>> i learned that. what did you learn? >> this has been another great year with you. so generous and so good. you won't let me tell people my secret. >> we will see you tomorrow morning on christmas eve. let's go to the daily run down. >> the world is being ripped apart by violence, helping americans to safety.

find out what the white house has to say about south sudan's state of turmoil. the last day to get covered in 2014 through the much embattled healthcare.gov as the president gets set to sign up. how the experience companies think it's looking. live from new york, it's finally mayor bloomberg. his honor almost became the first mayor in decades to not swing by the studio. a very good morning to you and happy holidays from new york. it's monday december 23rd 2013. this is "the daily rundown." i'm kristin welker. there is a lot to get to including a live look at the north pole. we begin in south sudan where forces are helping hundreds of americans escape a nation on the brink of civil war. between the nation's president and vice president. united nations officials put the

death toll in the hundreds. at least 380 americans have been evacuated from the country. white house correspondent peter al vander is traveling with the president and has this report on the response from the obama administration. >> the viewers like to say here in hawaii, aloha. president obama has been getting daily updates. the white house said when he landed in hawaii he spoke by phone to the national security aides. among them, national security adviser susan rice who directed an audio recording of people of south sudan, urging them not to let his country be torn apart by violence and suffering. on sunday the president sent a letter to congressional leaders, letting them know that service members had taken part in saturday's mission to evacuate americans. most significantly he left open the option of further action if

necessary. and interests in that region. the president told his team to work with the un and said that south sudan leaders have a responsibility to protect americans. conflict can only be resolved peacefully through negotiations and any effort to seize power began with a long standing support. the state department continues to urge all american citizens to get out of south sudan now. >> it is deadline day for anyone trying to get health coverage by new years. that includes president obama. he will be signed up by the end of the day. here's a calendar. you have to sign up today for

coverage to kick in january 1st. they allowed to let people to wait until january 10th for the first payment. there has been new enrollments and on friday president obama said more than a million people signed up. that means twice as many people enrolled in december than the previous two months combined. they could get to 1.5 million enrollees by january 1st, but that would be short of the goal. they disagreed over whether the new year will be kind to the affordable care act. take a listen. >> the bottom line is the more people see that, the more positive it's going to be. >> what i would say is we need to change health care. what they have done, you can't fix this mess. >> insurers are getting anxious. not only are numbers weaker than they hoped, the obama

administration surprised them boy announcing that people lot of their plans could sign up for catastrophic coverage or opt out without paying a penalty. the health insurance trade association said we were worried with the threat to individuals having a path around the mandate. that was the first time they said anything like that. president obama said the impact would be minimal. >> we are talking about a very specific population. they received cancellation notices. we are constantly look at is this working the way it is supposed to and adjustments that can be made to smooth out the transition, we should make them. >> robert is vice president and spokesman and he joins me now. appreciate it. i want to get your reaction to what president obama said on friday. the impact of his latest

decision will be minimal. does that ease your concerns about his decision to allow folks to enroll in catastrophic plans? >> we hope so. we don't know how many will decide to take this path. the success of health care reform depends on having participation in the market place and getting young and healthy people to balance out cost of those who were older. they are in a health care cost. this decision allows people to buy policies outside the market place that were never designed for them or to opt out entirely. if a significant number of people do, that could cause disruption and lead to higher costs for consumers. >> when you look at the enrollments, it picked up over the past several weeks. it is still far short of what the obama administration was expecting and what they need by the end of march. when you look at the enrollments, are you encouraged

or discouraged that you will not get the big numbers you need? >> those are great questions and it is important to look at what does the enrollment picture look like over the open enrollment president? we are only a few months in. the technical problems made it difficult, but our members across the country are seeing is interest from consumers and their websites and call centers and the enrollment is picking up. when we look at how many people enroll, it's not just the number of people who sign up, but the mix. are we going to have a balance of the young and healthy that come in as well as health care costs. if we don't get the young healthy people into the system, that could cause problems for everybody else buying insurance. that's the issue of affordability and make coverage as affordable as possible. that will determine whether or not a young person decides to purchase coverage. they are cost sensitive. >> one of the concerns is that

the applications have been flaw flawed. you and i spoke a few days ago and said the rate was 5-10%. on this deadline day, how high is the error rate? >> we don't have an overall error rate. the system is getting better. the administration put in the process working with insurers to get the back end issues addressed. the health plans are necessary to enroll people and be able to have coverage again. there still issues that need to be worked out and not where they need to be. the data errors could be disrupted for consumers and members working around the clock and get the issues resolved. make sure they are as accurate as possible. we want to avoid a situation where they think they are enrolled and find out that they are not. have gaps in coverage for things

