we understand in this divided government we're not going to get everything we want. and so what we want to do is take a step toward that goal, a step in the direction toward that vision. and by having a budget agreement that does not raise taxes, that does reduce the deficit and produces some certainty and prevents government shutdowns, we think is a good agreement. >> good morning, everybody. i did thomas roberts. great to have you with me. topping our agenda today, paul ryan just moments ago defending his budget agreement with democratic senator patty murray. both sides of the aisle are leery about this deal and house democrats spoke to reporters this morning with minority lead nancy pelosi saying she is optimistic but is outraged that the deal does not include a key benefit for the unemployed. >> it's absolutely unconscionable that we are -- could possibly even consider

leaving washington, d.c., without extending those benefits. >> so this deal sets spending at just over $1 trillion, replaces a $63 billion in sequester cuts and cuts the deficit by between $20 and $23 billion. one of the most conservative republicans in congress says he cannot support it and on "morning joe" senator tom coburn said whole he thinks it's the best ryan could do, the word "sellout" came up. >> he has led to make a compromise that sells out what actually needs to be done. >> you just called paul ryan a sellout. >> no, no. >> i feel like if you and paul could agree -- >> i didn't say that. i didn't say that. i said he was told to lead a compromise. a compromise is going to give up your -- >> kentucky senator rand paul just released this statement saying undoing tens of billions of modest spending restraint is shameful and must be opposed. i cannot support a budget that raises taxes and never balances. president obama says the

deal is a good sign, something his former adviser, david axelrod, echoed as well. >> just the act of coming together and agreeing on something is progress, given what we saw in the fall. >> also developing right now, health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius is testifying in front of a house committee over the failures during the obama care rollout. before the hearing began sebelius said he's asking the inspector general to investigate what happened along with creating a new chief risk officer at cms. >> i will instruct this officer to look at i.t. and contracting management practices starting with healthcare.gov and the risk factors that impeded a successful launch. >> all right, all of this is going on while a new number reveals a new low for president obama. the new nbc/wall street journal poll shows 54% disapprove of the job that the president is currently doing. nbc's casey hunt is on capitol hill to break down all of this for us. let's start with the devil being

in the details on this negotiated deal. we already see conservative groups bashing this deal. just moments ago we had house majority leader boehner lashing out at those groups. i just want to play a small portion of what he said. >> you mean the groups that came out and opposed it before they ever saw it? >> yes, those groups. are you worried -- >> they're using our members and they're using the american people for their own goals. this is ridiculous. >> kasie, boehner had some fire in his cheerios today. he is not happy about that. >> that's a pretty aggressive stand from house speaker john boehner. these groups have caused him interminable problems over the last couple of years so what you're seeing here is boehner standing up there and defending this budget dole that they have agreed on. it would be for two years, through september of 2015. it would, as you said, restore $63 billion of those sequester cuts. it would increase military and domestic spending and cut the

deficit. it raises fees on airline passengers and also cuts pensions for some federal workers. so this is not a sweeping deal, necessarily, as paul ryan and patty murray outlined yesterday. they found the areas of their agreement. there were small areas of agreement, areas where they could negotiate kind of around the edges. but if they succeed in passing it, this will walk us back from this crisis to crisis sense of style of governing that we have sort of endured in recent years, where they have had short-term deal after short-term deal. so at this point we're looking to see whether or not they can get it through. that forceful defense you saw from boehner suggests that he's not going to give in to these groups this time. we heard from republicans coming out of their meeting this morning that there was much less opposition than there was support for this deal. >> all right, sign of a good compromise is typically when both sides walk away and don't feel as if they have achieved all their goals but at least they can agree on something. nbc's kasie hunt on capitol

hill. thank you. joining me house democrats chief deputy whip, illinois congresswoman jan schakowsky. thanks for being here. this is a major bipartisan deal, the president calling it a good first step. are you satisfied with this deal or should democrats have held out for the extension of the unemployment benefits. this is for 1.3 million workers who stand to lose them in two weeks. we saw congresswoman pelosi and her feelings about this. how do you feel? >> i can't begin to tell you how disturbed i am that 1.3 million families are going to lose what is probably the sole source of income for their families right now three days after comes. we could easily add that to the agreement or do it separately. my understanding is there's still discussion about extending benefits for the doctors, which i agree with, it's called the

