super committee, if they'll get it done. let's go "outfront." good evening everyone. i'm erin burnett. we're in countdown, counting down to a tax hike. congress has ten days to reach a deal that will keep american taxes from going up on january 1st. if they fail to agree, the average american worker will lose $40 a week. under fire today, republican house members who rejected a deal that would have extended the payroll tax cut by two months. >> past the two-month extension, return to work on the year-long ic extension, or else explain to the american people, 160 million, why congress would not listen to them. >> the speaker in turn went before the cameras to make his point. >> we're here. we're ready to work, looking for our counterparts to sit down with us so we can do what the president, bipartisan leaders in the house and senate all want. that's to extend the payroll tax cut for one year. >> deja deal. if everyone wants to make a deal, why do we not yet have one? let's asking republican jeb hensarling from texas, co-chair of the deficit super committee which, of course, sir, i want to talk about. let me start first with this payroll issue. how is this going to end? >> well, i wish i knew, erin. my mother-in-law says the least you can do is show up. we're waiting for our democratic colleagues to at least show up and negotiate. what's a little bit ironic here is that there's only one body of congress that has given the president what he claimed he wanted, and that is the house. the house passed a bill that extends the social security payroll tax holiday. for a year. the senate didn't do that. the house passed a deal that ic tended the extended unemployment insurance for a year. the senate didn't do that. the president said, we need to work over the holidays. we have members of congress in washington right now tonight waiting on their democratic colleagues to come and work. it's ironic that it's the house that's giving the president what he says he wants. yet he criticizes us. i hope we can get this done. it's also ironic, the reason we're here, frankly, is because the president's economic policies have failed and unemployment remains at or near 9%, and the american people suffer. they need this. they need the temporary social security payroll tax relief, particularly at this time of year, and i hope we can give it to them. i don't understand -- >> the president wants that and you want it. >> i don't know if they do, erin. >> he said he does. why do you say he doesn't. it seems the disagreement has been on how to pay for it. i'm also curious as to your view as to whether you think john boehner has failed in his job, since the senate said they had a deal they could get through the house. he's the one that told him that. is it his fault? >> no, it's not. we wouldn't be here if the president's economic policies had worked in the first place. what we're saying is our constituents are having to work over the holidays. why shouldn't members of congress be expected to work over the holidays and get this done? since the dawn of our republic, the way we work out differences between the senate and the house is through something called a conference committee. we have our negotiators ready. the least you can do is show up. the american people are getting sick and tired of congress not doing its job. and kicking the can down the road, punting the ball, whatever metaphor or analogy, i don't understand, as you say, if everybody wants to get this done, then why don't we get it done? the republican house is open for business. we invite democrat senators to sit down and negotiate this and get this done on behalf of the american people. >> representative hensarling, let me just ask you, there's something that i wanted to read to you. this was from the s&p downgrade to america's credit rating which of course as we all know was painfully lost in august. they said this, quote, the political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as america's governance and policy making becoming less stable, less effective and less predictable than what we previously believed. that's why we got downgraded. you were the co-chair of the super committee which was branded by many as a super fail. do you feel responsibility for the downgrade? >> what i think is that we've had policies and we're spending money we don't have. borrowing roughly 42 cents on the dollar, much of it from the chinese and sending the bill to our children and grandchildren. i guess i failed to convince my democratic colleagues on that committee who were good men and women of the gravity of the situation. listen, if we gave the president and the democrats every single tax increase that they have asked for, which we think will hurt the economy, hurt job creation, but even if we gave them every tax increase they're insisting on, that's about 10% to 15% of the problem. the american people are demanding some spending discipline and they certainly haven't seen it out of this president or out of the previous democratic congress. but right here, right now what we're trying to do is, number one, ensure that hard working american taxpayers get at least a thousand dollars of payroll tax relief where the democrats are offering 160. we're trying to give small