the syrian pianist. protesting here in washington. then his elderly parents, a doctor in a 70s, they were brutally beaten up by al-assad's thugs, if you will, to send a message to hire son? washington. now we learn this is the same family of steve jobs biological father. it is chilling, isn't it? >> you know, i was on the your set and it was hard to make any commentary about the two dignified parents. it tells us something about the twist and turns of life and then we learn as i think there was a discovery, if you will, in 2005 of steve jobs himself of who his father was and what his ancestry was. >> thanks very much. >> thank you. thank you, wolf. >>> mounting fears of financial disaster in europe. why a monster hurricane came barreling toward mexico. putting u.s. tourists in danger. nothing helped me beat arthritis pain. until i tried this. it's salonpas. pain relief that works at the site of pain... up to 12 hours. salonpas. ♪ [ male announcer ] with 50 horsepower, dual overhead cams and fierce acceleration, the gator xuv 825i wi

the syrians are in a tricky situation. they are trying to maneuver themselves out of this uprising, out of this crisis. and they appear to be unable to figure out exactly what the proper strategy to put forward would be. and so, at this point in time, it seems as if they'ir decisiono recall their ambassador for consultations is just another play in the very intricate game happening right now. arwa damon, thanks very much as usual. >>> getting new details coming into "the situation room" out of the lib why right now. new reports that moammar gadhafi son son, saif, is trying to get out of libya. he is kay riricarrying a forged. moammar gadhafi will be buried tomorrow in a secret location with muslim clerics in attendance in the desert at an undisclosed location. our senior international correspondent, dan rivers, is joining us now from tripoli. first of all, dan, we have no independent confirmation that any of these statements from this transitional statements to reuters is officially true. what are we hearing? >> well, we g

and heavy gunfire in one syrian neighborhood. we'll take you to these global hot spots next. [ male announcer ] humana and walmart have teamed up to bring you a low-priced medicare prescription drug plan. ♪ with the lowest national plan premium... ♪ ...and copays as low as one dollar... ♪ ...saving on medicare prescriptions is easy. ♪ so you're free to focus on the things that really matter. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. or go to walmart.com for details. exclusive to the military. and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. from free checking to credit cards to loans, our commitment to the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. ♪ visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. usaa. we know what it means to serve. at red lobster. there's so many choices. the guests love it. [ male announcer ] it's endless shrimp today at red lobster. as much as you like any way you like, like new sweet

syrian spies allegedly working here in the united states. now one man is being charged. >>> and the fiery crash that killed a racing champion. we are taking a closer look at the track and what may have caused his death right here in las vegas. [ horn honks ] hey, it's sandra -- from accounting. peter. i can see that you're busy... but you were gonna help us crunch the numbers for accounts receivable today. i mean i know that this is important. well, both are important. let's be clear. they are but this is important too. [ man ] the receivables. [ male announcer ] michelin knows it's better for xerox to help manage their finance processing. so they can focus on keeping the world moving. with xerox, you're ready for real business. tltltltle so they can focus emotional here?he world moving. aren't you getting a little industrial? okay, there's enough energy right here in america. yeah, over 100 years worth. okay, so you mean you just ignore the environment. actually, it's cleaner. and, it provides jobs. and it helps our economy. okay, i'm liste

also just by point of what's happening today, this wasn't in the interview but the syrians actually, committees getting together to draft a new constitution, they say that putting together for syria. that's an effort to defuse the protesters. car carol. >> it looks like qantas is up and running. the planes are in the sky again? >> the planes are flying again. it will take until about wednesday to get things back to normal, gosh, carol, the snowstorm in the northeast of the u.s., so many frustrated, annoyed passengers and then with qantas over the weekend grounding its flight, basically there was a labor dispute between qantas and the unions. the unions were mad because they were upset that so much outsourcing of their jobs is being done and they are saying qantas is about profits and not looking after the employees. the fleet was grounded. there was something like 400 flights over the weekend. hopefully things will get back to normal. but there are miserable travelers out there. >> you're not kidding. zain vergee live in london for us this morning. thank you. >>> stranded on a frozen

he warned that the bonds of friendship between himself and syrian president xwash shar al assad, it's remarkable how quickly this relationship has collapsed, considering that barely seven, eight months ago, the two governments were holding joint cabinet meetings, removed visa restriction ps from each other's citizens and signed a free trade agreement and even held joint border patrols together. it's unclear what this rapidly deteriorating political relationship, what impacts it would have on what had been flourishing bilateral trade which reached more than $2.5 billion in 2010, a three hold increase over the course of four years. ivan watson, cnn, istanbul. >> trade between turkey and syria took another hit two weeks ago when damascus imposed a ban on imports that have a customs tax of more than 5%. mobile phones and vehicles like buses an vance, for instance, that ban has now been lifted after pressure from syrian importers, major trading families of the two capitals regarding financial trade. one country that's watching developments is lebanon. in 2010 syria was lebanon's second lar

