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good morning, everybody. we begin at home, with the storm being called the snow-quester. the house convening an hour ago, trying to get a vote before wrapping up early. the. the snow has knolls stalled an outreach. the president will be having a dinner tonight at the jefferson

hotel. ten republican senators have been invited. this follows calls made to a group of republicans. lindsey graham, rob portman, bob corker, tom coburn and susan collins. >> i expect the president to talk to various members. frankly i wish he had done more of that over the years. we've had all of us very limited interaction with the president. he certainly doesn't have to go through me to call my members. so on the international front, seven days of mourning have begun for the polarizing leader of venezuela. live pictures as people are coming on ultimate en masse. the body being moved from a military hospital where he died taking through the streets and mass crowds. people started filling the roads last night as of news came he lost his two-year battle with cancer. as required by the constitution, an election is set for 30 days

from now. the white house issuing this statement, saying at this challenging time, the united states reaffirms its support for the venezuelan people and its interest in develop -- that relationship, as we all know, between chavez and the president, that was a rocky one, straight up to the end. there was no u.s. am intoes do recall there, there hasn't been one for months. mark potter has more. >> reporter: the quiet, somber feeling felt overnight after the death of president chavez has given way to a great you are outpouring of emotion today. right now his body is being moved from the medical tear hospital where he died, to the military academy where he was trained long ago. this is a long procession. miles of the city will be covered. it could easily take all day to

get that down. the parade route is expected to be lined by his supporter. many of the poor are expected to get the glimpse of the president. this would be a very, very emotional events. when the body does arrive at the academy, it will lie in state until the funeral on friday as the country continues with its seven days of mourning following the death of president chavez, and then there will be the election sometime in the future, maybe in a month or so, to determine his successor. >> mark potter, thanks so much. we want to say good morning to our wednesday political power panel. jackie kucinich, and james peterson, also the director of african studies at lehigh university, and republican strategist john braybender.

we had some of our elected leaders responding, mark i don't rubo reacting, saying the venezuelan people now have an opportunity to turn the page on one of the darkest periods in its history in a nation that deserves so much better than the socialist disaster. tom cotton saying after the welcome news of chavez' death, i hope the oppressed people will be able to live in freedom. and bob menendez saying chavez ruled with an iron hand and it's left with a political void we hope will be filled peacefully. what is the opportunity for the u.s. and venezuela to patch up the rocky relationship? >> first we feed the leaders to take a different kind of tone in this particular moment. in the aftermath of the passing of a national leader, you have to have some compassion for the folks who look up to the leader. but two, tyranny and mismanaged socialism is not the only way to

write the history. obviously why poor folks support him so much is because it may not be as efficient as, some of the policies he put in place helped poor folk in venezuela. they're sat at his passing. we have to be more sensitive to that, thomas. >> you talk about the tone, but let's remind everything how he talked about our president. >> translator: the devil came here yesterday. yesterday the devil came here. right here. right here. and it smells of sulfur still today. >> that was castro at the u.n. in reference to -- president -- >> chavez. >> excuse me, president chavez, talking about president bush was the -- sorry, i have castro on

the brain here, because i have a place to go. let me ask you, the tone that's needed, obviously there were strained relations, but where is the political opportunity here? james says we have to remember tone, but let's think about what is the opportunities? this is a country we do depend on for poly. >> we do, but let's not forget that chavez had a remarkably cozy relationship with ahmadinejad from iran, which probably tells you all you need to know about chavez. we should look at this as a hopeful opportunity. i think we should do everything we can to encourage full democracy, and hopefully we can put something in power who can have a good relationship with the united states, but let's not cry too many cheers for chavez. he was certainly nowhere near an american ally, and oftentimes was a very disruptive force. >> we also have him with the picture of castro. they were very tightly connected. and we know that the fact that the venezuelan people did hugely

support it, if we can show the massive crowds that have turned out, as his body was in its coven. this is big news. jackie, while we talk about what the diplomatic reaction of chavez' passing will be, we have this big news the president will hold this dinner, the gop dinner summit at the jefferson hotel. the names on this list -- this is a big collection of people. will it help with the president moving forward, and also the perception that he isn't willing to cross the aisle and meet with gop leaders? >> i think the white house sure hopes so. it depends on the substance that's discussed. he's also going to on the hill next week talking with senate republicans, and has asked to talk to how republicans as well. so i think the white house is

stepping up s i don't want to say theater but -- >> you can say it, go ahead, say it. >> the theater of reaching out to republicans, but like we've talked about before, the devil is in the details here, and it depends on what they discuss. you know, how they try to get things done. there's also when we look forward into 2014, there's still an incentive to not cooperate with this president. and especially on issues of spending. so, again, yes there's a dinner, yes he's coming up here, and we'll see how it works. >> lindsey graham has efusive about the president, because he's gotten a phone call from him. i want to play this for everybody. >> i'm very encouraged by what i see from the president in terms of substance and tone. he's calling people. this is how you solve problems. what i see from the president is probably the most encouraging engagement on a big issue that i've seen since the early years. >> how long was the conversation?

