woah! what? it's called a smoky eye. [ female announcer ] you may not be the best at new trends but you know what's best for your kids. so we listened when you said gogurt should have only natural colors and flavors and no high fructose corn syrup. thanks, mom. thanks for disrupting your afternoon. i'm karen tin finney. while the gop gloats in 2013 spekd easily be eating crow in 2014. as washington stalls -- we'll also honor the president who made public service a passion for the generations that followed. >> is this obama's political katrina? >> republicans are having a field day with the president's problems with obama care. >> we all look like geniuses now. >> if we just sit around and high five each other for being right about this, that's a mistake. >> the problem with katrina was apparent indifference. one thing you can't hold against

the president was indifference to health care. >> the fact of the matter is this is a rollout problem. this is not a values problem. >> we say wisconsin through the nose. >> describe for me the ideal republican presidential candidate in 2016. >> i think it's got to be an outsider. i think both the presidential and vice presidential nominees should be either be a former or current governor. that rules out marco rubio, rules out ted cruz, rules out rand paul. >> wisconsin. >> 50 years after jfk's assassination -- >> we have this legacy of public service. >> we remember him because he asked us to be better. he said each of us can give more, can do more. >> we've got plenty to cover in the world of politics this afternoon. first, we're continuing to follow severe thunderstorms and tornadoes currently threatening an area of the midwest that's home to tens of millions of people. ten tornadoes have already

touched down resulting in one fatality. officials tell us some 83,000 people are currently without electricity in central illinois. nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer is here with the latest. dylan, where's the storm and where do we think it's heading? >> right now it is moving into areas like michigan and indiana. it is clearing out of the illinois area. we are seeing major improvements as temperatures drop out that way. but now we're watching our most severe line of storms from north to south cutting in half indiana. it is racing eastward. these storms are moving at about 55 to 65 miles per hour. that's highway speed moving from west to east. we're also seeing some of those storms also moving just as quickly through central michigan right now. so they will get into the detroit area within another one to two hours. but we are seeing most of our severest storms down through indiana where we have our tornado warnings issued. the red box is still indicating areas where we do have that pds tornado watch.

that's the potentially dangerous situation type tornado watch which we have already seen. all the yellow boxes indicate the severe thunderstorm warnings which are still capable of producing wind gusts up to around 55 to -- we've had reports of 80 miles per hour. creating damage with those straight line winds, but then when you have all of those tornadoes, we're seeing obviously the rotation creating some of the damage which we saw especially across central illinois just east of peoria. these storms are still very strong. still moving through indiana and eventually they'll make their way into ohio. it is still going to be active for another several hours. >> dylan, how common is it to have storms like this in november? >> it is not common at all. those pds tornado watches, they don't get issued much. you don't usually have a high risk of these storms issued by the storm prediction center all that often. even in the springtime. but to get it this time of year, especially this far north, it is very rare. but, you know, we knew it was coming. i think a lot of places did already prepare everyone to know that these storms would be hitting. i think a lot of people did take

precautions leading up to this. >> thanks, dylan. stay with us here at msnbc. we will check back in with you later in this hour. now we turn to the week ahead in politics. and if the gop wants to continue gloating, they might want to think again. in a congressional runoff election last night, voters in louisiana elected a republican who favors the affordable care act's medicaid expansion. and whose opponent did everything he could to use that position against him. so if the gop wants to do anything about its electoral problems, they're going to need to do more than run on opposition and obstructionism. they need to do more than efforts to impeach attorney general eric holder or hold up judicial nominees. they will need to do something about the millions of americans who don't care which party in washington is up or down. those millions just want to get health care. joining me now, nia malika henderson, host of post tv's on background. and perry bacon, political

editor of "the grio." there's a lot of angst about is this the great demise of the presidency of barack obama. i'm intentionally being very sarcastic because i feel like it's a little bit overdramatized. how serious do you -- in your estimation is this for the president? >> look, if the election were today for congress, i think the democrats would suffer from some of these challenges regarding the website, regarding the rollout of obama care. the important thing to remember is, the election is not today. the story will change by november 2014. right now there are about 500,000 people who got health insurance through the health care law if you add the medicaid and exchange numbers in. by next year that number will be in the millions. by next year i'm sure -- or i think i'm sure that the website will be working. >> watch out. >> or working better than it is now. that'll make the politics of this law much different. right now there are democrats that don't have much of a case to make for the law really

