steve handelsman explains. >> reporter: a picture of bipartisanship. president obama hosted both presidents bush, 41 and 43 and their wives at the white house. for the unveiling of george w. bush's portrait. >> behalf yourselves. >> he paid tribute to his dad. >> i am honored to be hanging near a man who gave me the greatest gift possible, unconditionable love. that would be number 41. >> reporter: president obama paid tribute to his predecessor. >> president bush understood that rescuing our economy was not just a democratic or republican issue. >> reporter: but the president's campaign team opened a new attack on the republican running to be president. mitt romney charges the new video, failed as massachusetts governor. >> governor romney's plan for america is the same plan he sold to the people of massachusetts in 2002. >> reporter: top advisor david axelrod went to romney's home turf, boston. >> romney's economics didn't work then and won't work now. >> reporter: mitt romney made his own partisan play in california. showing up at the solar energy f

bc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: the court outside the court was surprised. the obama health care law was upheld. conservatives were outraged. conservative chief justice john roberts sided with court liberals to say the penalty in the obama law for not buying health insurance is a tax. because the constitution commits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it. the court did limit the federal government's power to force states to take more medicaid patients but the affordable health care alkt goes forward, guaranteed coverage, every american included, like it or not i was hoping the whole thing would come down. >> we have to unite and fight this. >> i'm very happy with the decision today. >> we've worked for this for a long time. >> reporter: president obama praised the high court's decision. >> with today's announcement it's time to move forward, to implea mp and where necessary improve on this law. >> reporter: but the house republican are going to appeal. >> if bewant to get rid of obama care, we're going to have to replace president obama. >> reporter: b

nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: both sides had something to celebrate as the high court handed down the arizona decision. by 5-3 the justices upheld the most controversial part of the law, requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop and suspect is not in the u.s. legally. the court rejecting the claim that that's only the federal government's job. swing justice anthony kennedy sided with court conservatives, writing for the majority, the mandatory nature of the arizona status checks does not interfere with the federal immigration scream. confrontation between state and federal officials is an important feature of the system. that's what arizona's governor jan brewer had argued. >> this is the day we had been waiting for, and, make no mistake, arizona is ready. civil rights will be protected, racial profiling will not be tolerated. >> reporter: but opponents of the so-called "show me your papers" provision will write on. >> i believe it's the most venomous part based on race, based on nationality, and based on racial profiling. >> reporter: and th

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: mitt romney went to missouri to blame president obama for letting down american families. >> it is a moral failure of tragic proportion where there are over 23 million americans who are under employed or stopping looking for johns. >> if they had taken all the steps i had pushed for, we could have put more americans back to work. >> reporter: his new ad pushes one step to put employees to work. >> it's paid for by asking the wealthiest americans to pay a little 340r. congress refuse toss ask. >> reporter: hiking taxes on millionaires, but for everyone else, renewing the bush tax cut rates that expire in december is the obama plan. congress won't act because republicans want all the brackets to stay the same for another year. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke warned if there's no deal by year's end and everyone's taxes go up, the economy could go off a cliff. >> the potential expiration of the so-called bush tax cuts, 2001, 2003 tax cuts is the single biggest item in the fiscal cliff. >> reporter: meanwhile, the race for the white house t

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> well, presumptive republican presidential kaent mitt romney says marco rubio is being vetted as a possible running mate. he was not being checked out and out of the running are false, according to romney. he said he can't imagine who are the unnamed advisers quoted in those stories. >>> former penn state football coach jerry sandusky may take the stand in his own defense today. the judge says the sandusky's defense team is close to wrapping up. yesterday dotty sandusky testified in her husband's defense. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: the wife of jerry sandusky took the witness stand to defend the former pen football state coach over charges that he abused ten boys over the years. she emerged as a key third-party witness, perhaps jerry sanduskiy's hope of a best ailably. they say she was nearby when sandusky abused them at sleepovers at the family home or on trips. the wife denied there was any inappropriate contact. she said she never saw or heard anything. earlier a defense expert ss sandusky suffers from an obscure mental di