today, syrian protesters will see in these images what is possible. as one syrian activist put it, the clear fate of all who clear his people, gadhafi ruled for four decades that may now burst into the open. >> the images that we have seen in sirte that have resisted the new government in libya are extremely alarming. we shall see whether out of this particular turmoil will emerge a unified government and a unified leadership or political or the political struggle basically will escalate and intensify. >> reporter: also played off competing sectarian interests. today the syrian analysts warn the terrorists get their way. victory is not always sweet. in egypt, the euphoria has given way to disappointment. struggle against a grim economic background. there in tunisia islamist parties have taken advantage of the new political space. in this weekend's elections to a constituent assembly in tunisia, the party is likely to emerge as the single largest force that says it's committed to democracy. the goth kingdoms have largely emerged unscathed, if unnerved.

. >> and under fire -- syrian jets pound a major city. tanks open fire pulverizing the building and the explosive video in minutes. plus, a band keeps a promise after this horrible stage collapse, and tonight their tribute performance. and funny man darrell hammond gets serious. >> stabbing, beating, electrocuting. >> and how his past led him to the mental ward all while taping "saturday night live." it is all right here on cnn. >>> thank you for joining us. i'm don lemon in in "cnn newsroom." right now protest occupiers in denver, colorado, face to face with the riot police. police say they use non-lethal agents including mace and pepper balls when the protesters tried to enter the state capitol. this affiliate is from kusa, and more than half a dozen people were arrested and police say that one officer was knocked off of his motorcycle and two officers were kicked in the head by demonstrators, but one of the protesters says it was not like that. >> the only thing that happened is that they asked to us take a tent down and some kid was s

largely made up of defectors had been carrying out operations against the syrian security forces so much of the crackdown we're seeing is specifically targeted towards hunting down those who have defected and those who may be sheltering them. >> thank you. >>> now, to neighboring turkey where 24 soldiers were killed in an early morning attack by kurdish rebels inside iraq. it was a rocket attack. andrew finkel is live tonight. what can you tell us about this attack? >> reporter: we witnessed a well-planned and certainly brutally effective attack by the pkk, kurdish militants, on the turkish side of the iraqi border. the turkish army has responded in kind. there has been a hot pursuit operation inside the border and know there have been clashes inside turkey. the question is now whether the politicians can contain the situation which the militants have been trying to inflame. >>> now to paris, where french first lady carla bruni sarkozy just gave birth. erin mclaughlin is in paris. what can you tell us about the first lady's new baby? >> reporter: the first lady in france gave birth

which amnesty international says the syrian government has turned into oppression. by skype we reached a doctor who says he used to work in a government hospital. he tells us some of his own colleagues collaborated with security forces, abusing the wounding. >> beat them, don't give them water, don't give them antibiotics. sometimes even if he will die. they just put him to be alive, to survive for one or two days to know something information from them. >> reporter: in recent weeks, violence has intensified. the doctor set up his own secret clinic, treating he said on average, four to ten patients a day. but many die. >> i have patients here from gun bullets and from rpg. built i can't do anything here, just a small emergency hearing because i haven't here pressure. i haven't anesthesia. so what i can do? nothing? >> reporter: he set up a field hospital. over the summer on a brief trip to syria, we broke away from our government minders and saw one of the clinics in damascus. nothing more than a tiny room with barely the basics. >> i saw a lot of blood, a lot of sh

. >>> a syrian-american performs a protest song here in washington. and in retaliation, his parents are brutally beaten back home. the amazing story ahead. >>> plus, bizarre new details about the man blamed for that killer anthrax case revealed nearly a decade later. ♪ here's where we deliver steady income - month after month. what's it going to be this month, mr. z? i'm gonna renovate my son's house. baby room. congratulations! [ male announcer ] no matter what the future holds, we're making tomorrows people can count on. what can we make with you? transamerica. transform tomorrow. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. the two trains and