working well. i think six months from now the case will be very different. >> let me challenge you on that, perry. i think they do -- what i've heard them talking about is the numbers of people and pointing out in the states where those states are participating in exchanges, you've been to kentucky. you saw it firsthand. in those instances, it's working quite well. >> that's exactly right. i think you have a lot of states that are in -- if you're mark pryor in arkansas your exchanges are not working as perfectly with a federally run exchange. that said, when we get close to the election, i would assume we're at a low point for the website working. we're at a low point for the political momentum. obama's having to defend himself against this charge that he misled the public about keeping your own insurance. things are moving in a better trajectory, though. i think in states, even other states. kentucky is doing well already. you'll have more people getting insured even in states like texas as we go further along. i think overtime also this medicaid story has been rather undercovered by the press. 400,000 people got medicaid in the last month.

that's a significant story. it's something i think if the white house wants to talk about more it probably should. also talk to the people who are not getting insurance because of texas and other states stopping the medicaid expansion. >> like flip the script? how great would that be. nia malika, here's what i want to raise with you. in watching sort of the shows this morning it really felt like so much of the washington chatter was out of touch with what americans are talking about. because i don't think most americans -- i think they're frustrated that the website doesn't work because they're trying to get health care. >> right. >> i want to play for you an ad from this special election that i just mentioned down in louisiana where, again, the candidate who was against obama care lost and the one who was talking about medicaid actually won. let's take a listen and i want to get your thoughts. >> a vote for vance mcallister is a vote for obama care. >> i think we have to expand medicaid. >> aisle neil riser. i approve this message. >> mcallister got 59.7% of the votes in that election.

the strategy of thinking they can run against obama care, even now when people are trying to suggest that we are at gloom and doom for president obama, seems a little bit of a far reach. >> well, i don't know. i mean, i think it might be an equally far reach to say that this special election, i think, was in congressional district five in louisiana, has broader implications for the way that republicans -- i think what is telling about this race, though, is that you did have in mcallister someone who, i think, tapped into populism better than his opponent did, neil riser. so, yeah, he was the candidate of the duck dynasty. i don't really watch this show. i know those guys have fabulous beards. so that was one of the ways that he was able to -- he was running as the outside washington guy. as the anti-incumbent. as the anti-establishment guy. i think for republicans who are in office and democrats who are in office now, i think this strategy, they're going to need people in primaries who are going to be the anti-washington candidate. you saw scott walker talking

about that today. right? in terms of who's going to look good in 2016. is it ted cruz? no. is it marco rubio? no. this is where it's come. walker said i don't believe we're in 2016 yet. he's sort of already putting people in terms of boxes of who's fwood and who's bad and who has a better chance to win. very early on to be doing that. >> perry, on that point, it does sound like -- i do think this is a little bit of a fracture within the party. sort of a new sort of fracture if you will. dpov governors are talking about they're the ones getting results, they're distancing themselves from washington. scott walker earlier today, you know, talking about, you know, describing the ideal candidate sure sounded like a governor chris christie, a lot of his rhetoric. how tough is it going to be for those -- for washington candidates like a paul ryan, if he decides to run, to kind of try to be the outsider even though he's really on the inside? >> we should note, i think scott walker may have been campaigning for republican candidate named

scott walker. who might run in 2016. that said, i think there's a really interesting story. it gets to the point you're making, karen. the democrats, you look at them. there's superpacs. groups organizing around how much they all love hillary clinton. the republican party, very fractious. chris christie wins. rand paul says not a real republican. they couldn't even wait until after 2014 to start arguing over their nomination. they had to start doing it now. that tells you how deep that tea party establishment divide really is. >> to that point, nia-malika, it strikes me that when you look at what's happening now, as people are looking towards 2014, there's an assumption -- i mean, as we know, this is a long time between now and november. and in january, essentially, there is a real chance that we'll have another shutdown, that we'll have another showdown over the budget. >> please don't remind me. >> if i was the white house, i

