for one-to-one support and education. 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. nasa astronauts saysfully complete an emergency space walk. the dangerous mission going so well that the astronauts might actually get to take time off for christmas. good afternoon, everybody. i'm t.j. holmes. craig melvin is off today and

you are watching msnbc. we're following several developing stories this hour including in south sudan, a mission to evacuate americans erupt in gunfire. four service members are injured when unknown forces open fire on their aircraft. also here at home, the holiday storm. this is going to be a problem, folks. the weather system threatens to disrupt travel for millions of americans heading out of town. plus -- >> has this been the worst year of your presidency? >> i got to tell you, that's really not how i think about it. >> a full-court press. the nfc, war on drugs, overhauling health care. president obama ends the year with a full plate. how will he turn things around in 2014? also, so long to the dry cleaners. you've got to see this. an amazing new shirt that the creator says it impossible to

stain. you'll see how it works in today's big idea. but we will start with that nassy weather. nasty winter storm that could make holiday travel a nightmare for so many folks. parts of the central u.s. under the threat of ice and snow. meanwhile, the south looking forward to possible tornados. yes, tornados in december. storm system having an effect on holiday air travel. airports are reporting more than 800 delays this hour. we will have a live report from the storm zone coming up. but let's go with some surveillance news right now. the obama administration has declassified some information about president bush's intelligence efforts right after 9/11, including details of how the nsa collected electronic surveillance. this comes on the heels of a press conference the president held yesterday. >> over the next several weeks, i'm going to assess based on conversation, not just with the

intelligence community, but others in government and outside of government, how we might apply and incorporate their recommendations and i'm going to make a pretty definitive statement about this in january. >> so, what can we expect to see from the administration? peter alexander is working in honolulu where the president is vacationing for the next couple of weeks. hello to you, and tell us, what changes can we possibly look forward to with the president and these nsa surveillance programs? >> not to worry. i think we'll make a dip in the ocean before this trip is over. it is a working vacation for the president, but we'll keep a close eye on things, including this nsa conversation. the president is going to be signing off on some major changes as to how the u.s. gathers intelligence. that could include making it so that the nsa is not the one that stores that significant data,

but instead phone companies that do that. that would be a pretty significant change of view for the president since this information became public in june back then. he felt pretty confidently. appeared to indicate there was a good balance between privacy and intelligence gathering. he said yesterday that the environment has changed and just because we can do something, doesn't necessarily mean that we should. he has with him about a 300 plus page independent panel report that he will be looking through and he will make that statement as soon as he's back in washington after this trip. >> and peter, you joked there about taking a dip in the ocean. we know on these vacations oftentimes, the press corps is standing by in case something happens, but do we really expect to see anything official from the president or even see the president taking a swim, surf fing, whatever he may be doing over the next couple of weeks? >> among the images we often see is the president taking his

girls out for a little bit of shaved ice. there are no public events scheduled during the course of the time that he's here. obviously, he'll likely have some morning workouts and golf time, none of which people back at home will see. not a lot of news is expected to come out of the time here, but of course, he has his daily briefing each morning. it's actually his wife, the first lady's brother, craig robinson, also the head basketball coach at oregon state university, they are playing here in a tournament in week, so at some point, it's possible we'll see the president making a little jaunt over in that direction to watch the oregon state team play as well. >> peter alexander working in honolulu. thank you so much. want to turn now to the war on drugs. this week, president obama commuted the sentences of eight people serving long prison terms for crack-cocaine convictions as part of the administration's effort to reduce what it calls undually harsh sentences for

drug crimes. let me turn to charlie wrangle who's on views on drugs have evolved. you think this was the right thing for the president to do, to commute these sentences, an should he do more? >> i hope he does more. when i was prosecuting in the federal courts, we were going against drug cartels that were in turkey and france and when you had a good bust there, you could see the impact on the streets. now, everyone's an independent dealer and i have thought that the severe sentences would be a deterrent, but actually, it's really been a war against poor folks and people that didn't have lawyers and with mandatory sentences, it's been totally unfair. >> as you look back now as being one of those advocates, one of those prosecutors, one of those congressmen, you talked about pushing nixon, pushing reagan to have this war on drugs. do you look back with some kind of i don't know if regret was

the right word, but different eyes now to know that you are really a part of pushing what the ag holder has decimated some minority communities? >> not at all. i'm talking about cartels where drug traffickers were killing up communities. internationally. and dead men told no tales. we weren't talking about street peddlers. but we did have the foresight to think these laws would have the impact on the person on the street. >> obviously, it was a very difficult time for politicians and i'm not one of them. to be afraid of saying they're soft on crime. this is one of the things that the president in his last term, can do a whole lot of things and perhaps make it easier on public officials to know that this doesn't make sense. we have more people locked up in our jails and prisons that all of the countries in the world

and it's costing us $80 billion a year. >> part of this, do you think the fair sentencing act should be made retroactive? it was put in place, it should be. >> of course. >> kids in jail that serve 15, 20 years or three life sentences. the insanity of this whole thing to take away discretion away from the judges, it doesn't make any sense and if you're talking about economics of it all, it costs about $40,000 a year to keep some person in jail who in the additional cost of medical care, clothing, they don't make any productive contribution to society. and more often than not, they return. so, this doesn't make sense. the president has started an initiative. i hope governors start looking the same way because it's really causing an impact on their budgets. >> the president commuted the sentences of eight people who

had been in prison 15 plus years already. is that enough even if the president commutes more? can't commute enough to have the impact that making the fair sentencing act retroactive, or are you saying congress should do something? >> i'm saying that if there are people in the congress that if the president got out of the boat and walked on water, they would criticize him for not being able to swim. we have to see if common sense could reach the republicans because we can set an example for the whole world in saying just jailing people, poor folks without lawyers and keeping them locked up in warehouses is not good for the country or the economy. >> you still character ooiz it as a war on drugs? >> no, no, this is a war of the united states of america. this is a war against young people. if we would spend $30,000 a year on kids and education and giving them job opportunities, they wouldn't be in jail today.