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: it was closer than many expected. but the win could make wisconsin's republican governor scott walker a gop superstar. for taking on the unions in his state. and surviving their countermove to take him down. >> tomorrow, the election is over, it's time to move wisconsin forward. >> reporter: the recall was born last year when walker stripped public employee unions of the right to bargain. some saw the vote as a preview of the presidential election. conservatives had pumped $47 million in walker's campaign, a record. mitt romney backed walker and said voters rejected runaway government costs and liberal ideas. president obama backed the democrat, but fearful of al yen nating wisconsinites, he stayed away. as preference shall preferences, they backed obama over romney by nine points. wisconsin could stay in president obama's column in the fall. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> take a look at this, symbolic how high emotions in wisconsin ran over this recall, last night mayor barrett was slapped by one of

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> well, presumptive republican presidential kaent mitt romney says marco rubio is being vetted as a possible running mate. he was not being checked out and out of the running are false, according to romney. he said he can't imagine who are the unnamed advisers quoted in those stories. >>> former penn state football coach jerry sandusky may take the stand in his own defense today. the judge says the sandusky's defense team is close to wrapping up. yesterday dotty sandusky testified in her husband's defense. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: the wife of jerry sandusky took the witness stand to defend the former pen football state coach over charges that he abused ten boys over the years. she emerged as a key third-party witness, perhaps jerry sanduskiy's hope of a best ailably. they say she was nearby when sandusky abused them at sleepovers at the family home or on trips. the wife denied there was any inappropriate contact. she said she never saw or heard anything. earlier a defense expert says sandusky suffers from an obscure mental

nbc's steve handelsman explains. >> reporter: a picture of bipartisanship. president obama hosted both presidents bush, 41 and 43 and their wives at the white house. for the unveiling of george w. bush's portrait. >> behave yourselves. >> he paid tribute to his dad. >> i am honored to be hanging near a man who gave me the greatest gift possible, unconditional love. that would be number 41. >> reporter: president obama paid tribute to his predecessor. >> president bush understood that rescuing our economy was not just a democratic or republican issue. >> reporter: but the president's campaign team opened a new attack on the republican running to be president. mitt romney charges the new obama video failed as massachusetts governor. >> governor romney's plan for america right now is the same plan that he sold to the people of massachusetts in 2002. >> reporter: top obama adviser david axelrod went to romney's home turf, boston. >> romney's economics didn't work then and won't work now. >> reporter: mitt romney made his own partisan play in california. showing

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: it was closer than many expected. but the win could make wisconsin's republican governor, scott walker a gop superstar. for taking on the unions in his state. and surviving their counter move to take him down. >> tomorrow, the election is over, it's time to move wisconsin forward. >> reporter: the recall was born last year when walker stripped public employee unions of the right to bargain. some saw the vote as a preview of the presidential election. conservatives had pumped $47 million in walker's campaign, a record. mitt romney backed walker and said voters rejected run away government costs and liberal ideas. president obama backed the democrat, but fearful of alienating wisconsinites he stayed away. as the presidential preferences in exit polls, wisconsin voters backed obama over romney by nine points. the republican governor won but wisconsin could stay in president obama's column in the fall. steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> take a look at this, symbolic how high oh motions in wisconsin ran over this

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: for the first time on the same day the president and the challenger went to ohio for dueling speeches. barack obama with students, worried about the economy on his watch. >> we're all just trying to get a job. we're all just trying to get a future. >> let's put some folks to work right here at home. >> reporter: no major new initiatives but a passionate repeat of famed obama themes, taxing the rich, not cutting, spending. >> in an age where we know high skills. now's not the time to scale back our commitment to education. >> reporter: he warned a romney win would mean more gridlock. >> this election is your chance to break that stalemate. if you want to give the policies of the last decade another try, then you should vote for mr. romney. >> reporter: with the president in democratic-leaning cleveland, mitt romney was in conservative cincinnati, mocking the obama claim of economic progress. >> oh, really. go check on that and talk is cheap. action speaks very loud. and if you want to see the results of his economic policies, look around ohi

steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: all 23 republicans on the committee voted for contempt. all 17 democrats were opposed. >> the ayes have it. >> reporter: u.s. attorney general eric holder possibly headed to a contempt vote on the house floor. president obama tried to prevent it, invoking executive privilege, denying house republicans internal documents on "fast and furious," the kind used in criminal cases and often withheld from congress. everyone agrees that gun-running sting went bad, letting mexican gangs walk away with 2,000 assault weapons. >> who knew about "fast and furious," when did they know about it, and how high up did it go? >> reporter: house republicans had suspected holder knew and covered up. now they say they suspect president obama. >> and what in the world is he exerting executive privilege for? he's either part of it or he's not. >> reporter: democrats charge it's not about guns or guts or cover-up. >> it's politics. >> it shouldn't be a political witch hunt against the attorney general of our country and our president in an election year. >> reporte

