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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 and we haven't even mentioned... c-max also gets better mpg. say hi to the super fuel efficient ford c-max hybrid. hi, everyone. i'm tamron hall. following another day of turbulence and contrast in washington, d.c. the president meeting right now, in fact, having lunch at the white house with republican congressman paul ryan and democratic congressman chris van hollen, leaders of their parties on budget matters. that followed the president's dinner last night with a dozen republican senators including john mccain who gave the

meeting, the dinner, a big thumb's up. >> fine, great, wonderful. >> meantime, on the senate floor today, senators mccain and graham both gave shall i say a thumb down to rand paul's 13-hour filibuster on drones. >> mr. paul wants to be taken seriously, he needs to do more than pull political stunts this fire up impressionable kids in their college dorms. he needs to know what he's talking about. to somehow allege or infer that the president of the united states is going to kill somebody like jane fonda or someone who disagrees with the policies is a stretch of imagination which is, frankly, ridiculous. >> to my republican colleagues, i don't remember any of you coming down here suggesting that president bush was going to kill anybody with a drone. you know?

i don't even remember the harshest critics of the -- of president bush on the democratic side. they had a drone program back then. >> and as the latest drama unfolds now from one end of pennsylvania avenue to the other, i'm joined live by correspondent kristen welker and nbc news senior political editor mark murray. we are awaiting the president to sign the expanded violence against women act and joined by joe biden. it was supposed to start about ten minutes ago and been delayed. kristen, i assume because of the president's lunch with particular and chris van hollen went long. what can you tell me? >> reporter: that's right. as far as we know he is still having lunch with them and the goal of the lunch to talk about, of course, budget issues and something he spoke to republican lawmakers about last night having dinner with them at the jefferson hotel here in washington, d.c. but we understand that the president's also going to be talking about things like

immigration reform as well as gun control in not only this lunch but in the upcoming meetings, going to the hill next week so a lot on the plate at these meet and greets and lunches and dinners he's having but really seeing a shift intactic here. the president circumventing and talking to rank and file republicans, democrats, as well, to talk about some of these issues that have been so difficult to reach agreement on, principally right now, the budget. fiscal issues. of course, the sequester. tamron? >> we know that paul ryan will unveil his budget is it next week, kristen? he said he shared a phone conversation with the president before the lunch and would not give great details on his budget. >> reporter: that's right. still waiting for the details but, of course, there's been sharp disagreement particularly over the issue of medicare and how to reform it. so that is certainly one of the things that will be up for discussion, of course, paul ryan, former vp nominee has

wanted to shift medicare in to something that looks more like a voucher program. the starkly disagreeing with him on that point and i assume one thing to discuss and certainly tell you that medicare was a topic of conversation last night when president obama met with some of those republican lawmakers and in fact at least one lawmaker who attended that dinner said that he hadn't been completely aware of the president's position in terms of reforming medicare and openness to put things on the table before the dinner last night and why both sides are saying the conversations are important. >> mark, let me bring you in. as i said, there's another day of turbulence and contrast. the contrast, specifically, john mccain leaving the dinner last night with the president giving a thumb's up and then today on the senate floor going directly after rand paul. what are we to make of what happened and the back story, again, graham and mccain teaming up if you will against rand paul. >> tamron, this is dividing the republican party right now.

i would say you look at the entire republican caucus in the u.s. senate and on the issue of drones, on this a matter of policy, on the use of force, they're probably more in the john mccain and lindsey graham camp than the rand paul camp. however, it was striking to a lot of people that the bright stars of the republican party like florida senator marco rubio and texas senator ted cruz joined rand paul in the filibuster against the obama administration's drone poll sane i think that's what really fired up folks like mccain and graham seeing some of the young stars of the republican party, the young tea party stars going on a tangent regarding national security and foreign policy and the republican party definitely isn't known for. >> let's play what rand paul -- just gave an interview this morning to glenn beck on his radio show. here's a little bit of what rand paul said regarding his critics. let's play it. >> government were comprised of angels we wouldn't need rules and so i try to make it less about president obama and more

about what if some day we elect someone who wouldn't -- who would abuse this power? >> senator, there's been some criticism of your filibuster last night including from apparently lindsey graham saying that the idea is that we're going to use a drone to attack a citizen in a cafe in america is ridiculous. >> well, i agree it's ridiculous idea but why wouldn't the president then say he won't? >> so mark, in that interview, rand paul also indicated and i guess look glenn beck and his co-host that he's willing to confirm the nomination with information and i want to point out what you wrote about this. mark, one more thing of paul's filibuster last night, we're pretty sure he would have mounted it against a republican white house, too. remember his father ron rallied bens the iraq war. can you say that the same about

