thank you so much for joining me on a busy, busy news day. we have a lot happening in the next two hours. including standing by for president barack obama getting ready to speak live at the white house to reveal his plan for taking on poverty in america's poorest communities. this is a promise he made one year ago during his state of the union address and the timing is significant because the issue of income equality really has become the forefront of the national conversation and also timing-wise, we are about a month away from the next state of the union. we will take you live to the white house for that. first, this. a tough day for new jersey governor chris christie. he is heading to ft. lee, new jersey to meet with the mayor. he wants to apologize to him face-to-face and for more than an hour to be precise, 108 minutes we all watched a much more measured version of the often tough talking chris

christie. he announced he fired a top aide. he said he halted the climb of his former campaign manager and apologized. he did a lot of apologizing to everyone over his staff's conduct in the george washington bridge lane closings that jammed traffic for four days last september. some of the words he used to describe his experience. he said he was blindsided, heartbroken, stunned. we will play a piece of this for you and stand by, we will be talking to a news maker. senator barbara buono who was mentioned in the exchanges over text and e-mail. stay tuned for that. we will get her reaction. did she think chris christie was sincere. first, governor christie. >> i am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team. there is no doubt in my mind

that the conduct that they exhibited is completely unacceptable and showed a lack of respect for the appropriate role of government and for the people that were trusted to serve. i believe i have an understanding now of the true nature of the problem. i have taken the following action as a result. this morning i terminated the employment of bridget kelly effective immediately. i terminated her employment because she lied to me. i am heartbroken that someone who i permitted to be in that circle of trust for the last five years betrayed my trust. i would never have come out here four or five weeks ago and made a joke about these lane closures if i had ever had an inkling

that anyone on my staff would be so stupid to be involved and so deceitful as to not disclose the information of their involvement to me. when directly asked by superiors. ultimately i am responsible for what happens under my watch. the good and the bad and when mistakes are made, then i have to own up to them. take the action that i believe is necessary to remediate them. i spent all day yesterday digging into talking to folks and getting to the bottom of things. i know there was discussion about what was i doing? let me you, i was blindsided. i had no knowledge or involvement in this issue.

in its planning or execution. i am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here regardless of what the facts ultimately uncover. this was handled in a callus and indifferent way and not the way the administration conducted has and not the way they will conduct themselves over the next four. everybody in the country who engages in politics knows that. on the other hand, that's very, very different than saying that someone is a bully. i have very heated discussions and arguments with people in my own party and on the other side of the aisle. i feel passionately about issues and i don't hide my emotions. i am not a focus group tested,

blow dried candidate or governor. that has always made people uneasy. some people like that style and some don't. i said i think you asked the question, are you willing to change your style in order to appeal to a broader audience. i think i said no. i am who i am. i am not a bully. i am sure i might get to the stage where i'm angry, but i don't break things. gosh no. you need to understand this. i am standing here resolved to do my job and do what i'm supposed to do, but i am a very sad person today. that's the emotion i feel. a person close to me betrayed me. a person who i counted on and trusted for years betrayed me.

a person who i gave a high government office to betrayed me. i probably will get angry at some point, but i have to tell you the truth. i'm sad. i'm a sad guy standing here today. very disappointed. that's the overriding emotion. someone asked me that before. that's the overriding emotion. i know that because of my bluntness and my directness that people think of course he must get behind that door and be a lunatic when he's mad about something. if you asked this staff, it is the rare moment in this office when i raise my voice. >> chris christie speaking for 108 minutes today. we were sitting in that room and first former christie opponent, barbara buono joins me live. welcome. >> thank you for having me.

>> you were specifically mentioned in one of the exchanges between christie's aides. it was a text message. first, did you watch all 108 minutes? how do you think dpof nor christie did? was he severe? >> i did not watch it. i caught a clip of it. the issue is these e-mails reveal a tangled web of deceit and i have a hard time believing the governor knew nothing about it. there is a lot of discipline. it's top down and to suggest that the governor did not know

when his chief of staff was part of the planning and the cover up when his campaign manager, part of the political operation for two campaigns was aware of it and involved in it and named in the e-mails, when his long time it leads directly to the governor's office. that's why i called on i think this warrants an investigation. there is a lot of unanswered questions and all of the e-mails we have are severely redacted. we need to address this issue which raises serious issues of character and credibility. >> senator, let me show the viewers. we are talking about all these text exchanges and e-mails. this is one specific text between an unknown person who was appointed to the port

authority by chris christie himself. he said is it wrong that i'm smiling. i feel badly about the kids, i guess. it continues on. they are the children of the but ohno voters stuck on the bridge during these lane closures. when did you learn that you were mentioned in the exchanges and what was your reaction? >> i was incredulous. i didn't believe it. i had to read it twice. what really surprised me and blew me away is the abject -- they didn't care. they just didn't care about the impact on regular people and the children. it was so glib and so arrogant and entitled. that really blew me away.

i heard a lot in politics. >> i'm sure you have and i want to get back to the department of justice and what you want. i have to go back to the original point. we heard from chris christie saying he had zero knowledge of any of these exchanges and any of this so-called vendetta against this mayor. we heard from the governor calling it his family. they should be equally loyal. are you saying he's lying to us? >> there was a lot of mistruths in this scenario. two of the governors's high appointees justified the lane closures you may remember by making up a traffic study. now we know there was no traffic study. two lies to begin with.

then the governor was asked whether or not anyone in his administration had any knowledge of the lane closures. he went back to his administration and he came back and said no. i'm a trial lawyer. there is something in trial law that if you have a witness that lies once on the witness stand, you can ask the judge for a jury instruction that also in one, false in all. if somebody lies once, it casts a cloud on their credibility for their entire testimony. i think there enough unanswered questions, just today. to evoke the fifth amendment. >> multiple times. here you sit. at the statehouse, we are

talking about new jersey politics. chris christie asked about his own bullying tepratin. he said no i'm not. do you think this further exacerbates this stereotype of new jersey politicking. >> well, it doesn't help. during the campaign i said on more than one occasion, the dpof nor was good at making jokes, politics should be more about entertainment. it's too important. it's about their life and children's lives. the governor in my estimation is the worst example of bully and boss and that's how he has conducted himself. the people of new jersey have suffered. >> senator barbara buono. >> reacting to chris christie in

the room in trenton. we have john king. you pointed out earlier what we really couldn't see watching this whole thing. he was flanked by senior staff to his left. take me inside that room and tell me, how do you think he did? >> in terms of coming up with the number one challenge was to take responsibility and not saying this was my staff and he did that and did that repaidly. he apologized and said he was humiliated and embarrassed and said he was angry a bit and thought he would get more down the road. in terms of this day, you are hearing with the exception of the democrats. most in chris christie's face. there unanswered questions. in terms of his taking charge of this, his taking responsibility for this, the governor came into that room today a very different tone. you heard him combative and

