hi, everyone. i'm tamron hall. the news nation is following developing news from the state department, which has now issued a worldwide travel alert for u.s. citizens, warning for the potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the middle east. that alert follows the department's pre-emptive plan to close at least 23 embassies in the middle east, central asia, and eastern africa. the list even includes the embassy in tel aviv, which is already closed on sundays. so far, the administration is not giving specifics of the threat, only saying that it is linked to al qaeda and possibly tied to ramadan. republican congressman ed royce reiterated the state department's assertion that the closures are being ordered out of caution. >> we're going to take whatever steps necessary to protect our personnel overseas.

when we do have an indication of a threat, we take that seriously. if we have an indication of when that threat will manifest itself, it's my understanding that it is al qaeda linked, all right? and the threat emanates in the middle east and in central asia. >> and for now, the closures are just for sunday, but the state department says that could certainly change. they could additional days. nbc news justice correspondent pete williams joins me now live from washington. pete, i've heard a lot of people intrigued by the timeline of this. the travel alert expires august 31st. we're focused on sunday here. certainly wouldn't be isolated to a 24-hour span of time. >> no, that's been clear from the beginning, tamron, that the window on this opens on sunday, but it's pretty clear -- it was clear to us yesterday that it could go for many days, and i

think you see the travel warning go through the end of august which gives you an idea that part of the problem here is that this threat information is vague about where an attack would be, what kind of plot it would be, what form it would take, what the target is. the only thing they have basically that's got any specificity at all is the timeline, but based on this information, the embassy -- or the state department now is closing the embassies on sunday that you see on the map here that would normally be open. then the question is, will they go beyond that when they get to monday and tuesday if they can't -- haven't nailed this down any further. in ed royce's appearance just an hour ago with andrea mitchell, he said a couple things i thought were particularly interesting. he described the threated a al qaeda linked and emanating from the arabian peninsula, which strongly suggests that this threat comes out of yemen, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is based there. of course, there have been some plots against the u.s. out of

yemen. secondly, he said he doubts that the state department would close embassies beyond that region on monday, even if the threat wasn't better understood. he described it as regional. the arabian peninsula, north africa, central asia. that does suggest that come monday the state department is not going to be closing embassies in europe or south america or canada or that kind of thing. so that's his impression of it. but, you know, obviously the -- it's really two things. it's the credibility of the source. now, you never know whether the source, of course, is accurately passing along information. that's trick one. the second thing here is there does seem to be, and congressman royce echoed this, a change in how the state department thinks about these things because of the attack on the embassy in bengha benghazi. >> pete, you brought up yemen.

there have been drone strikes. we're going to talk about that with evan coleman. he believes that may play a role in what we're seeing as well. thank you, pete. as i mentioned, evan coleman is here with us. the first thing you said to us was, listen, there have been underreporting about these drone strikes happening in yemen or that have happened in yemen. that's caught your attention with the timing here as well. >> yeah, there's been a flurry of these strikes. reportedly, one of the targets of these strikes was a guy who is the master bomb maker involved with al qaeda in the arabian peninsula who was allegedly behind the underwear bomb plot, behind the cargo bomb plot, somebody who's featured very heavily and prominently in anti-u.s. plots conceived by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. if you tag that on as well with the fact that ever since benghazi, al qaeda in yemen has been very actively promoting the idea of attacking u.s. embassies, has been urging their supporters, affiliates, and

others to launch attacks on u.s. embassies. it does present an interesting picture. >> it's also an interesting picture. the former ambassador to morocco mark ginsburg was on. he discussed the tel aviv embassy being closed. he says that points to the seriousness of the intelligence. what's your take? >> it could also refer to the broadness of the intelligence. i think right now it's not exactly clear where the target is. i think out of an abundance of caution, if the source is deemed credible and if the group is deemed credible and we've seen aqap launch attacks targeting the u.s. before, we have to take that seriously. again, it's just a broad-based look. they're closing embassies from kabul all the way to algeria. that's a vast swath of territory. >> i want to the play what house foreign affairs chairman committee ed royce said. pete referred to the interview that happened within the last hour. it's regarding the heightened security and perhaps the aftershock still of benghazi. let's play what he said. >> part of the criticism on