sgr, to make sure we do the doc fix and that they get their money. if we do that, there's no excuse for not also looking at those unemployed families and their unemployment benefits. so i am very upset with that portion of it. as far as the rest of the deal, you heard john boehner and you heard some of the republicans saying no deal. >> right. >> and so it's unclear, it's unclear right now if the republicans are going to go along with it. so right now many democrats, we're holding our powder to see what the republicans are going to do. >> okay, let's talk more about that because we did have republican response from senator tom coburn who was on "morning joe" today and he was there basically saying that this deal sells out people on the right that would want to see something that is more fiscally hard lined. he did offer up an alternative and i want to play that for everybody. take a listen. >> well, here's what i would say is keep the sequester levels exactly where they are and charge congress with eliminating just duplications.

let's don't worry about fraud, incompetency, inefficiency, let's just eliminate duplications over the next year. you can pay for two and a half times what the sequester is. >> is what he is offering there, is that a practical solution? >> well, what he's saying is absolutely not doable. do i agree that we should eliminate waste and duplication? that's just fine. but in the meantime, we have to have a -- something of a budget. my problem is something the republicans like, it asks nothing of the wealthiest corporations, no closing of loopholes, but it goes back once again to federal employees who have given up $140 billion in cuts and asked new federal hires to pay more toward their pensions. so there's a lot not to like about this bill on both sides of the aisle, and we have to decide whether still it's worth coming

to an agreement. as you said, at the end of the day, coming up with something that is going to move us forward. >> illinois congresswoman jan schakowsky, we'll let you get back to work. >> thank you. more than a year after winning re-election, president obama finds himself less popular than ever before, at least according to the latest poll figures. a new poll finds a record 54% now disapprove of president obama. the reason why? about 58% say the health care law is the main issue shaping their views on the president. joining me now, democratic strategist, former press secretary for the obama campaign, ben labolt and former huck be campaign manager, chip saltsman. ben, we look at these new numbers and come as kathleen sebelius is testifying once again on capitol hill. and these poll numbers, they do sound like bad news for the president. these are the second term doldrums, but what can the president do to turn around

public perception here, capitalize on where the country is optimistic and especially when we look at where the economy is improving? >> well, there's no doubt that this is the toughest moment in the presidency, but if you take a look at these numbers, i think that the president's numbers have plateaued. it's all driven by health care. if you look at his approval rating on other areas like the economy, his numbers have started to climb. so i think you need a two-track strategy. the first is on health care, there's a silver lining, which is that 80% of people are satisfied with their health care plan. as more people enroll through the exchanges over time, i think you'll see that satisfaction number grow and, therefore, they'll be more satisfied with the overall program, but that's going to take not weeks, that's going to take months. at the same time, the president has got to and is focused squarely on restoring economic security from the middle class. you see broad support within that poll for raising the minimum wage. as long as he pursues the other key pieces of his middle class

agenda that he outlined in the campaign, i think you'll see americans siding with him. they're certainly not siding with republican leaders in congress. >> when we talk about the aca and this is very interesting. obviously this is a huge lift to our social contract with one another in this country. these poll numbers show that 50% of the people think the aca is a bad idea. but they say it's still on track they wanted for the enrollment of this. if we look at this, and we do reach that goal, chip, are republicans going to be sorry that they put all their eggs in the obama care basket of not working and that's going to come back and bite them in the mid-terms? >> i don't think so. if you look at obama care as a whole and 58% don't like it. 25% of the people still want it repealed completely. you've got about 34% that don't like it. those are pretty bad numbers when you look at it on the front. and then you talk about the rollout and the website and all those other things. that's compounded the problem two or three times and that's what he's really fighting. and i think if you're the obama

campaign or the obama white house, welcome to the second term. this is not unusual for a second term president to have these kind of numbers. the difference is what's the president going to do going forward? is he going to double down on obama care and put all of his eggs in that basket like you were talking or try to move to the middle, which is what we saw bill clinton try to do, which helped his numbers a little bit. i think this is his biggest issue. he's got some other issues out on the horizon we're not even talking about. not just the economy but we've got the middle east and the iran deal and some of those other things. is he going to move to the middle or double down on the left and that's what's going to decide what the rest of the second term will look at. >> we look at how the clock is running down on this and obviously people jump ahead to look at presidential legacies and while this poll does show that the fumbled health care rollout could be the one thing that president obama is remembered for, when we compare this to his predecessors and their legacies, we've got reaganest iran contra affair bill, bill clinton and the

