Consequences, there will be consequences if the assad regime makes a terrible mistake by using these chemical weapons on their own people. Earlier today, leon panetta. Well have a report from the pentagon on syria in a moment. First, shock waves in washington. A powerful republican senator suddenly calling it quits. South carolina senator jim demint will step down december 31st to lead the heritage foundation. Its a powerful conservative think tank in washington. Demint says he can be more effective outside the senate. A lot of my role in the senate has been stopping bad things and saying no to bad things. But we need to do more than that and tell americans what were for. One of the mistakes i think the Republican Party made the last two years is trying to make obama the issue without sharing with america bold reform ideas that get people inspired to get behind us. Senator demint, huge tea party supporter. Sometimes clashes with his own partys leadership. He is leaving with four years
Our starting point this morning, president obama putting his foot down. He says no tax hikes for the wealthy, no deal. America hits that fiscal cliff in 27 days and that means tax hikes and deep spending cuts if the democrats and the republicans cant come together in some kind of a deal and with just ten days remaining until congress is scheduled to go home for the holidays, the clock ticking. Heres what he told bloomberg news. Listen. Were going to have to see the rates on the top 2 go up and were not going to be able it to get a deal without it. We start this morning with White House Correspondent dan lothian, hes in washington, d. C. Okay. So whos got the ball in their court at this point then, dan . Well, you know, i think the house gop, they have presented their counteroffer which white house spokesman jay carney is referring to as, quote, magic beans and fairy dust. We expect that House Republicans will keep putting pressure on the white house to engage, push for more details on
Protests against political moves by the president , Mohamed Morsi, have turned deadly. Tanks, armored personnel vehicles, all stationed outside the president ial analysis cairo. Not only are they guarding the palace, theyre also keeping apart supporters and opponents of morsi. Hundreds of his islamist supporters already taking to the streets in cairo this morning. Opponents are gathering not very far away. Last night the two sides clashed right outside the palace. The violence killed at least five people. Hundreds of other people were injured. Opponents are demanding that morsi dial back on those sweeping powers that he has granted himself. Cnns reza sayah is live for us in cairo this morning. Whats the latest . Reporter soledad, were getting the first signs that maybe, just maybe, cooler heads are prevailing and peace could be extraordinary in front of the president ial palace. Within the past 20 minutes, weve seen about a few thousand of president morsis supporters move away from the
Are old enough to drink, you can consume as much as one ounce of pot in Washington State but you still cant grow it and you still cant sell it. Technically, you still cant buy it and youre not supposed to light up in public either. What are you all doing out there at that party . My colleague was there. He was on the not so mean streets when the law took effect. Ill be interested to find out what the absentee rate is at seattle workplaces today, miguel. Reporter i think most people are going to work here. Its not quite as crazy as that. Its cold and rainy. Puts a damper on things. There were a lot of parties across the entire state and a lot of those issues you raised will be taken care of in the near future. Last night was a night for celebration for these folks. Four, three, two, one. Reporter the moment recreational pot, anything less than an ounce no longer illegal in Washington State. Its amazing. Im not a criminal anymore. I cant go to jail for small amounts of marijuana. Im free
Until the fiscal cliff. And i know you know that already, but guess what, folks . The deadline for congress and the white house to act, to stop the tax increase and punishing spending cuts, that deadline is coming up quicker than you may realize because did you know, Congress Plans to end its current session on december 21st . Check your calendar as we did today. Thats two weeks from friday. That means that under congressional rules any agreement, any legislation to fix this whole mess would have to be filed here by december 28th. Heres the kicker. The president currently plans to leave town the day before that, on the 17th of this month. So the yearly obama trip to hawaii is set to start a week from next monday. You feel me here . See where im going . The window closing faster than folks think. What are our decisionmakers doing right now . Among other things they are apparently sending signals through the media. Republicans saying time to get moving. The president saying there is a de