still calls the country burma even though its former military leaders changed the name to myanmar. the new civilian leaders are keeping the name but taking steps towards democracy like releasing political prisoners. president obama met with one of those former prisoners, the nobel prize winner. she spent almost 20 years under house arrest for fighting for democracy. now, she is a member of parliament. at the meeting, president obama called the country burma but listen to what he said during a meeting with the burmese president. >> we think that a process of democratic reform and economic reform here in me martha has been begun by the president is one that can lead to incredible development opportunities. >> the white house says the president used myanmar as a diplomatic courtesy and that it does not change official policy. the first stop on the president's trips with thailand, then burr matchett tonight he he is in cambodia and so is wendell goler who is traveling with the president. wendell? >> shep, as you point out the president's aides say he aimed to make a courteous gesture

ground in burma. first, adding insult to injury. after super storm sandy. ford c-max hybrid. when you're carrying a lot of weight, c-max has a nice little trait, you see, c-max helps you load your freight, with its foot-activated lift gate. but that's not all you'll see, cause c-max also beats prius v, with better mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid. >> shannon: 12 more new york city public schools reopened today following the damage from super storm sandy last month. 18 are still closed. gas rationing extented through friday. for many people's whose homes were damaged, insult has been added to injury. senior correspondent eric shawn explains from breezy point new york. >> amid the devastation and destruction that remains three weeks after hurricane sandy, a stinging surprise from the new york city building department. a notice, tacked to the front door, demanding the storm's victims fix their problems under penalty of law. >> the city needs to work with us, not against us. you know, to impose a fine, to threaten violations, i mean just look around. it's obviou

of a historic visit to burma. chief white house correspondent ed henry is live with the latest. i know the president has been criticized for even going to burma. how's he handling that, ed? >> reporter: well, it's interesting because there were flag-waving crowds, american flag-waving crowds greeting the president there in burma, but human rights activists have suggested that since there's still coming out of military rule, that maybe the president should not have made this visit. i think he did two thing, he met with awning song suu kyi who had been under house detention for 20 years, met with her, but also when he delivered remarks there in burma, he made clear this is just the beginning of a long journey and that they have a lot of work to do to prove that they are really turning the corner on human rightings. take a listen to the president. >> this remarkable journey has just begun. and has much further to go. reforms launched from the top of society must meet the aspirations of citizens who form its foundation. the flickers of progress that we have seen must not be extinguish

, visiting what one analyst calls the troubled children. he goes to burma and cambodia, in burma to urge in theic process and in cambodia, despite the lack of it, there was a wat pot monastery, with the reclining buddha and asked the monk there for prayers, for talks to avert the fiscal cliff. >> i always believe in prayer. i believe in prayer when i go to church, bam home and if a buddhist monk is wishing me well, i am going to take whatever good vibes he can give me. >> reporter: the president says he's confident he and the congress can reach a deficit reduction agreement. a lot of analysts think that's one of two questions likely to be most asked by the leaders in the summit in cambodia. the other is who will replace secretary of state hillary clinton. >> shannon: we know you had travel troubles. be safe and see you soon. our next guest is from tel aviv. the former chief of staff to israeli prime minister netanyahu. sir, thank you for joining us today. what is the situation there in tel aviv for you? >> just a few minutes ago here in the great city of tel aviv. we had a couple of

southeast asian president of burma. confirmed the historic trip. comes after civilian government took power in burma last year ending five decades of military rule. the white house says president obama will meet with the burmese president and opposition leader and that president obama hopes the visit will encourage burma's ongoing democratic transition. some human rights activists say that country's military is still a pressing ethnic and religious minorities. one group claims that reforms like freeing political prisoners are only superficial moves. aold murder mystery in the holy land tops our news around the world in 80 seconds. israel. archaeology cyst js discovered two ancient excel will he tons in the valley. the well dates back to the stone age. officials with the israel antic question at this authorities say the bodies could have a wound up there by accident but it also could have been murder. india. police baton charged opposition protesters in a northern state. demonstrators hurled stones and damaged property as they rallied against what they call unsanitary conditions. the area ha

