e, swanson makes holiday dishes delicious. an act of terror. it's a deadly attack in russia. does it raise new concerns about the coming olympic events? a new report on benghazi. is this the definitive word on whether al qaeda had anything to do with a september 11 killing of a u.s. ambassador? >> this is special agent anthony amoroso jr., federal bureau of information. today's date is january 7th, 1980. >> it was a scandal that blew up washington, d.c. more than 30 years ago. now it's been turned into a big-budget hollywood film. i will talk with a former

senator who did the right thing with the fbi tried to ensnare him in the scam. and it's the most expensive new year's eve destination in america. nope, it's not new york's times square. the answer in number ones. hello, everyone. it's high noon here in the east, 9:00 a.m. out west. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." breaking news overseas. an explosion rocks a busy train station in southern russia. officials say at least 14 people were killed, dozens more injured when a female suicide bomber entered a central rail station and detonated an explosive device. this is the second deadly attack in that country in three days. let's go right now to nbc's london bureau. what's the latest? >> hey, alex. the latest we're hearing is around 50 people injured during the blast.

railway station was much busier than usual as russians were traveling home for the new year. you can see this dramatic security video footage. it shows the bright orange flash from the explosion as a fireball rips through the main hall. smoke then starts billowing out. russian officials say it happened just inside the main entrance to the station where a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives in front of a metal detector. this is the second deadly attack in russia in three days. on friday a car packed with explosives blew up on the street in a city in the north. that's an area close to today's explosion troubled by islamic rebels. this city has also been hit before, again by a suicide bomber who blew herself up on a bus in october, killing six people. nobody has yet claimed responsibility for today's attack, but it comes a few months after a chechen rebel leader called for new attacks against civilian targets in russia, including the sochi

games, which as you say, is just over a month away. >> yeah, absolutely. i've got to think that this very much raises the concerns of terrorism with the sochi winter olympics. are you hearing word of that? >> well, absolutely. i mean, the government pledged to make sochi the safest olympics in history, deploying tens of thousands of soldiers and police to protect the games. russian president vladimir putin has today ordered all necessary security to be in force. nbc news spoke to a security analyst in moscow who told us there is no reason to hit this particular city. he proposed a theory this could possibly be a diversion their tactic aimed at distracting security services in order to achieve something elsewhere in the country. the important thing now, of course, is finding out who is responsible. that might then help with answering why they did it. alex? >> all right. thank you for the developing news update there. meantime, the obama administration is reacting to a

new eye-opening investigation into the 2012 attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. it's in today's "new york times" and finds no evidence al qaeda was involved in the attack that killed four americans, including ambassador christopher stevens. the report says, quote, the attack was led instead by fighters who had benefitted directly from nato's extensive air power and logistics support during the uprising against colonel gadhafi. the author of that article spoke on today's "meet the press." >> i've tried to understand some of the statements coming out of the united states congress blaming al qaeda for this. the only way they make sense to me is if you're using the term al qaeda a little differently. if you're using the term al qaeda to describe even a local group of islamist militants who may dislike democracy or have a grudge against the united states, if you're going to call anybody like that al qaeda, then

okay. certainly there were some anti-western islamist militants involved in this attack. but to me, that's a semantic difference and not a useful way of answering the original question, which is did the group founded by osama bin laden lead this attack. >> nbc's john yang is in honolulu, hawaii. what's the obama administration saying about this report? >> reporter: well, officially and on the record, the white house is not making any response or any comment on this report. the reason for that is there's an ongoing fbi investigation into the attack. but in some corners of the white house, this report has got to be welcome news because there have been two conflicting theories for this attack. the white house saying that this was a locally grown attack, that it was spontaneous and reaction to a youtube video that had

mocked or insulted the muslim religion. but on the other hand, the republican critics of the administration have been saying this was a well-coordinated, well-planned attack by al qaeda and that it was to commemorate and mark the anniversary of 9/11. on that point, "the new york times" seems to be supporting the administration's version of events. and the author of that story, david kirkpatrick, talked to that point when he appeared this morning on nbc's "meet the press." >> i've talked to some of the people who i believe were lead perpetrators. it's just obvious from them and the people around them they're purely local people. their pasts are known. their records are known, when they were in prison, who they hung out with in prison, who their associations are. there's just no chance that this was an al qaeda attack, if by al

qaeda you mean the organization founded by osama bin laden. >> but on the other hand, "the times" report does undercut the white house's version of events. they say this was a coordinated, deliberate attack on this u.s. mission in benghazi. they say there is no evidence to support -- in their conversations with people, they find no evidence to support the theory, the white house version of events that there were spontaneous street demonstrations that escalated into this attack. they say it was a deliberate attack planned on that mission in benghazi. so this is not likely to end the debate over just what did happen on that day in benghazi. alex? >> i was thinking the person who probably is reading this and parsing through it with a fine-tooth comb has to be our ambassador to the united nations, susan rice. so interesting development. thank you so much, jon yang. new reaction today to a

federal judge's ruling that the nsa's collection of americans' telephone records is legal. the legal adviser to nsa leaker edward snowden appeared on "meet the press." >> this district judge is not just disagreeing with another judge. he's also disagreeing with the president's own hand-picked advisory panel. that panel, which included a former top-level cia official, a former counterterrorism adviser, concluded that they had seen no evidence that the bulk telephone metadata program had been uni e uniquely successful, had stopped any kind of attack. there is a dispute about whether this is, you know, effective or even legal. but yes, i think we always expected that there would be differences of opinion in the lower courts. there's no question that it's time for the supreme court to weigh in. >> also new today, the obama administration says more than 1.1 million people have signed up for health care through the federal exchange, including a surge of enrollments this month. health insurance coverage begins wednesday for those who signed up. in our next hour, i will talk

with jon yang again about these new numbers. let's go to weather now. parts of the country still in a wintry grip. ice, snow, blizzard-like winds making conditions dangerous in north dakota and minnesota. in maine, households are still without power today. 8,000 in the dark in michigan where residents gathered to vent their frustrations. what can we expect heading into the new year? alex wallace is here with the very latest forecast. hi, alex. >> good morning to you, alex. i'll tell you, right now not a very fun time for travelers here on this last day of the holiday travel weekend. a lot of rain moving into some of the bigger hubs here along the east coast from d.c. to philly, new york. that's going to spread into boston as well throughout our day. but notice i say it's all rain. temperatures a little bit too warm for the wintry stuff along the 95 corridor. it's not until we get into tonight some colder air begins to move on in. interior parts of the northeast getting into northern new england where we'll see wintry weather. even tonight, boston all rain

expected there. now, we get into the early week, last couple days of the year. he's our monday forecast. showers along the gulf coast. northern tier, we'll watch a disturbance move through with a few light snow showers and very cold. 7 is the high in minneapolis. you want some warmth? southern california. that's where you'll find it. l.a., temperatures should be in the upper 70s for monday. then new year's eve rolls around. you got your plans to get out and enjoy it. bundle up across the northern tier. even colder with single digits. with a little wind, it's going to feel below zero in many locations. chilling down in the east. of course, the big ball drop there in times square. high for the day thursday, 34. but of course by the evening, it's going to be in the 20s. so a cold one coming into the northeast. alex? >> well, thanks. all my loved ones in l.a. are certainly loving that forecast. thank you for that. the country's most expensive destination to ring in the new year. that's in today's number ones. also, the hit movie "american hustle" is about a scandal that rocked washington, d.c. you're going to hear from a

real-life player who almost got caught up in the dragnet. he has a fascinating tale to tell. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! [ male announcer ] this december, experience the gift of unsurpassed craftsmanship and some of the best offers of the year at the lexus december to remember sales event. this is the pursuit of perfection.

at the lexus december to remember sales event. stick with innovation. stick with power. stick with technology. get the new flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now.

philips sonicare. k by the lumineers did you i did. email?love"

expect a major fight come january over long-term jobless benefits now canceled for more than a million americans. senate majority leader harry reid says it'll be the first thing he does when congress resumes january 6th. but until then, 1.3 million americans cut off from their lifeline will have to figure out how to feed their families, pay their bills, keep their homes. clock certainly ticking now. and joining me, pennsylvania congressman matt cartwright. thanks for joining me. >> hi, alex. how are you? >> i'm well. let's talk about this issue, which does not exactly split down party lines. there's a big bipartisan push for that three-month extension of benefits.

