World’s Biggest Babies

I am only saying one thing. 'Ouch and c-section. please'

I am reposting this for those who have not seen it.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records. In 1879, Anna Bates of Canada gave birth to a 23-pound, 12-ounce baby who died after 11 hours. The largest baby who survived was born in Aversa, Italy, in 1955: 22 pounds, 8 ounces.



JaMichael Brown
Good Shepherd Medical Center Marketing Department / AP Photo

Everything’s bigger in Texas, a claim that newborn JaMichael Brown can already back up. Delivered Friday to Janet Johnson and Michael Brown, little JaMichael tipped the scales at an astonishing 16 pounds, 1 ounce. “The Moose,” as his father affectionately calls him, was born with a full head of hair on his 15-inch head, has a 17-inch chest, and is 24 inches long—roughly the size of a typical 3- to 6-month old. Johnson, who suffered from gestational diabetes during the pregnancy, was told to expect a larger baby, perhaps between 12 and 13 pounds. But they still weren’t prepared for JaMichael's size. “A lot of the stuff we bought for him is too little,” Johnson told Ann Curry on the Today show. “So we have to exchange some things.”


Matthew Anthony MaldanadoKSBW.com

Emily Maldonado of Salinas, Calif., was in labor for two days before giving birth via Caesarean to her son Matthew Anthony on May 9, 2011. "They took him out and the doctor started saying ‘damn,’” his exhausted mother told a local news station, "so they put him on the scale, 14 pounds, 3.6 ounces." Dr. Roberta Bruni, who works at the hospital’s neonatal unit shared in the disbelief. “There was an absolutely incredible number, so I thought they'd transposed the weight wrong,” she admitted. “Then I came in here and it wasn't a transposition error.”"



Gisela Cardoso de Souza

When your mother is an actual Amazon—as in a member of Brazil’s Munduruku tribe—the odds are pretty good that you'll be born large. Indeed, two of Rosinete Cardoso de Souza’s previous nine children weighed more than 12 pounds at birth. But babyGisela, born in December 2010, bested them all—she came into the world at an impressive 15 pounds, 6 ounces. and was, mercifully, delivered via C-section.


Luciana Muntianu
CBSnews.com

Thirty-nine-year-old Livia Muntianu of Romania gained so much weight during her pregnancy that she was convinced she was having twins. But it turned out that her 10th child, Luciana, was merely as heavy as two babies. Born on Aug. 29, 2009, Luciana clocked in at 15 pounds and 24 inches — the largest baby ever born in her country.


Akbar Risuddin
Andi Anshari / AP Photo

The largest baby born in recent years came into the world on Sept. 24, 2009. Weighing a whopping 19 pounds, 2 ounces, Akbar Risuddin more than lived up to his name, which means “big” or “great” in Indonesian. And yet Akbar is not even close to the heaviest baby ever born,


Axel Laverne Dolton

Like mother, like son. When Wendi Dolton of Rochester, Minn., was born, she weighed more than 10 pounds and claims doctors had to break her shoulders to deliver her. Her son, Axel LaVerne Dolton, however, made Mom look like a shrimp. Born on Nov. 23, 2009, Axel weighed a hefty 15 pounds, 6 ounces, but the truly scary part about the boy they call “Butterball” is that he was born three weeks premature.


Richard Sault Jr.
Ken Steinhardt, Orange County Register / Newscom

It required two doctors to lift 14-pound, 2-ounce Richard Sault Jr., when he was delivered by C-section on Dec. 23, 2008. The 21-inch boy was the largest baby ever born at the Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills, Calif. "We thought our first baby was a miracle, and now we have this little guy," Richard Sault Sr. told The Orange County Register, before correcting himself: "Guess he's not so little.


Nadia Khalina
Andrey Kasprishin, Reuters / Landov

Not all little bruisers are boys. On Sept. 17, 2007, 42-year-old Tatiana Khalina of Siberia got a huge of bundle of joy when her daughter Nadia was born via C-section at 17 pounds, 1 ounce. All of Khalina’s previous children weighed more than 11 pounds at birth, but Nadia’s birth weight still came as a shock. “What did the father say?” Nadia told reporters afterward. “He couldn't say a thing, he just stood there blinking. I ate everything. We don't have the money for special foods so I just ate potatoes, noodles, and tomatoes."


Ademilton dos Santos
Eleoi Correa, Agencia Estado / AP Photo

On Jan. 19, 2005, Ademilton dos Santos became the largest baby ever born in Brazil when he entered the world at a wince-worthy 17 pounds. While Francisca Ramos dos Santos’s previous four children were all normal weight at birth, doctors believe Ademilton’s tremendous size was a result of his mother’s diabetes. They also very cleverly nicknamed the boy “giant baby.”

Obama: GOP's insistence on halting tax hikes for the wealthy is stopping fiscal cliff deal

By Carrie Dann, NBC News

President Barack Obama on Sunday said congressional Republicans and their insistence on preventing tax increases for the very wealthy are standing in the way of a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.
In an exclusive interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," the president chided House Republicans as the clock continued to run out on a potential agreement.
"They say that their biggest priority is making sure that we deal with the deficit in a serious way, but the way they're behaving is that their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans are protected," Obama said. "That seems to be their only overriding, unifying theme."

President Barack Obama says he negotiated with House Speaker Boehner in good faith and moved more than halfway in order to achieve a grand bargain.