if you don't have hope, a track, if you don't believe that you can make it, jail doesn't deter anyone. >> last thing here. no doubt, you're a young 83. i don't think there's any question about that. another term in congress. it would be your 23rd. why are -- how, i guess is one question. how do you keep going? why keep going? do you think there's still more to do? is it time for a new look, some fresh blood in that seat? you could go off into the sunset right now. >> i really cannot afford not to take the excitement of the last years of president obama. i'm so excited in being involved in national health care. it came out of my committee. it's not working completely yet, but it will work. the despairty between the rich and the poor, no president has ever talked about the middle class, the way he does and about

the right of education. all of these things are with him in the beginning and i feel there's a lot of things that has to be done and quite frankly at this point in time, the community really hasn't found anyone that knows the full new district and many of those who want to succeed say hey, a couple more years, i'll be ready to go. in a couple more years, i'll be ready to go, too. >> you're looking good, always going strong and all the times i've seen you, you always have more energy than i do. >> have a great holiday. >> topping the headlines, four u.s. service members wounded after a mission to evacuate from south sudan. the country on the verge of civil war. president obama released a statement about the situation in the country thursday saying quote, south sudan stands at the precipice recent fighting threatens to plunge south sudan

back into the dark days of the past. also, same-sex couples in utah rush to salt lake city to a courthouse there to get married friday after a federal judge ruled the state's same sex marriage ban uninstitutional. the judge said the ban violated the right of gay couples to due process and equal protection under the u.s. constitution. they will seek an emergency stay while they appeal it to a court. an estimated 95 million of you are set to hit the roads and skies this holiday weekend, but the weather may not be cooperating for a lot of folks. a massive winter storm bringing snow and ice to parts of the country already caused problems on the road in washington state. the south getting a dose of severe weather that will include rain, flooding and yes, even possible ly tornados. let's check in with mike bettes in greenville, mississippi. just how bad could things get

down there? >> it's amazing to think this is the first day of winter and we've got an ice storm, a snowstorm and a tornado outbreak on the same day. we're in greenville, mississippi. kind of seems like this is the epicenter of what happens today. behind me, an ominous sky. going to show you just an instant of what's happening here. you see this flag right here? winds are very, very strong out of the south and temperatures are 75 to 80 degrees. that strong wind from the south at the surface and a very strong wind in the upper levels of the atmosphere from the southwest that causes this rotation in the atmosphere and that will cause supercell thunderstorms to rotate today and possibly spin up tornados and we think it could be a lot of tornados. tornado watches are in effect from houston up through memphis, so millions of people that would be impacted by not only flood g floodinging, not om thunderstorm, but yes, tornados and they could last past sunset, so a nighttime threat for a lot of people. once we go to bed, tornados will

not quit. also, awful travel conditions. significant ice in the south and maybe as much as a foot of snow in milwaukee today. one of the worst weather days we've had of the year. >> we appreciate you. thanks so much. also, coming up, mission almost accomplished. nasa astronauts have just wrapped up a daring repair mission on the internashl space station. how it all went down. probably shouldn't say went down when i'm talking about space, huh? also on the home front, as america winds down, the war in afghanistan, are we prepared to help the thousands of veterans and their families make the transition here at home? also, a photo fight. team obama trying to control the message by shutting out the media? nah. 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 [ car beeps ] ♪ ♪

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expected to wind down in a year's time, but for now, american troops remain in harm's way. the body of terry gordon was returned to the u.s. thursday night. one of six u.s. soldiers killed in the aftermath of a helicopter crash in southern afghanistan. in the 12 years america has been at war, 4410 have been killed. i want to turn to david finkle, author of "thank you for your service." chuck hagel was talking about the commitment of service members. >> we have a responsibility to all those who serve in afghanistan today. and all who have sacrificed there for more than 12 years. especially those who gave their

lives and limbs. and their families. >> you know, the title of your book is "thank you for your service." you spent 18 months from soldiers once they came back from overseas, back from the war zone and jumping off from the defense secretary's comments there, are we doing what needs to be done to thank them by taking care of them when they get back? >> yeah, we'll find out, right? before the 18 months i spent living with families trying to recover from these wars, i spent a year embedded with an infantry batallion. this was a batallion that got banged up pretty badly. when they came home, as war does, there had been a lot of psychological issues to deal with. and i know from the 18 months i spent with those families, that it's, obviously it's a long road back and it's not easy and we can sit here on this nice weekend before christmas and

think that these wars are winding down and they're successful enough for us to leave these countries, but in fact, in my ways, the part of the war that's the afterwar is just beginning and is going to go on for a long time. it has to do with not only healing physically, but psychologically as well. >> did you see anything in sticking with them once they came home, anything glaring that the pentagon is not doing? something that stood out that we're looking in providing for them when they get home? >> no, it's unlike other wars. at least there's an attempt underway now to deal with people with psychological trauma. from what happened to them. while they were in combat. even the people who were in it, the best well intentioned people you can imagine will acknowledge these are overwhelmed, somewhat half hazard flawed systems, especially of mental health. physically, guys are getting great care. when it comes to mental health,

it's really a haphazard system. >> one of those other things ties into mental health and you talk about when they get back, there's this feeling of being alone. you come from a war zone, you're back to your home, your family. but they feel isolated. explain that. >> well, there's a truth to war. you've heard it again and again. that eventually, if you're in war, you're just, it's not because of the big mission. you're in it for the guy next to you. but if there's a truth to the afterwar, you're pretty much on your own. these folks come home and the ones with psychological wounds, many of them, many of them feel a sense of guilt. i've had so many soldiers say to me i wish i could look in the mirror and see some physical representation of injury. a missing leg or arm because then i would understand that something went wrong, but with psychological wounds, it's invisible. they're not sure. they don't really talk about it to anyone. the system of helping them while it's there, it's not a great

system yet and the perfect embodiment of the lonelyness is i got a text message this morning from one of the guys i lived with and wrote about. i can't wait for the holidays to be over. >> the book, "thank you for your service." this is always something good to bring attention to any time of year. certainly around the holidays as well, but we appreciate you being here. hope to catch up again. troops coming home. here's a little something they can look forward to and i know a lot of people can relate to this. they are going to be getting expedited security screens. it's going to happen at more than 100 airports worldwide. holiday season, they'll be able to walk through security, shoes on, jackets zipped up. laptops still in their bags. yes. this is just a gesture, it's a small one, but i'm sure they appreciate it. we appreciate them. thank you. [ male announcer ] this is jim, a man who doesn't stand still. but jim has afib, atrial fibrillation --

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astronauts are making repairs to the international space station faster than expected. they started at 7:00 this morning and wrapped it up about five and a half hours later. for the first time, their space suits are outfitted with a snorkel to prevent their helmets from possibly filling with water. we're going to have a live report in our next hour. reuters reports they will limit debit card purchases to $300 per day. the move comes as target offers shoppers a 10% discount. 40 million americaning may have had their credit card data stolen in a massive security breach. we'll have more on how to protect your accounts. also, a safety check has been completed of every one of

london's west end theatres. inspections come after dozens of people were injured when the ceiling of the apollo theatre collapsed. pope francis is in the christmas spirit. he gave presents to -- postage stamps, prepaid calling card and a free day pass to the rome metro. all items that will allow them to connect with family over the holiday season. ♪ is this the bacon and cheese diet? this is the creamy chicken corn chowder.