benghazi was that it was 9/11. the administration had apparently forgot to circle their calendar. and there had been the requests for additional embassy personnel there in benghazi, which has been ignored. so, yes, i think they are sensitive to that, but i believe that it is probably now prudent, given the fact that in this case we do have this intelligence. >> so the reaction this time around in the closing of these embassies, does it speak to lessons learned outside of the political debate and the back and forth that continues that lessons have been learned in the state department? >> lessons learned or maybe it's just paranoia over being blamed for something gone wrong afterwards. after benghazi, people saw what happens when things go wrong. now, out of an abundance of caution, if there's any kind of threat that looks anything like bengha benghazi, you better bet everyone is going to be screaming from the rooftops

saying, you know, if it's my responsibility, i'm telling you there's a threat. >> evan coleman, thank you so much. we greatly appreciate it. we'll continue to follow that developing story. also developing in cairo, egyptian police have reportedly started firing tear gas at supporters of deposed president mohamed morsi as they defiantly expand their protests today. that's in the face of threats by egypt's new military-backed government to break up the sit-ins. right now it's 8:00 p.m. in cairo. as you can see there in these live pictures, huge crowds gathered. meantime, secretary of state john kerry says egypt's interim government must respect the protesters. that's after remarks he made earlier today during an interview with pakistani tv about morsi's ouster. it was seen by some as a signal the u.s. is siding with egypt's military. >> in effect, they were restoring democracy -- >> by killing people on the roads? >> oh, no. that's not restoring democracy.

we're very, very concerned about that. very concerned about that. i've had direct conversations with president monsour, with the vice president, with the general. >> let's go now to nbc's ayman mohyeldin who joins us live from cairo. before we discuss what we heard from secretary kerry, tell us what's happening there now. >> reporter: well, right now as they have on every friday since president mohamed morsi was ousted, supporters of the former president gather in various parts of cairo and march towards that sit-in. they have been very clear that they want to try and expand their protests to try and disrupt the city, to try and let it be known they are very displeased with what is happening here. one of the sites of that protest march today took place outside the media city. that is because they allege the egyptian media has been very biassed in trying to portray supporters of the ousted president as terrorists. it was outside the walls of that media city that police fired that tear gas and tried to

disperse the crowds. other rallies have been largely peaceful. they are now holding their breath. they fear the military-backed interim government here may attempt to try to break up that protest using force. that has a lot of people worried. >> republican senators john mccain and lindsey graham will be traveling to egypt next week at the request of president obama. i'm curious about the comments made by secretary kerry and the reaction to people there regarding what we just played. >> reporter: well, the muslim brotherhood and supporters of the ousted president were very critical of those comments. they called it rhetoric and said the united states would not accept the u.s. pentagon to overthrow a democratically elected leader. they said the u.s.s is now complicit in the military coup against egypt. it really boils down to which side of the debate you ask. on the other hand, supporters of the military action here say that it is about time the united states gets on the side of

democracy in egypt and not support islamic fundamentalists as they describe the muslim brotherhood. it really depends on who you ask. i can assure you, the united states is always on the losing side when you ask people here. both sides very displeased with the way the u.s. has positioned itself. >> all right. ayman mohyeldin live for us in cairo. thank you, ayman. and a live look now at the markets reacting to today's jobs report. the unemployment rate fell to the lowest level in years. you see the dow is down now nine points. we'll have the latest on the impact of the job numbers. and within the last hour, the philadelphia eagles excuse riley cooper from play, days after videos surfaced showing him using a racial slur. why the nfl took this action and what his teammates are saying. >> we are not going to stand by

and allow people in russia to endure the treatment that they've been going through. >> now some american gay bars are dumping russian vodka, all due to that country's new anti-gay laws. how will this form of protest affect the winter olympics? and what one major u.s. olympian is saying about it. it's our "news nation" gut check. and will whitey bulger take the stand in his own defense? new developments from today's heated courtroom exchange. we'll bring that to you. you can join our conversation on twitter. find us @tamronhall and my team @newsnation. i woke up to a blistering on my shoulder.