With a little more than one day remaining before the nation faces automatic spending cuts and tax hikes that could impact an already-wobbling American economy, the president implied that there has been little progress in recent days to justify hopes of a last-minute deal to prevent going over the fiscal cliff at year's end.
"I was modestly optimistic yesterday, but we don't yet see an agreement," he said in the interview, taped on Saturday at the White House. "And now the pressure's on Congress to produce."
The president appeared open to eliminating at least some of the scheduled automatic spending cuts if Republicans agree to tax increases for the wealthy. Those cuts are slated to impact defense spending and non-entitlement discretionary spending beginning on Jan. 1.
"If we have raised some revenue by the wealthy paying a little bit more, that would be sufficient to turn off what's called the sequester, these automatic spending cuts, and that also would have a better outcome for our economy long-term," he said.
The president challenged Republicans to vote on legislation that he said should be introduced by the Democrat-controlled Senate to prevent taxes on the "middle class" from being increased.
But he did not specify what income level he would be willing to accept as a dividing line between those who retain Bush-era tax rates and those whose rates would increase. The president has consistently supported increasing taxes on families making over $250,000 a year, but that figure has been a major bargaining chip in negotiations.
Wherever the line on tax increases ends up, Obama urged a vote in both houses on a final Senate bill if a broader agreement cannot be reached.

Pete Souza / White House Photo

President Barack Obama is interviewed by David Gregory of NBC's "Meet The Press" in the Blue Room of the White House, Dec. 29, 2012.

"Everybody should have a right to vote on that," he said. "If Republicans don't like it, they can vote no. But I actually think that there's a majority support for making sure that middle class families are held harmless."
"So far, at least, Congress has not been able to get this stuff done," he added. "Not because Democrats in Congress don't want to go ahead and cooperate, but because I think it's been very hard for Speaker Boehner and Republican Leader McConnell to accept the fact that taxes on the wealthiest Americans should go up a little bit, as part of an overall deficit reduction package."
Dismissing the notion that the Democratic Party is as compromise-averse as the GOP, the president said Democrats  -- "warts and all" -- have more consistently agreed to components of bipartisan deals.
"What I'm arguing for are maintaining tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans. I don't think anybody would consider that some liberal left-wing agenda. That used to be considered a pretty mainstream Republican agenda," he said. "And it's something that we can accomplish today if we simply allow for a vote in the Senate and in the House to get it done. The fact that it's not happening is an indication of how far certain factions inside the Republican Party have gone where they can't even accept what used to be considered centrist, mainstream positions on these issues."
The president offered no new suggestions of compromise measures that may be more palatable to Republicans, although he acknowledged that some Democrats oppose entitlement adjustments and some of the spending cuts that he's put forward during negotiations.

The president games out different scenarios of how he thinks the fiscal cliff negotiations will be resolved. 

"The offers that I've made to [Republicans] have been so fair that a lot of Democrats get mad at me," he said, noting that his acceptance of Chained CPI, a measure that would change the way Social Security payments are determined, has caused particular rancor within his own party.
"Highly unpopular among Democrats," he said of the proposed change. "Not something supported by AARP. But in pursuit of strengthening Social Security for the long-term I'm willing to make those decisions."
If an impasse remains in place, Obama warned, Republicans' rejection of his version of deficit reduction plans would be enough to send financial markets skidding.
"What's been holding us back is the dysfunction here in Washington," he said. "And if people start seeing that on January 1st this problem still hasn't been solved, that we haven't seen the kind of deficit reduction that we could have had had the Republicans been willing to take the deal that I gave them, if they say that people's taxes have gone up, which means consumer spending is going to be depressed, then obviously that's going to have an adverse reaction in the markets."

Woman charged in connection with fatal New York firefighter shootings

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Authorities announce a second person has been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting deaths of two firefighters in Webster, NY.

By NBC News and wire services

Updated: 4:58 p.m. ET: An upstate New York woman was arrested Friday and hit with federal and state charges connected to the fatal shootings of two volunteer firefighters on Christmas Eve.

The woman, Dawn Nguyen, 24, was charged with knowingly making a false statement in the purchase of guns used in the slayings, U.S. Attorney William Hochul told a news conference Friday. She was charged earlier on a state violation of filing a falsified business record.
Hochul said Nguyen bought the guns on behalf of William Spengler, 62, who shot four firefighters responding to a fire he had started in his home on Monday outside Rochester, N.Y., killing two of them, before killing himself.

Nguyen "told the seller of these guns, Gander Mountain in Henrietta, that she was to be the true owner and buyer of the guns instead of William Spengler," he said. "It is absolutely against federal law to provide any materially false information related to the acquisition of firearms."

The complaint alleges that Nguyen acted as a "straw purchaser" for Spengler, who, as a convicted felon, could not legally own, acquire or purchase any firearm, Hochul said. The charges are related to an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun — two of the three weapons found near Spengler's body Monday, according to State Police Investigator James Sewell.

Hochul said that a suicide note left by Spengler "includes information about obtaining the guns" from Nguyen.

WHEC

Police officers escort Dawn Nguyen on Friday.

The third weapon, a .38-caliber revolver, was not connected to Nguyen, Sewell said.

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported that Nguyen was arrested Friday afternoon at the home in Greece where she has been staying with her mother, Dawn Welsher.
Greece is about 5 miles north of Rochester and 2 miles west of Webster, where Spengler lived.

Nguyen's lawyer, Dave Palmiere, told the newspaper that Nguyen bought the weapons legally and that they had been stolen. He said Nguyen didn't recall whether she reported the guns stolen.

