race, today's big showdowns could have major implications come 2016. voters are heading to the polls to elect governors in virginia and new jersey. terry mcauliffe is going up against ken cuccinelli for the governor's job in virginia. and this state could turn blue for the first time in decades. in new jersey, chris christie has been fending off democratic challenger barbara buono who says christie is putting his national ambitions ahead of his state. things are expected to get heated on capitol hill as marilyn tavenner is back trying to explain what went wrong during the rollout of the obama care website. while she admits there were big problems at first, things are now improving. >> we are now able to process nearly 17,000 registrants her hour or five per second with almost no errors. we've updated the sight several times since september 1, improving the experience. >> we'll have more coming up but

first we start with election day in virginia. luke russert is there for us where terry mcauliffe cast his vote early this morning. luke, do you get the sense that virginians are aware that all eyes are on them today as well as seeing that that state could go blue in decades? >> reporter: yeah, absolutely, thomas. what you see here behind me is a slow but steady stream of voters coming through. from ones i've spoken to, they say they know the whole eyes of the country are on them because of the amount of tv advertisements they have been inundated with for many years about the governor's race, lieutenant governor's race, among other things. the theme of the day, shall we say here, thomas, is turnout. this is a turnout election. it is a slow but steady turnout here at this precinct in northern virginia where i'm at. 1,000 people have voted so far. the polls opened at 6:00 a.m. democratic terry mcauliffe needs turnout from the sbauo-called

liberal areas of the state. ken cuccinelli is zeroing in on lynchburg, own oak. mcauliffe is leading in the polls but there is some question if there's a very low turnout race, if they don't get the two million number of voters they want, there could be a chance for him. we shall see. from folks i've talked to they say they have mainly been supportive of mcauliffe and cuccinelli has been too extreme for their views. >> luke russert for is in value. thanks so much, sir. we want to shift gears to the other governor's race being decided today in new jersey. there we have fresh video of chris christie off to the polls this morning with his wife there. christie is being challenged by democrat barbara buono. both candidates have cast their ballots. we have richard lui stationed in new jersey. what are voters telling you? >> what they're telling us is who can run the state the best. who can take care of our economy. that's a common theme that we're hearing from voters that we've

been able to speak with. we're here at the morristown firehouse. so far we've been seeing them trickle in basically one by one. we've been here since 6:00 a.m. as we have talked to the election workers here when they have had a break, they have told us that the volume, since we're talking about volume just a second ago, has been lower than the special senatorial election, which was an all-time low. here's what one independent voter told me earlier. who he voted for and why. >> i voted today for chris christie. i'm a big supporter of mr. christie. i was a rutgers student and he reached out to me personally at one of the football games. i had a long conversation with him and i really got to know him and i really believe in what he stands for. so i am in support of hip. >> reporter: the challenge for barbara buono, who is the democratic challenger, is getting her name out, evidently. just 12 hours ago she put out a new youtube video about 4:30

long while chris christie scoured the state yesterday hitting seven different spots, trying to answer the criticism is he running for governor or president. they expect another surge when the lunch hour comes around. here's some of the local papers. caution the race isn't over until last vote is cast of the and this one, christie hopes for big margin. basically summarizing this, it is the underdog versus the alpha dog. a lot of people watching this one right here in the state of new jersey. thomas. >> richard lui, thank you, sir. we want to bring in our agenda panel, joining me msnbc national reporter suzy khimm, earlofair hutchinson and steve benen. as we've been talking about, both of these races have potential significance well beyond their borders.

let's stay in new jersey where richard just was. i want to play this, chris christie and our chuck todd talking to a new jersey voter. take a look. >> i absolutely believe that what you're going to see tomorrow is something that hasn't happened in this state in a generation. i had all kinds of folks whispering in my ear today. i'm a democrat. don't tell anybody i'm voting for you. >> how many are pretty excited about the idea of chris christie running for president? you with two hands. >> i am so excited. >> where are you so excited? >> because i think he's wonderful. i think he'd make a great president, and i want to be there. >> all right, so looking at this. steve, is christie trying to rack up this big margin to show that he has crossover appeal? i think we heard that line before about, hey, voters are coming up to me telling me they're republicans but they're going to vote democratic. >> i think that's certainly