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[ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums! the civil war in syria is gettinging worse by the day. more than 2.3 million have been forced from their home land into neighboring countries. and lebanon has seen a surge of 850,000 refugees from syria. which now make almost a quarter of lebanon's total population.

bring in journalistic film maker, who is also an msnbc contributor. what is the concern? everybody wants, you know, these folks need somewhere to go, but what is the concern about absorbing so many refugees? >> i think the lebanese government, but also the jordanian government, their both concerned about three issues ch the jordan government is very poor. they don't have the possibilities to provide for all of them, so they put them in established refugee camps and as you see, it has been raining and snowing here, but it's been raining and snowing there. tents are not enough. they don't heat enough. most of these kids are dying. 50% of the number you gave are children under the age of 15 years old. so, what you are seeing there, it's a human travesty. the lebanese situation is worse. by far. because they don't allow them to have established refugee camps

because they are very concerned and scared they will alter the very delicate sectarian balance that is there between shiite, sunni and christian. we have 15 years of civil war and the civil war was simply because the minority, the christian minority wanted to dominate the political system and the economic system. >> you're talking about here, we're showing those pictures, you're talking about rain and cold and people essentially are covered by curtains and blankets. this is what they're dealing with now. now, something that has come up with lebanon, ikea -- a brilliant idea to have prefab houses, which are these constructed homes that can be set up right there and they're much nicer than this. can add some warmth, give you some cover from the weather. lebanon for the longest, resisted that idea. in part because they didn't want people to get too comfortable. >> absolutely. they resisted this idea. they fought this idea because

they wanted to push these refugees tout other country. the lebanese government is very concerned because they have a history with the refugee camps. there's half million palestinians living in refugee camps still today since 1948. i visited these camps in 2006 and 2008 and it was horrified by the conditions of the -- of the people who lived there. you go to certain places and there are second and third generation of children, raised, born in lebanon. they've never seen palestine. but for the lebanese governments, these people don't exist. they are not allows to even, if you have a degree, medical degree or a nurse, you're not allowed to work. 80% of the businesses, you are not allowed to practice them. >> we have to find a balance with these concerns from the lebanese folks because it sounds like they're being heartless, but we talk about these prefab houses, which would be nice, you

get folks too comfortable and the international community, oh, that looks like a nice little set-up there and then is is urgency of the crisis seems to faed a little. >> it's a very complicated region, but you can find actually balance and most of the lebanese officials, the jordanians and turk officials are very angry. very, very angry with the west, but are very angry with the air rab leaders. saudi arabia, qatar, emirates, who are very wealthy. billions, billions dollars, but they're pouring it in the wrong direction. their financing islamists simply to promote one agenda. promotion of islam and sunni supremacy, so they don't care about the refugees and their lives. they don't care that half million refugees are deprived from schooling. you will have a generation of syrian kids that in ten years, would become leaders, that would sit around the table to negotiate settlements and these

kids now are exploited by human trafficking organizations or even islamists, so what kind of generation, future generation where we have in syria? the issue today is -- instead of building armies that we are doing by financing the free syrian army or financing the regime, we need to build citizens. >> and we know for a long time, a lot of people, viewers here, are very familiar with you and you're very passionate about this region. it's pleasure to sit down and talk to you about it. thanks so much for coming in. just past the pom bottom of the hour. we're going to turn back to politics in this country. affordable care act. according to the president, back on track. that was his message yesterday. he was trying to send that out to the american public. take a listen. >> despite the website problems, the messaging problems, despite all of that, it's working. and again, you don't have to take my word for it.

we've got couple of million people who are going to have health insurance just in the first three months. >> some say the president could have avoided problems in the first place if he had taken some advice. from mitt romney. yes and listen to him about the massachusetts plan. let me bring in lonnie chen, a research fellow at the hoover institution and former policy director for mitt romney's 2012 campaign, john mcduno. helps create romney care and obamacare. two guys that i need to be talking to. lonnie, really? was he right? mitt romney was right when he said that you know what? you can't do what we did in massachusetts on a national scale. was he right? >> well, good afternoon, t.j. i think governor romney's main criticism was we've got 50 separate health insurance marketplaces in america. 50 separate places where health

insurance is provided at least. and it's impossible to take all of that and try to subsume it under one system. i think that criticism turns out to be very accurate. >> john, is that criticism too early? it's only couple of months in. maybe just now trying to work the way it's supposed to. is that too early to say governor romney was right? >> well, no, because in fact, romney himself in 2007, 2008, in his first presidential run, actually said that what he did he thought would be a model for the country. you can have differences and we can see that. you're see iing them give flex e flexibility to a number of states. there's actually a provision in the law that gives states their own plan, but there's also a certain set of principles they think are important, which is

that everyone in america should be able to get health insurance coverage without preexisting conditions, denying that coverage. women should not have to pay 20 to 30% more in premiums just because of their gender, so there are some market conditions that i think are legitimate and some principles that should cut across and protect everyone in the united states and not just depending upon which state you live in. >> there are some points here and there, no matter what side of the aisle you may be on. the republicans have tried at least 40 attempts to roll back the health care law. will we see a turn that the gop might start picking apart? we don't like that, or that, so try that instead to try to help improve it instead of fighting to repeal it, which isn't going to happen while this president's in office.

>> i think it's important for republicans to recognize people want to see ideas and alternatives. i think for republicans, there are some that have been good at articulating these alternatives. but it's got to be a party wide effort. there have to be more people out there saying look, we believe that people with preexisting condition exclusions should have some avenue to coverage. what's the republican alternative to that? i think talking about that is going to be crucially important. if we're going to make the sale as we get toward the 2014 le elections, no doubt about it. >> john, there have been plenty of reports in particular, some of the middle class getting hit or being surprised that system of their premiums going up or costing a little bit more. you'll find those stories here and there, maybe not a good pressure of maybe how many people are seeing higher premiums, but is it a good enough trade off and a success if you have lower income folks getting subsidies and health care for the first time or at a very reduced price, if you still

at the same time, have middle class paying a good heap more? is that still a success if you have so many in the middle class the president wants to prop up, getting hit hard by health care costs? >> i think what we have now is we have a shower of anecdotes and it's hard to sort them out. it's not just lower income people who benefit from the expansions in the aca. if you're a family of four and you have an income up to $95,000, you are eligible for subsidies. i think the important thing which i don't think people quite understand because of all of the controversy around the implementation difficulties is we are approaching a fundamental departure point on january 1st. after january 1st, health insurance in the united states undergoes probably the most dramatic change in the history of health insurance in the xh s united states. no more ability for insurance companies to des krim nat based upon medical status or gender. about 5 million americans now we