largely made up of defectors had been carrying out operations against the syrian security forces so much of the crackdown we're seeing is specifically targeted towards hunting down those who have defected and those who may be sheltering them. >> thank you. >>> now, to neighboring turkey where 24 soldiers were killed in an early morning attack by kurdish rebels inside iraq. it was a rocket attack. andrew finkel is live tonight. what can you tell us about this attack? >> reporter: we witnessed a well-planned and certainly brutally effective attack by the pkk, kurdish militants, on the turkish side of the iraqi border. the turkish army has responded in kind. there has been a hot pursuit operation inside the border and know there have been clashes inside turkey. the question is now whether the politicians can contain the situation which the militants have been trying to inflame. >>> now to paris, where french first lady carla bruni sarkozy just gave birth. erin mclaughlin is in paris. what can you tell us about the first lady's new baby? >> reporter: the first lady in france gave birth

demonstrators protesting syria's crackdown on dissidents attacked the syrian embassies in berlin, london and vienna and managed to enter the embassies in berlin and vienna causing significant damage there. syria's foreign minister is hinting at retaliation. he says syria will not protect the embassies of countries that fail to protect syrian embassies on their soil. he also warns that syria will take strong measures against any country that recognizes a syrian opposition council recently formed in turkey. >>> with the euro zone debt crisis showing no sign of letting up, two of the continents top leaders held talks today. french president nicolas sar cogy and german chancellor angela merkel said they will work together to recapitalize banks. their meeting came on the same day that france, belgium and luxemburg agreed on a plan to rescue a troubled belgium bank. richard quest joins us from brussels. how did deck ya get into this trouble to the extent that a rescue plan is needed? >> very simple. it's had huge toxic assets of debts. there are worries about the bank's inability to pay its de

syrian officials are telling me they do want him to go back. he's their eyes and ears on the ground. he's a link to the opposition. they're pulling him temporarily. they want a cooling off period. they're sending notes to the syrian government, they hope they will adhere to their international obligations under the vienna convention. >> thanks so much. >>> let's talk about presidential politics now and a state that will be critical. shannon travis is in davenport, iowa, for us. herman cain's recent surge is under attack. he's pounding on recent comments he's made about abortion. what do you think? how has cain hurt himself among conservatives? >> he's certainly trying to repair his standing with conservatives. now on one particular issue, abortion, kyra. let's set this up quickly. last night he went on piers morgan on cnn. he explained that he is pro life. but some comments that he made to piers left some people to say maybe he's pro-life but maybe he's not for overturning rowe v. wade. he came here to des moines on saturday to clear that up an

, that there's now a campaign of mass detention saying that some 3,000 people have been taken in by syrian security forces who are trying to hunt down elements of or information about the free syria army. now, this free syria army was actually established in august. but has only really begun to gain traction in the last few weeks. it is still just compromise of a few thousand individuals, def t defectors mostly from the syrian military. they are increasingly they say carrying out operations to try to defend civilians from the syrian security forces. that is why activists say we saw this massive crackdown in that area. >> arwa damon in beirut tonight. arwa, thank you. >>> the nobel prize committee says a share of this year's medicine award will go to canadian board scientists who worked at new york's rockefeller university even though he died friday. the prize committee didn't know about ralph steinman's death when it announced this morning that he and two others are sharing this year's medicine prize for research on the immune system. >>> still to come here, a busy night of breaking politi

against the syrian people. this is a very active organization for the iranian government used to project their power asymmetrically around the world working through proxies so project violence. >> we're going to learn a lot more about this in the coming days and weeks. thank you. meanwhile, a stunning turn of events in the trial of the so-called underwear bomber. and the deal to free an israeli soldier and more than 1,000 palestinian prisoners. is israel sending the right or wrong message? what's going on? michael orrin is here this hour in "the situation room." ♪ sent her back to college for her sophomore year ♪ ♪ co-signed her credit card -- "buy books, not beer!" ♪ but the second that she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for her whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪ ♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ ♪ to free-credit-score

syrians i think don't. so, i think it's going to -- there may in the future, but some instances where we can turn to libya as a precedent. i don't think that syria is one of them. >> arwa, you spent a little time in syria. you're one of the last journalists actually allowed in syria to see what's going on. we know according to human rights groups, what, 3,000 human rights groups have been killed, thousands more have been imprisoned and injured. do the syrian people in syria, do they want the international community through the un security council and nato to get involved? >> well, wolf, there isn't really a unified voice that speaks out of syria. there is a voice pretty much of those who oppose the regime, but there is a division as to what the next step should be. what we have however been hearing even more of is a very angry call for some sort of military intervention, especially from activists inside syria. even the few months ago, people were very strong against saying they were too fearful this was goi