the other republicans that participated? would they have blasted a republican presidential administration over a drone policy? after all, some of the senators agree with the policy. the bush administration had a drone policy, as well. >> it is a matter of principle versus politics. as we mentioned this morning, looking at rand paul, his father, very consistent on this, on libertarianism and economics and coming to foreign policy, not interventionist foreign policy and i think what really struck people were the fact that folks like marco rubio and ted cruz, you know, marco rubio might run for president in 2016. if he's running would he oppose such a drone ing questions and not sure he would come out on that issue. >> we have got some video of the luncheon apparently over involving congressman paul ryan and chris van hollen with the

president. looks like they're leaving and the president signing the expanded violence against women act, heavily delayed and disputed by house republicans and that's why it's taken so long to get to this point. but back to the dinner last night, kristen. i want to play some of the reaction of gop senators as they left that dinner with the president. >> i thought it was a positive, constructive, candid conversation about our debt and our deficit and how we have got to come together in a bipartisan way the address it. it's what the american people expect and deserve and what we focused on. >> i think it was very good for the president to have that dinner. and i think he needs to do a whole lot more of that because relationships matter and building trust and confidence and knowing you're not going to get gamed is a way you get something done for the american people. >> these are very difficult issues but i do think there's real fatigue and just going from crisis to crisis so i think

we're -- i think tonight was a good first step. >> speaker boehner says it's a hopeful sign. what's the next step you're hearing, kristen, is likely for the president and the members of the gop here? >> reporter: well, look. i think you are going to see a whole lot more of this type of outreach, tamron, and white house officials tell me the president, his advisers believe the time is right to have these types of conversations because there is no countdown clock. there's no fiscal deadline looming. that is making this a charged environment. and in other words, they believe it's a good time to have a productive conversation. so you do have the senators coming out last night and basically giving that dinner two thumb's up and tom coburn saying he wishes that president obama reached out to rank and file lawmakers four years ago and maybe gotten the talks started earlier. but what i can tell you is that the white house believes that last night was good not only because of the timing and it was a neutral environment. it was at a restaurant, it was away from the white house so they believe that was a good

first step but, again, it is a first step. they do have a long way to go. these are difficult issues, tam reason. >> mark, i talked to different people that i know personally and you have this question, though, is this all again a little baloney? because in real life terms, you don't go to a dinner and voila we're willing to talk. >> i think it's for show for now and confronting for a white house and congressional republicans is you have divided government. it is very hard to get things done and most of the time when things get done there's either some huge deadline or some type of national crisis to bring the parties together to be able to get something done. this is laying the seeds and one of the arguments that you're probably going to hear president obama make at these types of meetings is that it's in both party's interest to get it done now, to have entitlement reform, more tax revenues to go with it.

president obama might say to republicans, look, i can give you the cover to cut entitlement programs as long as you're willing to pitch in more revenue and then the reality is facing some democrats right now is if they get that revenue, they would get the entitlement cuts with a democratic president in the white house, not a republican come 2016, 2020 or 2024. >> all right. thank you. we greatly appreciate your time. coming up, the first bill on new gun laws since the newtown massacre advances to the full senate. aimed at fighting gun trafficking. but a measure thought to have widespread public support background checks, it appears to be in trouble and we have new numbers on what people, even republicans, think of universal background checks. plus, the battle over minimum wage is heating up. the president as you know wants to raise it to $9. but businesses are divided. ceo of costco speaking up and saying it's better to pay

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welcome back. we're following developing news. want to point your eyes and ears to the interior department where the president is preparing to sign the expanded violence against women act. vice president joe biden on hand. he was -- sponsored the original law that passed in 1994 and we have seen a great bit of back an forth, the final legislation passed in the house, 286-138 and

seen as a huge victory for gay rights activists and native americans. lynne sweet is standing by with us and ed rendell. a lot of people saw the delay in expanding this violence against women act and the original bill had gone through without opposition and we saw it reinstated twice in the past and it lapsed in 2011 and many saw this as a part of the war on women that progressived talks so much about. >> absolutely, tamron. one of the things the white house did this morning is have a lot of women's groups in meetings and roundtables to discuss the elements of the act and these are the groups who championed this so much. also, part of the audience, when's interesting here is that the -- white house really built an audience for this bill signing. this is not just having a few people around with a few pens. they wanted this to pay tribute