would use that as my leverage. you know the gop can't afford it. but the reality is, fortunes can change very quickly. >> that's right. i mean, we saw that with democrats, right? they were sitting on the sidelines, very happy to see that republicans were getting a lot of the brunt of the bad public opinion polls around the government shutdown. then a couple of weeks later, it's on the democrats because of the rollout of obama care. hard to see or to say what sort of leverage that obama has going into this. because he's so badly damaged around this obama care rollout. but, again, i think that the lessons that we're learning here is that in some ways it's the chris christie lesson, scott walker lesson. people do want to see things happen. that people get stuff done. i think the question there is for those republicans in those very gerrymandered states whether or not, not getting anything done is better than working with this president. >> i'm going to put my money on the americans who want to get something done and say thank you to them and say thank you to

perry bacon and nia-malika henderson. >> thank you. >> thanks, karen. stay with us. we'll continue to keep you updated with these aggressive storms that are currently threatening the midwest. we'll be right back. how are things with the new guy? all we do is go out to dinner. that's it? i mean, he picks up the tab every time, which is great...what? he's using you. he probably has a citi thankyou card and gets 2x the points at restaurants. so he's just racking up points with me. some people... ugh! no, i've got it. the citi thankyou preferred card. now earn 2x the points on dining out and entertainment, with no annual fee.to apply, go to citi.com/thankyoucards

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well, i'm trying to find some way to get this thing done. you know, it's not easy. it's not going to be an easy path forward. but i've made it clear since the day -- >> the kids like those two young girls who are eligible from dream act -- >> there was speaker boehner trying to explain to these very courageous girls why he doesn't have the courage to deal with theish issue. as you saw that didn't stop him

from trying. while we need comprehensive immigration reform, remember, this was supposed to be the one piece that could get done so the dreamers, children here through no fault of their own, wouldn't live with the constant threat of being separated from their families. speaker boehner told the girls it was hard. just hours later it sure look e pretty easy when the speaker announced he has absolutely no intention of letting the house vote on the immigration legislation that already passed the senate. why is that? the cuckoo caucus is afraid it would pass the house. while boehner wouldn't bring that bill to the floor, he had no trouble calling for a vote for iowa congressman dreamers are drug -- it was a symbolic swipe on president obama's order to stop deportations and allow cream act el viigible kids to ay for work permits. to date the only thing republicans have done this year on this issue is vote to deport

kids and end efforts to keep families together. while the gop literally plays politics with their lives, those two girls and thousands more have joined together, forming a coalition aimed at getting immigration reform passed. from ft. smith, arkansas, roanoke, virginia, dreamers are taking to the streets. this network in 25 states across the country is working to bring change to both the state and national level. when you meet these kids, they're going to win this fight. you don't have to take it from me. jennifer martinez, one of the girls who had the courage to confront speaker boehner this week. david chung, an undocumented immigrant youth organizer for the min kwan center. jennifer, tell me what it was like. were you nervous when you approached the speaker of the house? >> i definitely was nervous. it was really nerve-racking. you have this moment where you've planned to speak to

someone of such power in the government. even as you're walking, you think to yourself, what if i screw up in wh? what if i say the wrong thing? >> you did a great job. you really did. what did you think about the speaker's reaction to what you were telling him? tell my audience, this audience, a little bit about what you were trying to convey to the speaker about your situation and why this is so important. >> so basically, you know, i just came to speaker boehner. i told him, you know, my story. my fears of being separated from my family. you know, kind of putting this issue, you know, humanizing it. you know, and carmen and i, we both -- we just wanted to share our stories. let him know, you know, why this has to happen. why comprehensive immigration reform has to happen. has to happen now. >> that's okay. health care is important today. and, david, talk to me about

your -- the work that you're doing sort of as an activist to help keep people motivated and working on this issue. because, as i mentioned, we're seeing a lot of activity in the states. which has become incredibly important given the sort of slowdown we've seen here in washington. >> yeah. so for this past year, we've been doing everything that we can to really push congress to pass immigration reform. to make petition drives, postcard drives, to door knocking in the districts of congress members, constituencies. we've tried to do everything possible to really push the issue. because if you're -- if the risk is there of your parents being separated -- from you being separated from your parents, you would do whatever it takes to get something done. you want to protect your family. you want to protect everyone you've met throughout your work here. and i've just been so moved by all of the people that i've met through the work that i've done.