actual white house affair with monica lewinsky, hurricane katrina under bush's watch. so, ben, talk about this because doesn't obama care, which is actually supposed to be a good thing, providing improving health care for americans making sure that all families and kids are insured, isn't that supposed to be a positive thing and it's going to be something that is reflected upon at least in the rollout as something negative? >> i think you're making a good point. you're talking about big scandals in those prior administrations and the only scandal here was that the website didn't work in the first place. and certainly they're taking steps to restore the site. it's shown much improved functionality at this point. also, you talked about president clinton and president reagan. their numbers improved from the low point in their administration because of the improving economy. i think if you look at the poll today, we can't overstate the importance of americans seeing their personal economic consequences improve. if that continues, and now that

we've stopped these self-inflicted wounds by putting together a budget agreement to actually keep the government running, i think you'll see that start to pick up and that could have a big impact on the president's numbers. >> gentlemen, thanks so much. chip saltsman, ben labolt, great to see you today. thank you. so just how did a family of six survive below zero temperatures in the nevada mountains for two days? >> due to the weather conditions, they were drastic. it's a miracle. >> it's a miracle. so what did this dad do that authorities say saved his family's life? plurs, as thousands pass by the body of nelson mandela, there's outrage over the sign language interpreter used at mandela's memorial. was he a fake who was making up the signs as he went along? we're going to get an update live straight from south africa. also the historic handshake between president obama and cuba's raul castro.

one republican comparing it to shaking hands with hitler. our agenda panel will weigh in on that one. also, was president obama right or wrong to shake raul castro's hand at mandela's memorial? head to facebook and twitter and post your thoughts there. wt yo. around here you don't make excuses. wt yo. you make commitments. and when you can't live up to them, you own up, and make it right. some people think the kind of accountability that thrives on so many streets in this country has gone missing in the places where it's needed most. but i know you'll still find it when you know where to look. add brand new belongings from nationwide insurance and we'll replace stolen or destroyed items with brand-new versions. we put members first. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪

adt can help you turn on a few lights. ♪ access cameras from anywhere to help you keep an eye on things. ♪ even bring family in from the cold when you're not there. now get the advanced technology of adt starting at just $79 plus a camera at no additional charge. with adt, you get 24/7 fast response monitoring that helps protect you from burglary, fire, and high levels of carbon monoxide. plus remote access to your home. even control your thermostat to help save energy. get adt installed starting at just $79. plus a camera at no additional charge. that's a total savings of over $450 -- adt's best holiday offer. for everything that matters most. ♪ adt. always there.

knowing what you know today, you would have started the launch october 1st. >> i would have probably done a slower launch, maybe with fewer people and done some additional beta testing, which is part of what has happened, frankly, in the early months of the launch. >> developing right now, health and human service secretary kathleen sebelius is testifying before lawmakers for the third time. she's defending the affordable health care act, saying that they're seeing positive trends now that the website for their

initial rollout has been improved. joining me now, ezra klein, "washington post" columnist and msnbc policy analyst. ezra, before today's hearing we had the secretary calling the website launch flawed, calling it unacceptable. she announced three different steps to move forward and they included having the inspector general review the sight's development, create and appoint a chief risk officer, update and expand employee training. do you think that's going to be enough to prevent the problems, and also to reinvigorate an american crowd that needs to find health care? because it's not so much the website that is slowing people down from getting health care, it's actually people not looking. >> so i think that you have to look at those as sort of side issues. she's going to congress and telling them she's got some new things she's going to do. she's got some plans. the main thing for the website is still actually fixing the website. it's gotten a lot better, it isn't where it needs to be yet. there are a lot of people who are trying to sign up in the first month, month and a half when it was broken because they created their accounts then.

