i ratted which is their

george washington -- in cambridge there's a tree that finally fell and it said washington took command of the troops there. he was nowhere near that tree. you can prove that 1 million times over. but people believed it and loved it. love that tree. the tree in the boston call men's. there's a -- why? because trees are a marker of time. just talk about new york specifically, yeah, i mean, obviously we develop, i mean, this is an old story. new york is always changing and that's good. but there is something happening, and i think in historic preservation, something i feel like if i want to be part of it or tried to be a part of it. this idea that when you preserve a place, that's one thing. you preserve the building, okay. but what's the use of the building or once the remembrances that live in the building still? suddenly i'm thinking that tree, they still have the stuff of it in the apollo theater. that's a tree reference. people don't forget that. but i'm back into places, and i think the new, the latest moves, the new thinking in historic preservation is about preserving use. so for

at for washington now. i realize this thing that changed the landscape of manhattan was the seat -- of the steam shovel. it would take nine centuries to flatten with a shovel. women from a low reside or colonial middle-class housewives-- housewives going to watch the battle. if you come to the corner of pit you are on the rise but there was a 90-foot precipice that they leveled. if you walk down nassau street toward made in a new pnc it is with the maids went to wash the clothes of the stream. you can see the curve of the earth. the old list built by dennis is the old jewish cemetery. it is on a rise there was a battle there. >> there is a new book about john rand paul the guy who surveyed the grid the maker of the grid. i read it. it confirmed the idea that what we are learning is the book that we have discussed here is beautiful and the adr what this city was it is called mahatta it is a book of mountain and hills and it could help us to go forward. i don't think to think that is gone. this new book talks

first "the washington times." this is the headline from "the washington post." lines of communication remain open. a related story can be found on thehill.com. house republican leaders have limited lawmakers' times and washington during high-wire negotiations with the white house on taxes and spending. in more than five weeks, the house has had 11 votes on 11 days. they get back to their districts less than 48 hours later. republican lawmakers have been made scarce said a sensitive time. john boehner trying to hold a line against tax rate increases on dealing with anger over the removal of three republican freshmen. the next call is from baltimore, md. on the democrats' line. caller: i just want to say this is a low point in modern american politics to besmirch her reputation and her intelligence to derail or career for something that is political. president obama should not have accepted her resignation, which is a fight he needed to have it. it is bigger than president obama. it is about the right of the executive to take a high-level appointment that he or sh

corporate fuppeding for "washington week" is provided by -- -- corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern, one line, infinite possibilities. >> we know why we're here, to chart a greern path in the air and in our factories. >> to find cleaner, more efficient ways to power flight. >> and harn es -- harness our technology for new energy solutions. >> the people of boeing are looking to tomorrow to build a better tomorrow. >> that's why we're here. >> additional corporate funding is provided by -- prudential financial. additional funding is provided by the annenburg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. 2012 was a remarkable year one that was shaped by other exploration of america's essential divide, red vs. blue, yes. but also red vs. red. congress vs. the white house and when it came to foreign policy, whether and how to intervene. we begin

, bringing people from outside washington into washington. it depends from city-to-city. boston business leaders are interested in health care. miami, transportation, san diego, international -- an intellectual property -- it varies from city-to-city. in terms of immigration reform, what we have seen as different sectors of the economy look at immigration differently. the high-tech community is looking at bringing in more high-skilled workers or keeping graduates in the united states to help them with challenges in computer sciences, for example, or health sciences. you have the hotel industry and the airline industry focused on trying to make sure that travel visas are administered more efficiently so we can bring in more tourists to spend more money. you have the industry sectors with an interest in immigration. our view is immigration reform will be a big issue in 2013 and you will see big companies across sectors working together, combining shared interests to get something done. host: here is a tweet from one of our viewers -- how does t