>> oh, about ten minutes. >> ten minutes, the president dialed him up. is this going to help with the fever breaking over this, the dinner, the calling, the actual getting together. when you personalize the situation, is that what's really needed and missing in this situation? >> i think what happened is the president went on thinks gloom and doom 2013 tour and sequestration didn't turn out the way he saw it, we saw that with the stock market frankly. he did at the 1/2 a lot of people. they're not going to sit there and listen to the president. they're going to offer real spending cut ideas. so i think this is a significant step. >> the president also has a long-standing relationship with someone like coburn, who he was friendly with while in the senate. these are people that he's interacted with throughout his presidency and back when he was

a senator. >> is this a recalibration? has john brought up the stock market, that's completely different from exquisite railin railings. >> the sequestration is not a loss for the president. it's a loss for american government and the american people at our government's incapacity to negotiate and have a balanced approach to addressing our economy. the rise in the stock market, to try to tie that to sequestration is political and economically inaccurate. there's a lot going on in the world that have been a part of this recovery for wall street for some time. to try to politicize that doesn't seem to me to make much sense, but the president has shown over the course of his time in office that he's willing to work with republicans. so that people can see when he invites or tries to sit down with republicans and trying to come to a compromise, it seems

like they will this time around. jackithank you all. joining me is the ranking democrat on the social security subcommittee. sir, it's good to have you here. let's talk about the outreach taking place in washington, d.c. we have senator susan collins talking about a phone call she received from the president saying even though it may be belated, it seems the president seems to be extending an olive branch. rob portman saying this is the last best chance. do you appreciate the president's strategy at this point right now, because we are as a country living through the first round the sequestration. is this the right ray proven from the white house? >> surely it is. i'm glad the president is doing it, because the gulf is very wide and it's deep.

is the republicans have taken the position no revenues, now a single dime. that's not tenable. they'll have to move off of that. i think having discussion with the president, and see what he has in mind, talking about spending cuts and revenues having a balanced position, i think it's a good idea for the president to reach out, and i hope the republicans respond. balance means two sides, and we'll see if the republicans respond. >> congressman, we saw this report-setting day on wall street. the dow jones up by 25 points right now, so setting the strong start for another big day, as we look at what politico is saying about obama crying wolf when it comes to squegs railings, with an early strategy 345red by hype, poor planning and muddled messaging, do you think the president and white house has over-hyped and overplayed their

hand, and the fact that the country and wale just isn't living through sequestration. >> i was just reading press releases from michigan. nih funding in michigan, $30 million will be lost in basic research. in oakland county, in livingston county, they'll begin to cut hours for teachers in head start. so there's reality here. maybe at times there's been an overstatement, but the basic fact remains that sequestration is a harmful idea. it's going to hurt in many, many respects. it's going to hurt the economy if it continues, so the fact that the market is up one day, and i think that's a positive development, it shows the economic plans of the president basically have been helping but i think you'll see a dip if sequester continues, it's going to hurt defense, it's going to hurt economic growth, it's going

to hurt lots of basic programs for the american people. >> congressman levin, thanks for taking the time for mer. again, the president meeting tonight for this gop senate dinner at the jefferson hotel. thanks again, sir. >> good to be with you. the government is closed today, but inspected it's the snow-quester. we'll get a live report on the major snowstorm hitting the capitol. plus buy or beware. the dow still riding high today, but not so great on main street. what should el do with your stocks? we know, you've heard they have one, the white house cancelling tours, do you think that's necessarily or politically motivated? because of the sequester, not allowing people to tour the nation's house. we've all had those moments. when you lost the thing you can't believe you lost. when what you just bought, just broke.

