university, come "outfront." iran says the united states sent its most sophisticated drone about 160 miles into iranian territory. we've got that letter and pictures of the drone in tact. it's got american technology for the taking. exclusively tonight, the iranian ambassador to the u.n. comes "outfront." and tax increase countdown. republican and democratic proposals to extend the payroll tax cut voted down today. let's go "outfront". i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight two people dead after a shooting on the campus of virginia tech. it was a scene that was hauntingly familiar to the tragedy that riveted the nation 33 lives lost on the campus four years ago with a shooter. it began today shortly after noon when a gunman walked up to a campus police car and opened fire, killing the officer. one emotional student witnessed the policeman being gunned down. >> the police pulled up and they opened his car door. and when they opened it, he just fell out towards the ground. and then they immediately started reviving him. and i guess the officer didn't make it because they just covered him with a sheet. >> the campus was placed under lockdown as the shooter fled to lockdown as the shooter fled to a nearby parking lot where police later found the body of what appeared to be a second victim. for more than four hours, students, faculty and parents were left in the dark as police tried to find the shooter. the gunman, described as a white male wearing gray sweatpants, a gray hat with neon green brim and a maroon hoodie as well as a backpack has yet to be formally identified. the lockdown was lifted about 4:30 this afternoon after police said there was no longer an active threat. >> since the time of the second incident, there have been no other founded reports of any threat to the campus. >> investigators say they found a weapon near the body of the victim in the garage and have identified that man as the shooter. now, today's response from police and campus police was a stark contrast to the massacre at virginia tech in 2007 when a shooter went on a rampage that left 33 dead, including himself, and then committed suicide. let's go to athen jones in blacksburg tonight. what can you tell us? >> reporter: certainly as you mentioned, the lockdown was lifted a little after 4:30 in the afternoon. we know the reason there was so much attention for the story not just the simple fact so many lives were at stake and they already had two people dead, but of course that horrible incident back on april 16 of 2007 when you had that 23-year-old troubled student who went on a shooting rampage. it's interesting because this event came on the same day that you had the head of campus police and the head of emergency management in washington, d.c., appealing a department of education fine, a $55,000 fine they levied against the school for failing to inform students quickly enough during that rampage back in 2007. that's interesting that this should occur on that day. but we're still waiting to hear more details regarding motive. during the press conference that ended about an hour and a half ago, one of the authorities said that investigators feel confident that they've located the person responsible for the shooting. they said we can't give you specifics, but you can read between the lines. motive is still unclear though. we know that about 8:00 there's supposed to be a campus vigil -- a candlelight vigil on campus not far from here. we're not far from the scene, maybe about 100 or 150 yards from the scene of that first shooting. but, again, we're still awaiting more details regarding motive on the identity of the suspect and of course on the identity of this police officer who was killed. all we know know is that he was a four-year veteran of the virginia police department. >> thank you very much. we appreciate it. live from blacksburg tonight. let's bring in some parents whose children were in the lockdown today. thank you very much for being with us tonight. and i know you had a child who was a student at virginia tech back in 2007 when that horrible incident happened where 33 people lost their lives. when did you find out that there was a similar situation today? >> this afternoon when i was at work, my daughter texted me and then she called me and said, "mom, did you get my text?" and i said "no" and she said "read it and call me right back." i read it and called her right back and i couldn't believe that there was a shooter on campus and that they were in lockdown. she was in the dining hall when she sent me the text. >> and what was your reaction when you heard about this today given that you are a parent of a child four years ago? >> well, i was out in southern west virginia and i didn't have a cell connection immediately at that point, but i did get an e-mail on my phone. and as soon as i did, i was able to get in touch with my son and confirm that he was in his apartment and he was safe. and i got a little bit of the information about what he knew what was going on at the time. >> well, let's bring him in now. russell, you heard your dad talking about how he reacted when he heard from you. what happened today? >> well, virginia tech sent out their alerts around 12:40. that's the first time i heard about it. and they seemed to keep us informed with how much information they knew at the time. and they kept us updated throughout the day. like my dad said, i was at my house, my apartment that i live in. so i was a little bit out of the danger. >> were you scared for your sister? >> oh, yeah. well, my sister let me know that she was in west end and that everything had been locked down and there was a big police presence, as you've probably seen in the news footage from around the day. some of the surrounding counties came to the police force and seemed to have the situation under control as much as they could. >> let's bring in elizabeth, a student at virginia tech. were you afraid? >> i got the text on my phone and found out the shooting had occurred at the lot where we were, off of the dining hall, but i knew that the police were taking care of everything and getting the ball rollinging on finding the shooter. >> how long did it take to get in touch with your brother? >> not that long. the phone lines were tied up because everyone has verizon around here. i was able to find out they were safe. >> does this make you feel differently about your children, your twins, finishing at virginia tech now that this happened while they were there and also when your son was there back in 2007, or no? are you still confident this is a good place