believe will actually have new coverage on january 1st. lifetime benefit caps are illegal in all policies. completely on january 1st. and personal reasonability, which is a value that mitt romney actually championed and introduced in massachusetts and later suggested it would be good for the nation. that also takes effect, so we are facing a fundamental landmark day of improvement on january 1st and i think really that's what people -- >> that's around the corner. deadline around the corner as well for people to sip up. it's on the 23rd, folks. gentlemen, thank you both for being here on this holiday weekend. we'll see you again. to new york. holiday treats. this week, a flash mob took over a busy city intersection to bring the iconic dance seen from a charlie brown christmas to life. ♪ [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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i got to see this myself. a t-shirt that's impossible to stain. that's the big idea. it contains a material that can resist soda to ketchup to red wine. amir patel is the creator of this shirt, also a business student. thank you for being here. you have an example of this. let me see this fabric, the shirt and you show me how this works. >> thank you for having me. today, i brought some syrup, red wine and soy sauce. >> go ahead. you can just pour some fabric on that. you tell me it's just going to bounce off. >> it's a four-way stretch, ultra soft. first, the maple syrup here. it's just coming right off. there's nothing left on there. also some soy sauce for your guys.

>> soy, okay. now, how comfortable can that be? it's soft, it's not sticky orricy or hard? >> we've taken the nano text message and put it on the scale. it's extremely soft and breathable. similar to what you'd find in a nike or adidas shirt today. >> that's liquid. what if you fall in a pit of mud. will it stain if you rub stuff like that on it or are you telling me nothing will stain this shirt? >> anything that's water-baseded is not going to be able to touch that fabric because the micro structures repel everything on it. if you put dirt on it, you can just pour water on it, it will fall right off. >> how long will this last? because you have to wash the shirt, i assume. >> sustainability was really important for us, so about 80

washes. about a year and a half life cycle. >> what about sweat? if your sweat's going to stay on you. >> that's a great question. what we've been able to do is with this fabric, you're going to notice sweat's going to evaporate into the air. most fabrics like the moisture wicking stuff, it's going to absorb the sweat and push it out. what people are having trouble realizing is that our fabric is not going to absorb that sweat so you not going to get sweat stains. >> you're telling me this thing is safe because we've seen other products that have chemicals in it that could be dangerous. >> no, no, i was very inspired to make things friendly. >> starting the t-shirts, right? >> right and then we hope to expand it from there. >> possibly blue dress shirts and i'll be in business. that's some interesting stuff, my man. we look forward to seeing it down the road.

thank you so much for today's big idea and do you have a big idea out there that's making a difference? tell us about it by e-mailing us. let's flash back now, shall we, to today in 1970. with a team met the president. initiated an oval office meeting with president nixon because he wanted a badge from the washington based bureau of narcotics and drugs that was the prec precursor to the dea. president nixon agreed to the meeting and elvis got his badge. ♪ ♪

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what is your new year's resolution? >> my new year's resolution so to be nicer to the white house press corps. >> hardy har.

that was president obama yesterday, it was a joke on the feud that's been buildi ining between the press corps, who feel they are not getting enough access to the president. let me bring in -- behind presidential picture stories. also, charles, an associated press photographer who has been covering the white house for over a decade. let me show some of these pictures. the president flew over of course to south africa and on this flight, was form r president bush, laura bush, hillary clinton. that's a press opportunity going on back there, but those pictures were taken by the official white house photographer. those intimate moments we're seeing now, you weren't able to get. so, why not just accept those photos? why are you fighting to get

access to that type of photo? >> thanks for having me on the show, t.j. the white house press photographers, independent photojournalists who cover the white house feel that it's important there are an independent view of what the president's doing and the president doing his official duties. when the white house chooses to release their own photograph of the president meeting with dignitaries or whoever, the public needs to realize that this is one viewpoint, these are photographs made by photographers who are on the president's payroll, so this is not an independent view. it's not a full story of what's going on. and in a democracy, i believe that there could be a polarity of viewpoints on how our government works. >> dennis, you've studied this and certainly administrations in the past. how different is it with this administration versus past administrations? >> well, it depends on how far back you go. when we started out, teddy

roosevelt, paragraphers weren't even allowed at the gates. then we worked our way in through harding and he was a a newspaper man and then truman was a great friend. then we had the advent of the 35 millimeter camera. before, it was four by five cameras. it sort of like you had these fellas here with big things and it was a pretty controlled situation. well, with 35, you could go behind the scenes and quiet photographer's doing their thing without interfering and it was very good. and the first official photographer came when lbj created the job with locomotive, who was an excellent photographer. there was only one handout then and there was to "life" magazine. well, over the years, it's evolved to whatever the official photographer and the administration wants it to be.

>> let me bring charlie back in. the president's on vacation right now. it's his private time and there's a lot of interest, but when he does something like play golf with tiger woods, people are awfully interested in that. for something like that, private time, is that still something we all need access to? i say we all, speaking of photographs and the american public. do you believe something like that is something we should get? >> we're not asking for access to the president in his private moments with his family or if he's having a meeting of a national security level. we're not asking to get into the situation room. but what we feel is important is if there are situations where the president is perform iing h official duties and they choose to not let the press cover it and then release their own photograph, our complaint is why aren't you bringing in the independent news photographers to cover this. >> do you see this, dennis as maybe this is this president's

preference or do you have a concern that maybe as things have changed over administrations that this might be something that sticks for future generations? >> well -- o administrations, excuse me. >> technology has changed, no doubt, and we have to change with it. in prior administrations, the pictures were handed out in eight by ten, then we got the digital and it was easier to do. this administration has gone about five to six times further with hand outs. and this is again as charlie says, it's things that we cannot see and a journalists eye is different than even the official photographer, so, we have to evolve, but it's got to be a give and take on both sides. >> again, the book is "presidential picture stories." thank you for being here and charlie, i know this is a fight that will continue and i know

you will be a part of it, thank you for being here as well. >> thanks for having us. now to dennis rodman. he's make iing his third trip t north korea. he says he wants to spread the word about basketball. is his visit doing more harm than good at a time of high tensions between the u.s. and north korea? ♪ this holiday season, our priority is you ♪

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what if i can't hide my symptoms? what if? but what if the most important question is the one you're not asking? what if the underlying cause of your symptoms is damaging inflammation? for help getting the answers you need, talk to your doctor and visit crohnsandcolitisinfo.com to get your complimentary q&a book, with information from experts on your condition. the nightmare before christmas. a powerful storm system is making its way across the u.s. bringing heavy snow, ice and the threat of heavy tornados and the timing couldn't be worse as millions of more thanes hit the road for the holidays. good afternoon to you all. you're watching msnbc. space odyssey. now that nasa pulled off today's repair job on the international space station ahead of schedule. plus --