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more now on one of our top stories, the death of venezuelan president hugo chavez. some singing his praises, others say good riddance meanwhile, thousands have turned out to pay respects. as you're witnessing right there, chavez' body being taken to the military academy to lie in state for the next three days. traveling through the streets. this is a process that could last the entire day. joining me is vanessa newman, a native of venezuela. as we're showing you the live pictures, amazing pictures coming occupy venezuela. from your point of view, what are the people of venezuela feeling. what does it demonstrate to the rest of the world. >> thank you for having me on,

thomas. the major effect of chavez is major division, pitting one half of the country against the other. what this shows is the stream and possibly violent division in the country late last night, as i said, i have family there still. pro-chavez mourners were setting fires to the tents, ambulances going around of the previous anti-chavez protesters, ambulances going around, parts of the city cordened off. so these are his supporters who view him now as a christ of the latin-american's poor and view him as martyred. in their view he died as a soldier battling for the country and battling for cancer. it all plays into the same narrative. it shows the same problems that venezuela will have. again seven days of mourn. the next name to watch is nicolas maduro, the interim

president until an election can be held. we're hearing people, though, stocking up on food and supplies. >> yes. >> is maduro the logical replacement, the person most likely would win that election, and seems to have been hand-picked by chavez himself? >> the fact that he was anointed by chavez is why he'll be the presidential candidate. there were a few shifting sands. the psuv party is a coalition of very uneasy coalition, and they try to battle each other to see who might be president, but now that he's being martyred, the only -- he'll have the halo effect. if the others want to remain in power, they'll basically have to back him. the military has said they will back maduro for the presidency. he doesn't have the charisma, but he does have the anointment, and although the opposition candidate has done very well,

the fact that the election will be in 30 days, if they do follow the constitution this time, which they haven't recently, then they're likely to win it, because they have the infrastructure, the money and everything else. >> we'll be watching it over the next month. thank you very much for coming in. >> thank you for having me. the sequester has not shut down the federal government, at least not yet. we'll leave it up to this major snowstorm we're following. government offices closing in d.c., the white house daily briefing has been canceled. congress is ultimate canning out early, but jim cantore is sticking around. plus a big moment for gun control. senator chris murphy weighing in on this new bipartisan plan. but first today's producer pick brought to us by tammy xwloom. take a look at this, a russian war vet reported missing in action while fighting in afghanistan was just found 33 years later. the 20-year-old soldier now in

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♪ wireless is limitless. as we've been telling you, the blast from old mant winter, the storm swirling east after burying parts of the country in up to 10 inches of snow. forecasters branded it it would be so severe that not only would the debate and vote to keep the government funded, that got pushed up by a day, but at least 13 different committees have postponed their hearings, all citing the bad weather. maybe that's why the good folks at "the washington post" and "the daily beast" are calling it the snow-quester. we'll speak with jim cantore in a moment to fill us in. and eric holder is talking about the use of drones here at home. take a listen. >> the use of drones is, from my

perspective, something that's entirely hypothetical. former cia operative valerie plame wilson will weigh in on the program and the possibility that they want be used here. we'll get into the hypotheticals. plus another big day on wall street after the dow reaches a new milestone. how so you be cashing? we'll talk about that in a moment. can become major victories. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. when i was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, my rheumatologist prescribed enbrel for my pain and stiffness, and to help stop joint damage. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure,

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we're back now, residence are already experiencing power outages, as the storm dumps wet and heavy snow. jim cantore is live at the nation's capital. explain just how bad it looks there. >> reporter: it's interesting. pep ko reports 9,000 without power. dominican virginia says we have about 90,000 customers. a lot of them are well to the west. the big difference, you know, we're a couple blocks from

the capitol. we have a rain/sleet mixture, and we never really got into the snow. you know, we had a couple periods of snow, but that's about it. if you give the march sun any leeway, it's going to heat the asphalt, even heat the column of air, so it makes it really hard to change back over to snow once you've got to rain, especially at low elevations with no cold air coming in. that's the big thing. very tough for the spring forecast. i want to show you warrenton, this is about 45 miles off to my west. all right? it's a winter wonderland. they started snowing before the sun came up. about 4 to 6 inches on the ground. they've got about a foot once you get up about 700 feet, so just a huge difference. that's where the bulk of the power outages are, where the bulk of the issues are, but either way, the house convened early today. they're shutting down at one. schools are closed. mass transit is still up and running, but now over the last

couple days, we've had probably about 3300 to count airline flights canceled across the country. a good bulk of them like 15 to 1700 have been in baltimore, dulles and also reagan. that's a lot of planes not coming in and out. >> jim cantore, thanks so much. already, everybody get on your rally caps. the dow is back and in a big way. all eyes are on the big board following yesterday ade historic rally. in one days, left wall street rejoicing. some see these spikes as the long overdue shot in the arm that everyone has been waiting for. the bursting of 2008, other headlines suggests this wild five-year ride has investors wary. kneale irwin, it's good to have you are here. your latest piece says the stock market is back, but the economy, blame congress. which makes a lot of people saying, given the numbers out today, which you say how far things have come from october

