tv Weekends With Alex Witt MSNBC October 20, 2013 9:00am-11:01am PDT
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outlast stay fabulous. [ sofia ] from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. the man hunt intensifies over two convicted killers using forged papers to get out of prison, who later returned to a jail to be fingerprinted. 15,000 workers won't get back pay after the shutdown. in today's office politics, chris matthews. whether it's better to be loved or feared as a politician. and the legal fight over a deadbeat dad declared dead almost two decades ago. he wants to reverse his status, but a judge won't let him. hello, everyone. it's high noon here in the east, 9:00 a.m. out west. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." we're getting the first numbers
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related to affordable care act exchanges since they launched. a senior obama administration official telling nbc news about 476,000 insurance applications have been filed through the obama care website. that figure is the number of people who have stopped on the site, not though purchased plans. meantime, president obama expected to address problems with the website at a health care event at the white house tomorrow. treasury secretary jack lew talked about the glitches on "meet the press." >> i think there's no one more frustrated than the president at the difficulty in the website. there are people working 24 hours a day, around the clock. hhs has said it's going to be putting out information on a monthly basis. hhs has got plans to fix this, and it has to fix it. it has to be done right. >> well, former secretary of state hillary clinton and senator ted cruz rallied crowds at separate events on saturday. cruz was the featured speaker at gatherings in austin and san
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antonio. clinton spoke at rally. >> the whole country is watching this election. watching to see whether the voters of virginia lead the way of turning from divisive politics, getting back to common sense and common ground. >> you don't take on the washington establishment. you don't try to change washington. you don't try to pull back from an epic disaster like obama care and expect that it's going to be an easy road and expect that the washington establishment is not going to fight back. >> well, clinton is scheduled to hold a private fundraiser tomorrow for the new york mayoral campaign of bill deblasio. she'll also give a talk at buffalo university on wednesday. let's get right to nbc's kristen welker. she's got more on the glitches over the obama care website. good sunday to you. what is next in the
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administration's step to get this website working the way it should? >> well, first of all, administration officials acknowledge that the rollout of the health care exchange, the website has fallen far short of their expectations, of president obama's expectations. so they say that there are people working literally around the clock to try to fix those glitches. the range of glitches are anywhere from people having trouble actually registering to insurance companies reporting that they are getting duplicate copies. an administration official told me late last night that they have fixed a number of the problems related to actually signing on and registering, but obviously there's a lot more work to do. we know that the website has come down on the weekends overnight so that officials can begin to do maintenance on the website. now, we are also told, as you reported at the top of the show, that half a million people have filed applications through the exchange on the federal website, through the state-run exchanges. that essentially means those people have gone on and started the beginning process of trying
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to sign up. they might still be shopping for an individual plan. here's a little bit more of what treasury secretary jack lew had to say today on "meet the press." take a listen. >> the test is going to be in january, how many people are enrolled and what's the quality of service they're getting. i think that if we get that right, everyone will regret that the early weeks were a little choppy on the website, but the test is, are people getting coverage, and are they getting the care that they need? we're confident we're going to be on track to do that. >> alex, the next big test will also be mid-november. that's when the administration says they will give out the actual enrollment numbers. now, of course the president's health care law continues to be a big political issue. republicans, some of them, ted cruz, saying they're not going to give up on their fight to try to defund the president's health care law. you also have lawmakers on capitol hill calling for more information about what specifically went wrong, so there's going to be a hearing
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later on this week. we are told by one hhs official that hhs secretary kathleen sebelius will not be able to attend that hearing but that they are working with the committee to try to get them whatever information is required. so the next big deadline mid-november that we'll be looking toward. alex? >> one thing jack lew said is the government shutdown is behind us and the whole cloud of economic uncertainty has been lifted. i don't know. we talked about how we might be on the brink of another one in three months. what's the administration saying about that? >> well, look, i think that they believe the larger economic crisis that could have happened had the nation defaulted on its loans has been averted. but they acknowledge there is still uncertainty. you're right. the deal that has been struck is a short-term deal, just three months. there were real economic impacts from this past shutdown. you had 800,000 federal employees who were furloughed. that certainly detracted from the economy and from economic confidence.
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so i do think that there were some subtle impacts. jack lew talked about that as well. he said that's still being studied, that we don't know what all -- or we don't have a complete picture just yet of the entire impact on the economy. certainly this month-to-month crisis situation that seems to exist here in washington is something that's not helping to restore economic confidence in an environment in which the economy is still struggling to get back on its feet. alex? >> okay. kristen, thank you so much from the white house. >> thanks. >> let's speak with democratic congressman adam schiff. welcome to you. nice to see you. looks like you're in a nice place there. >> thank you. yes, very nice. >> let's get your reaction to the number for the obama care marketplace. 476,000 people have filed applications, not enrolled yet. this on the federal and state exchanges. so at this rate, do you think the projection for 7 million enrolled in six months is realistic? >> well, i think it's realistic, but certainly going to have to
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do a better job with the website. it's been very frustrating. the people have had difficulty logging on and applying. you know, the numbers of people who have been trying are very encouraging. there's obviously a lot of interest in enrolling in the health insurance exchanges. but you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. the first impression wasn't very positive. a lot of frustration for people trying to apply and log on. i do think and certainly hope that over time we'll look back on this as an unfortunate rollout but nothing more than that because i think the exchanges will help bring rates down and for small businesses and self-employed people, i think they're already seeing they can get much better plans at much lower cost. so at the end of the day, i hope it's an early blip, but certainly an unfortunate one. >> okay. the president, as you know, announced yesterday he's got three specific goals for you and your colleagues in congress. he wants you to pass a budget, reform immigration, and pass a farm bill. with two more funding deadlines, just these two months down the road, do you think anything can
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really get accomplished? >> well, absolutely things can get accomplished. whether they will depends very significantly on what the speaker decides to do. take immigration, for example. we have a very similar dynamic there in the sense that the senate, like the shutdown deal, passed an overwhelmingly bipartisan measure in june. the question is, will the house take that up? if they took it up tomorrow, immigration reform, comprehensive reform would be on its way to the president tomorrow. the question is, will the speaker do that, or will the speaker ignore the wishes of the majority of americans and the majority of members of congress and continue to cater to that small group, the tea party group, and their allies? so very similar dynamic there. on the farm bill, i think -- as well as on the budget, part of it may be dictated by how much that same group in the house wants to get a pound of flesh from the president. they obviously feel embittered
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about the way the shutdown was resolved. i hope they'll think with their heads and try to do what's best for the country. if so, we can certainly make progress on all those issues. >> the associated press has characterized this to-do list i just mentioned as meager compared to what the president envisioned at the start of his second term. do you get a sense of lower the expectations in the white house and democrats in congress? we're not hearing anything about gun control legislation, climate change, raising minimum wage, expanding preschool education. >> you know, there are -- they are dramatically reduced expectations. you can see why. if it's this difficult just to keep the government open, then tackling some of these more difficult problems is going to be a real challenge. immigration, though, i wouldn't understate the significance of that issue. we've been trying for comprehensive bill for more than a decade without success. we've never gotten this close. now we have a bill, a very good, comprehensive bill that's already passed the senate. so we're closer to reaching that
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goal than we've ever been. but you're right. on a lot of those issues, on gun safety, on climate change, on early childhood education, we've had to reduce our expectations because the very dysfunctional nature of the congress and also because the dramatically reduced revenues from the recession. but i hope we can find a way to get past this. i hope that we'll learn from this bitter experience that we've been through and that the leadership in the house will decide to focus more on what the country wants than this very small group of members. >> may i ask you quickly about some international news here. the new pakistani prime minister is going to visit the white house on wednesday. it's now being reported that the u.s. plans to release $1.5 billion in aid that has been held up since the bin laden raid. do you agree with releasing this aid? >> well, i do. it's really in our self-interest to make sure they spend these resources in dealing with the terrorism problem. it's not obviously confined to pakistan, afghanistan.
