mike viqueira, kristin welker. help new year. >> happy new year. >>> when we come back, the latest on secretary of state hillary clinton's condition. we just learned doctors found that blood clot in the space between her brain and the skull, behind her right ear. doctors say it did not result in a stroke but nbc news' robert bazell will be here with us. you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. [ male announcer ] how can power consumption in china, impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. >>> secretary of state hillary clinton remains hospitalized this evening at new york presbyterian hospital. st

nbc news white house correspondent kristin welker has details. >> reporter: on "meet the press," president obama continued his public campaign to pressure congress. >> if congress doesn't act, then everybody's taxes go up. and for the average family, that could mean a loss of $2,000 in income, and the whole economy could slow down at a time when the economy's actually starting to pick up. >> reporter: he again called on lawmakers to strike a deal or hold a vote on his plan which would raise tax rates on wealthy americans, a major sticking point for republicans. >> the way they're behaving is that their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest americans are protected. that seems to be their only overliove overriding theme. >> reporter: after the interview, republicans accused the president of assigning blame instead of leading. >> when they say leadership falls on you, mr. president, you don't have a role in breaking this impact? you've had a tough go with congress. >> david, at a certain point, if folks can't say yes to good offers, then i also have an obligation to

kristin welker, thank you so much. let me bring in two of my friends and colleagues, the host of msnbc's "the cycle" toure and crystal ball. krystal, what was your reaction. off young daughter and you are pregnant. >> it's been a very emotional day. i think i feel the way the president feels, the way that most patients feel, the way that most americans feel. not to state the obvious, but there's something about it being such young children, 5-year-olds, these were babies, that really makes it just very hard to cope with emotionally. it seems so senseless, so unbelievably tragic and unfathomable that you just don't know how to wrap your mind about it. put aside the fact that he also apparently took the life of his own mother, another monstrous incomprehensible tragedy. so it's been a tough day for me as it has been for many americans. nothing, of course, compared to what the victims are going through. >> of course. >> absolutely. all of that. your child is 4 my son is 5, my daughter is 3 1/2. we walk through these hallw

let's go to nbc's kristin welker, who is at the white house. my understanding was, kristin, she had been expected to go back to work soon. >> reporter: that was our understanding. secretary of state, officials with the department, essentially saying that she was getting better, they expected her to return to work soon. of course, we learned about the fact that she was not feeling well, that she was ill, she had the flu a couple of weeks ago, and then a couple days after that, we learned that she became dehydrated, fell, suffered a concussion, as you said. at that point in time, officials with her department said she was at home, he was resting, she was getting medical care, she was being monitored by doctors. as you'll recall, chris, she wasn't able to testify on the incident in benghazi as she was initially scheduled to. she also, because of her health, wasn't able to attend the president's announcement of her replacement, senator john kerry. she has been out of the picture for quite some time. after the kerry announcement she released a state

so joining us live from the white house is nbc's kristin welker. kristin, welcome. >> reporter: thanks, karen. good afternoon. >> so what are we hearing about this meeting? i know it's still going on. any news? >> reporter: well, we do know this, a source familiar with these talks says that president obama is not going to be offering anything new during this afternoon's meeting. he's essentially going to be saying what he said at the white house last friday when he called on congress to put forth a package that would extend bush era tax cuts for those making $250,000 or less, extend unemployment insurance benefits, as well as stave off some of those deep spending cuts that are set to go into effect. the president is going to make the argument that he believes this can pass through both houses, but, of course, there is a big question mark over that. i have been speaking with republican aides on the hill who say house republicans are really waiting to see what the senate does at this juncture before they weigh in on anything that the president might

nbc's kristin welker is live at the white house. kristin, let's get to the fiscal cliff in a moment. you've got some breaking news. >> reporter: i do. we have some breaking news on secretary clinton's health. as you know, he was admitted to the hospital due to a clot. of course, she had fainted a couple weeks ago and she's been recovering ever since. i'm going to read you this statement from her doctors. they say this is a clot in the vein that is situated in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear. it did not result in a stroke or neurological damage. to help dissolve this clot her medical team began treating the secretary with blood thinners. she will be released once the medication dose has been established in all other aspects of her recovery. the secretary is making excellent progress and we are confident she will make a full recovery. she is in good spirits engaging with her doctors, her family, and her staff. so, again, those are from her doctors who are treating her in new york, and really the bottom l