chris christie's goal. he wants to try to send a message to the rest of the political world and his party that his way is the way to get the party back on track. to win a presidential election for the first time in a long time. but i don't see this as a way to really make that message clear. i think that he's facing weak competition. he's facing a candidate who has struggled raising money, who has struggled to get her message out. when you think about looking ahead, assuming chris christie runs, he's going to face a very different field in the republican primary. and if he were to win that, he'd face a very different strength of candidate in a democratic challenger. and so i think he's going to have a hard time making the case that this is going to prove that he's a presidential candidate. >> you bring a great point up about money. if we follow the money, which always takes us down interesting paths, we've got "the new york times" pointing out the massive amounts of it flowing into jersey and the races there to thwart christie's agenda with outside spending topping twice

what was spent when christie was elected. can he cut through the noise and make the proper path? >> well, this is the big question that's looming over this right now. i mean we saw what happened to mitt romney, who was sort of similar when he was in the governor' office saying that he made overtures to democrats, that he can be the candidate of compromi compromise. and then we saw him change all of his positions, shift very hard to the right in order to survive the primary, which he did. but that ultimately that didn't help in the general election. so i think chris christie could become a different candidate, come the republican primary. in terms of his policy positions. the most that the general public knows about christie is in terms of his attitude, his sort of down-to-earth kind of guy who isn't afraid of straight talk. >> take no prisoners approach basically. earl, if we turn our attention to virginia now, that being once a republican stronghold, virginians went for obama in the

last two presidential elections and here you have ken cuccinelli up against the clinton machine and terry mcauliffe. politico is pointing out that these questions in the race are the big ones. will black voters turn out. how big is the gender gap and do independents punish cuccinelli for the shutdown or mcauliffe for obama care. so based on those, how do you think it's going to go in virginia? is it too close to call to say this is going to be a shoo-in for terry mcauliffe? >> well, it's never a shoo-in for any particular candidate and certainly not in virginia. all the things you went down the checklist, these are intangibles at this point. we'll know at the end of the day. in other words, the turnout of african-americans, independents. also it's a low turnout off election. all of these things, i think, taken into consideration could actually work in cuccinelli's favor. we don't know at this point in time. however, one thing i think that has emerged from this and i think cuccinelli has made this point over and over again, and

mcauliffe to an extent too, is this really a referendum at the national level, the outcome in virginia, on obama care, the affordable care act and beyond that? because essentially what's being suggested here is virginia is in fact the bellwether. because it's the changing demographics are making it a much watched state. so i think we're really going to have to see if mcauliffe comes out on top with a substantial win, by the way, i think it sends a huge message not only to the nation, but also the democratic party and the republican party that, in other words, it's an uphill battle in 2014 and 2016. on the other hand, if cuccinelli wins, i think it's a shot in the arm for certainly the tea party and certainly conservatives in the gop. >> but cuccinelli put out this op-ed for politico and he gave that statement where he said virginians that want to vote for obama care can vote for me. virginians who want to see obama care grow further can vote for mcauliffe. mcauliffe has been a strong

support of what obama care will mean for virginians and how it's going to change the narrative. even though obama care because of the netechnical glitches and the rollout, he's acting like it's not political kryptonite for him to talk about. >> that's exactly right. i think mcauliffe has made the case there's a lot of elements within the affordable care act that remain very popular with americans in general. and mcauliffe doesn't necessarily see the risk. that he can embrace this law and run on it as part of his platform. kucuccinelli has made a strateg decision that might cost his party dearly. obviously there's problems with the rollout of obama care but at the same time if cuccinelli loses, as now seems likely, we'll see that sound bite over and over again of cuccinelli and his allies saying this is a referendum on the affordable care act. if he loses, the affordable care act wins. this is something to keep an eye on as the results come in tonight. >> i want to point everybody's attention to this alabama race, the first congressional district here. this is between two republicans.