calling reporters stupid and calling them idiots. he was patient and stood there for an hour and 48 minutes. he did what he needed to do today. the question is do the facts down the road in the weeks and months ahead come up with anything that contradicts what he said? is there anything in the public record, anything in the testimony to come that will contradict his flat out statement i knew nothing and i had nothing to do with this. i do not have a climate or culture that encourages this. that's the part we will learn down the road. in terms of his performance today, there were a lot of republicans who would not say anything. today republicans are beginning to come out in washington here in new jersey in the primary states and saying he did what he needed to do and he took responsibility. he wins this day and doesn't lose. we are not done. the investigations will tell us where this goes. >> john king, i believe the word

was blindsided when he learned about this. we will play the exchange and the back and forth is part of this news conference. we will see you once again in trenton, but up next, a panel is standing by to go through and discuss kristi's future on the national stage. whether he could be held liable. i told it was a busy thursday. president obama will be speaking on how he will battle poverty. it's a promise he made a year ago. it comes as the country debates income and equality. you will take it live. you are watching cnn. [announcer] word is getting out.

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liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? that coffee breaks down tooth enamel. thankfully, she uses act restoring mouthwash. it rebuilds tooth enamel, making your teeth two times stronger. act. smile strong. . >> it's easy for people to be characterized batesed on personalities. i understand why people who would characterize that as bullying if they don't like you. >> chris christie said no, he is not a bully and had nothing to do with the traffic jams created in new jersey as an active pay back with the mayor of ft. lee.

ashl ashley banfield, at the center of the scandal, he has been testifying today before the state legislature and i know you have been listening and have been listening. he's not saying much. >> no. you don't get to hear anything when someone pleads the fifth and it doesn't look good. >> stated august 5th, 2013 on the advice of counsel, i assert my right to remain silent. >> he pleaded the fifth at this hearing. a little background, he is a childhood friend of chris christie's and appointed to the port authority. me his role in this whole thing and really just the implications of pleading the fifth. >> his role is that he is in the

e-mails that are so hot button issues with regard to chris christie that acknowledge there is a role within the aides in the closure of those lanes that led to so much consternation and difficulty in that town of ft. lee. they said they were troublesome when a 91-year-old woman died. it's hanging out there. mr. wildstein was on the e-mail saying certain things implicated him in that. now he is sitting having to answer questions about this because it came out in the last 24 hours and he said i assert my fifth amendment privilege and i am not going to answer that. not a bad idea and now the u.s. attorney based in new jersey has said we are in fact investigating this issue as a matter of federal crime. look. anything he said now can and will be held against him. >> par mentioned the issues with the crews and kids not getting to school. there legal issues of causality

and whether or not there could be criminal charges. back to david wildstein and the fact that he is testifying today, i want to go back to december. you have the same committee and take a look. this is the manager of the george washington bridge who is apparently ordered by wildstein to close the lanes. this goes back to september, creating the big nightmarish traffic jams. take a look at this and watch how closely he chooses his words. watch. >> does mr. wildstein and he currently still works for the port authority. does he have the ability to terminate your employment? >> i suspect he does. >> okay. so it would be fair to say you did have a concern about continued employment if you went outside his direction?

>> i honestly don't know how to answer you. >> either you did or didn't. >> i was not fearful that i was going to get fired because i didn't want to tempt fate. >> you thought this was a possibility. >> anything is possible, mr. chairman. >> so that sounds ominous. anything is possible. he could lose his job or worse. we don't know. bigger picture to you is this is how new jersey politics works and how does chris christie fit into that. does he exemplify the culture and is he enemy number one? >> after watching the two-hour or 108 minutes of chris christie's press conference today. i kind of believe he may not have known every last detail of this, but we will be looking to try to find out. and it's painful to watch. it reminds me not just of new jersey or new york politics or

politics at all, but you see this in universities. you see this sometimes in the private tenthor and newsrooms from time to time. people who have power and create these and exercise a reign of terror and intimidate people and are arbitrary and capricious. what i saw there is that there is a lot of that going on. this incident whether it's in trenton and the statehouse or in the port authority itself. there is a problem here. i think a lot of people can understand. >> we have a development with his testimony. can i let you know what has come out of this. they voted to actually hold him in contempt for not answering the questions. that's a misdemeanor under new jersey code. >> i have to hit pause and go to washington. thank you so much. we will get back to governor

christie and to the white house we go. our senior correspondent there, brianna keilar. we are waiting for the president to designate the six regions of the country that he has deemed necessary to infuse job creation, tax breaks, etc. tell me more about this. >> these are economic promise zones. this is snag president obama stated in his state of the union address. one of the interesting things about what's going on in the white house is guess who was at this event. mitch mm connell was in the senate as well as rand paul and one of the zones is actually southeastern kentucky that of course is in their states. they expressed skepticism that this is anything but a distraction from obamacare woes and say that it's similar to something they supported in terms of economic programs and economically depressed area and they are here for this event.

>> let's listen to the president. >> welcome to the white house, everybody. that was one of the best instructions i have ever had. we are so proud of kiara for that intersection and sharing your story. just so poised. i know jeff is out there all excited. and proud. i know your mom is proud. i know she is. she should be. kiara and the rest of these young people grew up in a 97 square block section of harlem. as a place where the odds used to be stacked against them every single day. even just graduating from high school was a challenge. with the help of some very dedicated adults and a program called the harlem's children zone, they are right on track to go to college. together. students and teachers and

administrators and parents and community. they are changing the odds in this neighborhood. that's what we are here to talk about today. changing the odds for every american child so no matter who they are and where they are born, they had a chance to succeed in today's economy. the good news is that thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of the american people, all across the country, our economy has grown strongly. our business created more than 8 million new jobs since the depths of the recession and our manufacturing and housing sectors are rebounding and auto industries are booming. we have to keep our economy growing and make sure that everybody is sharing this that growth. we have to create jobs and then we have to make sure that wages and benefits are such that

families can rebuild a little bit of security. we have to make sure this recovery which is real leaves nobody behind. that's going to be my focus throughout the year. this is a year of action. that's what the people expect and they are ready and willing to pitch in and help. this is a job for everybody. working people are looking for the kind of stable secure jobs that too often went overseas in the past couple of decades. i will join companies and colleges and take action to boost high tech manufacturing that attracts good jobs and grow the middle class. business owners are ready to hire more workers. that's not once, but twice to lay out steps to help more workers to earn the skills they need for today's new jobs and