you have rhode island democrat jack reed behind that effort. then you have speaker boehner saying he's only going to back an extension if it's paid for with other cuts. realistically, will an extension pass? >> i hope he abandons that mentality, alex. what he's talking about doing is balancing the budget on the backs of the unemployed now. right here in northeastern pennsylvania, we're talking about over 6,000 families that are affected. 6,000 families that got cut off as of december 28th from a lousy $300 a week check. you know, it's not much per family, but overall, you have to remember this is money that goes right back into the economy, and it means -- strangely, it cuts another 240,000 jobs because of the down tick in the economy by cutting that money out of it. it's a dumb thing to do. it doesn't surprise me that we have bipartisan support to

extend these benefits. >> well, if speaker boehner sticks to his guns on this, the cbo has said a one-year extension would cost the government about $25 billion. do you see obvious places where the budget could be trimmed to try to pay for more unemployment? >> well, you know, there's always places that you can trim, but alex, i'll tell you, my own approach is now is not the time to be trimming. remember, we're still recovering from the thing that started these long-term unemployment benefits to kick in. it was in 2008. this is george w. bush's program, alex. extended long-term unemployment benefits because of the horrible hit that the economy took in 2008. we're still recovering from that. now it not the time to cut. now is the time to keep this recovery going. 2014 looks like it's going to be a good year. let's not screw it up. >> you know, i think sometimes in a case like this, you have to

put a face to stories like this. some of your republican colleagues have argued all these long-term jobless benefits do is provide a disservice to the unemployed because they don't get any incentive to work. yesterday i had the chance to speak with a woman who lost her job in february. she's looked at least three times every week. her benefits have been cut off completely. i talked with her, and here's her reaction. >> it's infuriating. to say that someone doesn't want to work is -- it's just -- i can't even explain it. it leaves me speechless. i would give anything to be able to get up and to go to work. i don't want to live off money from the government. i want to be a -- i want to be how i was. >> representative cartwright, that is a real-world message. does that resonate in chambers? if not, how do you get opponents of an extension to hear it?

>> it not only resonates in chambers, but it resonates here in northeastern pennsylvania. alex, we rightly and proudly claim hit totitle to joe biden, vice president of the united states. something he constantly talks about is the time his own father lost his job and what that meant to him personally, what it meant to him emotionally. vice president biden makes the point cogently, i think, that when you lose your job, it's not just about the paycheck. it's not just about the money. it's about your honor. it's about your integrity. it's about your character. it's about who you are. all of those things take a terrible, terrible hit when you lose your job. you lose your identity. you don't just lose the paycheck. so when somebody says, oh, they don't want to work, they'd rather collect the $300 a week and put their feet up, that's about as out of touch with american actual people as it gets. joe biden's right about all of that.

>> sir, i want to -- before i let you go, talk about the fact you sit there on the military sex assault prevention caucus. i want to ask you about this new report that found the number of reported sexual assaults across the military shot up by more than 50% this year. what do you make of that? is this a higher rate of crime, or do you think victims are finally feeling a little more safe in coming forward and telling their story? >> well, it may not be one or the other, alex. to say that, you know, actually assaults in the military spiked by 50% in one year, that's unthinkable because it would require us to ask why is this happening. it's just too hard to wrap your head around, why something like that could spike in that fashion. much more explainable by the idea that people are feeling much freer to come forward and make these allegations and tell the truth about what happened. you know, to my mind, an act of

sexual violence is nothing more or less than the human manifestation of evil. and it's something that's so ugly and so hard to talk about that it is unspeakable. and that's why people have not been able to bring themselves to talk about it, and i think that's probably the answer. another thing i want to look at, though, in the statistics, alex, are there more women enrolled in the military, enlisted in the military in 2013 than in prior years, which could explain not only an uptick in assaults but also an uptick in the reporting. >> yeah, that's an interesting angle too. used to help compile those stats. the president, as you know, called military sexual assault a scourge on the entire armed services. he's made it very clear it's an issue that matters to him. what can we expect in 2014 to try to combat it? >> well, of course, just recently we passed out of the

house a measure to basically take much of the criminal process out of the military. in other words, commanding officers no longer have the ability to overturn jury verdicts, assessing blame for sexual assaults in the military. that's a good step. there were those who wanted to take it further. and i think this is something that will have to be part of an ongoing conversation as we see what happens in the military, as we see the reports coming in. i think an incremental approach is probably the right one because, you know, there is legitimate argument that you can take things too far as far as taking command and control out of the military on that kind of thing. i say the approach is let's watch and see how it goes and adjust and legislate appropriately. >> all right. representative matt cartwright, a happy new year to you.

i look forward to seeing you more in 2014. >> same here. see you, alex. a new year with new prices. we'll tell you about big changes coming to the post office. thins with 0-calorie monk fruit in the raw. it's made with the natural, vine-ripened sweetness of fruit, so you can serve up deliciously sweet treats without all the sugar. raw natural sweetness, raw natural success. you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec-d®. powerful relief of nasal congestion and other allergy symptoms -- all in one pill. zyrtec-d®. at the pharmacy counter. i think we both are clean freaks. i used to scrub the floor on my knees. [ daughter ] i've mastered the art of foot cleaning. oh, boy. oh, boy. oh, boy. [ carmel ] that drives me nuts. it gives me anxiety just thinking about how crazy they get. [ doorbell rings ] [ daughter ] oh, wow. [ carmel ] swiffer wetjet. you guys should try this. it's so easy. oh, my. [ gasps ] i just washed this floor.

if i didn't see it i wouldn't believe it. [ carmel ] it did my heart good to see you cleaning. [ regina ] yeah, your generation has all the good stuff. [ daughter ] oh, yeah. wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com.

i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus.

[ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is. in less than 60 hours, the big apple ushers in the new year. in today's number ones, we begin with the country's most expensive destination to ring in 2014. if you think it's new york, you're wrong. cheaphotels.com says it's miami beach, where $360 is the most affordable lodging. new york is second at $354. a double room in charleston, south carolina, running $339. so you got to believe times square is the number one place to be to ring in the new year. not according to a wall street cheat sheet ranking. the big apple is second to las vegas, then sydney, australia.

dubai's big bash will be the pinnacle of pyrotechnics. some 400,000 fireworks are going to fill the sky in a six-minute show to set a guinness world record. and "the hobbit" is putting on quite a show at the box office. it's projected to win the weekend for a third straight time. and it's the year's biggest box office draw. "iron man 3" made $409 million in the u.s. alone. ♪ and "suit and tie" helped make justin timberlake's "the 20/20 experience" the year's top album. those are your number ones. let's play it to break.

what if we could keep enough plastic waste to cover mt. rainier out of landfills each year? by using one less trash bag each month, we can. and glad forceflex bags stretch until they're full.* so you can take them out less often.

welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." now to headlines at the half. new hope for the family of a 13-year-old california girl

declared brain dead after tonsil surgery earlier this month. the family says a facility in new york may be able to accept jahi mcmath and keep her on life support. >> i'm feeling a lot of pressure, feeling a lot of pressure. but you know, optimistic in my faith that god is going to make another way for us. >> unless there's another court order, a judge has set a 5:00 monday deadline for the girl's body to be removed from the ventilator, which is the only thing keeping her alive right now. in seoul, tens of thousands of labor union members took to the streets. they're angry about a high-speed subsidiary line in the state-run railroad. they fear the line will lead to privatization and mass layoffs. the government denies this. 6,000 minnesota vikings fans got a special good-bye at the metrodome in minneapolis saturday. season ticketholders got a chance to take pictures on the field before the stadium is demolished next month. the vikings play their last game there today. the reality is sinking in today for the 1.3 million americans whose unemployment

benefits have expired. some lawmakers are supporting an extension, but that's little comfort to people like katy, who lost her managerial job in february. >> i have been dreading this day. i woke up this morning and i really am not sure how to move forward, to be honest with you. the prospect of no money coming in is -- it's just what you would imagine. it's the scariest, most frightening thing ever. you don't know how you'll get your next meal, how you'll afford your rent, what's going to happen essentially. >> joining me now, lauren fox and msnbc contributor and political editor perry bacon jr. hi to the both of you. i'm sure it's as hard for you as it is for me listening to katy. stories like hers, are they going to have any impact on congress to extend these benefits? >> i think they will. you've already seen in december after the budget deal was

passed, president obama and the senate democrats started talking about these benefits more. there is a push from democrats that wasn't there three weeks ago that really is there now to expand these benefits for people who need them. the challenge, as a lot of things in washington s most republicans are have opposed to these benefits. they think it keeps people unemployed longer. the evidence really isn't for that. that said, not a lot of republicans want to sign on to this right now. that's the big challenge. >> lauren, as we add up the numbers, you have 1.3 million americans who lost the benefits yesterday. if congress doesn't act, you have another 850,000 scheduled to lose them by the end of march. how much pressure, lauren, do you think lawmakers are going to feel from their constituents as these cuts really begin to sink in? >> lawmakers are going to begin hearing the stories of those who are unemployed. they're going to be getting calls in their offices and certainly constituents make an impact in washington when people's phone lines are lighting up. members of congress feel more obligation to do something. i think there was a lot of pressure in december to pass the

budget deal. now this is really what's on the table. i think senate democrats and the president are going to continue the push, and that will certainly have an impact on house republicans and republicans in the senate to do something as well. >> okay, guys. let's switch gears and talk about benghazi. that's big time in the headlines again today with this "new york times" report that there's no al qaeda link to the september 2012 attack. of course, four americans died. that would include ambassador christopher stevens. perry, what's your reaction to this "new york times" investigation? and what are some of the potential implications? >> what it showed me was the narratives that came out immediately. the democrats, a lot of them said -- susan rice said it was all about this video at first versus the republicans said it was a planned attack by al qaeda. what this story is, if you read it carefully, says neither one of those narratives is really true. this attacks appears to have been inspired a little by the by the video but not fully. it was local groups and local

militia leaders in libya. the implications are really complica complicated. initially i think you would have said we need more security at diplomatic outposts. that's certainly true. the writer of the article argues it's a cautionary tale for the u.s. about how do we make sure the people we think are allies in these countries really are. if we look at syria, for example, the people working with us to take down assad, are they really allies or not? the argument in the story basically is some of the people the u.s. was allied with in taking down gadhafi were also involved in killing the ambassador and leading to the attack on the embassy there. >> yeah. lauren, you can weigh in on this as well. what's your thoughts on this? >> well, i certainly think that the most important takeaway from this story was that we had supported many of these militant leaders on the ground with nato forces to remove gadhafi from power. these are the same people who in the "new york times" alleges turned and killed ambassador

christopher stevens at the outpost there. i think that's a very important thing to remember. also, this is going to have big implications in the house of representatives where many of these republicans have been saying all along this was an al qaeda-sponsored attack, that this was something that had been preplanned, premeditated and was carried out with significant planning. certainly that is not the case, according to "the new york times." so on capitol hill, this could have many implications as well. >> okay. lauren, i'm looking at your latest article, which is entitled "the five temper tantrums that define washington dysfunction this year." go through some of those tantrums that made your list. >> i think the government shutdown is obviously the first one we all think of. we saw the filibuster re-emerge on the senate floor this year, first with senator rand paul then ted cruz's talk-a-thon. we'll once again ring in the new year with no farm bill. this has traditionally been a piece of legislation that democrats and republicans have worked together to exchange agricultural subsidies for food

stamps for those in the inner city. we will ring in the new year with no new farm bill. that's certainly emblematic of washington dysfunction this year. >> perry, what would be your top temper tantrum with washington, d.c.? >> i have this one quote i cannot forget. a republican congressman from indiana. during the shutdown he said, quote, we're not going to be disrespected. we have to get something out of this. and i don't even know what that even is. this is a congressman saying shutting down the government was less about people's jobs, the federal government overall, the state of the economy, but more about his respect level and if he was getting enough respect. that, for me, was the most outrageous quote of the year for sure. >> that's rendered me speechless, which is hard to do. thank you very much, lauren fox and perry bacon jr. happy new year, guys. now to what captivated americans in 2013, at least using the internet as a measure. specifically, a website that looked at the year's biggest

phenomena. ask.com's robbie washenfelder is joining me now. a good day to you. i know your top searches have been broken down into categories. i want to go in news first. the royal baby, the boston marathon bombing, and the crisis in syria top that list. i'm curious about the questions that were asked. what did you get on that? >> well, good morning, alex. at ask.com we have this special way of looking at the searches because people mostly ask questions on our site. we have this unique perspective at each of these events. obviously, the royal baby -- it really has been the year of the celebrity baby, the royal baby being among the item most people were interested in. a lot of the details. the name, what is the royal baby named? how much did it weigh? how many georges have there been before? but obviously also, you know, every major story that sort of grips the nation, people often want to get to the details very quickly. it's sort of their lifeline to get what is actually going on.

not just, you know -- it's not just enough to sort of search for the term. they want to know what the story is behind that. for example, with the boston bombing, that was on everybody's mind. people wanted to know, has the suspect been found? where is he hiding? what is going to happen next? so those are really the biggest movers in news for us. >> okay. i want to talk about what we were just talking about with our previous guests. politic, the government shutdown certainly, edward snowden, california's prop 8 made the top of the list that way. what were people asking on those issues? >> yeah, it's really been a year of government inaction and action, hasn't it? people ultimately, i think, for a while when you typed in just the word "why" on ask.com, one of the questions that would pop up as a suggestion is, why is the government shut down? people really wanted to understand what was going on. what does that mean to me?

is the post office still open? can i still get my unemployment checks? those were the key questions. but the other action, really, is the nsa spying scandal. people wanted to understand how does that affect them. how can they protect themselves from the government spying on them. what are they really recording? do they know my location? do they know what i'm buying? so i think it's really that where they're looking for solutions by asking questions around the news event. >> that totally makes sense. given our celebrity obsessed culture, i'm curious about the top celebrity searches. they were north west, kanye west and kim kardashian's baby. what did people want to know? >> it's really curious you. i think originally they wanted to know what was the baby named. then after they heard, they really wanted to know why north. where did that name come from?

i mean, it's really, like you said, kim kardashian and the entire kardashian clan always rule the top searches. they're always on everybody's mind. so are a lot of other celebrities like justin timberlake and bieber and beyonce. we're looking at the trends and spikes more so. you know, who's really breaking out. north west is the new break-out member of the kardashian family. miley cyrus really broke out of -- certainly up there in searches, but her performance at the vmas really sparked the most questions. what exactly did she do? people were just absolutely curious to know exactly what did she do. she's sort of been up there since. she's really held up there. of course, celebrity deaths, unfortunately they spark a lot of curiosity. especially with cory monteith, totally unexpected. people wanted to know what was happening there and why. >> heartbreaking in that regard. all right. thank you very much from ask.com. have a good new year.