they're having trouble moving forward. there's a way to reset your account but people don't know that so you still have to do a fair amount of fixing of the website. we don't believe the back end issues towards the insurers are expirely resolved. there are payment systems that need to be built so there's a lot left to do. as for your point of getting people there, they have had for some time inside the obama administration and by the way inside different private insurance companies very, very significant plans to launch a massive campaign to get people to drive them to the website itself. they have not launched that campaign yet. i think they're beginning to do so now. so one question is how will that campaign work. a risk officer will have very little to do with that. the other question is as word of mouth spreads, we get closer to the time when the individual mandate actually descends and begins to hit people, that's when you would really expect to see enrollment spike. so how good they are going to be at enforcing and publicizing the individual mandate will we the

true question -- >> how do they goose procrastinators to help achieve their seven million mark by march? that's what the administration wants to see. >> the seven million mark is not a mark i'd be looking at. this is an old estimate, they're not going to hit that. what they need to get is enough young and healthy people and that's about 40% to balance out whatever size risk pool they have. whether they have three million or 10 million, they need 40% being young and healthy. that's really what they're looking to do. the big question there again will be the individual mandate. when you saw this happen in the massachusetts reforms, when you saw medicare part d roll out, in both cases people only really signed up once a penalty was upon them. >> did they overpromise and underdeliver on the numbers we should be seeing? >> absolutely. there was a terrible launch that will set the program back but it doesn't mean that the program won't ultimately be successful. >> ezra klein, ezra, great to see you, thank you. >> thank you. it is the selfie that blew up social media. president obama smiling with two world leaders at the mandela

memorial service. the first lady paying attention, not paying attention to them, but paying attention to the service. the photographer who captured the group taking this selfie is now speaking out. plus new details about what happened before this asiana jetliner crashed in san francisco. the pilot was concerned and stressed about landing that plane. a live update straight ahead. it's time for the "your business" entrepreneur of the week. cass shriver used to tell his tie dye shirts to big box stores and even opened a factory in guatemala to keep cost down. now that factory is closed and cass is making more money by giving up most of those big deals. for more watch "your business" on sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. plan can iart one lesson to a w business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions.

if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. 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. see who does good work and compare costs. it doesn't usually work that way with health care. but with unitedhealthcare, i get information on quality rated doctors,

treatment options and estimates for how much i'll pay. that helps me, and my guys, make better decisions. i don't like guesses with my business, and definitely not with our health. innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. . welcome back. these are live pictures at the national cathedral where vice president joe biden is among several attending a memorial honoring nelson mandela. the vice president will speak in just a few moments. officials from the south african embassy as well as u.s. elected officials have also gathered to pay their respects to the former south african leader. it was earlier this morning that president obama and the first lady returned on board air force one after spending the memorial service and attending the memorial service earlier this week in south africa. now, in pretoria, south africa, today is the first of three days

nelson mandela's body will lie in state. take a look at this. as you can see from these live pictures, thousands have lined up to pay their respects to the fallen antiapartheid hero in the same building where he was sworn in as president nearly 20 years ago. we want to go straight to ron allen in pretoria with the latest on that. we understand mandela's family members, including his wife, also dignitaries arrived earlier today to pay their respects. >> reporter: exactly. they are the first to view the body and then the public was allowed to pay their respects later and throughout the day. as you said, this process will continue for several days. a much more solemn day here than yesterday where you had a more celebratory mood in the huge stadium. this was just very, very somber. for many people who we spoke to who actually viewed the body, they said it was a moment when the magnitude of what happened really hit home for them. people were lined up very early this morning. they were expecting as many as 2,000 people per hour to file past the body. we understand that it's an open

casket and mr. mandela is dressed in the traditional shirt. you can see him from the shoulders and head and people are walking by quickly but you did get a glimpse of him most people were able to say and it was a very profound moment. another controversy that's happening today has to do with an interpreter at the event yesterday, which you might have heard about. there was a man who people in the deaf community are saying was an imposter. he was seen behind president obama and a number of other speakers making hand gestures and critics have said that he was an imposter, that none of this made any sense. apparently this man had surfaced at another event translating for president zuma so there's an investigation into how this man got there. the government has said essential low that they're looking into it and have not really said anything definitive about it. meanwhile the procession here has ended for the day. the weather has suddenly taken a turn for the worse. it was a beautiful day for the most part and mourners will beelining up beginning tomorrow

morning to pay their respects for a second day. thomas. >> ron allen reporting for us. an aide to archbishop desmond tutu has told news agencies that the archbishop's home was robbed as he attended the memorial service yesterday. south african police service reportedly saying that the investigation is still ongoing. no arrests have been made. the nobel peace prize laureate and peace prize were robbed in august as he and his wife slept inside. we're back after this. we know we're not the center of your life, but we'll do our best to help you connect to what is. open to innovation. open to ambition.

open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com.

shhhh! shhhh.