outside of their control. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> no problem. >> happy holidays. i want to turn to senior political editor mark murray. let's start right there where robert left off. he seemed to be striking a slightly more optimistic tone for enrollments. >> my take away is like what we have seen on the economy over the last couple of years. we are not where we need to be, but things are getting better. enrollment increased. they are going from october to november to december. that's significant. by march 31st, the final deadline for the enrollment for 2014, we will see several million people sign up under exchanges, a much better place both numerically and politically for the administration where

they were for october and november. how the website is getting better too. it's not exactly perfect. those things go hand in hand. when the administration was dealing with members of the democratic senators, we need to delay the individual mandate. you are not hearing that now, because you are starting to see the growth of people who are signing up beginning to get better. >> i want to turn to another star that made big headlines. a federal judge in utah ruled that same-sex marriage could be legal in that state. sort of a surprise because it is a conservative state. you have the mormon church that is very powerful that was fighting against that for sometime. what do you make of that decision? particularly in terms of the broader context for the fight for same-sex marriage. >> you can argue that in 2013, it was the year of gay marriage whether it was the supreme court rulings and states that

legalized gay marriage. utah was the most interesting development. in all the other states that continued to have gay marriage and the 17 states and the district of columbia, they were carried by president obama in 2008 and 2012. utah is the first red state. you could end up seeing gay marriage legalized. that same federal judge that ruled it was unconstitutional would be considering a motion from the state of utah to put a delay to all the marriages that are starting to take place. this issue is not resolved yet, but a very interesting development in the red state of utah. >> mark, looking forward at this broader battle, what are the states that same-sex marriage advocates are looking to next. >> what you can do through legislatures, you might be almost maxed out. do federal ins rule in states

that have existing gay marriage bans that these are unconstitutional? that's the latest wrinkle in all of this. this issue is far from settle and we will see how it plays out through the courts over the next several weeks and several years. >> we will continue to watch it. thank you and i appreciate it. still to come, new fallout from the giant data breech at target stores. with just a few shopping hours left before christmas, millions may see a cut to their debit card spending limits. two american astronauts will have to wait for the next space walk. what is causing the delay and the high stakes mission high above us. a look ahead at the politics planner. you are watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc.

s. >> time for the last day before christmas and we filled up the stocking with a lot of numbers. we start with the serious number. to 4%. that's the reported drop in transactions for target stores in the wake of a massive pepper attack. senator chuck schumer is called for a federal investigation. chase put a spending limit on vulnerable accounts. next up, 35 is the number of states affected by a huge winter storm system.

freezing rain and ice have knocked out power to a half million people and canceled 700 flits and delayed 11 then thousand more in the last 24 hours. people are expecting a storm before it blows out. people in washington, d.c. enjoyed record highs. the weather should be calmer across the country by christmas eve. the next number takes us out of the elements. it's 24. the number of hours nasa is delaying the next space walk. they made urgent repairs on the space station and something went wrong with one of the suits. they are doing a suit swap and delaying the next space walk. next up, 100 is the number of years the federal reserve has been around. woodrow wilson signed the act into law on this date in 1913.

4,372 is the number of days since neark city mayor michael bloomberg first went into office and the first appearance on "saturday night live." he made the cameo just a few days left in office. he added several dialogue changes and ad libbed in a rehearsal. fun on snl this weekend. a strategist has an interesting theory about which party will win the next presidential election. why the campaign may have been a turning point and what the republicans can learn from it. what some call the new democrats when we come back. first today's trivia question. how many sitting senators do not have a college degree.

the 50 person to tweet the correct answer will get an on air shout out. we'll be right back. [ sneezes, coughs ]

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2013 has not been a great year for either democrats or republicans. the democrats may have an advantage and even presidential elections. we talked to one of the most influential strategists to find out why. >> can a democrat win the presidential election in 2o 16? he has been the player and strategy for decades. >> before 1992, the democrats lot of a popular vote in five of six national elections. the democrats started winning and they started doing so in a big way. they outdistanced republicans in

five of the last six. democrats's modern day turning point, the first democrat to wrestle that from a republican since jimmy carter. the man on the far left was an essential part of clinton's success and helped shape the modern democratic party. it would be hard to think of a single citizen who had a more positive impact on the progress of american life in the last 25 years. he has written a book called the new democrats and the power to return. joining me now to talk about the future. >> it's interesting talking about the power. democrats necessary power. this is not 1988. this is not 1985 when the democrats looked like they were a shrinking -- in the same place