9th, 2007, until now. look at that trajectory. why should we be blaming congress for what -- for what wall street is seeing and the rich fortunes they're getting? >> what we're seeing is this wild roller coaster since october '07. for the last four years a mostly upward track. four good years for the market, but that does not match the growth in the economy. we've had this sluggish growth in the economy, no real wage growth for workers, no, you know, job creation that is vast enough to drive down unemployment, a huge gap between our actual output and what we are capable of, and the reason for that gap is that the federal reserve has been done a lot of different things to push money into the economy, trying to prop up growth, but the way those things work is by funneling into markets and through financial market, not so much into individual consumers' hands. that's something that congress could change, but they've been reluctant to do that, and they're kind of sitting on their

hands while the fed does a lot of the work. >> is this a short-lived dash that we're watching? for anybody out there with a 401(k), they're excited, but is this a short-lived pop? >> i don't think so. the fundamentals look better than back in 2007. the u.s. corporations are making a trillion more this year than they made then, so essentially buying more earnings power, so by a lot of measures, stocks look like a good deal, yielding very low amounts, so stocks look pretty good in comparison. will they rise from here? there's always ups and downs, but over the longer runs, stocks look like a pretty decent value form the disappointing is so far that's not translating into make job gains. >> yeah, that's the biggest thing that's not matching up here. we have this new number, saying 19 -- unemployment is still high. gas prices nearly four bucks

across the country, so why are big companies sitting on cash piles allowing wall street to get bigger and bigger and main street is failing? >> you know, the simple answer is there's not demand in the economy. if companies felt like they had investment opportunities where they would see strong growth in the future, they certainly have access to capital, with the stock market higher, corporate debt rates are low, so they can borrow money cheaply, so companies have all the access to capital they might need to invest. they just aren't ig to do it, into you they don't see the opportunities out there. part of the story is with this stock run-up, that's overwhelmingly held by the wealthy, who are more likely to save their money than pend is 90% of the top ten have a retirement account, only 22% of middle-income families do. this is a story that's a more dramatic version of something that'sing going on for 30 years. it's a troubling thing that's holding back or economy. >> kneale irwin, great to see

you. >> thank you, thomas. take a look at this, a live look at the house floor, where members are trying to jam two days worth of work on the cr bill into just four hours because of the snow mess in d.c. meanwhile, it looks like the president is taking major steps to cut a deal. he's going to be going to dinner with a handful of republican senators at the jefferson hotel. joining mess is chris murphy of connecticut. sir, great to have you here. first our team put on you, quote, the chief criticism about the president, fair or not, is that he hasn't personally wooed members. he acts as if talking to congress is something to be avoided, but after his inability to get republicans to negotiate to replace the budget cuts that went into effect last week, that's changing. do you agree with that assessment? now we have lindsey graham talking about the phone calls. susan collins, the phone call she received, and now this big

dinner with these republican senators tonight. >> listen, it never ceases to amaze me how thin-skinned how members of congress are. you don't get elected to come down and socialize with the president. you get elected to come down and do the right thing for the constituents and the country. the idea that members of congress are making decisions based on the fact that they haven't gotten a phone call from the president or haven't gotten to hang out with hem at the without movie theater, that's ridiculous. frankly, whether the president is um here hobnobbing with congress or not, we should do the right thing for our constituents and the country. i don't buy this. i think this is republicans making excuses for why they're not sitting down and cooperating with the president. >> oddly enough you bring up the movie theater things, republicans were invited to view "lincoln" and nobody showed up. hopefully this will go well tonight. i want to turn our attention to gun control legislation, and

this scheduled vote on thursday on several proelsz. we know one would track down on gun trafficking. another alexandering background checks, and what do you think -- and from what you've been hearing from your colleagues is the best shot of passing. >> clearly the gun trafficking bill has broad bipartisan support. it's ridiculous we don't have a federal law that bans illegal gun trafficking. background pass should pass. shame on the congress if we can't get behind a law that has support from 90% of the american people and 80% of gun owners. 80% of gun owners think that everybody who buys a gun in this country should go through a basic criminal background check, so i think ultimately republicans will not be able to vote against that. the question is, can we pass a ban on the high-capacity magazines. a survey came out that said the majority of gun owners in our state support getting these 20,