for your kids to go to school? >> my oldest son, keith, graduated in '07. he was a senior when that incident happened where 33 people were killed. the virginia tech campus and the college and the university, we've been very pleased with it. it has a great mix of rigorous educational atmosphere with opportunities for the kids to have a great college experience. and i think he experienced that. and my -- our twins have had great opportunities at that university. and as you can see this time, they've been very proactive in getting the messages out. similarly for us, i was able to find out back in '07 from my son about what was unfolding before i ever knew about it on the news. it was early morning on that day. and he called me and let me know. so we're very pleased with the university. and this most recent incident doesn't change our opinion. >> melody, as a mother, do you feel the same way? or do you think there is something amiss about the fact this could happen twice in the same place? >> i feel that it's a safe place for them to be or we wouldn't have sent our twins there after having our son been there. i have to admit i was pretty shaken this afternoon with the news when my daughter contacted me. but i knew the kids were safe at all times. they were in lockdown and they were being contacted by the university about what to do. in fact, after they found the second person this afternoon, they still kept the kids under lockdown. and they were still safe. >> right. >> i feel like -- i feel comfortable with them graduating from there. i still think it's a wonderful university. and i think they're very safe there. i think something like this could happen just about anywhere really today. and i'm pleased with their reaction and how they handled it today. >> all right. we could see from you, russell, i'm assuming very much calm and in control. jim, melody, russell, thanks to all three of you. we appreciate it. >> thank you. still "outfront," former new jersey governor jon corzine answering questions about mf global and the missing money. biggest failure for a bank since lehman brothers in this county. and washington's attempt to extend the payroll tax cuts. i say attempt because democratic and republican proposals failed today. will we get a tax increase at the end of the month? and iran calling the lost drone an act of hostility in their letter to the u.n. today. we have an exclusive interview with the ambassador next. show me how to keep more retirement money in my pocket. now and down the road. those are my terms. then this is your place. td ameritrade, where millions of investors plan for retirement on their terms. [ male announcer ] trade commission-free for 60 days. plus get up to $600 when you open an account. try bayer advanced aspirin. it's not the bayer aspirin you know. it's different. first, it's been re-engineered with micro-particles. second, it enters the bloodstream fast, and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. the best part? it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. test how fast it works for you. love it, or get your money back. former mf global ceo jon corzine answering questions from the members of the house agriculture committee today. representatives were trying to find out what happened to the roughly $1.2 billion missing from customer accounts. corzine was apologetic and at no time invoked fifth amendment rights. he answered every question. but he didn't say very much. to sum it up, he said he didn't intend to break any rules, he doesn't know where the money is and he didn't get much time to prepare for the hearing. which brings us to our number tonight, 151. that's how many minutes our producer will never get back in her life after we forced her to watch every single one of those minutes. and now to hyperpartisan politics in washington. republicans and democrats don't seem to compromise on anything. and today, senate republicans blocked president obama's pick to head the new consumer financial protection bureau. and they admit it's not because they don't even like the guy. it's because they don't like the agency he'll be leading. which brings us to the political play of the day, and that means it brings us to john avalon. >> that's right, erin. today's political play of the day is blocked. the filibusters are flying in washington, d.c. you might remember earlier this year, president obama wanted to nominate elizabeth warren to head the newly created consumer financial protection bureau. now republicans said that nomination would be d.o.a. so she went home to massachusetts to run for senate against scott brown and president obama put forward richard cordray. by all accounts, respected former attorney general from ohio. for what it's worth, a five-time "jeopardy!" winner. and somebody working in the agency right now. today as you said his nomination went up to the capital and he was blocked. he got 53 votes, but not enough to clear the 60-vote hurdle needed to break a filibuster the republicans put forward. here's the thing, it's not that he's considered too extreme, incompetent or doesn't understand the agency. it's that republicans said they don't want the position to exist unless serious reforms are made to the agency. senator warren hatch said just that. let's take a listen. >> none us have a problem with richard cordray, at least to my knowledge. the reason we voted against him is we suggested to the president this cfpc, this consumer agency, has abject power over credit in this country. >> now, president obama digging in his heels and vowing to fight forward with this nomination. let's take a listen to the press conference today. >> so i just want to send a message to the senate we are not giving up on this. we are going to keep ongoing at it. >> this is far from the only case of blocking and tackling in washington. just yesterday, caitlan halligan was nominated by president obama to join the d.c. circuit court. yesterday she had a vote. 54 votes in favor, but not enough to clear the republican filibuster, the first filibuster of a senior judicial nomination in over five years. now, look, we've seen this sort of thing before. democrats and republicans both do it. remember this name? miguel estrada. he was nominated by president bush to serve on the same d.c. circuit court and he was blocked by senate democrats at the time. not because he wasn't a respected conservative jurist, also a honduran immigrant, but ironically like catlin halligan feared they might become superior court nominees. the filibuster stops government from working. leads to broken government. remember the