nbc's steve handelsman has more from washington. >> reporter: two days at the g-20 summit in mexico left president obama convinced european leaders can solve their economic crisis. >> they understand the stakes, they understand why it's important for them to take bold and decisive action. >> reporter: that could speed the recovery, put more americans to work, and help his re-election. >> but that's not my biggest concern right now. my biggest concern is the same concern i've had over the last three and a half years, which is folks who are out of work or underemployed or unable to pay the bills. >> reporter: mitt romney is saying the obama fix is the european fix, more spending to put people to work. a romney adviser called that ignorant. >> i would point out that we have one president at a time and one administration at a time. >> reporter: domestic politics, he said, ought to stop at the water's edge when a u.s. president is overseas. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> well, presumptive republican presidential candidate mitt romney says florida senator marco rubio is being

steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: the crowd outside the court was surprised. >> oh, yes! >> reporter: the obama health care was upheld. chief john roberts sided with court liberals to say the penalty in the obama law for not buying health insurance is a tax, because the constitution permits such a tax, roberts wrote, for the five-justice majority, it is not our role to fosh bit it. the court did linlt the federal government's power to force states to take more medicaid patients. the affordable care act goes forward. guaranteed coverage and every american included, like it or not. >> i was hoping for the whole thing to come down. >> we have to unite and fight this. >> i am very happy with the decision that was made today. >> we have worked for this for a long time. >> president obama praised the high court's decision. >> with today's announcement, time for us to move forward. to implement and where necessary, improve on this law. >> house republicans scheduled a repeal vote for july 11th. mitt romney said he would sign a repeal if he wins. >> if we want to get rid of obama

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: for the first time on the same day, the president and the challenger went to ohio for dueling speeches. barack obama with students, worried about the economy on his watch. >> we're all just trying to get a job. we're all just trying to get a future. >> let's put some folks to work right here at home. >> reporter: no major new initiatives, but a passionate repeat of main obama themes, taxing the rich more, not cutting, key spending. >> in an age where we know good jobs depend on high skills. now's not the time to scale back our commitment to education. >> reporter: he warned a romney win would mean more gridlock. >> this election is your chance to break that stalemate. if you want to give the policies of the last decade another try, then you should vote for mr. romney. >> reporter: with the president in democratic-leaning cleveland, mitt romney was in conservative cincinnati, mocking the obama claim of economic progress. >> oh, really. go check on that, and talk is cheap. action speaks very loud. and if you want to see the results of his econ

nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: both sides had something to celebrate as the high court handed down the arizona decision. by 5-3 the justices upheld the most controversial part of the law, requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop and suspect is not in the u.s. legally, the court rejecting the claim that that's only the federal government's job. swing justice anthony kennedy sided with court conservatives, writing for the majority, "the mandatory nature of the arizona status checks does not interfere with the federal immigration scheme. consultation between federal and state officials is an important feature of the immigration system." that's what arizona's governor jan brewer had argued. >> this is the day that we had been waiting for, and, make no mistake, arizona is ready. civil rights will be protected. racial profiling will not be tolerated. >> reporter: but opponents of the so-called "show me your papers" provision will fight on. >> i believe it's the most venomous part based on race, based on nationality, and based on racial profiling. >

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> attention! >> listen up! >> attention! >> reporter: the crowd outside the court was surprised. >> oh, yes! the obama health care law was upheld. conservatives were outraged. >> american will never be the same. >> reporter: conservative chief justice john roberts sided with court liberals to say the penalty in the obama law for not buying health insurance is a tax. because the constitution permits such a tax, roberts wrote for the five-justice majority, it is not our role to forbid it. the court did limit the federal government's power to force states to take more medicaid patients, but the affordable health care act goes forward, guaranteed coverage and every american included, like it or american included, like it or not. >> i was hoping for the whole thing to come down. >> we have to unite and fight this. >> i'm very happy with the decision today. >> we've worked for this for a long time. >> reporter: president obama praised the high court's decision. >> with today's announcement, it's time for us to move forward, to imp

nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: it was closer than many expected. but the win could make wisconsin's republican governor scott walker a gop superstar. for taking on the unions in his state. and surviving their countermove to take him down. >> tomorrow, the election is over, it's time to move wisconsin forward. >> reporter: the recall was born last year when walker stripped public employee unions of the right to bargain. some saw the vote as a preview of the presidential election. conservatives had pumped $47 million in walker's campaign, a record. mitt romney backed walker and said voters rejected runaway government costs and liberal ideas. president obama backed the democrat, but fearful of alienating wisconsinites, he stayed away. as presidential preferences, in exit polls, wisconsin voters backed obama over romney by nine points. the republican governor won, but wisconsin could stay in president obama's column in the fall. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> symbolic of how high emotions in wisconsin ran over this recall, take a look

nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: both sides had something to celebrate as the high court handed down the arizona decision. by 5-3 the justices upheld the most controversial part of the law, requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop and suspect is not in the u.s. legally. the court rejecting the claim that's only the federal government's job. swing justice, anthony kennedy sided with court conservatives, writing for the majority. the mandatory nature of the arizona status checks does not interfere with the federal immigration scheme. consultation between federal and state officials is an important feature of the immigration system. that's what arizona's republican governor, jan brewer, had argued. >> this is the day we have been waiting for. and, make no mistake, arizona is ready. civil rights will be protected. racial profiling will not be tolerated. >> reporter: but opponents of the so-called show me your papers provision will fight on. >> i believe it's the most venomous part based on race, based on nationality and based on racial profiling. >

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> well take a look at this. it is symbolic of how high the emotions in wisconsin ran over this recall. last night, mayor barrett was slapped. this is one of his own supporters, apparently she thought he conceded to walker, too early. >>> well the death of al qaeda's second in command is being called the biggest victory in the war on terror since the death of osama bin laden. u.s. and pakistani officials confirm a drone strike in northwest pakistan has killed yahya. the so-called media-savvy, general leader of al qaeda was captured about a decade ago but escaped in 2005. the white house called abu yahya al libi's death quote a major blow to the terror group. >>> nine members of the jury have been selected for the trial of jerry san dusky. the former penn state assistant former football coach. he's facing 52 criminal counts for alleged sexual abuse of ten boys over 15 years. some of the alleged victims are expected to testify. now prosecutors reportedly have incriminating and bizarre letters that sandusky allegedl

nbc's steve handelsman explains. >> reporter: a picture of bipartisanship. president obama hosted both presidents bush, 41 and 43, and their wives at the white house. for the unveiling of george w. bush's portrait. >> behave yourself. >> reporter: he paid tribute to his dad. >> i am honored to be hanging near a man who gave me the greatest gift possible, unconditional love. and that would be number 41. >> reporter: president obama paid tribute to his predecessor. >> president bush understood that rescuing our economy was not just a democratic or republican issue. >> reporter: but the president's campaign team had opened a new attack on the republican running to be president. mitt romney charges the new obama video, failed as massachusetts governor. >> governor romney's plan for america right now is the same plan that he sold to the people in massachusetts in 2002. >> reporter: and top obama adviser david axelrod went to romney's home turf, boston. >> romney economics didn't work then and it won't work now. >> reporter: mitt romney, meanwhile, made his own pa

nbc's steve handelsman has more from washington. >> reporter: two days at the g-20 summit in mexico left president obama convinced, european leaders can solve their economic crisis. >> they understand the stakes, they understand why it's important for them to take bold and decisive action. >> reporter: that could speed the recovery, put more americans to work and help his re-election. >> but that's the not my biggest concern right now. the same concern is that i've had over 3 1/2 years, folks that are out of work or underemployed or unable to pay the bills. >> reporter: mitt romney saying the obama fix is the european fix. more spending to put people to work. a romney adviser called that ignorant. >> i would point out that we have one president at a time and one administration at a time. >> reporter: domestic politics, he said, ought to stop at the water's edge when a u.s. president is overseas. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> presumptive republican candidate mitt romney says florida senator marco rubio is being vetted as a possible vice presidential running mate. tuesday

that's why i had a press conference. >> i'm steve handelsman, wbal-tv 11 news. >> still ahead, something expecting new moms need to know. a possible state-wide ban on baby bumpers. >> why the safety of the product is questionable. that coming up. >> good morning. i'm greg toland. ravens news >> good morning. i'm greg toland. it is early june. as of last night, the orioles were tied for first in the al east. a milestone of sorts. the last time the birds were in first this late was 2005. the phillies came to the yard. 459,000 fans there. the largest since opening day. shane victorino with a double. scored six runs in that evening. the birds come back. robert andino in the bottom of the inning to the double too left field. mark reynolds breaking high and in. that cut it to a 7-3 game. victorino was a one-man show in the fourth. victorino unloads a two-run shot. knocks it. victorino drives him five to make it close. the o's move 9-6. jason arrietta falls to 2-8. i >> i can get big league hitters out. no question about that. i can do it at a high level. just not able to put it together for a