as the republican party. >> it's about the history of how the democrats came back. i wrote it for three reasons. the 50 and most important is that memories are short. you talk for about or six elections enforcing that. in the 1980s, we suffered the three worst elections with the percentage of any party in the history of america in three consecutive elections. >> 80, 84, and 88. since modern parties began. they need to understand. those things change. the second thing is the way we

came back, when i ran the leadership council and we put together an agenda with the inside, they were very radical. now they are basic. the national service and welfare reform and charter schools and community policing and very important at this point. a bunch of things like that. they are in politics and so much emphasis on how you communicate things. i just think that for building long-term majorities and sustainable ability to govern, you have to have ideas. >> you used to be in the middle

of it all the time. the progressive wing of the party. if you want to look at it that way. one of the critiques is the democrats were too concerned with identity politics. you seem to be concerned it sounds like that the same thing is happening because of this. >> we start by position in part of what we did. the democrats say is the government important? we are in a better position, the electives change and that's important to know. hispanics were a very small portion of the electorate. now it's different and 72% in 2012. and we have the advantage.

the republicans are acting badly. they did in 2012. at some point they will get smarter. they need a power center to do a battle with the tea party. had they not been around, they would have great leaders. what they did is created a group, a center of gravity that can do battle so what happened to mid-romney wouldn't happen to

these leaders. being forced into the primaries. >> special interest groups dominated the debate. i am curious. there is potentially a battle between the progressive movement again and the new democrats and what you refer to the minimum wage as one of the fights. do you think this is a fight? the democratic party shouldn't be engaging in? >> i think that the minimum wage is an important fight that needs to be raised. we have to be realistic too. to me the progressive position and liberal position is that no american who works full time year around to support a family might have a wage under the poverty line. even the numbers, that's why we always support and i believe we still need a greater expansion.

it's a much more targeted way to move past families with part-time workers or 30 workers. the point is our goal will be to make sure nobody proved it. we ought to look for the best modern way to do that. to me they can contest that. you don't get enough credit for it. they passed the increase in the tax credit that was the greatest anti-poverty program in the history of the country. >> i heard them say that phrase quite a bit these days. i have to leave it there. the new democrats and the return to power. it has been interesting. since you launched this book, it has been a healthy debate inside the democratic party. congratulations to you. >> thank you very much. thanks if are having me. >> interesting conversation

there. up next, russian riot act. they spoke to one of the members of a russian punk band just released from jail. why she said her freedom is a sign of russian president putin's weakness much the kourpt down is on. santa and his reindeer take flight in a few hours. next we are live at the north pole to see how the preparations are going. you are watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. 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.

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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. now to the debate over intelligence reform. president obama is waiving four dozen recommendations to place new limits on data collection. the president is said to be open to many changes offered by an outside panel and the goal is to strike a better balance between privacy and security. the senate intelligence argued over whether policies should be allowed to continue.

>> remember no names, no addresses, just numbers. these are business records, not your personal records. that's very, very different. there hundreds the appellate decisions reaffirming the government's right to get business records in the course of terror investigations. >> it's hard for me to believe and lots of americans to believe with whom i talk with the general warrants and orders to collect tens of millions in the conclusion. it doesn't fit the standard. >> let's bring in our monday gaggle. the chief economic correspondent and contributor. cohost here on msnbc. kelly ann conway is the senior adviser for the gingrich campaign in 2012. thanks to all of you for joining me. president obama came out on friday and seemed to signal he was seriously considering big

changes. what was your take away? >> i was surprised by the fact that he said i'm seriously considering this and need to strike a balance. everything is pretty much okay. the rest of the policies are correct, they protect the nation and they are not an infringement. he is saying one thing and maybe doing another. i didn't get the feeling that he is likely to accept a lot of the changes. that seems to be the thing that people are most upset about. the technology companies allowtome this collect data. i don't think he will do sweeping changes. >> you listen to the president's comments, he was making the argument and the issue is that americans are skeptical. people are not comfortable with this. is that driving any change? >> that's part of what's driving it. you had a federal judge on monday. judge leon said this program is likely unconstitutional.