we've got former state senator bradley burn, who was a democrat until '97, and candidate dean young, who describes his supporters as pitchfork people. now, i want to read you just a few of the answers from the q & a that happened and the interview in the guardian. apart from the u.s., which other country do you admire. burn, good question. israel, young, i'm not a big world traveler so i don't know. do you feel homosexual people can feel the same young for people as straight people? burn, yes. young, i don't even know. then where was barack obama born. burn, he has worn in hawaii and produced a birth certificate. young, this is what we call the $64,000 question. i have no idea. when pushed for an answer he responded with kenya. so i'm just going to phish this out to anybody who wants to jump on it first. what does this tell you about the state of the republican party especially when we know

that this burn guy refers to his people as pitchfork people? >> you know, look, we can laugh at this. and some of it is on the surface appears laughable. but let's face it, every poll, every survey i have seen and we have seen over the last couple years has shown one thing clearly. there is a huge, and i mean huge element out there that's basically no nothing. they want nothing. everything -- they're anti-everything and that's always been a deep strain within the american body of politics and i think it's coming up now. so we see dean young apparently making all of these basically stupid way-out statements, but we have to understand something else. there's a constituency out there for that. there's a lot of people that like that. there's a lot of people that would cheer him on. and let's face it, there's a lot of people that will vote for him. >> it's intellectually dishonest, though, his answers. so hopefully potentially the voters out there can see t through that. our agenda panel, suzy khimm,

steve benen and earl hutchinson. you know find more at thomasroberts.msn thomasroberts.msnbc.com. we're also watching races in a dozen other cities across the country. bill if bill de blasio befts joe lhota -- mike dugan could be detroit's first white mayor in 40 years if he can beat benny napoleon. in minneapolis, voters there will have 35 mayoral candidates to choose from, so we wish you good luck with that one. still ahead, terror in the skies. two skydiving planes colliding in midair, all caught on tape and all of the jumpers live to tell this story. we'll hear from them coming up. plus we're learning more about the man who opened fire inside a popular new jersey mall last night, causing hundreds of customers running for their lives. shocking new allegations against dolphins guard richie incognito accused of leaving

threatening messages for his teammates. hazing in the nfl. is it time for the league to crack down with a zero tolerance policy and stand by it? weigh in on twitter or facebook. we'll share your thoughts coming up. this is brad. his day of coaching begins with knee pain, when... [ man ] hey, brad, want to trade the all-day relief of two aleve for six tylenol? what's the catch? there's no catch. you want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol? no. for my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve. i got this. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there.

you've got to try this sweet & sour chicken helper.

i didn't know they made chicken. crunchy taco or four cheese lasagna? can i get another one of those actually? [ superfan ] hey, america, we're here to help. ♪

welcome back, everybody. we wanted to show you the surprise appearance by the president and the first lady as the white house tours reopen today. the president and first lady surprising everybody by greeting guests there. we knew that the white house tours would be reopened today. now, it was back in the spring that in march the white house tours were cancelled due to sequester level spending cuts, but here we see today the president and first lady greeting those who are back in the people's house. according to your own

regulations it was estimated that 40% to 67% of those individual policies wouldn't be able to be grandfathered because of all the conditions you put in the regulation. so in effect didn't you know in 2010 there would be a big turnover in these individual policies and that it was wrong to go across the country saying that if you like your plan, you can keep it without having to change a thing? >> i don't think the regulation assumed that it was because of the grandfathering that these plans would change. these plans routinely change. the turn in these plans is greater than 50% per year, often not renewed. people move about this market. this is part of what the affordable care act was designed to do was stabilize this market. >> the obama administration officially directly responsible for the troubled rollout of the health care website, now facing these tough new questions this morning. this time it's marilyn tavenner, once again the administrator of cms, the centers for medicare and medicaid services testifying at a senate hearing. it was a week ago she was grilled at a house hearing prior to kathleen sebelius, who is the health and human services

secretary. joining me live is republican congressman robert pitten jer. he's been calling it a national disaster of the also joining us, tom scully who served as cms administrator under president george w. bush. he's a republican working who's been promoting the health care law, and seies it as a potentia gold mine that could make some people very rich. congressman, you were not in favor of the government shutdown over the aca or defunding the law. why do you see the health care now as such a disaster or what do you see that can be done to enhance it to make it work properly? >> well, thanks, thomas. yes, i had voted 15 times to defund or replace, reform the health care law. however, i just felt the strategy that was being advocated to shut down the government was not going to be fruitful. as it turned out, as i anticipated, it only had 14 votes in the senate to go along