. >> steve handelsman has tonight's commitment 2012 update. >> in florida, where the hispanic vote could make the difference, mitt romney indicated he would end the obama version of the dream act. >> the answer is that i will put in place on long-term solution that will replace an supersede the president's temporary measure. >> romney said he would build a fence along the mexican border but in by the highly skilled workers then. >> i will prioritize efforts that strengthen legal immigration. >> is earlier hard-line help him win primaries. link to what he said then rondella. >> a lot of people come across the border with no indication and are looking for three mil. >> now romney hopes latino voters will cross over to him. >> over 2 million more hispanics are living in poverty today than the day president obama took office. >> to help remax and all students, president obama today urged -- we have been stuck through cracks immigration reform has dragged on longer. >> we will continue to work toward an alternative to the dream act that allows us to accommodate these kids without encouraging

steve handelsman has the story. >> president obama made -- reassured the nation. and took credit for 4.8 million private sector jobs. >> the private sector is doing fine. >> republicans say, are you kidding? >> did he see the jobs numbers that came out last week? the private sector is not doing fine. >> the auto industry, u.s. manufacturing was strong in may. >> construction jobs were weighed down. the public sector was worse. teachers, firefighters and cops laid off. the president's point was to blame congress for rejecting his bill to help states and cities higher. >> if congress huh passed it in full, we would be on track to have a million more americans working this year. keep in mine the private sector has been working at a solid pace. >> mitt romney was in iowa when he heard about his gift. >> he said the private sector is doing fine. is he really that out of touch? these comments he's making suggest someone who doesn't understand what's happening in the country he has been elected to lead. >> the economy is not doing fine. >> back at the white house, damage

steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: jpmorgan chase is a hero of the 2008 crash for keeping his bank in good shape. but his huge loss this year brof him to a senate hearing. >> this guy should be going to prison. >> and brought protesters who got arrested. >> dimon admitted his minimum lost is $2 billion. >> we'll lose some of our shareholders' money, and for that we feel terrible, but no client, customer or taxpayer money was impacted by this even haven't. dimon testified the crisis came when top staffers in london tried new ways to reduce risk. >> isn't that really gambling? >> i don't believe so. >> dimon admitted to cnbc he got a warning memo. >> that's going to come out. i was copied on a memo that said -- i paid virtually no attention to it. >> reporter: he called early news reports a tempest in a teapot. >> it was a small thing, blown way out of proportion. i obviously believed it. i obviously was wrong. >> reporter: banking critics said, here we go again. >> we have the same too big to fail banks engaging in the same high-risk investment and trading that risks yet another fai

i'm steve handelsman, news4. >>> wildfires continue to burn out of control. firefighters say the fire near ft. collins is 0% contained. over the weekend 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate. 400 firefighters are battling the fire both on on the ground and up in the air. >>> a sticky situation here, not only did we have heat today, we also have some humidity, but a change is on the way. >> meteorologist veronica johnson joins us live with more on that. hey, veronica. >> hey there, guys. a dry weekend for us, too, with that high heat, temperatures up around 90 degrees both saturday and sunday. so we're going to exchange the heat for a bit of rain. take a look at the satellite/radar. the white are the clouds. the rain the green, and there's again a snapshot at 10:00 a.m. where we had some sunshine around the area, but clouds have been on the increase. we're partly cloudy to mostly cloudy, as you head from d.c. back toward the test. temperatures out there right now are in the upper 80s. here comes a bit of rain right now, south of winchester, down around warrent

