53 overcome by carbon monoxide at Atlanta school

At an elementary school in Atlanta, fire crews found dangerous levels of carbon monoxide thought to have originated from the school's boiler. NBC's  Gabe Gutierrez reports.  By Becky Bratu, NBC News Updated at 10:17 p.m. ET: Forty-three students and six staffers at an Atlanta elementary school were rushed to the hospital early Monday after exposure to carbon monoxide fumes, fire officials told NBC News. The students and staffers from Finch Elementary in southwest Atlanta exhibited mild and moderate symptoms related to carbon monoxide poisoning. Four more adults arrived at Grady Hospital by school bus, hospital spokeswoman Denise Simpson said. The school was evacuated as a precaution, NBC affiliate WXIA reported. The incident was first reported at about 8:35 a.m. ET, according to WXIA. No one was found unconscious at the scene, but the carbon monoxide reading was 1,700 parts per million, which an Atlanta Fire Rescue Department official said was high. "Once we got inside, we started finding carbon monoxide readings way, way higher than we've ever experienced before, especially around the heating units and hallways, and the entire building turned out to be saturated," Atlanta fire Battalion Chief Todd Edwards told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Edwards also told the Journal-Constitution the school apparently doesn't have carbon monoxide detectors. However, state law does not require schools to have CO detectors, a spokesman for Georgia's Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner told the newspaper. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. Erik S. Lesser / EPA Students are evacuated from Finch Elementary School by members of the Atlanta Fire Department in Atlanta, Dec. 3, 2012. Almost 50 people were reportedly taken to the hospital for treatment following a carbon monoxide leak. More content from NBCNews.com: Florida guide uses hunting as rustic therapy for combat veterans Police: Kansas City Chiefs linebacker kills girlfriend, then himself Cuba pushes swap: its spies jailed in US for American contractor held in Havana Passengers killed when tour bus hits Miami airport overpass Women warriors pass elite Army training course Teacher lured boys online to get nude pics, cops say 66 species of coral proposed for protection by US Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

49 overcome by carbon monoxide at Atlanta school

Teachers and students were hospitalized after being overcome by carbon monoxide in Georgia. NBC's Chris Clackum reports. By Becky Bratu, NBC News Updated at 6:44 p.m. ET: Forty-three students and at least six staffers at an Atlanta elementary school were rushed to the hospital early Monday after exposure to carbon monoxide fumes, fire officials told NBC News. The students and staffers from Finch Elementary in southwest Atlanta exhibited mild and moderate symptoms related to carbon monoxide poisoning. The school was evacuated as a precaution, NBC affiliate WXIA reported. The incident was first reported at about 8:35 a.m. ET, according to WXIA. No one was found unconscious at the scene, but the carbon monoxide reading was 1,700 parts per million, which an Atlanta Fire Rescue Department official said was high. "Once we got inside, we started finding carbon monoxide readings way, way higher than we've ever experienced before, especially around the heating units and hallways, and the entire building turned out to be saturated," Atlanta fire Battalion Chief Todd Edwards told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Edwards also told the Journal-Constitution the school apparently doesn't have carbon monoxide detectors. However, state law does not require schools to have CO detectors, a spokesman for Georgia's Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner told the newspaper. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. Erik S. Lesser / EPA Students are evacuated from Finch Elementary School by members of the Atlanta Fire Department in Atlanta, Dec. 3, 2012. Almost 50 people were reportedly taken to the hospital for treatment following a carbon monoxide leak. More content from NBCNews.com: Florida guide uses hunting as rustic therapy for combat veterans Police: Kansas City Chiefs linebacker kills girlfriend, then himself Cuba pushes swap: its spies jailed in US for American contractor held in Havana Passengers killed when tour bus hits Miami airport overpass Women warriors pass elite Army training course Teacher lured boys online to get nude pics, cops say 66 species of coral proposed for protection by US Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

