republican joe milder demanding -- joe miller demanding a recount. and senator murkowski saying pack it in but he is taking the case to the alaska supreme court and they will hear the case on friday. and senator murkowski will not talk but miller joins me on phone. joseph, now a recount? you should have done this at outset? >>guest: well it goes beyond the disd that applies to the count. that is what we are trying to get clarified by the court. so we have to follow the statute as written by the legislator or create all sorts of problems so until you have a standard you cannot have an accurate count. >>neil: when you go to the highest court what is your argument? >>guest: well, there are several arguments we took before the court. our notice was filed yesterday. the two major issues are, one, the statute is written bit legislature and does not require what it says and that is the name that is written for write in candidate must match the candidate and do we count the ballots the same for re-- for those hand written in and those counted on the preprint

joe miller remains firmly in denial. that's a long way for the river nile. >>> up next, michael steele stunned republicans last night when he announced yes, he's running again for party chair. why shouldn't he stay on the job? you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. [ male announcer ] got a cold? [ coughs ] [ male announcer ] confused what to get? click on the robitussin relief finder. click on your symptoms. get the right relief. makes the cold aisle easy. the robitussin relief finder. it's that simple. the robitussin relief finder. everyone has someone to go heart healthy for. who's your someone? campbell's healthy request can help. low cholesterol, zero grams trans fat, and a healthy level of sodium. it's amazing what soup can do. executor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price.

. >>> it's been more than a month since the midterms, but alaska's joe miller isn't giving up his house in the u.s. senate seat. yesterday he filed an appeal at the supreme court. >>> jailed financier bernard madoff says he will not attend his son's funeral out of consideration for his family's privacy. mark madoff committed suicide. >>> and small consolation, but the statement that likely caused christine o'donnell the election earned her a top spot on top quotes for declaring, quote, i'm not a watch. tony hayward infamously claimed, quote, i'd like my life back, during this summer's oil disaster. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,428 after climbing 18 points. the s&p was up a fraction and the nasdaq fell 12 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei added 22 points. in hong kong, the hang seng rose 113. >>> on wall street, trading was flat, slow and uncertain monday starting off the final full week of business before christmas. both the dow and the s&p benefited from china's conservative move

. >>> it's been more than a month since the midterms, but alaska's joe miller isn't giving up his house in the u.s. senate at. yesterday he filed an appeal at the supreme court. >>> jailed financier bernard madoff says he will not attend his son's funeral out of consideratio for his family's privacy. mark madoff committed suicide. >>> d small consolation, but the statement that likely caused christe o'donnell the election earned her a top spot on top quotes for declaring, quote, i'm not a watch. tony hayward infamously claimed, quote, i'd like my life back, during this summer's oil disaster. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,428 after climbing 18 points. the s&p was up a fraction and the nasdaq fell 12 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei added 22 points. in hg kong, the hang seng rose 113. >>> on wall street, tradi was flat, slow and uncertain monday starting off the final full week of business before christmas. both the dow and the s&p benefited from ina's conservative move to slow grow

joe miller claimed counting ballots with spelling errors violated state law and the u.s. constitution, but a federal judge disagreed confirming what would be the first official writing campaign for a senate seat since 1954. >>> russia's foreign ministry is lashing out at the u.s. and europe saying criticism of a second conviction of a jailed oil tycoon is, quote, unacceptable. earlier this week, white house officials raised questions about the verdict since mikhail khodorkovski has been a vocal opponent of vladimir putin. but yesterday the prime minister release add blunt statement saying for earn to mind their own business both at home and in the international arena. >>> in new orleans a tragic fire killed five people. homeless people were trying to keep warm inside the abandoned warehouse in new orleans ninth ward. firefighters have been unable to identify the victims from the smouldering rubble. this is the deadliest fire new orleans has seen in nearly 40 years. >> now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america -- in upstate new york, a driver go

>>neil: i know republicans are happy but joe miller said do not be so sure. she is a fan of the earmarks and a fan of spending initiatives and could be a republican in name only. what do you make of that? >>reporter: i know what i know personally from dealings with senator murkowski which have been nothing but positive as a strong conservative woman and she does show alaska she has the ability to win on her own. remember the other accusation was she was only able to win because her family relations and that is not the case. if she, when this is finalized, and if she does become as people expect the, continue to be the senator from alaska she will have a measure of nmed but -- independence, but in alaska, when you have low population, you need to figure out ways that you might need to funnel money into your state. new york state gets their share. it depends on what you call an earmark but she is a stand up woman and he is a stand up guy, and i hope if the supreme court rules they will do so very quickly. >>neil: on the health care thing, and the compromise, an