>> i noticed there was two charges on there that didn't make sense and i'm like, we got a problem. trying to have a decent holiday then someone steals from you. >> security breach. target offers a discount to customers, but it may not be enough for the 40 million americans hacked at the peak of the holiday season. coming up, what you need to know if your accounts are at risk. >> understand what's going on with the stuff and i said i go on that venture. doing this for these kids here and for the country and the world pretty much. >> basketball diplomacy or is this just a bad idea? dennis rodman says his visit to north korea is all about sport, but it comes at a time of heightened turmoil with the nuclear nation. and the story of children who can recall their past lives in detail and the doctor who

says it's proof that reincarnation exists. we are keeping a close eye on a nasty winter storm that could affect millions of you traveling during this holiday season. it's already dumped snow and ice in parts its way to the north, the south bracing for severe weather that could spawn tornados. in arkansas, over 112,000 people are without power. air travelers are taking a hit as more than 100 flights have been delayed. chris warn has the latest for us. >> this is a massive system with multiple threats. first, we're going look at that severe weather threat. this is the area right here in red. where there's the best chance for seeing thunderstorms that could produce damaging winds, also some of these thunderstorms could bring some significant tro

trobd tropds. we're watching that threat throughout the course of the afternoon and evening. there's also an ice and a wintry side to things. freezing rain will be a possibility. also, snow is going to be falling and then there is heavy rain expected through here and flooding is likely. some flash flooding is likely. here's a look at some of the snowfall amounts we're expecting, from milwaukee down to kansas city, 5 to 8 inches of snow expected to fall mainly tonight into tomorrow. and then while this is happening, we're seeing that heavy rain. that severe weather threat will move into the southeast and up into the mid-atlantic. this is on sunday. northern new england will be dealing with freezing rain, so look for power outages and significant travel delays. back to you. >> that's chris warren for us. thank you so much. we turn now to four u.s. military service members who are now in stable condition this hour after three u.s. aircraft

came under fire during a mission to evacuate americans from south sudan. the attack by small arms fire came from unknown forces. the country's on the verge of civil war just two years after it gained independence from sudan. the wounds have been flown to nairobi, kenya, for medical treatment. also, tensions on the rise on the korean peninsula after new threats by north korea sent by fax against south korea. in the midst of this retro war rhetoric is former nba star, dennis rodman. he arrived in north korea thursday. he is the highest profile american to meet president kim jong- jong- jong-il since he inherited power. give me an upside. is there -- this seems so whacky, but is there some legitimate, serious upside? >> there is, but only for kim

jong-un. because what rodman is doing is he's showing that everything is normal in north korea with all the basketball diplomacy. this just after the execution of kim jong-un's uncle and all of these regime figures leading pyongyang. >> should the u.s. try in some way? should we be trying to use this guy maybe some back channel, somebody gets in rodman's ear saying, ask this, or would it be a disaster? >> i think it would be a disaster. what's interesting is rodman wants to bring ex nba stars in and maybe we can talk to those people. now, the issue is whether anyone will be going for this exhibition game on january 8th, which is kim jong-un's birthday. >> why would they is my question. why would anyone want to go over there and celebrate this guy's birthday? the question there is well, you

mentioned this it's kind of that rodman kind of bolsters kim jong-un a little bit, but is that because he almost humanizes him in a way? we're not talking about slave camps, the execution of his uncle, but hey, he likes basketball. i like basketball. is it kind of humanizing in a way? >> it certainly does. that's the way we view the world. everyone likes our games, our sports, so therefore, they must be just like this. that's not the way it is because north korea is the worst place on earth. >> i want to bring some of this up. this was a human rights activist who actually escaped from one of those labor camps. it was in the "washington post." an op-ed. direct letter plea to dennis rodman and part of it says, as you have a fun time with the dictator, please try to think about what he and his family have done and continue to do. just last week, he ordered the execution of his uncle. some of the north's labor camps

may be expanding. does he help put a focus on that? does dennis rodman, we're talking about north korea, but this is a celebrity name that gives a chance to kind of juxtapose the reality. >> rodman won't be talking about this because he said he's not going to help kenneth bay. he's not going to do all of these things to help this guy's family. all of it is just going to be completely off the table as far as rodman's concerned. >> you're a serious guy. so, when you see this take k place, do you take any of it seriously? do you sit back and shake your head and just dismiss it or like you say, it props up the regime to some extent, but can this be some dangerous stuff. >> this visit really gets me

upset. the regime was using him, but this time, they're really using him. he's supposed to come back in june and god knows what's going to happen then. i'm concerned about this visit in particular. >> we will leave it there. good to see you. i don't know even know what we could possibly talk about if that game does take place, but he says he's getting these former nba stars to sign up. he say they are scared to go over and they probably should be. >> they should be. >> thank you so much. coming up, the future of "duck dynasty" in doubts. can the hit show go on? how fans are getting their say in on this controversy. plus, nasa's high stakes space walk. the repair job is way ahead of schedule. but first, reincarnation. is it real? meet the doctor who says, yes, and he can prove it. [ julie ] growing up my mom let me use her home as an ice rink.

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it's hard to believe, you might have a difficult time as well. when this little guy you're seeing there on the left, when he was about 2, james linegar. he started telling his parents about terrible nightmares he had of a plane crash, but they were more detaileded than most. he told them he had been shot down by the japanese after having taken off from a boat in the toma. he recalled he was killed next to a friend, jack lawson. jack lawson was real and so was the world war ii aircraft carrier and the pilot flying next to jack lawson was shot down. his name was james houston and somehow, the little guy,

2-year-old james, knew everything down to the details of the death. this story and many others are documented in the new book "return to life." extraordinary cases of children who remember past lives. it was written by dr. jim tucker, he joins me now. sir, we are all fascinated by this. so, if the kid's account and this isn't some elaborate fraud by the family, how do you explain this little boy having these memories? >> well, i think you explain it by expecting the possibility that some little children have memories of a past life. you ask about fraud, in this case, the father did do the research on the case, but i was able to study the document nax that was made before the pilot was identified and everything checked out. >> so, dr. tucker, you said we'd have to accept that this kid has and some kids have memories of adults from past lives.

so, how do you explain that? how is it possible unless the little guy is here now as the dead guy? >> well, i think you have to be open to deciding that the physical universe is not all there is. there can be this consciousness that we all have and we know that. but it may be able to survive after the physical brain dies and with cases like james', it seems that memories and emotions have somehow carried on after the previous person died. >> and we're not talking about i guess we've all seen movies and things like that, where there's some kind of hip noes is involved, but your subject and this little boy, james, he was just having dreams at night. >> that's right. it does not involve hypnosis. it's young children, usually the age of 2 or 3 who spontaneously start talking about a past life.