48 overcome by carbon monoxide at Atlanta school

A Georgia elementary school has been evacuated after an incident of carbon monoxide poisoning. MSNBC's Thomas Roberts reports. By Becky Bratu, NBC News Forty-three students and five staffers at an Atlanta elementary school were rushed to the hospital early Monday after exposure to carbon monoxide fumes, fire officials told NBC News. The students and staffers from Finch Elementary in southwest Atlanta exhibited mild and moderate symptoms related to carbon monoxide poisoning. The entire school was evacuated as a precaution, NBC affiliate WXIA reported. The incident was first reported at 9 a.m. ET. No one was found unconscious at the scene, but the carbon monoxide reading was 1700, which Atlanta Fire said was high. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion.  Please check back for more on this developing story. More content from NBCNews.com: Florida guide uses hunting as rustic therapy for combat veterans Police: Kansas City Chiefs linebacker kills girlfriend, then himself Cuba pushes swap: its spies jailed in US for American contractor held in Havana Passengers killed when tour bus hits Miami airport overpass Women warriors pass elite Army training course Teacher lured boys online to get nude pics, cops say 66 species of coral proposed for protection by US Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

31 overcome by carbon monoxide at Atlanta school

By Becky Bratu, NBC News Twenty-nine students and two staffers at an Atlanta elementary school were rushed to the hospital early Monday after exposure to carbon monoxide fumes, fire officials told NBC News. The students, who exhibited mild and moderate symptoms related to carbon monoxide poisoning, were from two different classrooms at Finch Elementary in southwest Atlanta. The staffers included one teacher and one cafeteria worker. The entire school was evacuated as a precaution, NBC affiliate WXIA reported. The incident was first reported at 9 a.m. ET. No one was found unconscious at the scene, but the carbon monoxide reading was 1700, which Atlanta Fire said was high. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion.  Please check back for more on this developing story. More content from NBCNews.com: Florida guide uses hunting as rustic therapy for combat veterans Police: Kansas City Chiefs linebacker kills girlfriend, then himself Cuba pushes swap: its spies jailed in US for American contractor held in Havana Passengers killed when tour bus hits Miami airport overpass Women warriors pass elite Army training course Teacher lured boys online to get nude pics, cops say 66 species of coral proposed for protection by US Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Frum: A tax we could learn to love