>> kristin welker at the white house. kristin, thanks so much. >> reporter: thanks. >> and we'll be right back. >>> it's time now to "clear the air." and over the course of broadcasting for almost two years we've reported on a wide variety of issues and events that america has ever reason to be proud of. doesn't matter if you're talking about political governance, humanitarian aid, scientific discovery, or, indeed, the world of sport. this country has been a global leader and a beacon of light. but it's also saddled with a terrible citation, a world leader in violent gun crime. the latest of which produced the harrowing scenes in a bucolic connecticut town just 60 miles from here in new york. and as the mayor of new york made clear, nobody comes close to this country when it comes to gun violence. we are the only industrialized country that has this problem, said mayor bloomberg. in the whole world, the only one. but what is now equally astonishing is that some officials from governors to members of congress believe the a

. >> nbc news white house correspondent kristin welker joins us live from the white house. kristin, the president has said he would veto speaker boehner's plan b if it were ever to reach his desk. so with just days until this deal has to be done to avoid the fiscal cliff, please tell us that there's something going on to resolve this matter beyond battling press conferences and counter accusations. >> reporter: well, martin, look, i wish i had better news. the bottom line is there are negotiations going on at the staff level, but it appears as though these negotiations are all but stalled at the most senior levels. the last time president obama and speaker boehner spoke was monday. that's not a great sign. the focus is on the hill, on this vote on plan b. conventional wisdom is this gives house speaker john boehner a little bit of cover, maybe gives him a little bit of a negotiating tool as we head into the final countdown to the new year, but i have been speaking with house republicans, republicans on the hill who are senior who say they, quite frankly, are surprised by th

. >> nbc's kristin welker joins us now from the white house. kristin, republicans keep calling for the president to come into the negotiating table, but if speaker boehner repeatedly puts out proposals that refuse to raise tacks on the wealthiest of americans, then the president has made it clear there's no point in hosting a discussion, hasn't he? >> he has. and right now the president's senior administration officials still believe that the president has the leverage in this argument because he won re-election, because he ran on this very platform of increasing taxes for the wealthiest americans, and also because if you look at the polls, the majority of americans agree with them. house speaker john boehner saying i have put my best offer on the table. he even has some members of his own conference saying he's giving in too much. you talked about these two men poe lententially sitting down a talking. president obama said it's not the time to sit down. that essentially these gothss are getting hammered out behind the scenes. you had the white

>> kristin welker, thank you so much. the president spoke about how action must come in our homes and in our hearts. one person for whom this tragedy hit far too close to home is rob cox who called it home since 1969. she an editor at reuters and more than anything, a newtown friend and neighbor. what's your response to what the president had to say today? >> i think it's everybody's heart. we have to do something about this. a lot of my friends and myself are trying to find ways to come up with a solution so that we can avoid and end the escalation of gun violence. it's a vile fact of our nation that we are too violent. these things are happening and a week ago i would have been on your show talking about the fiscal cliff and all those issues. here i am now, i had a kitchen cabinet of friends today and everyone trying to figure out under the banner calling it newtown, united. trying to find a way to seize the moment and get people to change through legislation, largely our culture. it will take a lot more than a law here