with that strategy that would require a shutdown of the government. that didn't seem to be very politically smart and it turned out not to be. but recognizing that, the obama care plan has been an extraordinary problem to individuals. their premiums have gone up. the cbo says the cost is unsustainable. its enormous loss in jobs. today many companies are not even going to include the health care plan. there's 160,000 individuals involved with various companies like walgreens, you have home depot who have dropped 20,000 people. >> sir, wasn't it under president bush that we saw companies starting to purge people and not offer health care any longer, and we were seeing the numbers go up. and the bush administration wasn't doing anything to help the uninsured americans in this country. the aca was designed, as we were hearing there from marilyn

tavenner, designed specifically for people in this country who were uninsured and also the ones that are being churned out continually on these policies. and i understand that some of the language that was used, that if you like your plan, you can keep it, you respect that many of these plans, that the private insurance companies were giving junk policies to people. that if people did have an emergency, and they went to go try to cash in on their benefits, many people would figure out that they wouldn't have any coverage at all. even hospitalization or basic care needs through these policies that they were paying. do you think that's a swindle that so many private insurance companies are now being called on the carpet because they don't meet the basic standard of care of the aca? >> sir, i do think that those are isolated situations. i think individuals should have had the right to buy if they want. now they're required to buy a policy that they have to have coverage. as a gentleman, you have to have coverage for maternity. it's absurd.

individuals are bearing the brunt of this as well as businesses. half the businesses, according to gallup, they do not support this entire plan. they see the cost, they see the fact that they're trying now to stay under 30 hours a week. they're trying to hire less than 50 individuals in their company. we had all the franchise people in washington a couple of months ago. these are the mcdonald's, the wendy's, the auto service industries. they told me they're doing everything they can to avoid the mandates because of the incredible costs that they bear. you know, if you don't subscribe to obama care, you're going to pay a $2,000 fine. if you do subscribe to it, then you have to include obama care as part of your compensation package. and any economist will tell you that the compensation package which includes salary, bonuses, benefits are measured in the relationship to the productivity and role of the person in the company. now that's required coverage for everyone, no matter the role that they would play in the company. so it's a great burden and a

real disincentive for a company to expand. it's a great cost they have to bear and frankly it's going to be passed on to our consumers and hurt our entire economy. >> tom, your reaction to that because you look at this from a different perspective and how people can benefit from the aca as a cost production measure. >> yeah. don't get me wrong, i'm not a big fan of the aca but marilyn tavenner is an old friend and a great person and she's having a rough day today. she's very talented, very good. i know the congressman as well. i'm not a big fan of the aca. i'm in the health care business. it's pumping $200 billion into the health care economy, so my firm, we own a lot of health care providers and services and 16 health care companies. the next four or five years for health care investors will be terrific. as the health care policy person, what i said in the "times" is the structure of president obama's plan is very similar to a lot of old moderate republican plans like president bush's, which i wrote 25 years

ago with another guy. the problem is too much money. i think what's happening is they did it too fast. they have too big a plan, subsidizing people too fast. i think the insurance regulations are a little over the top, which is turning out to be the case. when you subsidize 62% of americans, it's pretty hard to create a program that's going to work. so my view from the beginning and years ago when they passed it was that they should have scaled it back a little, phased it in a little more. flipping the switch to try to cover 30 million people january 1st was asking a bit much and i think they're looking at the complications that came out of this bill being just too big and too much too fast. structurally i don't have a big problem with some of the insurance reforms. i think they wish it would have been a little more gently and gracefully. >> but as we recognize this is amending the social contract in our country, especially when it comes to basic health care needs. so when we discuss insurance regulations and you're saying

that this is harder, more crackdown on regulation, correct? >> i'll give you an example. i was the health care guy for president bush 1 and ran medicare and medicaid for the second bush. it was a standard insurance reform to start of saying six to one. a 62-year-old person can be charged as much as five or six times a 24-year-old marathoner. the president's plan does three to one. what you're seeing about young people having their rates go up. the insurance reforms in my belief are fundamentally the right thing to do in the long run. they did a little too much too fast. i'm a fan of municipal coverage. i don't think we should subsidize people making $94,000 a year. i'll all for subsidizing poor people. with all due respect, i think the president went too far on a fundamentally correct platform. and if they phased it in over three or four years and did it more slowly, they'd probably be fine. unfortunately the bill passed on a party line basis. as a result of that, it's become

