joining us like from the white house, kristen welker. good saturday morning to you. the latest reaction from the administration on the hostagetaking. >> reporter: good morning. welcome to washington. the administration obviously deeply concerned about the hostagetaking. i it tell you the secretary of state, the president, have been in contact with leaders in the region since this crisis first started, and yesterday secretary of state clinton was pretty forceful in her remarks about the situation. she calmed it a terrorist act. i'll read a little what she said. let's not forget this is an act of terror. the perpetrators are the terrorist, the ones that assaulted this facility. have taken hostage algerians and others from around the world nap is her position. the state department also reiterating america's hard line it will not negotiate with terrorists. so you mentioned that there are still some americans who are being held there. the state department making it very clear there won't be any negotiations moving forward with them. the secretary of state also spoke with

kristen welker has more from the white house tonight. >> reporter: president obama kicking off his inauguration weekend by lending a hand to the nationwide day of service. >> this inauguration we're going to be, it's a symbol of how our democracy works and how we peacefully transfer power, but it should also be an affirmation that we're all in this together. >> reporter: but there are still deep divides, including an upcoming deadline over the debt dealing which is the nation's borrowing limit. this week's top republicans offered a new plan that would increase the limit for three months and require congress to pass the budget within that time frame or else no pay. >> we're saying is we will extend the debt limit until the time line where you have a budget a road map. >> reporter: republicans are hoping that strategy will lead democrats to agree to deep spending cuts. officials close to the president say mr. obama is open to more cuts but insists he won't slash entitlements like medicare. >> ultimately we have to do it in a balanced way. he's not going to do this on the backs of the poorest amer

>> kristen welker tonight, thank you. for more i'm joined by david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." david, four years ago we were talking about the honeymoon period, that clearly isn't happening this time, but is there a reset here? >> the president was popular in the re-election. he wanted tax increases for the wealthy, he got those. his party is united but he faces a very difficult environment in washington and immediately after this inauguration, he is back in the brew of a fight over the debt and the fight over the gun legislation that he wants so it's a pretty toxic atmosphere here. >> you covered both terms of the second bush -- of the bush administration. what is the hard reality of a second term for a president? >> time moves quickly. you feel good. you put in the people you want. you have a different attitude of what you can accomplish. you don't have to run. you don't have to campaign anymore, and realize the window is short. the president's got big goals whether it's energy, immigration and he's in the t

brian. >> kristen welker from the white house. on this white house effort in the post newtown era and now to one of the tragedies that prompted this entire debate over gun control to begin with. preliminary hearing for james holmes went on today. he's accused of murdering 12 people, injuring 58 others in a shooting rampage in that aurora, colorado movie theater. tonight there has been a surprise move by the defense, and it's pointing the way toward the end game in this case. nbc's mike taibbi was in the courtroom. >> reporter: a lone gunman shooting rampage that killed and injured so many so efficiently was long in planning, as shown by the evidence revealed this week. an arsenal for mass murder accumulated in a two-month buying spree, mostly online right up to the days before the massacre. finally ready, police say holmes took pre-attack photos of himself, some with his weapons, just before leaving the night of july 19th. and holmes himself told police after his arrest how he booby trapped his apartment with a dozen bombs, hoping

our chief white house correspondent, kristen welker, was there and is with us tonight. kristen, good evening. >> brian, good evening. it's no secret the relationship between presidents obama and karzai has been tense, but today the leaders announced they had reached some common ground while also acknowledging the end game remains unclear. president obama and afghan president hamid karzai announced a somewhat accelerated time line for u.s. troops to transfer control to the afghan forces, initially slated to occur this summer. >> starting this spring, our troops will have a different mission. training, advising, assisting afghan forces. >> reporter: the president delivered a blunt assessment of the mission. for the 66,000 americans who will still provide logistic support, transportation, and air cover. >> that doesn't mean that coalition forces, including u.s. forces, are no longer fighting. they will still be fighting alongside afghan troops. >> reporter: left unsaid today, how many american troops, if any, will remain after 2014? the official end of the combat mission.