. >>> it's been more than a month since the midterms, but alaska's joe miller isn't giving up his fight for a u.s. senate seat. yesterday the tea party-backed candidate filed an appeal at the supreme court, three days after a rival for apparent winner lisa murkowski can be counted, even if they're misspelled. >>> jailed financier bernard madoff says he will not attend his son's funeral out of consideration for his family's privacy. 46-year-old mark madoff committed suicide on saturday. the second anniversary of his father's arrest of the biggest ponzi scheme in u.s. history. >>> and small consolation, but the statement that likely caused delaware senate candidate christine o'donnell the election did earn her the top spot on yale university's annual list of most notable quote for 2010 for declares, "i'm not a witch." o'donnell shares the honor with bp's tony hayward who infamously claimed, "i'd like my life back" during this summer's golf oil disaster. >>> and now here's an early look at how wall street kicked off the day. the dow opens at 11,428 after climbing 18 points. the s&p was up

alaska tea party joe miller remains firmly in denial. it's a long way from the river, nile. 27 days and counting, tonights "big number." >>> up next, michael steele stunned republicans last night when he announced, yes, he's running again for party chair. after the record of success he's had, be honest, look at the numbers. why shouldn't he stay on the job? cameras were rolling when a gunman burst into a school board meeting in florida and we're warning you the next video is dramatic. the gunman began making threats and opening fire without hitting anybody fortunately. school safety officer returned fire, wounding the gunman who then turned his own gun on himself. >>> a tornado tore right through the center of a small town in marion county, oregon. there's a lot of damage on the ground. >>> in london wikileaks founder julian assange is jail. lawyers challenge a judge eegs order to release him on $300,000 bail. >>> protesters clashed with police in italy. prime minister sylvia berlusconi far far lowly survived a confidence vote. back to "

miller, but managed to win the general election with a write-in campaign. she's only the second candidate in history to win a u.s. senate seat via write-in after strom thurmond in 1954. she'll be sworn in along with the rest of the senate next week. >>> on wall street today, stocks finished lower on the second to last trading day of the year. the dow was down almost 16 points on very light volume. >>> when nbc "nightly news" continues in a moment, is the government hiding information that could put lives at risk? >>> and later, the plan to build a highway that some are calling a road to ruin. >>> americans suffering from kidney disease have had their dialysis treatments paid for by the federal government for the past 40 years. but how safe are the clinics that perform the treatments? nbc news teamed with the independent nonprofit investigative group pro-publica to find information that could mean the difference between life and death. here's nbc's senior investigative correspondent lisa myers. >> reporter: 1972. a tumultuous time. and the year taxpayers beg

. >>> it's been more than a month since the midterms but alaska's joe miller isn't giving up his fight. yesterday the tea party-backed candidate filed an appeal to the state supreme court three days after a lower court declared that write-in ballots for lisa murkowski can be counted even if they are misspelled. >>> jailed financier bernard madoff will not attend his son's funeral. 46-year-old mark madoff committed suicide saturday, the second anniversary of his father's arrest for the biggest ponzi scheme in u.s. history. >>> small consolation but the statement that likely cost delaware senate candidate christine o'donnell the election did earn her the top spot on yale university's annual list of most quotable quotes of declaring "i'm not a witch." o'donnell shares the honor with tony hayward who infamously complained "i'd like my life back" during the gulf oil disaster. >>> the first look at how wall street kicks off. it opens 11,428 after climbing 18 points yesterday. the s&p was up a fraction and the nasdaq fell 12 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, th

alaska tea party joe miller remains firmly in denial. it's a long way from the river, nile. 27 days and counting, tonights "big number." >>> up next, michael steele stunned republicans last night when he announced, yes, he's running again for party chair. after the record of success he's had, be honest, look at the numbers. why shouldn't he stay on the job? and who brings you more natural colors than campbell's condensed soups? campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack that's caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming dangerous clots. ask your doctor if plavix is right for you. protection that helps save lives. [ female announcer ] certain genetic factors and some medicines, such as prilosec, reduce