this is work at the university of virginia that has gone on for 50 years now. over the decades, we have studied over 2500 cases from all over the world. and then in recent years, i focused on american cases. so, what i've done in this book is to tell this story of a number of these american cases and some of them are really quite compelling. >> yes, they are. we were reading the book and we couldn't believe what we were read, so, are we saying there are only certain people, you were just talking children in your cases in the book, but have all of us been here before? have you reached that kind of conclusion or is it just happened to certain particular folks? >> well, we don't know the answer to that. we don't know if this is the typical pattern that happens with all of us. or if it's just these exceptional cases, but both what

these cases do provide evidence for again is that memories and emotions can survive after somebody dies and in these cases, come back in a young child. >> so, stop right there. you said these memories survive. okay. how, where do they survive? i guess we're talking about something here in the universe that goes beyond a lot of our comprehension and certainly medical comprehension, but they survive? what do you mean they survive and then how do they end up in the mind of a child? >> well, they survive in the sense that it seems that consciousness perhaps should be considered separate from the physical universe and i think there are a lot of reasons to think that. so, you can say consciousness or spir yulty, but that there is an area of existence beyond just the physical world that we see. and then how this becomes

attached to a fetus or a baby, we don't really know. but we know from the cases that it certainly seems that it does become attached, at least in these examples. >> because a lot of people are going to be watching this and we hear this from a lot of friends and relatives and people we think are crazy out in the street and they say you know what? i've been here before. i think in a past life, i was this or that. there may be something to that. >> it looks that way. and again, these are not adults who have decided they were coll cleopatra. these are just ordinary children talking about an ordinary life that often ended suddenly and violently. >> dr. tucker, i am fascinated by this and you're right. you have to kind of let yourself go and open your mind up and expand a little bit to the possibility that we're not just talking about physical beings

and consciousness actually existing. sir, again, the book here is called "the return to life extraordinary cases of children who remember past lives." jim tucker, you may be close to make i making a believer out of me. >> glad to hear it. thanks. >> thanks so much. all right. i think i've been here before. i was here a month ago here on this set. to walmart now. walmart sold out, reportedly selling out of "duck dynasty" gear amid controversy of phil robertson's home phobic comments. some of the popular merchandise, bedding, jewelry and trucks. ma] here's a question for you: the energy in one gallon of gas is also enough to keep your smartphone running for how long? 30 days? 300 days? 3,000 days? the answer is... 3,000 days. because of gasoline's high energy density,

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the right to due process under the u.s. constitution. a spokesman says lawyers will seek an emergency stay of the judge's order while they appeal it to a higher court. hello, again, i'm t.j. holmes. i'll give you a quick look at some of the stories making news. families from 9/11 are celebrating a court ruling that allows them to sue saudi arabia. most of the hijackers who attacked the world strad center and pentagon were from that country. the ruling reversed a decision in 2002. and it's michael bloomberg's last hue ra -- he is expected to sign the legislation. and a california high school is ground zero for tb testing

after one student became infected. school officials tested 140 students and the tests came back positive for 45 students. they've decided to test all students. let's turn to the space odyssey, shall we? the first of three space walks ended safely this afternoon as astronauts worked to fix the cooling system. it took five and a half hours. they'll head back out on monday to install a new ammonia pump and if all goes well, they could take christmas day off. jay, this was fascinating to watch, but it was amazing to see how quickly they worked. i think even nasa was amazed at how quickly things were getting done. how far ahead of schedule they were. >> they sure did. they thought they'd be out there six and a half to seven hours and were out there five and a half hours as you said, t.j. and everything went real well. they did part of monday's space walk today. they took the faulty pump, moved

it over. now, this whole unit is about the size of a refrigerator and they moved it to a place where they got it stored and now, it's ready for them to take the new pump on monday, which is on a cargo pad out there. it's been waiting when ever they needed it. they can move that into place, hook it up and it's conceivable that if everything goes as well as it did today on monday, that they will finish this job. they'll be back in business, have both groups working and won't have to do it on christmas day and that would not make a lot of people mad. >> they'd get that day off. it was fascinating today. rick has been tweeting, we put up some to have tweets he had. some funny stuff. said he hadn't looked out the window in four days. too busy building space suits. where did i put my gloves. he was the one talking today. he was ready to wrap it up.

they kept asking him about doing more tasks. he said, i would prefer to just call it for the day. that sound ed funny to me, but they gave him the leeway to do so. just how, it seems easy when we're watching it, but just how difficult and dangerous is the work they are doing up there? >> well, it's very difficult because you're out there in an exo skeleton, just a space suit, and you're inside of it. i'm doing the book now on neil armstrong and i just got through writing about his partner on the moon, who they have all kinds of problems with solving both the russian and american astronauts and the space walk. it was on geme nrini 12, but bea guy from m.i.t. with all these degrees, he studied it very closely. they tell me it's like trying to walk straight on a merry go round because you can't do it.

you're going around and around the earth and your center of gravity is not on your legs. your legs are sort of like in the way and they have to be able to handle something and move hand over the next grip. that's why buzz put up handrails. that's why they have all of these now, buzz even faxed him a pair of golden slippers he put at his workstation and he had control of his body. otherwise, they were having all kinds of trouble. these guys work out in a pool and their space suits in houston and they practice all of this and they get useded to to do this as close to how it is on earth is when they're floating in the water. so when they go out there, after all, this was a walk by rick and the first by mike. but any way, they got out there, they knew what they were doing and of course, it's old hat. >> looks easy and i'm glad you

gave us some perspective there. like walking straight on a merry go round. good to see you. thanks so much. up next, the mad dash to the finish. it's super saturday. yes, the biggest shopping day of the year. retailers are rolling out all the stops. also, buyer beware. the target security breach raises new questions about whether stores are exposing our private information. plus, what you need to know if you are one of those 40 million customers whose information may be at risk. nope. [ ding ] cheese plate? cheese plate. no, i made something better. you used the oven? boom. [ male announcer ] pillsbury crescents. make the holidays pop. ♪