kristen welker is at the white house. she joins us live now. kristen, what is the word coming from the white house right now with the vice president on his way over to capitol hill to speak there in just a few minutes now? >> well, the white house not yet commenting on this deal that is coming to fruition. but they have confirmed that the vice president is heading over to the hill. and they have been saying all night that he is prepared to go over to the hill once negotiations reach this stage. so he is essentially going there to put the final stamp on this deal that kelly is reporting about, to sell it to the members of the caucus. as you mentioned, milissa, at the top of the broadcast, there has been some dissent among l.a. labor leaders. richard trumka tweeting that democrats should hold off on approving this deal. he says it's not good enough in part because the tax rates are on those who are making $400,000 or more, $450,000 or more if they're couples, and not on those who make $250,000 or more. that is the level that president obama campa

white house correspondent kristen welker is there for us tonight. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. one of those fights will involve gun control. in fact, tonight the white house is monitoring that shooting in the houston area. but here in washington, economic issues still top the list of things that need to be addressed. an invigorated president obama joined in a prayer service this morning. and this afternoon, along with the first lady and bo, surprise supporters, a moment captured by the white house and streamed on the web. on monday, resolve, defending entitlements and calling for action on climate change and gay rights, a broad liberal agenda. >> but we reject the belief that america must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. >> reporter: the president, once criticized by his own party's left for caving into republicans, seemed emboldened by his reelection and ready for a fight. >> yesterday's speech at the capitol was not about biparti

>> kristen welker at the white house for us tonight. kristen, thanks. >>> president obama today formally nominated his chief of staff, jack lew, to be the next treasury secretary. as the second-term churn gets under way now. though it looked for a time like the president might nominate susan rice to be his next secretary of state, when that didn't happen, this latest wave of nominees appear to have something in common. and as nbc's andrea mitchell reports tonight, people are noticing. >> reporter: it is the white house photo that could be called all the president's men. adviser valerie jarrett is there, we're told, hidden behind the guys. as president obama filled his top cabinet post with nominees named jack and chuck and john -- >> it's time for me to move on. >> reporter: -- it was like "mad men" goes to washington, except peggy leaving ruth marcus. >> whatever white guy becomes chief of staff, i think it's actually kind of interesting that there are two women who are deputy chiefs of staff and no one has talked about them as possibi

we asked white house correspondent kristen welker to take a look. >> reporter: america may be politically divided, but most americans agree, they really like first lady michelle obama. ♪ you hit me like the sky fell on me ♪ >> reporter: public popularity on display saturday night at the kids' inaugural ball honoring military families. helping those families has been one of mrs. obama's key initiatives. >> when i think about what makes america great, i think about all of you, our men and women in uniform, our military spouses and our amazing military kids. >> reporter: her other focus, fighting childhood obesity. but as she prepares to spend another four years at the white house, some critics suggest the harvard-educated lawyer should take on more policy-heavy goals. top advisers push back. >> well, there were policies behind the initiatives that she did. >> reporter: valerie jarrett says the first lady and you her staff are working on a new agenda. >> she really is very determined to make sure that they think it through thoroughly and that they don't just do one-off things. she wants

kristen welker, white house correspondent, with us tonight. kristen, thanks. we'll take another break. we're back in a moment with more of our special coverage from this day and this city, including the guy who has been called into action each and every inauguration day since eisenhower. eisenhow eisenhower. n an entrepreneur's . ♪ into a scooter that talks to the cloud? ♪ or turn 30-million artifacts... ♪ into a high-tech masterpiece? ♪ whatever your business challenge, dell has the technology and services to help you solve it. [ slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium-rich tums starts working so fast you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums you'll forget you had heartburn. see lioutdoors, or in.ight. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. visit your eyecare professional today to ask about our newest lenses, transitions vantage and transitions xtractive lenses. expe