to the women's groups who fought for years to get this passed. >> governor rendell, we know that women played a huge fact forthis this election, turning out and actually being i guess if you will turned off by some of the words and actions of the gop cannot dates and elected leaders. in congress. we see vice president joe biden here but this is a huge victory for biden, the obama administration here. >> sure, it is. but even more importantly, i think, tamron, another loss for the republican party. the fact that a majority of republican congressmen voted against a bill that women think is essential to fundamental fairness for them and protection for them is insane. i mean, they keep talking about we need to make cosmetic changes or change the way we talk about things. no. they need to change the way they think about things and vote about things. >> let me direct our audience to vice president joe biden. let's listen in. thank you both for joining us.

>> every single time you stand and recount what happened it brings it all back. it brings it all back like a very bad nightmare, but your speaking out, diane, and so many survivors like you are literally saving the lives of so many other women who god willing will be able to avoid the abuse that you had to put up with. i want to thank all the advocate who is are here today. i got a chance to meet in my office with some of you a little bit earlier. not only those on the stage who i again had a chance to meet with but the many women out in the audience as i look out and see some familiar faces like pat rus and ellie smeil and paw let sullivan moore from -- from my home state and so many others. you know, those of you who have been around a while with me know

that i quote my father all the time who literally would say, the greatest -- the greatest sin that can be committed, the cardinal sin of all sins was the abuse of power. and the ultimate abuse of power is for someone physically stronger and bigger to raise their hand and strike and beat someone else. and most cases that tends to be a man striking a woman. or a man or woman striking a child. that's the fundamental premise and the overarching reason why john conyers and i and others started so many years ago to draft the legislation called "the violence against women" act. it passed 19 years ago and that's why we shortly thereafter instituted a hotline where women in distress could call for help. i remember, john, when we did that hotline, it was like, well, it will be useful and not so sure how much it will be used.

well, the truth of the matter is it's been used a lot and saved a lot of lives. over 2 million women have had the courage, the courage to try to get out of earshot of their abuser and escape from the prison of their own home, to pick up that phone and call, call to a line that you had no idea who on the other end was going to answer and to say, i'm in trouble. can you help me? can you help me? i love those men that would say when we started this about why don't they just leave? well, if they had one third the courage that those women, those 2 million women who picked up the phone and called not knowing what to expect, we'd be a whole lot better nation. we built a network of shelters that are immediately available to women in need because we

found out that the vast majority of children homeless on the street as nancy knows and others were there because their mothers were abused. imagine fleeing for your life with only the clothes on your back and your child in your arms. the shelter was their only lifelolif lifeline and it's worked. we have special law enforcement units with trained prosecutors, victim advocates, court personnel who understand the unique challenge of the access. because of all of you in the audience here today, we've been able to train judges and train intake officers so when the frightened woman shows up at the family court and says to the intake officer, i want to tell you -- speak up, will you? well, i just -- my, my -- and they turn around and walk away because there's only a very brief window as all of you know. a very brief window, again,

after a woman screws up the courage, the courage to ask for help. all of these links of the chain have made a difference in the lives of women. it's one woman, one girl, one person at a time. one case at a time. and you providers know that better than anyone. with all of the law's success, there's still too many women in this country who live in fear of violence, who are still prisoners of their own home, too many victims that we have to mourn. we knew from the outset in 1994 that there was much more we could have done at the beginning if we were able to get the votes. but we did what was necessary and important but we knew more had to be done to reduce domestic violence, domestic violence homicides, provide new

tools as was just spoken to to protect native american women, to address the rate of dating violence among young women and so much more. but because of the people on this stage and in this room, every time we reauthorized the violence against women act, we improved it. every single time we've improved it. [ applause ] and we did this again, first we've given jurisdiction to tribal courts over those who abuse women on reservations regardless of whether or not they've -- [ applause ] providing more resources in the states so they can be trained as to how to collect evidence, acquire convictions, particularly in prosecutions for rape. we'll increase the rate of proven models to reduce homicide