when i got connected with the united way dream network, i was able to meet so many other dreamers that shared the same stories that i did of having that fear of deportation, of not being able to work, not being able to drive. and when i got to meet all of those other dreamers, it was a very moving moment for me. i just wanted to do whatever it took to push this issue and make sure that i could do whatever is possible. >> you know what i find interesting, you've got now 14 states are taking action at their level. they've got a couple other states looking at continuing to maybe taking action at their level. jennifer, do you feel optimistic we're going to get comprehensive immigration reform done? >> i do. i mean, this is a movement that is made up of youth of so many people. these are people that are fighting for a better life. these are people who want an education. these are people who only want better for their children. in all honesty, i think that drive, it's not going to stop

just because one man said no or because we face obstacles. it's something -- it's like a life force. we're working towards something that involves human lives. people forget that. it's not so much of immigration status. it has to do with 11 million families. it's not going to stop. and we're going to get what we want. because we're going to keep being persistent. we're going to keep being loud. it's human lives. we can't forget that. we're not going to forget that. that's why we're so persistent. it's going to happen whether today or tomorrow. >> you know, jennifer, you are so right. i am so thankful to you and david for joining me and telling people why we need to get this done. i do feel like if people like you stay involved, it's going to happen. so keep up the great work. >> thank you. >> thank you. all right. stay with us. we have much more on these fast moving storms currently threatening the midwest. my name is mike and i quit smoking.

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those severe thunderstorms and tornadoes that are affecting the midwest right now. tens of millions of people could be at risk as we head into the evening. nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer is back with us. what do we know about how these storms are progressing? >> the interesting thing with these storms is just how fast they're moving. they're moving eastward at about 55 to 65 miles per hour. i mean, imagine driving on a highway that fast. that's how fast these storms are moving from west to east. ft. wayne, indiana, is seeing a lot of rain right now and those gusty winds. each one of these storm cremell has a history of producing wind gusts up to 50 to 80 miles per hour. indianapolis had the first round of thunderstorms move through. they were considered severe. there was never a tornado warning issued for indianapolis itself. we've also had a severe line of thunderstorms moving through central michigan. they started strong with tornado warnings across souths we tern michigan. those are continuing to spread eastward, but mostly in the form

of those severe thunderstorm warnings. those are still to be taken extremely seriously, though. because they could produce straight line, very damaging winds up to around 55 to 60 miles per hour. even the extent of the tornado warnings is lessening a little bit as these storms try to weaken. they are moving into western parts of ohio and we do still have some tornado warnings across southwestern indiana and also into western kentucky. but for the most part, the extent of those tornado warnings minimized, meaning that these storms are weakening a little bit. it's great that the sun sets a lot earlier this time of year. the storms need sun and heat to fuel them. we will see things weakening over the next couple of hours. >> thanks, dylan. stay with us. we'll check back with dylan late ner this hour. next, two kennedy confidants reflect on the legacy of a president who literally changed the course of history while serving only 1,000 days in office.