[ coughs ] i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] nope. [ sniffles ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast acting antihistamine to relieve your runny nose. oh, what a relief it is! [ man ] shhhh! for fast cold and flu relief, day or night, try alka-seltzer plus day and night liquid gels. handshake headache. president obama getting heat from conservatives over the handshake seen around the world with cuban leader raul castro. and the selfie controversy, the president getting backlash from a photo taken with denmark's prime minister during the mandela memorial with the prime minister of the u.k. leaning in but a lot of attention focused on the first lady's reaction in this photo. these are the topics for our panel. on the agenda panel, msnbc reporter irin carmon.

professor at lehigh university james peterson and the daily beast special correspondent, michael tomasky. i want to begin with the one handshake that has outraged so many conservatives. yesterday's memorial, the president shaking hands with cuba's communist leader raul castro. here's the republican reaction followed by secretary john kerry. >> mr. secretary, sometimes a handshake is just a handshake, but when the leader of the free world shakes the bloody hand of a ruthless dictator like raul castro, it becomes a propaganda coup for the tyrant. raul castro uses that hand to sign the orders to repress and jail democracy. >> should he have not done it? >> of course not. why should you shake hands with somebody who is keeping americans in prison? i mean what's the point?

nevil chamberlin shook hands with hitler. >> the president said in his speech today honoring nelson mandela, he said we urge leaders to honor mandela's struggle for freedom by upholding the basic human rights of their people. >> and would you say raul castro is upholding the basic human rights? >> no, absolutely not. >> thank you, sir. >> and we -- you know, my position on that. >> meanwhile we know that senator ted cruz who is cuban american, part of the delegation that was there, walked out while castro delivered his speech at this memorial. so he pulled a stunt to make some attention and some news about himself. if we can show that video again, guys, of the president shaking the hand of castro, i have a theory. irin, let me start with you. why do you think conservatives are jumping on this so aggressively? >> from the start conservatives have alleged that obama is a crazy socialist with a plan to undermine america, so this

imagery perfectly fits into that narrative. but of course president obama has shaken hands with many a dictator who has human rights abuses. he's also said that he has a policy of engagement, so maybe he came in saying that he was going to make it easier for cuban americans to visit their families. he's lessened some of the restrictions on that. this can be a good sign that there might be more positive engagement to come. >> we heard there, james, from senator mccain comparing castro to hitler. obviously the senator has shaken hands with some notorious characters. that's mow mar gadhafi, the libyan dictator. it's a bit of a hypocrisy. i think, i'll tell you my theory. i don't think the president knew that that was raul castro. if we play that video again, you can say castro saying to him, i'm castro. he goes up there and shakes his hand.

watch, castro pulls him back. he's like i'm castro. oh! oh, well that's great. oh, okay. anyway, that's my philosophy. we'll see if anybody would ever admit to that. i don't think he knew it was. look at this, over 90 heads of state are there. does the president know the seating chart? i don't think so. but whatever. >> he might not know the seating chart. i find it a little hard to believe he wouldn't recognize raul castro. let's just take your theory at face value, thomas. in this kind of situation, at the commemoration celebration of mandela's life, someone whose life was committed to resistance, revolution but also forgiveness and reconciliation, it doesn't seem to me to make proper diplomatic etiquette or any sense at all for the leader of the free world to walk in there and try to pick and choose who he's going to interact with. it seems to me that the best move here is to shake hands with the leaders of the world. obviously he doesn't agree with all these leaders nor does he support all their policies. by the way, those leaders don't

necessarily agree with mr. obama or agree with president obama and/or support all of his policies. so i think it's much ado about nothing. and you're right, senator mccain is, quote unquote, guilty of these same kinds of hand shake exchanges as well. >> you make a great point. this is a memorial service and trying to dissect all of the human nature interactions is obviously a game of sorts for a lot of people who are observing this internationally, but as the congresswoman pointed out there, there is a propaganda value that could potentially be used with that handshake. michael, we asked our viewers what they thought about this. rachel on facebook said who cares? it's called respect at a memorial and that's that. byron on facebook says if he had not shaken castro's hand it would have been a direct insult to the legacy mandela left us. and then mary ann on twitter said it was the only thing to do. this was a funeral. castro was an invited speaker. respect the deceased. we should also point out on this the fact that we don't know exactly the interaction that went there. you know, my philosophy is