. >> that was nbc's kristin welker reporting there. >>> now for a look at your new year's eve weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning you to. is it too early to say happy new year's? >> no. why not? >> happy new year's eve. happy new year's eve. >> let's go there. this is it. cold and snowy in many areas of the country. and we really flipped the switch. i mean, we were in the heart of winter. for many areas this will be the coldest week of the winter season. i mean, easily from the great lakes all the way through new england. winter weather advisories out. this isn't a big blockbuster storm, but it is enough to cause you travel concerns starting now in areas of north texas, oklahoma. and eventually here through missouri. also into indiana and illinois, especially the southern portions of those states. right now the winter radar warm enough that it's just rain in oklahoma city. throughout dallas, ft. worth, the ozarks, missouri. warm enough primarily for rain. the white is starting to show up as snow. if you're traveling in kansas this morning, that will probably be

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nbc's kristin welker is live at the white house with we just saw a very emotional president obama this afternoon. a bit more of his remarks right now. >> this evening michelle and i will do what i know every parent in america will do which is hug our children a little tighter and we'll tell them that we love them and we'll remind each other how deeply we love one another, but there are families in connecticut who cannot do that tonight, and they need all of us right now. in the hard days to come, that community needs us to be at our best as americans, and i will do everything in my power as president to help. >> kristin welker, thank you, my colleague from the white house. you know, i think what we call the operative sentence or words in this speech today, wonderfully emotional and so personal as a father, was meaningful action. what's the take on that, the takeaway from the president saying meaningful action to prevent this from happening again? >> reporter: well, chris, i think that it's a sign that the president was as defiant and angry in some senses as he was emotional this aftern

kristin welker is at the white house with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: erica, good morning to you. the focus is on the senate this saturday morning as majority leader harry reid and minority leader mitch mcconnell try to cobble together a last-minute plan. meanwhile, on friday president obama said america's patience has almost run out. with steep tax hikes and deep spending cuts looming, president obama used the power of his office to turn up the pressure on congress, making a quickly arranged appearance in the white house briefing room friday. >> the hour for immediate action is here. it is now. i'm modestly optimistic that an agreement can be achieved. >> reporter: the president repeatedly tapping into the public's frustration to bolster his argument. >> the american people are not going to have any patience for a politically self-inflicted wound. ordinary folks, they too their jobs. the notion that our elected leadership can't do the same thing is mind-boggling to them and needs to stop. >> reporter: the stern words came on

nbc's kristin welker is with us tonight from honolulu. kristen. >> reporter: natalie, good evening. with president obama flying home this evening, the political rhetoric has already started, with republicans urging action in the senate, and with democrats calling on republicans to put middle class families first. the president and first lady spent part of their christmas visiting troops in honolulu. >> we want to say thank you. we love you. >> reporter: but now he heads back to a snowy washington, where the last hope for a deal to avert the fiscal cliff is the senate, which returns tomorrow. majority leader harry reid is devising a partial solution that could ease economic fears. >> if we go over in a chaotic fashion, where members of congress are deeply grid locked with no sign of coming together, then we're likely to go over and stay over. and that's very problematic. >> reporter: going over the cliff would restore higher bush era tax rates and trigger deep spending cuts on january 1st. congress set up the harsh mechani mechanism, hoping it would force a compmise, but it hasn't. >

let's get to nbc news white house correspondent kristin welker. kristin, i note from the ambassador's letter to the president that she says we cannot afford such an irresponsible distraction from a the most pressing issues facing the american people. did that withdrawal come as a surprise to the president? >> reporter: according to my sources here, he was certainly disappointed in the circumstances surrounding her decision to withdraw her name. i have been speaking to senior administration officials about this topic for weeks asking them if president obama's support for susan rice had waned at all under the mounting pressure that she was getting from capitol hill. the criticism she was getting from lawmakers who said she mishandled the benghazi incident and the answer that i always got from senior administration officials here is that president obama continued to support her and to have complete confidence in her, and they say that that really did continue right through until the very end. they also tell me that this was her decision and hers alon