>>> nato prepares to wrap up its mission, syrian protesters want the same support from the international community. in protests that turns violent they called for a no-fly zone. arwa damon joining us beirut. what did the protesters, specifically, call for today? >> reporter: well, they dubbed it the no-fly zone friday, and now we are increasingly hearing voices from within the opposition inside syria, calling for foreign military intervention, the same style of invention that we saw taking place in libya. wolf, at the onset of the yup rising, well into the summer, this notion was a red line for the opposition. they firmly were saying they did not want to see any sort of foreign power militarily involved in their own uprising about but now we are increasing hearing them calling for that very thing and it most certainly goes to show you how desperate they are becoming, wolf. >> every time we see large demonstrations in syria, arwa, there's a backlash from the government, from the al asad regime. that is happening now? >> activists have telling us that dozens have been killed and wounded, h

. >>> the syrian military blasting away at homes and buildings with artillery and air strikes. they are trying dislodge anti-government fighters in the city. a human rights group say syrian troops hospital is dead 35 protesters yesterday across the country. >>> every high tide makes the flooding worse in bangkok. the outer suburbs are under water as is much of the country. more than 370 people have died in the most severe flooding to hit thain hit thailand in more than half a century. >>> the world's population will reach a record 7 billion on monday. china is the most populace country. chinese migrants are struggling. beijing has reached 20 million. >> reporter: my grant workers crowd cities like beijing now the world's 13th most populated city with almost 20 million people. the strain on cities across the globe like chinese capital is evident as the world's population reaches 7 billion. in beijing, the number of people almost doubled over the last decade as migrants look for jobs, struggling to make it in the big city. the people in this community earn roughly $300 a month. t

largely made up of defectors had been carrying out operations against the syrian security forces so much of the crackdown we're seeing is specifically targeted towards hunting down those who have defected and those who may be sheltering them. >> thank you. >>> now, to neighboring turkey where 24 soldiers were killed in an early morning attack by kurdish rebels inside iraq. it was a rocket attack. what can you tell us about this attack? >> reporter: we witnessed a well planned and certainly brutally effective attack by the pkk, kurdish militants on the turkish side of the iraqi border. the turkish army has responded in kind. there has been an operation inside the border and know there have been clashes inside turkey. the question is now whether the politicians can contain the situation the militants have been ftrying to inflame. >>> now to paris, where french first lady carla bruni sarkozy just gave birth. what can you tell us? >> reporter: the first lady in france gave birth to a little girl tonight. both mother and daughter are doing just fine. we don't expect the palace to offer a

hezbollah has sided with the bahrainian protesters, but for instance sided with the syrian regime. it's difficult not to see this through a sectarian prism. >> iran says it's a fabrication, the united states making this up. iran does not have a great credibility, level of credibility, shall we say, but the question is, you have the law enforcement case, you have the one suspect who has been arrested. the second suspect, as you read through the complaint, and it's like a movie script everybody the second suspect said to be in iran somewhere. account obama administration do? what can the world do? what can you do? >> this is very brazen, i mean for them to plan an attack on our soil. think about it, that hasn't happened before. we need to work together with the other world leaders. china and russia need to get involved in this. they have stayed out relative to the sanctions. it needs to be a discussion. >> any confidence china and russia will now get involved in some effort against iran? >> i don't know. i'll be honest with you. it's been very frustrating. they choose to stay separat

when it comes to syria, iraq clearly has chose grown side with the syrian government. clearly chosen to take a stance against the u.s., against the west. >> arwa damon who spent an enormous amount of time in iraq, knows the story as well as any journalist does. thanks very, very much. >>> the death of moammar gadhafi for the first time in more than 40 years, libyans are without the dictator and his shadow. we're checking with our correspondent on the ground. also, the obama administration is pushing to sell thousands of u.s. government buildings. we get an exclusive look inside one of them. >>> plus, herman cain. we have new details on his controversial 9-9-9 tax plan. let's ring you up. mary? what are you doing here? it's megan. i'm getting new insurance. marjorie, you've had a policy with us for three years. it's been five years. five years. well, progressive gives megan discounts that you guys didn't. paperless, safe driver, and i get great service. meredith, what's shakin', bacon? they'll figure it out. getting you the discounts you deserve. now, that's progressive