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it affects us deeply. so as much as it's tempting to cut that aid off, we certainly have a lot of issues with the pakistani government. in many respects it would be cutting our nose off despite our face. we have a deep self-interest in maintaining the relationship and also maintaining their anti-terrorism efforts, but i don't think it ought to come with those strings attached. we need to continue to press them to stop facilitating networks responsible for a lot of the cross-border terrorism against our troops in afghanistan. so a lot more that we should ask of the relationship, and the pakistanis should understand that this is not simply a one-way relationship where we provide financial support and get very little in return. >> okay. congressman adam schiff, your time is always appreciated. thank you. >> thank you. an ntsb investigation is underway after a tragic accident northeast of san francisco. two bart employees were struck and killed by an out-of-service train. that train was being moved back
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to the yard after being cleaned and run on automatic computer mode. union workers were on the second day of a trying that is paralyzing the san francisco transit system. one union may hold off their strike today out of respect for the victims and their families. now to the big chill. it feels like fall in the northeast, but you're really going to have to bundle up in other parts of the country. nbc meteorologist dylan dreier is here with the forecast. >> hey, alex. yes, it is extremely cold. it's only going to get colder over the next couple of days. it's 37 degrees right now in minneapolis. 58 in kansas city. right through the plain states is where temperatures are about 15 degrees below average. so even for this time of year, it's a little bit too chilly. we're only going to top out in the 40s in minneapolis. 60s today in chicago, which is going to feel nice compared to the 45-degree high temperature chicago will feel tomorrow. it will start off tomorrow morning only in the 20s. so it is going to be cold at the bus stop tomorrow morning. that's for sure in chicago. 62 for a high today in new york city. but that cooler air is
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continuing to settle in from the upper midwest, where you can see through the upper plains we have some snow showers falling. we have winter weather advisories in effect until about 1:00 central time. so a little longer as that snow starts to move into northern wisconsin. but that area could end up with about 1 to 4 inches of snowfall. a closer look shows you where it is a little more blue as opposed to just white just north of minneapolis. that's where we have some heavier snow falling. that's going to make the roadways slippery in a very short period of time, and it's moving through duluth right now and starting to clear up out of the fargo area. high temperatures today will be on the chilly side. down south, 89 in orlando. 88 in miami. as you head back to work and school on monday, looks nice and quiet in the northeast. 60 in boston. that cold air from the midwest is going to move into the northeast with highs next week only topping out in the upper, maybe even lower 50s for highs, especially tuesday and wednesday. alex? >> okay, dylan. thank you so much for that. a new report that says the government is collecting
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millions of contact lists from all around the world, including the u.s. plus, office politics with chris matthews. chris tells me about his new book, about house speaker tip o'neill and former president reagan. what reagan told him about how washington changes after 6:00 p.m. threats are always evolving. at first, we were protecting networks. then, we were protecting the transfer of data. and today it's evolved to infrastructure... ♪ ...finance... and military missions. we're constantly innovating to advance the front line in the cyber battle, wherever it takes us. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. [ crashing ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums!
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shocking new details about the extent of the government's internet surveillance. documents released by edward snowden to "the washington post" reportedly show that the nsa is collecting hundreds of millions of e-mail address books and instant messaging contact lists from people around the world, and that includes americans. and we're learning more now about how some of this nsa data is being used to located drone targets. greg miller has been covering all these stories. we welcome you. how is it happening, how is the nsa using this address book
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information? >> you can see the address book information, i think, helps us understand how they make use of these other databases that emerged as controversy over the past six months. having someone's addresses can map out details of their connections to others. earlier we learned that the nsa collects metadata, records of calling information people make in the united states. if you marry that with the collection of e-mail address books, you can start to draw connections just beyond those phone numbers that ping around that also include e-mail addresses, instant messaging addresses, buddy lists, the people who are closest to you. >> okay. we're talking about how many contact lists here? >> millions. i mean, some of these slides indicated that the nsa could collect as many as 500,000 in a single day, a couple hundred thousand from yahoo! alone. so these -- >> do you have a breakdown, greg? americans, do we have an idea of
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what percentage is made up by american lists? >> i don't think we have a precise percentage. we know some are americans. the government, the nsa, you know, emphasizes this collection happens overseas. this isn't them collecting on americans. we know that americans are nevertheless sort of mentioned or included in these databases because this data pings all around the world. even companies like google that are based in the united states rely on servers overseas for connections and americans obviously traveled. there were a fair number of americans caught up in this. >> for everyone in a panic going, what? your paper quotes this. we're not interested in personal information about ordinary americans. so have they offered changes since this report came out so fewer americans get snared in the nets, so to speak? >> i don't think they have proposed any significant changes to this program. all of these programs are now just beginning to be kind of reviewed legislatively.
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there are new -- there have been hearings in congress in the last couple of weeks, new proposals each week on legislation to rein in some of these programs and modify the transparency around them. i think we'll see some changes, but it's likely to be minimal. >> okay. you also have a new article out about how a secret nsa unit is using some of this data. you've reportedly been able to use these e-mail messages s ts zero in on high-level targets. can you explain that story? >> sure, yeah. this was another thing we learned from the snowden documents. the drone program in pakistan, we often associate that or describe it as kind of an exclusively cia program, but it doesn't work for the cia without a lot of help from the nsa. these documents showed how the nsa's ability to intercept e-mails and to secretly take control even of laptop computers and other devices enables them to get the coordinates and specific information on some of these people that the cia is
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pursuing. so our story this week talked about this one example. the nsa intercepted an e-mail from his wife. it had enough information about where he lived that they were able to get coordinates on that house. days it later, he was dead from a drone strike. >> is anybody opposing this? i mean, when you look at the effectiveness of getting a guy like him, are people really opposing what's happening with the nsa and gathering up this information? >> well, no. that's a point we made in the story. there was some who read the story that wondered, well, what is the scandal here? we pointed out in the story, this is what the nsa says it does, that its energies and resources are devoted to protecting the country, stopping problems including terrorism. this is a very detailed example that sort of bolsters that case that the nsa has been making throughout this period after the snowden leaks began. >> okay. greg miller, always a pleasure. thanks for joining us. >> great. >> the two convicted killers
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who told you to take a break? [ male announcer ] want to win your own football fantasy? just tell us. then use your visa card for a chance to win it. polls show americans have little faith in the leaders in washington. a new pew research poll shows americans have far more confidence in federal agencies. that tops today's number ones. the biggest rated agencies, the centers for disease control, nasa, and the defense department. their approval ratings, 75, 73, and 72% respectively. on the other hand, the irs gets the lowest rating with 44%. the nsa is third worst with a 54% mark. >> are you after my money? >> no, you're thinking of alan. >> well, ashton kutcher is making laughs and making a ton of money because of it. that's thanks in large part from his check from "two and a half men." he tops the new "forbes" list of
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tv's highest paid actors, earning $24 million from june of last year to this past june. his co-star jon cryer is in second at $21 million. >> mama, i've been asked to prom. >> yeah, that carrie, she's at it again. she may rule at the prom, but not at the box office. the remake is coming up short. >> explorer's been hit. explorer, do you read? explorer, explorer. >> that's why. still no come down for the space thriller "gravity." that's projected box office leader for a third straight week. those are your number ones here on "weekends with alex witt." ♪ ♪
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from the classic lines to the elegant trim in each and every piece, kohler will make your reality a dream. welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." now headlines. same-sex couples, some of them, counting down the hours until they can be legally wed in new jersey. the state supreme court last week refused a lower court order