businesses 12 months of certainty and not two months of uncertainty. we're trying to work through the holidays, whereas our senate colleagues want to go on vacation. that's the issue here and now. >> i get you, and i think everybody gets you in the sense that the two-month solution was a joke. it's sad that's all that could get through. the fact that the house said they wouldn't even do that and want to go back, frustrates people more than the two-month solution itself. i want to throw one thing out to you. just to get your reaction on this, i know you're frustrated on the spending side. on the tax side, if you let the bush cuts go away for everyone, you get $2.8 trillion. if you could do a deal like that and match it with $2.8 trillion in spending cuts, you'd have a grand bargain. what do you think? >> well, i don't necessarily agree with that. you know that republicans were willing to put tax revenue on the table, but we wanted to do it like every other bipartisan effort had done it, and that is through the pro-growth tax policy, where we lower rates but we broaden the base and get rid of all the special interest deductions and loopholes. we want to do that. again, erin, i would say give the president every tax increase he wants. snap back to the '01 and '03 rates. that doesn't solve the problem. in many respects it's a diversion. it is spending. >> it may not solve it -- >> the deficit is the symptom but spending is the disease. then you'd simply, erin, have more taxes chasing more spending. listen, some people would be willing to do that if you solved the spending problem. show me the spending discipline and ultimately you're going to -- >> are you one of those people? if i was on the other side and came to you with spending cuts, would you be supportive of those tax rates going back to where they were which, to be honest, are still among the lowest tax rates in american modern history? >> well, i got to tell you, for our business entities, particularly our corporations, we have the second highest corporate tax rate -- >> i'm talking about the income tax rate, the 35 to 39.6, the individual, separate from the corporate. >> well, no. i don't believe -- particularly in this economy, you ought to be raising taxes on anybody. again, there's a difference between raising tax rates and raising tax revenues, and it's pretty clear again -- we're on the record saying we want fundamental tax reform, something rejected by the democrats and the so-called super committee. right now what we're talking about is trying to get some payroll tax relief to the american people and create certainty for the small businesses that have to administer it and were just somewhat incredulous after delivering to the president what he claimed he wanted to be criticized. really there's a simple choice for the american people. should congress work over the holiday? should congress not work over the holiday? should we kick the can down the road, punt the ball down the field? or should we get a 12-month agreement here to get this done. then should we do it in a way is that works? if i could, let me read you one quote. the democrats in the senate didn't talk, didn't talk to the american people who have to do this. national payroll reporting consortium. these are the people -- >> this is the thing about not being able to implement it by the 1st of january. >> a two-month extension could create substantial problems, confusion and cost affecting a significant percentage of u.s. employees and employers. just one more, then i'll get back to what you want to talk about, but the associated builders and contractors, the people who supposedly do all the shovel-ready projects said, quote, this sort of temporary fix underscores congress' uneven ad hoc approach to the economy and causes more harm than good for america's job creators. my point is, we owe the american people a work product, but we owe them one that actually works. >> my point is, a lot of people hear you tonight and say how can you say that? you were part of the problem? it's hypocritical to hear that out of anyone's mouth, especially someone who was the co-chair of the super committee. $1.2 trillion is what you were supposed to cut. that wasn't a lot of money. you know it. i know it. how do you feel, when i express the frustration of a lot of people, come on? how could you say those things? >> i don't know. i was just talking about payroll tax relief. if you want to talk about spending, i think my record is quite clear. again, i did something that most republicans had not done. i was willing to put tax revenue on the table. the problem was i didn't see the democrats. again, these are good people acting in good faith. ultimately they weren't willing to do what was necessary in reforming our entitlement programs that are growing two, three and four times the rate of the economy. so, again, i don't know. we were willing to negotiate in good faith, but unfortunately that effort failed. i'm sorry that it failed. right now what we're talking about is are we going to get a thousand dollars for the average middle income family or are we going to give them 150? are we going to ensure that small businesses can apply this, or are we not? are we going to work over the holidays