plans an overseas trip into burma, instead of staying home and bringing everybody to the oval office and pounding out an agreement? >> what the president has to do is to propose a budget, propose a plan. he didn't do it in the debt limit fight. he let one emerge from the negotiations. i don't think that's a presidential leadership. he needs to submit a program of what he wants to do and let the congress deal with it, which is its function. but i don't mean to imply that barack obama is going to govern as a moderate. i think during the session, he will ram through and in the ensuing months, a series of treaties that fundamentally compromise american sovereignty in important areas, like gun control and off-shore drilling. and carbon emissions. i think hingly push through a very far-left program, which i think he will do through legislation or executive order. >> greta: well, i suspect everyone will be watching, you know, as the days and weeks unfold. but we have to get past the fiscal cliff which is about to hit us in the head. dick, thank you itch thank you: >> greta: now to the benghazi

calm swan song enabling the outgoing secretary of state to bask over her work in countrys like burma. instead, both spent much of their time in asia intensively dialing up mideast leaders. the president speaking with morsi three times in 24 hours. including aboard air force one on the way home to america. the president tan secretary both been on the phone, nonstop with regional leaders for a number of days. the purpose of her trip is to continue and intensify that engagement now face to face. >> the stakes for the president are enormous on the eaves of a second term. with analysts warping it may be the beginning of a much wider conflict between israel and iran. >> there is rise of al-qaeda and radical islam in the middle east that have taken advantage of the re-lutionnary change sweeping through the region. in the shadows here is the number one national security challenge, iran. >> for stability, the u.s. is relying on shaky morsi, member of the muslim brotherhood. two months after president said egypt is no longer an ally. morsi today but showing leadership. two days a the republica

president has visited burma and cambodia. you have secretary clinton who is there, defense secretary panetta. the other thing we've got to remember is this is not the only part of the world that needs attention, because while we are looking at asia and that is a really good thing the chinese are trying to take one of our bases in the azors, and if they do that they will be dominant in the atlanta atlantic. jenna: which base is that. >> own an island called tecerra where we are going to cutback and call it a ghost base. the chinese are looking, they want that base. from that base they can control the mediterranean, interdict shipping in the atlantic and they are only 3,200 miles from where we are sitting in new york. jenna: what is stopping them? nothing will stop them if we decide to leave that race because of budget reasons. that's why sequestration is so important because the military is holding down fort around the world where we rely on our security. jenna: we'll have to pay closer attention to that. i want to ask you as well about something we saw or learned about this week. nor

the first sitting president to visit burma. >> back here at home. concerns over the so-called fiscal cliff. we understand that the president plans to meet with congressional leaders again after thanksgiving looking to find way to avoid tax increases and spending cuts in the that you year. after the president's win, they are taking a harder line. can a compromise be reached. chief congressional correspondent from washington examiner, thank you for joining us. >> nice to be here. >> how hopeful that a compromise will be reached? >> i think it was interesting about yesterday was the way that all the leaders, republican and democrat came out together in front of the white house. if things aren't going well, one party will come up and then the next and each one will stake their ground on the issue. i think both sides are really concerned if we get so close to the end of december wrought a deal it will ruin the market and economy and make things worse. they are trying send a message to give confidence to the markets and businesses that they are going could come with up something. >>

burma, a positive. but she has a legacy with libya which is at best incomplete and legacy with syria which is seriously worrying. in many ways the big issue of her time as secretary of state was this arab upheaval that happened on her watch. so far, the u.s. record has not been very good and we have not been leading for the most part. and we have left a lot of problems for the future. >> supporters say clinton leverageed her unique star power and global rolodex to elevate and advance a set of issues important to her, including gender equality, environment and tech no and social media. >> i would like to recognize tremendous commitment and dedication you have shown to re-establishing the united states. not just as an indispensable power but as an indispensable partner. >> whether hillary clinton is remembered alongside the likes of atchison, kissinger, schultz and baker may be a function of how much power she was entrusted with by the one-time rival for presidency. >> the military owned afghanistan and iraq. the war on terror was run out oaf the agency in the white house. all th