a judge has also ruled that joe miller has not proven there was any election fraud. he's appealing all of this to the state supreme court. lisa murkowski wants this to be over as soon as possible. it's not going to affect which party is in control. >> ed henry for us. great to see you. thank you. your next political update in an hour. for the latest political news, you know where to to go. >>> hello, again, top of the hour. here are some of the people behind today's top stories. this american is a star in japan. why is that so shocking? we will share his amazing story with you. every time you go out of your house, someone may be watching you on a surveillance camera. we will show you how to see if it is happening to you in our end of privacy report. and you're online right now, we are, too. a story about snoring. is it ever a good thing? let's get started with our lead story. yesterday, a federal junl in virginia ruled that it is unconstitutional for the government to force americans to buy health insurance. it is the first time a portion of the president's landmark

. >>> the alaska senate battle may still not be over.the r joe miller, the republican who lost, will announce this afternoon whether he will, in fact, continue to file legal challenges. incumbent, lisa murkowski waged a successful write-in campaign to win the election. >>> nasa has been examining cracks on the tank of "discovery." but the space agency says the flight in early february remains a possibility. "discovery" suffered a series of mishaps in preparation for its flight to the international space station. >>> thousands of new year's revelers are ready to pour into new york's times square. the big, annual ball drop. the weather is expected to be great. 40 degrees, no wind, no rain and no snow. >>> lottery players in 41 states and d.c., lining up to buy tickets to tonight's megamillions drawing jackpot. >>> local news next for some. but that's not the only story. it's got turn-by-turn navigation, onstar, an available six-speed automa remote keyless entry, and 10 air bags. it's a big story for a compact car. the all-new chevrolet cruze. get used to more. very well-qualified lesse

her challenger, joe miller, says he no longer objects to the state's approval of the election results. but that does not mean miller is giving up. he may still go to court to fight the way the state handled the race and counted the ballots. >>> a new discovery may force scientists to rethink the basics of human evolution. archaeologists -- and in central israel, i should say. they found 400,000-year-old teeth, believed to be the earliest evidence yet of modern man. >> until now, the oldest homo sapien remains had been 200,000 years old. and scientists say, it's premature to link the teeth to modern man. >> what a discovery. >>> switching gears now, the nfl playoff spots are filling up. >> they sure are. the latest tracks. and some of the high-flying college hoops. all the highlights from espn news. >> good morning. i'm steve weissman with your espn news update. we start with "monday night football." saints looking to clinch a playoff spot. taking on the falcons, looking to clinch home field throughout the playoffs. early fourth quarter, saints with the ball. drew brees, picked off by

the paperwork was signed thursday giving her the win over tea party candidate joe miller. miller won the primary in august but murkowski decided to run for re-election as a write-in. the two have been battling out in court since the midterm elections. murkowski is the first u.s. senate candidate to win as a write-in in over 50 years. >>> good news in the job market this morning. a sharp drop in claims for unemployment benefits last week. the labor department reported 388,000 americans filed for unemployment for the first time, that's a drop of 34,000 from the week before. the fewest new claims since july of 2008. it also makes four straight weeks of flat or declining claims. it's another sign the economy may be making a turnaround. don teague reports. >> reporter: in suburban dallas, bill harris's computer repair business is doing something now it hasn't in two years, hiring new employees, three in just the last two weeks. >> i see a lot of businesses that have held back are now realizing it's time to move forward. >> reporter: the sudden hiring spree isn't over. he expect

a federal judge cleared the way, after denying claims by challenger joe miller. >>> and south korea's president says the best way to deal with north korea's nuclear program is through negotiation. he's now calling for new talks between the north and south after a military action this month. >>> for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, "america this morning" continues right after this. i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these symptoms or behaviors, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. if you develop serious allergic or skin

joe miller is taking his challenge of incumbent murkowski to the state supreme court. the judge ruled over murkowski right and victory. miller contends they did not follow the law in counting the bail on thes. >> the stocks were mixed and s&p 500 add less than a point and nasdaq back 12 and two-thirds. americans from wall street to maine street are waiting to see what happened with the tax deal with the republicans. congress wrestles over what to do. others are weighing the deal's impact on the economy. >> larry somers, one of the president's senior economic advisors points to the biggest problem facing the economy right now. >> the constraint on our economy now and for the next several years will be the lack of demand. >> the reason summers say, we are in a period of deleveraging. they are now paying down debts and saving instead of spending freely. that means reduced economic activity and fewer jobs. summers argues that the tax compromise will remedy that and accelerate the recovery. >> increasing demand will mean more workers with jobs, more employers in a position