>> kristen welker at the white house for us tonight. kristen, thanks. >>> president obama today formally nominated his chief of staff, jack lew, to be the next treasury secretary. as the second-term churn gets under way now. though it looked for a time like the president might nominate susan rice to be his next secretary of state, when that didn't happen, this latest wave of nominees appear to have something in common. and as nbc's andrea mitchell reports tonight, people are noticing. >> reporter: it is the white house photo that could be called all the president's men. adviser valerie jarrett is there, we're told, hidden behind the guys. as president obama filled his top cabinet post with nominees named jack and chuck and john -- >> it's time for me to move on. >> reporter: -- it was like "mad men" goes to washington, except peggy leaving ruth marcus. >> whatever guy becomes chief of staff, i think it's actually interesting there are two women who are deputy chiefs of staff and no one has talked about them as possibilities at all. >> r

brian. >> kristen welker from the white house. now to one of the tragedies that prompted this entire debate over gun control to begin with. preliminary hearing for james holmes went on today. he's accused of murdering 12 people, injuring 58 others in a shooting rampage in that aurora, colorado movie theater. tonight there has been a surprise move by the defense, and it's pointing the way toward the end game in this case. nbc's mike taibbi was in the courtroom. >> reporter: alone gunman shooting rampage that killed and injured so many so efficiently was long in planning, as shown by the evidence revealed this week. an arsenal for mass murder accumulated in a two-month buying spree, mostly online right up to the days before the massacre. finally ready, police say holmes took preattack photos of himself, some with his weapons, just before leaving the night of july 19th. and holmes himself told police after his arrest how he bobby trapped his apartment with a dozen bombs, hoping for an explosion to divert police there while opening fi

we askeded white house correspondent kristen welker to take a look. >> reporter: america may be politically divide bud most americans agree, they really like first lady michelle obama. ♪ hit me like the sky fell on me ♪ >> reporter: public popularity on display saturday night at the kids' inaugural ball honing her military families. helping those families has been one of mrs. obama's key initiatives. >> when i think about what pa made america great, i think about all of you, our men and women in uniform, our military spouses and our amazing you military kids. >> reporter: her other focus you fighting childhood obesity. but as she prepares to spend another four years at the white house, some critics suggest the harvard-educated lawyer should take on more policy-heavy goals. top advisers push back. there were policies behind the initiatives that she did. >> reporter: valerie jarrett said the first lady and you her staff are working on a new agenda. >> she really is very determined to make sure that they think it through thoroughly and that they don't just do one-off things. she wants to r

now i think most certainly we'll see secretary hagel. >> kristen welker, gun control. now we're told that the event is going to be tomorrow. >> it could well be in the hour because they seem to like 1:00 from a scheduling point of view. it's iffing to be with mayors and children. children have written to the president about guns, and they are going to be involved in this. this is going to be a very big blow-out, and they've got the platform of the white house, something that congress doesn't really have. >> you're right. it's going to be a big roll-out, and, of course, coming before the maug rags. it really sets the stage for president obama to further press this agenda when he does give that inaugural address next week. we are expecting his proposals to include not only legislative proposals including reinstating the ban on assault weapons, limiting high capacity magazines, but also a number of executive actions that president obama believes that he can take, including expanding the database about people who own guns, limiting gun trafficking as well as increasing acc

for the way in which this cabinet is shaping up. >> nbc's kristen welker live for us. thank you. >>> we want to bring you an update on the breaking news out of new york city. the waterfront. the ntsb launching a full investigation into what cause a ferry crash. more than 340 passengers and crew members were on that ferry. we'll keep you posted on the story bring you more details as we get them. >>> coming up, talk about biting the hand that feeds you aig now considering a lawsuit against america for the terms of its bailout. >>> plus, from the sidelines to the spotlight, miss alabama, kathryn webb becomes an overnight sensation after her boyfriend as big football game. >>> and chris christie, a new jersey savior. how could he save the republican party? and could you follow chris christie sample? can you tweet me@thomas roberts. living with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis means living with pain. it could also mean living with joint damage. help relieve the pain and stop the damage with humira, adalimumab. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira is cli

kristen welker with the president in honolulu. it will be a big change of scenery when he gets back to washington. tell us some of the battles on the horizon for the president. >> reporter: hi, craig. good afternoon. there are three budget battles on the horizon. the one getting the most attention right now is the fight over the debt ceiling and the debt ceiling is like the nation's credit card. the nation has essentially maxed out at this point in time. so congress, the white house will have a bigeb