syrian troops opened fire on demonstrators. there are conflicting reports about the number of people killed and injured. >>> now to pakistan. remember osama bin laden's three wives and eight kids? therm taken into custody by the pakistanis when u.s. troops invaded bin laden's compound and killed him in may. now pakistan is trying to send them home. they've contacted governments in yemen to repat yat them. >>> in libya in sirte, they say the town could be in their control rather in a matter of days. that cannot be soon enough for libya's new leaders on the national transitional council. they plan to declare liberation once the birthplace of gadhafi is under their control. >>> unemployment stands at 9.1% nationwide. this week ali velshi talk with the senior editor at the atlantic and christine romans about america's new job geography. >> places that are way out on the coast that had, you know, economies that were in the sunbelt, built up on the housing boom and the credit bubble, las vegas, riverside, california, even the places

she said that would rather sell weapons to the syrian regime than stand with the people who want freedom. you're seeing pictures there of a brutal crackdown of to protests. the u.n. resolution condemn the crackdown on those protesters and opened the door to sanctions. the u.n. said that 2600 syrians have been killed since march in those protests. >>> wildfire once again threatening people and property in bastrop county, texas, about 1,000 acres are burning today. fires forced 30 families to leave their homes, it was just last month, when a huge firestourm destroyed 1500 homes in that county. >>> a new york congresswoman said that it's time to look at limits on helicopter traffic over manhattan. now, you're looking at this scene a crash on tuesday killed an australian tourist who was celebrating her 40th birthday. three other passengers and the pilot survived. witnesses said that the helicopter belly flopped right into the east river right after takeoff. >> i thought that i was going to see people bobbing up and down in the water. there was no one. just those two struts pointing towards q

and the activists that we are talking to say that the syrian government hospitals most certainly do not treat everyone equally and those who are running these secret underground clinics, wolf, are really struggling just because they don't have the proper equipment, but also because they do not have enough blood and the challenge there is that the blood bank is centrally controlled. it's controlled by the government, so even if they want to get blood, they have to disclose the identity of the person they are treating and that is jeopardizing their security as well. >> our heart goes out to those people. thanks for that report. >>> happening now, the president of the united states says the economy is so bad, he has to take drastic action and bypass congress. jay carney is standing by to talk with us this hour. also, rick perry deals with a new distraction while unveiling his flat tax plan. will his performance boost his very struggling presidential bid or will it drag it down more? and the vatican is warning about the moral consequences of a broken global economy. critics fear though that

a separate opposition group based in london claims that syrian groups are attacking protesters with nail bombs. nail bombs are banned by international law. >>> here's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. today's question, are there too many presidential debates? carol costello joins us from new york. i don't think so. i moderated a few. i say the more the merrier. let's see what they're made of here? >> oh, suzanne, you are a political nerd. >> that's true. what do you think? >> well, i do think this, every time you turn around there seems to be another republican debate. eight so far and at least another dozen or so to go. it's fair to say there are more debates this election cycle than ever before. one candidate rick perry appears to be saying enough is enough. >> these debates are set up for nothing more than to tear down the candidates. it's pretty hard to be able to sit and layout your ideas and concepts with a one-minute response. >> coincidently perry's campaign spokesman says his guy may be skipping some future debate and prefers answering questions dire

at the same time, the pillars holding up the syrian regime are still fairly intact. that being the business merchant middle class and for the most part the syrian security forces. so what activists there are hoping is that the death of gadhafi was transpired in lip ya and going to convince more people inside syria that the revolution there can actually, eventually succeed. >> well, we saw what happened which the anti-government demonstrations as soon as gadhafi announced he was -- or as soon as they announced data fee was dead. has that continued in regard to the demonstrations? >> reporter: these activists in syria go out whenever they can, wherever they can. in the last month the syrian security forces have spanned out throughout pretty much the entire country. what we are seeing now is more of the activists trying to gather in various side streets chanting for the downfall of the regime, but they have to be quick because the small gatherings are being broken up incredibly quickly and with such brute force. but yes, they are doing the best they can to keep up the i

. >> how are syrians reacting to gadhafi's demise? >> well, the opposition is full-on in support of it. we've seen them taking to the streets demonstrating and chanting and celebration, congratulations the libyans and sending out a warning that president assad was going to be next. what's interesting on syrian state television, for example, there has been no mention and i've been watching for hours, of what is happening in libya or on the online website of the syrian arab news agency. it seems the government is avoiding that issue deliberately all together. >> arwa, very quickly, we know nato played a direct role in the air strikes in taking out the libya, the forces that were loyal to gadhafi and ultimately gadhafi himself. do we expect international intervention? is there any discussion or consideration of that in syria? >> reporter: well the opposition is reluctantly beginning to ask for it realizing after eight months of trying to peacefully bring down the regime they are quite simply not getting anywhere. you have to look at the