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for the state to delay recognizing those marriages tonight. bob filner is out of jail after being booked saturday morning. on tuesday he pleaded guilty to felony false imprisonment and two misdemeanor battery charges for his behavior against three women. under a plea deal, he'll be sentenced to three months of home confinement. filner resigned in august after 19 women accused him of offensive behavior during his tenure as mayor. and two people are dead after a motorcycle collided with an suv in franklin county, pennsylvania. four people on the motorcycles were killed. one person in the other vehicle died as well. well, now to some good news for florida residents. the frantic manhunt for two convicted murderers is over. let's get to nbc's sara daloff. where and how were these two guys captured? >> reporter: well, alex, it
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turns out the men were holed up in a motel in panama beach city. that's a couple hundred miles from here. while authorities during the search described them as danger, they gave up without a fight. life on the run came to an end for charles walker and joseph jenkins here saturday evening at the modest coconut grove motel in panama city beach. task force members ordered guests to stay inside and commanded the occupants of room 227 to come out. >> they started screaming and nobody was answering them. they started hollering, come out, we know you're up there, we're coming in after you. >> reporter: the sheriff spokeswoman says the operation was quick with no shots fired. >> it took a little less than a minute and both men exited the room with their hands in the air and were taken into custody without further incident. >> reporter: it was the best possible outcome for their families, who just hours before in a press conference -- >> i just want you home safely, son. please come home. >> reporter: -- pleaded with the
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men to surrender and said they had no idea that the two had not been legitimately released from prison. >> we took him first to his grandmother's house, who was totally elated. she had no idea he was coming. we then took him to his mother's house. we then took him to our house. >> reporter: the escape relied on carefully forged documents, which included faked signatures of a prosecutor and a judge. jenkins and walker were so confident of their plan that they officially made no effort to hide. they even registered as felons at the county jail. former fbi profiler clint van zandt worries their case may be the tip of the iceberg. >> i think every state, especially florida, has to look at everyone who's been released under conditions like this and verify that it was a legitimate release. >> reporter: the reincarcerated inmates will face many questions in the coming days, including if they had inside help. for now, relief in the community knowing these two convicted killers are back where they
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belong. both men were back in prison garb and back in court this morning to hear the charges read against them. they'll come back in a few days. the judge wants to verify, alex, that yes, indeed, they are back in the custody of the department of corrections. back to you. >> any reaction from the victims' families? >> reporter: yeah, there has been quite a bit of reaction from these families who say they're still trying to absorb all the events, that roller coaster of the past few days. they do feel relief. they say they were anxious and nervous while these guys were out that they might hurt their families or someone else while on the run. >> i'll bet. nbc's sara dallof, thank you. hik and ted cruz both rallying crowds this weekend. could this be a preview of 2016? well, the former secretary of state made her first public campaign since leaving the obama administration. at the same time, ted cruz reiterated his fierce opposition to obama care speaking at two
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separate events in texas. joining me now, washington bureau chief for "the chicago sun times," lynn sweet, and political reporter for reuters, andy sullivan. good to see you both. i'm going to play you, lynn, part of what hillary clinton said yesterday. let's take a listen. >> i've been out of politics for a few years now. and i've had a chance to think a lot about what makes our country so great. what kind of leadership is required to keep it great. >> i don't know. beginnings of a stump speech? she was probably referring to her good friend terry mccolluf as well. what do you think? >> i think that she did a big payback for her long-time friend, but she knows what she's doing, alex. it's a tease.
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the audience for hillary clinton obviously is much bigger than just the virginians who she talked to. no matter what her speech is, political or policy, it's taken in context, will hillary run in 2016? >> you'd think all the chants would be like, terry, terry. no, it was hillary. >> well, there's a lot of -- you may have heard there's a lot of pent-up demand out there are if hillary clinton to run. that's the big question. that's why when we talk about ted cruz and hillary clinton as if they're equal politically in stature, i don't buy that. ted cruz is a still largely unknown figure to most americans while hillary has 100-plus percent name recognition. >> you mentioned ted cruz. let's listen to what he said. >> i am incredibly encouraged. i'm encouraged, number one,
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because in the last two months we have elevated the national debate over the harms of obama care. for two months people have been talking about it over and over and over again. >> what is cruz's strategy here, andy? is this what we can expect if there's a cruz for president platform? would it sound like this if he were to run? >> certainly. obviously from a policy perspective, ted cruz and the others who wanted to defund obama care lost last week, but his national profile was raised. he's now a hero to the tea party right. and he's sort of the foremost tea party figure. so while he's probably not the most popular republican figure overall, he's certainly the number one pick for the slice on the right. that's a very solid base from which to begin either any presidential run or even just mounting a re-election campaign in texas. >> you know, lynn, it was suggested on the air yesterday
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that actually he may not be so much looking for a run for the presidency but rather to be a leader in ideology for the republican party. can you see that as being plausible? >> yes and no. but if you want that kind of job, be searah palin. you're not responsible for running anything. if cruz -- >> but hang on. at this point in his senatorial career, he's got a lot of time to go. he can speak almost with impunity. >> yes, but as we know from the case of senator barack obama who became president, the longer you're in the senate doesn't necessarily make you a more viable senate candidate. of all the senators who have run, kerry, kennedy, et cetera, the one who won was the senator who spent the least time there and had the smallest record for opponents to pounce on. so i would think it's one thing to be an ideological leader, but if you want to stay in the senate, you have to show something for it other than
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shutdowns. >> well, you also have to work effectively, andy. you have to be somewhat popular to do that. you can't completely rule by fear of where he may go with this. it was said on this broadcast as well that this is a guy that is unpopular in the senate. people don't like him. what do you hear on that? >> yeah, i think he probably will have a tough time being the kind of senator who, for example, may be able to make sure that the army base in san antonio doesn't get cut or that he can expand, you know, federal research dollars to the university of texas. he's going to have a hard time doing that, but i don't think that's why he was elected to the senate. that's not why he came here. he came to stop the expansion of government. so he now has a very big public megaphone in which to do that. a good analogy here is jim demint, who got absolutely nothing done in the senate but was seen as an important voice for the tea party, then bailed out and is hitting the heritage foundation and making $1 million a year.
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>> okay. you guys have to stay where you are. i'm going to talk to you again soon. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> in today's office politics, my colleague and most of msnbc's "hardball," chris matthews. he's practically a washington, d.c. institution, and it stems from his many years working on capitol hill and in the white house before take to television. chris' latest book has already hit "the new york times" best seller list. while it's the story of the unlikely personal friendship between political adversaries, house speaker tip o'neil and president reagan, the book also tells another tale. >> i was really moved by the fact it's my story because i came into washington, as you know, in the early '70s and got a job working as a capitol policeman at night and working at a legislative aide, then working on the budget committee, then speech writing for carter. it's really the story of my political growing up. it's the story i had to tell.
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i was thinking about writing it because i kept a journal. why don't i write about these two big irish guys firing with each other? then i realized, that's not what's interesting about those guys. it's true, they fought. they found a way after the 12th round or 15th round to make a deal. they did it on social security, tax reforms, northern ireland. on so many areas they found a way to reach agreement. they were real grown-ups and respected each other's offices. the country felt better. you look at tip. he left at 67% job approval. today that's unimaginable. ra unimaginable. today we're talking about the congress at 8% approval. so i did think that was the salutary thing about the story. it was not the donnybrook, which i was going to call the book, but the pollices it worked. they are what they are. that's the beauty of it. one is a hollywood guy. the other is a local a towny.