Monroe County Sherif's Dept. / EPA

William Spengler, in a 2006 photo, who authorities say set a house and car on fire on Christmas eve in Webster, N.Y. and then shot and killed two firefighters, and wounded two others who responded to the blaze.

Welsher told the Democrat and Chronicle that neither she nor her daughter, Nguyen, gave or sold Spengler the weapons.

"This is nuts," she said, according to the newspaper. "I never supplied this man with nothing. My daughter never supplied him with anything. He's setting us up."

The federal charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine, The Associated Press reported.

Spengler spent 17 years in prison for killing his grandmother in 1980.
  
After Monday's attack, a body was also discovered in Spengler's burned home. Investigators have said they believe the remains are those of his sister, Cheryl Spengler, 67, who lived with him. In all, seven houses were destroyed in the blaze.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Forget the 'fiscal cliff': Debt ceiling is much scarier

Ryan Vlastelica, Edward Krudy and Doris Frankel , Reuters

Investors fearing a stock market plunge if the U.S. tumbles off the "fiscal cliff" next week may want to relax.

But they should be scared if a few weeks later Washington fails to reach a deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling as that threatens a default, another credit downgrade and a financial markets panic.

Market strategists say that falling off the cliff for any lengthy period -- which would lead to automatic tax hikes and stiff cuts in government spending -- would badly dent both consumer and business confidence, but it would take some time for the U.S. economy to slide into recession. In the meantime, there would be plenty of chances for lawmakers to make amends by reversing some of the effects.

That has been reflected in a U.S. stock market that has still not shown signs of melting down. Instead, it has drifted lower and gotten more volatile.
In some ways, that has let Washington off the hook. In the past, a plunge in stock prices forced the hand of Congress, such as in the middle of the financial crisis in 2008.

"If this thing continues for a bit longer and the result is you get a U.S. debt downgrade ... the risk is not that you lose two and half percent, the risk is that you lose ten and a half," said Jonathan Golub, chief U.S. equity strategist at UBS Equity Research in New York.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said earlier this  week that the United States will technically reach its debt limit at the end of the year.

'Tremendous fight

'The White House has said it will not negotiate the debt ceiling as in 2011, when the fight over what was once a procedural matter preceded the first-ever downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, but it may be forced into such a battle again. A repeat of that war is most worrisome for markets.

Markets posted several days of sharp losses in the period surrounding the debt ceiling fight in 2011. Even after a bill to increase the ceiling passed, stocks plunged in what was seen as a vote of no confidence in Washington's ability to function, given how close lawmakers came to a default.

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's lowered the U.S. sovereign rating to double-A-plus, citing Washington's legislative problems as one reason for the downgrade. The benchmark S&P 500 dropped 16 percent in a four-week period ending Aug. 21, 2011.

"I think there will be a tremendous fight between Democrats and Republicans about the debt ceiling," said Jon Najarian, a co-founder of online brokerage TradeMonster.com in Chicago.

"I think that is the biggest risk to the downside in January for the market and the U.S. economy."

There are some signs in the options market that investors are starting to eye the January period with more wariness. The CBOE Volatility Index, or the VIX, the market's favored anxiety indicator, has remained at relatively low levels throughout this process, though on Thursday it edged above 20 for the first time since July.

More notable is the action in VIX futures markets, which shows a sharper increase in expected volatility in January than in later-dated contracts. January VIX futures are up nearly 23 percent in the last seven trading days, compared with a 13 percent increase in March futures and an 8 percent increase in May futures. That's a sign of increasing near-term worry among market participants.

Consumers don't appear at all traumatized by the fiscal cliff talks, as yet. Helping to bolster consumer confidence has been a continued recovery in the housing market and growth in the labor market, albeit slow.

The latest employment take will be out Friday, and the Labor Department is expected to show jobs growth of 145,000 for December, in line with recent growth.

Consumers will see their paychecks affected if lawmakers cannot broker a deal and tax rates rise, but the effect on spending is likely to be gradual.

Negotiations ongoing

President Barack Obama met with congressional leaders from both parties Friday for discussions about the fiscal cliff, and the House of Representatives is set to convene Sunday and continue working through the New Year. Obama has proposed maintaining current tax rates for all but the highest earners.

Options strategists have noted an increase in positions to guard against weakness in defense stocks such as General Dynamics, as those stocks would be affected by spending cuts set for that sector. Notably, though, the PHLX Defense Index is less than 1 percent away from an all-time high reached Dec. 20.

This underscores the view taken by most investors and strategists: One way or another, Washington will come to an agreement to offset some effects of the cliff. The result will not be entirely satisfying, but it will be enough to satisfy investors.

"Expectations are pretty low at this point and yet the equity market hasn't reacted," said Carmine Grigoli, chief U.S. investment strategist at Mizuho Securities USA. "You're not going to see the markets react to anything with more than a 5 to 7 percent correction."

Markets, for the most part, have not shown the same kind of volatility as in 2008 or 2011.

A gradual decline remains possible, Golub said, if business and consumer confidence continues to take a hit on the back of fiscal cliff worries. The Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence fell sharply in December, a drop blamed in part on the fiscal issues.

"If Congress came out and said that everything is off the table, yeah, that would be a short-term shock to the market, but that's not likely," said Richard Weiss, a Mountain View, Calif.-based senior money manager at American Century Investments.

