u.s. has tightened economic sanctions on iran to force the ayatollah s hand to halt its nuclear program. this morning iran s supreme leader rejected proposals for direct nuclear talks with the united states. there s a concern that the effects of tighter economic sanctions will not have the desired impact despite a drop in oil exports and currency value, the times reports say the restrictions already in place have done little to slow economic development in tehran. the washington post, u.s. senator bob menendez tried to intercede on two occasions for his friend, florida doctor salomon melgan whose offices were raided by the fbi. occasion officials found he overbilled medicare by almost $9 million and ordered him to repay. twice menendez contacted officials to say they were unfairly penalizing melgan who is a campaign donor. menendez has come under scrutiny. he later repaid $58,000 for
i m christine romans along with my friend, carol costello. happy day before friday. up first this hour, iraqi officials honoring the service and sacrifice of u.s. and coalition troops as well as their own. special ceremony at camp victory overnight. vice president biden was on hand. the event coming just weeks before american troops complete their withdrawal from iraq. cnn s martin savidge live in baghdad. we were hoping you could attend that ceremony but you could not. reporter: good morning to you, carol. you are right. we were told about 12 hours before that ceremony was to begin that members of the media were not allowed to attend. even though the buildup a week and a half we were told absolutely we would be there. the explanation that was given was security. does not appear we were the primary security threat but the concern was that they honl limited space. this is going to be held indoors for security reasons at a palace out there at camp victory because they neede
recall. hardcore democrats that are in business tell me how angry they are about what is happening in washington. during the tough economic times, the president may find it hard to do anything for those better off. they may be a key to better economy and what they need most. more jobs. bret: stark to hear lanny davis say it that way. afraid it s the truth. bret: thank you, jim. tax cut issue will be discussed on fox news sunday this weekend. house minority leader john boehner, chief deputy whip kevin mccarthy and steny hoyer will join chris wallace. majority leader hoyer says the house will vote next week on a bill opening the way for u.s. retaliation against china over its failure to increase currency value. the measure was approve today by the ways and means committee. supports say the inaction cost americans jobs. critics say the bill is an election year move to gain labor support and could lead to retaliation against
the people of china says it will take steps to let its currency trade more freely. it will have a more flexible trade policy. what does that mean for us at home? this has been a bone of contention between the u.s. and china for some time. here are the possible influences on the u.s. i say possible because it depends how they implement this, but this would make anything made in china, in theory, more expensive, which would make anything made in america more affordable. it may lead to higher prices for those things that you buy at walmart and the big discount retailers and all kinds of different consumer products, and it could eventually lead to higher interest rates. so is this a politically savvy move leading up to the g-20 summit? maybe the timing here is something that s interesting to note? china s currency value was set to be a headline topic. ali, what do they say in there?
the people s bank of china said this week it will have a for flexible foreign trade policy. what does this mean at home? here are the possible influences on the u.s., it depends on how they implement this. this would make anything made in china in theory for expensive and could help made in america. it might also lead to higher prices for those things that you buy at wal-mart and the big retailers and all kinds of products. and could eventually lead to higher interest rates is this a savvy move leading up to the g-20 summit? maybe the timing here is interesting to note where china s currency value was set to become a big topic.