. >>> and an alaskan judge could decide if a tea party's joe miller's legal challenge of his rival senate victory can move ahead. senator lisa murkowski won that race in a write-in campaign. >>> finally this half hour, something of a virtual wake-up call for those of you out there who might not be putting away enough money for that proverbial rainy day. >> it is the invention of a stanford university researcher who's giving his subjects what amounts to a crystal ball. john berman checked it out. >> reporter: the beatles get to the heart of a crucial question. ♪ will you still feed me when i'm 64 ♪ >> reporter: when i'm 64, what will i need? is this 20-something saving enough for when she becomes ms. 60-something? >> the average american, the average person, isn't taking a ton of ownership over their finances. >> reporter: researcher hal hirschfield had a novel idea. to get you ready for the future, show you the future. >> to literally walk a mile in the shoes of your future self. >> reporter: at the virtual human interaction lab at stanford university, he put people in a virtual reali

her tea party challenger joe miller says he'll decide tomorrow if he'll continue his legal challenge. >>> new york's mayor promises all the streets will be plowed later this morning. of course following sunday's big blizzard, that's a big task. >>> also in new york, transit fares went up at midnight during a week of widespread service complaints. >>> and the latest report on unemployment claims is released this morning. analysts tell the "wall street journal" they predict a slight drop in the number of layoffs. >>> and finally this half hour, new dads of course love capturing that magic moment in the delivery room, the very moment that a son or daughter is literally welcomed into the world. >> some hospitals are putting an end to that tradition. and it's upsetting many parents. here's john donvan. >> reporter: the shiplers of maryland have put it all on videotape for all of their kids. snapshots too. with another baby coming january 13, their hospital just told them -- >> that we can't take that picture. we can't have those first initial seconds. >> reporter: it's true. hagerstown, ma

hour, joe miller says that the way that the state counted those ballots was incorrect and he is taking it to court. hopefully a resolution on wednesday when the court makes a ruling on that. >>> speaking of court, john edwards, two of the former aides in a federal courthouse yesterday that we believe that the two aides were answering questions about this allegation that he made illegal payments to a mistress and how he did that was through some of the campaign benefactors. now, john edwards with this once rising career and supposed to be a superstar, don, of the democratic party came crashing down and acknowledged having a child out of wedlock with his mistress hunter saying that he maintains the innocence and did anything of criminal wrongdoing so that case is ongoing and, of course, john edwards really rise to the strat stas to fear came crashing down. >> there's buzz about who will be the chairman of the republican national committee and will michael steele decide to seek another term. people weighing in on the matter. who's weighing in now and what are they saying? >> yeah, don. th

now, lisa murkowski, who is a republican, lost the primary to joe miller. won in november because she was running as a write-in candidate. they are now going to the state supreme court and they are going to be dealing with this on friday. so the alaska senate race still up for grabs. >> as we suspected that wouldn't end just because we thought it would end. make that the official political ticker. you look like a million bucks. mark preston, thanks very much. the next political update coming your way in about an hour. >>> some international "odds & ends" straight ahead. we're going to look at two very different adventures that you probably won't want to try but you will want to see. rica where the best potatoes come from. the best potatoes? idaho. idaho! idaho. and how do you know you're getting idaho potatoes? well...uh... uhm... heh.. (sighs) not all potatoes come from idaho. so if you want the best, you have to do one important thing. always look for the grown in idaho seal. i knew that. i knew that. look for the grown in idaho seal. >>> time now for "od

joe miller says he won't try to block the senator's win. a court ruling upheld election results showing she lead by thousands of votes, miller said he doesn't want to prevent the state from having full representation when the new congress is sworn in next month. >>> president obama keeping a hawaiian christmas tradition alive. he and the first lady made an unannounced visit to u.s. marines and their families, they joined them for dinner at the mess hall at the marine corps base hawaii on saturday. the president and michelle obama spent more than an hour shaking hands, hugging service members it is the third year in a row the obamas have visited the base on christmas. >>> this morning another bomb scare overseas, police rushed to the greek embassy in rome, after a package bomb was found now this follows several bombs which exploded friday at the embassies in chile and sweden. >> sweden.anarchist group has claimed responsibility. no one was hurt it turned out to be a false alarm. >>> british police charged nine men with terrorism today. three