second to put the long-term employed back to work. i want all of them to try to keep it shorter than usual. they are cheer iing and making sure our economy offers every american who works hard a fair shot at success. anybody who works hard should have a shot at success. doesn't matter where they come from and the region and what they look like and what their last name is. they should be able to succeed. obviously we are coming off of this political year, but i genuinely believe this is not a partisan issue. when you talk to the american people, there people working in

soup kitchens and people who are mentoring and people who are starting small businesses and hiring neighbors. very rarely are they checking if they are democrat or republican. there is a sense of neighborliness that is inherent in the american people. we have to cap into that. i have been happy to see that there republicans like rand paul who are ready to engage in the debate. we have democratic and republican elected officials who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. this should be a challenge that unites us all. i don't care whether the ideas are democrat or republican. i care that they work. do i care that they are subject to evaluation and you can see if we are using tax dollars in a certain way and starting a certain program, i want to make

sure that young people like kiara are benefiting from it. it's thing to say we should help more americans get ahead, but talk is cheap. we have to make sure that we do it. i will work with anybody who is willing to lay out concrete inside to create jobs and help more families find security and offer ladders to climb into the middle class. personally i hope we start by listening to the majority of the american people and restoring unemployment insurance to support families while they look for a new job. i'm glad that republicans and democrats are working to extend that lifeline. i hope their colleagues will join them. today i want to talk about something very particular. a specific example of how we can make a difference. we are here with leaders who are determined to change the odds in their communities the way these

kids and parents and dedicated citizens have changed the odds. it's now been 50 years since president johnson declared an unconditional war on poverty in america. new avenues of opportunity for generations of americans that strengthen the safety net for working families and seniors. americans with disabilities and the poor so that when we fall, you never know what life brings you. we can bounce back faster and it made us a better and stronger country. the speech 50 years ago, president johnson talked about communities on the on out skirts of hope. where opportunity was hard to come by. today's economic challenges are different, but they resulted where wrenching economic change made opportunity harder and harder to come by.

there communities where for too many young people it feels like the future only extends to the next street corner. too many communities where no matter how hard you work, the destinies feel like it has been determined before you took that first step. i'm not just talking about pockets of poverty in our inner cities. now that's the stereotype. i am talking about suburban neighborhoods hammered by the housing crisis and manufacturing towns that still haven't recover after the local plants dried up. islands of rural mark that they were scarce even before the recession hit. young people feel like they have to leave town to succeed. leave their communities. i have seen this personally even before i got into politics. this is what drove me into politics. i was two years out of college when i moved to the southside of chicago and hired by a group of

churches to help organize a community that had been devastated when the steel plants closed their doors. i walked through neighborhoods and walked through boarded up houses and boarded up schools and single patients and dads who had nothing to do with their kids and kids who were hanging out on the street without hope or prospectses for the future. these churches came together and started working with the local nonprofits. the government and local and state and federal participated. we started doing things that gave people hope. they don't have the answers. no mamt of money can take the place of a loving parent in a child's life. i did learn that when communities and governments and businesses and not for profits work together, we can make a difference.

kiara is proof. all these young people are proof. we can make a difference. for the last 17 years, the harlem children's zone, the brain child of jeffry was here today. it has proven we can make a difference and operated on a basic premises that each child will do better if all the children around them are doing better. staff members go door-to-door and recruit soon to be parents, preparing them for those crucial first few months of life. making sure that they understand how to talk to the child and read to their child and sometimes teaching the parents how to read so they can read to their child. give them the healthy start they need. then early childhood education to get kids learning at 4 years old. then a charter school that helps

children succeed through high school. medical care and healthy foods that are available close to home and exercise. i was pleased to hear that -- michelle was pleased to hear that they have a strong physical ed program. then they find internships and apply to college. an outstanding staff to make sure nobody slips through the cracks or falls behind. this is an incredible achievement. the results have been tremendous. today they are better prepared for kindergarten. a study found that students who win a spot in one of the charter schools score higher on the tests than those who don't in a neighborhood where higher education was once something that other people did. you have hundreds of kids who have gone to college and harlem is not the only community that found success taking on these challenges together. in cincinnati, a focus on education helped to make sure

more kids are ready for kindergarten and they redesigned high schools and boosted graduation rates. in milwaukee, they cut teen pregnancy in half. every community is different. the different needs and different approaches, but communities making the most progress have things in common. they don't look for a single silver bullet. instead they bring together local government and nonprofits and businesses and teachers and parents around a shared goal. that's what jeffrey did when he started the children's zone. government was involved. so don't be confused. it has an important to play. there government resources going into the communities, but it's important that our faith institutions and our businesses and the parents in the

communities themselves are involved in designing and thinking through how we move forward. the second thing is they are holding themselves accountable by delivering measurable results. we don't start projects just for the sake of starting. they have to work. if they don't work, we should try something else. they care deeply about how they will subject these programs to that test. in my state of the union address, they will identify more communities like these. urban and rural and tribal where dedicated citizens turn things around and challenge them. they said if you can demonstrate the ability and the will to launch an all encompassing

approach to reducing poverty and expanding opportunity to get the resources. we will take resources from some of the programs that we are already doing and concentrate them and make sure our agencies are are working more effectively. we will put in talent to help you plan. we are also going to hold you accountable and measure your progress. if you are doing real stuff that is making a difference in the lives of young people. we are going to be there. your country will help you remake your community about behalf of family boy family and block by block. we call these promise zones and neighborhoods where we will help local efforts to meet one national goal that a child's course in should be by the scope of her dreams and not the zip

code she was born in. we are here oeds to announce the first five promise zones in america. i could not be prouder to be joined by mayor eric garcetti of los angeles and the mayor from philadelphia. councilwoman taylor from san antonio. one of the tribal leaders from the kentucky highlands investment corporation and the leaders from the neighborhoods who are helping to make it happen. on the east side neighborhood of san antonio, nearly four in ten adults don't have a high school diploma. the schools and community members are focused to boost math and science in high school and putting more cops on foot patrol to make neighborhoods safer. it's a project worth investing

in a section of l.a. that stretches from piko union to hollywood. the population decreased by 13,000 people in ten years. developers are working to build more housing and technical students and community colleges are helping to get the training they need to get jobs. it's a project worth investing in. in philly, nearly four out of every ten kids lives below the poverty line. local universities helping connect middle and high school students with mentors to get them ready. you have a super market that will create jobs and provide healthy food where there is too little of both. we are going to invest in that. senator mitch mcconnell's home state and communities struggling for decades with shutdowns and layoffs. they are taking steps locally initiated to track new businesses and new jobs in new

industries. you have a local college that is expanding training and help more kids get a higher education. then the nation of oklahoma where up to half of the residents live in pof efforty and leaders are determined to change things. they are making financing available to help women start businesses and investing in new water and sewer systems that will make the area more attractive for companies looking to locate there and they are helping farmers and ranchers create more jobs and more families there by get access to healthy foods. these are america's first five promise zones. over the next three years, we are going to help launch 20 in all. each of the communities is designing from the bottom up, not the top down. what it is they think they need and we are working with them to make that happen. each of these communities prepared to do what it takes to change the odds for their kids.