. >> kristin welker, traveling with the president in honolulu. the question is will he be cutting hi vacation short? does he have a royal to play? or is it up to the senate, as some are saying? >> reporter: first of all, i think it is likely we'll see him cut his vacation short. senate majority leader harry reid, minority leader mitch mcconnell will have to work together. a lot of focus shifts to mcdonnell. he has to try to get something that will pass with republicans that they can get through the house and senate, but i think president obama certainly has a role to play. remember, he is the one who ran on the platform. >>> you heard him map out on friday. he would like a scaled-back version of the grand bargain, something to prevent taxes going up, and also lay the groundwork potentially for deficit reduction in the future. i think you will see president obama cut his vacation short, and continue to play a role in those negotiations. richard. >>> kristin, over the weekend, he attended the funeral for the late senator inouye, who he has called a

. >>> nbc's kristin welker is traveling with the president in hawaii and kristin, the president you are just learning he thinks some time off could do everyone some good here. >> that's right. on friday when president obama spoke to the nation before he left to come to hawaii he urged members of congress to take these days off during the holidays, to cool off and to gain some perspective. here's more of what president obama had to say. take a listen. >> so, as we leave town for a few days to be with our families for the holidays i hope it gives everybody some perspective. everybody can cool off. everybody can drink some eggnog, have some christmas cookies and sing some christmas carols, enjoy the company of loved ones. >> now the president also conceded that given the time crunch, there's probably not enough time to get a large deal done. so he really urged lawmakers to work together to at least get a deal that would prevent middle class americans and that lays the groundwork for deficit reduction and the president saying he remains hopeful that something can get done before the all-imp

joining me now from hawaii, kristin welker. was the president expected? >> we did expect that given there was no deal on the fiscal cliff that he would have to return early from his hawaiian vacation. he will be flying out late or this evening. the first lady and the first daughters continuing his hawaiian vacation. he will find himself in a similar situation. the negotiations are largely deadlocked. just to give you a sense of how we got to where we are, if you go back to last week, it seemed like the house and speaker were getting close to getting a big deal that would have included tax reform and deficit reduction. that fell apart. house speaker john boehner tried to get his own bill through the house. he realized he didn't have enough votes for that. that fell apart as well. the ball is in the senate's court. according to an aide, senate majority leader harry read will not bring a bill to the floor unless he believes he will not have the support to get it passed or at least not to block it. that is the strategy right now. president obama will be worki

. >> kristin welker, thank you. >>> negotiations on the hill ultimately coming down to a few key individuals and their staffers. for more on that, i want to bring in the senior political editor, mark murray. thank you for sticking around. >> thanks for having me. >> over the past month, president obama has been spending a lion's share of his time negotiating with speaker boehner, that did not work. what can you tell us about the key individuals involved in the process now, president obama, senator majority leader harry reed and mitch mcconnell. what is the tone? >> it's all about the senate right now, that is one of the more remarkable developments. all along we thought it would be between the obama white house and house speaker john boehner and there was a logic behind that. because getting legislation out of the house is the trickier part of crafting any type of deal. but with the house saying look, we need the senate to do something, the last ditch effort is occurring in the senate right now. i spoke to staffers close to senator mcconnell that said there was optimism on their side yesterd

. >> nbc's kristin welker is in hawaii and the president is still in talks while he's there or are the the talks on hiatus? >> richard, my sources tell me this is very much a working vacation for president obama and at this time there's no conversation between the president and congressional leaders and that doesn't mean that they're not going to happen. back in washington, d.c., staffers at the white house and on the hill are still there to some extent, communicating with each other and talking with each other, trying to get a deal going. it seemed earlier this week, richard, as though president obama and john boehner were getting close to some sort of a deal, a deal that would have dealt with deficit reduction as well as tax reform, but that all fell apart and now there's a big question mark about how they move forward and the president himself acknowledging when he addressed the nation on friday that given the tight timeframe, hopes for a larger deal have all, but faded and he's calling on congress to work together to just get a deal that would have at the very least extend lower ta