rates. we have focused on the tragic gun violence in the news lately but from 2009 to 2012, 40% of the mass shootings in america, other than the celebrated ones you have seen, 40% of those 4 or more people have been shot, the target has been a former intimate partner or a close family member. so they go in to the office, just like that young man or woman who staood in front of yo when your husband came with a loaded pistol to shoot you. 40% are a consequence of domestic violence. created a strong, strong anti-violence program. campuses will have more tools to educate students about sexual violence. [ applause ] so many congress passed this law, the president will sign today, they didn't just renew it. i consider a sacred oath to

protect them, i they strengthened the commitment. i want to thank them. i hope i don't forget anybody. starting with my old buddy pat leahy who chairs the committee. thank you very, very much. and mike crapo. this wouldn't have happened had you not stepped up. and lisa murkowski is not here but my friend who i don't want to -- i don't want to get her in trouble but i know she really likes me because i like hear lot, senator collins. you know? seriously. it was -- you know, it was republicans coming and standing up and saying this has to be done. in the senate. so we owe you. we owe you big. [ applause ] and by the way, if you ever want a partner to get anything important done, call nancy pelosi. call nancy pelosi. [ applause ]

and steny hoyer and congressman moore and my old buddy -- i hope i'm not leaving anybody out here. but, you know, you know, my old buddy john conyers. [ applause ] i'm sure i'm leaving someone out for which i apologize. we all know we have a lot more to do but we'll continue to make progress and one of the reasons to continue to make progress is we're going to have for at least three more years the president of the united states, my friend, barack obama. [ applause ]

>> thank you! thank you, everybody! thank you. well, please, everybody, have have a seat. have a seat. i want to thank all of you for being here. i want to thank secretary salazar. my great friend, for letting us in to the building. make sure everybody, you know, pick up their stray soda cans and stuff. afterwards. i want to thank attorney general holder for joining us. [ applause ] doing a great job. you know, we usually host these bill signings over at the white house but there were just too many of you who helped to make this happen. and you all deserve to be a part

of this moment. i want to thank everybody on this stage. joe just mentioned the extraordinary work that each and every one of these leaders, advocates as well as legislators -- >> i left out congressman tom cole. >> there you go. give tom a big round of applause. [ applause ] but everybody on this stage worked extraordinarily hard. most of all, though, this is your day. this is the day of the advocates. the day of the survivors. this is your victory. >> we love, mr. president! >> i love you back. [ applause ] and this victory shows that when the american people make their voices heard, washington listens. so i want to join joe in thanking all of the members of

congress from both parties who came together and got this bill across the finish line. i want to say a special thanks to pat leahy and mike crapo, as well -- thank you, guys, for your leadership. and i want to give much love to gwenn moore who worked so hard on this. [ applause ] and i also want to take a minute before i begin to thank the senators who took another big step towards sensible gun safety reform advancing a federal gun trafficking bill. that's real progress. [ applause ] now, the senate judiciary committee sent legislation to the senate floor that would crack down on folks who buy guns only to turn around and funnel them to dangerous criminals. and it's a bill named in part

for hydea pendleton. she marched in the inauguration parade and then gunned down a mile from my house. i urge the senate to give that bill a vote and i urge congress to move on other areas that have support of the american people, from requiring universal background checks and we need to stop the flow of illegal guns to criminals and because her family's and too many other families really do deserve a vote. [ applause ] finally, finally, i want to thank joe biden for being such an outstanding vice president. [ applause ] that's right. you can stand for joe. stand for joe! give it up for joe biden!

[ applause ] joe's a hard working vice president. you know, and he told me when he agreed -- when i asked him to be vice president, he said, well, i don't want to just be sitting around. i said, i promise you, i won't let you just sit around. and he's not. he's played a key role in forging the gun safety reforms that i talked about, largely by working closely with survivors of gun violence and their families. he forged the violence against women act 20 years ago. never forgetting who it was all about. [ applause ] so, on behalf of everybody here and all of the lives that you have had a positive impact and touched through the violence against women act, the survivors who are alive today because of this law, the women no longer hiding in fear because of this law, the girls growing up aware of their right to be free of abuse because of this law, on

behalf of them and all their families, i want to thank joe biden for making this one of the causes of his career. [ applause ] proud of you. now, as joe said earlier we have come a long way. back when joe wrote this law, domestic abuse was too often seen as a private matter. best hidden behind closed doors. victims too often stayed silent or felt that they had to live in shame, that somehow they had done something wrong. even when they went to the hospital or the police station, too often they were sent back home without any real intervention or support. they felt trapped, isolated and as a result domestic violence too often ended in greater tragedy. so one of the -- the great legacies of this law is that it didn't just change the rules.