the blisters were oozing, and painful to touch. i spent 23 years as a deputy united states marshal

and i've been pretty well banged up but the worst pain i've experienced was when i had shingles. when i went to the clinic, the nurse told me that it was a result of having had chickenpox. i wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

right now wall street is showing little reaction to today's jobs numbers. the market mixed.

the dow and the s&p down slightly while the nasdaq is up. that is after the labor department reported 162,000 jobs were created in july, the fewest since march. however, it was enough for the unemployment rate to fall to 7.4%. that, by the way, is the lowest level we've seen since december 2008. but that's because people gave up looking for work. the other bad news, the jobs numbers for may and june were revised downward. the chairman of the president's council of economic advisers reacted to the news today on msnbc. >> we're slowly digging our way of a deep hole. we want to accelerate that. over the last 12 months, we've added 2.3 million jobs. this recovery has faced a lot more head winds than other recoveries. now policies like the sequester are slowing down the economy and slowing job growth. >> and in a statement, eric cantor said, while the unemployment number dropping looks good on the surface, the details show otherwise. persistent long-term

unemployment discouraged people leaving the work force and millions taking part-time jobs because they have no choice are not signs of strong recovery. the president's policies are holding back strong job creation. joining me live, kristen welker and washington post economic correspondent michael fletcher. kristen, i'll start with you. the president said this week in his series of speeches, i believe it was the fourth one when he was at the amazon warehou warehouse, that he's put out ideas. he's open to anything and everything at this point that is reasonable to get middle-class americans back to work. he's waiting on a counter from republicans. what's the latest behind the scenes there? >> reporter: well, right, tamron. the president is gearing up for the fiscal fights that he and congress are going to take on this fall. the budget, the debt ceiling. as you pointed out this past week, he mapped out what he called a new grand bargain which ultimately would combine tax reform with new investments in job growth. some republicans said they would

be able to sit down to look at his proposal. the majority of republicans rejected it saying there was nothing new about this new grand bargain. so we're getting a little bit of a taste of what we're going to see this fall. but i can tell you that president obama is continuing his economic tour. he'll be back on the road this upcoming week traveling out west. he's going to sit down with jay leno, continue to tout some of his proposals. a key part of the fights we'll see will revolve around the sequester. if the sequester does get shut off, 1.6 million jobs could be added. that's a key part of this equation. i expect we'll hear president obama speak a lot about that as well when he hits the road next week. >> kristen, you talk about the president hitting the road next week and making appearances. we know congress, those folks are headed out of town. we'll talk more about that with our political team coming up, but obviously when people at home see that and see the jobs numbers, and it is so often a mixed report, it's only natural to wonder why are they getting a

break when people at home are not? >> reporter: a lot of people are asking that question today, tamron, as congress prepares to leave. if you look at the latest polls, our latest msnbc/wall street journal poll, the trust in congress is really at an all-time low. so that could add some pressure to them to actually get something done when they return in september. another thing that could put pressure on congress to act, the fact that the 2014 midterms are just around the corner. but we have seen this movie before, tamron. this gridlock that happens. i think we're about to see another version of it coming this fall. >> michael, let me bring you in. just looking at job growth and where we've seen the jobs today, retail up 46,000. we have those numbers. let's show them. professional and business services, plus 36,000. leisure and hospitality, the list goes on and on. at the bottom of the screen, construction down 6,000. what do you make of the numbers that we've seen today?