joe miller will plead his case, but will not stand in the way of gop rival. he said the integrity is vital, however he said even if the case is not decide, miller can be sworn in so that alaska has full representation on capitol hill. >>> hugh hefner has a new fiance only 60 years younger. he proposed to crystal harris who is miss december of 2009. hefner is hip to the younger crowd. he announced the engagement on twitter. this is his third marriage. >> wow. more than double the age and more than double the speeds in antioch. clear sailing according to mike. >> highway 4 where we see speeds in the 20s. look at this. an easy drive at 54. about an 18, but this is no ordinary week. a lot of folks are not commuting in the morning. midday and afternoons, you will see a lot more on the roadway. easy drive through the maze. 24 just a typical slowing as you approach oakland. the city limits off of highway 13. there you go. the real issue, a live look at the toll plaza with the fog being an issue. lower the speeds even though you don't have to. >>> mike singletary out

. >>> the alaska supreme court will hear joe miller's arguments today about lisa mvotes. he claims the election was tainted. ♪ [ male announcer ] you know her. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday. aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. also available in small, easy-to-swallow petites. citracal. >>> the u.s. navy possesses what has become the world's biggest internal computer network, or intranet. it's used by more than 700,000 sailors, marines and civilians for everything from e-mail to online training. the navy also says it's one of the most secure computer networks. it costs billions of dollars. so, of course, now the navy wants to get rid of it. cnbc's jane wells joins us from los angeles. why? >> well, a lot of sailors an marines would like it gotten rid of. it's the second biggest computer network in the world next to the internet itself

. >> and finally, joe miller, because if your private security team arrests someone, anyone at a campaign event, you're probably in trouble. his erratic campaign and refusal to answer questions about his history made him the first candidate to lose a u.s. senate race to a write-in candidate since 1954, a pretty impressive feat. on friday, by the way, alaska superior court judge dismissed miller's complaint that misspelled write-in votes should be tossed out. >> and the winner for worst candidate -- >> this is tough. this was a very close election. >> we had some competition. it was close. it's alex sink. >> it's unbelievable. think about it. you lost to a guy who defrauded medicare in florida! okay? more people on medicare perhaps in the state of florida per capita than any state -- >> and you and alex sink kind of had a moment on our air, did you not? >> it was the beginning. a lot of people responded going, oh, my god, she may be in bigger trouble than many people realized. >> let's play the clip. >> what kind of governor has charlie crist been for the state of florida? >> well, we're i

to the, the alaska supreme court will hear joe miller's challenge to the results of his senate race with lisa murkowski. miller's camp argues election workers should not have counted write-in ballots that misspelled senator murkowski's name. this is miller's final chance to make his case in state court. >>> and more than 1,500 companies are offering a one had-day-only day. place your order before midnight tonight and get free shipping with delivery by christmas eve. a full list of participating merchants on freeshipping.org. pretty good deal. >>> other stories making headlines this friday. u.s. officials on alert for threats to the u.s. and europe from al qaeda during this holiday season. the fbi and homeland security department sent a bulletin to state and local law enforcement reminding them to keep an eye out for suspicious behavior and to regularly change their security routines. officials have not released information, though, about specific threats. >>> one day after a snowstorm socked washington, d.c. causing flight cancellations and delays and bad traffic, forecasters say more se

last night, republican joe miller announced he will not try to block officials from certifying incumbent lisa murkowski as the winner. she finished first as a write-in candidate after losing in the republican primary. the state supreme court refused last week to overturn the results. miller said he will continue a challenge to how the vote was counted. wall street had a quiet day, as it began the final trading week of the year. the dow jones industrial average lost 18 points to close at 11.555. the nasdaq rose a point to close at 2667. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to margaret. >> warner: this past year, the struggle to enact health care reform was fought by the president and the congress in washington. now with the law on the books, the battlefield to shape it has expanded to states and the courts. this week we report from two states that are taking sharply different approaches since the election. first, wisconsin. new resistance there is aimed at many aspects of the law, especially at a program the law aims to expand to cover more people, medicaid. newshour healt