David Frum says a carbon tax would encourage smart growth, freeing more people from traffic jams. David Frum: Carbon dioxide emissions worldwide are at record levels To strike a blow against climate change, U.S. should enact a carbon tax, Frum says He says it would provide revenue, allow for middle-class tax relief, spark economy Editor's note: David Frum, a CNN contributor, is a contributing editor at Newsweek and The Daily Beast. He is the author of eight books, including a new novel, "Patriots," and his post-election e-book, "Why Romney Lost." Frum was a special assistant to President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2002. (CNN) -- Global emissions of carbon dioxide hit a record high in 2011, scientists from the Global Carbon Project reported last week. Another record is expected in 2012. The earth continues to warm, and to warm fast, with serious consequences for human life and welfare. 2012 saw the worst drought in the United States in half a century. Russia suffered its second bad drought in three years. Climatic shocks to these two countries are raising food prices worldwide, posing an especially acute threat to the world's poorest. Major storm events strike harder and more often, because warming oceans create conditions for fiercer hurricanes. The New York Times reported Friday: "Emissions continue to grow so rapidly that an international goal of limiting the ultimate warming of the planet to 3.6 degrees, established three years ago, is on the verge of becoming unattainable." Become a fan of CNNOpinion Stay up to date on the latest opinion, analysis and conversations through social media. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion and follow us @CNNOpinion on Twitter. We welcome your ideas and comments. This ominous news arrives as delegates gather in Doha, Qatar, for the latest annual round of climate talks sponsored by the United Nations. Few expect the Doha talks to produce much decision. Yet there is good news on the environmental front, important news. Carbon emissions in the United States have declined since 2009 -- not emissions per person (those have been declining for decades), but emissions in absolute terms. The weak economy explains part of the decline, but the real hero of the story is the natural gas fracking revolution. A decade ago, half of all the electricity generated in the United States was generated by burning coal, the most carbon-dense fuel of them all. Today, coal's share of the electricity mix has plunged to one-third, as utilities substitute cheap natural gas. Gas production has become much cheaper with the growth of fracking -- forcing open rocks by injecting fluid into cracks. Gas emits about half as much carbon per unit of energy as coal. Australia introduces carbon tax Sandy a taste of things to come Europe's aviation carbon tax on hold Environmentalists have responded warily to the advent of gas. They prefer zero-emissions power sources like wind and solar -- sources made more uncompetitive than ever by ultracheap natural gas. (Today's price: about $3.50 per thousand cubic feet, down about 70% from the prices of the mid-2000s.) Moreover, natural gas does little (as yet) to address emissions from automobile tailpipes. But maybe there's a way to cheer environmentalists up. Take three worrying long-term challenges: climate change, the weak economic recovery, and America's chronic budget deficits. Combine them into one. And suddenly three tough problems become one attractive solution. Tax carbon. A tax of $20 a ton, rising at a rate of 4% per year, would over the next decade raise $1.5 trillion, according to an important new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That $1.5 trillion is almost twice as much as would be recouped to the Treasury by allowing the expiration of all Bush-era tax cuts for upper-income taxpayers. The revenues from a carbon tax could be used to reduce the deficit while also extending new forms of payroll tax relief to middle-class families, thus supporting middle-class family incomes. Meanwhile, the shock of slowly but steadily rising prices for fuel and electricity would drive economic changes that would accelerate U.S. economic growth. The average age of U.S. cars and trucks has reached nearly 11 years, a record. Millions of Americans want new cars. They are waiting for market signals as to what car to buy. They want to know that if they choose a fuel-efficient vehicle, they won't feel silly three years from now when their neighbor roars past them in a monster truck because gas has plunged back to $2 a gallon. After five years of depression, the housing market is also ready for renewal. Again, Americans are waiting for market signals: Should they buy smaller houses nearer to work? High and rising fuel prices will encourage developers to build more mixed-use complexes that allow more people to live car-free: walking to work, entertainment, and shopping. The surest way to reduce fuel costs is to drive less. The return to more urban living is a trend big enough to sustain America's next great economic boom. To the extent researchers can measure, the daily commute appears to be the single worst recurring source of unhappiness in American life. If changes in city shape can offer more Americans the opportunity to walk to work through an attractive shopping mall, rather than waste 50 minutes in a car in a traffic jam, those changes will advance human happiness, spur new construction work, and incidentally save the planet. A carbon tax will also enable the United States and Europe to press China and India to reduce their carbon emissions. A properly designed tax would apply not only to domestic goods and services, but to imports as well. China and India would discover that their products no longer seem so cheap when a carbon tax at the border adds back the environmental costs of dirty manufacturing. To export to the world's richest consumers, China and India will have to clean up their act -- an incentive more persuasive than a hundred Doha conferences. More jobs and growth; reduced deficits without raising income taxes; lower taxes for middle-class families; a kick in the pants to Chinese polluters; and more happiness for American commuters -- one policy instrument can do it all. What's not to love about a carbon tax? Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Frum.