it changed our culture. it empowered people to start speaking up. it made it okay for us as a society to talk about domestic abuse. it made it possible for us as a country to address the problem in a real and meaningful way. and it made clear to victims that they were not alone. that they always had a place to go and they always had people on their side. and today, because members of both parties worked together, we're able to renew that commitment. reauthorizing the violence against women act is something i called for in my state of the union address and when i see how quick it got done, i'm -- i'm feeling -- makes me feel optimistic!

because of this bill, we'll keep in place all the protections and services that joe described. and as he said, we'll expand them to cover even more women. because this is a country where everybody should be able to pursue their own measure of happiness and live their lives free from fear. no matter who you are, no matter who you love. that's today's priority. [ applause ] today's about the millions of women, the victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault who are out there right now looking for a lifeline. looking for support. because of this bill, they'll continue to have access to all the services that joe first helped to establish 19 years ago. national hotline, network of shelters, protection orders that carry across state lines. and because of this bill, we're also expanding housing assistance so no woman has to

choose between a violent home and no home at all. that's what today is all about. today's about all the law enforcement officials like police chief jim johnson. [ applause ] they're the first to respond when a victim calls for help. because of this bill, we're continuing all the training and support that's proven so effective in bridging, you know, some gaps that were in actual enforcement of the law so we can actually bring more offenders to justice. and we're giving our law enforcement better tools to investigate cases of rape which remains a consistently underreported crime in our country. helping police officers deliver on the most important part of their job. preventing harm and saving lives. that's what today's all about. today's about women like diane.

i'm so grateful, diane shared her story. that takes great courage and tragically it is a common story. i know we have got tribal leaders here today and i want to thank all of you for fighting so hard on behalf of your people to make this bill a reality. [ applause ] india country has some of the highest rates of domestic abuse and when native american are abused by an attacker not native american, the attacker is immune from prosecution by tribal courts. well, as soon as i sign this bill, that ends. [ applause ]

that ends. tribal governments have an inherent right to protect their people and all women deserve the right to live free from fear and that is what today is all about. [ applause ] today's about all of the americans who face discrimination based on gender identity when they seek help. so i want to thank sharon stapel who's here. where did she go? there she is right there. the work she's doing, great work she's doing with the anti-violence project. but sharon and all the other advocates focussed on the community can't do it allen and now they won't have to. that's what today is all about. that's what today is all about.

today's about the women who come to rosy idalgo looking for support. immigrant who is are victims of domestic abuse. i mean, imagine the dilemma for so many. if your status is tied to a husband who beats you or abuses you, if you're an undocumented immigrant, you may feel there's too much to lose by coming forward. the violence against women act already had protections so victims call police without fear of deportation and saved lives and because we fought hard to keep them in place they remain a lifeline for so many women. that's a part of what today's all about. [ applause ]

today's about young women like thai who brought -- who's brought in to the sex trade by a neighbor when she was 12 years old. thai was rescued by an organization and she's enrolled in college, working full-time to help at-risk girls stay out of the sex trade. [ applause ] couldn't be prouder of her. so proud. [ applause ] so with this bill, we reauthorize the trafficking victims protection act to help more girls turn out like thai.

that's what today is all about. so today's about all of the survivors, all of the advocates who are standing on this stage. but it's also about the millions more they represent, that you represent. it's about our commitment as a country to address this problem. in every corner of america, every community, every town, every big city. as long as it takes. and we've made incredible progress since 1994 but we cannot let up. not when domestic violence still kills three women a day. 1 in 5 women will be a victim of rape in their lifetime. not when 1 in 3 women is abused by a partner. so, i promise you, not just as your president, but as a son and a husband and a father, i'm going to keep at this. i know vice president biden is going to keep at it. my administration's going to keep at it for as long as it takes. and i know that all the

advocates up here, all of the legislators, republican and democrat, who supported this, i know they could not be prouder of the work that they have done together and i think i speak for all of them when we say, we could not have done it without you. so with that, let me sign this bill. [ applause ] >> you heard there great emotion and celebration from the audience with the president today consisting of people survived domestic violence, law enforcement, lawmaker and tribal leaders on hand as the president signs the extension to the violence against women's act and this ceremony at the interior department which happens to oversee programs for native americans. you see the president there saying as a son, as a husband, as a father, he's proud of this moment. it was a long fight and despite