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let the public service be a proud and lively career. and let every man and woman who works in any area of our national government, in any branch at any level be able to say with pride and with honor in future years, i served the united states government in that hour of our nation's need. [ applause ] >> for many americans, when former president john f. kennedy spoke those words at his first state of the union address, it was a call to action and call to service. president kennedy believed there was a role for government in people's lives, and in the honor of serving one's country as a government employee, soldier or peace corps engineer. president kennedy understood the importance of engaging americans in the way forward. 11,000 were called to serve in the newly created peace corps in washington. the executive branch grew by more than 85,000. and that is the legacy that an

assassins bullet could not kill 50 years ago this week. all this week, msnbc will mark that anniversary, an event that changed our nation forever, including the lives of my two guests. bob shrum served as senator ted kennedy's press secretary and speech writer, writing teddy's famous the dream will never die speech which redelivered at the national convention in new york. peter edelman joined the kennedy justice department just three months before the president was killed in dallas. he went on to be a top aide to senator robert kennedy among other fabulous things that i know you've done. thank you both for joining me. i'd like to start, bob, just with your reflections on -- on that time and on that day. >> well, first i should say, by the way, i contributed to that 1980 speech when senator kennedy was generous enough to give me some credit. peter will understand what i'm saying. >> no plagiarizing. i got it.

>> no plagiarizing. peter will understand what i'm saying. look, i had met president kennedy when he was senator kennedy by accident at the '60 democratic convention. the world was much more pourous in those days. i volunteered. i ended up working in peter sallen jer's office. one of my jobs was to take people up to senator kennedy's suite. when you knocked on the door he answered the door. we actually ended up having a rye and general conservation about where i might go to college. >> did you take his advice? >> i did. by the way, by himself in a room he filled that room. the presence was quite magical. you know, fast forward to the time when hooi'm a junior at college in georgetown. i'm studying for a test. a conservative friend of mine bursts in and says the president's been shot. i said, that's not funny. all the students gravitated to the area outside old north which is where george washington had spoken to the student body. and said mass. some of us huddled by a radio on the side. the priest had a note at the

end. the way most students at georgetown found out the president had died was when the priest said, may his soul and the soul of all the faithful te pa departed rest in peace. amen. it was an unbelievable day. i look back on his time as incredibly affirming of america. because i think he fulfilled -- there were high achievements. the cuban missile crisis, for example. peter can talk about this. where he and his brother, i think, may have saved us from destruction because they rejected the councils of war and reck recklessness. the other standard he met, the second great test to presidential greatness, he enriched and deepened our understanding of ourselves. abraham lincoln did that. he did that. a few other presidents have done that. that's why i think his influence lasts so long, so far into the future a will continue to last. >> peter, i wanted to talk to you a little bit about -- i know you had a fairly unique story. you had just joined the justice department. then actually had a role to play on the day of -- in the

aftermath of the assassination. >> well, it's not what anybody watching this would expect to hear. the very day i was -- had lunch with a dear friend, now a federal judge. when we found out, we went to his house. what you're asking me is what i did in relation to the funeral, i think. >> yes. >> because i was also a member of the d.c. air national guard. and i served as a military police officer on the day of the funeral. so in addition to all of the other terrible, unbalancing, shocking feelings, it was an extra dissidence to be out there in my air force fatigues and be -- be directing traffic. >> peter, what do you remember of -- i worked for a president. i cannot imagine what it would be like that day, the next day. i mean, what were you thinking? what were you feeling that day and on the day of the funeral?

>> when you lose somebody who's been so important a force and so -- such an inspiration to all of us, and, of course, there's nothing worse that can happen for a nation than to have a president assassinated. so there were just hundreds of millions of people in the united states and around the world who were in shock. and who were in mourning. and who were trying to -- to understand what had happened. and to understand who lee harvey oswald was. and then the -- ruby was caught. the assassination, shooting of both oswald and ruby took place. it just was one thing after another. you really couldn't keep up with understanding it all as it was taking place. but, of course, the overriding

feeling was just the incredible loss at this time of tremendous promise. here was the president who had not only given us the call to action and the inspiration and the peace corps, but laying the ground work for the work that we would do on poverty. that started with him. on civil rights. on aid to education. a historic piece of legislation. medicare. all that was started, alliance for progress, was started under president kennedy. and we tend maybe to forget, because it was shortened and taken away from us, that there were tremendous things that became his tortoric achievement that started with him. >> you know, bob, one of the things that has struck me about this, i mean, my parents both talk about that day, you know, the way that i talk about 9/11. and it is seared into their minds. one of the things that i think we don't talk about in terms of the legacy of john f. kennedy, just what peter was talking