very, very nasty politics and it's unfortunate. >> headwinds the whole way as we go through all of this, robert pittenger, tom scully, great to have you here. thank you so much. >> thanks. we are going to give as an organization our full and complete cooperation with the nfl. >> that's the miami dolphins head coach responding to what was first considered a case of bullying on the team. now we're learning offensive lineman richie incognito may have threat racist messages and death threats for a fellow team member. is this an isolated case or sign that say there could be a much larger problem in the nfl? plus on this election day, a key challenge to the voter i.d. law under way. the first federal trial since part of the voting rights act was struck down is now under way in wisconsin. we'll talk to one of the challengers in just a few minutes. in the nation, we know how you feel about your car.

so when coverage really counts, count on nationwide insurance. because what's precious to you is precious to us. ♪ love, love is strange just another way we put members first. because we don't have shareholders. join the nation. ♪ baby... ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] old el paso frozen entrées. now in freezers.

[ male announcer ] old el paso frozen entrées. hey, i notice your car yeah. it's in the shop. it's going to cost me an arm and a leg. you shoulda taken it to midas. they tell you what stuff needs fixing, and what stuff can wait. high-five! arg! brakes, tires, oil, everything. (whistling) 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. 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. i watched the plane blow up

in flames and i knew the pilot was still in there. everybody else had parachutes on. so i chased the plane, i think dan did too. >> a riveting account from one of 11 people, nine skydivers, two pilots, gearing up for a final jump in the skies above wisconsin. suddenly, two planes collide in midair. take a look at this incredible video showing the skydivers and fiery debris. the plane plummeting to earth on the side. nbc has the exclusive on helmet cam and here's the story from the "today" show's matt lauer. >> some of the skydivers take their positions outside the trailing plane for their final jump of the day when disaster strikes. [ bleep ]. the two cessnas collide in midair. some of the jumpers literally slammed between the two planes. the wing of the lead plane bends around one of the jumpers and then breaks off. from a different camera.

you can see other jumpers getting sucked out into a freefall. at 120 miles per hour, 12,000 feet in the air. one jumper literally turning his head to see a massive fire ball engulf one of the planes, flaming debris flying through the air around them. another parachutist watches as the remaining piece of the plane breaks up. somehow the pilot of that plane manages to escape and jump out. in these videos licensed by nbc news, the divers race to deploy their chutes, not knowing if their friends have survived. the first jumper to land starts counting the number of parachutes he can see to count the crash's survivors. >> how many parachutes do you have? >> we're good. we've got everybody. >> then they reunite on the ground. >> tell them to wait for me.

hey, hey! >> racing to find the others. >> come on, blake, you've got it. >> and cheering as the second plane lands safely. >> oh, my god. >> all nine jumpers and two pilots safe on the ground. an ending that just moments before seemed totally impossible. >> absolutely amazing there. the "today" show's matt lauer reporting that one of the jumpers was a student. as you can imagine, the instructors gave him a passing grade on that. truly a miracle. here's a look at some of the other stories topping the news. police say they don't think a gunman who killed himself at new jersey's largest shopping mall wanted to hurt anyone else. 20-year-old richard shoop walked into the mall last night opening fire. some shoppers ran from the mall and others barricaded themselves in stores until police found his body hours later. denver police are questioning two 15-year-olds after reports that two people

broke into a middle school with guns. police think the teens were carrying bb guns. they are accused of ransacking several rooms in the school. federal investigators looking into last week's shooting at l.a.x. are searching for the cell phone of suspected gunman, paul ciancia. they suspect he was concerned about the new world order, that's a conspiracy theory for foresees a totalitarian one-world government. a college senior in a halloween costume. that's why central connecticut state university was on lockdown. police received reports of a person carrying a sword or handgun. a student was wearing a ninja costume, returning back to school from a three-day halloween party off campus. and kentucky university's ballplayer making an unreal basket during an exhibition game. he goes in for this amazing save after a blocked shot, heaves up the ball. it goes in but into the wrong basket. lucky for him kentucky still won. that's amazing.