we have kristin welker, u.s. congresswoman karen mckelthy who entered politics after her husband was killed in a multiple shooting on a commuter train. and james johnson, baltimore county police chief. first we go for an immediate update to my msnbc colleague michelle franzen. michelle, thank you for staying with us tonight. >> hi, kri chris. we're here in newtown area of connecticut just nearby a couple of miles from sandy hook elementary where the tragic shooting took place earlier today. at this hour, hundreds of residents are gathering at a nearby catholic church for a vigil, hold ago prayer for those victims who had lost their lives today, those youngest lives, anywhere between kindergarten and fourth grade where

we'll be relying on you, kristin, to do that. kristin welker at the white house. thanks so much. >> thanks, martin. >> and thank you for watching. chris matthews and "hardball" is next. >>> looks like kerry. let's play "hardball." ♪ >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me begin tonight with this. president obama deserves the best possible secretary of state. he picked a great foreign policy officer in the first term. he deserves to have one in the second. it's been my view some distance from the white house that the president was truly undecided on who this person should be. ambassador rice's removal of herself from consideration made his decision easier. john kerry could end up a fabulous secretary of state. someone to make this country truly proud. he lost the presidency by a single state in 2004, then went on to become a deeply effective chairman of the senate foreign relations committee. he projects a grace under pressure that we see in the president himself, a noble attribute most of us take as quiet courage. as embarrassing as it is to a

we're joined now about nbc's kristin welker who is on the north lawn of the white house to give us a sense of where we think the talks are at. earlier today we just heard from senate leader mitch mcconnell's office saying he hopes that senate leaders can make recommendations on the fiscal cliff by sunday. kristin, i just want to ask you while we're waiting for the president to come out here, do you get a sense of where the white house is feeling these talks are going? >> reporter: according to a source close to the talks, president obama thought the conversation was constructive this afternoon. he apparently reiterated the plan that he basically mapped out last friday, which would extend the bush era tax cuts for those making $250,000 or less, extend unemployment insurance as well as the estate tax, and i am told that those are two of the sticking points, the estate tax as well as that $250,000 figure. so that's really where the problem lies moving forward. but president obama i am told by this source essentially said to everyone at the meeting, look, if you put this to a vote in the

kristin welker has more on the gridlock and the nationwide frustration it's causing. >>> they are trying to hammer out a last-minute deal. president obama pushed lawmakers to act. >> we cannot let washington politics gets in the way of america's progress. >> and they called on them to reach a prau phaoeuz or allow a vote on his plan that would among other things raise taxes on those making $250,000. >> i believe it could pass both houses as long as these leaders allow it to come to a vote. >> roy blunt delivered the republican spaupbs. >> the president's proposal to raise taxes on the top 2% of the americans will not even pay the interest on the trillion-dollar debt. >> and there is a plan that could include extending unemployment insurance benefits, and allowing tax rates to increase on the wealthiest americans. but this issue remains a major sticking point with many republicans resisting any tax inkraes at all. the last-minute process calls into question washington's ability to look at all the issues. >> meanwhile, americans watched with worry and frustration. >> i think they are all f

and, kristin, the phrase there, meaningful action. lots of folks today wondering what the president means by those words. any indication at this point? >> reporter: of course we will have to wait for the coming days and weeks to learn what he specifically meant but it does natural we might see some renewed push important stiffer gun control laws. if you look back at this president's past record, his -- policy on this issue, he has said that he supports reinstating the ban on assault weapons. in the days after the shooting in aurora, colorado, he talked about this issue and he said that we need to have stiffer background checks to make sure that these weapons stay out of the hands of people who are mentally unstable and also talked about the need for preventative measures to make sure folks who are suffering from mental disabilities are getting the type of help and support that they need. but mostly to make sure that these weapons stay out of their hands. so those are some of the types of policies that he has floated in the past. will