about, is the people who were called to service and who have gone on to do all kinds of things because they heard that call, whether it was, i have to admit, from teddy kennedy or john f. kennedy or bobby kennedy. so many people i've met at least in my career have said that was part of what inspired them. i think sometimes we forget that as part of the legacy. >> oh, i think it's inspired generations of people. and i think it does again today. as you see younger people who will go through this week, i think it will have an impact on them. i think it's a tremendous blessing that we have the film, we have the speeches, we have these vivid images. because they resonate so deeply with fundamental american values. you know, i was thinking earlier today that there were high achievements. peter's right about this. some of it tends to get forgotten. because it's forgotten because of the tragedy. it's forgotten because we look back over these years. and the day is so vividly inscribed in the memory of any of us who were alive then.

it's in escapable. i remember going down and standing in line for eight hours to go through the capitol rotunda with two friends. we had one overcoat between us. it got freezing cold. we kept changing it. somebody said, should we go home? we said, nope, we're not going home. we stayed and we went through. i'll never forget those ten seconds i spent in the capitol rotunda. those ten seconds for me are a symbol of something much bigger, much more lasting. and the imprint on the country is really strong. you know, ronald reagan frequently quoted john kennedy. and i think that is a very powerful testament to the influence that jfk had and has and will have far into the future. >> peter, i know you went on to work for bobby kennedy. i wondered if you'd talk a little bit about -- i know, because i know you, i know your work on poverty issues in particular. talk a little bit about sort of that transition to -- because i think one of the other things that is so important about the legacy of john kennedy is people

kept the dream going, right? people kept that mantle and kept the work going. particularly as you mentioned, civil rights. as well as, you know, poverty issues. can you talk a little bit about that? >> well, where he. of course, we didn't know what kind of a president lyndon johnson was going to be. and his legacy is mixed because of the war in vietnam which was a horrible, of course, thing for our country and the world. but he -- we did not know. i remember this quite vividly, whether he would pick up and push for the things that -- that jfk had proposed. especially civil rights. so johnson, first of all, got the tax reduction to stimulate the economy, which was in question. but johnson got it through. then much more importantly, the civil rights legislation. both the '64 act,' 65 act,

ultimately fair housing in' 68. that's for johnson. then there was so many people who had come to washington, when i went to work for robert kennedy in the senate, and we would need to find out something or get some help from the executive branch, there were people all over the executive branch who had come to washington to work with jfk and who were really interested in being helpful to rfk. sometimes they had to do it surreptitiously because the divisions between lyndon johnson and rfk were already quite visible. >> bob, last question to you. obviously, teddy really was the other one. he took up the mantle until the time -- in fighting for health care reform, which was wonderful that we got that done before his death. but talk about your experience with teddy in the aftermath. >> well, of course, i knew him years later. i went to work for him in 1979. i left the senate staff in 1984 although i was involved with him as a consultant and an adviser and thankfully for me a very

close friend all the way until he died. he was very conscious, i think, of both jfk and rfk and that legacy and wanting to fulfill it. in the process, of course, he created a legacy of his own that's probably unequalled by any senator in modern history. when you look at what he did, so much of it is rooted in the same basic value structure, in the same dream, the same ideal of america. the sanctions against south african apartheid. which he steered through the congress in the late 1980s. are directly related to the civil rights work that was done in the early '60s when president kennedy became the first president to say civil rights a moral issue. i must say when i would talk to ted kennedy about his brothers, he would talk in more affirmative, very affectionate terms. he didn't focus on the tragedy. he focused on some of the extraordinary -- the stories he would tell were so vivid. i remember him telling me in the summer of 1963 he had sat on the

truman balcony with his brother, and jfk had said to him, you know, there's a chance some day you may sit here. one thing you have to know is you've got to be skeptical of all the people with all the braid, all the people who claim they're experts and you've got to keep asking tough question after tough question after tough question. frankly, that's what happened in the missile crisis. that's why we didn't have a nuclear war. >> i would say both brothers ended up asking a lot of tough questions and helping bring about a lot of change. thank you to bomb shrum and peter edelman. >> thank you. stay with us. we're going to check back in with our in-house meteorologist for the very latest on the storms that are threatening the midwest right now. customer erin swenson ordered shoes from us online but they didn't fit. customer's not happy, i'm not happy. sales go down, i'm not happy. merch comes back, i'm not happy. use ups. they make returns easy. unhappy customer becomes happy customer. then, repeat customer. easy returns, i'm happy. repeat customers, i'm happy. sales go up, i'm happy. i ordered another pair. i'm happy. (both) i'm happy. i'm happy.