>> you too. thank you. hear from a senator who came close to getting tangled up in the ab scam investigation. plus a big phase-out that's left many americans in the dark. avo: the volkswagen "sign then drive" sales event is back. which means it's never been easier to get a new 2014 jetta. it gets an impressive 34 highway mpg and comes with no charge scheduled maintenance. and right now you can drive one home for practically just your signature. sign. then drive. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on any new 2014 volkswagen. hurry, this offer ends january 2nd. visit vwdealer.com today wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com.

shhhh! shhhh. [ coughs ]

i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] nope. [ sniffles ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast acting antihistamine to relieve your runny nose. oh, what a relief it is! [ man ] shhhh! for fast cold and flu relief, day or night, try alka-seltzer plus day and night liquid gels. for fast cold and flu relief, day or night, stick with innovation. stick with power.

stick with technology. get the new flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare. tnow to the movie that stars with the opening line "some of this actually happened." "american hustle" based loosely on the fbi anti-corruption operation called abscam. in real life and in the movie, politicians were exposed, bribes were made and taken, congressmen and mobsters mingled. >> i'm thinking big. this is going to be fantastic. i'm doing this from the feet up. >> you'll never do it properly because you have too much government attitude to be small and sleek. i'm in and i'm out. i was there the whole time. you don't know it. >> back in 1980, the hustlers were the fbi undercover agents, and the con men they hired to lure politicians into taking bribes. all of it caught on fbi

surveillance tape. the parts you don't see in the movie, the stings that failed. that includes an attempt to grease then-senator larry pressler. he didn't take the bait. >> i sense that there was something very much wrong, and i stood up and started toward the door and said, look, i came here under the understanding that we were going to talk about business and a political action committee and my presidential campaign. this could be illegal, i said. i repeated the word illegal two or three times. >> former republican south dakota senator, one of the real-life good guys in the sting, speaking on nbc's "today" show back in 1980 after the fbi dragnet made those front page headlines. today is, the former senator is with us again. welcome. >> i'm very glad to be here. thank you. >> well, i'm glad you're here. i want to talk about the experience. i know first of all you and your wife recently saw "american hustl

hustle." you said your story wouldn't be depi depicted. you were right. why do you think those who refused the bait were left out? >> i think because we like the story that the congressman are always crooks, so to speak. in fact, i once was going to write a book about this, and the publisher rejected it saying you're too much of a boy scout, good guy type. if you had taken the bribe and gone to jail and gone into rehab and then recovered, it would be the great american success story and you'd have made a million dollars. but really, very few people are interested in the mostly, largely honest people who do the right thing in government and business every day. there just isn't much interest there. >> yeah, well, to that end, i wish we were able to put on more good news stories regularly here on our broadcast. but nonetheless, let's go back three decades here. how did you end up in that meeting with the fbi players and what exactly went down? >> yes, it was more or less an accident that i was involved. i was not suspected of anything, but someone took me there. in those days, they had meetings with pacs. united states senators have to spend about half their time

raising money for the next campaign. and i was in that cycle at the time. so i visited a lot of pacs and houses. you can't raise money on federal property, so you go off. so i got involved in kind of an accidental way. this does make me worry about the current debate we're having, the nsa debate, because it is dangerous to have the government surveilling citizens without too much reason. in the movie, all the agents were laughing at -- they had a party when they thought they had entrapped somebody. that is the wrong attitude for the government to have. so we're now in an era -- i think the value of this discussion is where do we go from here with government surveillance of phone numbers, e-mails and so forth? i think we have to build in very careful safeguards. >> did the movie, though, overall ring pretty true? i know there's a lot of embellishments with the glamourization and sex and

women, but did it ring true? >> i think so. i've become a little pessimistic. i think we have a sleazy course society in terms of politics and certain aspects of business and even in the universities. a certain lack of ethics. we are slipping as a country, and i think the movie maybe will wake up us a little bit. sometimes there are novels written that cause us to have reforms. maybe this movie people will say, god, if it's that bad, if it's that sleazy, maybe we better have some reforms. >> as you're well aware, after abscam went public, the house and senate raised the issues of entrapment. one of those who did time expressed shock at the notion of the fbi actively pursuing what he called legitimately honest people. you obviously walked ed ed away hero. do you agree with the indictments and the way the story went down? >> i wish they would have put in that at least one person flatly turned the bribe down and walter

cronki cronkite, he saw my tape and called me a hero. what have we come to if turning down a bribe is heroic? in the short run, i got good publicity from it, but it was quickly forgotten in terms of the people who turned it down. we got to remember that too. in all these scandals, whether it's watergate or whatever, there are a lot of good people in government who keep on working in a very honest way every day and a lot of good people in business and the news media who keep working every day and don't get recognized. it also raises a very serious question of our civil rights. i am now an independent candidate for the senate. one of the big issues here in south dakota is individual rights. people are afraid of government surveillance. they want freedom. they're afraid of big brother government. this movie might well -- it illustrates how reckless the government can sometimes be in terms of bringing innocent people in. >> well, senator, i was going to

make that point that you are an independent candidate for senate. so best of luck in the campaign. we'll be watching that very closely throughout 2014. thank you for your time former senator and perhaps future senator. >> thank you very much. on the rise, what's behind a big price jump at the post office? after this. cer ] no matter what city you're playing tomorrow. [ coughs ] ♪ [ male announcer ] you can't let a cold keep you up tonight. vicks nyquil -- powerful nighttime 6-symptom cold & flu relief. ♪ 6-symptom cold & flu relief. ♪ you know, ronny... folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. and how happy are they jimmy? i'd say happier than a bodybuilder directing traffic. he does look happy. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is.

january 1st marks the end of the production of 60 and 40-watt incandescent lightbulbs. if you want to stock up, the existing inventory should last a few months. only four in ten consumers are aware of this phase out. the price of a stamp is going up again. by the end of january, the price of a first-class postage stamp will go up to 49 cents. it's a temporary increase for two years in an effort to help the u.s. postal service offset revenue losses during the recession. joining me now to discuss the hike and future of the post

office is lisa rhine. this is pretty much the largest rate hike we've seen, but we're talk three cents. for me to get a birthday card from here in new york to los angeles for an extra three cents, that's still a bargain, isn't it? >> it's still a bargain, but what the price increase really reflects is the financial situation of the post sal service, which has really had huge structural problems for, you know, at least five, seven years since americans have, you know, turned to the internet for their communication needs. so what really is significant is that when the postal service decided to approach regulators about this price increase, for the first time, they said, we need to raise our rates not because our costs have increased so much but because we lost money in the recession. and the regulators sort of gave

them a glass half full or half empty depending on how you look at it. they said, we're going to only let you raise rates for two years. during that time, we hope that you're going to recoup the losses from the recession. but we can't really allow you, you know, to raise rates as a solution for what is really a huge structural problem. >> okay. but lisa, interestingly, this two-year thing is what i take issue with. do we really think two years from now what we're paying for a stamp is going to go back to 46 cents? >> that's a question the postal service has not addressed. what i'm guessing is inflation will probably catch up with this price increase anyway because for the past number of years, you know, the postal service has been allowed to raise rates by about a penny a year. the price increase has been capped by the rate of inflation. so it's very possible that in two years, you know, inflation

would have brought the rate, you know, to 48 cents or something like that anyway. but as i said, the real issue here, you know, i think is not so much a three-cent rate increase because this has happened in the past. you know, in the '90s, rates went up. as you said, 11 years ago. labor costs. but they have a much, much larger problem at postal service, which is how do they stay afloat. the only way they can survive is by bringing in revenue. congress doesn't actually give them money. >> unfortunately, we're going to run out of time. i want to ask about saturday delivery. there's been so much talk about getting rid of that or even going to three days a week, like every other day delivery. what's the latest on either of those. >> right. well, the latest on it is that this five-day delivery, and many other aspects of changing what

the postal service wants, has been stuck in limbo. congress is the one who needs to approve five-day delivery. for a second year in a row, the bill has just stalled in congress. congress went home for the christmas holidays with absolutely nothing done on this issue. so it's in limbo. >> okay. there's the answer for that. thank you very much, lisa. happy new year. appreciate your time. >> thank you. losing ground. the new report that shows the progress made in afghanistan may be in serious jeopardy in the years to come. on the road again. an indicator that may show the economy is improving. [ woman ] too weak. wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com.

the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ [ male announcer ] this december, experience the gift of true artistry and some of the best offers of the year at the lexus december to remember sales event. this is the pursuit of perfection. a deadly terror attack in russia. vladimir putin promises to beef up security for the winter games in sochi. a new ominous outlook for afghanistan is out today and predicts chaos if the u.s. totally withdraws. it's a milestone for obamacare enrollment, but will it satisfy critics?