let's go to nbc's kristen welker at the white house. tell us what you are hearing from your sources there? >> good evening, milissa. according to chuck todd, breaking details from that meeting that vice president biden just had. no one in the meeting said they were planning to vote against this bull once it does move through the senate, it doesn't mean they won't. they didn't voice opposition during that meeting, so that is significant this idea there is some liberal revolve doesn't seem to be coming to the floor, the vice president's agreement received very well. and speculation it could get as many as 80 votes. the vice president putting to caucus members this way. the second part of a three-part process. first was the budget control act. this deals with the issue of taxes, something that president obama has been talking since 2008. campaigned on this issue in 2012, and the third part will be that march trifecta, when you are going to have both the budget to deal with as well as the debt ceiling and the sequester issue, which will com

alex. >> kristen welker, save travels when you head home. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> joining me is amy barnes and felisha sonez. >> good morning, girls. what are you hearing in d.c., and any other names being mentioned besides hackle. >> the white house as you mentioned is staying mum on this. not giving any suggestions of whether this might come next week, but the earliest it could come would be monday or tuesday, because the president isn't coming back. and there are a couple of names being floated out there, former undersecretary for defense, and the current deputy defense secretary, the head of the navy. so you have a lot of names being thrown out there. members of both sides of the aisle. what's interesting here, have you chuck hagel, the former republican senator and the opposition is coming from his own party on capitol hill, if you thought that the fight over susan rice was over and that would be the last nomination battle you would see, it looks like another one could be ramping up in the in excouple of weeks. >> pick up on

nbc's kristen welker is at the white house. nbc news senior political editor mark murray standing by with new insight from the new nbc news wall street journal poll. let me start with you. for folks who may not get this, a lot of folks wondering why is the president -- he's going to be sworn in on sunday and sworn in again on monday. what's the deal? >> reporter: well, craig, the reason is that the constitution states that the president has to be sworn in before noon on january 20th. january 20th falls on a sunday this year. it's the seventh time that happened in the nation's history so president obama will be officially sworn in here at the white house in a private ceremony in the blue room with families and chief justice john roberts. the day will begin with vice president biden getting sworn in by justice sotomayor. that's happening at a different time than president obama because we are told according to several officials that the chief justice at the justice department has done investigating on this, and some reporting on

nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker joins us now with more. kristen? >> reporter: lester, good evening. today's rally was organized by advocacy groups, one million moms for gun control. it was a day filled with emotion but also reality. the nation is still sharply divided when it comes to guns. a ground swell of support for stiffer gun laws and thousands rallied in washington to call for change in the wake of the newtown shooting, holding signs bearing the names of those lost and speaking their minds. >> no more. it's time to do something about it. >> we can and must free our nation of this scourge of gun violence. >> reporter: among the crowds mothers who have lost children to guns, elected officials, and parents from the newtown community. >> we're grieving but hopeful that something so atrocious can bring about some change. >> reporter: smaller gun control rallies across the nation today including this one in new jersey. >> i think newtown has been a real turning point for me. the real turning point was having to tell my son. >> reporter: gun buybac

i want to go to nbc's kristen welker who is at the white house. kristen, we were just hearing about the mood in the senate tonight. what is the mood at the white house? >> well, milissa, good evening. i think the mood at the white house is hopeful. they are still optimistic that a deal is going to get done. i can tell you that senior administration officials continued to be huddled in meetings here at the white house, continued to be in close contact with folks on the hill as these negotiations move forward. one development that we have gotten in the past hour, milissa, is some opposition to this deal that is emerging. and it is coming from union leaders. president of the afl-cio richard trumka just tweeted this. it's not a good fiscal cliff deal if it give morse tax cuts to 2% and sets the stage for, in his words, quote, hostage-taking. he is voicing the concern that because the taxes only apply or go up on those making $400,000 or more and $450,000 if you're a couple, that essentially it's not hitting enough people. and he is voicing the concern