Brazile: GOP, break Norquist's grip

Grover Norquist's tax pledge calls for no more tax increases ever Donna Brazile: It's seismic that some GOP leaders are willing to defy his pledge She says Norquist's tax pledge has bound most elected Republicans to him for 25 years Brazile: Norquist is the man most responsible for GOP gridlock in Washington Editor's note: Donna Brazile, a CNN contributor and a Democratic strategist, is vice chairwoman for voter registration and participation at the Democratic National Committee. She is a nationally syndicated columnist, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and author of "Cooking with Grease." She was manager for the Gore-Lieberman presidential campaign in 2000. (CNN) -- Who is Grover Norquist? He's a private citizen, a conservative lobbyist, the author of the Taxpayer's Protection Pledge and president of Americans for Tax Reform. His idea of tax reform is no more tax increases ever again. And no closed loopholes unless matched by cuts in government spending. In the 113th Congress, the one just elected that will begin in January, 219 of 234 Republicans in the House signed his tax pledge; in the Senate, nine of 41 Republican senators signed it. By contrast, before the 112th Congress, which is still in session, 248 representatives and 41 senators signed it. The drop in support has brought the pledge into the media limelight. Norquist says the pledge was made to the American people. But Norquist is the sole enforcer of the pledge, which he keeps in a fireproof safe in his office. No one has dared to challenge his self-appointed role as enforcer on behalf of American voters. Until this past week. Four Republican senators, among them South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, as well as Rep. Peter King of New York, said they would willingly ditch their pledge, in Lindsey's words, "for the good of the country." In an equally significant move, Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole of the Republican Whip team told House Speaker John Boehner that he thought the Republicans should join President Barack Obama and immediately pass a tax extension for 98% of Americans who earn under $250,000. Become a fan of CNNOpinion Stay up to date on the latest opinion, analysis and conversations through social media. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion and follow us @CNNOpinion on Twitter. We welcome your ideas and comments. These declarations from Republican leaders are like political dynamite. And like well-placed dynamite, they might begin to break the logjam preventing effective leadership and legislation in Congress. Norquist, of course, doesn't think so. His tax pledge has bound most elected Republicans to him for 25 years. When King said that he felt his pledge was only for one Congress, Norquist compared the pledge to marriage vows, hinting King's wife should be worried. (I couldn't find "till death do us part" in the pledge. But then, I'm not a Republican). King replied that Norquist was "being a lowlife," words that caused almost an audible gasp among Republicans. You see, Norquist's pledge isn't about money; it's about loyalty. Is Grover's power overrated? Who is Grover Norquist? GOP softening tone on taxes Grover Norquist defends tax pledge Next to Mitch McConnell's pledge to defeat Obama in 2012, Grover Norquist is the man most responsible for Republican lockstep voting and gridlock in Washington. That top Republicans are willing to openly defy Norquist's pledge and that any are willing to buck McConnell and Boehner are seminal events in recent American history. It means some Republican office holders are actually listening to what the voters said in the 2012 elections: Help the middle class, work together, stop the finger-pointing. But McConnell and his collaborators are proceeding as if the 2012 election never happened. He and other Republican "leaders" apparently intend to extend the Republican campaign, disregarding the election and the people's mandate. They intend to push the Republican agenda that voters overwhelmingly rejected at the voting booth and in post-election polls. Boehner claims that Congress received its own mandate. But Republicans lost seats in the House and the Senate that they had expected to win. Besides, as Harry Truman used to say, "The president is the only elected official who represents all the people." John Podesta, President Bill Clinton's chief of staff, in writing about the fiscal cliff, said, "Obama didn't win just because of demographics: He won on the economy. ... The electorate understood that a vote for Obama was a vote for policies that would help the middle class and the working poor." Furthermore, "the public has joined the majority of leading economists in recognizing that a strong middle class, not ever more generous benefits for the wealthy, as the true engine of economic growth." The Peter Kings, Lindsey Grahams and Tom Coles of the Republican Party get it. There aren't enough cuts to offset $1 trillion in lost taxes from the excessive tax breaks the wealthy were given. The alternative is to harm our national security, weaken our defenses and cause some Americans to literally go without food. The Republican budget that passed the House, but not the Senate, before the election would cut food stamps as excess spending for unemployed parents. Extending the lesser tax breaks for 98% of all Americans is, indeed, a first order of business. Or as Cole said, "It's the right thing to do." There is money for these things. First, though, Republicans must break Norquist's insane hold on their party. More Republicans must put their country before someone else's agenda, and their Pledge of Allegiance before "The Pledge" to Norquist. It's merely a handful right now, but it looks as if the 75% of voters who approved of Obama's economic approach in exit polls to help the middle class and working poor are getting a voice in Congress. Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Donna Brazile.