like our constituents do or are we going to kick back on vacation for two weeks? house republicans want to get this done for hard-working american taxpayers and we want to get it done now. >> thank you very much, sir. we appreciate it. i got to say, i get so upset and frustrated. like so many americans, i want washington to work. >> you and me both. >> i think it's a great country and what's happening is upsetting. let's bring in john avlon. i am upset. i know they want to get it done but they don't compromise with all of them who do want to do the right thing, but they don't compromise with each other. >> that's right. and in this case, what you heard there was spin in a vacuum. he's talking about kicking a can down the road and he wants to stay focused on the payroll tax cuts. that's fine. he's talking about deficits and debt. i believe the congressman sincerely cares about that. >> yes, he does. >> he had two chances this year to do something, deal with the deficit and the debt. first as a member of the bowles-simpson committee and he voted against the recommendations. if he and his colleagues voted on it, it would have gone down to congress for an up or down vote. after that failure he got picked to co-chair the super committee. he failed there as well. that's kicking the can down the load in a huge way, much more important to our fundamentals economies and our fundamentals than the payroll tax cut alone. when they talk about political brinksmanship, it's got jeb hensarling's face on it. >> that was it. no one wants to take the blame. >> that's right. >> it's a human problem. but right now it's a problem hurting the greatest and biggest economy on the planet. john avlon, thank you very much. 12 days to go to the iowa caucus. ron paul is leading in the polls, the fifth candidate to lead in iowa. will he win? 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and spawned a a twitter page and website for users who want to avoid long distance charges. this morning when we suggested calling the number live on the air, we were told not to, due to legal rights and clearance issues, a big issue here. sometimes you just need to hear "private eyes." >> welcome to call and oats. your emergency hotline to hear one-on-one, press one, to hear "rich girl" press two, to hear "man eater" press three. to hear "private eyes". ♪ i see you and you see me >> i'm watching john avlon. ♪ oh girl, you got to know >> in the race of the iowa caucus, this week the winner is ron paul. a new poll has ron paul taking the lead over newt gingrich, 28% to 25% with just 13 days to go. this makes him the fifth candidate to take the lead in iowa which is apparently is a state that cannot make up its mind. out front tonight is gloria borger, cnn's chief political analyst with ron paul today in iowa. john avlon is with us and brian doherty who is writing a book on ron paul. let me start with you, brian, first. what does it mean for the republican field if ron paul wins iowa? >> they should all be running scared. it means the republican party is facing a serious change. that's actually going to have to face up to its responsibility to really be the party of constitutional limited government, to actually say we can cut a trillion in spending in one year as paul has proposed, to say we can't project our military force overseas recklessly and be a limited, affordable, debt-free government. it's going to be a real wake-up call to everyone across party lines because no one is saying what ron paul is saying. >> wake-up call, john avlon, but is this something he can sustain or does this mean if ron paul wins, iowa becomes less relevant? >> it would certainly shake up the race. it's unlikely it would continue. remember new hampshire is the live free or die state with a huge libertarian population. the way, i think to understand this, a vote for ron paul is the ultimate anti-establishment vote. that's been one consistent we've seen over the past year, a lot of anger at the establishment. >> people joining and people very loyal to ron paul over the years. gloria, you spoke to some incendiary newsletters attached to his name in the '80s. let's listen to that. >> not all the time. on occasion, yes. >> did you ever object when you read them? >> we talked about this twice, cnn has. go back and look at what i said on cnn. and what i've said for 20-some years. 22 years ago? i didn't write them. i disavow them. that's it. >> but you made money off of them? >> i was still practicing medicine, that's probably why i wasn't a very good publisher, because i had to make a living. >> it's legitimate. these things are pretty incendiary. >> because of people like you. >> no, no, no, no, no. come on. some of the stuff was very incendiary saying in 1993 the israelis were responsible for the bombing of the world trade center, that kind of stuff. >> good-bye. >> all right, all right. thank you, congressman. i appreciate your answer. >> you were very gracious. he was very defensive. >> reporter: well, look, he clearly believes, this is something that happened 22 years ago. it's irrelevant he believes to the race. we ask these questions because that's our job. this newsletter went out under his name. he says he was not involved with it, nor did he read