leon washington down to the end zone. after the game, the wendy's postgame report on the field with michele and bob and tony break down the game and cris and i take a look at a butte next week, cowboys and redskins. >> cris: >> referee: no penalty on the play. first down. >> al: thank god! >> cris: and all he has done. washington, alfred morris is one of the top running teams in the nfl behind him. jim haslett after losing so many star defensive players early in the year, seemed to piece it all back together and a change for the seahawks now. >> al: wilson is done for the night and matt flynn will finish it up here. he will take us to the finish line. flynn who was signed to that big contract and looked to the world that he would be the man. russell wilson just simply flat out won the job and has been the starter since the opener. >> cris: yeah, and he won it because of game altering plays. his gap plays, as russell wilson likes to call these things, and he has been sensational with them tonight. he had one turnover on a

hensac in washington as well as michael steele in washington. so we have a great panel to talk to you, congressman, this morning. you were the guy willing to cut a deal, i think at that $250,000 limit. i don't know how ostracized you got from your party on that, but -- >> actually, i'm very popular now. >> are you? you're popular, really? why are you still sitting here? >> well, honestly, again, i've never changed my mind. i think we've dealt with the revenue question early, which is not the answer to the problem, but it's a step toward it. then we could have moved toward where the real issues are, and that's spending restraint and entitlement reform, and that's what we should have within talking about over the last four weeks. having said that, that's what we'll talk about over the next two months. we'll finish this revenue piece i think in the next few days, hopefully before the 3rd, before this congress ends. and then we're going to move on to dealing with spending and entitlements, because that's the only way you can actually solve the fisca

desde washington. fernando pizarro, univision. mas adelante:. se esta agotando el tiempo para que sus envios postales puedan llegar a su destino antes de la navidad..soleado y r a es el pronostico para maÑana miercoles, pero atencion porque esperamos un descenso en las marcas termicas, detalles de esta informacion despues de la pausa... y recuerde que puede mantenerse informado con noticias washington las 24 horas del dia visitando nuestra pagina web noticiasdc. com tambien ubiquenos en facebook ... al menos 658-millones de piezas de correo fueron procesadas el lunes, convirtiendose en el dia mas ocupado del servicio postal durante el ano... se esperan que las largas filas continuen durante todo la semana... el viernes es el ultimo dia para que usted pueda enviar su paquete por el servicio u-p-s, para que su envio pueda llegar en la vispera de la navidad... la navidad llego unos dias antes para decenas de familias de bajos recursos... el ejercito de salvacion fue el promotor de esta noble causa.. lilian mass nos amplia.. salvation army christma

george washington is up there in massachusetts were about his wife. even thomas jefferson were about his wife at the same time. and i put that in. i did not dwell on it. i think it is a footnote or something like that. but washington had a personal concern there, to. >> lord dunmore, what was his position? >> he was the royal governor of virginia and he was also a guy with an incredible ego. an awful lot of inability to make the decision because he was so caught up in himself and his potential success. >> you called him combative, touchy and arrogant. >> well, arrogant like so many of the british aristocracy would have been. but he was an odd duck. when he captured and build some of the ports in the ohio valley, he named them after his subsidiary titles. he was the beer and blair -- the baron blair. it was fort dunmore for a while. he had an ego a mile wide. >> so what was the relationship in those days between george washington and dunmore? >> they knew each other. late winter, before the hostilities got intense in the capital of virginia, they were

>> this is an example of a washington has changed. they used to be certain issues, national security, transportation, agriculture that tended to not be partisan and all. you could come up with a solution that both sides could live with. this is another example of something that has historically not been a political football. there are some reasons for that. the bill used to be about 50-50 agricultural issues and 50% food stamps. now 80% of this bill is food stamps. it is not even aptly named when mcauliffe the farm bill anymore. we call it the farm bill anymore. i think it is an approach to helping the industry that makes more sense than the old school grants were they paid people not to form. something has to be done. out here in the 19 counties of indiana where we have a manufacturing based economy, there are a lot of people that a concern about whether that gets done. if nothing gets done, it is my understanding that the whole process will restart and there are opportunities are challenges that could come with these programs expiri