Opinion: How Obama can win a deal

As deadline approaches, officials trying to find a solution to tax/budget issues Julian Zelizer: President Obama should look at how former presidents handled such issues Clinton broke promise not to raise middle class taxes; LBJ cut spending deeply Presidents who anger their party's base can use that to help reach a deal, he says Editor's note: Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of "Jimmy Carter" and of the new book "Governing America." (CNN) -- Most officials in Washington are dreading the consequences of falling off the fiscal cliff. President Barack Obama and his advisers have met in the White House trying to figure out a deal that will protect them politically while avoiding the draconian deficit reduction option that will occur should the parties fail to reach agreement. And on Friday he traveled to a Pennsylvania toy factory to seek public support to pressure Congressional leaders to pass legislation extending tax cuts for middle-income Americans. Obama is not the first president to confront the challenges of deficit reduction, one of the least pleasant tasks in politics because it forces elected officials to take things away from voters rather than do what they prefer: hand out benefits. In the next few days, the president would do well to look at how previous chief executives have handled this task. In 1967 and 1968, in a period of united government and regionally divided parties, President Lyndon Johnson grudgingly undertook a brutal campaign to push through Congress a 10 percent tax surcharge and spending cuts to curb the growing size of the federal deficit that had resulted from spending on Vietnam. Under pressure from Southern Democrats who controlled the key committees and their Republican allies, Johnson agreed to much steeper spending cuts than his advisers wanted him to so that he could get the package through the House and Senate. Become a fan of CNNOpinion Stay up to date on the latest opinion, analysis and conversations through social media. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion and follow us @CNNOpinion on Twitter. We welcome your ideas and comments. Many liberals were furious with the president, believing that he had sold them out and placed their programs in jeopardy. But Johnson had become convinced that the deficit reduction passage was essential to stabilize the dollar in international markets and ensure that the federal government had enough revenue to keep most of his domestic programs intact. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush undertook one of the most embarrassing about-faces in modern politics. Though he had promised in his 1988 acceptance speech, "Read my lips, no new taxes!" two years later Bush agreed with Democrats on a deal that implemented major restraints on spending while increasing taxes. The decision caused a firestorm. "Read My Lips: I Lied" said the New York Post. Republicans like Congressman Newt Gingrich were furious with his decision. To overcome this opposition, Bush took to the airwaves, making a speech in which he directly appealed to citizens to build support for this. Bush watched as his approval ratings plummeted. Gingrich refused to have his picture taken with Bush at the Rose Garden and publicly criticized the president. Tax cuts and political reality Sen. Barrasso discusses the fiscal cliff Obama & Romney do lunch ... no beef Three years later, President Bill Clinton took a stab at the deficit that continued to grow despite the 1990 deal. After the election of 1992 had made deficit reduction a major issue he used all his partisan muscle to push through Congress an increase in taxes for Americans earning $125,000 or more. Clinton abandoned his campaign promise that he would not raise taxes on the middle class. He allied with fiscal conservatives such as Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve who were insisting on deficit reduction. The bill was hugely unpopular. Every Republican voted against the bill, along with some blue dog Democrats. Many liberal Democrats felt that he had betrayed them. The final package increased tax rates and enacted spending cuts. Marjorie Margolis-Mezvinsky, a freshman Democrat who the administration pressured into casting the decisive vote in the House despite her knowing it would be politically devastating and despite her earlier opposition, lost her seat, as expected in 1994. "Goodbye Marjorie," Republicans had yelled when she voted. Clinton ended up benefiting politically from this controversial decision, as the economy boomed and deficit disappeared by the end of the decade, both providing his most lasting legacy. Angering the base is clearly part of what lies ahead for President Obama. Johnson, Bush, and Clinton all cut against what core members of the party wanted to reach a deal. At the most basic level, Obama will need to win enough House Republican votes for a deal and this will entail more cuts in domestic spending than liberals want to swallow. Equally important, the president will have to win over moderate Democratic senators who are nervous about reelection. In addition to helping achieve compromises on specific numbers, angering the base also has symbolic value to the White House. The criticism from supporters demonstrates that a president is bending over backward, pushing as far as he can, thereby offering an incentive for the other party to shift closer to the center. The president will also need to use the bully pulpit to sell the idea of sacrifice combined with the promise of growth. Obama must not simply work in closed rooms with House Speaker John Boehner. He must continue to take to the airwaves to build support for the bill. With regards to sacrifice, he must explain to voters why hard choices are necessary. He must tap into the legacy of Clinton by outlining the long-term economic rewards that could come from a good deal. Obama must also consider breaking some promises that he has made along the way. Johnson started his presidency by reducing taxes and assuring Congress he would not raise taxes to pay for his program. Bush did the same, as did Clinton. But when dealing with major challenges this is necessary. Effective politics is often about the need to be flexible. More than almost any other issue, deficit reduction requires this skill given that all the tradeoffs are unpopular. This might include being flexible on his assurances to avoid raising taxes on the middle class. Finally, the president will need to employ all the partisan muscle that he has. In 1993, Clinton famously leaned on Democrats who were dragged along kicking and screaming. Politics ain't bean bag, as the saying goes, and Obama must act like a tough partisan to win. Achieving a deal won't be easy and it won't be fun. But a deal is possible if the president throws all of his weight behind the effort. Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Julian Zelizer.