basically what i think, you know. i'm no lip reading expert but it's what i think happened. michael, do you think that this is much ado about nothing? >> yeah. but, you know, if it does have an upshot, thomas, and i think you're on to something, i hadn't thought about that before, but if it does have a broader political upshot in our discourse, i hope it's that it forces a conversation about our embargo and about this policy that's been going on for decades that is by now counterproductive. a lot of american farmers could be making a lot of money selling grain and other things and american manufacturers selling goods to cuba. this is a policy that is in place only because the most conservative right wing forces in south florida want it to be in place. i think most other americans don't really want this policy to exist anymore. any american under 30, even

cubans a lot of them, are against it or don't understand why it's there. so i would like to think that it might have a chance, this handshake, of forcing a conversation about that. >> i want to move on, though, and get this in because we have limited time about the selfie picture, the picture of the selfie that was taken. the president was spotted with danish and british prime ministers there. here's what david cameron had to say about it. >> perhaps in my defense you should always remember that the television cameras are always on, but in my defense i'd say that nelson mandela played an extraordinary role in his life and in his death at bringing people together and so, of course, when a member of the family asked me for a photograph i thought it was only polite to say yes. >> also today the danish prime minister speaking out saying it was not inappropriate calling this event a festive event, a celebration. conservatives on twitter are calling the president flirty, calling the first lady upset because you see her there paying attention to the service in that one shot where the self photo

was being taken. what do you make of all of this? here we go, you know, dissecting human nature. >> well, i think people are reading a lot into a photo that captured a particular moment. if you look at other moments, michelle obama, who was accused of looking jealously at the danish prime minister is smiling and laughing. this is a big tempest in a tea pot and a confluence of racist and sexist stereotypes as if michelle is an angry black woman, as if president obama is an oversexed black man -- and by the way, as if the danish prime minister is an object of flirtation as opposed to a world leader in her own rite. >> the photographer said photos can lie and in reality the first lady was herself joking with those around her. her stern look was captured by chance. so, james, what does it say, though, because we've got this article on salon.com condemning some of the attacks as being racist. but is that taking it a little too far? taking it as being racist or

just trying to do anything that the right wing will do to paint a negative picture of something? >> it's not taking it too far once you situate it within the context with which the right wing has attacked the first lady since even before he was the first lady. i mean irin is right here that they have tried to couch her in this stereotypical racist and sexist narrative of the angry black woman. and the fact that we are talking about a selfie or people were trying to push to read a selfie says two sad things. technology overdetermines her political and media discourses. two, we don't have enough substantive things to deal with in our nation or in the world that we're going to spend time -- this is not even a moment, this is a second out of a moment that the people are zeroed in on. so this is again much ado about nothing exempt the way in which it indicates the kind of discourse and neighborhood afternoons with which the right wing is trying to depict the first lady of the united states. >> michael, regardless of what

people think, the first lady was obviously paying attention to the service, wasn't involved in the selfie controversy, but here we are, we're adults talking about selfies between the president and prime ministers at a memorial service. what has the world come to? like if martians come down here and land -- >> i'm going take one right now. >> michael, what do you think? >> i think also this didn't really quite meet the definition of a selfie. doesn't it mean that you have to go promote it on social media? >> well, the danish prime minister said it wasn't a good shot and isn't going to be releasing it. so we had to take the photo of the selfie. >> irin called it a meta selfie. >> if martians land, we'll have this for them to learn about us. you can find more from our panel on thomasroberts.msnbc.com. people don't have to think about

where their electricity comes from. they flip the switch-- and the light comes on. it's our job to make sure that it does. using natural gas this power plant can produce enough energy for about 600,000 homes. generating electricity that's cleaner and reliable, with fewer emissions-- it matters. ♪

when you do what i do, iyou think about risk.. i don't like the ups and downs of the market, but i can't just sit on my cash. i want to be prepared for the long haul. ishares minimum volatility etfs. investments designed for a smoother ride. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal. one of the things that the promise did recently was to talk to parents of all ideologies and

many, many different faiths, all over the country, and it is not surprising that when they started talking about parents' love for their children and their desire to make the country safer for their children, everyone is in agreement. >> that was david wheeler alongside his wife, francine, during an interview with rachel maddow last night. their 6-year-old son, benjamin wheeler, was among the 20 children killed in the newtown massacre nearly one year ago. the wheelers along with other newtown families have spent the last year pushing congress to pass stiffer gun control laws an they will hold private ceremonies this weekend to honor their lost loved ones. now, in the year since the newtown shooting, nearly 200 children have died from gun violence in this country. msnbc.com has profiled more than 50 children as part of its powerful "too young to die" series. alexandra brown was one of those children. she was found shot to death next to her father inside his car or inside a car this past january.