host: thehill is reporting yesterday that joe miller in that alaska senate race expected to make a decision on further court action on monday. alaska senate candidate joe miller will consider his options and his legal right ballot battle over christmas. he will be considering options over christmas and expects to announce monday how he will proceed in his challenge against senator lisa murk ow ski. host: maria, are you with us? we'll move on to wesley -- maria, good morning. caller: i've been waiting a long time. host: thanks for waiting. caller: well, you know, i hope and pray the lord almighty god that this government gets everything straightnd up and everything is back to normal like it used to be. i have no idea what happened with the republican party. i don't know what's wrong with them. i wish they would increase their mentality and talent to put this country back in order. i don't know. i have been a republican for a long time and i will continue to be but i have not seen anything strong about them to overcome the other party. i want jobs to create jobs, i've been looking for work fo

republican joe miller filed an appeal to the alaska supreme court after being turned down by a lower court. he is challenging how the state conducted the election and how it counted write-in ballots for his rival, senator lisa murkowski. arguments will be heard friday. >>> indirectly story here. imagine being in a car crash so terrible, you actually considered throwing your newborn from the burning car. that's what one north carolina mom thought when she found herself trapped inside the fiery suv with her baby. some say what happened next is a christmas miracle. reporter ken lemon of our charlotte station, wsoc, has more. >> reporter: she came into the fire department crying. this is why kathy lambert is so thankful. she was in the driver's seat of this burning suv, her 3-week-old son landon trapped in the car seat behind her, when she hit the tree. >> they were our guardian angels. >> reporter: her legs were stuck. the flames started to spread. the desperate mother said at one point things looked so bad she decided to just reach around, grab the car seat, and throw the baby from the

. >> alaska republican senate candidate joe miller says he's gonna keep fighting the vote count against lisa murkowski. miller is a tea party favorite and beat murkowski in the primary. but murkowski is urging supporters to write in her name on the ballot. the alaska supreme court issued a ruling to show the results and that shows her leading by thousands of votes. miller is challenging the votes that were write-ins. >>> meanwhile, bristol palin is leafing be -- is leaving alaska behind. she bought a house in arizona, paid $172,000 cash. the house is just miles away from arizona state university where reportedly, she's thinking about going to college. >> it's so amazing hearing the home prices outside the bay a rea. >> yeah. >>> the san jose city council is preparing to do something it only does once every ten years. the process that could affect the city's balance of power. >>> good morning. northbound 101 traffic looks pretty good in the south bay. but there is heavy fog in many spots in the bay area that could affect your drive. we'll tell you mo -- we'll tell you more -- straight ah

her republican challenger joe miller sued after her victory. he claimed some of the write-in ballots for murkowski were invalid because her name was not spelled correctly. >>> former white house chief of staff rahm emanuel should find out today if he's allowed to run for mayor of his hometown of chicago. emanuel left the obama administration in october to get his campaign under way. ever since dozens of people have challenged his candidacy, claiming he did not meet chicago's residency requirements. a city elections panel plans to decide today if he in fact will be on that ballot in february. >>> the president has now left washington to join his family in hawaii for the christmas. much better president o new year with a number of washing good morning, t.j. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. its critics argued it could restrain u.s. missile defense but the arms treaty with russia passed with a two-thirds majority in the senate as the 111th congress essentially wrapped up business here in the nation's capital. the 2010 lame duck congress h

murkowski won her write-in campaign but her challenger joe miller says he no longer objects to alaska's approval of those election results but that does not mean miller is giving up. he may fight the way the state handled the race and counted the ballots there. >> no recounts needed in the afc west. the kansas city chiefs are the division champions. obviously making me and other kansas city fans quite proud. >> you're very happy this morning. they braved the cold for hours to get their hands on tickets for the chiefs' first home playoff game since the 2003 season. jackson county residents got first crack at the tickets because their tax dollars largely support the stadium. >> over $300 million to ren know elevate arrowhead and they did a great job. the general public was able to buy tickets later on yesterday afternoon. the game will be held on january 8th or 9th and we don't know who the chiefs will play. but we could be playing in the game, rob. >> look at this. you've got the chiefs, i've got the saints who clearly had a great game against atlanta last night. big news for both our te