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nbc affiliate in miami. is that you in the apple store? is that you over there? >> that's right. this apple store is is so busy. there may not be any big deals because this is a high-end mall and so you'll find some deals at places like bath and body works, but still, you've got nordstroms and other high-end stores that are really doing the service part. that's what customers we talked to tell us they come here for. we've been talking to moms and dads who have been coming here with their kids. they tell us that sure, it's four days before christmas, but that's not fazing them. in fact, some of them did not start their christmas shopping until today. we've been talking to people who have been taking advantage of the weather here. people just enjoying that south

florida warm weather, coming more into the stores and really, thaifr said that it's busy here, but it's not as busy as they thought it would be and a lot of people we've talked to tell us they don't regret doing this last minute shopping. you've got stores that will be open until 11:00. some being open until 2:00 in the morning. that is what macy's is doing here and elsewhere. there is one trick though. i want to share with you, for any mall you're going to. and that will be you should check your phone. check apps for the mall you're going to. that's what shoppers tell me they're doing here to take advantage of those coupons and last minute discounts. >> jewulia bags for us there in spot in florida. thank you so much. we had some of those hours, a lot of these stores, again, folks, are going to be open from now until christmas, 24 hours a day. jpmorgan chase is warning customers mare debit cards may be at risk due to the target

breach. they are temporarily limiting atm withdrawals in the u.s. to $100 a day and purchases to a total of $300 a day. investigators believe that overseas hackers were responsible for the cyber attack that happened during the first three weeks of the holiday shopping season. target is offering a 10% discount this weekend. the ceo offered words of gratitude to customers in a statement last night. >> what i would like to say to our guests is thank you for your business, your patience and thank you for having trust in target because tgs it's a time like this that really defines companies. we're a company that cares and we're committed to delivering a trustworthy experience. >> let me bring in a consumer reporter. bob hopkin.

>> ben. >> did i call you bob? is that supposed to make people feel better? we might have riskeded your security, so come back into the same store and get a 10% discount. >> i don't know if i'm buying it. dominos had the big snafu where employees were putting their boogers in the pizza. this is exactly why consumer, you've got to take steps to protect yourself. number one, you've got to cancel your card if you shopped at target. >> they should cancel. you shouldn't even risk it. >> why wait? check to see on your statement charges showing up down the road. people trying to take advantage of your eyedty. it's not that big a hassle. call up and say, hey i give me a new card, overnight it, fedex,

new numbers. it's taken care of. >> all right. that's the only -- i mean, like you said, not calling, why even risk it? are stores doing enough? this is the worst time for it to happen. any time is bad, but right now is really the worst time. i assume they try their best to prevent this because these are ugly public incidents. are they doing enough? >> stores are investing billions every year to protect us and themselves from the big blow ups like this. but clearly, there's exploits that are still out there. they found a way. reports are out that some kind of mall ware may have been put into the point of sale terminals. where you have 40 million customer accounts on the line, that's a lot of will we're talking about. >> ben, ben, folks. good to see you. thank you so much. but again, heed that advice, folks, just go ahead and cancel if you might be at risk.

we're going to turn to our brain trust. first, bob, what are we to make of this? we talk about information with the nsa, maybe being now at risk if you go shop. is enough being done, let's stick with the retailers for now. is enough being done and being taken seriously enough our information these days? >> i think we've gotten to the point. we've gotten to the point where it's almost impossible to maintain confidentiality. we are really vulnerable. i think it's fair to say that to some degree, we are victims of the very technology that is improving our lives. >> so, what are we supposed to do? just throw our happeneds up and just understand that every once in a while, whether it's through security and intelligence and if for the sake of protecting the country sometimes and you know, every time you swipe your card, you're taking a risk.

should we just accept some level of that or should we be foreseeing retailers and government and nsa to do better and more? >> sure. i think we have to separate the two issues first and first, just need to get on a slight soap box because i was not compromised not once, but twice by this dog gone target security breach. i had to get a new debit card yesterday and american express is sending me a new card today. so i am immensely frustrated by this, but to find a silver lining, at least it wasn't 45.7 million users like in 2005 that impacts marshall's and t.j. max and home goods. i think we can now say the president has this tax force, given him 46 recommendations on how to improve and ensure that the nsa is far more accountable as it relate to the private sector, there are a number of things that have to be done.

we have to be very careful about our data and i know there was a slide that said swipe your debit card as a credit card. that's not going to work either. so we've got a lot to figure out and perhaps there should be a task force on this, too. >> we should gotten you the soap box instead of the chair this afternoon. >> i'm sorry. >> she used the credit card to pay for the soap box. >> there's a frustration that a lot of people have right now. so done apologize for it. matt, the reason we kind of put these things together is we just don't feel comfortable with new technology. the president tried to reassure the american public at least about the eves dropping part. >> i have confident in the fact that the nsa is not engaging in domestic surveillance or snooping around, but i also recognize that as technology's change and people can start

running programs that map out all the information we're downloading on a daily basis into our telephones and computers, that we may have to refine this further to give people more confidence. >> give people more confidence. what can he do to give people more confidence right now? >> well, he's saying he struck about the right balance and i think the whole concept of the patriot act has changed over time and as the president said, as technology has changed and as we put more information out there. but i think people are mad about this. i think this is a latent political issue. what corporations do with this private information and what the government does with this private information. i think there are more and more americans that want to look at the way things happen on the web and have some protections and rights for people. i think target shoppers are upset and a lot of people are upset to know that government has this information. i think it's a moment for the president to actually work in a bipartisan way with a lot of

republicans on the hill to try to reset how we try to protect ourselves from terrorism. >> all right, you all sit tight. going to bring you back after the break. angela, don't do any online shopping with your credit card during the break. we're going to talk about 2013. was it the worst year for the president? we'll dive into it. that's next with our brain trust. stay with us. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics... 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.

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for companies going from garage to global. on the ground, in the air, even into space. we repaid every dollar america lent us. and gave america back a profit. we're here to keep our promises. to help you realize a better tomorrow. from the families of aig, happy holidays. going to start with you again. the president is in hawaii right now on vacation. his news conference yesterday we all watched, the last win of 2013 and this was the first question out of the gate. >> has this been the worst year of your presidency? >> i got to tell you, julie, that's not how i think about it. i have now been in office five years. close to five years.

was running for president for two years before that. and for those of you who have covered me during that time, we have had ups and we have had downs. >> is this to be expected, normal ups and downs, just happens that the year is is wrapping up with the series of downs. o obamacare is one people will look at. 8 million jobs the past five months. movement on iran, but there are some successes that people aren't necessarily remembering or thinking about right now given what just happeneded with the health care law. >> sure. i think there's no question about the fact that the president is definitely suffering from the second term blues, but i also think that the year that he's had is certainly is not just on him. he could have had some help. he could have help with ensuring there's a living wage for people passed on the short end of the driving gap between the rich and the poor.