dafna linzer, the managing editor of msnbc.com joins me right now. walk us through the process of selecting the 50 that were profiled. >> this was a very kind of compassionate and compelling series. the idea, of course, came out of newtown. we assigned one reporter, michelle richneck, for the entire year to profile other children like benjamin wheeler, children who -- and like lexi brown who were killed, who basically died from gunshot wounds around the country. and so this was really about creating sort of intimate portraits of the children, the lives they led. who were they. really putting faces to statistics. >> and when we talk about those statistics, we mentioned that there have been hundreds of children lost to gun violence over the year. obviously to any parent or any family member that loses a child so young to something so senseless, it's going to be a compelling story. so how are you able to navigate and curate the 50 stories that

you selected. >> this was a project in which we had a reporter go in and sort of talk to each family. the relatives, teachers, basketball coaches, and really get a sense of each child. it's really about building trust and building relationships with each family in order to kind of come up with a profile that, again, did not focus on the violence, did not focus on the killers, did not make that child into a statistic but really brought to life what it means to lose a 6-year-old. what kind of a world we could have had, you know, if benjamin wheeler was still in it, if lexi brown was still in it. >> we've seen over the last year how on the state level certain states have been able to do something, to have stiffer gun control laws, while we have seen congress be able to get nothing truly done. we had congressman richard blumenthal on talking earlier in the last hour in "jansing & co." about what connecticut has done and they have certainly tightened down.

but when you look at the example that newtown has given us, how do you hope that this series then continues? because we have a long way to go if we want to amend our federal contract with the country and what it means to have our constitutional right to bear arms. but what that means in reality if we lose our children to that constitutional right. >> right. and i think what the wheelers said too about just talking to parents and making the country safer for all children i think is critical. but i think without some serious sort of federal gun reform, you are leaving it into the hands of states, and states like connecticut choose one path but not all states do. we did a big series of louisiana, where there's -- people are dying from gunshot wounds every day. and that is not a state that has moved in the same direction as connecticut has. >> and there's cultural responses to how some people are raised with guns or how some people are raised to respect guns differently than others. so i find it really -- it will

be compelling to look through all of these stories to see exactly where they fall. but thanks for all the great work that you did with everybody over at msnbc.com to put this together. our dafna linzer. once again check out the new series on msnbc.com. we urge all of you to go there, check it out, read these stories. thank you. a nevada family missing since sunday after being stranded in frigid temperatures has been found and found alive. this family met with cheers as they were escorted out of an ambulance and into the emergency room of a hospital. you can hear the applause there. authorities saying 34-year-old james glanton, 25-year-old christina, their two children plus a niece and nephew were found in fairly good condition. they were found inside their car, which had turned over and turned on its roof. miguel almaguer is in nevada. miguel, tell us what you learned about how they were able to stay alive until rescue workers were able to find them. >> reporter: thomas, the sheriff's department says they did all the right things to stay alive. apparently after that jeep overturned, we're told that the

family was able to huddle together. the father and girlfriend keeping the children inside the car as they were able to start a small fire, gather enough material to start a small fire. they then heated up large rocks and made these rocks a heat source. took them in or very close to that jeep that then warmed up the sblr of the car where the children were taking safety. we're also told that the family had rationed out some food that they had brought. of course the kids and the two adults had come out for a day in the snow, so they were dressed properly, although they certainly didn't expect to be out there for two nights, thomas. we do expect them to be released from the hospital shortly later on today, thomas. >> miguel almaguer. so lucky for that family. miguel, thank you, sir. appreciate it. real quickly i wanted to share with you a thrill and an honor it was for me to moderate a panel yesterday held at the united nations on sport, comes out against homophobia. december the 10th is international human rights day.

this panel was martina navratilova, jason collins and assistant secretary general and with special guests, singer melissa etheridge, bruce cohen, they were all there. it was a it was a standing room only crowd, but delegations from the united states, el salvador, france, crbrazil, south africa, new zealand and the european union. this was a huge room, but i had to show you this picture i took of jason collins. he needed a little more leg room at our table. it was a great day. so thank you to all at the u.n. people join angie's list for all kinds of reasons. i go to angie's list to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list.