movie "mr. smith goes to washington"? it's one of my favorite movies. in it, jimmy stewart stands on the floor of the senate, at risk of kidney, fighting for what he believed for and it used to be that way. now it's a parliamentary maneuver. staffers file paperwork and the numbers grown in filibusters from one to over 70 a year. here's the problem with the all the blocking and tackling in washington. it's going to continue unless we see filibuster reform. more good people will get caught in the cross fire and we'll have more broken government until at least the next election and probably going forward. >> maybe just a parliamentary system. let's just throw the whole thing out. >> how about just one man, one vote, 51 majority makes it? my bad. >> all right. this big stalemate on capitol hill, in addition to what john is talking about, which is amazing is whether to extend the payroll tax cut. as you know, that is expiring at the end of this month. today, the senate voted down both republican and democratic "compromised proposals." apparently what appears to the side opposing it isn't to the side receiving it. i want to bring in democratic strategist tim punk and republican strategist cheri jacobus along with john avalon. let me ask you what's going on here, cheri. president says he won't go on vacation until they get this done. we know something's going to happen by the end of the month, right? >> yeah. something's going to have to happen. both sides lose if they let this go, obviously. i think there is a way, and republicans are providing the president a path to be able to claim partial victory and show he can work with congress. the problem is the president wants to run against congress even at the risk of hurting some of his democratic members. republicans want to add the keystone pipeline issue on to the payroll tax holiday and have that combined. the payroll tax holiday is not a sustainable economic growth item by itself. the keystone pipeline project is. i mean one is a one-hit wonder and the other the gift that keeps on giving, but the president wants to delay the keystone issue. he's saying i don't want this attached to it. he's threatening to veto the bill. but we have democrats that support both of those proposals as well. so i think the president could find himself between a rock and a hard place because it looks like he's pandering to the far left environmental base of the party. >> keystone pipeline, he did acknowledge there would be jobs, but in terms of plans put forth today, there was much more negativity in terms of the voting towards the republican proposal than the democratic one which included the surtax on millionaires, tim. >> that's right. i think it's funny. jay carney had the best line of the day when he said what happened to republicans being for tax cuts? i think the issue is exactly what you say which is the republicans have had an incredibly confusing message on the payroll tax cut. initially, you had republicans including mitt romney saying they were opposed to the extension, now that position has changed. but now the issue is what are we going to get in return for it? sort of holding it hostage to other demands. you're seeing a lot of unrelated proposals, like the keystone pipeline and other things, like the repeal of parts of obama's health care. i think it's sending a confusing message to the americans. and this view that america has a broken government. >> actually, i have to disagree. i think what this is is a path to victory for both sides because you have house members, senate members, democrats too that want to go home for the holidays and talk about something positive how they're working together. so i think ultimately while there are some republicans cheering and saying this is a way to maybe hold obama's feet to the fire, this actually can look like a very good compromise for both sides if the president wants to do that rather than run against congress. >> let's be honest, the pipeline has nothing to do with the payroll tax cut. it's artificial. the problem is political brinksmanship. they're trying to merge them together. what s&p warned us about when they did their downgrade, these folks can't get together when they get on gold. they're playing the brinksmanship and see more concern about blaming the other guy and. >> we know they're going to get a vacation. >> maybe they shouldn't. >> keystone provides a lot of jobs. and as i said, that is a sustainable economic growth item. so it is related. and it is what some republicans need to feel better about the payroll tax holiday. they're looking to compromise. >> you know you could attach the obama jobs bill to the proposal as well. look, if everybody agrees, i think that's right. everybody agrees the payroll tax cut has to be extended. it's a question of how it gets done. what you're seeing is americans very confused about the republican message on this. >> they're just confused in general about why nobody down there can get anything done. thanks very much to all three of you. we appreciate it. "outfront" next mitt romney continues to battle with newt gringrich. they're both heading to iowa. will his new campaign ad be enough to turn the tide. and our exclusive interview with ambassador to iran from the united nations about the drone. a in a great tasting gummy. one a day, gummies for grown-ups. so we do a lot of serious shows -- serious stories on this show. but this one is a little more seriously? alec baldwin deactivated his twitter account yesterday, which means his online feud with american airlines has, you know, gone to another format. but there's another dust-up gone largely unnoticed even though it is so much bigger than the usual feuds. this one's a real war, seriously. a nato run component of the mission run in afghanistan is isaf. they tweet updates under the handle @isaf media. they tweeted this. but then another user replied with this. 4,000-plus coalition forces couldn't stop -- i'm sorry, i can't say the name of the place. 400 puppets won't last for long. that's a pretty specific response, probably because balky claims to be a spokesperson for the taliban. that's right. nato and the taliban started a twitter feud. better than the regular kind of feud that they have over there. the online dialogue continued with isaf posting, responding and vice versa, and the tone was surprisingly cordial and occasionally even slightly humorous until november 17th when this exchange led to this. your officials admitted to it, dumb dumb. and how can you talk about taliban when you cut fingers? et cetera. then dumb dumb how the dialogue elevates. ever