we will help them succeed. not with a handout, but as partners. with them. every step of the way. and we are going to make sure it works. we are going hold them accountable to make sure it is making a difference in the lives of kids. as a nation, we have plenty of reasons to hope. and i just want to end with one story to give you a sense of what we are talking about here. roger brown came here today from harlem. where is roger? there he is. i used to have a haircut like that. and maybe after i am done with the presidency -- i'm going back to that. growing up, i want to you listen

to roger's story. it's unique and special, but also representative. growing up, roger spent some time in the foster care system. before going to live with his mom who was working two jobs to make ends meet. when roger was in 6th grade, his mom entered his name in the promise act charter school lottery and prayed. roger won a spot. now, the way i hear it, roger, you were still having problems sometimes. he was the class clown and acting out and almost got himself expelled. but the teachers and the staff did not give up on him. they saw something in him and kept pushing him. one summer when roger was home visiting his foster family, he looked around the room and realized nobody in that room had gone to college. nobody in that room had a job.

at that moment something click and roger decided he wanted something better for himself and for his mom and two sister who is looked up to him. roger buckled down. he went from failing his classes to passing his classes and became a member of the first graduating class at the promise academy and today roger is a sophomore at hunter college in new york, one of the best colleges in the country and the first person in his family to get that far. now he wants to go to medical school and become a neurologist. if you top the know why i care about this stuff so much, it's because i'm not that different from roger.

there was a period of time in my life where i was goofing off. i was raised boy a single mom. i didn't know my dad. the only difference between me and roger was my environment was more forgiving than his. that's the only difference. if i screwed up, the consequences weren't quite as great. so if roger can make it and if i can make it, if kiara can make it, every kid in this country can make it. we have to believe in that. we can't just give lip service to them. it can't just get caught up in a bunch of political arguments. there legitimate questions about how the best way to do this is. how we can make progress. there legitimate debates on how big of a role is government in that process and how big of a role is the private sector and

no disagreement that there has to be individual initiative. it has to start inside. roger had to have a change of attitude and i did and kiara probably didn't need a change of attitude. she was focused. the whole time. we don't dispute that, but we do know that sometimes we talk about this stuff as if we care and don't deliver. we don't follow-through and make the effort. it's not sustained. we lose interest. then we say to ourselves, maybe nothing can be done. we put up with it. and as a consequence, a lot of our kids get lot of. we can't allow that to happen. that's what the promise zone represents. i want more kids to have the chance that roger got.

i want more kids to have the chance this country gave me. we should all want every one of our kids and their families to have a shot at success. if you are willing to dream big and work hard, you should grow up with the same opportunities in as any other child in any other place. that's what we are fighting for. that's what america is about. so let's act. let's make it happen this year. all right? thank you. god bless you. god bless america. >> the president of the united states with a bunch of kids in the east room of the white house. this is the first time president obama has officially come forward and detonated the first five that he calls promise zones. we will have a bigger discussion. this is l.a. and san antonio, philadelphia, southeastern kentucky and oklahoma. this is explaining to you is what he is talking about. with a little help from the

government to help better these troubled neighborhoods and these parts of the country for at least the children. better access to education and housing and public safety so that kids are not held back as the president said as zip codes, but can forward themselves from hard work. let me bring in our chief analyst with gloria borger and the chief correspondent who is standing by for breaking news out of washington. we'll will get to you first. my question is on timing. we know when the president alluded to this in the stayed of the union where he promised partnering with 20 different cities across the country. why talk about this now in the lead up to the next state of the union? >> i think he is going to talk about it again. i think he sees a right political moment here. republicans have been through an election in which poll after

poll showed they did not care about the middle class and understand the problems of evident people. that's why you see potential republican presidential contenders like rand paul as the president mentioned and the economic freedom zones and marco rubio zones stream line federal poverty programs. this is something they can talk about with the president and in fact probably pass a legislation to deal with the poverty issues. it only will help the american public believe they care about the people on the lower rungs of the ladder to try to bring them up to the middle class. >> you mentioned before we heard from the president we know rand paul is there. the top republican in the senate from kentucky. mitch mcconnell is there.

to the broader point, this notion and theme we have been hearing of income and equality. a couple of days ago he was talking about jobless benefits and millions of americans who are searching if are work. this is really an important point for the president lately. >> that's right. it's a big message umbrella that a lot of things fit into. the unemployment benefit fight going on right now. we are expecting there to be a fight on increasing the minimum wage which the white house and senate democrats and congressional democrats support. this is something that sort of falls under that umbrella and trying to in some cases you talk about increasing economic productivity in places that have been hard hit and loan assistance for small businesses and trying to give job training so that for those people whose industries have gone away, they can pivot to do something else. this is a push that president obama coordinated with

congressional democrats as trying to move forward in this mid-term election year. something that worked for him in reelection and talked about trying to give the middle class a fair shot and trying to be the champion of the middle class. this is a take on that. in this year, he wants the democrats to remain in control of the senate. >> thank you very much. let's head down the road to your colleague and mine who is standing by for us. on capitol hill, you have breaking news. budget negotiators and unemployment deal. where does it stand? >> according to a source close to the negotiations, there very, very close to getting a deal to extend those long-term unemployment benefits. the ones that you have been discussing and the ones that democrats have started this year off as a part of the president's discussion on income inequality. you know the first hurdle was crossed earlier this week

because six republicans joined on. those republicans were demanding that any extension be paid for and offset in other cuts. these negotiators have come up with some of those paid fors or offsets. we are talking about extending the benefits until november of this year and cost about $18 billion. they would pay for that in various ways by extending part of the spending cuts or sequester and also by doing away with what's known as double dipping in unemployment benefits and social security benefits. they have been broken between harry reid and his colleague from nevada. they have included senators from rhode island. whether or not they can get on

board and whether the republican senators who agreed to start debate on this. many of them, we have talked to them and they haven't seen the details of this. it sounds from sources who are close to this, they are getting very, very close to having a deal that could be a break through. this comes from the senior producer, ted barrett. so good like that. thank you very much. finally to you as we talk on the senate side, i feel like you and i have spoken about this. how much of a roadblock will that be? >> we don't know at this point. it depends on how you are going to pay for all of this. i think there going to be lots of democrats by the way who don't want to extend some of these mandatory cuts that will have to be extended to pay for this.