evening before the march on washington. he was at the hilton hotel in washington. now, he didn't like the way the march turned out, because he said it was like a picnic and that it was not strong enough. amy goodman: and he wasn't invited to speak. rep. john lewis: he was not invited to speak. we-i didn't have anything to do with that decision. amy goodman: after the civil rights and the voting rights act were signed, dr. king increasingly started speaking out against the vietnam war-his inner circle saying, "don't give that speech at riverside church," april 4th, 1967, a year to the day before he was assassinated in memphis, the "why i oppose the war in vietnam" speech. "you've got the president of the united states behind you. you got him to sign the civil rights and voting rights act," they said to dr. king. "don't take him on in a war that is not ours." yet he defied them and said it is. were you a part of that circle? what position did you take, john lewis? rep. john lewis: i supported the position of martin luther kin

we're not closer to a deal in washington today. you can tell from the sell-off, investors do not like it. >> no, posting their largest decline since november 14th, in case you were wondering. although we are off the lows of the session right now. the dow was down 189 two hours into the trading session. we've come off those lows. but at this point, the dow is down 1% for the week and we are down 1% today at 13,173. nasdaq lower, as well. let's see how many percentage points we're down right now. down 1.25%. the technology sector is taking a bigger hit today. down to 3,012 on the nasdaq and the s&p 500 index is down 1% at 1428. . >> house speaker john boehner says he's still open to a offer from the democrats. >> it was a dramatic evening last night. john harwood was there. he has the latest on the on talks. are there any talks, john? >> i think so. but they're pretty muted. this bill was not win of those weeks that makes washington look good. come to think of it, there aren't many weeks that make washington look good. but this was e

washington to wall street. u.s. stocks ended the session on friday in the red for the fifth straight day. a triple digit loss for the dow which tumbled 158 points, the nasdaq lost almost 26 points. the s&p 500 shed almost 16 points. and the gridlock in washington could help the current congress make history as the most unproductive ever. it's amazing. a review by the huffington post shows 219 bills have been passed this session, that's compared to 383 bills passed by the previous congress, and 460 by the group before that. now, to avoid the distinction, congress needs to submit about 100 bills to president obama over the next few days. something tells me they're not going to be able to do that. but there is one thing the senate has been able to agree on, getting aid to victims of superstorm sandy. by a 61-33 vote, the chamber passed the measure offering $60 billion in help. it heads to the house which must approve the bill by thursday or else the process has to start all over again. at least 113 people were kil

let's keep this in washington. because it is in the belt beltway where the republican side of the argument makes the most apparent sense. there's no suspense in how washington, d.c. is going to vote in the election. but in the real world, out in the rest of the country, the president just won reelection and his party, the democrats picked up seats in the house and senate at the same time. before this election, which the democrats did very well and the republicans did not do well, before this election happened, the republican speaker of the house john boehner had proposed that revenues should be raised by this much. this was his pre-election offer. after the election, which his party lost, after contesting on these grounds, after the election where his side lost, look at his new offer. now he's offering this much new revenue. his offer has gotten worse. you cannot have what i offered you before the election. what election? that's how the republican house speaker is playing the game this week. maybe in the world of t

you have with washington nothing you see in washington today. that is a person who is prepared to reach out to the person who knows. i spent years literally years trying to convince the government in the republican and democratic party we have ownership and 1 $10 of fraud in medicare and medicaid. my tourses were straight straightforward. american express, visa, and mastercard. it you had in the federal government you get an experience express you would save between 70 and 110 billion a year. they adopt first time the budget office model, they're not bureaucracy, they have the weird private sector idea. they want to use computers. [laughter] there a serious of weird things about this. and that is where we are. we're a country which could solve virtually all of the problems. if you read i want to close with the reference back to washington for a second. republicans belly aching. could you imagine people did who they paid. you can't do that. it won't work on a thirty-second commercial. our second is valley forge. by the way, if you want to see a c

en washington dc lilian mass univision ... despues de sus vacaciones de navidad en hawai, el presidente barack obama, regreso a washington, mientras el senado volvio a reunirse hoy cuando se acerca el plazo para caer en el llamado abismo fiscal que implica aumento de impuestos y recortes de gastos automaticas del gobierno... el lider de la mayoria del senado, harry reid, comento hoy que el gobierno parece estar llegando al abismo fiscal debido a la falta de avances en las negociaciones ... la salud del ex presidente george bush padre, sigue empeorando... los ultimos datos senalan que permanece en la unidad de terapia intensiva en un hospital de houston... silvana quiroz, desde nuestra sala de redaccion nos tiene lo ultimo sobre su condicion... silvana, adelante!! la policia del distrito esta en la busqueda de un hombre que robo un banco a pocas cuadras de la casa blanca... el incidente se produjo antes de la una de la tarde, en la sucursal del banco sun trust, localizado en la calle 17, cerca a la estacion stdel metro farragut