trip. they were in burma. then it was enough of an emergency he needed to send her to do personal diplomacy there. you have 840 people wounded including 225 children in gaz gaza. several people in israel hurt as well. including and then i believe we have a soldier that died today. clinton arrived today. israelis and the gazans say there is no deal yet. but the intensive efforts are underway. if they get some sort of a deal, or they can have a cease-fire, how long do you think it lasts before we have problem again? >> eric: maybe it doesn't last. maybe a cease-fire in name only. for me, this is a test. this isn't the palestinians who are angry at the israelis like they always are. this to me seems like the iranians. they want to see what happens when this goes. they want to see where not only a test for america where america's allegiance is. test for mohammed morsi in egypt. a test for the turks. the turkish prime minister came out and said israel is terrorist group, not hamas. so they are feeling this out. in my opinion, they are feeling out what would happen if it were israeli-ir

from burma? we have dramatically changed, and i can tell you begin, al-qaeda is on the rise, and they are moving throughout the middle east and americans are -- we're going to pay a very heavy price for it because of the lack of american leadership. >> what should president obama be saying to the prime minister of turkey? >> excuse me, sir, but you're not telling the truth. well, i would have a private conversation with him, the president should, but publicly the president should absolutely rebuke that statement. the state department spokesperson today refused to do that. you can't let those kinds of things be said about a democratic state that's under rocket attack, and it's all got to do with the desire to be the leader of the arab world. i don't blame him for wanting to do that, but when he goes to these lengths, he has to be repudiated, and if he really believes that, it obviously has to affect our relations with the country. >> what should secretary of state hillary clinton be doing, or is this a matter for president obama at this point to make a public statement? >> well, the fi

sitting u.s. president to visit burma. >> arthel: a desperate search from the sky and sea for two men missing in an oil rig fire. the coast guard is searching for the men still missing after an oil platform in the gulf of mexico off the coast of louisiana caught fire yesterday. the explosion left four other men badly burned. it's believed the fire began when a torch was used to cut into an oil line. >> rick: now hundreds of war veterans pitching in here at home in order to help folks recover from devastation of super storm sandy and anna kooiman is in the rockaways in queens, new york, where a lot of veterans have been on the ground since sandy hit. good to see you. >> great to see you as well. we're hearing the city of new york condemned some 200 homes because of safety hazards and this group is trying to save as many houses as they can, working 18 hours a day and work through the nor east that are hit a week and a half ago, through the snow. some 500 volunteers, most of them veterans from the wars in iraq and afghanistan, are focusing on the rockaways portion of queens today. th

, but we're headed out today to burma, no, that's the island in asia burma. we're not doing babies here. yeah, we're going to be absolutely right helping out with the little kids. it's such a great cause, but honestly it sucks that we're not able to be with you there with the entire family i know it's been three years since you've been there for christmas and wished i would have called you sooner and i think that tate sent the gifts and stuff to you. okay? merry christmas in burmese. >> alisyn: if you're looking to avoid your family also this holiday season, we've got great vacation deals to tell you about. and senior editor for travelocity joins us with the details. >> this is something that a lot of people do during the hoidz want to get away from the cold weather or do something special, either right around the holidays or afterwards and put together some great deals for you, some last minute holidays. >> if you always dreamed after holiday vacation, today is the time to catch a deal. travelocity has a cyber sale, go to travelocity.com/cyber monday and use the code turkey 10 to get r

weeks and the president goes to burma. >> steve: they will pass a band aid in the lame duck and then the new congress will have to fix it. mitch mcconnell will head up the republican side and he's very clear about taxes. one issue i never have been conflicted about was taxings. i wasn't sent to congress to raise taxs and this election doesn't change my principles it is clear if the president of the united states want to get something done he has to do it with no new taxings. read the republicans new lips. no new you whan? >> by the way. the president has more incentive to not rae taxes. the nonpartisan congressional budget said tax hikes with the spending cuts would the count rope back in a recession and they predict unemployment would increase to 9.1 percent. if there is any inducement to get it done. it is the cbo. >> brian: people forget tax cuts are involved and not just budget cuts. take a look at surveillance pictures. f.b.i. accounts this is it. ak 47 bandit that struck this time in idaho. he used assault rifle and ordered employees in to the vault and then made off with cash.