republicans who say we have to find another way. ted is i think as he usually is ready of a lot of senators who haven't seen the details. to go to the previous conversation about why this is in the interest of both parties to get it done. it's on the way to getting other things done. the public overwhelmingly believes and the republicans don't care about their problems. this is one way for to you get this out of the way and move on to other issues. >> thank you both very much in washington. the big story today hearing from governor chris christie for 108 minutes what is probably considered the most personality news conference of his political career this far. we are live in ft. lee, new jersey. up next. well ladies, now there's big news

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>> just about the top of the hour, it has been a busy, busy news day. new jersey governor chris christie hopes to personally apologize. we are talking face-to-face to the mayor of ft. lee, new jersey for the whole george washington bridge scandal. the back stories, the traffic was snarled for four days back in september when lanes entering the bridge that connects manhattan to ft. lee, new jersey was closed. when you look at the e-mails and text messages, they show a senior christie aide was involved. today in trenton, new jersey, we saw chris christie announcing he fired that aide. she is deputy chief of staff bridget kelly. he also put a stop to the climate of his former campaign manager. governor christie spent more than an hour and a half apologizing very publicly. >> i am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of

some of the people on my team. there is no doubt in my mind that the conduct that they exhibited is completely unacceptable and showed the lack of respect for their appropriate role of government and for the people that were trusted to serve. i believe i have an understanding of the true nature of the problem. i have taken the following action as a result. this morning i terminated the employment of bridget kelly effective immediately. i terminated her employment because she lied to me. i am heartbroken that someone who i permitted to be in that circle of trust for the last five years betrayed my trust. i would never have come out here four or five weeks ago and made

a joke about these lane closures if i had ever had an inkling that anyone on my staff would have been so stupid but to be involved and then so deceitful as to not disclose the information of their involvement to me when directly asked by their superior. ultimately i am responsible for what happens under my watch. the good and the bad and when mistakes are made, then i have to own up to them. take the action that i believe is necessary in order to remediate them. as i mentioned to you earlier, i spent all day yesterday digging in to talking to folks and getting to the bottom of things. i know there was much discussion yesterday about what was i

doing? i was blindsided yesterday morning. i had no knowledge or involvement this this issue. in its planning and execution and i am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here regardless of what the facts ultimately uncover. this was handled in a callus and indifferent way and is not the way this administration conducted itself over the last years and not the way it conducted itself over the next four. >> i am heartbroken about it and incredibly disappointed. i don't think i have gotten to the angry stage yet, but i am sure i will get there. i'm stunned. what does it make me ask about me? it makes me ask about me, what

did i do wrong to have these folks think it was okay to lie to me? there is a lot of soul searching that goes along with this. >> the final bit was in response to this man's question, john king. the national correspondent was in new jersey in the room. he seemed like a much more muted or measured governor from the normal chris christie we are use said to seeing in news conferences such as these. how do you think he did? >> well, brooke, if the facts that come out in the weeks and perhaps months of investigations that follow support the governor and there is nothing, zero evidence that show he was involved in this and knew about it before yesterday. he even in any way inspired a culture or said anything nasty all of which he said he did not do and did not know.

he feels betrayed and humiliated. if the facts support the governor, he probably did a good job in terms of political theater. it was fascinating. this was a man who is known for being combative. a reporter at the press conference saying that is stupid or silly or go away. he was very measured and calm and stayed in the room for an hour and 48 minutes and kept answering questions about it. he knew the stakes of the moment. his personal credibility is at stake and his viability. both as he prepares to begin his second term as governor and came out with a landslide win. democrats say the wind is out of his sails and as he moves on in 2014. maybe as the president. it was clear the gravity of the moment and he was trying to make clear he will hold anyone accountable. if the facts turn up more, heel hold them accountable. he did not lose this day.

his supporters think he won and we will watch how it goes forward. >> one of the many questions moving forward is why did these inner cirques as he referred to them as family, why would they do that? let me play part of the exchange and talk about it on the other side. >> i am just asking, what do you ask yourself about? they thought this was what the boss wanted or as a group, they were ready to do this and cover it up and lie to you? >> obviously i said earlier, john. i'm heartbroken about it and disappointed. i don't think i have gotten to the angry stage yet. i'm sure i will get there. i'm just stunned. what does it make me ask about me? it makes me ask about me, what did i do wrong to have these

folks think it was okay to lie to me? >> what did i do wrong? we were all listening to his answer. i know some of the questions had been bigger pictures are leadership questions. let's take him at his word. he knew nothing that he was blindsided as he said yesterday. still, is there something bigger here? if he does have as operations to think these are the people he would vekt to be closest to him. >> that is the question. remember republicans have been critical of president obama and he said he doesn't know the nsa was monitoring angela merkel. he said i didn't know. when there were mornings that the obamacare website said, i didn't know and republicans have vilified saying what kind of leader and manager are they. what kind of president are you? that's the same that governor christie will face. what is the leadership and the

management in his office. now about a handful of people who were involved in this. we will see where the investigation goes. they were in his inner circle. they were number 664,000. they were closer to those who did this. either what made them think he wanted them to do this. what were the types of people knowing the stakes in a reelection campaign when he is thinking about running for president. if they wanted to do this, they tried to cover it up. why would they do this. they would so burn him. that's the question he will ask himself now. >> john king, thank you so much. just a short time ago, she is state senator barbara buono. she was mentioned in the message

exchanges linked to the whole traffic lane closure and the messages feature and knowing for years and years at david wildstein. a person asks this. is it wrong that i'm smiling? i feel badly about the kids heading to school on the bridge. they are delayed. he texted had his reply of buono voters. here is barbara bouono reacting. >> these e-mails reveal a tangled web of deceit and subtro fuj and pay back. i have a hard time believing the governor knew nothing about it. what surprised me and blew me away is the abject -- they department care. they just didn't care about the impact on regular people and on

the children. it was so glib. >> again, governor christie said he was blindsided and that was the messages that he did not know of any link between the staff and the lane closures on the george washington bridge. let me bring in another voice. you know her as one of the conservative hosts of crossfire. nice to have ow. >> thanks. >> there is no love lot of among a number of conservatives. take a look as one example. this is outside of the cnn calling them fact and furious. you watched. >> i did. yesterday i was one of i think a lot of people who were skeptical at the idea of a notion that