these or approve of these statements. but this is the kind of scrutiny you get, erin. you know this. this is the kind of the scrutiny you get when you become the front-runner in the republican field. so he's going to have to answer lots of questions like this. >> what do you think, john avlon? what gloria was saying at the end, saying israel was responsible for the world trade center bombing. >> that's so far off the reservation. >> a very bizarre thing to say. >> beyond the fringe. >> gloria's interview was great. she was gracious and persistent. if you're the front-runner in iowa, you get that scrutiny. you can't dodge or say it's an old issue. if those incendiary remarks went out under your name in a newsletter, that's a fact when you're a front-runner. a totally appropriate question. >> brian, do you think he can get beyond that to a mass audience? >> yeah, because that stuff, a, he didn't write it which he said over and over again and, b, it has nothing to do with what he's been running on this time and last time. his enormous new wave of fans don't care about that stuff. they're interested in a president who actually stands up for civil liberties, who doesn't believe the president has the power to unilaterally assassinate or detain anyone he wants, who is actually going to bring the debt under control. those are the issues he's running on and what voters care about right now. and need to. >> ron paul getting a lot of attention. go ahead. >> those are the issues that are resonating with the iowa voters. i was at a town hall session with him today here in mount pleasant. it was jam packed. when ron paul spoke about big government, spending too much, having too much power, this is a candidate here, you can tell why he's doing very well, he receives a standing ovation. clearly that anti-establishment, anti-washington, anti-government message has a lot of resonance here. >> let me ask you about newt gingrich, sliding to second place in iowa. it may or may not have something to do with some campaign ads launched recently. earlier today he and governor romney had some words. here is that. >> speaker gingrich has had a few less than generous things to say about me over the campaign. i'm a big boy. that's the nature of a campaign. to point out mistakes with one another. with regards to the heat associated with ads, you know, if you can't stand the relatively modest heat in the kitchen right now, wait until obama's hell's kitchen shows up. >> newt gingrich followed up with this? >> he wants to test the heat, i'll meet him anywhere in iowa next week one-on-one, 90 minutes, no moderator, just the timekeeper. he wants to tie up the kitchen, i'll debate him anywhere. we'll bring his ads and he can defend them. >> mitt romney is not disavowing the negative ads unleashed by pact associated with him. newt gingrich is saying, you want to bring it on, let's have a real debate. that's i think the right response. i'd like to see that kind of approach in politics be rewarded. >> thanks to all three. appreciate it. we shall see. getting excited in iowa. stay warm. it ain't no hell's kitchen in terms of temperature. >> it's not too bad. ron paul may have decided he isn't running as a third party candidate. new mexico's former republican governor gary johnson is. he's out front with us tonight. appreciate you being with us, sir. let me start by asking you this, why run as a third party candidate? do you think america is really ready for that? >> well, erin i haven't made the decision yet. it's about the message, and it isn't just ron paul. it's me, too, and it's others. i'm the messenger. ron paul's the mess ger. at a point when people hear this enough, they'll recognize this is the direction for america. in this case, this is balance the federal budget, this is reducing welfare, but it's reducing warfare. this is gay rights and this is gun rights. i think the majority of americans speaking with a broad brush consider themselves fiscally conservative and socially liberal. i'm one of those, and i think i have a resume as governor of new mexico to actually talk about what really needs to take place. one thing to point out what needs to take place, it's another thing to talk about the remedy and it's another thing to have a resume to suggest you can do all of those things. >> interesting comment, fiscally conservative, socially liberal. let me ask you this. "the washington post" poll shows if romney's a nominee in a dead heat with the president, if a third party candidate is added, someone like you, in this case it was ron paul, the republicans would lose. would you be all right if you were a spoiler? >> i happen to think that third party running as a libertarian candidate for president, i think it takes from both sides. i think it takes from democrats to, hey, let's stop the war, let's stop the war on drugs. on the republican side, really, let's balance the federal budget. let's not talk about a trillion dollar reduction over ten years. let's talk about a $1.4 trillion reduction now. i'm also advocating the fair tax which i really think reboots the american economy and it might send out pink slips to half of washington lobbyists. >> thank you very much, governor johnson. appreciate your taking the time