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they weren't exactly close buddies. reagan, i think, was fonder of tip than the other way around. tip was a tougher customer. i know. i worked for him. reagan, according to someone i worked with, would say around the house he's fond of tip. >> in the book you talk about how these guys were so much the same and so much different. how were they the same? >> they're irish. tip always accepted the fact reagan was a fellow irishman even though he wasn't raised catholic. they had the whole history, the jokes, the love of notre dame. they talked about pat o'brien. that was the first they got together on. it's the st. patrick's day lunches every year, the birthday parties for tip at the white house, the irish toast, all the blarney. i wrote in the book about it. the first time i met reagan, i said, welcome to the room where
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we plot against you. he said, oh, no, it's after 6:00. the speaker says we're all friends after 6:00. it's true. i have to say it was different then. they were different. they recognized limits. they were old-school guys that said we have this deadline, let's get it done. or we need a tax deal, so let's get it done. we're going to try to end this cold war together, let's get it done. there's that sense of -- i said it to "the washington post" this week. when you're in your 70s, there's no more bs. this is your act. this is the final act. you want to leave the stage with successes. you don't want to leave fighting. i really do think apart from the irishness, wouns you reach your 70s, you're lucky to still be in politics. >> after reagan's attempted assassination, tip o'neil was the first outsider at his bedside. tell me about that. >> they wanted to be a sign, i think, of national unity. the speaker is second in line to the presidency.
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they let him in. he knelt down next to reagan's bed. he was in bad shape. he held both of reagan's hands and they recited the 23rd psalm together. then he kissed him on the forehead. it was not long, only a couple minutes apparently. reagan said, thanks for coming, tip. it was to me a humanity statement. we need them. a statement of humanity, of christianity in this case. i checked with his daughter susan, who's a pal of mine. she said he definitely news the lord is my shepherd, he knew that psalm. >> what's so amazing is i listen to you talk about this. you lived in this era. do you sometimes pinch yourself and say i was part of all this? >> no, i was on the plane with president carter. it's in the book. it starts the book off. when we get beaten by reagan. i'm sitting there when we get the word, you guys are going to lose by ten points.
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i was there the whole time. i'm watching him say he lost. then i find myself working as the top guy with tip o'neil for all those years, the second round with reagan. here we go again. i'm just there all the time. no, it's amazing. pinch yourself is right. >> next weekend, my interview with one of the hosts of msnbc's "the cycle," krystal ball. should a teen volleyball captain be suspended and her captainship revoked for being a good samaritan? it's a growing trend in business: do more with less with less energy. hp is helping ups do just that. soon, the world's most intelligent servers, designed by hp, will give ups over twice the performance, using forty percent less energy. multiply that across over a thousand locations, and they'll provide the same benefit to the environment as over 60,000 trees. that's a trend we can all get behind.
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medicare open enrollment. of year again. time to compare plans and costs. you don't have to make changes. but it never hurts to see if you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. open enrollment ends december 7th. so now's the time. visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare life with crohn's disease ois a daily game of "what if's". what if my abdominal pain and cramps come back? what if the plane gets delayed? what if i can't hide my symptoms? what if? but what if the most important question is the one you're not asking? what if the underlying cause of your symptoms is damaging inflammation? for help getting the answers you need, talk to your doctor and visit crohnsandcolitisinfo.com to get your complimentary q&a book, with information from experts on your condition.
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help the gulf when we made recover and learn the gulf, bp from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i can tell you - safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. our commitment has never been stronger. guilty by association? one high school's decision to punish an honor student for showing up at a party where there was underage drinking is getting international attention. north andover high school in massachusetts took away the 17-year-old's title as captain of the volleyball team and suspended her for five games even though police who busted the party confirmed she was
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sober. cox just arrived there to give her drunk friend a ride home. legal analyst lisa green is joining me now. we know that now erin cox is back on the court. she served out her suspension. was the school right to punish her? is this another example of zero tolerance teaching kids zero lessons? >> there seems to be zero support for the school's position. i know you've been hearing from social media. common sense just tells us that we want to encourage our young people, our teens to help each other out in the event of an emergency like i'm too drunk to get myself home. so the school has said that for privacy reasons, they can't tell the whole story. the school has also said they're relying on sort of the state athletic association's guidance about these incidents. i went and read those guidelines. what the athletic association says is while they have a zero tolerance policy about alcohol and athletes, they don't want to have guilt by association punishments either.
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it certainly seems like erin cox has been caught in that. >> absolutely. it seems like guilt by association. we're going to throw up a statement from the attorney for erin's family. i'm going to let you read this. it's basically reiterating what lisa just said. ultimately, do you think the school is sending the wrong message? can you find anything to substantiate their behavior? >> really doesn't seem like there is. in fact, a police officer who arrived on the scene did erin and her lawyer a big favor by e-mails a robust description of how sober and intelligent, poised erin was. it was practically something you could submit as a college application recommendation. >> can i ask you about this? this is the time. she's a senior. she's in the thick of whole college application thing. she may be going for scholarships. she's an athlete. >> alex, we remember as parents just how fraught that timing it. i have to say that while these parents may or may not find a court that can grant them any relief, what they've done really masterfully is make sure every college admissions officer,
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every athletic director with an interest in volleyball is aware that if erin cox was disciplined by her school, they know why it happened and, you know, who knows, in a perfect world it could burnish her reputation. >> we're going to throw up a statement from erin's family and what th what they have to say. the cox family has filed a lawsuit against the school. the judge ruled it didn't have jurisdiction. but this is more than about winning the case. this is about erin's reputation, getting into college. that could all be in jeopardy. >> it could be in jeopardy. it looks like there's not a lot of options for them legally. i think that's going to be okay. i think they've accomplished a more important objective, which is to make sure colleges know this girl is really in the right. the whole separate issue is, how much intervention do we as parents want schools to have about outside activities. i think most parents would agree they'd like there to be some.
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no one thinks this was a good example. you also wouldn't want schools to wash their hands of the whole thing. it can be very helpful at these giant parties that get out of control that students know if they misbehave they're going to suffer repercussions, not just criminal but at school. >> absolutely, lisa. but in this case, what is it that prevents north andover high school from looking at this big picture, seeing the international outrage at this, and not doing the right thing? >> you know, it remains to be seen. this is my speculation. sometimes bureaucracies have a hard time admitting that a road they've gone down is a mistake. as i've said, they also said there are certain issues that for privacy reasons they can't talk about, whether there's anything there or not, we don't know. you know, she has served her suspension. she's playing volleyball and winning again. it'll be interesting to see if the school decides to renege on his punishment. it may not matter in the end for erin, who did a nice thing. >> she did a great thing. i got to tell you something, i
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a disturbing discovery inside a filthy gypsy camp in greece has launched an international appeal. authorities are asking for help establishing the identity of this 4-year-old girl. she was found during a raid on that camp. greek police say the couple she was with are not her parents. duncan is joining us with more from london. before we get into how this little girl was found, how is she doing? >> hey, alex. police say she was terrified and upset at her sudden change in circumstances, but she's now being cared for by a charity. meanwhile, investigators are trying to find out was she a victim of child trafficking in europe and where is her real
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family? she's being called the blond angel, and it was maria's blond hair and pale skin that led to her rescue. now authorities need to find out where this mystery girl really belongs. police officers were searching for drugs in this gypsy camp in central greece when they spotted the 4-year-old peeking out from under a blanket. police say there was no resemblance to her supposed parents and dna tests proved there was no biological relationship. >> she was living in a very bad conditions. she was neglected. no evidence of any abuse. >> officers say maria was dirty when she was found. they washed her and saw the difference. the couple claiming to be her parents have been charged with abduction. a relative said maria was given to the family and they raised her in a nice way. maria's story is being watched by the family of another girl, madeleine mccann, who's been missing for six years.