chris christie had no knowledge or involvement. about the lane closure pay back scandal. we thought i think that he had to have some knowledge if not explicit experience in that situation giving an order of some kind. today frankly his press conference was very convincing. not only did he hit all of the right notes. i'm sad, i'm sorry, i'm responsible and accountable and embarrassed, he spent over two hours answering every question i thought very patiently which he is unaccustomeded to. admitting that i'm responsible. the buck stops with me and i will get to the bottom of this. i was blindsided as hard as it is to believe, i think i'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. if it comes out over the next few weeks and there will be

investigations, that he knew of an inkling, even the smallest inkling that this was going to happen, his credibility is gone. those were bold face lies he just told to the american people. if this turns out not to be true. i hope for his sake it is. >> the federal government is investigating, but back to glen beck with full transparency, you work for cnn and glen beck. why is glen beck detest chris christie so much? >> i interviewed him for working for piers morgan and he called him a fast disaster. >> why? a fat nightmare i think it was. >> he es chews establishment republicans and democrats on both sides of the aisle. he likes free thinkers and folks outside of the box. he sees chris christie as a type

a politician and finds that uninspiring. these not alone. there plenty of far left city party conservatives who have real problems with chris christie. even moderates who are concerned that he won't play as well in places like north carolina or iowa. as popular as he is and as many people like him and want him to run for president, he still has issues in the park. this is not going to help. it's not as easy as he thinks. fund-raise and speak alongside other republican governors. this is different. >> he's a popular guy. when you look at the polling, let's throw this up on the screen. he is the only candidate among registered voter who is can beat hillary clinton. you see the numbers. two percentage points ahead. final thought would be -- what if it comes out he was telling

the truth. nothing to do with this. do you think this whole thing taints him as a candidate? >> for does not paint a pretty pictures of politics in trenton. his hands are not clean even if he knew nothing. he admits he is ultimately responsibility, but democrats will try to hang him on this. over the course of investigations and the next few months, democrats are going to be after him about it. that could paint an ugly narrative whether it's true or not. it could likewise result in a big of overreach for democrats. if it turns out chris christie was blindsided and betrayed by his staff members and acted quickly and decisively and recovers and moves on to a new story line, this is totally survivable. >> good to see you. we see you each and every night as much as we can on crossfire right here on cnn. we are all over this story for you. it is a fast moving story and lots of parts. we will have much more from chris christie.

throughout the hour, coming up next hour, people are reacting to the scandal and this news conference on behalf of the news conference with people who live there. you will hear their direct sfons what he had to say. a little later, could chris christie face krim nat charges for this whole bridge closer debacle. the nationally renounced lawyer said yes. we will get his perspective and hear why the laws could face legal trouble. stay here. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com.

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. >> new jersey governor chris christie fires a top aide and apologized to them with the lane closings. the jammed traffic for days in september. many people in ft. lee, new jersey and cnn asked me. here's what they told us. >> like him, but we have to start somewhere.

on a proek yool level and a local level, can you imagine this guy? >> i thought it was rather stupid because even though politics are what they are. the more subtle ways to accomplish the goals they may have had and a few with the mayor in terms of political endorsements. to do it that way is ridiculous. >> i think he is doing the right thing. he feels it in his soul that he didn't do anything wrong and they are trying to get him. they don't want him to run. it's not the good nice politics of yester year. >> that's what people told us.

others said christie handled it well and he is trustworthy. >> he is planning to head to lee to visit the mayor and apologize face-to-face. this is the city where the lanes and the bridge were closed. the busiest bridge from the u.s. that connects manhattan to ft. lee. he wants to apologize in person. what is the reaction from the mayor there? >> as you know, there is a lot of back and forth with this whole episode of whether or not the governor was going to come here to ft. lee and end up meeting with the mayor. first the mayor said he felt as though the governor coming here would be premature. he felt as though it would be disruptive for the community that clearly has already been disrupted because of what happened. through all this back and forth, the governor would chopper his way in.

apparently he will land at a high school a half block from here. barricades are getting set up awaiting his arrival. the meeting should take place around 3:30 or 4:00 and take place behind closed doors. once again the mayor made it clear and you remember when governor christie was holing that press conference. the mayor was holding a press conference of his own. initially he said not a good idea. i want you to listen who to what he had to say. >> we are only sdmg a polite and respectful way, please, please, we have been through a lot. we are not saying no. we welcome the apology and i may have asked for one. it's just that to do it now in light of what transpired over the last 24 hours, it's just going to cause more chaos. we don't need it at this point. i have to tell you, i think you

ought to wait for the investigation to conclude. we will spend a lot of gas coming up and down the turnpike. when he was questioned about coming here, if the mayor doesn't want to meet with me, i will come anyway and meet with them. it should be taking place from 30 to 40 minutes possibly longer. both sides are moving. these moving parts you have a lot that has to take place before they can get together behind closed doors. we are hoping when that meeting is over, we will hear from the mayor about how that went. the mayor said he wanted to

apoll jaa po apologize to the may orchlt could chris christie face criminal charges. one prominent lawyer said yes, we will talk to him live. more breaking news out of missouri. a teenage girl accused another student of rape and said she was cyber bullied and eventually run out of town and now we know whether the accused rapist will be charged. that's next. stay right here.

>> welcome back. i'm brooke baldwin. a missouri girl said she was raped. daisy coleman said she was not only cyber bullied after going to police, but her family was run out of town of maryville, missouri. the prosecutor moments ago said that coleman and her mother accept the plea deal that just happened today. the accused rapist pleaded guilt tow a misdemeanor charge of child endangerment and coleman

is 14 at the time outside of her home, drunk in some 20 degree weather. barnett will do community service and has to apologize to coleman. he had no comment outside the court. >> matthew barnett accepts full responsibility for the conduct and we are pleased that the court accepted his misdemeanor plea and the agreement of the parties. could be clear, the charge to which he plead guilty reflects the conduct for which he should be held accountable. two highly skilled prosecutors from two jurisdictions have independently concluded that felony charges are not appropriate in this matter. further there is absolutely no evidence that political favoritism played a role in the decision. there were no sex charges.