so today's producer's pick comes from our executive producer. space is vast, very vast, but it may not be so lonely after all. astronomers who studied the milky way have discovered its filled with billions of planets just like earth that exist in what they call the goldi locks zone, not too hot, not too cold for life. do you believe it? you can read more about it by heading to my facebook page. so ally bank has a raise your rate cd that won't trap me in a rate. that's correct. cause i'm really nervous about getting trapped. why's that? uh, mark? go get help! i have my reasons. look, you don't have to feel trapped with our raise your rate cd. if our rate on this cd goes up, yours can too. oh that sounds nice. don't feel trapped with the ally raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

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

♪ [ male announcer ] 1.21 gigawatts. today, that's easy. ge is revolutionizing power. supercharging turbines with advanced hardware and innovative software. using data predictively to help power entire cities. so the turbines of today... will power us all... into the future. ♪

there are some mounting questions on whether richie incognito will ever wear the dolphins uniform or any uniform in the nfl ever again. in a matter of 24 hours, incognito went from defending himself on twitter to week suspended after allegations that he not only bullied but sent racist and threatening messages to teammate jonathan martin causing him to abruptly leave the team last week. the associated press and espn

obtaining a transcript of a voice mail message allegedly left on martin's phone. i'm not going to read the entire transcript but he starts out by using a racial slur, threatening to slap him and his mother and then kill him. you can see the full transcript on your screen. joining me now, mike florio of nbcsports.com. mike, these are pretty shocking allegations and incognito, this is not his first time being in the limelight no character issues. do you think this is the end of the line for this player? >> i think it could be. he's become radioactive as a result of this is involvement in this incident. we'll learn more as the nfl investigates this. now, the nfl will try to keep the information confidential, but there inevitably will be leaks. we'll find out more about what incognito said to jonathan martin and what he said to over teammates not just in miami but in st. louis. he previously played for the rams. >> if we look at the potential for other players may be involved in this, the nfl

players association releasing this statement. it is the duty of this union to hold the clubs and teams accountable for safety and professionalism in the workplace. as the representative organization of all players, the nflpa will insist on a fair investigation for all involved. so where do they take the ball from here? and how, i guess -- how much connective tissue is there to then back track, as you point out, to these other teams where incognito could have been playing? >> here's where it gets interesting to the nflpa. that is a union that has to represent and defend incognito and martin. the defense could be he was just doing what he was expected to do. toughen up young and teammates that are perceived to be weak. get those guys tough, get them ready to play. if they show weakness, keep hammering on them until they toughen up because football is a tough, violent came.

incognito when he's interviewed could very well say i was just doing what i was expected to do. did anyone tell me to target this guy? no, i'm a member of the leadership council. i'm trying to get them tough because we're playing football that is a tough and demanding sport. so the nflpa has to defend both guys and the defense of incognito could be i was just doing what i thought i was supposed to do. >> that's a pretty big stretch when he is talking about potentially killing someone's family member or leaving these threats for them to be misinterpreted in this. i know hazing in sports exists, certainly on the pro level and collegiate level, that's nothing new. but these allegations are something else. it is not the type of attention that the nfl wants for its players, its organization going forward. so how do they talk about a zero tolerance policy or policies that they have and then have the action that backs up the words? >> well, what would be unfortunate and unfair to

incognito in this case is if there is a broader cultural issue throughout all nfl locker rooms. if there's a guy on every nfl team who acts this way, who believes it's his duty to toughen up players by saying mean things to them, by doing mean things to them, all in the spirit of getting ready to play football, but incognito is the only one who gets singled out and disciplined by the nfl. we saw that with the bounty case, the saints were singled out. it makes it much more kwa embarrassing if you start turning over rocks to find out where else guys are behaving like this. the nfl doesn't want to do this because they don't want it all to become public. i could see incognito being harshly disciplined, possibly never playing again and we'll never find out how broad of a problem this is in the nfl. >> mike, great to have you on. thanks for your time. we asked and you answered, the question being hazing in the nfl. is it time for the league to crack down with a zero tolerance

policy. steve saying can common decency be enforced? should it have to be? angie says grown men acting like this, making the kind of money they make, carrying on like school yard children. it's disgusting. and renee says i think if our kids get suspended at school for this, why shouldn't overpaid athletes have consequences? as always keep the comments and the conversation going on twitter and facebook. we're back after this. [ male announcer ] this is pam.

her busy saturday begins with back pain, when... hey pam, you should take advil. why? you can take four advil for all day relief. so i should give up my two aleve for more pills with advil? you're joking right? for my back pain, i want my aleve.