angie's list -- reviews you can trust. so you can see like right here i can just... you know, check my policy here, add a car, ah speak to customer service, check on a claim...you know, all with the ah, tap of my geico app. oh, that's so cool. well, i would disagree with you but, ah, that would make me a liar. no dude, you're on the jumbotron! whoa. ah...yeah, pretty much walked into that one. geico anywhere anytime. just a tap away on the geico app. [ female announcer ] we eased your back pain... ♪ ready or not. [ female announcer ] ...so you can be up there. here i come! [ female announcer ] ...down there, around there... and under there for him. tylenol® provides strong pain relief and won't irritate your stomach the way aleve® or even advil® can. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more.

tylenol®.

developing right now, the ntsb is holding a hearing to try to figure out why asiana airlines flight 214 crash landed in san francisco last july. remember these images? three people were killed, more than 200 were injured. tom costello covers aviation for nbc news. tom joins me now. what more did we learn about the

surroundings and issues around the crash itself and what the ntsb is willing to reveal? >> yeah, thomas, this is very much about why the crew of asiana flight 214 failed to notice their air speed had dropped as they approached san francisco last july 6th. whether they truly understood the computer-assist the flight control systems and whether they simply didn't have the skills to land the plane manually. today the korean pilots union suggested boeing's auto throttle speed control system had a design flaw because it disengages when the pilot goes off auto pilot to fly manually, which it did. boeing says, listen, this is a common awe though throttle system used on several generations of aircraft. it worked properly that day and ultimately the pilots have to fly the plane and have to pay attention to the speed settings. this investigation also is going to look at culture and training. the pilot who was flying, you may recall, was a veteran pilot, but this was his check-out flights under supervision to get

approved to fly the 777. korean culture would not have allow allowed him to speak up and say he wanted to go around with superiors in the cockpit. he also admitted he was very nervous flying into san francisco that day because the automatic glide slope, which guides them in, was out of action. although, there was a back-up system available to the crew. so really a confluence of factors here. training, aptitude, culture, technical factors. two people died in the crash, you'll recall. one teenage girl died after being hit by an arriving fire engine. the airport authority is also a part of this investigation, looking at what they could have done better. back to you. >> all right, tom. thanks so much. i want to get this on the air. this is from our kelly o'donnell coming in from washington, d.c. regarding the chief of staff for senator lamar alexander. currently right now he's been put on administrative leave without pay because he's involved, the chief of staff for

lamar alexander, in some type of child pornography case. the statement says, i was just informed that law enforcement agents are conducting a search of the personal residence of ryan lockscarn regarding allegations involving child pornography. i'm stunned, surprised, and disappointed by what i have learned. based on this information, i immediately placed him on administrative leave without pay. the office is fully cooperating with this investigation. once again, the chief of staff for senator lamar alexander of tennessee's office in d.c. has been placed on administrative leave without pay because law enforcement officials are investigating that chief of staff for child pornography charges. we're going to be back with much more right after this. we all have our tricks. mom swaps my snack for a piña colada yoplait. and when mom said i was going out too much, i swapped it for staying in. [ shouts ] guess who's going out tomorrow.

[ female announcer ] swap one snack a week for a yoplait. it is so good. see who does good work and compare costs. it doesn't usually work that way with health care. but with unitedhealthcare, i get information on quality rated doctors, treatment options and estimates for how much i'll pay. that helps me, and my guys, make better decisions. i don't like guesses with my business, and definitely not with our health. innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years.

humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira , your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your doctor if humira can work for you. this is humira at work. not great, not second best,

but least worst. it's wednesday, december 11th, and this is "now." modest is the label most frequently attached to the two-year budget agreement reached by paul ryan and patty murray in a rare moment of bipartisan accord. while the white house called it a good first step, speaking for house democrats this morning, minority leader nancy pelosi offered her own mostly tepid support. >> i thank our conferees for their leadership, their opinions are important to us. members will make their own decisions as to where we go with this. and again, we would have preferred something quite different, but we do recognize the value of coming to a decision so that we can go forward with some clarity on other legislation that we want to see. >> as usual, there appears to be greater division on the right. while "the