good afternoon love of the capital account i'm lauren mr here in washington d.c. these are your headlines for thursday december twentieth two thousand and twelve in the u.s. as the fiscal cliff approaches reuters reports republicans are aiming to vote today in the house on a plan which obama probably says he would veto meanwhile this has warned the u.s. could lose its aaa credit rating if washington doesn't get a deal to treat what we call the economy i know this may all feel like day jobs bill.

ron paul, welcome to "washington business report." you have been receiving a lot of different awards in addition to being inducted into the hall of fame by junior achievement this year. also received community banker of the year from american banker, a big national recognitioion. your colleague mercedes said it reflects on the entire bank. what does this say about eaglebank right now? >> i think mercedes is absolutely right. the people we associate with the -- of the people we have at thehe banks are so committed to what we have been able to accomplish. we need leadership which i and the board of directors provide but the 400 people who work for us help us accomplish what we have been able to. >> what are some of the things american bankers saw in your numbers that and pressed them? >> first, , we are only 14 years old, in excess of $3 billion and size -- but size is not everything because we are driven by income over balance sheet growth. we have had 15 quarters of consecutive record earnings. when you think about it, four years of r

well i'm going to washington d.c. and here's what's coming up tonight on the big picture in february of this year if you can governor rick snyder testified on capitol hill saying that right to work for less laws were not right for michigan so what's changed over the last ten months and how badly will the right to work for less law herb's the michigan economy also as tuitions rates of colleges and universities across the country continue to skyrocket tuition free universities are becoming relics of another age our students at one of the stations last to asian for universities fighting back against a first ever plan to charge tuition and last month washington state and colorado became the first two states in america to legalize the recreational use of marijuana now comes the hard part i will the states regulate the sale and use of the drug and will the federal government let them. you need to know this earlier this year michigan's republican governor rick snyder attended a hearing on capitol hill to talk about state eco

here moscow time just as the us recognize the syria's opposition the head of the coalition says washington shouldn't label any group fighting the assad regime as terrorists. syrian rebels are criticizing washington for designating one of their most ruthless and efficient groups in the fight against a terrorist organization war coming up. also the headlines this hour north korea's rocket blasts off a message of defiance go young says it sets a weather satellite in space but it's enough to one nerve the region. and president putin vows to cage the corruption says it's time for russians to seize the initiative in the country's development. over good evening chief you just joined us here at the new center tonight and first syria's main opposition group says the u.s. should reconsider its decision to add an al qaeda linked group to its list of terrorist organizations saying it's helping them in their fight to topple president bashar al assad this is the united states becomes the latest country to openly declare its support for the opposition coalition has kept speed on this kind of future cans

#my2k. >> fiscal cliff was a problem washington created. this is not the 2008 financial crisis where the markets started to crumble and washington had to act. they created this problem. i think one of the reasons why this is so closely watched and we're all so intrigued in it is there's a much bigger fight on the horizon looming, which is the debt limit. part of the reason why people are watching is if they blow up fiscal cliff, if we go over, if this is chaos, if they punt, if it's a small deal, it's going to be a sign that we're not going to get the deficit reduction that we need. >> and that's the challenge for the president. because, yes, he does have all the leverage. we talked about that. he won the election of course. but this is a test of leadership, and the american public does not want to go over that cliff because, by the way, they want the tax cut for the middle class to remain in place. that's the ultimate cliff there and the bottom line is we don't want those to expire. gwen: as we approach it we begin to try to read the tea l