"Things will be resolved, just maybe not on a good time table. All else being equal, we see any further decline as a buying opportunity."

1 dead after police-involved shooting at York Kmart

Police chief: Officers did right thing

UPDATED 10:56 PM EST Dec 29, 2012

This has to stop.  Chicago 500 deaths by gun violence. A 2 yr old dies because a father does not secure his firearm, and leaves it on a table.  Policemen are forced to shoot a man, because other people could have been harmed.  January 1, 2013 is just around the corner, and the murder rate will be zero again.  Who will be the first murder of the new year. What child will kill themselves because parents are irresponsible  and not secure their gun.  Which teenager will end up dead because of their race or because they had their music too load. When will this madness cease?  When will we be able to stop the killing, and protect life, and make it a priority?

 

SPRINGETTSBURY TOWNSHIP, Pa. —State police are investigating a shooting at a Kmart in Springettsbury Township Saturday night that left one person dead.

The incident happened around 7:30 p.m.The investigation is in the hands of State police since it was local police who did the shooting.
The chief of Springettsbury Township police says his officers were right when so much could have gone wrong.
“Well it was more like thinking this is not real, this is not happening to me. There were gunshots going off,” said Sue Baker, a resident who was shopping with her husband and baby.
Baker says the shots went off one after another, changing their whole night.
“I just dove into the back double doors and kind of hid with a bunch of other people who were back there,” said Baker.
She heard at least six shots in all, one killing a 40-year-old man who Springettsbury Township police say tried to rob the store at knife point. Police tried to use a stun gun him, but he went at them again. That’s when police opened fire.
Springettsbury Township police chief Thomas Hyers watched the security video. Even though this case is now out of his hands, he is certain his officers acted justifiably.
“We get paid to respond to things like this and I think the officers acted bravely, and they do all over the country. There were 127 officers murdered last year and it could have happened here again tonight,” said Hyers.
These officers have been placed on leave for the time being. The chief says they are doing fine, just a bit shaken up. The victim’s name has not been released. Police say he died at the hospital.



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Community outraged after toddler dies firing father's gun

A 2-year-old boy in Conway, S.C., is dead after firing his father s gun which was apparently left on a table. Neighbors of the family say the accidental shooting should have never happened. WMBF s Monique Blair reports.

2012 in Review

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Here's another 'fiscal cliff' worry: tax-filing delays

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With some investments already feeling the pain of the looming cliff, millions of Americans are at risk of being affected. The first to consider is the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts, according to CNBC's Jackie Deangelis.

By Allison Linn, TODAY

If you’re the type of person who likes to file your income tax return as soon as possible, then you’ve got another reason to be frustrated by the fiscal cliff stalemate in Washington, D.C.
Most of the tax changes being discussed as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations would go into effect in 2013, meaning that taxpayers would first have to account for them when they went to file those tax returns in early 2014.
But a handful of the provisions under discussion could affect Americans’ 2012 taxes. The down-to-the-wire negotiations in the nation's capital could leave the IRS scrambling to adopt the changes in its systems, delaying the agency’s ability to accept some people’s returns.
“Congress oftentimes waits until the last minute to pass legislation, and then that in a turn affects the IRS,” said Bob Meighan, vice president with tax software provider TurboTax.
That's definitely been the case this time around. Just a few days before the end of the year, Congress has not been able to come to an agreement over a series of tax increases that are scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1. President Barack Obama said Friday that he was "modestly optimistic" a deal could still be reached to avert going over the so-called fiscal cliff.
Acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller has already warned that there could be serious filing delays if Congress doesn’t provide a patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax. An IRS spokesman said Friday that the agency did not have any further information beyond the warnings Miller gave to lawmakers in a letter earlier this month.
The AMT is a provision in the tax code that was designed to ensure that wealthy taxpayers have to pay at least a minimum amount of taxes. It was never indexed for inflation, however, so Congress has had to provide temporary fixes over the years to ensure that lower-income taxpayers aren’t affected.
That hasn’t happened yet this year because of the fiscal cliff stalemate. In the letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp earlier this month, Miller, the acting IRS commissioner, warned that if Congress doesn’t provide a patch this year, then the IRS would have to make significant programming changes to account for that.

“In that event, given the magnitude and complexity of the changes needed, I want to reiterate that most taxpayers may not be able to file their 2012 tax returns until late in March of 2013, or even later,” Miller wrote in the Dec. 19 letter.
Miller also warned that as many as 30 million additional taxpayers could be subject to the AMT if a patch isn’t put in place.
For now, Miller said the IRS is acting as if Congress will provide an AMT patch.
Meighan, of TurboTax, said his company also has prepared its software as if a patch will be in place. But he said the company also is ready to switch gears quickly if it must.
Meighan said a few other provisions under discussion as part of the fiscal cliff negotiation could affect a minority of taxpayers in 2012. Those include a deduction teachers get for school supplies they purchase for their classrooms and a tuition and fees deduction that applies to some students.

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"It's really gotten to a point now where you have the ideological divisions in the country overlapped now with the partisan divisions," said CNBC's Chief Washington Correspondent John Harwood.