grmpbl and it's a great american divide. what will it take to narrow the nation's widening economic gap? hey there, everyone. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." it's 1:00 here in the east, 10:00 a.m. out west. here's what's happening right now out there. first up this hour, an explosion tears through a busy train station. this is in southern russia. officials say at least 14 people were killed, dozens more injured when a female suicide bomber entered a central rail hub filled with travelers and detonated an explosive device. this happened in the southern russian town of vogelgrad. it's the second deadly attack in three days. we have all the latest developments from moscow. what do we know about this right now? >> hi, alex. the latest figures are 16 dead, according to the russian

investigative committee. ten of them have been identified, seven of them are men and three are women. it is thought by the investigative committee that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. they've also found a hand grenade nearby. the blast happened around 1:00 p.m. moscow time on a sunday. it's just two days away from new year's eve, which is the biggest holiday in russia, perhaps. and president vladimir putin has ordered all necessary measures to be taken to increase security. it's only 39 days before the start of the winter olympics in sochi. it's crucial to have the security not only in sochi but in other regions because the militant leader has threatened moscow and sochi and has said attacks will be imminent. >> which is pretty frightening.

this city, is it known to be a hot bed for any sort of -- you know, i don't want to say terroristi isic developments, b are there groups there to where it doesn't come as a surprise? >> it's not known this is a hot seat for terrorism except in october this year there was another attack. there was a terrorist attack on a bus that left five people d d dead. it's thought by some analysts i've been speaking to that it's just one of these cities that is being used to show that the regions are of obvious concern like sochi, like moscow, are not the only ones that can be threatened, that the terrorists can reach all sorts of regions in russia. >> okay. albina, thank you so much. we appreciate your reporting.

from there now to politics. an in-depth investigation revealing new details about the deadly 2012 attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. a "new york times" article published this weekend found no evidence al qaeda was involved in the attack that killed four americans. that would include ambassador christopher stevens. nbc's kristen welker is joining me in studio with more. i'm curious about the white house's reaction to this report. what do we know about that? >> well, alex, good afternoon. a senior obama administration official says the white house does not dispute "the new york times" report. we'll get into that in just a few minutes. but the in-depth report says "the times" found no proof that al qaeda or any international terrorist groups played any role in the september 11th, 2012 attack. the article says, quote, the attack was led instead by fighters who had directly benefitted by nato's air support during the uprising against colonel gadhafi. it was fuelled in large by by anger at an american-made video

denigrating islam. the newspaper says its investigation took months and was centered on extensive interviews with libyans in benghazi who had direct knowledge of the attack and its context. here's the reporter on "meet the press." take a listen. >> i've talked to some of the people who i believe were lead perpetrators, and it's just obvious from them and the people around them they're purely local people. their pasts are known. their records are known, when they were in prison, who they hung out with in prison, who their association are. there's just no chance this was an al qaeda attack, if by al qaeda you mean the organization founded by osama bin laden. >> now, alex, getting back to the white house. the white house really welcomes this report. no surprise there because republicans have accused the obama administration of down playing the perpetrators' links to al qaeda for political gain. you'll remember the attack in benghazi took place during the last part of the 2012 presidential campaign. then-ambassador to the u.n.

susan rice became the target of criticism after appearing on the sunday talk shows shortly after that attack, arguing it was the result of the american-made video insulting islam. rice is now, of course, the president's national security adviser. since then, republicans have held several hearings into the handling of the obama administration's handling of the attack and aftermath. darryl issa reacted to the report on "meet the press." >> quite frankly, david did some very good work. but interviewing people in benghazi after the fact, after the world has been told about this video is really not realtime. so we have seen no evidence that the video was widely seen in benghazi. a very isolated area. or that it was the leading cause. what we do know is september 11th is not an accident. these are terrorist groups. some of them linked to or self-claimed as al qaeda linked.

>> and alex, we just want to point out that nbc news has not independently verified "the times" report. it's significant, though, because it's the first really to argue that the american-made video played a large role in sparking that violence in benghazi. alex? >> yeah, you know, even though the white house is welcoming this report, the journalist we heard from there, david kirkpatrick, says they didn't exactly have the story straight either, right? >> right. that's an important point as well. susan rice initially argued that the demonstration was sparked from an unarmed street protest, but kirkpatrick this morning argued that it's not 100% accurate, saying that it was sparked by an armed terrorist attack motivated by the video. so the truth, according to kirkpatrick, is much more complicated than really either democrats or republicans initially described. something that is clearly going to continue to be debated in the coming days a nd weeks. >> absolutely. all right. good to see you. another big story developing today.

the obama administration says the number of americans signing ul for health insurance is surging. the insurance is set to take effect wednesday when hundreds of thousands of americans will begin to use the program's new medical coverage for the first time. nbc's jon yang is in honolulu, hawaii, where the president is spending the holidays. we're switching it up this hour. different topic for you. tell us about these new numbers the administration is touting today. >> reporter: the numbers came out on a blog on the hhs website. it says by the december 24th deadline to sign up in order to get coverage by january 1st at the federal marketplace, more than 1.1 million people had signed up. nearly 1 million signed up in december alone and the pace of sign-ups increased as the month went front beginning of the month to the end of the month. this only is talking about the federal marketplace, the 36 states covered by that federal marketplace. it does not include 14 states that run their own marketplaces. some of them big states like

california, where state officials say 430,000 have signed up, and new york where 200,000 have signed up. health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius says a victory would be if 7 million people sign up by the close of the 2014 enrollment period at the end of march. but it's apparent that this is already changing the politics of the debate over the affordable health care act. ron johnson a republican senator, a tea party-backed republican senator from wisconsin, recently said that the fact that people are signing up, he says, it's no longer a piece of paper you can just repeal and it goes away. he says there's something there. we have to recognize the reality. we have to deal with the people that are currently covered by obama care when they try to do something about this. so this has already changed -- these are facts on the ground, if you will, and changing the

politics of this. alex? >> okay. john yang from honolulu. thank you for that update. a new report on the war in afghanistan and some pretty sobering news about that country's future. it predicts all the gains made by the united states and its allies in afghanistan over the past three years are likely to be completely lost by the year 2017. this washington post report, which includes input from all 16 u.s. intelligence agencies, says the taliban and other militant groups will become increasingly influential as the u.s. winds down its military presence. we're going to talk more about this in our next half hour with own of the reporters on this story, greg miller of ""the washington post". let's go to weather now. near white-out conditions prompted the national weather service to issue a blizzard warning for north dakota and minnesota. from maine to michigan, more 100,000 households are still

waiting for energy. alex wallace has the forecast. >> good sunday. we're tracking showers from the carolinas into the mid-atlantic and into portions of the northeast. not so fun for travelers getting back from the holiday week. busy travel day. we've got wet weather through the overnight spreading up through new england. as we get into that nighttime, parts of new york state into northern new england, that's where we'll bring back wintry weather, getting into maine as well. folks still dealing with power outages don't want to see more snow coming in. unfortunately, that's the case. heading into the early week, last couple days of the year, here's how it'll fare. here's monday for us. watching a disturbance move its way through the northern tier. that will bring us a few snow showers. should be light, but it will be cold. a few showers along the gulf coast. if you want some warmth, you head to southern california. l.a., another nice, mild time. sunshine and temps in the upper 70s. cannot beat that.

then we get into new year's eve itself. wet weather into florida and along the southeast coast. more snow showers here. all fairly light. not looking at anything major. snow showers in the northern tier. here on the east coast, where things are going to chill down, folks celebrating in times square, going to be a cold time there. the warmth remains in the southwest and fairly quiet weather greets you in the north. seattle should see temperatures in the upper 40s. back to you. >> okay, alex. thanks. they've been cut off by their economic peril could have a damaging effect on the nation. that's next. doing it with a cold, just not going to happen. ♪ vicks dayquil powerful non-drowsy 6-symptom cold & flu relief. ♪ no matter what city you're playing tomorrow... [ coughs ] [ male announcer ] ...you can't let a cold keep you up tonight. ♪ vicks nyquil powerful nighttime 6-symptom cold & flu relief.