what you have in washington just to take a step back here, what you have in washington is fundamentally a republican party at war with itself. you have democrats who feel that they don't need to negotiate because they won an election. while both of those situations may be understandable, the system has broken down fundamentally. we have to go over the cliff and see taxes rise, and then maybe, maybe they'll understand that they're there working for the american people and not for themselves. >> i don't think that will happen. according to the study it has taken a toll on the consumer confidence. a new survey shows consumer confidence leveling in the first half of december falling to the lowest level since august. an unexpectedly sharp decline. they say consumer anxiety stems from the country's fiscal future, not from the current state of the economy. let me ask you. you walk around a lot. does anybody, say, what's the story on the fiscal cliff, or can you believe these bozos in washington? >> the bozos in washington is what i'm more often asked about. what really bothers me is when you l

we have breaking news from washington. rich edson at the white house where president obama is about to meet with key members of congress, and, rich, there's talk of a scaled down deal put forth by the president. what have you heard? >> it that is the discussion. you have harry reid, mitch mcconnell arriving at the white house, should have house leadership shortly to begin a meeting, a last ditch effort to try to help the economy avoid the fiscal cliff, or at least pieces of it, and, yes, the buzz around washington is a possible path forward that aids describe as preventing tax increase for income amounts of $400,000 or $500,000 or so, extend unemployment insurance, but, still, nothing has been agreed to. all in washington are waiting to see how this meeting goes. it's just about to start here in dc. meanwhile, on capital hill, the fighting continues, and in some corners, a sense of pessimism. >> if we don't have a deal within the next 24 hours, the question is where do you buy a parachute? we'll be going over the cliff bec

that will do it for "good morning washington" this morning. "good morning america of" is next. >> for

this is not how things get done in washington and part of the problem of the growing incivility in washington. people don't work together the way they did. their families don't know each other the way they did. you don't have the reservoir of goodwill that reagan and tip o'neill, for example, did. look, the american people are watching this with the sort of slow motion horror. the economy is improving. and yet, washington is playing chicken with the fiscal cliff and like watching a baby play with a hammer. you're just waiting for something terrible to happen. washington has a lot of responsibility here. both parties have responsibility. as tom said earlier today, we're 98% agreement on taxes. >> yeah. >> most negotiations, that's a win. let's take that off the table. the parties need a wake-up call. the fact that 2% hangs them up as much as it doess is crazy. >> so interesting too, because congress gave the baby the hammer. >> yeah. >> they gave the baby the hammer to play with. >> you call it a self-inflicted wound, a problem that turned into a last-minute crisis. why do you call it that, a

or the way and washington once and for the. option rotund they live with us on the line from london happy new year to you and we do hope we'll continue to see you here on our teeth around twenty thirty. exception. to it have been years. now rory's back at the news already up to i have never seen a look so big. owners like forty feet in front of the size of wonderful three of you you know they say they say the camera adds ten pounds when you can go and. stop it as we all know you know artie we've got our three english around the world you. see espanol but in the united states they've got their own network of course r t america with a very impressive washington d.c. studio we can get to christine and we can almost get to christine for the moment she's just wrapping up our newscast right now in fact i can i can tell you i think the focus of our newscast has been has been that of the fiscal cliff we've been talking about it obama is going to address it in some hours but for now though make a lot of how well i will get to pepe escob

and a lot -- some much of washington is politics. one of my favorite rumors that the spread was that i was actually going to switch parties and become a republican can run for office as a republican. this is one of their rumors. the press would say we have the treasury. you have to put politics. early on in with something that mr. lewis. he sort of say, hey, i'm a democrat. i contributed to president obama pier rihanna i feel about putting an airport that i know is going to hit them right between the gas. the answer to that question is i took an oath of office. i put my hand on the family bible and swore to uphold the job that i would do. and that had a control. we had to put those issues behind us and do the job that we were sent to washington to do. >> host: did you meet with president george w. bush or barack obama? >> guest: arm sari. >> host: did you meet with george w. bush or barack obama? >> guest: nighter one. we always wanted to five nsa we because i went down with my deputy. it was really great to have in there. we really