as a prosecutor, i tell you i stand here by my oath always. my job is to analyze evidence. in this case there was insufficient evidence to go forward on a sexual assault. >> let's go straight to outside of that courthouse in maryville, missouri. you were inside and me more about what you saw and heard. >> it was quite a brief hearing. when we got the papers acknowledging what this was going to be, it was the first on the misdemeanor charge. basically he is charged and immediately filed a plea deal. we saw him sign the guilty plea saying that this effectively ended his run in the courts. he said he did not want the trial and would plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge of endangerment for leaving this girl outside of a parent's home

wearing only yoga pants and a shirt in the dead of winter. the legal system has run the course by accepting this and finding out that there was not enough evidence to file any further charges. they spent two years on probation. >> how is daisy pullman doing. >> we spoke with her mother and she did not want to come to court. she wanted to be with her daughter. she is still in the hospital, we understand. she attempted to take her own over the weekend. this is something her mother told cnn. she was being subjected to bullying over facebook and obviously a young woman who is still struggling in the aftermath of all this. >> thank you so much for us and missouri and to our legal analyst, sunny hostin. sin, first to you. your reaction. >> i think we have to listen

carefully to what the special prosecutor said. she analyzed the evidence and she didn't have enough evidence to go forward. prosecutors have to have enough evidence to go forward. i think it's important to note that. she has consistently happened that he left her out in the cold, 20 degree weather. she accused him of rape and taken him to the hospital and a rape examination was conducted. many believed there was evidence of rape. she said it was consensual sex and i think this is actually a sad day for victims of crime.

especially sexual assaults and that is why they don't come forward. they get dragged through the mud and this girl was sort of vilified on facebook and harassed by her own community of young girls. sort of wearing the scarlet letter we often see of vehicles of sexual assault. >> she still is. from the defense perspective. i hear you saying what you can prove and how do you see this. >> it's so interesting because while i agree with a lot of what sunny just said to the extent that it's a victory, it's a hollow one. from a defense perspective, i really understand why we got to this place. there was a lot of controvercy about whether or not daisy was cooperative or whether she was interfering with or at least not cooperating with the investigation. if you remembered the sheriff and the original prosecutor said

she was uncooperative and all the key witnesses not only were uncooperative and were asserting their fifth amendment privilege. that's why the prosecutor got involved because of the public outcry. i get that now the special prosecutor sees that there is difficulty in moving forward with the case. all of that said, critics will be crying about it because the defendant was that part of a family that is prominent and wealthy and influential and there is a lot of subtext here. ultimate low it does come down to what can be proved in court. i very much understand why this case was not prosecuted. the sleeves off of the special prosecutor's vest to say that now there is a criminal conviction secured and somehow

the victim and family should feel okay about it. >> sunny hostin, thank you very much. coming up, much more on the story of the day. chris christie in a 108 minute long news conference. he took responsibility and apologized and fired a staff member. could he himself face charges. not just civil, but criminal. we will talk live to this man, the prominent attorney who said criminal changes are indeed possible. he will walk us through and explain how, next.

>> in this scandal. we heard christie say he did not know the traffic jams were planned. the deputy lied to him about her potential involvement revealed in the e-mails and the text messages. he said he fired the aide. a lot of legal questions and with us from miami, constitutional lawyer, the alan dershewitz. let's begin with the column that

was written. we will throw that to the side and we will talk legal here. the legal theories of causation, explain what you mean. >> for looks at a harm that has been caused. there is a woman, a 91-year-old woman who died. did she die result of the traffic jam. there were a lot of missed appointments and medical and business appointments and children came to school late. they said what causes the harms. and clearly the people who originated the traffic jams and approved them are guilty and probably guilty of crimes. their actions led directly to very significant harms,

particularly if they can demonstrate that the woman died as a result of the traffic jam. if they are convicted or prosecuted, they may well want to save themselves and say don't believe what the governor said. he is the who created the atmosphere or told us or implied it would be good to take revenge. maybe we decided which way, but it was following his orders to take revenge. this could put him at risk. >> to be crystal clear, if we take chris christie at his word and he said he knew nothing until yesterday and if he didn't directly, but indirectly caused the harm by shutting the lanes leading this to elderly woman's death, he could face a criminal charge. >> he could. there is a concept known as willful blindness. do what to you to do to take

revenge. i don't want to know the details. what will rid me of this bothersome priest. we teach this stuff in our law classes. there is a famous case where somebody called 911 and misdirected the police, telling them to go somewhere where there wasn't a crime. somebody was killed. the person who made the 911 call may be guilty of the crime and liable. they said it's not exacting within that to have your entity. will they culminate? nobody knows. it depends on the evidence and whether the two people he fired decide to get revenge and say wait a minute, we are not taking the fall for this whole thing. the governor told us to take revenge and we were following his orders. >> here's the issue of whether or not that plays out in new

york and new jersey and who can't relate to sitting in a traffic jam. there a lot of factors. >> right, but it shouldn't be new jersey. it will be new york. that's why the prosecution should face in new york where he has no power and no authority. >> thank you very much. where this goes within the justice system as well as his future political career. coming up next, taking shots. several media outlets take aim at the governor's weight. is it fair or foul? why some conservative hosts dislike christie so much. that's next. plus, the family and the president of north korea is responding to dennis rodman's apology for his outburst next on cnn.

. by now i know you have seen the exchange between chris cuomo and dennis rodman who has been hanging out with his friend, dictator kim jung unand some of this is former buddies. we now know that dennis rodman apologized and submitted his apology and admitted to being drunk and kenneth bay is the american being held hostage who

in the interview blamed kenneth bay for being in north korea and put the blame on his end. we are now getting reaction from kenneth bay's family to dennis rodman's apology. this is what the family said. i am quoting in part. as rodman has stated, being drunk and stressed is not an excuse for what he said, but we acknowledge he is human and all do make mistakes. we hope and pray that rodman's comments and ongoing antics have not further endangered my brother. that is exactly coming from the family of kenneth bay. with the coverage of chris christie's bridge gate and many consider it a high stakes scandal that took low blows against him. looking at the media coverage, this is from "new york daily news" and a fat chance now.

again there is this. this is a tweet from glen beck, fat and curious. revenge is sweet and probably salty. joining me now, a columnist. nice to have you on. >> thank you, brooke. >> it's nastiness, joe. coming from members of christie's own political party. >> i get a kick out of the fat jokes with chris christie. he lot of over 70 pounds. i talked about being at the gym earlier. when a guy who gets lap band surgery and takes responsibility like president obama with smoking or george w. bush never took another drink after age 40. you have a problem and you take responsibility and the fat jokes come although he is clearly thinner. i don't get that. glen beck is not exactly the owner of an hour glass figure. i love it when people don't look

like michael phelps have a little pot belly themselves. >> glen beck has a lot to say with chris christie. >> but let me ask you about this. let me ask you about the real world. chris christie is the real world. >> no, chris christie is a fat -- nightmare. >> wow, right? i don't know how to formulate the words for the questions. if he continues to lose weight, do they go away. if he were a woman, would we have this discussion? >> never if we were having a woman would we have this discussion. what it's doing these days and particularly with these stories. it's overblown or the worst thing since watergate.