the judge tossed out claim busy challenger joe miller about the validity of that election process. >>> rahm emanuel could find out next week if he will in fact stay on the ballot in the mayor's race out in chicago. last week, a hearing officer recommended that the former white house chief of staff's name appear on the ballot. that decision still has to be approved by the city's board of elections. more than two dozen people have challenged emanuel's candidacy because of course he lived in washington for two years. >>> analysts are concerned that housing prices could be headed lower again. new numbers released yesterday show home prices were down 1% in october, and that's the fourth straight month. prices fell in 20 major metropolitan areas. in six cities houses sold for the lowest prices in four years. 2010 could be the worst year for home sales in more than a decade. >>> no more worrying about outdated postage stamps. starting next year all letter rate stamps will be forever stamps. that means they'll be good to mail a letter no matter how high those postage rates may go. right now t

. >>> tea party favorite joe miller's alaska senate seat challenge is heading the the supreme court. he's challenging murkowski who challenged him as a write-in candidate. murkowski has already claimed victory in this race t. fight continues. >>> it's last call, people, for the first salable chevy volt. minutes from now an online auction for the car will end. the price tag is around $41,000. but bidding, get this, has more than quadrupled that. the volt is eligible for the $7,500 tax credit for plug-in cars. not that that's helping. proceeds from the auction will help the detroit public schools. >> maybe you're donating the the public schools. >> should i outbid you, kate? >> you should outbid me. >> we'll stick with the cars we have, i think. >> good to be the first. i'll stick with my car. >> thanks kate. >>> filmmaker michael moore pays some of the bail for the controversial wikileaks founder. we'll talk about it in our strategy session. plus the justice department prepares to take action against a controversial ruling declaring portions of the health care reform bill unconstituti

joe miller, who was the tea party backed republican candidate, went up against lisa murkowski, who was the sitting republican senator. she currently is leading -- according to the associated press, who in fact declared her a winner a couple of days after the race, but the problem is, miller is saying, alaska's state law is that you have to spell the names correctly. so let me say lisa murkowski again and not everybody who signed those probably said her name right. so the problem is that the commission said, voters' intent ought to be taken into account. if you get close to murkowski, that vote would count. but miller is counting that and says that he wants a hand count. congress late january comes into session and we're assuming that alaska will have a sitting u.s. senator by then. at the moment, it's tangled up in the courts. and while they are sort of busy, still stuck in 2010, there are a lot of folks out there thinking about 2012, as you know, the presidential race. one of them not so much a national household race. rick santorum, the senator from pennsylvania, he used to be. while

a supreme court judge in alaska has thrown out the lawsuit filed by republican joe miller in alaska's disputed u.s. senate race. miller, a tea party candidate challenged incumbent lisa murkowski's write-in campaign claiming ballots with her name misspelled should not be counted. the judge said friday even without the contested ballots she won by more than 2,000 votes. miller has until next tuesday to appeal. >>> a 12-year-old virginia girl found safe in san francisco after she was reported missing for a week. brittany mae smith was found with her alleged abductor jeffrey easley. the two were last seen in virginia near roanoke. the girl's mother, his girlfriend, was found dead in an apparent murder at their home last week. now, police refuse to say if he is a suspect in that murder. or if he forced the girl to travel with him. >>> an arrest made in the death of new york city fashion designer sylvie cachay. her boyfriend 24-year-old nicholas brooks charged with attempted murder and strangulation. the district attorney is reportedly waiting on a official cause of death from the medical e

in alaska, a judge hears arguments today that could decide the fate of republican joe miller's challenge to the write-in candidate lease some rakowski. -- lisa murkowski. attorneys for the state and senator murkowski say that if things do not go through by then, she could lose her seniority. mark dayton could to become the ohio gov. elect. tom in our plans to can see the race this morning. he trails by 9000 votes after the election and recount which barely changed the margin. >> middle and high school students, as you work on your documentary for c-span's studentcam competition, here are some tips from our judges. >> i want to see you, the student. i want to see your personality. >> what i like to see most in the studentcam entries are real investment, care in the topic you are telling us about. be sure to be interested in what you're telling us. if you are not interested in what you are presenting, chances are we will not be either. >> one tie-breaker that i looked at is using c-span video. i want people to look at our video and c, makes the most compelling evidence to support what i am