The IRS has had to ask people to delay filing their returns before. In 2010, Congress passed last-minute tax law changes on Dec. 17. As a result, the IRS said it wouldn’t be able to accept returns with itemized deductions until February of 2011 because it needed time to adjust its systems.
If people are forced to wait to file their tax returns, that would also mean a delay in getting tax refunds. Roberton Williams, a senior fellow with the Tax Policy Center, said that in turn could have some effect on the economy because many people count on that money to pay off debt or buy big-ticket items.
If the AMT isn’t patched at all, he noted, that would be an even bigger economic hit because some taxpayers wouldn’t get their expected refund at all.
“That will have a major effect on the economy,” Williams said. “It will be pulling a lot of money out of the economy that people are expecting.”
Despite the Congressional deadlock, experts say they are still assuming a deal will be made to put the patch in place.
“For most people, come 2013 they’ll be able to file their taxes, they’ll get their refund and life goes on,” Meighan said.

When do you usually file your taxes?

• As soon as possible - in January if I can
• Sometime in February or March
• At the last minute - April 15 if I can

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EXCLUSIVE: President Obama Meets the Press this Sunday

Fri Dec 28, 2012 6:02 PM EST

125

This Sunday, David Gregory sits down exclusively with President Barack Obama. This will be Mr. Obama's 11th appearance on the program, his second time as the commander in chief. In the midst of fierce fiscal cliff negotiations, we’ll hear directly from the president about where things stand and whether a compromise is even possible. Plus, David will talk with him about other key issues facing the country as he prepares to begin his second term in office.
His most recent appearance was on Sept. 20, 2009 in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. At the time, the health care reform fight was center stage in Washington and the President joined MTP to make his case for the overhaul. Watch the full interview below.

Transcripts from Barack Obama's Meet the Press appearances:

• 7/25/04
• 11/7/04
• 1/22/06
• 10/22/06
• 11//11/07
• 12/30/07
• 5/4/08
• 7/27/08
• 12/7/08
• 9/20/09

'Meet the Press'  for Dec. 7, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama

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updated 07/25/04
11:22:26 AM ET


MR. RUSSERT: But first, the man who will give the keynote address here in Boston on Tuesday night, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from Illinois, Barack Obama. Welcome.


STATE REP. BARACK OBAMA:  Thank you so much for having me.

 
MR. RUSSERT:  What do you hope to achieve on Tuesday night?


STATE REP. OBAMA:  What I'd like to do is talk about the vision the Democratic Party has for this country.  You know, I think that there's enormous strength in the country, enormous resilience in the country, but people are struggling, and as I've been traveling throughout Illinois over the last 18 months, what I've been seeing are people who are concerned about their economic security, concerned about their ability to pay for their health care, their kids, sending them to college, and if we can project an optimistic vision that says we can be stronger at home, more respected abroad, and that John Kerry has the message and the strength to lead us in that fashion, then I think we'll be successful.


MR. RUSSERT:  In 1988, a young man from Arkansas named Bill Clinton gave a nominating speech. It went on for 33 minutes.  At the 31st minute he said, "In closing," and the place erupted in applause. How long is your speech?

 
STATE REP. OBAMA:  It will be less than 20 minutes, closer to 15.

 
MR. RUSSERT:  Let me show you something that you said to the Atlantic Monthly, which comes out tomorrow.  "`Sometimes Kerry just doesn't have that oomph,' [Obama] said, punctuating the thought with a tight-lipped shake of the head and a clenched fist."
What does that mean?

 
STATE REP. OBAMA:  Well, I think that, you know, early on in the campaign, and this was an interview that took place several months ago, you hadn't gotten a sense of John Kerry as the man, and I think this convention is going to be consolidating the impression that we've been getting over several months that this is somebody who's going to be fighting for working families, somebody who has the strength to lead internationally.  This is somebody who has the life experience as a soldier, as a prosecutor, as a lieutenant governor, and for two decades as a U.S. senator, who is as well prepared as any candidate has ever been to lead our country to the kinds of promise that I think all of us hope for.


MR. RUSSERT:  Is he too cautious?

STATE REP. OBAMA:  I don't think he's too cautious.  I think that when you run for president, it takes some time to ramp up.  And this is somebody who historically has always hit his marks when it counted. And I think what we're going to see at this convention during the next several days is people really getting an impression of his strength, his ability to lead, and I think that the viewers who are just starting to tune into politics during the convention time, I think this is a demarcation point where people can arouse themselves and say, you know, "Let's take a look at the candidate seriously."  I think they're going to be very impressed with what they see.


MR. RUSSERT:  Traditionally, the keynoter is a governor, a senator, a congressman.  You're the first state legislator in the history of the party. The New York Times said this today:  "Already seen as a rising star within the party, Mr. Obama could win wide acclaim or dim his fortunes."
Are you nervous?


STATE REP. OBAMA:  You know, I used to play basketball, and if you weren't a little nervous before the big game, you probably wouldn't play a good game. So I think the adrenaline's going to be pumping, but I think we're going to be well prepared.  I'm very happy with the speech.  And what I'm going to be trying to do is tell the stories that I'm hearing on the campaign trail about workers who are being laid off and are looking for jobs that can support their families, about young women and men who want to go to college, have the will, the drive, but don't have the money.  If I'm as eloquent as they are when they tell me what their hopes and dreams are, then I think I'll be successful.


MR. RUSSERT:  You wrote a book about your life, "Dreams From My Father:  A Story of Race and Inheritance."  It's quite interesting.  Your dad was from Kenya.


STATE REP. OBAMA:  That's correct.


MR. RUSSERT:  Your mom was a white woman from Kansas.


STATE REP. OBAMA:  Right.


MR. RUSSERT:  They were married in Hawaii.


STATE REP. OBAMA:  Right.