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a spokesman for her parents said it gives them great hope that their daughter could be found alive. maddie was 3 when she disappeared from a portuguese vacation apartment. this week detectives investigating the case are following up hundreds of phone calls from the public after releasing these new computer generated images. they show a man believed to have been seen on the night she went missing. >> we miss her every day. >> her parents have been appearing on european crime shows, trying to create new leads, hoping their little girl is found too. yeah, thousands of phone calls have been made about maria in greece. some are from parents looking for their own children. alex, a sad story, a worrying story, but one with just a little bit of hope in it. >> yeah, for which we thank you, duncan. next hour, we talk about a new jfk book and the key evidence that led the house to a conspiracy theory that's wrong. we are the thinkers.
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sign on, sign up? new numbers on obama care and even more worries about the rough rollout. power down. security flaws in america's power grid. a new study sheds light on what could put us in the dark. 50 years later, a new book on the jfk assassination that could silence some conspiracy theorists. and changing channels. is netflix about to become cable tv ready? hello, everyone. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." just past 1:00 p.m. in the east. let's go to front page politics. back from the brink. the federal government is the open, the debt ceiling lifted, all thanks to congress reaching a deal, but the battle is far from over. >> the deal was a terrible deal. the washington establishment sold the american people down the river. it provided no relief for the
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millions of people who are hurting because of obama care. >> so we have to have facts as we go forward. we have to have common sense as we go forward. we have to go to the table understanding that we cannot shutdown an we cannot place in doubt the full faith and credit of the united states. >> meantime, more headaches over healthcare.gov. officials continue to work around the clock to fix glitches that have plagued the obama care website. krist kristen welker has more from the white house. what kind of reaction are we seeing? >> alex, it's interesting. after all of the debate and fighting that we've just seen in washington, there seems to be bipartisan agreement about one thing, which is the health care website has fallen far short of expectations. both democrats and republicans saying that. democrats saying it's because the website is getting such a high volume of traffic. republicans saying it's because the health care program's just not working. here are the facts. we know there are a wide range of issues that have been
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reported. everything from people having trouble logging on to insurance companies saying that they are getting duplicate copies of enrollment forms. one senior administration official told me late last night that they have people working 24/7 to try to fix the problem. they have fixed some of the problems associated with the website. we're getting our first numbers from the administration. according to officials, as many as half a million people have gotten applications through the federal and state exchanges. that means those people have started the process of getting applications, signing on. they're possibly shopping around for the different plans right now but haven't actually enrolled in the health care plan. there was a lot of debate about this during the whole budget battle we witnessed. obama care at the root of the government shutdown. that debate continues this morning on the sunday shows. take a listen to a clip from "meet the press." >> the number one worry before we started was are people going to be interested?
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will people sign up? and the answer to that is overwhelmingly yes. >> the fact is the sick people are signing up, the healthy aren't. they're not going to because the deductibles are so high and the cost is going to be high. the penalties are not great enough to force them to do it. >> alex, treasury secretary jack lew was also on "meet the press" today, saying no one is more frustrated with this than president obama. he will speak tomorrow about the health care law. i am told by an administration official that he will talk about the problems, talk about what is being done to fix them and also let people know the other ways in which they can apply for health care. for example, they can do so through the call-in centers. i'm told that the number of trained representatives have increased by 50% since october 1st. people can also print out applications and mail them in. i'm also told that we'll get our first look at the actual enrollment numbers in mid-november. but this debate certainly does continue. alex? >> indeed.
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thank you so much, kristen welker. >> thanks. >> well, the new poll shows the 16-day government shutdown has further eroded public trust in the government. the survey taken in the week before the shutdown ended shows just 19% trust the federal government to do what's right either always or most of the time. 80% trust government only sometimes or never. in a show of further discontent, 58% say members of congress are the problem. 30% in the survey say they're angry with the federal government, which is up 11% since january. and what's more, 55% say they're frustrated with the federal government. with that rather inauspicious introduction, i'm joined by a member of the budget affairs committee. i'm surprised you don't just rip off your microphone. >> i'm glad to be with you despite the introduction. >> are your ears burning on that? >> no, i mean, i'm home in rhode
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island. all around my district people are really frustrated. what they witnessed over the last couple weeks was really disheartening and disgusting to lots of folks who expect people to work together to solve problems. they saw, you know, a group of folks shut down the government and threaten to default on the full faith and credit of the united states because of a big policy difference. i think people know that's not the way our government is supposed to work. you can have policy disagreem t disagreements and have different viewpoints but you don't threaten to close the government or god forbid default on the full faith and credit of the united states. people's frustration is real. we have a lot of things on our plate. we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform, pass a jobs bill. they want to see members of congress work together for common sense solutions to solve these problems. >> i got to tell you, i hear this over and over. i absolutely echo your sentiments. that said, come three months from now, are we going to be in the same position over again? >> yeah, i think we have an opportunity as members of
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congress to really demonstrate to the american people that we can work together to get big things done. we have a timeline now. we have protected against default. we have assured we can reopen government. we have a timeline now. by december 14th to report back a budget deal, to hammer out a deal, a bipartisan deal. we have to do it. we have to work together and find a solution that makes the right investmentings, addresses our debt in a responsible way, insures we're doing things to grow the economy and create jobs. this is an opportunity. it's going to require people to come to the table with a sense they're not going to get everything they want. you know, that's what you have to do. you have to find ways to cooperate and build common sense solutions, but folks who think they're going to get everything their way or they're going to close down the government or they're going to allow us to default is not the way we should be approaching this work. everyone recognizes this is compromise. you have to work together to reach common ground. >> it's called the art of politics, i think, which sometimes seems to be lost a bit. let's go to the obama care rollout, the marketplace there. the white house has released the
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numbers with 476,000 people having filed applications. they've not enrolled, though. this is on both the federal and state exchanges. what's your reaction to that? >> well, i think first of all, no one should be satisfied with the rollout. there have been lots of problems with the computers all across the country. but i think we should not lose sight of what this act does. it's going to bring 20 million to 30 million uninsured people into affordable health care. it's going to close the donut hole for prescription drugs for our seniors. it's going to allow young people to stay on their parents' plan until they're 26. it's going to end lifetime caps on insurance plans and allow people who have been discriminated against because of pre-existing conditions to have insurance. this is all good. there is, in fact, this tremendous interest in the affordable care act. lots of people attempting to learn about it. they should have anticipated that. i think the president has acknowledged he's incredibly frustrated. they were addressing. i think it's evidence that people really do want to ensure they and their families have access to quality, affordable health care. that's a good thing.
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we need to work -- the administration needs to work out all the difficulties with the computers. we shouldn't lose sight of the product, affordable, quality health care for millions and millions of americans who before this had no access to health care. >> you know, the president announced yesterday that he's got three specific goals for you and your colleagues. he wants you to pass a budget, he want ys you to reform i immigration and pass a farm bill. can anything really get accomplished? i want to tell you i asked this of your colleague, representative adam schi ff. he said it can get accomplished, but maybe you should ask the question, will it? >> i think it actually can and should and i hope it will. the reality is there is a governing coalition, a majority of most of the democrats and a group of republicans, 80 or 100 or so, that are willing to work together to solve the big challenges and the three issues you just described. really, it's going to be decided by one person, the speaker of the house. will he bring to it the floor those three pieces of
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legislation, understanding it's going to require a governing coalition of democrats and republicans, just as we did to avoid the default and reopen the government. we can get all that work done. we've got to work together and he has to be comfortable with that. >> okay. representative, thanks for joins us from rhode island. >> thank you. well, at ten minutes past the hour, here are your fast five headlines. a suicide truck bombing at a government check point in syria today killed at least 30 people. the attack comes as the arab league announced a peace conference for late november. police in brazil are trying to recover nearly 200 animals which were freed from a laboratory. the activists claim the dogs were used in pharmaceutical drug experiments. one of two striking unions striking against san francisco bay area transit will not picket today after a tragedy on the tracks. two transit workers were struck by a train yesterday while inspecting a track. transit officials say the train was on auto mode and had an experienced conductor on board.