washington is frozen. not just the nonexistent this coal talks but is leaving the washington d.c. the leadership in the lurch. and why could going up over the cliff the bullish? check out the winners and losers overall. ♪ >> we will get the market check with the deep sell-off with the nicole petallides at the new york stock exchange replica of the market's stuff is selling it is of classics flight to quality. >> absolutely with this a pate then gold is a good example when people don't know where to go. also the u.s. dollar. looking at the dow of 30 components are in the red. financial, a drug, oil, materials, , etc.. of lots of downed air rose below 13,000. you're waiting to hear from harry reid now we will not he is alluding to the fact we will go over the fiscal clef it is not reassuring that is why we see the vix index popping today with four .6% moved to the upside which is significant in brings us of the of the 20 level line we are seeing a market that is tepid and a nervous. >> el let's continue that discussion on the market. with the fourth straight loss we have the chief

we will pick up where we left off in "washington week" webcast extra. find us online still talking at pbs.org/washingtonweek. if you have questions for me, i will be online this coming thursday at noon eastern time. you can also send questions in advance to "washington week" at pbs.org. keep up with daily developments with me over at the pbs newshour and see you again right here next week on "washington week." good night. >> funding for "washington week" is provided by -- wherever our trains go, the economy comes to live. norfolk suffolk, one line, feign knit possibilities. >> corporate funding is also provided by -- boeing, prudential financial, and additional funding is provided by the annenberg foundation. the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to pbs stations from viewers like you. thank you. >> announcer: the following kqed production was produced in high definition. ♪ ♪ must have soup >> the pancake -- is to die for! >> it was a gut-bomb, but i liked it. >> i actually fantasize in private moments about the food i had. >>

interests in north korea because of a lack of diplomatic ties between washington and pyongyang. to become one of the world's industrial titans you need a workforce that's ready for anything but grim statistics in the heart of europe millions about being left behind because they have trouble reading and writing as artie's piece all of. germany and engineering giant a footballing colossus a nation at the very forefront of modern european civilization and this. when i was younger and my friends asked if i wanted to play football i was avoiding it even though i wanted to i was afraid that i might have to read something and that would reveal my problem that i couldn't read or write properly statistics from the ministry of education suggest around seven and a half million germans are functionally illiterate that means that they can read or write single sentences but nothing more complex than that tim taylor fellner left school without the skills needed to get by in the world he turned to adult education and now works to help others. on the toughest part he says is getting people to co

it is coming out of washington, d.c. the speaker of the house had a plan b, in terms of the fiscal cliff deal. the white house came out and said they reject plan b. dagen: again, one of the major differences, $400,000 cut off for a tax increase versus $1 million which is what the house speaker had presented to the white house. it seems as if taxes, for at least some people, will go up. connell: now we have this story that we have been meaning to talk about. users of instagram, the company is claiming ownership of the photos. shibani: a bout of people are reaching the conclusion of not posting photos at all. it is so important to read that fine print. the photo sharing site instagram posting on its company blog, if you do not read the coopany blog, you will not find this out. the company is changing its privacy statement so i can make money off of the pictures whether you like it or not. you agree that a business or other entity may pay us, basically anything that you put up there along with any associated metadata or act

kate balduan, live in washington. thank you. >> thanks, guys. >>> all right, recreational pot is now legal in washington state under a new law which took effect at midnight. adults can possess up to an ounce of marijuana legally. it's still against the law to grow pot or to sell it. but those celebrating the new normal are accentuating the positive. >> it's amazing. i'm not a criminal anymore. i can't go to jail for small amounts of marijuana, you know? it's -- i'm free to be free. >> the new law doesn't allow smoking in public places, just like alcohol, but police in seattle and across the state made an exception for overnight celebrations to ring in this new law. >>> so it's another public relations problem for penn state. the school's kai omega sorority is under investigation for stereotype i stereotyping latinos. pictures showed the sorority members in somberos with fake mustaches with signs that say "i don't cut grass, i smoke it." >>> taif been missing for four months now. police say the bodies of two young cous

times" bureau chief joining us here in washington. you can'm wondering if provide an update on what is happening in tripoli from your vantage point. caller: i just spent a couple of days up there. it is the second set of web and on. -- city of lebanon. sunni muslims car the prevalent population and prevalent rebel group. there's been periodic combat there between sunni gunmen and people who are part of the sect. the resident, a think, 14 or 15 people killed. -- there has been, i think, 14 or 15 people killed. the has been battles up there. it feels like a mirror image of syria right now. host: are u.s. intelligence officials or military leaders talking to these circassian rebel groups? is there a line of communication-- syrian rebel groups? is there a line of communication with these potential leaders? caller: it is a little bit unclear who is a moderate. the range of fighters goes from very conservative islamic to groups that are like al qaeda. it is not clear who exactly the americans are trying to deal with. they want to deal with