with christie, you would think it's a left and right issue. he is the top gop contender as far as 2016. recent poll has him beating hillary clinton. >> by two percentage points. he's a threat to the left as a republican. but where it's fascinating is when the right media jumps in. i live in new jersey and i see what he has done. he balanced budgets and taken on unions. if you are a republican, you are like that's great. with the tea party and the right flank, they see him as too liberal because of his stances on gay rights or the nra. most personalitily, this will never go away more than the fast stuff. the embrace at sea side heights and the jersey shore of president obama after super storm sandy that put obama over the top of romney in 2012, that was seen as political treason.

they see that as unforgivable. he has never fully been accepted by the right wing despite being a conservative. >> the surprise of last year. we should point out that glen beck is a libertarian. amazing survival stories of people in major plane crashes, but were the only ones to survive. this is part of a film called sole survivor. plus this. >> we have an update on this shocking video. shows adults cursing. child protective services is involved. above the strip mall off roble avenue. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. and of those who believed they had the power to do more. dell is honored to be part of some of the world's great stories. that began much the same way ours did. in a little dorm room -- 2713.

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imagine this, if you fly a lot, maybe it's something that you think about. imagine your plane goes down and you're the only one to escape the wreckage alive. that's the premise of "soul survivor." this story is of four people. each of them the only survivors of four major airplane crashes. a co-pilot of the flight that went down after takeoff from kentucky back in 2006 killing everyone on board except him. he says his survivor's guilt put a deep strain on his marriage. >> couldn't imagine, one, somebody doing this on their own, and, two, i wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. i've cried harder than any other

man has ever cried or should be able to cry and my wife was there to support me to where i could put my head on her shoulder and cry. it's that constant struggle where my inner voice wants to keep going forward and the good voice says, yeah, come on, you have that inner strength to do it but the bad voice says, no, stay here. have another shot of liquor. i was doing a dr. jeckyl and mr. hyde and her being my caregiver at the time 24 hours, she was the one who had to put up with the intense roller coaster ride, if you will, of my feelings. so has it gotten better in the five years? yes. but do i still have the bad days that she still has to put up with? yes. >> 49 people on board that flight were killed, including the man sitting next to jim in the cockpit, captain jeffrey

clay. his wife amy clay joins me now along with the man who investigated the deadly com-air flight. amy, i want to begin with you because obviously you weren't on that flight but as a widow, did you suffer survivor's guilt yourself? >> you know, i think that the knowledge of just even a small portion of the responsibility for the accident was something i had to wrestle with and then i felt strongly that i needed to stand up and do his part and do what he would have done to make things as right as he can. every day i think of everyone else who lost people on that flight and my heart just gives out to them. it's something that i've had to wrestle with for seven years now. >> how do you put your feet on the ground and move forward every single day? >> well, honestly, in the beginning it was because i have

two amazing, amazing daughters. my girls were 3 months old and 2 when jeff died and, you know, as a parent, any parent knows, you get up and do what has to be done every morning and i have had to a lot. as time passes, life picks up and things get easier but my girls have been such blessings and have really given me something to live for and just to get me through the day-to-day. >> thank goodness for those girls. and shawn, just listening to amy, it's been seven years. emotional. how important is it for victims and families to really get the answers to the questions, you know, as far as what went wrong? >> yeah. i think it's extremely important, brooke, that they continue this pursuit and try to figure out what happened to their loved ones, what happened to that moment in time. and try to gain the answers to

how these situations actually evolved. how do we go from everything being fine to everything not being fine. >> amy, i'm curious if you've been in touch with the man sitting next to your husband, with jim, with others. is there a community of those who at least support one another in this such a unique situation? >> i stay in touch with jim and with his wife. we didn't know them before the accident but obviously after ward we had this bond. no, i mean, i've spoken with the family or two here or there but i live further up in kentucky and i never, ever want to put anybody in a position where they have to, i don't know, feel like i guess they have to be kind to us or make a choice about how they feel about us. so i just kind of try to give them their space and always try to respect them and know that i have to do what i have to do and they need to do what they need

to do. i hope that makes sense. >> i think it does. as best as i can possibly understand not being in your shoes. amy, we appreciate you and the best to you and your daughter and shawn, thank you for joining me. please watch tonight at 9:00 eastern, sole survivor" at 9:00 eastern.

a toddler is in protective custody after a video showed him getting brutally cussed out by adults. the toddler wearing only diapers, he curses right back to the adults. authorities said they found nothing criminal but found safety concerns as they were visiting the home so they took three other kids into custody as well. don lemon, my friend don lemon has been all over this "outfront" all week. you just got off the phone with protective custody authorities. >> they can't give me much information about where they are but you laid it out there for me. this was initiated by the police and then the prosecutor's office looked at it, determined there was no criminal activities but

then police determined along with child protective services that these children, that they should go out and probably remove this child from the home and when they got there, they saw three other children. what they are saying is that this affidavit to remove the children, the affidavit was not filed by the police because it was not -- there was nothing criminal found. >> okay. >> so if it is found by police and it's criminal, they have 48 hours that they can hold these children in protective services. and then after that, there has to be a court hearing to continue it. but since it was filed by protective service, now, brooke, there has to be a court hearing to determine what should happen to these children next. so now it appears that they may be kind of in the system and it's going to take a while to find of figure out what happens next. >> let's back up because we've talked to the police union that posted this video on the web side and they said, quote, it shows a cycle of violence and thuggery. you've been talking this week

about race. so in your discussions, what role has race played in the authority's response to the video? >> people are on opposite ends of the issue. this one video only shows a little black kid and so, therefore, it shows this black kid in a bad life and so it does that for many other black children. my argument and other people's argument has been that the thug culture is not just about african-americans, right? it is not solely in the african-american community because i hear people who curse their kids out and say, you know, ungodly words to their kids and their kids say ungodly words back. >> white kids. it's all over vine, social media. >> absolutely. so the concern is that police were acting as therapists or sociologists or what have you in this particular case and people don't believe that's the role of

the police department. it wasn't the police department that did it. it was the police union saying, look, this is what we're up against and the head of the union talked to me. >> we'll see you at 7:00 "outfront." don lemon, thank you. "the lead with jake tapper" starts right now. presidential hopeful chris christie tries to skid into the bridge. in his news conference than he probably has his whole political career. i'm jake tapper. he said he's embarrassed, humiliated, but not a bully. governor christie apologizing but saying he did not know anything about an ark orchestrated traffic jam in new jersey. the world lead. what a day for mea