of explosions that rocked the capital. some of them were so powerful that our location actually shook. these explosions were suicide bombings, roadside bombs and car bombs. they were targeting busy intersections, marketplaces, one of them exploding in front of the integrity commission located in the heart of the capital. another explosion taking place very close to a school, just as children were arriving. these attacks taking place in a two-hour time frame from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. exactly when the streets would have been at their busiest. people right now absolutely terrified. many of them fearing the situation is potentially going to worsen. we just spoke with the minister of finance who said that the current political crisis lends itself to these types of attacks in the sense that the extremists in society that are going to be carrying out violence look to the political chaos, the government disintegrating and they will continue to carry out acts of violence because the
extension that was passed by the senate. today neither side shows any signs of giving in. i told the president there s one big reason why we need to do a full year, and that s jobs. a one-year bill like the president requested and like the house produced is simply better for jobs and better for our economy. let s enact this bipartisan compromise, however, to eliminate uncertainty for american families and then get right to work on a one-year version. not wait until february. not walk away and hold off until the last minute. got more encouraging news about the job market. the number of people filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since april of 2008. labor department says initial claims dropped to 364,000. that is down 4,000 from a week before. many economists say a level below 400,000 means enough job growth to lower the unemployment rate. a wave of explosions rocks baghdad. car bombs, six roadside bombs, and a mortar ro
folks, first lady michelle obama and the kids are vacationing in hawaii. the president is home alone back in washington. so today he got away from the payroll tax mess to boost the economy with a little christmas shopping. just like us, he likes electronics, spending $194 at best buy, picking up itunes gift card, and a just dance video game for sasha a malia. the girls beat me every time on these various dance games. you guys will never get a picture of me doing it, because i get graded f every time. let me try you know, let s see if my credit card still
boehner urged the president to call on harry reid to appoint negotiators to this conference that we now are talking with so much about to try to hash out the differences between the house and senate. as you well know, senate majority reid has no intention of negotiating and as he read in a letter to speaker boehner, along with speaker boehner and all congressional leaders and the white house, they want that deal and senator reid says not until they have the assurance that the tax cut will not lapse come january 1. so they are pushing he is again pushing as well as the white house, to put to push through the two two-month extension. but bottom line, where do things stand? talks are not happening. there isn t any real progress because there aren t real talks happening. both sides are very dug in. they all seem to want the end goal but absolutely talking with each other at this point. let us know if that phone call manifests into a meeting. thank you. appreciate it. let s
the payroll tax cut. it s set to expire at the end of this year. president obama called john boehner today and the white house has even put a counterdown clock on the home page of its website. it says if the house does not act, taxes on the middle class will increase starting the first of the year. let s go to the white house. our chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin, is standing by with the latest on this dramatic political showdown. what is the latest? the latest is that the white house believes there is only one way for the nation to avoid an increase in the payroll tax cut and that is for speaker john boehner to bring that senate pass two month extension to a vote. just this morning, speaker boehner said that s not going to happen. we re here, we re ready to work. we re looking for our counterparts to sit down with us so we can do what the president and leaders want and that s to extend the payroll tax cut for one year. now, midday today, the president ho