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just two days ago an armed man stormed through the halls of a milwaukee's children's hospital. on the day before a 25-year-old man and 7-month-old baby were shot and killed on a new orleans bridge. let's not forget it's only two weeks ago that 19-year-old ra knee shah mcbride, injured and

scarred from a car crash, was shot in the head while trying to get help. there are just a fraction of the 33 people -- 33 people shot in the united states every day. my next guest is working tirelessly to change that. mark kelly began the transition from astronaut to activist almost three years ago when his wife, former congresswoman gabrielle giffords, was shot while she met with her constituents in tucson. last year on the second anniversary of the shooting, the couple launched americans for responsible solutions to advocate for, quote, common sense protections from gun violence. i had the opportunity to speak with captain kelly this week about his latest projects. the virginia governor's race. and of all things, mice in space. why don't we start talking about your book. >> great. >> "housetronaut goes to mars." >> i got a copy of it right here. it's the second of a series. on my first space flight we had 18 mice on board. one of the little guys inspired me to write a book called

"mousetronaut." on this one he goes on a much more exciting adventure. gets to take a trip all the way to mars. >> christmas is just around the corner. sounds like that's a good potential christmas gift people should be thinking about. i'll do some selling for you. >> yeah, it is. i think it inspires kids to be interested in science and math and engineering. you know, those kind of things. we need to get kids -- continue to get them focused on those. >> interest in science and math. i actually went to space camp myself. >> all right. >> switching gears, can we talk a little bit about -- americans for responsible solutions put out a poll today kind of looking at the impact of gun control messaging or gun safety messaging in virginia and it turned out it was very effective. >> initially we were kind of surprised that we could -- we could message on the gun violence issue and win on that issue. and terry mcauliffe certainly, you know, took it on, you know, straight ahead. here's his position. he's a strong supporter of the

second amendment. like gabby and i are. he also realizes, you know, that we can make some very positive changes to reduce gun violence. and so our messaging in those races, the governor's, lieutenant governor's and a.g. races there, it was about this issue. >> right. i know you guys focused on your -- on the pac side, you're raising money. i think you've raised $6.6 million. are you going to continue to try to look at races where you can have an impact? i feel like that is certainly what we're seeing with mayors against illegal guns. there's a lot more activity, it feels like, happening at the state level. >> our pac at c-4 in july i think we announced we had raised $11 million. we've obviously raise add lot more money since then. we're raising money to be prepared for the 2014 election. to try to communicatcommunicate, with members of congress as

their constituents on this issue. you know, we're going to be focused on places where we can win. we've got to be very strategic about how we spend, you know, the resources that we have. so we'll be looking for races around the country. senate races, house races, and like you saw in virginia, also state, you know, races around the country where we can be effective and helpful. >> you know, it's so important, i think, what we're doing. for so long the argument has been there's no real counterweight to the nra. they've really bullied, i think, a lot of people out of getting engaged. one of the things i noticed that you and congresswoman giffords do is you've gone to gun shows. you went and -- you did a video, i think, of showing how easy it is to get a background check. you guys have taken also kind of a creative approach to sort of illustrating, you know, sort of more parts of this conversation. >> gabby and i are both gun owners. we're supporters of the second amendment. not trying to infringe on anybody's rights, you know. but at the same time, we can

keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill. you mentioned the effectiveness of the nra. you got to give them a lot of credit. for the last 30 years, they've been able to build and enormous amount of influence in washington. but part of the reason, like you point out, is because there's nobody -- there's no counterbalance there. so, you know, our job is to provide that counterbalance. to make or hopefully help members of congress feel a little differently about their next election. you know, the good thing, you know, on, you know, on this topic, and on this subject, is that we don't have to change any members' minds about the policy. you know, they're usually pretty good with that. it's just we've got to get them thinking differently about their next election to allow them to vote the way they would want to vote. >> right. if you look at the polling, the way it seems a majority of americans actually agree. >> when you go back to april for

the manchin toomey bill, that polls at 92% across the nation. it averaged state to sate a bit. pulled at 78% for nra members. congress couldn't pass it. because they're worried about their next election. >> final question. i am a big fan of your wife's. i wonder if you can tell us how she's doing. it's great to see her out with you, being active. honored by "glamour" magazine. how is she doing? >> gabby is doing great. the "glamour" woman of the year awards that evening was -- was really nice. she got up on stage and gave a great speech. and she continues to work very hard on her own recovery. she works hard on this issue, our organization, americans for responsible solutions. but, you know, she's at it all the time with speech therapy and physical therapy. and, you know, always, you know, looking for the next thing that could possibly help her. i'm so inspired by her. just when she was a member of congress, you know, i realized

that she was, you know, tough and a hard worker. >> sure. >> but i really had no idea until, you know, after what happened to her almost three years ago. >> captain mark kelly, thank you so much for joining me today. please thank your wife and thank you for the work you guys are doing. it is so important. >> i will. and thanks for having me on your show. appreciate it. >> take care my thanks to mark kelly for his time earlier this week. check out their website at americaforresponsiblesolutions. org. stay with us. when we come back we'll check with nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer for a look at these fast moving storms in the midwest. lg and get a head start on delicious homemade cookies. visit bettycrockercookies.com for fun holiday ideas. betty crocker cookie mix. just pour, mix...love.

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checking back on those storms that are currently threatening the midwest, illinois emergency management agency confirms 11 tornadoes have touched down. there's been one fatality and dozens of injuries. nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer is back with us. dylan, what can you tell us? >> these storms are still racing to the east. that's been a good thing and a

bad thing with these storms. it's good because these storms haven't produced a lot of flooding because they haven't really sat over one area for a long period of time. but it's bad news because when a storm system itself is moving at around 50 to 60 miles per hour and then you have wind gusts on top of that, we are seeing widespread wind damage. now, the storms are almost clearing out. detroit, the good news is, you're starting to see some rain right now. that's going to limit the potential for really severe storms. although we do have a line of very strong storms still moving through central michigan. but no tornado warnings. where we have the severe thunderstorm warnings, there is still is possibility of winds to gust up to around 50 to 70 miles per hour. the history of these storms had gusts up to around 80 miles per hour. we will continue to watch these throughout the rest of the evening. karen? >> thanks so much, dylan. that does it for me this hour. be sure to keep it right here on

nbc for the latest on this devastating weather in the midwest. i will see you right back here next saturday. [ male announcer ] every inch. every minute. every second -- we chip away. making the colors of earth and sunset skies into rich interior accents. or putting the beauty of a forest in the palm of your hands... it will take you to another place... wherever you happen to be. this is the new 2014 jeep grand cherokee. it is the best of what we're made of. well-qualified lessees can lease the 2014 grand cherokee laredo 4x4 for $359 a month. we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all...

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[ woman 2 ] to carry on traditions. [ woman 3 ] to come together even when we're apart. [ male announcer ] in stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and more, swanson makes holiday dishes delicious. i'm milissa rehberger checking in on the storms affecting the midwest. illinois emergency management agency confirms 11 tornadoes have touched down. there has been one fatality. dozens of injuries. nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer is back with us. what can you tell us now? sf >> these storms are racing to the east at 55 miles per hour. they do still have a history of producing tornadoes and very damaging wind gusts. we've had reports of wind gusts in excess of 80 miles per hour. they are also moving through parts of michigan where we do have severe thunderstorm warnings. up and down's tern michigan and northwestern ohio where we have tornado warnings as well. stretching back into central and southern iia