♪ afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote.

usaa. we know what it means to serve. if you have a business idea, we have a personalized legal solution that's right for you. with easy step-by-step guidance, we're here to help you turn your dream into a reality. start your business today with legalzoom. [ female announcer ] at 100 calories, not all food choices add up. some are giant. some not so giant. when managing your weight, bigger is always better. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant

a drop in gdpa loss of jobuati -- a drop in gdp and more among the

homeless and hungry. those are the predictions. congressmen pushing for an extension say it's far too soon to take away a lifeline for the unemployed. one job seeker i spoke with yesterday agrees. >> no money coming in is -- it's just what you would imagine. it's the scariest, most frightening thing ever. you don't know how you'll get your next meal, how you'll afford your rent, what's going to happen essentially. >> and then there's the potential impact to the economy that the cut will save an estimated $25 billion this year, it could come with hidden costs. that was written about this past week. sarah joins me from washington to explain all that. sarah, with a welcome, what you're saying here is that by putting money into the pockets of the people who are going to spend it, ie the unemployed, the economy gets a boost. so can you explain the argument which we're starting to hear more and more from places like the white house and the senate democrats? >> yeah, absolutely.

you know, what we see is that congress' failure to extend emergency unemployment benefits really constitutes another self-inflicted wound on the economy. first you have the government shutdown. now you have congress letting these benefits expire, which economists predict will shrink gdp growth in 2014 and will cost us 250,000 jobs. yeah, this is a result of, you know, when you have these unemployment benefits that stimulate the economy by putting money into the pocket of people who are spending it on, you know, day-to-day necessities like food and rent and utilities. and when they don't have that money to spend, it reduces economic growth. it reduces demand. and it results in fewer jobs created. so this isn't just an issue for individuals. it really has the potential to be a big hit on our overall economy. >> because people have tou understand, it's not like people are taking this money and depositing it into offshore accounts or savings accounts.

it's going right back to the economy. there's a report you write on that found for every dollar spent on unemployment insurance, the economy grows by $1.55. if that logic is sound, why do you think so many congressmen, particularly the republicans, let this clock run out on unemployment insurance? >> yeah, the sticking point is really republicans, particularly in the house of representatives. there's this misguided notion that by cutting people off of benefits, they're suddenly magically going to be able to find a job. the reality is there are three job seekers in this country for every job opening. it's simply not that easy to find a job. people want to work, but there aren't enough jobs in this country. we really need to give these people a lifeline and extend benefits. >> let's look at national unemployment rate. it did fall to 7% here. that's a signal that the economy and the job market are at least on better footing, but lots of states are still hurting. look at nevada, for instance. rhode island, 9% of residents are looking for work there.

in california, you've got 8.9% also jobless, still searching. so is that one argument that is getting missed in washington? >> well, i think lawmakers are going to start hearing it from their constituents in the new year. so hopefully they'll be able to hear that. i think another important point is that not only is the unemployment rate still high in many states, but people are unemployed for longer periods of time. so i think it's important to note that while the average unemployed person in the u.s. is unemployed for 36 weeks, state unemployment benefits run out at 26 weeks. without these federal benefits, those people would be, you know, really struggling. >> how big a fight are you expecting there to be for harry reid as he's promised, you know, first thing when he gets back from recess to take this up? i mean, what kind of fight are we going to see in both the senate and the house? >> well, you know, i think the important thing is that long-term unemployed workers are both democrats and republicans. so members of congress, regardless of their party, are going to hear from these unemployed workers who are

really having trouble making ends meet. and they're also going to hear from, you know, the retailers, the restaurants, the small businesses who are going to take a hit as a result of fewer dollars going into the economy. so, you know, i think members of congress are really going to hear it from their constituent when is they get back. >> okay. we'll see what the reaction is as a result of that. thank you, sarah. >> thanks, alex. frozen in time. it is ice breaking news. some stranded scientists hope to hear next. [ sniffles, coughs ] shhhh! i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is!

plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. thnot at the rings.looking. i can feel them looking at my thick, flaky red skin. do i tell them it's psoriasis? do i speak up and say it's not contagious? or do i just say... have a nice day!" when your psoriasis has gone from uncomfortable

to unacceptable, visit psoriasis.com to connect with a psoriasis patient advocate from abbvie for free one-to one education and support. sign up at psoriasis.com, and talk to your dermatologist. wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com. did you see that? folks in the midwest saw that huge fireball streak across the sky. that's exactly how it looked in eastern iowa thursday night. scientists are not sure that it was a memeteor, but they say it might have been man-made space junk returning to earth. developing now, after being trapped in a sea of ice at the bottom of the world for nearly a week, there may be hope today for the 74 scientists, crew members. and tourists on board that

russian expedition vessel stuck in antarctica. >> hi, alex. the stranded scientists are now waiting to find out whether an australian ship can breakthrough to lead them out of the compacted ice. they're hoping it will succeed where other ice breakers have failed. the group have been locked in for about five days on their russian research ship, but you would never guess it from the messages they've been posting online. they're out on the ice, carrying out tests, watching the pengu s penguins, describing their surroundings as a magical winter wonderland. there's no panic, and that's because they have food that can last for at least two weeks. and if there isn't a rescue by sea, there is the option of using a helicopter from the nearby chinese ship snow dragon. that helicopter has carried out reconnaissance flights and reports back the ice conditions were improving. so there could yet be a sea

rescue. we'll know very soon. alex, back to you. >> all right, duncan. thanks for that update. >> now let's get straight to today's look at the ups and downs. it could be a measure of an improving economy. americans are driving more. business insider says americans traveled 2% more in october. that's the biggest jump since the financial crisis started. on the downside, sales of champagne around the world are down 3% to 4%, which is the second straight annual decline. one reason, thrifty folks are choosing cheaper sparkling wine instead. >> a lot of the items i have are from 1966. some trash and some treasures. >> that 52-year-old indiana man now holds the guinness record for the world's biggest collection of batman memorabilia. he keeps the 2500 items in his very own bat cave. that's his basement. >> what is my youngest son thinking about those pictures being on there? >> the pictures that virginia father is talking about are those showing naked women on his 8-year-old son's hand held

gaming system. dad wants an explanation from the store. then he says he'll have to explain the birds and the bees to his son a lot sooner than he expected. and let's hear it from john kitna, the former nfl quarterback coming out of retirement to be a third-string qb for the dallas cowboys. he's doe nating the $53,000 game check to a washington state high school where he's now a math teacher. good for him. those are your ups and downs. why the economic safety net for the least of us helps everyone. that's next. [ male announcer ] we all deserve a good night's sleep. thankfully, there's zzzquil. it's not for colds, it's not for pain, it's just for sleep. ♪ because sleep is a beautiful thing™. ♪ zzzquil. the non-habit forming sleep-aid from the makers of nyquil®. i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up.

it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is. ♪ ♪

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. so she made her dutch apple pie just like that. stick with innovation. stick with power. stick with technology. get the new flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare. welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." as we approach half past the hour, here are your fast five headlines. a new article in a german magazine is exposing how an elite team of hackers within the nsa spied on targets, stole data, and gained access to what the group called, quote, the most significant intelligence our country has ever seen. at least six people are recovering from minor injuries after a horse broke free from a california equestrian center.

the animal collided yesterday with horseback riders before it was corralled. in the mideast, five rockets from southern lebanon hit northern israel today. they're threatening a greater response if shelling resumes. near tijuana, mexico, a series of earthquakes collapsed a section of highway. no one was hurt. and espn's chris fouler there on the right has his broadcasting partner jesse palmer to thank for saving his life. apparently when fowler started choking on a sandwich yesterday, palmer performed the heimlich maneuver on him. in a tweet, fowler said, quote, never before needed a hooim lick at halftime or any time. thanks, jesse palmer, you saved me from death by dry chicken sandwich, really, end quote. and those are your fast five headlines. let's get more now on the new report about the war in afghanistan. it warns that country could descend into chaos and all the gains made by the united states and its allies may be lost by

the year 2017. this "washington post" report includes input from all 16 u.s. intelligence agencies. it says as the u.s. draws down its military presence in afghanistan, the taliban and other power-hungry groups will become increasingly influential. joining me now from "the washington post," greg miller. a welcome to you. it's really discouraging article you've helped to pen here. first off, how did they come to this conclusion? >> well, this is a national intelligence estimate, so this represents the consensus of all 16 spy agencies, so it involves a lot of negotiation and a lot of back and forth. ultimately, i mean, that's what makes this such an important document, as it's not just some group of analysts. it's the entire community speaking with one voice on an important issue. >> right. this report is also saying that afghanistan would be in trouble if washington and kabul don't sign that security pac that will keep military presence there through 2014. can you explain the parameters of that?