>> it's more of the same. you see sort of the most growth in the lowest paying jobs. you're talking about retail, restaurant work, the kind of jobs that are essentially available any time. the kind of jobs people take when they cannot find other work. you talk about good-paying jobs for people with few educational credentials, manufacturing is really tapered off in recent months. up slightly this month. you mentioned construction. construction is down. so it's really not good news in this job report for kind of the majority of americans who are not college graduates. >> as i said, little reaction from wall street today. what do you make of the numbers that we're seeing from wall street today? >> well, i think it reflects kind of the mixed nature of this job report. i think a lot of investors are worried about the federal reserve pulling back if jobs numbers look too strong and if the economy starts to grow rapidly. this is a mixed report. it kind of shows the continued tepid growth in our economy we sort of reflected in the gdp numbers earlier this week. the job market continues to limp along. i don't think many people are

that hopeful that congress will all of the sudden strike a deal with the president. it feels like groundhog day to me. >> we're going to talk more about that when we look at our political postscript coming up. kristen, thank you. michael, pleasure having you on. coming up, a personal prison. government leaker edward snowden may be free in a secret locationing in russia, but now his attorney says he's showing signs of emotional wear and tear. and texas congressman wendy davis blocked voting on an anti-abortion law in june. now a republican is calling for davis to pay the bill for that special session. it, by the way on this friday, is just one of the things we thought you should know. a? that's a great choice. let me show you some faucets to go along with that. with the latest styles and guaranteed low prices, you can turn the bath you have into the bath you want.

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captured on video making a racial slur. now, cooper has been excused from all team activities until further notice and will undergo counseling and sensitivity training. cooper apologized earlier this week for using the slur when at a kenny chesney concert last month. the team immediately fined him. dave, backtrack for people who have not clicked on to see what he said and what went down there. >> sure. well, first of all, let's agree to ignore the intended irony that the nfl is saying racial slurs will not be tolerated, now go buy your redskins jerseys, ladies and gentlemen. let's just ignore that. riley cooper was caught on cell phone camera at a kenny chesney concert furious that a security guard who happened to be african-american would not let him backstage. he then proceeded in a very angry tone to use the "n" word in reference to that security guard and that he would fight

the security guard as well. he also used several misogynistic words in describing the security guard, but nobody is really talking about that. now, the message this all seems to be saying is two things. one, if you're going to do something terrible as an nfl player, don't be a bench warmer. because they will find a way to make you very expendable very quickly. two, don't be caught on camera. that's actually a huge part of this as well. >> let me play his apology from wednesday. let's play it. >> this is, you know, kind of the lowest of lows. this isn't the type of person i want to be portrayed as. this isn't the type of person that i am. and -- i'm just extremely sorry. >> so in the statement, dave, philadelphia eagles said in a meeting with riley yesterday, we decided together that his next step will be to seek outside assistance to help him fully understand the impact of his words and actions. he needs to reflect . as an organization, we'll

provide the resources he needs to do so. sounds like they sent him to timeout. >> certainly does. remember, this is a philadelphia eagles organization that gave michael vick a second chance. michael vick is somebody who has said publicly that he forgives mr. riley cooper. obviously, michael vick is someone who, i think, should be public saying second chances are not the worst thing in the world. >> what are the other teammates saying? >> the most talented player in the philadelphia eagles locker room is a running back named lesean mccoy. it's heartbreaking. he said, i felt like i had a friend, and now i don't. a locker room is like a family. if you're riley cooper and you're the third or fourth wide receiver on that team and lesean mccoy feels like he doesn't have a friend, your time on that team is probably not long. >> do you think if other players

came out and stood behind him like vick did he may have escaped sensitivity training, whatever that is? >> first of all, that's a very good question. i think riley cooper is not long for the nfl. that's the moral of the story. >> thank you, dave. quite an interesting week with sports, all of them. a-rod to this guy. thanks so much. talk to you soon. up next, unfinished business. today congress stkips town for that five-week recess. why our first read team says, quote, september and october now are going to be a mess. and have you heard about this? the gluten free market, $4 billion a year market. but what does that label really mean? well, today new rules for the fda. i'm tony siragusa and i'm training guys who leak a little, to guard their manhood with new depend shields and guards. the discreet protection that's just for guys. now, it's your turn. get my training tips at guardyourmanhood.com