he could have had help with the supreme court in ensuring our voting rights weren't rolled back to 1960 and that there was a replacement rather than a 48 time repeal effort that flunked miserably. >> 42%. that's some of the latest polling we had for the president on approval ratings. what's it going to take? time to turn this around or will it take some major victory of some kind to turn this around? or i mentioneded the time part. can you just kind of wait this out and things will just go back up with the health care law, maybe getting some more positive news about that or he needs something major. a major victory. >> my opinion, this is mott the time to swing through the fences. he had a major achievement with the passage of obamacare and second terms are not so much about passing big, complicated legislature. it's about responding to things that pop up, especially

internationally, and implementing your agenda. let's face it. the news that came out of the economic growth in the last quarter is very positive for him. there's a strong correlation between the american people's perception of the strength of the economy and how they think a president is doing. so, i would say to the president and believe me, he doesn't listen to me too much i don't think, just go about your agenda. do everything you can to keep this economy rolling and i think over time, he could see some improvement of his numbers, but he's got to do something that looks like he's working with the other side. as far as his presidency is concerned, it's imperative that he looks like he's working with the republicans on something important. >> let's listen to how he talked about the health care rollout. >> the fact is it didn't happen in the first month. for six weeks. in a way that was at all acceptable.

and since i'm in charge, obviously, we screwed it up. >> people, bob, want to jump to legacy and that this will be his legacy, but at this point, we just don't know. or do you think the legacy, people want to say it might end up being a taint to the legacy, the health care law, but if it the ends up working two decades down the road? >> well, it may work two decades down the road, but that's going to be long after his presidency. you know, what's interesting is that he may look back fondly on 2013. this may be the peak and the reason i say that is because this supposed to b the year that he was going to get things done because next year is an election year and if you thought we had paralysis this year, it's going to be nothing compared to next year, then we get into the presidential campaign, so unless the republicans decide it's good strategy to cooperate, i think that we may be seeing a real battle royale in washington.

>> i'm going to let all three of you answer this question by not saying anything, but just with your facial expression when i say "duck dynasty." >> okay, that says enough. >> stay with me. brain trust is going to be back with some of the most overlooked and underplayed stories of the week. stay with me. [ female announcer ] we give you relief from your cold symptoms. you give them the giggles. tylenol cold® helps relieve your worst cold and flu symptoms. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. tylenol cold®. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. more shopping. more dining out. more traveling. and along with it, more identity theft. every time you pull out your credit card,

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back now with our brain trust and this is where we get the overlooked and underplayed stories of the week but first we have our own underplayed story about bipartisan defense bill that passed this week could be a big step towards promising president obama's promise to shut down the guantanamo bay detention center. let's look at your overlooked and underplayed. angela, start with you. >> mine is the curious case of justine sako. i started wit the accidental racist?

this is a woman who surprisingly works in the prfield and tweeted going to africa. hope i don't get aids. just kidding. i'm white. twitter blew up and she deleted the twitter account and this is ever-present with us and surprised to see this type of misinformation still out there, especially from a pr exec. come on, lady. >> the background, a little bit, like you said, come on, lady, i'm not that familiar with her background, in pr, is she new to pr? >> an executive? >> an executive in pr. >> i hope not. yes. >> bob, let's turn to yours. >> this is consistent with what we were just talking about, the wait until next year thing that's going on. and everybody's making a big deal out of the compromise which was sort of a noncompromise on the budget deal, but i think we're really underestimating just how much these people like to have crisis so my headline would be washington drama kings

and queens are already planning for the debt ceiling crisis. i think that's something to preoccupy us in the next several weeks. >> thank you for giving us a happy story for the holidays. matt, you go. >> big brother's watching the baby gentlemjesus. apparently in nativity scenes, the baby jesus is getting stolen and local churches putting a tracking device in the little fake baby jesus to see where it goes when it's taken from the manager. privacy and technology has changed our lives forever, even christmas. >> where are we? we have to put a gps on baby jesus. baby jesus needs a gps because somebody's going to steal baby jesus. okay. you all, before i let you know, you rolled your eyes and giggled and laughed, it's the story of "duck dynasty" and familiar with the story. the patriarch made some comments

that many deemed homo-phobic in an interview. >> don't forget racist by the way. >> yes. racist comments, as well. i heard goldie taylor on the show before this one and arguing with one of their guests and the guest said, you know what? i won't acknowledge this guy. it is not worth talking about. goldie said this is worth talking about. our differences, tolerance, how we deal with each other and those differences. so to anyone who wants to jump in, what you made of it and is this an opportunity to make some good and learn more about each other and be a little more sensitive? should we take advantage of this moment? >> sure. >> well -- >> everybody does. bob, you go. >> first of all, i think that the next development will be that he's going to announce he's a candidate for the republican nomination for president. i mean, he's gotten all the publicity. he appeals to the base. do not be surprised when that happens and if he doesn't go that high, he would fit in in

the congress. >> matt, you sounded like you wanted to get in there, as well. >> it is a great moment to have the daeblt about the conversations and said things over the line but you won't have a debate quh you shut him up. if people think that kicking him off the show and everything else, that does nothing but make him a bigger cult hero than he is. shutting the debate can't help start a debate. >> angela, your initial reaction was to roll your eyes. you tell me. >> sure. you also can't have a real debate, intellectual debate with people who disagree on definitions, like they're confused about whether or not this is racist. there's a congressional candidate calling him the modern-day rosa parks. we have to agree on this, the fundamentals to advance a discussion. >> all right. well, angela, matt, and bob, good to have you all here and something else on our overlooked and underplayed, another story that was out there that i don't think got enough attention is in

a week, december 28th, 1.3 million unemployed in the country to lose out on the unemployment benefits because they weren't extended and that's something that just stood out and struck me as just not the right thing to do around the holidays. you know? but congressman haen home, seem like not the thing in the spirit. that's an overlooked and underplayed story for me this week. to all of you, it's good to see you once again. appreciate you being here on the weekend before christmas. we'll see you again soon. >> happy holidays. >> merry christmas. >> i thank you all for being here. i'll see the you tomorrow afternoon starting at 3:00 p.m. eastern time. first, i can see her there in the corner getting ready as we speak. "disrupt." have yourself a good afternoon on this super saturday.

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[ male announcer ] fedex one rate. [ female announcer ] trying for a baby? only clearblue advanced digital ovulation tests can identify your four best days to get pregnant -- two more than any other test. maximize your chances of getting pregnant. hello, disrupters. i'm karen finney. we have a great show from a winning strategy of democrats in 2014, saving veterans' pensions to saving our children in extreme gop policies and the leader of a duck dynasty that thinks black folks in the field weren't quite singing the blues. >> 2014 needs to be a year of action. >> a year of action! the president laid out the first step. extending long-term unemployment benefits. >> republicans have thrown unemployed americans under the bus. >> unemployment insurance is a lifelong. it can make the difference between temporary hardship o