>> the estimate is saying that either way here, there's no bright picture or bright outcome. so in the best case scenario, if the united states reaches this agreement with kabul and can keep several thousand troops in that country, still these gains from the surge are going to recede over a three-year period. if you can't reach that agreement and can't find a reason to keep those troops in place and other support in place, then those problems emerge much, much faster. the government and kabul loses control much more quickly. >> okay. so this article, the takeaway for me is does this mean all the money, all the lives lost in america's longest war in afghanistan will mean nothing at the end of the day? >> well, i don't think it would mean nothing, obviously, because one of the main objectives at the outset of this war was to defeat al qaeda. and i think most u.s. intelligence analysts believe that has largely been accomplished, at least in terms of the al qaeda that existed and carried out the plot on september 11, 2001.

but what's so discouraging about a report like this is after 12 years of war and thousands of americans and others losing their lives to end up with a situation where the country could revert to its almost pre-9/11 state within a very short amount of time. >> greg, does that mean there are concerns it could revert to taliban rule? you know what that would mean. i'm just thinking for women. that would make young ladies not able to go to school. that's just superficial almost. >> i think that's one possible scenario explored in this document and others. most analysts i've talked to seem to think that kabul will hold, that the government of karzai and whoever is his successor will hold on to power in the city, but it only becomes a city state and that government's ability to exert control beyond the capital is almost nonexistent, especially in the southwest in kandahar and others that had been strongholds for the taliban. i think that's where you'll see

the taliban, the haqqani network and others really exert greater influence other afghanistan and larger and larger portions of that country. >> what are the alternatives to keeping a significant troop presence there? and echoes what you said earlier, there's an official who says things are going to be gloomy no matter what you do. >> well, that's one of the things the administration is really wrestling with. how quickly and how completely do you draw down? the administration is committed to a full draw down, but this idea of leaving anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 troops in place for some extended period for counterterrorism missions is an important one to some people. it helps sort of head off the potential for a return for an al qaeda -- a resurgence of al qaeda. but if you don't do that, then you're sort of left with very little ability to patrol this part of the world. i mean, that's what's so -- that's one of the hardest things for the administration to sort of figure out at this point.

>> so hamid karzai's role in all of this. he's been so against signing the agreement by the end of the year as the u.s. requested. so what happens? we have two days until it's the end of the year. >> we've read reports recently that deadline is, you know, predictably starting to slip a little. the united states had tried to hold that firm, and it didn't really work. i mean, it's interesting. you're alluding to this trajectory of this relationship with karzai, who was such a gleaming sort of star for the united states early on after the 9/11 attacks and was, you know, almost elevated to this role that he has by the united states. but that relationship soured a long time ago, and there is deep frustration with karzai. he often voices deep frustration with the united states. >> all right. well, no frustration with you, greg miller. it's pretty tough to hear, but thank you very much. appreciate your time. >> thank you. in less than 59 hours, times square will be ringing in 2014.

we learned that ed that supreme court justice sonia sotomayor, a native new yorker herself, will be pressing the ceremonial button to lower the times square ball on tuesday night. and at this moment, pedal power is generating the electricity that will light up the renowned crystal ball. since yesterday, volunteers have been pedaling those stationary bikes connected to batteries that will power the orb's 30,000 l.e.d. lights. we're bound to reflect on 2013. a new associated press poll asks, was 2013 better or worse than the year before? on a personal level, 32% say it was better than 2012. 20% say worst. 46% say about the same. as for the country, 25% say it was better. 25% chose worse. 47% saw little difference. and the outlook for 2014, 49% say their lives will improve next year. that's the spirit. 14% say it will be a downgrade from this year, while 34% don't expect much change. barring a sudden meltdown,

the stock market should close tuesday in record or at least near record territory after a rather steady climb. it is the biggest jump for the dow since 2003. the s&p grew the most since 1997. the spending spree on wall street is in stark contrast to the pictures from main street, where just yesterday jobless benefits ended for 1.3 million americans. that economic disparity highlighted in the year-end column called "guide posts on the road back to factville" by my next guest, jared bernstein, the former chief economist for the vice president, also a cnbc and msnbc contributor. everyone knows how much i appreciate jared on this show. before i get to some of the points you have in your column, big picture here, is there a clear growing inequality in this country? does the notion of an economic trickle down effect a fallacy? in other words, wall street riding high, main street not feeling it. >> there's a very clear disparity between those who depend on, say, assets like

stockings or bonds and those who depend on paychecks. for example, i just ran these numbers this morning, and they're very much in sync with what you've been saying. if you look since the economy's been expanding, mid-2009, the stock market in real terms is up 77%. corporate profits are up 50%. the median household income, the real income of the household right in the middle of the scale is down 4%. clearly that disparity exists. now, it doesn't mean -- i do believe the trickle down economics is very much a fallacy, but i think we have to be careful not to push that too far in the following sense. there are middle-income people like pensioners who depend on the stock market as well. it's not a bad thing that profits are up or that the market is doing well. what's bad is that it's not reaching so many other people in the economy. >> okay. in your column, jared, you cite the long-term benefits of a social safety net. that's actually number ten here in your column.

so what are those benefits, and how are they measurable? >> really interesting point, i think. historically, we've looked at the benefits of the safety net in terms of immediate consumption of low-income people. that is, if you haven't been able to put enough food on the table, food stamps help you. if you haven't been able to pay your rental bill, housing subsidies can help you. now we have data over many decades that can track kids who grew up in families that got some of these benefits relative will kids who didn't. and one of the things we're finding is that ultimately some of these safety net benefits help children when they become adults. if you compare their outcomes to other kids who didn't get the benefits, they do better in school. they work more, they earn more, they tend to collect less of those benefits themselves. so there's positive generational effects we're starting to un. >> that's interesting. here's one a lot of people cite.

income gains at the top dwarf those of low and middle-income households. so take us through the numbers and why is that? >> well, let me give you one compelling number. these data lag a bit because they're very comprehensive. it takes a while to collect them. in 2010, the income of the top 1% went up, that is it increased, by $130,000 in one year. the income of the middle fifth, so middle-class households, those in the middle of the income scale, was unchanged at about $60,000. so the increase of the top 1%, just the increase, was more than twice that of the total income of middle-class families. sop that disparity is very significant and has a lot to do with where we started our conversation. the value of assets. if you hold stocks, if you hold bonds, if you're someone whose income depends on your stock portfolio versus your paycheck, those assets are starting to

appreciate quickly again while paychecks remain relatively flat. that's what's fueling the disparity right now. >> okay. you also suggest that the two-year budget, which the president just signed, it rolls back some sequester cuts but not ones for low-income households. so where does it cut? >>. >> well, the cuts that it makes -- actually, what it does is it replaces some of the sequester cuts. it replaces, i believe, $65 billion in cuts that would otherwise have occurred in the budget on what we call the discretionary side of the budget. some of that is defense spending, but some of it are things like head start, some training programs, some help with college. so some good things. and then in order to pay for that added spending, it raises some fees, some airport fees and some other sort of cats and dogs that congress threw in there. the problem is that when they were doing this budget, they

neglected to extend unemployment insurance benefits. so yesterday, the 28th of december, those benefits expired for over a million people. and there's another about 4 million people who will lose benefits at a time when long-term unemployment is still a problem, alex. there just aren't quite enough jobs for some of these folks to quickly get back into the job market. >> yeah, we're going to see what happens if those benefits get extended, depending what congress does as soon as they get back. great to see you. happy new year to you. two big news stories could be big losses for republicans. we've got the big three next. k we both are clean freaks. i used to scrub the floor on my knees. [ daughter ] i've mastered the art of foot cleaning. oh, boy. oh, boy. oh, boy. [ carmel ] that drives me nuts. it gives me anxiety just thinking about how crazy they get. [ doorbell rings ] [ daughter ] oh, wow. [ carmel ] swiffer wetjet. you guys should try this. it's so easy. oh, my. [ gasps ] i just washed this floor. if i didn't see it i wouldn't believe it. [ carmel ] it did my heart good to see you cleaning.