30, 100-round magazines off the streets. i think that while all the attention has been on assault weapon ban, which is hard to pass, we can probably get a ban on high-capacity magazines through, and frankly to the parents in newtown, that would make a bigger difference in a lot of ways than the assault weapons badge. chris murphy, thanks for your time today. i appreciate it. >> thank you. here's a quick look. john kerry is on hi way back to the u.s. after his first trip abroad. kerry visited nine countries in 11 days touches on a host of. you can't bring more than three ounces of fluid on the plane, but the tsa eased restrictions. one day after the family of an openly gale mayoral candidate described the gruesome details of his death, they're calling for an investigation to

determine if any federal laws have been violated. new details in the tray von martin case is casting doubt on the state's key witness. prosecutors admit his girlfriend lied under oath about her age and the whereabouts on his funeral. meanwhile, the self-proclaim -- the hearing will not be held in april, but could wrap it into the trial or waive it all together. we have very sad news. actress valerie harper known for her role as rhoda morganstern on "the mary tyler moore show" says she's been diagnosed with brain cancer. martha stewart sad down with matt lauer and stood by her decision to -- >> did you think it would water down their business? >> i think our product is so strong at macy's it would not

hurt it at all. we are there for the macy's consumer. dunkin' donuts worker threw coffee in the face of a would-be robber. look at that. took the whole pot, threw it out the window. she said no, they couldn't do that, and he tried to rob her. did the duchess of cambridge accidentally reveal the sex of her baby? >> no. no. no. i'm sure. i'm sure. we don't know yet. i don't know. i didn't hear it. did anyone hear that? i need to polish up my british. the global campaign to rid the world of neeps. valley plame wilson leading the charges on there along with michael douglas. who is out, who is in at the cpac, and why ashley judd has a

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if you don't have something important to say? ♪ john brennan is one step closer to heading the cia. they voted 12-3 to advance his nomination. it now goes to the full senate where he will likely be confirmed. as the mastermind behind the drones program, it was his nomination that refocused the nation's attention on the administration's use of drone strikes from around the world, possibly even on u.s. soil. joining mess now is valerie plame a former cia covert operation, and also member of global zero, an advocacy group that advocates to eradicate nuclear weapons. president obama certainly shaping his foreign policy legacy within his second term.

what do you see as the future of the drones program with john brentson at the cia? >> well, i think certainly the president won the election, and he has every right to have whoever he nominates in a particular post. jo know john brennan, i did not work with him, but i think it's important we are having this conversation now. war fare has clearly changed, the nature of it, in the 21st century. these are really moral questions about how we're going to proceed and what kind of nation we're going to be. >> it's a great point you bring up about the moral questions. we had the attorney general eric holder talking moments after before the senate judiciary committee hearing about drones and about the possibility of them being used within our own border. >> what you will hear from the president in a relatively short period of time is -- i don't want to preempt this, but we've talked about a need for greater

transparency in what we share, what we talk about. >> valerie, how much transparency is too much transparency? you have an interesting perspective because of what you went through to be able to talk to that. >> yeah, i think transparency is always a good value, in any government, and this administration has been pledged to that. and they're going held accountable for it. i think it's fascinating to watch this unfold. this needs to be a national conversation on -- to what extent do we want they see drones in our domestic sphere. millions have been given out to local and state police forces, and i think in a couple years we will see drones being used on a very frequent basis. we have to talk through those privacy issues and concerns. >> when we hear from eric holder as well talking about this letter he received from rand paul, talking about what we will

be seeing as a country coming forward, the hypotheticals, take a listen. >> the government has no intention to carry out any drone strikes in the united states. it's hard for me to imagine a situation in which that would occur. the use of drones is, from my perspective, something that is entirely, entirely hypothetical. >> so valerie, he's saying they're entirely hypothetical that the government doesn't have the intention, does that leave it open to very gray interpretations? >> i'm not a lawyer, but i -- you have to believe that those that are in positions of power, the senior policymakers, are acting and saying things in good faith, but it's always incumbent upon the media and upon the citizens of this country to make sure, hold your government to account for their words and deeds. it's up to us to hold them to that. >> let's talk about the work you're doing now with global zero, an organization that's