tonight, sir. >> erin, thank you very much. >> bad weather coming via skype. he made it. kim jong-un, first military orders from korea coming up. terrorists possibly using our own information against us. we'll talk about that. and the mother of a missing college student comes out front. multi-policy discount. paperless discount. paid-in-full discount. [yawning] homeowner's discount. safe driver discount. chipmunk family reunion. someone stole the nuts. squirrel jail. justice! countless discounts. now that's progressive. call or click today. i joined the navy when i was nineteen. i was a commissioned officer at twenty-three. i was an avionics... tactical telecommunications... squad leader. i think the hardest transition as you get further into the military is... you know it's going to end one day. chase hired me to be a personal banker. i'm a business analyst... manager. i'm very proud to work for chase. when you hire a veteran, you get... great leadership... decisiveness... focus. chase knows, when you hire a veteran, you're hiring america's best. chase is proud to help 100,000 veterans find jobs at home. we start the second half of our show with stories we care about where we focus in our own reporting, do the work and find the out front five. first up, congress has ten days to work out a deal on a payroll tax cut extension. if they fail, 160 million americans will see an increase in their taxes. earlier tonight republican representative jeb hensarling who was the co-chair of the super committee came out front and read a quote from someone that described that, hey, look, if there's not a deal on the payroll tax cut, it shows how essentially dysfunctional congress is. here is our exchange. >> but my point is a lot of people hear you tonight and they say, how can you say that? you were part of the problem. it's hypocritical to hear that out of anyone's mouth, especially someone who was the co-chair of the super committee. $1.2 trillion is what you were supposed to cut, right? that wasn't a lot of money. you know it. i know it. how do you feel when i express i think the frustration of a lot of people, which is, come on, how can you say those things? >> i don't know. i was just talking about payroll tax relief. if you want to talk about spending, i think my record is quite clear. again, i did something that most republicans had not done. i was willing to put tax revenue on the table. >> number two, eight u.s. soldiers have been charged with the bullying death of a fellow soldier in afghanistan. an army official said private danny chen was hazed and abused in the days and weeks before his death. the 19-year-old was found in a guard tower dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. the eight soldiers face various charges including negligent homicide, maltreatment and dereliction of duty. three, parts of the western united states are about to get hit hard by a winter storm. the severe weather storm at cnn tells "outfront" that areas around the rocky mountains could see 15 inches of snow in the coming days. other parts of the u.s. will get hit with heavy rain. this storm follows a blizzard that hit the south yesterday. we're told some areas could see a half foot of snow on friday. number four, shares of rim the maker of the beloved -- yeah, that's the blackberry, closed up 10% following rumors of a takeover. analysts told us rumors don't make sense given blackberry's poor showing lately. blackberry's share in the smart phone market dropped to 11% in 2011. microsoft and nokia plotted to join forces the buy rim. according to the "wall street journal." reuters also reported amazon considered a bid. i can tell you a very senior tech executive recently told me the deal that's obvious is a solo deal where microsoft buys research in motion and they should do it right away. it has been 138 days since the u.s. lost its top credit rating. what are we doing to get it back? not enough. today ratings agency fitch called out the deficit super committee for the failure to get a deal done and warned they could downgrade the united states in 2013. go online to our website to watch our interview with representative jeb hensarling, co-chair of the super committee and how he responded to that. a new report that kim jong-il's successor issued his first military orders before his father died. according to south korea media king jong-un ordered troops to stop field exercises and return to their bases. it was a dramatic attempt to consolidate power and prevent defections. will the move work? is it more likely that kim jong-un is only 27 or 28. we don't even know his exact age, is simply in over his head without enough allies and could lose control of the country's military? joining me from washington is chad sweet, co-founder and managing partner at the chertoff group a global security advisory firm. what do you think? >> we think, number one, if you look at this move, if it is true he did, in fact, order the cessation of all exercises in the country, it's a smart move and the beginning of his consolidation of power. number one, it prevents any miscues with the united states for the south koreans that those exercises could be a provocation. number two, by pulling the forces back to the garrisons, he's able to