. >> what you're listening to are actual calls at the washington poison center in seattle. >> just drowsy, okay. >> and lately, more and more of them sound something like this. >> yesterday i took about 90 milligrams of perkocet. >> oh, you did? >> 6:00, i wasn't really thinking, and i did a bar of xanax and i'm reading this stuff online about how that's a lethal combination. i have a lot of friends who died in their sleep and i just wasn'tp thinking. so now i'm wondering if i should stay up tonight. >> that kind of call to me is really scary. >> oh, it is scary. >> what goes through your mind? >> i would be very frightened about that young man not making it through the night. >> dr. bill hurley is the medical director of the poison center. he's also a trauma doctor. >> possibly too many of his meds, they're not sure what all they've got. >> we are here in seattle in part because the problem is bad. >> this bottle still has quite a bit in it. >> but also because, as you will see, there are real solutions. >> no other meds. >> for hurley, it started five years ago. >> he's got pinpoint pup

cnn's emily schmidt now from washington. emily, so is the president optimistic a last-minute deal can be reached? he came out late yit yesterday with another suggestion. >> reporter: that's right. they were his parting words before he left washington for hawaii. he put out a scaled back plan. he said it was an achievable goal. this morning, we heard from house speaker john boehner who was talking about can you avert the fiscal cliff. in his radio address he says hope springs eternal. yet, you listened yesterday, and it's clear the divide between them is very large still, indeed. >> in the next few days, i've asked leaders of congress to work toward a package that prevents a tax hike on middle-class americans, protects unemployment insurance for two million americans, and lays the groundwork for further work on both growth and deficit reduction. that's an achievable goal. that can get done in ten days. >> the president's solution of raising tax rates would still be red ink for as far as the eye can see, and it would hurt jobs

it's nine pm moscow time the main news tonight the syrian opposition says washington shouldn't label any group fighting the assad regime is a terrorist that has a massive blast rocks damascus. but there is no word from america on changing its definition says there has been overwhelming evidence terrorists by a long sight the rebels more details coming up. the other big stories of the day north korea's rocket blast so often a message of defiance gone young says it sent a weather satellite into space but it's enough to unnerve the region. and president putin vows to cage the corrupt and says it's time for russians to seize the initiative in their country's development. in a very good evening to if you just joined us money kevin i mean this is our first syria's main opposition group says the u.s. should reconsider its decision to add an al qaeda linked group to its list of terrorist organizations saying it's helping them in their fight to topple president bashar assad this is the united states becomes the latest country to openly declared support for the opposition coalition meantime th

easy merging from that meeting with the washington business leaders. let's see what he has to say. >> jim, thanks for your leadership. you know, originally my team had prepared some remarks, they always get nervous when i'm out there on my own, never know what i might say. but given the dialogue that we had the last time, i thought it was useful for me to abbreviate my remarks, speak off the cuff at the top and then most of the time just having a conversation. let me begin by saying all of you in this room are not just business leaders, not just ceos of your companies but you're also economic leaders and thought leaders in this country and i recognize that all of you have an enormous investment not only in your own companies but in the well-being of america. there are a lot of patriots in this room and people who care deeply about not only your bottom lines but also the future of this country. you've shown that over the last four years. we've gone through as difficult of an economic period as we've seen in most of our lifetimes and we've emerged not ye

anderson walked me around a hospital in tacoma, washington. one of the first things you will notice here and every e.r. in the state is a reminder for patients of restrictions on how much pain medication they can be prescribed. >> not only are we all playing by the same rules, we are also now all communicating with one another. >> this is being done through a statewide database. it provides a patient's history of visits to emergency departments in the last five years as well as other vital information. >> in some cases, it might even show care guidelines, like this particular physician has said no narcotics should be issued through the emergency department because they are on a pain management contract. >> if something like this didn't exist, the scenario is somebody could come to one emergency room, possibly get a prescription for pain medication and maybe even the same day, go to another emergency room and get a prescription for pain medications. that could happen? >> that's happened for years. >> so pharmacies here also share data. >> we no

