Thank you so much, everybody. Im going to be relatively brief. I came up here right after the storm. Was on the jersey side. And i had promised to everybody that i was speaking on behalf of the country when i said we are going to be here until the rebuilding is complete. And i meant it. So im going to come back today but im also going to be coming back in the future to make sure that we have followed through on that commitment. I want to thank the outstanding leadership thats been provided by state and local officials. Obviously, Governor Cuomo and mayor bloomberg have done an outstanding job. To borough president , thank you so much for your leadership at a time when the folks here on this island were obviously going through extraordinarily difficult times. The people of long island who are going through really tough times. Across the board what we have seen is cooperation and a spirit of service and, you know, for the First Responder who is are here, the police officers, the firefigh
The wall street journal has an interesting look into petraeuss final days in the agency including reports of interagency finger points and rising tensions. Kelly odonnell is on the hill, and kelly, two months since the attack and finally top intel players are on the hill. Frustration seemed to really be boiling over. Whats going on . That public hearing that you showed some clips from really showed how politically charged this is. That is not where the secret briefings are taking place. Thats a separate thing. It was a show place for the partisan divide over benghazi. When you talk to those on the intelligence committees in the house and senate, theres a sober approach to this as far as getting to the fact finding. David petraeus will be here tomorrow. He did voluntarily come to testify, meaning theres no subpoena involved. Today they hear from the top intelligence folks from the cia, the fbi, the National Intelligence office and they are learning some of the time line. We are told the
That is closed, so cars exiting that are exiting via godwind drive. Well bring you the latest as we get it. For now, back to you. More breaking news, this time from capitol hill. President obama and Senior Senate republicans confirm a deal is in the works to prevent tax hikes as midnight. Even if the senate were to pass it, sources on capitol hill say the house will not vote on it tonight. As far as the deal goes, nbc news has learned that both sides agreed to keep taxes at their current level for individuals who make up to 400,000 a year, or house december holds up to 450,000. Mitch mcconnell says both sides are very close to an overall deal. Lets pass the tax relief portion now. Keep in mind just last month republicans in Congress Said they would never agree to raise tax rates on the wealthiest of americans. Obviously the agreement thats currently being discussed would raise those rates and raise them permanently. Again even if the senate were to pass the deal tonight, the house does
Jill martin will be on to talk about all the good stuff. She is always saving us mountains of cash. We love it. Millions always promise this time of year to eat better but snacking can be the biggest setback, especially if you dont have a plan or you spend a lot of time at the mall or youre traveling. Weve got great caloriesaving solutions. Little changes can make big differences. They can. Also, words of wisdom and secrets of success from people who have made it big. Warren buffet, coach tony robbins, spanx creator, sara blakely, and san antonio mayor julian castro. I thought you were just all fit. Those exercises we were doing earlier. The butter churn. President obama says he will sign the bill that pulled the nation back up from the fiscal cliff. Last night a divided house vote diverted income tax hikes for most persons but delayed decisions on spending cuts. Congress now needs to raise the debt ceiling, he says, so the government can keep paying its bills. If not, he says the cons
Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning. Welcome to today on a wednesday morning. Im matt lauer. And im erica hill in today for savannah. Happy new year. Happy new year to you. This is our first day tech nknick ally, we were here yesterday, but this is our first day back together. Everybody was here yesterday. Technically. Happy new year to you. A lot going on. In the Briefing Room after that vote in the house, passing the fiscal cliff legislation. In the end, the president got most of what he wanted including higher taxes for families making over 450,000 a year. There were things left out of this bill that have angered a lot of republicans and set the stage for some contentious debates down the road. Well have a live report from capitol hill, straight ahead. Also ahead, a papparazza taking pictures of Justin Biebers car was hit and killed in los angeles last night. And some gadgets and gizmo