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reportedly staying with an american ex-pat family and is thinking of taking a job as a human rights activist. in an exclusive interview with nbc news, snowden's father said he's grateful his son has been granted a chance to stay in russia. >> i am thankful for both the courage and strength of the russian people and the fact that they have reached out and they have kept my son safe. >> meanwhile, russia's decision to shelter snowden has reverberated around washington. lawmakers from both sides of the aisle issuing some pretty tough talk. >> as long as prime minister putin acts like a bully, we have only one choice, to stand up to him and show him that bullies pay a price. >> and senator lindsey graham called the move by putin a game changer, saying, quote, it is time to make it clear to the russian government that this provocative step is granting

snowden asylum will be met with a firm response. jim maceda is in moscow with the latest on edward snowden. >> reporter: edward snowden saw his first full day of freedom since receiving the refugee passport and a year of asylum from russian authorities. we're starting to get more information, a better picture of snowden's whereabouts and what he's doing here from his lawyer. we understand, for instance, that he's living for now at least with an ex-pat american family, presumably here in moscow. he intends to rest up, we understand, learn the russian culture and language. according to his lawyer, he's now given up pretty much on the idea of pursuing any kind of asylum with those three latin american countries and is now focused instead on a long-term stay here in russia. he could apply even for permanent asylum a year from now when his temporary asylum runs

out. his lawyer says snowden now needs to figure out, really, what he's going to do here in russia. he's already had a number of jobs. unfortunately, these have all been about his area of expertise, which is i.t., information technology. we understand, however, that he's more interested now in seeking work as a human rights activist. in any case, snowden says he's felt very welcomed by russians. the latest polling does bear that out. some 51% of russians, according to the poll, approve of the american fugitive being here. more than 40% agree he should be granted asylum. tamron, back to you. >> jim, thank you very much. time now for the "news nation" postscript. from the president's grand bargain for the middle class and republicans rejecting it to the battle over bacon between chris christie and rand paul, here's a look back at the week in politics. >> if folks in washington really

want a grand bargain, how about a grand bargain for middle-class jobs? >> it's just a further left version of a widely panned plan he already proposed two years ago, this time with extra goodies for tax. >> we're going to have to patch things up. if we can sit down, i'm inviting him for our beer. >> i'm running for re-election in new jersey. i don't have time for that at the moment. >> we're here today because the israeli people and palestinian people both have leaders willing to heed the call of history. >> russia has stabbed us in the back, and each day that snowden is allowed to roam free is another twist of the knife. >> he's undoubtedly, in my mind, a traitor to our country. >> you're probably not going to get president obama to sign a bill that repeals obama care. truly, our last option is to stop paying for this thing. >> if republicans force us to the brink of another government shutdown for ideological

reasons, the economy will suffer. >> joining me now, nbc deputy political editor domenico montana montanaro. so school is out for summer, so to speak, in the town we're so desperately trying to understand these days. a lot of people not happy to see congress leave with so much work undone. >> yeah, i mean, they leave a lot on the table. you have to think about the mess that we come back to in the fall. you just see what's going to happen five weeks from now. they come back september 9th. you're talking about dealing with the budget, the threat of a government shutdown as the country is set to hit its debt limit on september 30th. no budget in place, so they'd have to come up with a continuing resolution again with still no budget passed over the last four years. immigration, of course, and the sticking point there is path to citizenship. any time you hear somebody on the house republican side say path to legal status, that's a nonstarter with the white house. that is where the sticking point is going to come down to.