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in the fallout from the financial crisis in 2008, jpmorgan chase agreed to pay the government a $13 billion settlement. and new jersey is taking marriage license applications from same-sex couples. weddings can begin at midnight tonight after the state supreme court denied to delay marriages. my asthma's under control. i don't miss out... you sat out most of our game yesterday! asthma doesn't affect my job... you were out sick last week. my asthma doesn't bother my family... you coughed all through our date night! i hardly use my rescue inhaler at all. what did you say? how about - every day? coping with asthma isn't controlling it. test your level of control at asthma.com, then talk to your doctor. there may be more you could do for your asthma.
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thanksgiving, november, engineer back from there, go to the table respectful of the fact this will have to be a compromise. >> i would do anything, and i will continue to do anything i can, to stop the train wreck that is obama care. what i intend to do is continue standing with the american people to work to stop obama care. >> well, let me bring in contributi contributing editor for "newsweek" and "the daily beast." hello to the both of you. eleanor, senator cruz has not ruled out another shutdown. is that where we're headed come january 15th, or do you think there have been some valuable lessons learned? >> i would take mitch mcconnell, the republican leader's, word over ted cruz at this point. he says there won't be another shutdown. i think republicans are looking at the poll numbers of the last week understanding that if they take the country to the brink once again, that the party will
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suffer more. so right now i'd say no, but there are all kinds of parliamentary maneuvers that senator cruz can pull because we do respect the rights of the minority in this country. let's see if he can work with house republicans and cross those parliamentary lines and get the rest of his party angry. you know, he himself is doing fine. he's loving it. >> you know, dana, those poll numbers, they could hardly be any lower as a result of the shutdown. isn't it in the best interest of both parties to avoid a repeat of what we just went through? you think the gop sees that? >> yeah, that's the surprise each time the new polls come out and say it's even lower. i didn't realize it was possible to go any further down here. yeah, ted cruz may have it in his interest to have another shutdown. there may be 50 people in the house who agree with him, but it does seem that others have at this point come to their senses and raeltz that he's just led them off a cliff and they've got to, you know, put on the bandages and the splints and get
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back and try to do this again. now, it's possible democrats will overplay their hand because they know they're in a strong position here. there's certainly no guarantee of a resolution, but at the very least, it seems they're more likely to punt more easily next time without getting down to the wire. you know, there's not a lot of cause for optimism that we're going to suddenly have this grand bargain that's eluded us the last several years. >> aren't you both in total support of what nancy pelosi was saying? can we started wo working on thw and not wait until january 12th? >> when everybody has vacations planned. >> right, exactly. all right. eleanor, with regard to the president and these three big items he wants passed, the big one being immigration reform, here's what republican senator marco rubio was saying today. >> i certainly think immigration reform is a lot harder to achieve today than it was just three weeks ago because of what's happened here. again, i think the house deserves the time and space to have their own ideas about how they want to move forward on this. let's see what they come up with
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with. >> does it sound to you like it's going to get passed? >> that's a loss because marco rubio was pretty brave on this issue. he got pushed back and now he's apparently retreating. the action is in the house and whether they will bring a series of bills to the floor and whether they will see immigration reform as a life raft to prove to the american people they can indeed legislate and govern and that they right-hand turn just a party that wants to shut down government. this is a potential deal. the deal would be to grant some legal legitimacy to the 11 million people in the country here illegally without documents. but stop short of offering them a path to citizenship and make them get in the back of the line of everybody else and just apply for citizenship then. democrats don't like that, but if they could get to that point, i think democrats might accept that. >> dana, don't republicans have a lot to gain by helping to pass immigration reform? it would show the gop reaching
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out to latino voters that they really haven't had a hold on since the george w. bush era. >> there's that argument. a lot of tea party republicans say this will just have more latino voters who are likely to vote against us anyway. so we've seen both arguments here. the truth is, if the republicans don't do a better job at appealing to minorities and to women, if you just look at the demographics, they're going to be irrelevant in another decade or two so they pretty much have to get out there and do something here. but that said, it's quite a stretch to predict that anything is going to pass in this particular congress. >> yeah. eleanor, may i ask you quickly about one of your latest articles, the walmart moms being furious with washington. why is that? >> well, walmart studies its customers. these were two groups of moms they interviewed before the election. half of them voted for romney, half of them obama. they were getting their reaction
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to what's going on. they've all shopped in walmart at least once, they have at least one child under 18. they think what's going on in washington is disgusting. they think that the lawmakers behave like a bunch of kindergarteners or toddlers and they're slackers on top of it. they work these short weeks and they play poker online when they should be paying attention and reading "green eggs and ham." so there are moments that get through to them and tell the story in a pretty direct way. they've also noticed that women have taken a lead in trying to forge consensus in washington. so haillary's name did come up. they quote her as one tough -- i don't know if i should use the word. >> let's just be safe. >> one tough you know what. >> yeah, cookie. >> right. excellent. >> all right. well, eleanor, thank you very much. dana millbank, thanks as well. see you soon. what's in the cards for viewers
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happy happy. i love logistics. netflix is expected to release its third quarter earnings report tomorrow. this after the company's stock hit a record high friday. the success the company is enjoying this year had many seeing them as a threat to the cable tv industry. in a surprise twist, a new article published in "the atlantic" says the company is talking seriously with comcast to become a stand-alone channel, so instead of trying to disrupt cable tv, netflix might be teaming up with them. joining me now, derek thompson, senior editor at "the atlantic." is it in netflix's best interest to team up with cable tv? >> it seems to me both netflix and cable want what the other person has. for netflix, they want to be a
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remote and a set top box in millions of households. their growth is slowing. for cable, they want the technology, the on-demand catalog and the passionate popularity netflix has among younger tv viewers who will eventually be older tv viewers who compromise the bulk of the tv audience. >> does one side need the other one more in your mind? >> well, cable is much bigger at this point. when we pay a cable company or satellite tv company for linear programming, which is a show like this, which is we watch it when it's live, we're todpaying $70, $80 a month. for netflix, we're paying $8 or $9. netflix would like more money. since they can't actually raise the price because people are so price sensitive to netflix, they have to grow the audience. in order to grow the audience, they want to be seen as an app or separate channel within the cable bundles that 100 million
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households have access to. >> so the consumers, us, we will benefit how? >> you can imagine people are talking about making netflix an app on cable television, what does that really mean? you could imagine buying a set top box and a remote from comcast or time warner cable. there's a button that says netflix in red. press that, it pulls up the familiar interface, and you can choose to watch an old episode of "30 rock," a new episode of "orange is the new black," just as quickly as you can scan back to msnbc. there's already ways to do this with apple tv and other web tv device. this would simply make it easier. when you make it easier for older families to connect to netflix in addition to linear programming, you can expect more of them to sign up. >> you've also talked about the enormous growth here of netflix and it hasn't hurt the cable industry jyet. is there a rivalry, or were
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industry analysts reading this wrong? >> the question is, is netflix competition or complimentary? i think it's complementary. you look at the real numbers. you have about 29, 30 million american subscribers to netflix, millions more on amazon prime. you would expect this would diminish significantly the number of total paid tv cable customers. but it hasn't. that number actually grew slightly in 2012 according to r the go-to place for these numbers. so it does seem to me like these two products are complementary. it's not that the cord-cutting potential is cutting down the cable bundle. in fact, what we're seeing is a super duper bundle that keeps growing and growing. that's good for tv lovers. >> yeah, okay. derek thompson from "the atlantic." thank you. >> thank you. >> 50 years after the jfk assassination, the conspiracy theories are debunked. the author joins me next. e of starbucks house blend? not that we like tooting our own horn but... ♪
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and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. welcome back to "weekends with alex witt."