MR. RUSSERT:  Your dad and mom named you Barack, which is Swahili for "Blessed by God"?


STATE REP. OBAMA:  Right.  Yeah.  It's a typical biography for an Illinois politician.


MR. RUSSERT:  But your dad left and you were two years old.


STATE REP. OBAMA:  Yeah.  Yeah.


MR. RUSSERT:  And you were raised by a white mom and white grandparents.


STATE REP. OBAMA:  Yeah.  Right.


MR. RUSSERT:  What was it like being someone who was part African-American being raised by white parents?


STATE REP. OBAMA:  Yeah.  Well, you know, fortunately, I think, it was in Hawaii, which is a state that is known for its diversity of cultures.  And as a consequence, I think I had the benefit of not having some of the polarization that was taking place during the middle and early '60s as a child.  And it wasn't until I got older where I think I had to grapple with some of those issues of identity.  And I write about it in the book, the fact that I went through an adolescent rebellion that embraced some of the worst stereotypes of young African-American men, and rejected school, dabbled in drugs, didn't focus on my future.  But, fortunately, I think that my family had such strong values, very much Midwestern values, that I pulled out of that fun
k, and was able to succeed in the future.
And part of the reason I wanted to write about this book was to indicate that my story is not that unusual. There are young men and young women all across the country who have enormous potential but don't always have the second chance, and the helping hand that I had.  And that's what I think John Kerry and John Edwards are going to be talking about during this convention.


MR. RUSSERT:  Do you think the Democratic Party selected you in part because they wanted to present an African-American young rising politician?


STATE REP. OBAMA:  Well, I think that John Kerry cares a lot about diversity in the party.  And I think that certainly made a difference.  I also think that the manner in which we won our primary in Illinois was a hopeful sign, because the conventional wisdom was that I would get the black vote and then a sliver of white vote, and instead we won in places people didn't expect us to win, in suburban areas, in rural areas.  And it indicates that people are really ready for a message for change.  What they want is somebody who has a positive message, who has a tone in their politics that says, "We can disagree with the other side without being disagreeable."  And I think that's the kind of message that John Kerry is going to be projecting at the convention during this week.


MR. RUSSERT:  President Bush did not go to the NAACP convention...


STATE REP. OBAMA:  Right.


MR. RUSSERT:  ...but did go to the Urban League...


STATE REP. OBAMA:  Right.


MR. RUSSERT:  ...where he tried to give some advice to African-American voters.  Let's listen.

(Videotape, Friday):
PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH:  I'm going to ask African-American voters to consider some questions. Does the Democrat Party take African-American voters for granted?
Is it a good thing for the African-American community to be represented mainly by one political party?  A legitimate question.
(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT:  Does the Democratic Party take African-American voters for granted?


STATE REP. OBAMA:  I don't think the Democratic Party takes the African-American voters for granted.  Now, I'm happy that the president spoke at the Urban League.  I think he should have spoke at the NAACP.  I want Republicans to compete for the African-American vote.  I think the reason that they're not getting the African-American vote--it's not because African-Americans aren't open-minded, it's because the Democrats have consistently championed those issues, civil rights issues, voting rights issues, concern for working families that are of greatest concern to African-American voters.  And I think that speeches are good, but ultimately people want to see people walking the walk and not just talking the talk.  And that's what--when you look at John Kerry's record and John Edwards' record, they represent the kinds of policies that are of importance to African-Americans, and I think that's the reason they're going to do very well in the African-American community.


MR. RUSSERT:  In the state of Illinois, 77 percent, three out of four, black children born are born to unmarried mothers.


STATE REP. OBAMA:  It's heartbreaking.


MR. RUSSERT:  What do you do about that?



STATE REP. OBAMA:  Well, I think that some of it is just making sure that African-American men have access to jobs.  And, you know, there's been the devastation as we lose manufacturing across the state of Illinois that disproportionately hurts African-Americans, blue-collar workers, who used to be able to support a family with an unskilled job.  That's no longer possible. So we got to have a base of economic security within the African-American community and in other communities in order to build strong families.
There's also the cultural component that I think I'm happy to talk about when I'm in the community.  You know, we have to make sure that we're taking responsibility for our children, we have to make sure that we're encouraging high achievement.  And one of the things that I try to avoid is this either/or approach to solving the problems of this country.  I think there are questions of individual responsibility, but I think that there are also questions of societal responsibility that have to be dealt with.


MR. RUSSERT:  Bill Cosby, as you well know, was in Chicago a few weeks ago and talked about this.


STATE REP. OBAMA:  Right.


MR. RUSSERT:  Let me share that with our viewers and come back and talk about it.


STATE REP. OBAMA:  Absolutely.

(Videotape, July 1, 2004):
MR. BILL COSBY:  Hey, men, let me tell you something.  Your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30 every day.  It's cursing and it's calling each other niggers as they walk up and down the street.  They think they're hip, they can't read, they can't write, 50 percent of them.  They take it into the candy store. They put themselves on the train and on the buses and they don't even care what color or what age somebody else is.  It's about them and their cursing and grabbing each other and laughing and giggling and going nowhere.  And the book bags are very, very thin 'cause there's no books in them.
(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT:  Very strong language.


STATE REP. OBAMA:  Right.


MR. RUSSERT:  Do you agree with it?