you know, just so many things that they didn't deal with. the farm bill, in addition. of course, republicans will say, look, they dealt with student loans. this was something that they felt was a democratic delay because president obama mostly agreed with them, they say, you know, so they're blaming some of it on a delay by democrats. you know, most of this other work could have gotten done and didn't. >> domenico, you and i both know, lawmakers often get an earful from their constituents. is there one thing in particular you believe will be hot over this break? >> well, look, i think the august town halls are definitely something people are going to have to watch. now, how they, you know, manifest themselves is going to be very fascinating. you know, some in conservative districts may hear a lot about obama care and immigration and how they don't want those two things done. remember, october 1st is when people can start signing up for the health care law through exchanges. it's also the same week that house republicans say they may have the first votes on

immigration patchwork bills. if that's the case, you're going to hear a lot of that on the republican side. on the democratic side, you know, democrats were kind of worries that they might get some more questions about obama care like they did in 2010. that's part of president obama going to the hill this past week to try to calm some nerves there as they head home and get the message straight. >> and lastly, before i let you go, mitch mcconnell, lindsey graham meeting the challenger -- or meeting the challenge. >> well, mitch mcconnell tomorrow is going to be at fancy farm, something he's been at many times. it's this event where there's a lot of hecklers and witty co comebacks by their challengers. you're going to see whether his tea party primary challenger can live up to some billing and if he can play in primetime. now, in south carolina it looks like lindsey graham is going to get a serious primary challenger from nancy mace, who's a small business owner.

and notably, one of the first two female graduates from the citadel. we'll see if she can raise some money and give lindsey graham a race. >> okay. thank you. have a good weekend. up next, banished by banks. minor mistakes like overdrafts or an occasional bounced check, well, it's leafing some low-income americans without a bank account. now new york's top prosecutor is investigating this practice by some banks. but first, there's a lot going on today. here's some things we just thought you should know. a majority of americans support so-called stand your ground laws. that's according to a new quinnipiac university poll, which finds that 53% of americans back the laws that have been enacted in some two dozen states. the laws have drawn, as you know, widespread attention in wake of the trayvon martin shooting. a federal judge has signed an order allowing former illinois congressman jesse jackson jr. more time to pay

$750,000 he owes in his criminal case. the ruling comes after prosecutors and defense attorneys asked the judge to hold off ruling on a government request to seize jackson's home. jackson vowed to make his best efforts to pay the judgment against him after pleading guilty to a series of charges connected to his improper use of campaign funds. and one gop lawmaker in texas wants state senator wendy davis to foot the bill for the special session called after her now famous filibuster back in june. while speaking to a reporter with the ft. worth star telegram, a gop state senator said he thought davis should be forced to pay the $800,000 it cost to hold that extra session. those are just some of the things we thought you should know. backed by ad match. you got your list? let's go! look at that price! i like that! they need those for school. wow! that's the walmart low price guarantee backed by ad match. save time and money getting your kids ready for school bring in ads from your local stores and see for yourself.

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many americans are aware credit reports are crucial to getting a loan, many have no idea that a similar report is used for bank accounts. now, the database does include information on bounced checks, overdrawn accounts and other fees. so far it's prevented more than 1 million low-income americans from having access to bank accounts due to in many cases minor past errors on their reports. now, the report has even prompted an investigation by the new york state attorney general. joining me live is the author of the report, jessica silver greenberg. thank you for your time. launching off, people know to rent an apartment, to buy a place, you go through a credit report. not a lot of people realize the same thing with banks. >> i think very few people realize you have to qualify for a checking or savings account. >> and this is not to get a loan. this is to put your money in the bank. >> exactly. it's to get a basic -- it's basic access to the mainstream financial system.