have his political officers there to begin the indoctrination of the new regime. three, he can monitor if there's any movement of military force that he hasn't authorized, it will be evident if someone is moving against him. it's a wise move. he appears to be in the initial stages in control. again, this is very early. it's a watershed moment. >> chad, what is a better outcome for the united states purely pragmatically, forgetting all humanitarian concerns of which they are serious, is stability and consolidating power better for the u.s. or would we wish for him not to be able to succeed and there to be unrest? >> stability is number one right now. there's three possible scenarios. the best case for us would be something comparable to what mikhail gorbachev did in the soviet union which is to have an enlightened leader, he basically consolidates power, maintains controls over the nuclear arsenal and keeps things stable but begins to engage the west. he was educated in the west. nobody knows his ideology. that could be an upside surprise. the more likely scenarios are two of the lesser evils. one is he consolidates power and retains control of the nuclear arsenal but is so focused on his own preservation that he doesn't engage the west. the horrible scenario to contemplate is he doesn't consolidate power, loses control of the arsenal and there's an eternal devolution of power where nuclear weapons sink into the black market. >> obviously would show why stability and his leadership might be in our interest. thanks very much, chad sweet. >> thank you. 19-year-old aisha khan vanished after making a frantic phone call. her mother is out front. police are still searching for maine's missinged toler, ayla reynolds. leads have been pouring in, but she has not been found. i take an omega for my heart. but to be honest, i find the omega choices overwhelming. which one is right for me? 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[ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. each night we reach out to our sources around the would. tonight we go to egypt where the ruling military council expressed great regret over recent attacks on female demonstrators. mohammed jamjoom is in cairo tonight. you arranged to meet with one woman beaten in the clashes around tahrir square. tell us what happened when you saw her. >> reporter: erin, when we got to the hospital to conduct the interview with the egyptian female protester who had been beaten by riot police, we found her condition deteriorated substantially. while her family gave us access to her, when we went into the room, it was a horrific scene, writhing in agony, screaming out in pain saying she felt she was going to die, not able to take any questions. her case, just another reason why so many women here in egypt and men as well are outrages at the abuse suffered by women protesters this past week. now to syria where the main opposition group is accusing president al assad's regime of committing brutal massacres this week. 250 people have been killed in a 48-hour period. we're following the story from abu dhabi. what is the international community doing in response to this violence? >> erin, the head of the arab league asked the syrian regime to stop violence immediately and facilitate the mission of the observers expected to visit syria within days. on the other hand, france said that the violence in syria is alarming and said that the government should end this murderous spiral. into which assad is dragging his people. the opposition has called the u.n. secure council to meet immediately and find ways to protect civilians. erin? >> thank you. now a girl in mairn vanishes and police expanded their search for her. ayla reynolds disappeared friday. he was last seen wearing green pajamas with white polka dots and had a cast on her arm from a recent fall. chris is covering the story from waterville, maine. 165 leads have come insofar. where have they focuses their efforts today? >> they were all over the area, erin. and it was a multi jurisdictional search, as well. you had of course local police, state police, the game service of maine, game warden, fish and wildlife, as well as the fbi. child abduction rapid deployment unit is here. and they, too, are expanding their search, expanding the area in the neighborhood where she was last seen, doing what they refer to as knock and talks, going door to door, talking to people about. that's been an effective means of finding children. the areas today, 80 searches on the ground. they were looking in trails, wooded areas. they were also looking in a nearby river and draining a pond. one such pond we visited a short time ago. investigators were there busting through thick chunks of ice. remember, even though winter doesn't officially start until 12:30 a.m. in the morning, the temperatures here have been very, very bitter. we're talking about right now 28 degrees, and it's been like that throughout this week, morning lows of 12 degrees. they had to bust through that ice to drain the water out of there. they can see the bottom. they're digging through it, all looking for signs of that missing little girl, ayla reynolds. erin. >> thank you very much, chris. now to a missing teenager. kansas police