STATE REP. OBAMA:  I understand the basic premise that Bill Cosby was talking about, and I think he's right about it, which is what I just spoke about, that there's got to be an element of individual responsibility and communal responsibility for the uplift of the people in inner-city communities.  And, you know, the best example I think is an education.  He mentioned the issue of the book bags are thin. One of the things that when I speak to parents, I say, "I'm going to insist on making sure that we've got decent funding, that we've got enough teachers, that we've got computers in the classroom, but unless you turn off the television set and get over a certain anti-intellectualism that I think pervades some low-income communities, our children are not going to achieve."


MR. RUSSERT:  That's what Cosby said.  It's the parents.  He said they're buying their kids $500 sneakers but won't spend $200 for Hooked On Phonics.

 
STATE REP. OBAMA:  Well--and I think that it's legitimate for public figures to talk about these issues. It's not a function of being liberal or conservative.  I think it's just common sense.  We have to also hold our government accountable for making sure that we've got the kinds of support that parents and children need to succeed, and that's one of the things that's going to be focused on I think at this convention. John Kerry cares about the values of America.  He has faith in communities and their ability to work to better themselves, but he also knows that government has a role to play in making America strong.

MR. RUSSERT:  But mothers and fathers should be accountable and responsible for their children.

STATE REP. OBAMA:  Absolutely.

MR. RUSSERT:  Let's me turn to the war in Iraq.  Do you believe that it will be a central issue in this campaign?

STATE REP. OBAMA:  I think it's going to be important.  As I travel around the state, one of the things that is striking is that this is the first war I think since the Vietnam War where every community, particularly in rural areas and in downstate Illinois, are directly affected.  They've got reservists, National Guardsmen, the sons, daughters, uncles, aunts of people who are over there for 18 months.  They don't see an exit strategy.  I think they're deeply troubled in retrospect about how we got into the war, and I think that one of the most important things that John Kerry is going to have to offer is the ability for his administration to be able to set a new tone, re-establish the kinds of relationships with our allies that allow us to internationalize the reconstruction process, make sure that Iraq succeeds and allow our troops eventually to get out.

MR. RUSSERT:  In 2002 in October, you gave a speech at an anti-war rally and said this.  "What I am opposed to is the attempt by potential hacks like Karl Rove"--the president's political adviser--"to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income - to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.  That's what I'm opposed to.  A dumb war.  A rash war.  A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics." You seem to say that George Bush took a country to war, lost nearly 900 Americans, 5,000 wounded and injured on politics?

STATE REP. OBAMA:  What I think is that it was an ideologically driven war. I think that George Bush was sincere and is sincere about his desire to maintain a strong America, but I think there was a single-mindedness to this process that has led our country into a very difficult position.  It's a consequence of that single-mindedness that we did not create the kind of international framework that would have allowed success once we decided to go in.  And I think that John Kerry is going to be establishing those relationships that allow us now, looking forward, to execute in Iraq and make sure that we are respected abroad and succeed in the difficult but now bipartisan process of making sure that we have a stable Iraqi government.

MR. RUSSERT:  But you're not charging that President Bush sent men and women to die for political reasons?

STATE REP. OBAMA:  No, I don't think that's the case.  As I said, I think that this administration is sincere but I think it's misguided.

MR. RUSSERT:  You also said this:  "...I also know that Saddam possesses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history."
The nominee of your party, John Kerry, the nominee for vice president, John Edwards, all said he was an imminent threat.  They voted to authorize George Bush to go to war.  How could they have been so wrong and you so right as a state legislator in Illinois and they're on the Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees in Washington?

STATE REP. OBAMA:  Well, I think they have access to information that I did not have.  And what is absolutely clear is that John Kerry said, "If we go into war, let's make sure that we do it right.  Let's make sure that our troops are supported.  Let's make sure that we have the kind of coalition that's necessary to succeed."  And the execution of what was a difficult choice to make was something that all of us have to be concerned about.  And moving forward, the only way that we're going to be able to succeed is if, I think, we have an administration led by John Kerry that's going to allow us to consolidate the relationships with our allies that bring about investment in Iraq.

MR. RUSSERT:  But if you had been a senator at that time, you would have voted not to authorize President Bush to go to war?

STATE REP. OBAMA:  I would have voted not to authorize the president given the facts as I saw them at that time.

MR. RUSSERT:  So you disagree with John Kerry and John Edwards?

STATE REP. OBAMA:  At that time, but, as I said, I wasn't there and what is absolutely clear as we move forward is that if we don't have a change in tone and a change in administration, I think we're going to have trouble making sure that our troops are secure and that we succeed in Iraq.

MR. RUSSERT:  We can't withdraw the troops immediately?

STATE REP. OBAMA:  I don't think so.

MR. RUSSERT:  At the Chicago convention in 1996, you said something that caught my eye.  "Chicagoans, [Mr. Obama] says, have grown especially jaded watching the Democrats raise cash for this month's national convention in Chicago.  `The convention's for sale, right,' Obama says.  `You got these $10,000-a-plate dinners"--Gold--"Circle Clubs.  I think when the average voter looks at that, they rightly feel they've been locked out of the process.  They can't attend a $10,000 breakfast.'"  "`They know that those who can are going to get the kind of access they can't imagine.'"
A hundred and fifty donors gave $40 million to this convention.  It's worse than Chicago, using your standards.  Are you offended by that, and what message does that send the average voter?