[ ding! ] losing your chex mix too easily? time to deploy the boring-potato chip decoy bag. then no one will want to steal the deliciousness. [ male announcer ] with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix is a bag of interesting. of providing a free world-class education for anyone, anywhere. if you look at a khan academy video, they cover everything from basic arithmetic

to calculus, trigonometry, finance. you can really just get what you need at your own pace. and so, bank of america came and reached out to us and said, "we are really interested in making sure that everyone really understands personal finance." we're like, "well, we're already doing that." and so it was kind of a perfect match. senator rand paul of kentucky is facing new allegations of plagiarism. this time he's accused of copying language in an op-ed that he wrote for "the washington times" in september. he wrote america now jails a higher percentage of its citizens than any other country, including china and iran at the staggering cost of $80 billion a year. on the september 14th, an editor wrote an essay that contained the exact same sentence. senator paul's op-ed also cited the same case of a 72-year-old

florida man that dan the cited in his essay. joining me now, jonathan capehart. it's great to have you with me. senator paul, who's had to explain how wikipedia entries showed up and became incorporated into his speeches, he's had to do that and explain why there weren't attributions there and here we go again with this. is this going to create a larger problem for the senator in trying to explain away how this could happen? >> well, yes, because it gets to an issue of credibility, of trust, of ethics. we all know in our business you just simply cannot take someone else's words, someone else's story and claim them as your own. when our colleague rachel maddow called him out on his use of wikipedia language about the movie, she pointed out that he did this word for word. his response was to rail against her, calling her a hater and

anyone else, others including buzzfeed, anyone else, you know, pointing out that he is doing this -- making these mistakes and instead of owning up to them. >> let's play part of what the senator had to say on the sunday shows this weekend in regards to those accusations. take a look. >> in some of the other things that are now going to pop up under thousands of things i've written, yeah, there are times when they have been sloppy or not correct or we've made an error, but the difference is i take it as an insult, and i will not lie down and say people can call me dishonest, misleading or misrepresenting. i have never intentionally done so. i think i'm being unfairly targeted by hacks and haters and i'm not going to put up with people casting aspersions on my character. >> what are the consequences as he tries to move his political career forward if more comes out? >> well, thomas, one thing that i saw, i believe it was on politico's website, that his chief of staff has put out a statement saying that they are revamping their procedures for

what gets into senator paul's op-ed pieces and his speeches and, you know, this comes about a week after rachel maddow pointed this out. had senator paul just fallen on his sword from the very beginning and said, oh, my bad, i'm sorry, this is a huge mistake, this will never happen again. i take my job as a senator and the issues that i care about very seriously and i don't want to do anything that undermines the credibility -- undermine my credibility and the credibility of the things i care about. had he done that on the day after rachel's report, he wouldn't be in the position that he's in right now. >> maybe you should write something up for him? >> he doesn't want to hear from me. >> thanks so much. >> safe travels, thomas. >> we'll be back after this. ♪ no two people have the same financial goals.

pnc works with you to understand yours and help plan for your retirement. visit a branch or call now for your personal retirement review. so i tried depend lit made the difference between hearing about my daughter's gym meet, and being there. yeah! nailed it! i got back to doing what i love. that's my daughter. hi sweetie! gotta dial it back a little bit on the rock climbing. one weekend can make all the difference. unlike the bargain brand, depend gives you the confidence of new fit-flex® protection. it's a smooth and comfortable fit with more lycra strands. it's our best protection. take your weekend on with a free sample at depend.com

to passing a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. they voted 61-30 on the bill

known as enda. the final bill later this week. the republican leaders in the house say they won't consider it. with less than 100 days to the soichi olympics in russia celebrities are signing on board for a new campaign to challenge anti-gay laws in russia. joining me president of the human rights campaign. chad, great to have you here. lets talk about the campaign and t-shirts and how people are getting involved to help those marginalized and oppressed in russia. >> thank you, thomas. as so many people have seen over the last several months, the incredible harm that has come about because of this law passed in russia. the goal of this campaign is to use the soichi olympics to shine a spotlight on the law. since the law passed it's inspired violence all across that country. something else so many americans don't know, laws like this, especially this one here in russia, it was promoted and supported by americans.