that doesn't change what the nsa does. he deferred for appeal. this is a profoundly different place. the other piece is the connective tissue between the bush and obama legal strategies. they pursued something called the state's secret privilege. you can't take this to court and we can't have this public debate. we have been in a freeze zone for that for years. what change was, these leaks showed how many people are being surveilled that they no longer accept that this is a secret. you heard them mention that this was approved before. that is not entirely accurate. this is not tested in open court before. that was different about last week and that feeds them. >> it's interesting because on this issue when it initially broke and the leaks came out, you had republicans lining up

with the president. both of them defending the program. will they support president obama when they say we will let private companies support this? >> in my opinion, it's really take account of where the public is. the public has been consistent from the beginning. they support the end and not the means. of course americans overwhelm g overwhelmingly agree support for making sure we are safe, but they are not supposed to include our personal information. that has been clear from the beginning. snowden changed everything. the revelations made a lot of people wonder if they were in the cost as well. do we need such an extreme sweeping way to surveil terrorists. i think the president looking back, everything happened since syria and irs and tea party. i think the nsa revelations had

stickiness for a lot of americans. >> he seemed to talk more about it than americans themselves. what's being collect and they may disagree, but these are the phone numbers that are about individual americans. i got the sense he wants to explain to people and not that i want to change. >> target. >> whether it's personal depends on who you talk to. if you call up the psychiatrist or the mistress or a job offer, the networks they can build combined with i way they can crunch can tell you a lot more. if you ask the average 15-year-old, is it okay if i go through your parents's glove compartment, they are much more comfortable. there is a tremendous amount of

information. that doesn't speak to the constitutional question. what about stuff we have never done? that's an open area. again, one of the reasons why we are litigating it is they is secrety that combined the administration is being taken down. that's a good thing regardless of where we end up. i do agree with that point. the president wants to keep this out of people's minds. >> they realize that most americans were upset by the breeches at target and they believe their personal credit card information and the receipts and what not are in the panneds of somebody they don't know. we look at the voters and this whole big folks of when i hit send or give you permission, it will live forever at who is

going to do it a rndeive the personal information. >> the odd thing about this is that obama said he loves to talk about and have the debate on certainly security and what is being collected and the person who allowed that to happen is on the threat of persecution. we wouldn't have this debate without it. >> that are could be a gaggle in and of itself. thank you. we are going to come back to you in a few minutes. next, there is no debate about this. santa claus is coming to town. with two days left before christmas, people scramble to get ready before the holiday. himself and the team in the north pole. bob redell made his way up to the north pole for a look at the massive operation and the final preparations under way. what is the latest there and is the naughty list longer than the nice list? >> the nice list is longer this year. i'm wishing that i was on the longer list. that's another story.

good morning. merry christmas to you. >> merry christmas to you. >> we are waiting for the latest update to come out of the north pole. we have a what? we have a direct tloink santa command? >> we have a direct link to santa command. like you said, he is coming to town, better watch out. looks like he's in air traffic control tracking rudolph's test flight. that is going well. there is did sheer, dancer, prancer, vixen, comet, cupid and donner and blitzen. we did get eight rape deer and rudolph. we are okay if i have the count correct. >> i don't know what's going on here. i can't believe this. looks like one of the elves overtook the camera.

>> this is your 10th year. how does this year compare to past years? any differences you are noticing? did we lose him? >> thank you, bob. we may have lot of him. he is out there monitoring the important developments for us. from one freezing location to another, up next, we are going live to siberia where after two years in jail, one of the members of the russian punk band that grabbed headlines for insulting vladimir puten has been released. greek lentil stew. sounds good. we'll be right back.

the russian government is making good on the amnesty offered by vladimir putin with the release of two members of

the punk rock band. live in siberia with the latest. you have been with one of the band members who was just released. what are they saying? >> that's right, kristen. let me back up a little bit to set scene. this was something that largely repeated itself across russia and both remaining pussy riot released within hours. two very different regions. maria was the first to be freed. much closer to moscow where we are. too much in shock to fully comprehend. she is the mother of a 6-year-old boy. she is partly apologetic and president putin's amnesty was a hoax and a pr stunt. activists are targets and she said now she wants to be one.

help political prisoners, she lot of no time going from prison to a local human rights committee that specializes in torture. she said she is no longer afraid of anything. this evening where we are, we saw a walk through the prison gates to freedom here. she certainly was defiant and flashing victory signs and yelling out russia without putin. a chapt used without protesters before the exclusive interview before it began. she was setting up or resetting up the studio. the room we were in, she got up and moved the painting and very much in kroefl thicontrol of th. she was in a tuberculosis hospital. she was feeling the effects of a hunger strike still and getting

over is ysevere migraines. she said she is not just an artist, but a politician and tends to work with maria on the issues of prisoner rights. back to you. >> save a thank you for that incredible report. i want to bring back the gaggle now. thanks for sticking around. i want to get your reaction. it's not just the band members. we learned it's from an oil tycoon. is this to set the stage for the olympics? >> probably. maybe he's in the holiday spirit. he is vladimir putin and it seems like he created a problem by having this woman in jail. he said she will be an activist and i bet she won't be silenced. either she stays in russia or goes somewhere else. she calls putin weak.