that happens tomorrow in washington state. there are many, many unanswered questions as to how this will work in the actual real world, right? questions the senate police department is trying to answer with its previously lauded for its awesomeness on this show faç page called "marijwhatnow?" but there are many unanswered questions about how this is going to work in washington. for one, it is still illegal to sell marijuana, but perfectly legal to possess an ounce of marijuana, as of tomorrow. and once they have fully implemented their laws, the states will host legalized, regulated marijuana industries. not just decriminalization, but pot incorporated. licensed by the state and paying taxes to it. this, all while the federal government still views possessing and certainly growing, selling, and distributing marijuana as serious felonies. how's that going to work is the big question that hangs over whatever celebrations the citizens of washington might engage in tomorrow. on a side note, tomorrow is also the first day that sam

day that gay people could marry in washington state. the supreme court will take up the issue. which way will they go? >> striking down the federal law, defense of ameritech, saying that we don't recognize -- defense of marriage act, saying we don't recognize marriage and it is it, but i cannot imagine the courts saying to mrs. be that you are going to have to marry -- courts saying to mrs. to be that you have to marry same-sex couples. conservatives worry that is their last shot at this, that what it much harder to invalidate -- >> you can see where this train is going. there is going to be gay marriage in the united states. >> we have not had such a rapid change on social is used as on this issue of what the court should not do is do what it did on abortion, get in the way by imposing its will. let this happen through the legislatures. >> "the supreme court follows election returns, and if that is the case, you'll see a sea change in a marriage, because it is growing acceptance -- . >> but not from the court. >> let me have a word on

but washington is at a standstill. although the president is refusing to sit downwn with republicans, he did ta to speaker john boehner this afternoon, and the white house is talking to federal agencies, warning them to get ready to go over the cliff. with more on this, congressman tommcclintock of califnia. a member of the budget coittee. if you for joining us today. you know, we heard about this telephone call between speaker boehner and the president. you think anything will come of that? >> the president has been very clear. he is hell-bent to raise taxes massively on those very wealthy folks made making over $250,000. bearer 80% of small businesses, in and exactly the time when we are depending on them to create two thirds of the new jobs in our country desperately needs. gerri: the republicans are in the way of a settlement. i want to hear what he said today. here is the president. >> we can probably solve this in a week. it is not that tough. but we need that conceptual breakthrough that says that we need to do

. >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> good morning, washington. it is monday, december 24. i am scott thuman. >> i am natasha barrett. we will get to meteorologist adam caskey. are you warm? >> i will fire up the yule log in about nine minutes. first let's start with what's happening outside. we will have a light wintry mix today, but nothing to panic about. just enough to put us in the spirit of the season. is a look at our satellite and radar. areas of rain migrating through southwestern virginia. that will continue to push our way and bring us in light wintry mix about lunchtime. 26 in a country village, 25 in waldorf, 23 in bristow. 28 in aldie. a light, wintry mix around noon and then kept in light rain fall in the afternoon. damp roads is all that's expected. high temperature of 42. >> some travelers could be dealing with a nightmare before and after christmas. meteorologist are talking about two big storms. >> get ready for a white christmas across parts of the u.s.. this is video from reno nevada, where visibility was an issue as drivers t

president obama back in washington d.c. spoke to all the congressional leaders, top democrats and republicans in the house and senate, no update, or signs of real progress, senior administration official says this one is up to congress to figure out. house republicans say we need the senate to act, senators say we need republicans to act. terry reed hit the floor a short while ago and said it looks like we are headed over the fiscal plan and called on the house to set -- pass the senate plan. >> i see the speaker painting the escape hatch, put the economic base in your own state as speaker of the house. million of middle-class families are nervously watching, waiting and counting down the moment until our taxes go up. >> that escape hatch would keep taxes where they are for families earning less than $250,000 a year and increase for those earning more. a response from house speaker john boehner's office, spokesperson saying harry reid should talk less and legislate more. the house has passed legislation to avoid the entire