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> federal safety investigators are looking into reports of power steering problems with the ford explorer. government officials have received 15 complains. drivers suddenly lost power and had to use more force just to steer. the probe affects 83,211 explorers. no crashes or injuries have been reported. the inquiry would lead to a recall, though. >>> when "news4 at 4" continues, as women get ready to hit the beach this summer, an expert has ideas about what's trending in wear. >>> we'll preview the three new flicks opening today. >>> a virginia man on vacation is honored for saving three lives in [ female announcer ] the son of a single mom. proud father of two daughters. president obama knows that women being paid 77 cents on the dollar for doing the same work as men isn't just unfair... it hurts families. so the first law he signed was the lilly ledbetter fair pay act to help ensure that women are paid the same as men for doing the exact same work. because president obama knows that fairness for women means a stronger middle class for ame

steve handelsman has denied its commitment 2012 update. >> barack obama. >> president obama's new ad targets it romney's record as governor. but democrats who agree romney fell short on jobs, which romney today disputes. those democrats say president obama has to attack less and go positive after his setback friday. the bad jobs report. u.s. factory orders fell. >> we have to focus on what worked so well for you before, put out a specific, bold, economic package and tell people what that means for the country if your reelected. >> someone a new stimulus plan. >> start creating jobs and start doing things. we have a lot of stuff that we as a nation do, and now is a great time to do it. >> getting the stimulus for congress, republicans say no way. >> we have a half million people, more unemployed today than when barack obama took office. >> going back now and doing the same thing that did not work the first time and spending even more money that we don't, i just think it is linsanity. >> second-guess by friends. >> president obama and michelle are coming to my house for dinner june 14.

supreme court i'm steve handelsman, news4. >>> myth romney in scottsdale, arizona. during his remarks, he said -- given the failure of the immigration policy in this country, i would have preferred to see the supreme court give more latitude to the states, not less. >>> coming up in our next half hour, julie carey will examine an ordinance in prince william county that helped shape arizona's controversial laws. >>> two children and a camp counselor are recovers from a shooting. a witness said when it was all said and done, 11 shots had been fired. wendy, this is the area where the shooting happened earlier this afternoon. we are told that 30 kids were in the line of fire, and that gunman is still on the loose. they had gunmen chasing and shooting at one here in southeast d.c. about 12:20 this afternoon, shot and wounded three innocent victims. >> how many shots do you think you hear today? ivities i heard 11 shots. >> i've always felt safe here, and to come home and find this chaos. it's just appalling. >> reporter: please say the 7-year-old was shot in the shoulder

we have the latest from steve handelsman in washington. >> mitt romney went to missouri to blame president obama for letting down american families. >> it is moral failure of tragic proportions when there are over 23 million americans who are unemployed, and tempore projects under employed, or have stopped looking for work, and yet the president tells us he is doing a great job. >> president obama, heading to nevada, blames republicans. >> is paid for asking the wealthiest americans to pay a little more, but congress refuses to act. >> hiking taxes for everyone else, but for everyone else, renewing the bush tax cuts that expire in december is the obama plan. republicans want all the brackets to say the same for another year. fed chairman ben bernanke warner if there is no deal by the end of the year, everyone's taxes go up, and the economy could go off a cliff. >> the potential expiration of so-called bush tax cuts is the single biggest item in the fiscal cliff. >> the finances of the race to the white house took a turn. romney surged ahead of obama. the democrats year-to-date total remain

steve handelsman has the rest of is the story. >> reporter: president obama made the move this morning, as he came back from mexico. his first invoking of executive privilege. denying house republicans more documents about operation fast and furious. everyone agreeses that gun-running sting went back, letting mexican gangs walk away with 2,000 assault weapons. when u.s. border patrol agent brian terry was murdered in 2010 in arizona, two of the guns were found at the scene. >> the terry family is still searching for answers. >> who knew about fast and fewerual? when did they know about it? and high high up did it go? >> house republicans had suspected that attorney general eric holder knew and covered up. now they say they suspect president obama. >> what in the world is he exerting executive privilege for? he's part of it or he's not. >> the president is declaring privileged off-limits internal documents on fast and furious, the kind used in criminal cases and often withheld from congress. holder's given republicans 7,600 documents. he offered a partial release of the rest last night.

steve handelsman is live with the latest. >> reporter: president obama is performing on a world stage. he knows especially in this election year, the audience that matters most is back here at home. president obama's main mission is economic in mexico at the g-20 meeting of the world east wealthiest nation. >> the slowing of growth that is taking place. a lot of attention set on europe. >> reporter: there's good news. the greek's voting to deal with their huge deficit. >> indicates a positive prospect for them forming a government and working constructively with international partners. >> reporter: back home, romney is warning obama policies could lead to a greek-like crisis here. east of greece in syria, violence is increased. some in washington warning president obama ought to intervene. >> syria will become a failed state in the heart of the middle east threatening israel and turkey. >>> president putin is siding with assad sending him ships and choppers. >> we agree we need to see a cessation of the violence. that a political process has to be created. >> reporter: to try to get r

steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: mitt romney went to missouri to blame president obama for letting down american families. >> it is a moral failure of tragic proportion when there are over 23 million americans who are unemployed, underemployed or stopped looking to work and yet the president tells us he is doing a great job. >> reporter: mr. obama blamed republicans. in a new ad. >> it's paid for by asking the wealthiest americans to pay a little more but congress refuses to act. >> reporter: hiking taxes on millionaires but for everyone else, renewing the bush tax cut rates that expire in december. is the obama plan. congress won't act because republicans want all of the brackets to stay the same for another year. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke warned if there is no deal by year's end and everyone's taxes go up, the economy could go off a cliff. >> the potential expiration of so-called bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 is the single biggest item in the fiscal cliff. >> reporter: meanwhile, the finances for the race for the white house took a turn. team romney raised $78.8 mill

i'm steve handelsman, news 4, capitol hill. >>> if you're traveling now out of town this 4th of july you'll have plenty of company been more than this time last year. triple-a tells us 42.3 million americans will travel 50 miles or more between tuesday, july 3rd and sunday, july 8th. that's up 4.9% from last year. about 35.5 million people will hit the roads some 3.2 million are expected to fly to their destinations. for those passengers, air travel is getting better. but there's still a long way to go. a new report from the american customer satisfaction index shows the travelers are happy with the way they're being treated this year exited to last. the airline industry ranked a 67 out of 100 matching the highest point in a decade. that's up 3%. but there is plenty of room for improvement. customers still rank their satisfaction with airlines near the bottom in a list of about 50 industries. >>> when news 4 at 4:00 continues, fans looking for early tickets to see the dark knight may not be happy to hear what's going on with them. >>> and fare from if fair. the deep fried cool aid ba

i'm steve handelsman, news4, capitol hill. >>> dozens of sailing vessels made their way into the inner harbor. it's a week-long commemoration of the war of 1812. 40 vessels, they call them tall ships, from a dozen nations will spend the week in baltimore. is that not impressive? >> that's awesome. >> most of the ships will be open to the public. in addition to the watercraft, there will also be a free air show on saturday and sunday featuring the blue angels. i would love to stand on one of those spars, wouldn't you? >> that would be cool. >> the celebration runs through next tuesday. >> it was blowing on the ballet into. there's a good wind out there. you call those spars? >> i think that's what it is, the ones across like that? >> i know the masts, sterns and afts. >> somebody will tell us in about 30 seconds. >> i know there's water underneath. >> what a beautiful day to see that come in under the bay bridge. >> fantastic, an absolute spectacle. get up there to the inner harbor if you can. it will be a beautiful weekend. no matter where you're planning to go, it is really going to b

i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> stocks closed higher tonight and that helped the dow and the s&p post their best weekly gains this year. the dow was up more than 90 points and ended at 12,554. the next is up about 27. the s&p, closed up about 10 points. >>> global finance company ubs may sue nasdaq over the facebook stock debacle. that company wanted a million sthars of facebook when the stock went public last month. but traders never got confirmation that their request went through so they kept repeating the order. ubs might have lost as much as $350 million when they unloaded the stock at a lower price. the nasdaq computers were overwhelmed by the facebook ipo and many of investors mad problem. >>> if you're out driving tonight, be warned it could get ugly on part of i-39 abecause part is closing. virginia's department of transportation shutting down northbound lanes of 39 a 395 at beltway between 52 a and 57 b. there will be a detour but it will add another 20 minutes or so to your trip. all lanes on 395 will be back opened by 7:00 tomorrow morning. this closure, p

steve handelsman has word on the numbers and how it's going to effect the presidential rate. >> reporter: it's a punch to the gut of people looking for work like these at a jobs fair in north carolina. it's terrible news for president obama. when the numbers were tallied for may, only 69,000 jobs were added, the fewest in a year. unemployment ticked up to 8.2%. car sales were up, jobs at manufacturing are looking good. but there were deep cuts in construction. federal state and local workers laid off. because tax revenue is down. some blame the crisis in greece. >> europe is a big issue here. you add europe to this uncertainty and it's also why people are pulling back on hiring. >> mitt romney on cnbc blamed president obama. >> as well as trade policies and labor policies, all of them have made it less likely for businesses small and large to want to hire more people. >> reporter: romney's plan includes opening up u.s. gas and oil reserves and killing obama care. president obama was at a plant in minnesota pushing a program to hire veterans, part of his jobs plan that's stuck in congress