. >> kristen welker is at the white house. a very good start morning to you. let's talk about the details that the president revealed about the future role of the u.s. in afghanistan. >> good morning to you, alex. the big headline that came out of the joint news conference between president obama and hamid karzai. both leaders agreed to accelerate the transition process, handing over control of an began forces earlier. it will happen in the spring. a little bit more of what president obama had to say of the role of u.s. forces will be, once that transition happens. take a listen. >> starting this spring, our troops will have a different mission. training, advising, assisting, afghan forces. it will be an historic moment, and another step toward full afghan sovereignty. >> now, alex, the big question that remains unanswered, what happens after 2014? that is, of course, the official end of combat operations in afghanistan. earlier this week, the white house had signalled that president obama might be open to having zero troops in afghanistan after 2014, after th

we get the lowdown from kristen welker. >> reporter: the kardashians, honey boo boo, and now joe biden. >> anybody else want to be sworn in as a senator today? >> reporter: it is comments like that that compelled more than 1,000 people to logon to the white house's website petitioning for a c-span reality tv show starring the ever-entertaining and unpredictable joe biden. >> malarky, absolute malarky. >> reporter: maybe not. it went up after he gave one of his more unforgettable performances during the swearing-in ceremony. >> i want you next to me. i want you next to me. >> if you need any help, let me know. >> reporter: in the hours after the petition went up, people took to social media and weighed in on some of the names for the show. literally joe, riden with biden, and biden time. it has at times backfired. >> a slip of the tongue. >> reporter: who could forget this infamous hot mike moment while congratulating the president on passage of the health care law and his version of pressing the flesh became easy fodder for comedians that couldn't resist poking fun at some of his most

kristen welker is at the white house and joins me now. when can we expect the president thoims ta himself to take the gun control debate on the road? >> reporter: i think you can expect president obama to hit the road and talk about gun control in the next several days, if not weeks. the white house has said that he as well as vice president biden will continue to leave the white house, get out of d.c. and build up public support for the proposals that president obama unveiled several days ago. of course, those proposals include increasing and improving access to mental health services, reinstating the assault weapons ban and limiting high-capacity magazines as well as enacting universal background checks. common knowledge around here, craig, is that a lot of those have a good chance of actually getting passed through congress with the exception of that reinstatement of the assault weapons ban. senator dianne feinstein introduced a tough bill to ban assault weapons this week and even she said it will be a tough uphill battle and there is

let me bring in kristen welker on this. was this kind of sister price to folks hearing they were sitting down together? the president doesn't give joint interviews. >> reporter: it's a surprise in the sense that president obama and secretary clinton have never done a joint interview. this is the president's first joint interview with anyone other than the first lady. so certainly a big deal in that sense. this interview will undoubtedly fuel speculation about 2016. the optics good for secretary clinton because it's coming on the heels of that tough week that she had when she testified before congressional committees about the terrorist attack against the u.s. consulate in benghazi. president obama has said he wanted to do this interview to publicly thank secretary clinton. here's a little snippet of that interview. >> i think hillary will go down as wouldn't finest secretary of states we've had. it has been a great collaboration over the last four years. >> a few years ago it would have been seen as improbable. because we h

andrea. >> thank you so much, kristen welker. david gregory here and pete williams joining us as well. autowe've seen good chiefs of staff and bad. some of the best. jim bakker, ken duberstein, leon panetta in times of trouble. >> howard baker certainly rescuing the ronald reagan second term from don regan, a bad chief of staff by all accounts. what is the pluses and minuses of denis mcdonough. he knows the president so well, and at the same time. >> i think it's indicated in his second term he wants the people who he is closest to to run things. i think that trust and loyalty are two of the big factors here. >> i want to talk to you about your big interview and the republican party coming up with paul ryan on "meet the press." there is breaking news also today. pete williams, the appeals court in d.c., the court right below the supreme court has delivered a big setback to the president on recessed appointments, and these are big recess appointments. sdhoo these are the controversial ones the president made a year ago to richard

it's the big question, nbc news' kristen welker joins me. i understand you have a highlighter in your hand to display the seriousness of what it would mean to invoke the 14th amendment. >> the 14th amendment is very complicated. i want to make sure i'm covering my basis to give everyone a quick explainer of what it is and it goes to the post-civil war era and it is in the expansive rights of the civil war and there is a part of it that deals with the nation's did not and that's where this highlighter comes in. and it states, quote, the validity of the public debt of the united states shall not be questioned. that is the part of the 14th amendment that those senators that you just referenced are seizing on to say that the president should increase the debt limit without the help of congress. the congress has been asked about this. the white house, the reaction from the white house is that they don't believe that they have the right to use the 14th amendment to increase the debt ceiling without congress. they say they're not going go that rout