joe miller's last stance, his legal battle goes to the state supreme court. he claims he lost to lisa murkowski because the election was tainted. >> brian: he argues the votes for the write in candidate should never have been counted. this guy may win for costume of the year, even if he did sneak in. he's in there, watch this. these buckets of painting supplies are a disguise. they found a man underneath. his blurred face is at the bottom of the bucket on the left in this black shirt in the center. he was found by a customs dog in the bed of a pick up in san diego. we hope to talk to that dog at some point. >> steve: meanwhile, an unbelievable case of being in the right place at the right time and it was all caught on camera. an ohio police officer stumbles on a robbery just as he showed up at a walgreen's to pick up surveillance video from another robbery that happened earlier that day. whoa! officer joshua campbell was waiting on-line when a man tried to rob the cashier. that's when campbell pulled out his service revolver on the suspect setting off a strug

miller says he will not stand in the way of republican rival lisa murkowski being certified the winner of alaska's's u.s. senate race, but it will continue his court challenge to the state's handling of the vote count. the decision allows -- the state supreme court decision not to overturn a result of the election showing u.s. senator lisa murkowski leading miller by thousands of votes. late sunday miller said the integrity of the election process is vital, but he also does not want to prevent the state from having full representation when the new congress is sworn in next month. hun's bill, alabama. billy, you are on "washington journal." can mass-transit be protected? >> park -- caller: probably not in the long run. yet trains going thousands of miles. or like the old west -- it blow up the track. we have tva dams out here, you could of the big boat down the tennessee river and below what the dams. -- blow up the dams. long term, probably not host: thank you for your call. in this morning's "wall street journal" in the money and investment section, bail out banks slip toward failure.

joe miller's legal challenges to her right in both the lady the clearing of a winner. she will be the first candidate since 1984 to win as a bright in canada. the former israeli president was charged with raping an assistant in his cabinet. the 65-year-old faces a minimum of four years and up to 16 years in prison in two accounts of raping an employee in 1998 when he was tourism minister. the tel aviv court also convicted him on indecent acts and sexual harassment involving two other women who work for him when he was president of israel. in this country, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week. analysts say this is a positive sign the job market is slowly improving. the labor department says applications dropped by 34,000 to 388,000. that is the lowest number since the week of july 12, 2008. the level of applications has fallen or remained unchanged in five of the last six weeks. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> the one thing that we have absolutely learned over the last 30 years is that economists and o

. >>> a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by alaska tea party candidate joe miller who was challenging the state's handling of the recent elections for senate. the dismissal now clears the way for incumbent lisa murkowski to be officially declared the winner. >>> and it is proving to be quite the golden year for retirees across the country, panning for gold has turned into a pass time for many, and a profitable one, with the value of gold nearly $1,400 an ounce. let's go back outside once again to ann and lester. >> thanks a lot, natalie, do you want to get a check of the weather? >> i do want to get a check of the weather, but it feels better than yesterday for sure. >> your flight was canceled to san jose? >> yes. >> when are you getting out? >> tonight. >> how long have you been stuck here? >> been here a week. >> we were supposed to fly out on monday. >> now we're getting to see you. >> that's kind of a little downer there at the end. thanks a lot, guys. let's check your weather and see what's happening. salina salinas, california, morning showers, windy, 54, nbc 8. tomorrow we hav

chris rock, ellen degeneres, robin williams, joe piscopo. >> it's goin' down. i can't believe it and i remember it -- 18 years in the making for me to just get to that point. and i remember when i first started doing comedy, like 18 years ago, like, i got onstage and then, the next week, i said, "i'm ready for a special." [ laughter ] >> jimmy: yeah. you've have five minutes of stand-up and you're like -- >> 'cause i got five minutes, you know? so -- but -- >> jimmy: the five-minute hbo special with tracy morgan. yeah. and it's just five minutes of good comedy but here you are. where you, at the apollo? >> i was at the apollo. and it was so different 'cause i had the did carnegie hall the year before that. and there's a difference in cultures. you know, when you do it in front of, like, an all-white audience, if you're not good, they will just like -- "what's going on?" and, you know -- [ laughter ] that hurts. the silence hurts. see, i can fight back if i get booed. you know, i can fight back. i can respond. i'm -- in my mind, i'm like, "okay. they don't like