STATE REP. OBAMA:  You know, I think that politics and money are a problem in this country for both parties.  And I don't think there's any doubt about that.  One of the things I'm proud about, though, is that when you look at John Kerry's record, what you know is here's a person who is consistently voting on behalf of what he thinks is best for America and the country.  I don't think a convention changes that.  I do think that the more we as Democrats can encourage participation from people who, at this point feel locked out of the process, the stronger we are.  One of the strengths of our party has always been the fact that we are closer to the average Joe, the guy who is trying to make a living, the guy who's trying to send his kids to college and pay his bills.  And if we are actively reaching those folks and talking about the policies that we have to make this a stronger country, to make us more respected abroad, then I'm absolutely confident that we'll do well in November.

MR. RUSSERT:  Is it possible to do that?  You've raised $10 million in your campaign.  Won't those high-roller donors all have access to you more than the little guy?

STATE REP. OBAMA:  You know, one of the things I'm really proud of is that our base of donors is mostly made up of people who gave us 25, 50, $100 contributions.  We've got about 15,000 people who contributed to this campaign through a grass-roots effort.  And so I feel very confident, and I've got an eight-year track record in the state Legislature to back it up, that when I vote on issues, and when I'm listening to my constituents.  What I'm looking for are the people who I think need the most help and deserve the kinds of support that government needs to provide them.

MR. RUSSERT:  Are you going to be a liberal Democratic senator?  The Republican leader in the Legislature in Illinois said that you're to the left of Mao Tse-tung.

STATE REP. OBAMA:  Yeah.  That was a little overblown, particularly since I had co-sponsored about five bills with the guy.  You know, the rhetoric of Washington has filtered down into the state legislatures across the country, but I'm really not somebody who's comfortable with liberal-conservative labels.  I think what the American people are looking for are common-sense solutions.  I think they want to get beyond a lot of slash-and-burn politics.
I think one of the most encouraging things about John Kerry's campaign is the degree of hopefulness, reflected in his choice of vice president.  I think he's got a story to tell about how we want to make sure that every child in America can tell the same story I tell or the same story you tell or the same story John Kerry tells.  Which is that this country remains the greatest on Earth, not because of the size of our military or the size of our economy, but because every child can actually achieve as much as they can dream.  And that is what is most exciting about this convention:  thinking about how we can make that happen for more kids.

MR. RUSSERT:  Barack Obama, we thank you for your views.  We'll be watching Tuesday night and we'll be watching your campaign between now and November in Illinois for the U.S. Senate.

STATE REP. OBAMA:  It was a great pleasure.  Thank you so much.

Obama to weigh in on fiscal cliff as hours dwindle on compromise

Pete Souza/Official White House photo

President Barack Obama is interviewed by David Gregory of NBC's "Meet the Press" on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012 in an official White House photo by Pete Souza.

 

By Michael O'Brien, NBC News

As the hours remaining for action dwindle, Washington and the nation prepared to hear more from President Barack Obama about the outlines of an acceptable deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff while Democratic and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill labored through what would normally be a relaxing holiday weekend.
After tasking the Senate with generating a compromise that would avert the onset of across-the-board automatic tax hikes and spending cuts on Jan. 1, the president was set to address some of the trade-offs he might accept in an interview Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

President Barack Obama meets with NBC's David Gregory on Meet the Press Sunday morning. Gregory explains that for the president, this has become a matter of principle.

The round-the-clock talks were the byproduct of a meeting at the White House on Friday between the president and congressional leaders from both parties as the urgency to avoid the New Year's Day deadline increases.

Those discussions produced a shift between the generally unilateral negotiations between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and toward new negotiations between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and his Republican counterpart, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

PRESS PASS: Obama on 'Meet the Press' in Sunday exclusive

For his part, Boehner has demanded that the Senate act first to produce legislation, on which he said the House would act — to either approve or amend it.

But the Saturday negotiations between Reid and McConnell appeared — outwardly, at least — to yield little in the way of consensus. Obama said Friday that if the Senate leaders could not strike a deal, he would ask Reid to advance bare-boned legislation that would preserve tax rates on income under $250,000 and extend expiring benefits for the unemployed.

Related: Senate leaders work to beat fiscal cliff clock

A Senate Democratic aide said Saturday afternoon that Democrats were preparing to move ahead with that very plan and were not particularly optimistic about the prospects of reaching an accord with McConnell, whom they characterized as offering proposals he knows the Democrats will not accept.

Reid did not go to the Capitol on Saturday, the aide said, and talks played out primarily at a staff level and talks were expected to continue.

A Senate Republican aide, meanwhile, cautioned against expecting an announcement or news before tomorrow afternoon, at which point senators will be briefed then about the weekend talks. The House will also return for work on Sunday evening, around 6:30 p.m. ET.

"We have been in discussions all day, and they continue. And we will let you know as soon as we have some news to make," McConnell told reporters Saturday as he left the Capitol. "We have been trading paper all day and talks continue into the evening."

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

NBC's Mark Murray explains the "blame game" that would ensue in Washington should the U.S. go over the "fiscal cliff."

With his interview Sunday morning, Obama might look to add a new sense of urgency to the last-minute negotiations to avoid the fiscal cliff, which itself is an outgrowth of lawmakers' inability to reach any consensus in the past two years about how to address taxes and the rising national debt.

Obama led Democrats this year by campaigning for re-election on allowing the 2001 Bush tax cuts — which the president in 2010 agreed extend for two years past their original expiration date — to end for the wealthiest Americans. Republicans struck conciliatory notes after Obama's victory in November, but that language has given way over the course of negotiations to more familiar sniping over taxes and spending.