we have world leaders who don't have the guts to call him weak. >> it's a good point. he is not going to necessarily get into politics, but you have the defiance. >> they act to provide a type of scrutiny and pressure we don't often see. there may be response to that and ultimately we have to judge the response over the long-term. anything in the short-term looks cosmetic. it's important with the lives affected. if you listen to their own view being this is not enough when you think about all the political prisoners and the lack of transparency and democracy. all of that is the deeper structural problem. having said that, it may be beyond the olympics and maybe this desire to make sure the people don't welcome martyrs if they are in jail forever. we can't overinterpret the

timing at this point. >> does this improve putin's image? >> i don't think they do. pr stunt and hoax are the west bay to describe this. they of pressure. he got snubbed by the u.s., the delegation that we're sending over there. his human rights record on gays and lesbians is well known. this is a pr stunt. he could ride around naked on a horse and let a few more people out. >> please don't. stick around, we'll be back with a little bit more. trivia time, alaska's mark begich is the only u.s. senator without a college degree. we want to say congratulations to today's winner, christian mcmanus. send us your trivia suggestions to dailyrundown@msnbc.com. we will be right back with more from our great gaggle: [ male announcer ] marie callender's knows

that your favorite dutch apple pie starts with a golden flaky crust, wedges of fresh fuji apples, and a brown sugar streusel on top. so she made her dutch apple pie just like that. marie callender's. it's time to savor.

. we're going to bring back our gaggle one more time. ben white, ari melber and kelly ann conway. it is the deadline for folks to sign up for health care if they want coverage by january 1st. how important is this deadline reality sti realistically and also for the obama administration. >> this is very important, this is the law. we are a nation of laws. we are moving into the period where the debate has to end and people have to follow the law. there have been some exceptions made. republicans have to find a way to respect the law of the land which is people have an obligation, most people, to get health care coverage. >> kelly, do republicans need to in 2014 shift the narrative to some extent away from the notion of repeal and start talking about their solutions or alternatives or ways to improve this? >> i'm just amazed that the republicans are blamed for the poor rollout and the fact people probably don't even know the

deadline is today. they're focused on other things, like christmas. i think it's a little bit of an overstatement to say that the republicans have to respect the law. they can't even get a website working. if the republicans are talking about repealing it, they should come up with their own solution. here's the prorks blem, as i se. the president himself is repealing and delaying parts of obamacare on his own. he ought to get over there, work with the congress and say listen, here are the places we should delay for a year. if you look at the polls, many people say what's the rush, let's get it right. if you have an employer mandate delayed for a year, have an individual mandate delayed for a year. i think this is about getting people the coverage they need without always infusing the partisanship into the debate. >> ben, how important is today? >> i don't think it's that important. i don't think the deadline means so much. the deadline is being signed up for health insurance or facing the penalty. people do have a choice to obey

the law or pay the penalty. >> i'll give you a chance for shameless plugs. >> politico magazine. good long reads for the holidays, doing amazing work. >> great work, i agree. >> i'm helping fill in at the 4:00 p.m. hour and we have a very special segment on last-minute gift ideas for the political junkie in your life. >> awesome. >> merry christmas to my four little children, george, claudia, vanessa. go to sleep early, santa is watch. >> and that is it for this edition of "the daily rundown." happy holidays from all of us here. coming up next, chris jansing & co. have a great day, everyone. [ male announcer ] this is george.

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is not backing down, neither is his conservative support. neither is chary she know. he said your statements were and are unforgivable. those are charlie sheen's words. find out what's next for the duck clan. we've got that. plus, what's the one thing insiders want you to know before you head out for the last-minute shopping spree you might have to do? and where can you still get free shipping and delivery before christmas? we've got a strategy for procrastinators, you know, in case you haven't had time to come up with one yet if you're procrastinating on your procrastinating strategy. good morning, i'm richard lui in for chris jansing. the first critical deadline for obamacare ends at midnight tonight. that is if you want your health care benefits to begin january 1st. there's been a last-minute spike in demand. wait times can be up to two hours on the phone. it could be the result of the white house getting the word out to those who most need to sign up. that includes groups such