in the interview with a british newspaper, the syrian president admitted mistakes during the several months of clashes between his government and protesters. >>> a dead heat in the first presidential caucus state. a poll shows that iowa voters are leaning toward herman cain and mitt romney, almost a dead heat. the iowa caucuses are set for january 3. >>> ron paul did okay in the registered poll but excelled in a straw poll of likely iowa voters. he got 82% of the national federation of republican assembly's presidential straw poll. herman cain was second at 15%. paul and rick santorum were the only candidates to show up at the event yesterday. >>> rick perry isn't going to be skipping any debates after all. the texas governor says he's ready to take part in the next four debates in november. cnn is hosting two debates in washington, d.c., and arizona. earlier, perry had indicated he might skip some of the debates in order to spend more time with voters. >>> america's veterans are having a rough time finding work, and the problem is even more profound for female veterans. you're going

. >> certainly align themselves on the syrian issue. it's, i mean, people are saying, why did the united states spend almost nine years in iraq if this is going to be the end result? >> well, this may be the end result if we stay there another six months or a year. i think the tragedy of this whole thing is it was ill thought through when we first started it. a lot of americans have paid a heavy price. i think our military has been superb through it all. it's been republican and democrat, both administrations, and stayed there. we didn't have necessarily good partners. i think at the end of the day, if it becomes chaotic and not a good place, iraqis, it's their fault. not our fault. >> a new book coming out from a "washington post" reporter entitled "ten letters" let me read an excerpt -- this reporter referring to ten letters the president reads every night from individuals who write the white house with their o own personal stories, own personal appeals. what do you make of this, james, that on occasion, he has written a personal chec

the greatest concern they have is not over the palestinians or syrians, they're concerned about iran. they're concerned about them getting a nuclear weapon and having the ability to then really sponsor terrorism that will drive israel, that will drive israel as ahminedjad has said, off the face of the map. in addition to that, they have made it very, very clear they want to dominate that region of the world and when they have that nuclear weapon and this theology about their destiny to be in control and to use that as a platform to spread around the rest of the world, this is a serious, serious threat to the region and ultimately to american national security. it has to be authoritied before it becomes nuclear. >> we're going to continue this conversation in the days ahead with ron paul. appreciate it very much. >>> other news we're following, scott brown is responding to charges of plagiarism. lisa sylvester has more. >> senator brown's office says that this was all just a technical glitch and it was not in any way intentional. but there is a democratic group that says it was a delib

there is a wonderful cartoon, drawn by a syrian cartoonist and he was beaten up severely for i it,. >> fran, this is obviously a huge milestone? >> it is a huge milestone. libya has money challenges, the money from oil revenue, and in north after karks training along the border near to libya. there will be those around them that will seek to take advantage. so that's a concern. there will be tribal differences. there will be gadhafi loyalists that will look for an opportunity perhaps to launch insurgency like we saw in iraq. >> this fight in northern najair? >> that's exactly right. you've got these groups outside the border of libya that will have an interest to see if they can take advantage of the chaos and then the transitional council has its work cut out for them. of course, they want to be better than gadhafi, they've got to submit to civilian law. >> fran townsend, thank you, bob baer, and fouad ajami. >>> ron paul is claiming that he didn't get enough talk time. we checked the clock. keeping them honest. >>> how are private citizens able to house potentially dangerous, large

. >>> and people are jamming the square in the heart of damascus today to show support for syrian president bashar al assad, and the rally comes as the arab league ministers visit damascus. they want to mediate talks between mr. assad and the anti-government protesters. 3,000 syrians have been killed after crackdowns by the government and some have been tortured in state-run hospitals. >>> president obama will be in denver in the next hour with an announcement that students will be happy to hear. he will let students cap their monthly payments at 10% of discretionary income starting january. the president will allow borrowers to refinance at lower interest rates. the students say this will help the economy. >> there is going to be a big majority of us who are going to have a hard time looking for work or having work and we are stuck with loans. >> well, i'm nervous to get a job to make the payments every month. >> if you add up everybody's student loans the total is expected to top $1 trillion for the first time this year. >>> well, a federal law enforcement force says that a former goldman

there is a wonderful cartoon, drawn by a syrian cartoonist and he was beaten up severely for it. it showed gadhafi driving a jeep and hitching a ride with him. this is the fault of the despots this is what they and do this is the end they deserve. >> fran in terms of libya moving forward this is obviously a huge milestone. >> it is a huge milestone. libya has money challenges, the money from oil revenue, and in north africa, training along the border near to libya. there will be those around them that will seek to take advantage. so that's a concern. there will be tribal differences. there will be gadhafi loyalists that will look for an opportunity perhaps to launch an insurgency like we saw in iraq. >> this fight in northern najair? >> that's exactly right. you've got these groups outside the borders of libya that will have an interest to see if they can take advantage of the chaos and then the internal strife bound to happen from loyalists and tribes, transitional council has its work cut out for them. of course, they want to be better than gadhafi, they've got to submit to civ