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the manhunt for two dangerous florida murders is over. they were arraigned about an hour ago. they had been serving life sentences without the possibility of parole but somehow managed to submit forged release documents and walk out prison gates. joining me now is nbc's sara dallof. can you share how and where they were captured? >> reporter: of course, alex. this all went down yesterday evening after authorities received a tip from who they describe as a close associate of the men who said that these guys were holed up inside the coconut grove motor inn. well, a task force surrounded the motel. they ordered other guests to stay inside their room and ordered wright and jenkins to come out. >> just started screaming, and nobody was answering them. they started hollering, come out, we know you're up there, we're coming in after you. >> reporter: and authorities say the men came out on their own about a minute later, hands in
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the air. this morning they were back in court to hear the charges read against them. they are currently being interviewed by law enforcement who say these guys definitely had help hiding and getting from location to location. they want to know who it is and, alex, they're vowing more arrests right now. >> i can bet. i bet the families, the victims' families are relieved to have them back behind bars. thank you so much, nbc's sara dallof. so just how secure are our nation's power plants? new research has identifiey eie v vulnerabiliti vulnerabilities. alex, good day to you. this research is pretty technical. can you explain to our viewers for layman's terms what they found? >> so essentially the way power plants communicate with each other and the rest of the grid is through their own isolated network. it's not the internet.
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most research that have been looking for vulnerabilities in the internet is a laptop plugged into a phone line, the old way. what this isolated network has is nine disclosed vulnerabilities so far, ways you can send faulty data into the power plant and confuse the systems. eight of them are serious enough they can crash the servers, which means the operators watching what's happening won't have an accurate situation what's going on on the ground. the ninth is more serious. it lets you actually put code into the server and take control of it. that could allow an attacker to essentially turn power plants on and off at will. >> wow. what are the groups that have the skills to do something like this? >> well, there's none that exist as we know, but the thing is, now that the vulnerabilities have been found, they're patched. the ones that have been disclosed so far are fine. the worry is there's another 14 or so which haven't yet been disclosed to the vendors,
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haven't yet been cured. if a researcher can find it out, an activist group could find it out and could do the same thing. you need to get physical access to this network to go on it. but the problem is, you know, you've got a substation in rural america. there's not that many people hanging around doing security. you break in, you plug your laptop in and you can get going. >> that's pretty scary. how vulnerable would you categorize these suburban substations as being then? >> not suburban, like actively rural. they are normally monitored by web cam or a motion sensor. the other problem is there's actually some wireless radio communication. you could hack into that. again, you don't even need to be physically in the same place. but we should temper our warnings here. the power network already has a big vulnerability to essentially a lunatic with a chainsaw. if you take a chainsaw to the right cable, you can cause a blackout. this is something that's been true for 50 years, for however we've had a power grid.
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we're not talking about something which is orders of magnitude worse than that possibility. at the same time, it's now a new attack vector. it's a new way things could be messed with. >> one thing you wrote about, this security through obscurity. can you explaining that and how reliable it is? >> i can. so what this is, security through obscurity, is our mocking term in online security research for the idea that just because someone hasn't heard about a way in, it's basically secure. it's as though you've got a back door when you leave unlocked but it's not visible from the street, so you hope no one will notice. this network, because it's not actually connected to the internet, most researchers thought it was probably okay. they're looking for ways in through the internet. that's why they put up fire walls. now, actually, security through obscurity is never that good an idea. once someone does find out this way in exists, they might well use it. >> okay. well, it's a sobering discussion. thank you so much for bringing
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it to us through "the guardian. >> thank you, alex. >> they were the gunshots in dallas heard around the world 50 years after the assassination of president john f. kennedy. questions still remain about whether lee harvey oswald acted alone. now using modern technology to examine old evidence, university of virginia professor and director of its center for politics has uncovered new details from that fateful day back in 1963. he reveals them and more in his new book "the kennedy half century." larry joins me now from charlott charlottesville, virginia. larry, i knew when you were working on this book and promised we'd have you on for it. i've read most of it. it is so good, but it's interesting because hundreds of books, larry, have been published about the kennedy assassination. you have lots of documentaries, feature films. they've all been made. your book just came out on tuesday, i believe. what kind of new ground are you breaking in this 50-year-old mystery? >> well, alex, first of all, most of what we break that's new is about the kennedy legacy.
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we trace kennedy through all nine of his white house successors. >> which is really cool. political junkies love that. i like that a lot. anyway, go ahead. >> yeah, on the assassination, about a third of the book is the assassination. like everybody else who lived through it back in 1963, i've been obsessed with it. i wanted to make a contribution to the literature on it. i think we've been able to do that. here's what we did. as you know, there are two commissions that have investigated president kennedy's assassination. the first was the warren commission right after the assassination. i outlined in the book more than a dozen ways in which they utterly failed. alex, that was such a flawed commission. and they were also lied to. they weren't told the truth by the cia, fbi and others. they never had a chance to get it right and to go down the trails when the trails were hot. the second commission was the house select committee on
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assassinations in the 1970s that looked at this for about three years. in 1979, they concluded that president kennedy was probably killed as the result of a conspiracy. they relied heavily on a police recording at police headquarters at 12:30 on november 22nd. they believed that one of the motorcycle policemen following president kennedy's limb seen had a stuck microphone and had recorded four shots in the plaza. everybody agrees lee harvey oswald only had time to fire three shots. so a fourth shot automatically means conspiracy. here's the problem. we brought the best audio experts in the world together, frankly spent a fortune, and more than a year studying this. we have proved conclusively that the house select committee on assassinations report is utterly wrong. the motorcycle policeman with the stuck microphone was 2 1/2
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miles away at the trade mart where president kennedy was going to deliver that luncheon speech that sadly never got delivered. >> so larry, you were able to interview these key witnesses that two major government investigations missed. how did you -- >> yes, i was shocked, alex. i mean, i was really stunned. some of them were interviewed by that second committee. i think the second committee did a more thorough job in reaching a lot of these witnesses, but how is it possible, alex, for me, 45 to 50 years after the assassination, to interview key witnesses who took photos and film and had important observations to make because they were right there? they actually saw what happened. and some of them offered to the warren commission to go in and the warren commission didn't interview pthem. >> but see, when this kind of thing happens, this is what fuels the conspiracy theories. there was something behind it. so ultimately, when all is said
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and done, everything you've researched, do you believe that lee harvey oswald acted alone, and since we're half a century later and a lot of people have passed on clearly, are we ever going to know for sure or put the conspiracy theories to rest? >> alex, i personally believe that lee harvey oswald fired three shots from the sixth floor of the school book depository, killed president kennedy. but it's impossible to rule out the possibility that someone encouraged him, some group, some individual helped him plan it. it's impossible to rule it out because oswald was killed so quickly after the assassination, and second, we still, 50 years later, don't have key documents, thousands of them, from the cia and other organizations, governmental organizations. they're supposed to be released in 2017, by october 2017. the candidates running for president in 2016, whoever gets to the oval office, that person
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will determine whether those documents are actually released. let's hope after -- by then, 45 years after the assassination, we the people will have the right to see the entire record, at least what's been preserved. >> yeah. larry, last question. people that you were able to interview, did they hold a consensus on the killing of president kennedy, whether it was a conspiracy or a lone act by lee harvey oswald? >> alex, they're all over the line. some claim there was at least one bullet from the grassy knoll, the picket fence area. others say they all came from the book depository. they all say different things. of course, their photos and films don't lie. that's our best evidence. but alex, 100 years from now, we'll still be debating this. you and i won't. we won't be here. but our successors will be. there will be documentaries about all the conspiracies people can conjure up. >> if i'm here in 100 years, i
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won't be on tv. it's not going to look good. anyway, larry, good to see you as always. >> me too. >> thank you so much. >> thanks, alex. >> it is so good. really great. thank you, larry. well, how could same-sex marriages this week in new jersey help chris christie run for president? the big three is next. bad things happen. add brand new belongings from nationwide insurance and we'll replace stolen or destroyed items with brand-new versions. we put members first. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪
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about yoplait's fall favorites. so we brought pumpkin pie and apple crisp back for a limited time. see? you really do call the shots. ♪ yoplait. it is so good. it's time for the big three. today's topics, 2016 preview, marriage cross roads, and this week's must read. let's bring in my big three panel. political reporter for u.s. news and record world, lauren fox, msnbc contributor, robert traynan, and jason johnson. good to see you all. let's go first to the 2016 preview with hillary clinton making her first public campaign appearance saturday since leaving the obama administration. let's take a listen to part of that. >> i've been out of politics for a few years now.