the fact that this bill had been renewed twice, with little resistance but lapsed in 2011, as a result of opposition by members of the gop and the house who took issue with gays and native americans included, in as a part of the extension of this bill so the president is signing. let's listen in if we can. you can faintly hear the president there. applause is unmistakable. as this is seen as a great victory, legislative victory not only the obama administration we gay rights advocates and native americans here. we'll continue to follow, of course, the impact of this. you see nancy pelosi and many others there embracing the president after this fight but we're also following developing news. this just in within the last few

minutes. senator rand paul, of course, with the filibuster that everyone continues to talk about, now says that he is, quote, satisfied after receiving a letter of attorney general eric holder. let me bring in nbc's kelly o'donnell, our capitol hill correspondent. watching this celebratory moment with the president there but the other hot news of the day continues to be the filibuster. what can you tell me about the letter and the latest exchange? >> reporter: people who say why did rand paul go to the senate floor and in part was to try to make the point and got an answer that satisfies him so -- could those weaponized drones be used inside the united states against -- >> they're having some technical difficulty. i believe we're not able to hear

you. i apologize. this is something our audience needs an update. we're having a technical problem. kelly, are you there? >> reporter: hello. >> thank you. let's start over from scratch. we understand there's an exchange. >> that's interesting. i can't hear anything. >> senator rand paul received a letter from attorney general eric holder. we don't have kelly and having some issue here but the bottom line as i understand it a letter in exchange. let me read the information. after the epic filibuster yesterday, eric holder sent a two-sentence letter to kentucky senator rand paul. in it holder wrote, quote, it's come to my attention that you have asked an additional question. does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an american not engaged in combat on american soil? the answer to that question is, no. and as we understand it, from senator paul -- senator rand paul is that he's satisfied with

that response and according to kelly o'donnell's reporting, coming shortly we'll hear more from senator rand paul but he is, quote, satisfied with that brief response from eric holder so this continues and we'll get hopefully more for you from kelly o'donnell. also a few minutes ago, the president said he was satisfied with the advanced of a bipartisan federal gun trafficking bill to the full senate despite a setback for a key ilt m on the president's agenda. universal background checks for gun buyers. senator tom coburn, a key republican working on the background bill withdrew the sponsorship and leaving it without republican backing. coburn explained the objection on "morning joe" this morning. >> most gun owners and i'd say well in excess of 98%, 99% don't want to transfer a gun to somebody that's not on the list and those that do aren't going to follow whatever we do anyway.

>> so the setback on a day that the senate judiciary committee considered four gun control bills, including a democratic version of the background check and senator dianne feinstein's ban. a poll shows americans support a measure requiring background checks for all gun buyers with 88% of those polled supporting such legislation. joining me now former pennsylvania governor ed rendell and lynne sweet with us. rachel maddow pointed this out. the headline, gun control poll nearly everyone in new jersey's gop district support universal background checks. "milwaukee journal sentinel," new poll supports background checks for gun buyers and "philadelphia enquirer" polling in four philadelphia gop districts poll overwhelmingly local support for background checks so why are we still at this point where we're not

seeing bipartisan support as we're seeing with the federal gun trafficking sfwhil. >> it goes along with what i said earlier on the violence against women act. the republican party appears to have a death wish. i mean, the key here is to get both universal background checks and limits on high capacity magazines. get those to the floor. if he gets them to the floor, gop congressmen in districts like the ones you read those headlines from have to vote yes in support of the bill but if they get filibustered to death or john boehner doesn't bring them to the floor and can't get a discharge resolution then the bills will be killed without a vote and as the president said eloquently in the state of the union, the victims deserve a vote and if we get a vote we'll win on both of those things because you don't dare vote against them because the american people are almost as close as unanimous as we can be and shame on these guys and i like senator tom coburn but,

tom, you're wrong. it's a very small percentage of people who sell guns individually. what this bill is really aimed at is the gun shows that sell guns without background checks and the internet. stop those now. >> and lynne we heard the president, if you will, stay on message signing this violence against women act saying that people deserve a vote as governor rendell pointed out were the words in the state of the union. politico has an article up on how the white house, quote, silenced gun control groups and goes on to say the implied rules, no infighting, no second guessing in the press. support whatever they propose and most of all don't make waves or get ahead of the white house. sounds like the white house wants to stay on message, stay on with a strategy as the sadness that happened with newtown perhaps given an opportunity for the first time in many years to have some success when it comes to gun safety. >> well, tamron, i think very