and we saw them taking to the streets in various parts of the country today, chanting a warning from syrian president that he would be next, that he, too, would be facing a similar fate, underscoring their point that no one at this stage in the history of the middle east was immune. no one could consider themselves safe. >> is this protest in syria calling for nato intervention like what we saw in libya? >> reporter: that's a reluctant call for intervention because for eight months they've been trying to demonstrate peacefully and they have gotten know where but there is a the realization that any international intervention would lead to some sort of civil war in syria but also warning that the country is on that path right now, brooke. >> remind us again, this is his family -- his family has ruled this country for decades. >> reporter: that's right. before assad was in power, his father was in power. it's about the regime loyalty's to the assad regime. they seem to have the support of the government. despite some defection and syria security forces, they have the support of the business cl

mona goes back and tells steve and steve says that balding syrian guy, that was my father? forget it. i don't ever want to see him. >> amazing story. >> you couldn't make it up. >> did they have any type of contact at all even at the point when steve was publicly dying? >> no. i think that -- i heard that he said that he sent text messages but no. there was no contact. >> what do you think that did to steve jobs? he obviously had this huge curiosity about his real parents but did he feel great anger do you think towards his father in particular? >> i don't think he felt anger toward his father. he didn't want anything to do with the guy who abandoned the family and mona. i think he was very deeply connected to his -- what he called his real parents. parents who adopted him. he didn't want to hurt them. paul jobs is a guy who was an auto mechanic and had taught steve all of the lessons of design and how to be a good craftsman and realized that steve was special and treated him as special even when he was a kid when steve didn't want to keep going to the same school, they scr

ambassador susan rice says the countries that have blocked the resolution wanted to sell arms to the syrian regime. >>> amanda knox is back in the u.s. she flew home a day after an italian jury overturned her murder conviction in the 2007 killing of her roommate, meredith kercher. she appeared at a news conference at seattle's airport, choked with emotion, she thanked her supporters. >>> 17 people have been killed in an accident at a chinese coal mine. government officials say that they're investigating the cause. 11 of the 28 people in the mine shaft survived. few chinese mines adapt to regulations and accidents are common in the country. >>> in the michael jackson involuntary manslaughter trial, prosecutors focused on three of murray's girlfriends. the married doctor had conversations with three women he was dating on the day jackson died. prosecutors are trying to use the women's calls and text messages to establish a time line leading up to the singer's death. those are the headlines from cnn, the world's news leader. i'm zain verjee, and "world business today" starts now. >>> good morn

opposition activists say that 31 people died when syrian troops opened fire on sunday. the attacks on anti-american -- rather anti-government protesters took place in several cities. president assad is warning countries not to recognize the syrian national council, which is set up in turkey last week. that council appears to be positioning itself as syria's next government. >>> crisis talks are happening in egypt today to head off new violence. fighting between muslims and christians left at least 25 people dead over the weekend. christians say they were peacefully protesting a church burning when they were attacked by people they describe as thugs. christians say egypt's military rulers aren't doing enough to protect them. >> it's a very volatile situation, and many critics say it's not helped by the actions, for instance, of state-run tv which last night called upon what it called honest egyptians to come down and join the army in fighting against these predominantly christian protesters. >> the burst of vie lenolence i characterized as the worst since the uprising th

yesterday witnesses say syrian troops fired into a massive crowd gathered for the funeral of a child killed friday by security forces. >>> the u.s. military withdrawal from iraq will be complete by december 31st. that's a slight change from the original plan to keep one army brigade in iraq into next year. the pentagon said this weekend, it could not get assurance from the iraqis that remaining troops would be immune from prosecution. the only u.s. troops left in iraq after the first of the year will be the security detail at the u.s. embassy. >>> the son of u.s. born militant cleric anwar al awlaki was among those killed in a trio drone attacks friday night in yemen. a senior security official also says the attacks killed seven suspected militants. how much of drone strikes have been a factor? joining me is peter bergen. you know, be a drone attack kills the father and now the son. it seems as though u.s. intelligence has either been incredibly heightened where they're able to pick off many more suspected terrorists, or these drone attacks are being used more frequently with greater

the syrian regime and bashar al assad has to realize his time is limited and the people do want him to leave. the next step might be a case where there will be international intervention of a military sort. and as we saw today, this is what the ending portends. the death of a dictator rather than deposing the dictator or in the case of egypt, the dictator going on trial. >> we've heard with regard to bash ashe al assad, he has lost his lemming it massey his, legitimacy to rule. >>> and in africa, the biggest oil reserves are in libya. what happens to them now? the postal service is critical to our economy-- delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service, and want to lay off over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains 5 billion a year from post-office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. congress created this problem, and congress can fix i