. >> all right, thank you, kristen welker joins us now, what you hearing? >> reporter: well, i can tell you, sources say that president obama is waiting to hear what happens in that meeting, that the vice president is happening right now with the democratic leaders. he has monitored the negotiations all night long. he has reached out to majority leader reid, and nancy pelosi, to sign off. they gave it. so the white house right now feeling quite confident about this agreement that has been reached. of course, we're talking about the opposition that has been emerging from the left, including labor leaders, he says it is not good enough, why? because the tax rates are not the ones that president obama campaigned on. remember the president campaigned saying that he wanted to see taxes going up on those making $250,000 or more. this of course raises taxes on people making $400,000 or more, if you're single, $450,000 for a couple. so folks on the left saying this is not good enough. but the white house, mitch mcconnell, vice president joe biden believes it is a g

kristen welker from 1600 pennsylvania for us. thank you. always appreciate it. >> thanks, craig. >>> there are major battles coming up in the new term. kristen hit on them there, gun, immigration, among the biggest, the debt ceiling and president obama has a lot offy second-term agenda, but many seem skeptical and in our latest wall street journal poll asked where america is headed, nearly 60% of the people polled used negative words like wrong track, downhill. joining me now to talk about all of this, christina antonio, political reporter, and ed o'keefe for "the washington post". good to have you guys in the flesh. usually it's in double boxes and this is a nice treat. >> let's throw another number on the screen, christina. this is the president's approval rating as he goes into his second term. right now, 52%, according to the poll, say they approve of the job that president obama is doing so far. how does that compare to other two-term presidents? >> he is not quite as popular as many other presidents and he's a little bit higher than g

nbc's kristen welker, thank you, as always, my friend. >> thank you. >> after the break if life does indeed imitate art, politicians may want to pay attention to the new film "broken city." we will talk with one of the stars of the film jeffrey wright and the director alan hughes about the movie and the culture of corruption in america. when they join the table next on "now." hi. at optionsxpress we're all about options trading. we create easy to use, powerful trading tools for all. look at these streaming charts! they're totally customizable and they let you visualize what might happen next. that's genius! strategies, chains, positions. we put 'em all on one screen! could we make placing a trade any easier? mmmm...could we? open an account today and get a free 13-month e ibd™ subscription when you call 1-888-280-0157 now. optionsxpress by charles schwab. nothing. are you stealing our daughter's school supplies and taking them to work? no, i was just looking for my stapler and my... this thing. i save money by using fedex ground and buy my own supplies. that's a great idea. i'm goi

nbc's kristen welker is live at the white house. and she joins us now. good morning to you, kristen. >> reporter: good morning, luke. >> so vice president joey biden is going to eric cantor's richmond, virginia, today, part of this push by the white house that they're doing in their second term to take the campaign on the road. what do they hope to accomplish in richmond, virginia, on this topic of gun control legislation? >> reporter: well, luke, this is really the first in what will be a campaign-style push to get those stiff gun measures passed, that you just talked about. the obama administration has sort of taken this tactic in the past, during the payroll tax cut fight, during the student loan fight, really circumventing congress and trying to build a ground swell of support among the people, to pressure congress to get what it wants to get done passed. so in this case, that is the stiffer gun law. so you're going to see vice president biden out today, holding that roundtable, talking about gun legislation. he'll be joined by his cabinet secretarie

kristen welker joins us with more on that. let's start out with what we can expect to come, again, this tuesday deadline is pretty self-imposed by the gun task force and the president himself, and all of them trying to make the president's state of the union when it comes up at the end of the month. >> reporter: that's right. we're expecting the vice president to put forth a broad set of proposals including legislative proposals that will call for reinstating the ban on assault weapons, limiting access to high-capacity magazines. one of the ideas that's moving to the forefront, though, thomas is the idea of having universal background checks. that would mean anyone who buys a gun at a gun show, online, out of the back of a van would have to have a background check in order for it to be legal. we also expect the vice president to put forth some proposals that would enhance access to mental health services as well as dealing with the issue of the pervasiveness of glor feig violence in the media. now, all of these ideas have gott