bringing attention to nuclear weapons around the globe, trying to bring an end to them. they have an ad currently narrated by michael douglas, pushing president obama to make that happen. as we've been well aware, the president has made it clear he would use military force to prevent iran from getting its hands on a nuclear weapon. as we talk about this, valerie, and from the work you're doing with global zero, is iran the biggest threat when it comes to nuclear weapons and get their hands on them, and enter into the nine other countries that have nuclear arms? >> um, i think all of them are major threats, which is why global zero is calling on president obama to set the world's course to zero nuclear weapons, through two ways, one negotiating further cuts in the u.s./russia arsenal. secondly and perhaps more importantly bringing together all the nuclear power states for

international talks. iran is not yet a nuclear state. clearly they have am bishz to be so. i don't think global zero has any thoughts that all of a sudden if russia and the united states are able to reduce their arsenals that rogue nations like iran or north korea will fall in line, but it's a beginning. i believe you have to start somewhere. if you go to globalzero.org, michael douglas nair yates a short video, which launches our campaign, and it's compelling, it's a call to action. i think we have a moment in time, an opportunity to really move this forward. >> do you think that the u.s. has an interest in seeing -- in our reduction down to zero? >> we all have an interest. we cannot continue the way we've gone. we've been extremely lucky, but these weapons, they -- they are

no longer useful, no longer keeping us safe with the proliferation of nuclear technology, as well as the real rise testify terrorist threats, and we know right now that al qaeda and their affiliates are actively seeking nuclear capability. so there's that, and there's also the financial factor. we spend about $60 billion a year, which is real money, as they say now, on the whole nuclear program, and is -- is that where we want to continue to put our priorities? when what we have now -- these are weapons that are really not adequate for what we need for the 21st century. defense and national security. >> valerie, real quickly, today marks the sixth year anniversary that schooler libby was convicted, which. we're getting word now that he has had his voting rights

restored. rights restored. how do you feel as you look back, hindsight being 20/20 about what that moment in time did to your life, where you are today? >> well, it changed joe and i profoundly. we've worked really hard to rebuild our lives, professionally and personally. you know, ultimately we put our faith in the justice system, and we wish there had been further repercussions, but i find it interesting that his voting rights are being restored. former vice president cheney talked about the fact that he was not pardoned by president bush, was like leaving a good man on the battlefield, which i find that analogy to be particularly reprehensible given that soldiers every day are truly dying on the battlefield. and, you know, i think it's really -- the whole episode is

just a small example of a larger pattern of behavior that we saw under the bush administration. this month is ten years since the iraq war began, and completely flipped in how the american public views it. over 60% now believe that it was a terrible mistake. >> valley plame working now with global zero. valerie, nice to have you on today, thank you. >> thank you for having me. please, go to globalzero.org. coming up, representative mcconnell like you've never seen it before. the pollee side bar next. yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues... with three strains of good bacteria. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'.

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so, once jailed gop congress manateed off with john boehner. according to the national journal and his new memoir, former rep of ohio describing the house speaker as a lazy, chain smoking, wine drinking operative more fixated on golf than actual work.

if the justice department were ever to make john produce receipts for his addiction to golf, he would be hard pressed to comply. the uninvited list has another name on it, bob mcdonald. the virginia pilot saying the mcdonald's snub is based on what conservatives see bad policy decisions, including recent tax hikes to fix the states roadways. guess who is going to be speaking there. there you go, celebrity mogul and apprentice host, donald trump. he spoke there in 2011 and got booed. ashley judd is also going to be seen there, not just in person, her new white house thriller is being screened there, and mitch mcconnell's campaign crew getting in on the harlem shake craze. take a peek at this. ♪

very patriotic. obviously, that is not the real mitch mcconnell. no, i'm being serious. that's not really him. it's a guy holding a mask. he's got some rhythm. yeah, it's a mascot. anyway, could he shake off ashley judd? we'll find out. that's going to wrap it up for me today. joining me tomorrow, deb by wasserman schultz, and joy ann reid. i thought i out, it was not mitch mcconnell. "now with alex wagner" comes your way next. even ragu user. prego?! but i've bought ragu for years. [ thinking ] wonder what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo! [ sigh of relief ] se prego. whooo! if youthen this willbrids arbe a nice surprise. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max come. c-max go. c-max give a ride to everyone it knows. c max has more passenger volume than competitor prius v

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