[ regina ] yeah, your generation has all the good stuff. [ daughter ] oh, yeah. ♪ doing it with a cold, just not going to happen. ♪ vicks dayquil powerful non-drowsy 6-symptom cold & flu relief. ♪ no matter what city you're playing tomorrow... [ coughs ] [ male announcer ] ...you can't let a cold keep you up tonight. ♪ vicks nyquil

powerful nighttime 6-symptom cold & flu relief. ♪ it's not the "fumbling around with rotating categories" card. it's not the "getting blindsided by limits" card. it's the no-game-playing, no-earning-limit-having, deep-bomb-throwing, give-me-the-ball-and-i'll-take- it-to-the-house, cash back card. this is the quicksilver cash card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere, every single day. so let me ask you... what's in your wallet? wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin.

the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com. [ male announcer ] what kind of energy is so abundant, it can help provide the power for all this? natural gas. ♪ more than ever before, america's electricity is generated by it. exxonmobil uses advanced visualization and drilling technologies to produce natural gas... powering our lives... while reducing emissions by up to 60%. energy lives here. ♪ today's topics, big news, moment of the year, and this week's must reads. let's bring in my big three panel. professor of political science, jason johnson. reporter for politico, juana summers. and msnbc contributor robert

traynham. a big hello to the tree of you. let's talk about the two big developments today on stories that the gop has used to criticize the white house this year. i'm going to go robert to you first with obamacare with the 1.1 million people now having si signed up on the federal exchange s the tide turning? do you think republicans no longer have the obama rollout as a talking point to criticize the president? >> it appears the tide is turning to a certain degree. we still have tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of americans that are getting cancellation notices. the fact still remains that the president said, one, if you like your health care, you could keep it, and b, that's not the case. i think we're still trying to see where the dust is going to settle. i agree republicans have to move on to another talking point. that most likely probably will be the fiscal cliff -- i'm sorry, the debt ceiling and the fiscal crisis. >> it's coming up mid-february. juana, we have a "new york times" report that says al qaeda is not linked to the 2012

benghazi attack that killed four americans. the gop tried to turn this into a scandal and blame the president. where are we now on this issue? >> i expect to see republicans continue to hammer the administration over benghazi. just today on the sunday shows, you heard darryl issa, who's been one of the republicans leading that charge, as well as mark rodgers, one of the leading intelligence committee members, say that, you know, they stand by their criticism that this is still a huge issue for the administration. so i would expect in 2014 we're going to hear a lot more about this, a lot more ramping up, still talking about those talking points that susan rice delivered on many television networks. that's not going anywhere. >> jason, so these two issues are on the table. give me your sense of both. >> the only importance on benghazi is if you think it's a silver bullet against hillary clinton in 2016. no one is going to care by then. i always thought that was a waste of time by the republican party. as far as obamacare, this is not going to be an issue as long as people get their service by next summer. this is a long-term project. so eventually people will be

tired of hearing about the bad website. heck, target had bad websites too. security information happens everywhere. but if people are getting their health care by next summer, republicans are going to have to talk about something else for the mid-term elections. >> okay. let's go on to the next thing. the moment of the year. i'll start with you, robert. what's yours? >> i would say it's probably two things. one, clearly it was nelson mandela's death earlier this month. secondly, you know, the defining moment for me was when this pope came out and said, who am i to judge? for the first time, i heard a pope talk like a human being. for the first time, i heard a pope actually relate himself to another individual. i thought that was very, very, very profound and also very touching in many ways. >> yeah, of course. all right, jason, i have your moment of the year. let's listen to that. >> state of florida versus george zimmerman, verdict, we the jury find george zimmerman not guilty. >> so you chose george zimmerman's verdict.

why? >> because this is going to be something that resonates for another 20 years. you think about it, we still talk about oj. we still talk about rodney king. these kinds of trials become moments for an entire generation. this one this year, it wasn't just because george zimmerman got off. it's the life he's led afterwards and what it said about american society in general. we've had all these fights about stand your ground laws, gun violence in america. i think this case had a larger resonance than most of the cases in the past and we'll still be talking about it in a year, two years, maybe 20 years from now. >> and part of the reason we may still be talking about it is just the actions of this man. i mean, can you believe all the things that have happened? he's rescued people and he's had, you know, marital problems, unfortunately for him. >> violence. >> yeah, i mean, that's part of what i think is going to keep this going. >> yeah, the story keeps going. rodney king eventually fell off the map, but george zimmerman continues to be a point of contention. and it's weird because as the story has gone on past the trial, the conservatives have lost interest in him because

they realize maybe he was a thug and a jerk in that conflict and many of the liberals have said, look, this is what we were talking about all along. i think that's one of the reasons the story will resonate. in the end, unfortunately, there's still a 17-year-old child who lost his life.17-years life. >> trayvon martin. absolutely. all right. your moment of the year. let's watch. >> my name is ed snowden. i'm 29. and i worked for booz allen hamilton as an infrastructure all analyst for ns a. >> there is no question this is the policy story of the year. the disclosures what snowden made about the scope and breadth of surveillance by the nsa have really changed the way we talk about surveillance in this condition and were changed for the better or worse, the debate that we're having about competing privacy and national defense. and this could head to the supreme court. so next year i think the nsa story will certainly still be driving headlines, as well.

>> i have to ask both of you where you think this is going next, first jason and then robert. >> i don't think this is going to end. i think what is important is anybody who has ever been a political dissident knows the u.s. government has been spying on people for years. but i think snowden put a middle class understandable face on the story. and i think now it's the suburbs where people are saying is the government following what i'm doing on netflix and who i'm texting. so i think this will matter to both republicans and democrats moving forward. and that's a good thing for this country. >> robert? >> i agree with jason. let me also quote winston churchill. this is not the end, this is not the beginning of the end, but this is the end of the beginning. what mr. snowden did is he's a tra traitor. he put every single one of our lives in jeopardy. what he did was tdespicable.

>> up next, we have the must read sundays with sex, facial air, and politics. did you get chips for the party? nope. [ ding ] cheese plate? cheese plate. no, i made something better. you used the oven? boom. [ male announcer ] pillsbury crescents. make the holidays pop. ♪ i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is!

plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. hey there, i just got my bill, and i see that it includes my fico® credit score. yup, you get it free each month to help you avoid surprises with your credit. good. i hate surprises. surprise! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card and see your fico® credit score. stick with innovation. stick with power. stick with technology. get the new flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare.

nice. i want to go there. don't you guys? that is honest you lieu you lieu, everyone. waikiki beach. the president is there enjoying his family vacation. that is where our nbc correspondents are stationed. a nice life. i'm going out into the rain as soon as i finish here. anyway, let's get to the big three must reads. jason, what is yours? >> from discover magazine, how the male/female ratio affects sex, facial hair. when we have have an imbalance n and women, it changes our politics. more women, we get liberal politics. they tend to be more educated. more men than women, we have an

increase in more conservative politics. and now we have for the first time in about 50 years a balance, which will change which will change voting. >> it makes sense. thank you for explaining that. robert, what is yours? >> the "new york times" has great story about west virginia and the politics of west virginia. and although it is an overwhelming democratic state, the president does not poll very well there as well as the leading senate candidate on the democratic side, it's not polling very well there. so an interesting read because it talks about the cultural differences between west virginia and the rest of the country. and someone told me that you had a beach house in hawaii. are we invited? >> no, but if i did, you'd be invited. >> and mine is a read on benghazi, it goes past the politics and gets right into the

far reaching implications of what happened on september 11th, 2012. >> okay, guy, thank you and happiny new year. i wish you all a very happy new year. i'll look forward to see you next year. ♪ ♪ we're gonna need a bigger bucket. ♪ [ male announcer ] more people are leaving bmw, mercedes and lexus for audi than ever before. the holidays won't last and neither will the season of audi. visit audioffers.com today. ♪

breaking news, a bombshell report in the "new york times" could change the debate over the deadly attack on benghazi in 2012, one of the hot political topics of this year. from nbc news in washington, the world's longest running television program, this is "meet the press" with david gregory. and good sunday morning. happy holidays. the "new york times" concludes there was no involvement by al qaeda in the attack that killed four americans, including u.s. ambassador christopher stephens. they also said the attack was in part fueled by anger over an american-made video critical of