briefly despite that, they're of the four main measures, the one with the most trouble right now and will have the most trouble if it gets to the floor of the senate the assault weapons ban, the piece that is on its way to probably being passed is the one that obama talked about dealing with trafficking and fencing, named after that girl who was slain just a few blocks from his home in chicago and i think just some very tough roads on the background check because even though i don't see it that way there seems among republicans second amendment issues that for the moment can't be resolved and you would think the gun magazine capacity would not be as travel as it is. >> simple. >> but it is. >> tom coburn, i mean, governor rendell, i know you had strong words for him but it does not appear he's absolutely out of the game on this. >> well, he shouldn't be out of the game. good lord, tom. if you're listening to me. we have gotten along well. we're not talking about individuals who sell guns to

their friends, et cetera. if you want to carve that out, carve it out but talking about closing the gun show loophole, closing the internet. that's where 99% of the gun that is get sold to people without background checks take place. let's do some common sense things and, tom, there's nobody out there who needs a magazine clip with more than ten bullets and that will save lives in these massacres. >> governor rendell -- >> and tucson. >> lynne sweet, thank you. we're juggling and happy to get you both on. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.

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of course, you can join the "news nation" on our twitter page. it is @newsnation. meanwhile, in arizona, jodi arias returned to the witness stand to face more questions about the murder of her ex-boyfriend. the questions coming straight from the jury themselves. she's spent over two weeks on the stand answering more than 150 questions written by jurors about the night travis alexander

was killed. >> why didn't you just run out of the house instead of grabbing the gun from the closet? >> well, again, i can't -- it happened so fast. i did initially think run so that's why i went down the hallway and then right as i got to the hallway with the doors being shut, it just seemed like more of an obstacle. it would give him more time to catch up. >> live in phoenix, katie, a lot of people are wondering about the system there in arizona that allows jurors to ask direct questions. >> reporter: yeah. certainly. it's very interesting. you don't often see it. one of a few states in the country to allow it. she's been on the stand for 17 days and had a ton of opportunity to explain her version of the events the night that travis alexander died. why she says it was self defense. the jurors listening very closely that entire time and yesterday and today they were

able to ask their own questions submitting written questions to the judge she then read to jodi arias. listened to over 150 questions and answered them calmly and in a matter of fact way and asking her the details of the sexual relationship with travis alexander. a wide range of topics, everything from the mormonism, how devout she was. she converted for alexander. the bruises on the body. she claims that alexander beat her and left her with bruises. she never photographed the bruises but pretty much everything else in the life and memory loss. she says she doesn't remember much of what happened that night. they asked her about that and finally somebody on the jury asked her why to change the so many times. first she said she wasn't there the night that mr. alexander was killed and then she was there and then it was masked intruders that killed them and now settled on self defense. >> after all the lies you have told, why should we believe you

now? >> lying isn't typically something i just do. i'm not going to say that i have never told a lie in my life before this incident, but the lies that i've told in this case are -- can be tied directly back to protecting travis's reputation or my involvement in his death in any way. because i was very ashamed. >> reporter: now, she doesn't deany killing travis alexander. she shot him in the face, stabbed him repeatedly and slit his throat ear to ear. she said out of self defense. the prosecution said that she was jealous that the ex was dating other women. if convicted she could face the death penalty. tamron? >> how much longer do they anticipate this trial will go on? >> reporter: we have heard that it could go on well in to april. it could go on that much longer and stale lot to go and has been

on the stand, the defense has not yet rested. >> incredible. thank you very much. and that does it for this edition of "news nation." thank you for joining us. developing stories of this hour. we'll see you tomorrow. "the cycle" is up next. your new jetta! and you want to buy one like mine because it's so safe, right? yeah... yeah... i know what you've heard -- iihs top safety pick for $159 a month -- but, i wish it was more dangerous, like a monster truck or dune buggy! you can't have the same car as me! [ male announcer ] now everyone's going to want one. let's get a jetta. [ male announcer ] volkswagen springtoberfest is here and there's no better time to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease one of four volkswagen models for under $200 a month. visit vwdealer.com today. we create easy-to-use, powerful trading tools for all. look at these streaming charts! they're totally customizable and they let you visualize what might happen next. that's genius! we knew you needed a platform that could really help you elevate your trading. so we built it.

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