from the white house, nbc's kristen welker has more tonight. >> reporter: a month after the newtown shooting, gun stores tell nbc news they have seen an uptick in sales. owners stocking up out of fear the obama administration will impose stiffer laws. in december, the national instant criminal background check system reported 2.2 million background checks were performed last month, in increase of about 58% over the same period in 2011. >> you all know this is a complicated issue. >> reporter: and it is against this backdrop that the vice president is wrapping up his gun safety task force. >> federal weapons trafficking statute to universal background checks to making more widely available mental health assistance. >> reporter: there are more proposals, including the controversial reinstatement of the assault weapons ban, and limiting access to high capacity clips. earlier in the wee biden butted heads with the national rifle association over those issues. >> the vice president and his folks are focusing primarily on firearms ownership, and what we consider second amendment rights for the ame

joining me now from the white house, nbc news correspondent kristen welker. any idea of what type of ambitious, we keep hearing these words being tossed around, big, bold, ambitious. what that's going to be and whether or not the president will also be using this opportunity to respond to that new ad the nra has out, featuring the first daughters? >> reporter: to your first point about that ad, i don't know if president obama is going to address it. we did just get a comment from the white house. i will read that to you. this is from the white house press secretary, jay carney, who says quote, most americans agree that a president's children should not be used as pawns in a political fight, but to go so far as to make the safety of the president's children the subject of an attack ad is repugnant and cowardly. that is a reaction to this ad that the nra just released today. take a look at the ad. >> are the president's kids more important than yours? then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools? when his kids are protected by armed guar

nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker joins us now with more. >> reporter: lester, good evening. today's rally was organized by advocacy groups, one million moms for gun control. it was a day filled with emotion but also reality. the nation is still sharply divided when it comes to guns. a ground swell of support for stiffer gun laws and thousands rallied in washington to call for change in the wake of the newtown shooting, holding signs bearing the names of those lost and speaking their minds. >> no more. it's time to do something about it. >> we can and must free our nation of this scourge of gun violence. >> reporter: among the crowds mothers who have lost children to guns. elected officials and parents from the newtown community. >> we're grieving but hopeful that something so atrocious can bring about some change. >> reporter: smaller gun control rallies across the nation today including this one in new jersey. >> i think newtown has been a real turning point for me. the real turning point was having to tell my son. >> reporter: gun buybacks in california and in seattle whe

first, lye to the white house, my colleague, partner in crime, kristen welker. kristen, is it a festive occasion right now there? we see a lot of hustle and bustle. what's been going on there this morning? >> a lot of hustle and bustle. it is definitely festive. there's not going to be a whole lot of pomp and circumstance today, though, chuck, in that actual ceremony. but this is going to be a ceremony steeped in symbolism to some extent. we understand president obama will be sworn in using the bible of his wife's family. this is first lady michelle obama's grandmother's bible, and we understand it was a present from her father to her mother back in 1958 on mother's day. a little bit of symbolism there. as you said, the president will take the oath of office, which will be administered by chief justice john roberts. it will be quick lasting about two minutes. we don't expect any remark from the president but we expect the first family after to have a private reception with family and friends to mark and celebrate this occasion. chuck? >> do we know who's been in

let's go to nbc's kristen welker who's joining me live from the white house with more on this. kristen, as we look at you and the president with his painting job, i know the white house is getting ready for this big weekend. but it is in the middle of this very important -- it's personally oriented, this day, for the president and his wife, isn't it? >> reporter: it really is not only because they were dedicated to doing something of this nature, but this inauguration will fall on martin luther king day. there's a lot of symbolism in that. president obama will be sworn in using one of martin luther king's bibles. this day is not expected to spark the huge, unprecedented crowds we saw in 2009. but it's not going to be small. hundreds of thousands are expected to turn out to kick off this historic weekend. as washington gears up for the nation's biggest party, people from all around the country are arriving, ready to celebrate. >> it's just one of those things i think you should do. and it's one of the things -- it's on my -- on the bucket list. >> we believe that he does hold th