that's what you're applying for. >> this database was created 20 years ago. what was the point in accumulating this information on how many bounced checks and overdrafts people had gone through? >> so when they started -- and it was more than i guess two decades ago when these started. they were meant as more registry of bounced checks for people that had willfully committed fraud. so it was a tool for banks to try to root out anyone who wor trying to defraud them. they've since evolved, though. >> you have talked with a number of people who have gone in and discovered that they can't open a bank account. >> they discover at the point that they applied that a mistake that they may have made, say five years ago even, has now come back to haunt them and is now a barrier to them opening a checking or savings account. >> when you say coming back to haunt them, this inevitably means people have to paycheck

cashing places to cash their check. if they want to wire money or pay a bill, they don't have a checking account, which means you're incurring fees from other places. >> exactly. so all of us are worried about fees, but especially if you're low income. those fees can really erode the little amount of money that you're taking home. if you're not able to get access to a checking or savings account, you're forced to go to pretty costly outlets like check cashers, payday lenders, even to do basic things. >> what are banks saying? >> banks are saying that -- well, they acknowledge it's a problem. some have created second-chance checking accounts which have limited functions. so you can't write a check, for instance. >> so you have a checking account, but you can't write a check. >> right. it's kind of the opposite of a checking account. other banks say that they would never disqualify a borrower because of a single negative report in these databases, but that's not really been born out in the interviews we did. people say they are being disqualified.

>> and right now there's at least one investigation in new york state. what are they could looking into here? >> so they're looking at how banks are using these databases, and the attorney general in new york is concerned that the way that banks are using these are disproportionately impacting low-income americans but also african-americans, latinos, and that it's having -- that it might be a violation of federal and state civil rights law. >> and lastly, you noted that a lot of these banks are closing in minority neighborhoods as well. >> so we're looking at a vastly changed banking landscape. financial regulations have really changed how banks can charge money on various accounts. so they can't -- it's less economical for them to bank low-income customers and we're seeing them shift away from that. >> all right, jessica. an incredible report. thank you very much. >> thank you. well, reputed mobster whitey bulger will not, will not testify at his federal trial. that tops our look at stories around the news nation today. bulger explained his decision to

the court today by calling the trial a, quote, sham. the 83-year-old faces more than 90 criminal counts, including murder, racketeering, and extortion. a young boy is lucky to be alive after being sucked into a drainage pipe in ft. myers, florida. the boy was playing in the street with friends when heavy rains created a whirlpool that sucked him into the drain. he traveled some 300 feet down the pipe and was dumped in a river before rescued by firefighters and taken to a nearby hospital. unbelievable story. and the fda has issued a definition of gluten free to food manufacturers. now, products labeled gluten free will have to contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten. experts say this definition should give patients with celiac disease peace of mind that the food they eat should not trigger

an allergic reaction. up next, russia says gay olympians can come to the winter games, but talking about being gay would be illegal. now there are calls for boycotts of russian products, even the games themselves. will it have an impact? it's our "news nation" gut check. be sure to like the news nation on facebook. we're at facebook.com/newsnation. we update with pretty fun pictures, i think, every day. we got adt because i walked in on a burglary once.

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and you can join the "news nation" on twitter. find us @newsnation. time for the gut check. there are new calls today for a boycott of the 2014 winter olympics in sochi after russia's sports minister said athletes and fans would be, quote, held accountable if they violate russia's vague and newly enacted anti-gay laws. there have been protests at the russian consulate here in new york and the russian embassy in

washington. despite assurances from the international olympic committee the legislation would not affect anyone attending the games. in addition, gay bars from coast to coast have stopped serving russian vodka and are staging protests pouring their vodka literally right down the drain. meantime, on its facebook page, it, quote, stands strong and proud with the local lgbt community against the attitude and actions of the russian government. joining me for the latest is a daily beast reporter who's been covering this story. thank you for your time. >> thanks for having me. >> how has this taken off? are you seeing a number of the bars in the states participating in this? >> absolutely. just in the last week or two, dan savage wrote this blog post calling for bars and local drinkers to pour out their russian vodka. it started in chicago, grew to