people like brian brown and scott lively, paul cameron. so part of what this effort is to shine a spotlight on the horrendous impacts of a law like that as well as to shine a spotlight on those exporting hate. americans traveling to russia and proudly exporting that hate and causing the grave harm being caused there in that country. >> chad, i had a chance to speak to a moscow-based journalist and activist. we're going to play more of her interview during the show this week. i want to play what she says she will have to resort to keeping her family together amid the new homophobic laws in russia. >> i still have both passports, care deeply about russia, spending a lot of time in russia. my children are not going to be living in russia anymore. i want my children and entire family where they can touch us. i've always been a war reporter and taken risks. i'll still go back in there, i

just don't want my kids there. >> what do you think, chad, the international community, what can they do on the international front to get the attention of russia as we know the propaganda went through. a law has been tabled that could give access to the russian government to take children away from gay and lesbian parents. what can the international community do? >> i think first and foremost, we can shine a spotlight on this type of horrendous legislation as well as the harm that is caused by such acts. the other thing we can do is come together as a community and support our lgtb brothers and sisters and organizations who represent them that are on the ground in russia doing this work. the profits from these t-shirts, 100% of the proceeds will go to organizations that are on the ground in russia doing this work and fighting for our lgtb brothers and sisters there every single day. >> love conquers hate. we do believe in that. chad griffin of the human rights

campaign. great to have you on. thank you, sir. >> thank you, thomas. >> a quick final note. for the record i'm leaving today after the show for an assignment in russia. it's a two-front assignment for me. one co-hosting miss universe broadcast with mel b. from moscow a one off opportunity i wanted. two, i'll be in the field on russian soil, story tell, learn, educate those who want to watch. meanwhile there are certain critics i'm compromising being a journalist to host a beauty contest, others think i'm being lgtb sellout for not boycotting. i know for some it's unpopular. i feel badly some don't understand it but i stand by it. weigh in on my journey on the msnbc website, video diary@thomasroberts. join the discussion, get realtime updates on twitter, facebook, instagram using

#robertsinrussia. hi, there alex. >> thomas, have you learned how to say hello in russian yet? >> i just did. [ speaking foreign language ] it's going to be an adventure. >> it is an adventure. >> it's an adventure here. election day. looking like 2013 may be the year of the moderate. we will discuss anyone but cuccinelli and the real chris christie, michael steele, governor rendell, joey reid and sasha eisenberg. we will discuss how pot and the minimum wage got into the voting booth. we will look at new york city's mayoral race. a tale of two bill de blasios and life after bloomberg. all that when "now" starts right after this. 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. that's it? is go out to dinner. i mean, he picks up the tab every time, which is great... he's using you. he probably has a citi thankyou card and gets 2x the points at restaurants huh the citi thankyou preferred card. now earn 2x the points on entertainment, with no annual fee. go to citi.com/thankyoucards i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans,

it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel -- and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over

for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. shhhh! i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh what a relief it is! election but this one is filled with lessons for both parties. tuesday november 5th and this is

"now." election day 2013 as voters head to the polls in cities and states across the country from the deep south to the northeast and middle west, there could be very real implications for the future of the republican party and foundations of the democratic platform. in the blue state of new jersey, republican governor chris christie is expected to win re-election by a landslide against democratic state senator and likely with the support of women and african-americans. but if christie today finds himself in the conductor seat of the republican party, a rowdy tea party is still in the caboose. in virginia gubernatorial race between democrat terry mcauliffe and republican ken cuccinelli is shaping up to be a democratic victory. mainly because cuccinelli's brand of ultraconservative politics has not sold. quinnipiac poll showe