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and i've had a chance to think a lot about what makes our country so great, what kind of leadership is required to keep it great. >> and if you continue there, is this the beginning of a stump speech for herself? oh, gosh. i didn't say who i'm going to ask that of. you, jason. >> that's the beginning of a stump speech. here's a better tidbit. earlier this week she was in atlanta at a closed-door meeting. she kind of mentioned joe biden wasn't in favor of taking out osama bin laden and she was. yeah, hillary is pretty much laying the groundwork for 2016. she probably will be the democratic nominee and march her way into the white house unless something strange happens. >> robert, this one is for you. we're talking about ted cruz today. he's launching more criticisms
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of obama care. let's listen to what he was saying. >> the only way to win this fight, and for that matter to win some of the other fights we've had, is to energize and activate the grassroots of the american people. i've travelled all over country to town halls and rallies to make the case to the american. >> does that sound to you like someone with an eye on 2016? >> absolutely. look, ted cruz is absolutely right that you have to energize the base. the base is already energized. they're not going anywhere. there's no doubt about it they're not going to vote for hillary clinton in 2016. but what the republican party needs to do is obviously move to the center to be able to reach out to independents and to conservative democrats. that's where ted cruz obviously does not fare. the question becomes wether or not the grassroots organization part of the party can stay within the conservative wing but also can the party move more to the center. >> so lauren, house minority
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leader nancy pelosi said this about hillary clinton. let's listen to that. >> if hillary clinton does run, she'll be one of the best prepared people, and she will win, i believe, if she runs. she'll be one of the best prepared people to enter the white house in a long time. >> nancy pelosi not the first person to say they think she'd win if he runs. is this a preview of 2016, these two we're talking about? >> certainly we're seeing what 2016 could look like, but i think that ted cruz has a lot of fences to mend when it comes to the republican party. he certainly has the grassroots behind him, but he'll need to talk with some of his conservative colleagues, many who are part of the establishment who he's frustrated in the last couple weeks during this government shutdown. i think ted cruz has a long way to go. hillary clinton is certainly the presumptive nominee here. >> let's switch gears and speak of another potential 2016 candidate, that being new jersey governor chris christie, who says he will comply with the high court's ruling to legalize
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same-sex marriage. is same-sex marriage something the gop will have to accept? >> i totally think within the next two to five years the republican party will do a capitulation on same-sex marriage. when you look at the recent poll, 52% of americans believe that same-sex marriage should be legal across the country. when you take a look at republican and conservative vote voters under the age of 50, they're in support of it. there's no question that the tide is turning and the republican party should get in front of it. >> and lauren, we have governor chris christie who says he opposed same-sex marriage but does support civil unions. this issue, certainly a hot topic. what kind of impact could it have on him if he decides to reason in 2016? >> well, he certainly has to walk a fine line here. you know, he needs to keep social conservatives at his base. he needs to continue to have them support him.
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but at the same time, he's the governor of new jersey. new jersey residents believe 2 to 1 in gay marriage. he's going to have to walk that fine line. certainly civil unions has been. but there are more than 1,000 different benefits that married couples get that civil union couples do not get. so i think that he's becausing that fine line but he may need to get in front of this issue before 2016 if he wants to win some of these independent voters over. >> jason, i'm being told you're shaking your head. you can weigh in. >> here is the thing. chris christie has so many other things to worry about than gay marriage. elephants never forget. there are many who don't forgive him to hurricane sandy and embracing barack obama. so gay marriage is not something high on his radar. it's a losing issue for the republican party. he has other things he has to fix before he can be a viable 2016 candidate. >> so how big of an issue beyond
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christie will it be? >> i think it's not an issue for the republican candidate, but they will to play whack a mole with all the conservatives in the party. >> interesting perspective there. okay, guess what we have coming up? the big three. we'll be talking about a civil war with the must reads next. un] at northrop grumman, we've always been on the forefront of innovation. when the world called for speed... ♪ ...when the world called for stealth... ♪ ...intelligence... endurance... affordability... adaptability... and when the world asked for the future. staying ahead in a constantly evolving world. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. ♪ that's the value of performance. (announcer) answer the call of the grill
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throwing punches in today's power politics and paychecks. a newly released movie escape plan, and schwarzenegger has tweeted he has no plans to enter the battle for the white house in 2016. he shot down a report he's preparing a legal challenge to a constitutional ban on foreign prisoners becoming president. a newly released poll taken in the second week of october
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shows just 31% are satisfied with their standard of living which an 8 point drop from a month ago. lowest level since january. we'll pick pink things bac with the great reads. >> haltol with high a sints is a great story about the political influences affect people with bipolar disorder. what a woman's experiences are leak in the system. a great read for anyone interested in how we deal with mental health in america today. >> that is an extraordinary read just inspiration for writing that book. but you're right. we have to deal with mental health issues. the "new york times" is out with a story this morning about the gop's civil war and certainly there has been a lot written about this in the last two week. but i think what's interesting about this is just how much the business community and the grass roots are at odds at this moment and i think it's really important and something to keep
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an eye on and something that will not be going away. >> do you get any sense from the gop civil war that when we come up against the debt ceiling ted line and funding the government in 3 1/2 short months that the gop has coalesced at all? >> no i think this article shows that there is a long way to go before that happens. >> just hoping. robert, how about yours? >> former white house chief of staff james baker also former secretary of state and secretary of the treasury has a really good op-ed in the financial times talking about how the republican party needs to be the party of hope and the party of ideas. and this is on the heels of what governor jeb bush said about the republican party has to be the idea party again. and i think that's what the republican party needs to be positioning himself into 2016 is about ideas, about hope and about the future. it's not about gay marriage. it's about moving forward. >> okay. beg ideas from all three of you.
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thank you so much. have a good one. that is a wrap up of this sunday edition of weekends with alex witt. up next, we have meet the press. after that, craig melvin at 3:00. ♪ [ male announcer ] staying warm and dry has never been our priority. our priority is, was and always will be serving you, the american people. so we improved priority mail flat rate to give you a more reliable way to ship. now with tracking up to eleven scans, specified delivery dates, and free insurance up to $50 all for the same low rate. [ woman ] we are the united states postal service. [ man ] we are the united states postal service. [ male announcer ] and our priority is you. go to usps.com® and try it today.
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a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death.
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this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. don't take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.
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this sunday, breaking gridlock. u.s. economic default is averted for now, but when will this this sunday, breaking gridlock. u.s. economic default is averted for now, but when will this era of political default be over? >> we never should have gone through what we went through. we started here, we ended here. >> we inflicted pain on the american people that was totally unnecessary and we cannot do this again. >> next, democratic senator chuck schumer of new york and republican of oklahoma offer ideas of how to fix washington. plus secretary jack lew. why he says spending cuts are holding back the economy. now the biggest test of the president's health plan is yet to come.
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