seattle. i walk through tons of gay bars here in chelsea in manhattan. most gay bars i visited are pouring out all their russian vodka in favor of domestic or non-russian brands. >> so obviously the theory is hit them where it hurts with the money that is brought in with those liquor sales, right? >> absolutely. it's a symbolic protest in many ways, since russia just doesn't export that much. i mean, obviously we're focusing here on the olympics and on vodka, but it's really a monetary but also symbolic protest saying we're not okay with this. >> i want to read a statement from u.s. olympic figure skater johnny ware, who is married to a man of russian descent. he put this in his weekly newspaper column. he said, let the world focus on the lgbt struggles in russia as international outrage will only help the community to preserve and make right the wrongs that have been displayed to them. i will perform in a country whose government would prefer having me in prison than

entertaining her population because i support the population and not the government. should anything happen to me, please notify my mother and my husband. and anyone who knows johnny, he's definitely cheeky but quite serious in what he was saying there. i'm curious, though. so many people have noted, and in your piece as well, this law is quite vague. so people aren't even clear on what would land them in serious trouble if they said the wrong thing or even someone wondered if you wore a gay flag, for example, what would happen? >> right, exactly. people are very confused about what exactly they can do that could get them in trouble, both as tourists or as olympians in 2014. there's been speculation, as you said, that carrying a flag or wearing a gay pride t-shirt or even speaking about a sort of gay lifestyle in public and certainly specifically speaking about the lgbt community around children could land you in jail, which is really scaring people

and really, you know, causing this drum beat of a movement against both russian vodka and the 2014 olympics. >> the international olympic committee says it's received assurances from the highest level of the government in russia that the legislation will not affect those attend. just quickly before we leave, the human rights campaign asked for a statement from nbc universal. they say it strongly supports equal rights and the fair treatment for all people. the spirit of olympic games is about unifying people and countries throughout celebration of sport and it is our hope the spirit will prevail. but this is not over, it sounds like, in the slightest. >> i don't think so. i think even if you head to a gay bar tonight, you won't find stole there. >> so what does your gut tell you? will the boycott of russian products have any impact on the conversation? go to facebook.com/newsnation to cast the vote. take a look at what the news nation is saying about yesterday's gut check. we asked you, do you agree with lawmakers who say edward snowden

being granted temporary asylum and allowed to leave moscow's airport is a game changer in our relationship with russia? 56% of you said yes. 44% said no. that does it for this edition of "news nation" on this friday. have a great weekend. see you back here on monday. the "cycle" is up next. b. a? that's a great choice. let me show you some faucets to go along with that. with the latest styles and guaranteed low prices, you can turn the bath you have into the bath you want. good choice. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, this abbey vanity combo is a special buy. just $299. inside the only 3 chamber laundry detergent. ♪ now, here you go, let it go

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it's nice to have the experience and commitment to go along with you. keep dreaming. keep doing. go long. i'm toure today from orlando -- wait a minute. you know i'm not toure. he's just running a little late to the studio in florida. he'll join us soon. it's jobs report friday. we'll tell you what the numbers are and what the experts are saying about the future of our economy. i'm abby huntsman today from my chair in new york. speaking of the future, what is a-rod's in baseball? the deal clock is ticking as he prepares to play in a rehab game tonight in trenton. and i'm are coming to you

from across the table from toure's empty chair. another anthony weiner series of interviews. and i'm still krystal ball. i'm still here. congress' last day until labor day. we have music to show everyone just how i feel. ♪ all right. let's talk the economy. you loyal "cycle" viewers know the first friday of each month is jobs report friday. of course, words from our two economic gurus, jared bernstein and peter. before we talk to the dynamic duo, let's give you the numbers. the economy created a net gain of 162,000 jobs last month. kind of an average number. the unemployment rate did drop a