from washington, i am steve handelsman, wbal-tv 11 news. >> we are learning more about president obama's drug to baltimore tomorrow. president obama will be delivering remarks at the hyatt regency at the inner harbor, part of a fund-raising reception for his campaign. it will kick off at around 1:15 with remarks at 3:45. he plans to take part in a private fund-raiser. streetcity's popular u is under constru the car on the left was filled up with low detergent gasoline. while the car on the right was filled up with bp gasoline with invigorate. which helps clean and protect its engine so it can get a few more miles per tank than the car on the left. go a little farther with bp gasoline with invigorate. >> the tentative agreement in harford county on language and salary enhancements for teachers. educators have been pushing for change after not having raised this in more than three years. the new deal includes a 1% cost- of-living allowance for eligible teachers and longevity increases for other teachers. it is scheduled to go into effect on july 1. >> and other traffic alert for anyone who

i'm steve handelsman, news 4, capitol hill. >>> president obama asked congress to approve a one half of 1% raise in pay rates for civilian federal employees, but it appears that a pay freeze may remain in effect for at least another year. >>> yesterday, the appropriations subcommittee approved a spending bill that ignores the request for an increase in january. spending bill for the department of homeland security also ignores the raise. and last week, the house passed a bill that does not contain funding for a raise for some of the workers at the defense department a the veteran affairs administration. federal union leaders are quite upset about the pay raise rejection. the white house also objects. >>> first lady michelle obama was in northern virginia today campaigning for the president there. the first lady spoke at vfw post 1503 in dale city reminding the people the president inherited a dying economy and has started to turn it around. she said voting for mitt romney would be a return to failed policies that sent the economy into recession. >> are we going to allow everything we

steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: all 23 republicans on the committee voted for contempt. all 17 democrats were opposed. >> the ayes have it. >> reporter: u.s. attorney eric holder possibly headed to a contempt vote on the house floor. president obama tried to prevent it, invoking executive privilege, denying house republicans internal documents on fast and furious, the kind used in criminal cases and often withheld from congress. everyone agrees that gun-running sting went barkd letting mexican gangs walk away with 2,000 assault weapons. >> who knew about fast and furious, when did they know about it, and how high up did it go? >> reporter: the house has expected holderknew. >> what in the world is he exerting executive privilege for? he's either part of it or not. >> reporter: democrats talk about it's not about gut guts. >> it should. be a witch hunt against our country and our president in an election year. >> reporter: the battle rages on. >>> well, after just seven days of testimony, closing arguments are set for today in the child sex abuse trial of former penn stat

my steve handelsman, news 4. >>> an 11-year-old boy in minnesota it won't to school today with possibly the best excuse ever for skipping class. the fifth grader was with the president. tyler sullivan missed school on friday to watch the president speak at a honeywell facility in golden valley. immediately following the speech, sullivan had a chance to shake hands with mr. obama. when the president realized sullivan was skipping school he got out a pen and card with presidential letterhead and the note reads "mr. ackerman, please excuse tyler. he was with me." sullivan framed the note and we assume he showed it to his teacher today. >> got that seal on it. beats the doctor's note. >> it sure does. >> we're just getting started on news 4 at 4:00. the inside story of lindsay lohan and liz taylor. we'll get the scoop, live. >>> plus, drew barrymore is hoping the third time is the charm. more on her wedding coming up. >>> plus an update on the queen's jubilee celebration plus david beckham's though >>> all the stars came out in hollywood last night for the 21st annual mtv movie awards. "twi

live from the hill, i'm steve handelsman, news4, doreen? >>> i'm take it, steve. a member of the university of virginia board is stepping down, less than a day after the board appointed a new interim president, vice rector mike kington is stepping down to help with the healing process after the board ousted teresa sullivan as president. in a letter to bob mcdonald he says new leadership is leaded and the commerce school dean will become interim president when sullivan officially steps down in august. and j.p. morgan chase boss jamie diamon back on capitol hill. he was called before the house financial services committee to explain how his bank lost $2 billion in bad trades last month. he said changes in risk models and strategies led in part to the loss. lawmakers asked whether investors were fully informed about the changes to the risk models. >> did you think that that was adequate disclosure? >> we disclosed what we knew when we knew it. >> in hindsight, the traders did not have the requisite understanding of the risk they took. >> last wednesdaddiamo nichlt t.