are searching for 19-year-old aisha khan who also disappeared on friday. investigators believe the college student may have been abducted. aisha was studying at the university of kansas in overland park when she made this disturbing call to her sister complaining she was being harassed by a drunk man who tried to kiss her. >> oh, my gosh, it was so scary. my heart is like pounding. i've never got this scared in my life. and he left and he was so [ bleep ]. pick up your phone. i am freaked out right now. okay. bye. >> aisha's sister went to find her but only found her book bag and cell phone. the fbi is assisting in the search. there have been no substantial leads. aisha's mother is out front with us tonight. fouzia, thank you for being with us. we really appreciate it. let me begin by asking you how you learned about your daughter's disappearance and what you know right now. >> i was at home when my other daughter called in. actually i was calling her because i was expecting both of them at home with me. they were going to come and spend some time after they had finished their college, they were going for prayers, friday prayers. and i never heard back from -- i was trying to call both of them, but i never heard anything, so i was worried. and finally when i called my older daughter just answered the phone and then she gave it to my older son where he told me that we can't find her anywhere around the campus. >> let me ask you one thing which i know is a tough question. i know she was recently married. obviously she's very young. is there any chance that it was an unhappy marriage, that she may have run away from that or is that something that you don't think happened? >> no, never. nothing like that. nothing like that. she was very happy in her marriage. she was very happy. her husband miss her a lot. he's very shocked. everybody is shocked. we can't believe just what happened. it just seems like this is a dream, a nightmare for everyone. it's terrible. >> fouzia, if the person who abducted her, if she was abducted could hear you tonight, what would you want to tell him, assuming it is a him? >> i would like to just -- i would like to know that if he's looking at us, if he's listening to us, if aisha had slapped him, i apologize behalf of aisha. >> i'm so sorry, fouzia. >> and we pray for him, too. may the creator bring peace in his heart as he releases her. he will be in peace. we forgive him. please release our daughter and bring her back. we need her. we can't live without her. >> thank you so much for those incredibly gracious words. many people wouldn't be able to say that. thank you so much. we will keep following the story of aisha khan. we'll take a brief break and we will be back.st et a script and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? 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[ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! could scientific journals be teaching terrorists how to attack? that's what the u.s. government thinks. for the first time a national advisory board on biosecurity is cracking down on what scientists can publish and the worry is formula for bird flu produced in the netherlands could be used by terrorists. it's censorship in the name of national security. brian walls has been reporting on this for "time" magazine. brian, what exactly is the research that's out there in your view? you've spent a lot of time talking to people. how damaging is it? what could terrorists find out? >> you have two labs that have taken the h1n1 virus you hear about occasionally infecting people in the wild and tweaked it such that it's still very deadly but now transmissible so that is what scares doctors that it could mutate in the wild and start spreading person to person while being deadly. you have those researchers at work and now the question is if they've published that, an ingredient list for doing that, a terrorist, someone like that. >> why do they do that? the point was it wasn't transmissible human to human. they assume it will be and are trying to come up with a cure, a vaccine? >> that's what they're looking to do. they want to better understand this virus. does it have that capacity? if so what would change? they could pass it on to those making a vaccine or a drug, bet understand your enemy is the idea. >> okay. so what about publishing it? is it censorship or fair? >> for scientists to take the idea of open publishing very seriously, this is how your reputation gets done but this is how -- >> scientific method, right? >> exactly. if you want people who would be working the vaccine or in any other area, they need to see the work, see it in journals. that's why there's concern about the idea of censoring any of it really. >> and so are there other things we think censorship could, if they succeed here, there would be a lot of instances. >> there is that concern. this is not the first time they've thought about it or you've had the panel go out and say maybe you the editors of the journal should think about what you actually put out there. >> thank you very much. good to see you, brian. let us know what you think about that on our blog. up next, the story of a little girl in texas. 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