. >> and the a syrian christians and in iraq and across the entire region. >> do they prove on one level when you talk about suicide of a super power, the democracy, and the freedom and the ideals that are the american dream are more alive and well than they've ever been before? >> any number of people have the idea in their hearts of being free. but when the shot goes down, mubarak has gone down. when the christians to beirut, what's going to happen? the christians in syria are scared to death. >> what about america, though? that america provided the power of nato. >> america is the number one military power and will be indefinitely in the future. but the truth is, erin, we're coming home from the world. you have the smallest number of troops in okinawa than you've had before. they are going to be coming home from germany. and they should. the super power is in retreat which i think is a good thing but not for mankind. it's a good situation for us. we have to fix or own situation. deaf a deficit for years and we're on our way to greece. >> so you think the one way that the two sides can

mona tells steve and he says that balding syrian guy, that was my father? forget it, i don't ever want to see him. >> amazing story. >> couldn't make it up. >> did they have any type of contact at all? >> no, no. i think i've heard that the father has said he sent text messages but, no, there was no contact. >> what do you think that did to steve jobs? he obviously had this huge curiosity about his real parents. do you think he felt father toward his father in particular? >> i don't think he felt anger. i think he just didn't wanting in to do with the guy, he had abandoned the father, abandon mona. i think he was deeply connected to what he called his real parents, the parents who adopted him, he didn't want to hurt him. paul jobs taught him how to do design and be a craftsman. even as a kid when steve didn't want to go to the same school, they scraped money together to buy a home so he could go to a different school district court. >> it was ironic that steve himself has a girl friend, he makes her pregnant and then he abando abandons, same age. >> and;s2Ã

. >> and the a syrian christians and in iraq and across the entire region. >> do they prove on one level when you talk about suicide of a super power, the democracy, and the freedom and the ideals that are the american dream are more alive and well than they've ever been before? >> any number of people have the idea in their hearts of being free. but when the shot goes down, mubarak has gone down. when the christians to beirut, what's going to happen? the christians in syria are scared to death. >> what about america, though? that america provided the power of nato. >> america is the number one military power and will be indefinitely in the future. but the truth is, erin, we're coming home from the world. you have the smallest number of troops in okinawa than you've had before. they are going to be coming home from germany. and they should. the super power is in retreat which i think is a good thing but not for mankind. it's a good situation for us. we have to fix or own situation. deaf a deficit for years and we're on our way to greece. >> so you think the one way that the two sides can

contin tunisians, yes, ma'amens, syrians. few have access to internet and 60% of adults are i will literal. one of the most important aspects of social media is it can be used as a form of advocacy. >> seconds post it on twitter, we tweet to followers, then like a tree with branches. information spreads around the world in the matter of an hour. >> reporter: it was a newfound freedom using the most up to date technologies to get the word out in countries with extremely strict media controls. where populations had grown accustomed to being heavily monitored. some countries cut internet or phone service at times attempting to shut down communications but never completely effective. months of revolt produced a flood of images from citizen journalists constantly posting and uploading them online. some claim to prove atrocities. the role of social media during arab spring took on another dimension when news of steve jobs death broke. tweeted attributes to the man whose apple products helped them make it easier onspread their revol

if the syrian people have sustained their resistance against his rule, month after month after month, through all the brutality and punishment he's doled out, they're going to be resisting him for a long time. his days are numbered. he's going to go the way of gadhafi. gadhafi had a choice. he could have taken a statesman like approach when it broke out and the world came down against him say, look, look, i've done my part, i've made libya a nation, i've gotten rid of the colonials, i've taken oil back for the libyan people, and it is time for younger leadership. he could have gone out in a statesman like fashion. so could bashar al assad. >> because gadhafi did have many opportunities to leave libya even. he said he would never do that, but he could have. he have free message. his sons certainly had an opportunity to go to a third country. they would presumably be alive living very well right now because they certainly had stashed away a lot of money in overseas accounts, money that the international community and especially the new libyan government is looking for right now. but the