there was plenty of talk about the dire consequences of the looming fiscal cliff. we re talking about tax cuts expiring for everyone automatically, payroll taxes going up, emergency unemployment benefits ending and, of course, the $1.2 trillion in so-called sequestration cuts. about half of that sum is going to come from defense. the obligation of the commander in chief is to act like the commander in chief, and that wld be to prevent these cuts, which in the words of his own secretary of defense, would devastate our national security. interesting, acting like a commander in chief, because a lot of the previous commanders in chief have done a lot more than barack obama may be about to do. we ve certainly been here before. ronald reagan during his second term cut defense spending by about 10%. the cold war was winding down. those cuts continued under former president george h.w. bush, about 18% in cuts. and then former president clinton. clinton did start to increase defen
good evening from london and day three of the spectacular olympic games. behind me is the aquatic center. a new world record. an extraordinary achievement. a devastating loss for u.s. gymnast jordan weeker. leaving her team and country shocked. finishing out of the medal race. and gymnast twisting and turning in their seats as they watch her perform. for sheer drama, nothing can quite match the u.s. men s team and the ongoing battle for glory between michael phelps and ryan lochte. are we witnessing a changing of the guard? with me now on our big story is olympic legend mark spitz. also with me is christine brennan, sports columnist for usa today. welcome to you both. mark, let me go to you first. because you were watching a little earlier the astonishing race where everyone assumed it would be a easy comfortable win for ryan lochte. this french swimmer has taken the scruff of the neck of the swimming competition and changed the whole game, hasn t he? i think all of us ha
with four days before congress high-tails it out of washington, there was plenty of talk about the dire consequences of the looming fiscal cliff. we re talking about tax cuts expiring for everyone automatically, payroll taxes going up, emergency unemployment benefits ending and, of course, the $1.2 trillion in so-called sequestration cuts. about half of that sum is going to come from defense. the obligation of the commander in chief is to act like the commander in chief, and that would be to prevent these cuts, which in the words of his own secretary of defense, would devastate our national security. interesting, acting like a commander in chief, because a lot of the previous commanders in chief have done a lot more than barack obama may be about to do. we ve certainly been here before. ronald reagan during his second term cut defense spending by about 10%. the cold war was winding down. those cuts continued under former president george h.w. bush, about 18% in cuts. and
hour two. welcome. i m brooke baldwin. families are reacting as the man accused of carrying out the massacre officials hears the charges against him. 124 counts including two dozen murder charges. we ll talk about that in just a moment. first, to syria. we have been talking about the commercial hub of this country, that being aleppo. so far they have failed to rest control of the city from the increasing confident rebels. take a look at this video. far from hunkering down and taking a pounding. the anti-government rebels attacked this military base. this is north of aleppo. they drove out the government forces and seized all kinds of weapons including several tanks. iran watson is in syria. he witnessed this battle overnight. here is what he said. reporter: the army base was firing in all different directions with machine guns. it was firing big tanks outside hitting the neighbors villages. they called in artillery all the way from aleppo which was a couple of miles down
help cover what medicare doesn t pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. i m suzanne malveaux and this hour in the cnn newsroom, we are focusing on the courtroom hearing of the suspect in the colorado massacre, and focusing on mitt romney s trip overseas and the olympics. and now, the suspect in the colorado massacre returned to court today to face charges including first-degree murder. james holmes is the graduate student who is accused of killing 12 people and wounding 38 others. the hearing for holmes wrapped up in the last half hour. i want to bring in ed lavandara who is joining us from centennial, colorado. ed, walk us through the charges that he is faced with. sure thing, suzanne. essentially, james hmes has been charged with 142 criminal