north of boston. while the snow was tapering off, frigid temperatures aren't going anywhere, they're just getting worse. dangerous wind chills are knee and below zero from philadelphia up to maine, and boston schools and new york city were closed. and while bill said that roads were treacherous. >> don't be on the roads today if you can help it. if you do not need to travel today, please stay home. >> the storm created a travel night mire. jfk airport halted flights this morning, and 4,000 flights cancelled today and today. and the new york governor closed the highways with the blizzard conditions. and a cold front could bring the coldest temperatures ever reported to chicago. we'll get live reports on both of the storm systems coming up.

but turning to application, when congress returns, they'll tackle unemployment benefits. an issue they failed to address before the break. the disregard against the unemployed may stop when they hold a vote to continue the benefits for 1.3 million americans. the white house pressed for action. >> we can prevent a lot of hardship and a lot of these families from going through a gap. there's a real, historic problem with long-term unemployment. and this is the least we can do. >> and thomas perez noted hypocrisy in arguments that the extension be offset by spending cuts. it's limited to when democrats occupy the white house. >> historically, chris, when ronald reagan extended emergency benefits in the recession of

'81, the republicans in congress weren't demanding an offset. when george bush in 2008, that wasn't the demand. >> republicans accuse democrats of throwing more money the a the unemployment problem. but where are the solutions on the right? the position of republicans in washington is rather strange. less a moral or economic argument than indifference. they are accused of regurgitating the same talking points regardless of it. they favor the same set of economic policies when it's weak and strong. unemployment high and low. conservatives believe there's nothing in particular the government should do about economic cycles. this is a big problem. they argue that the problem is not so much there are no ideas on the right, but republicans in congress are unwilling to embrace any of them. and as for monday's vote, senate majority leader harry reid says

they will find the five republican votes for the extension. he describes the house as a black hole of legislation. and executive editor of msnbc.com. and the brilliant josh barrow, and host of disrupt, the equally brilliant karen finney. you were laughing out of pride. you're right. the republicans, we are in a post-policy feerd for the republican party. there are institutions that generate ideas, they have the enterprise institute and other conservative idea-generating institutions, but somehow the politicians that serve them in washington aren't interested in the ideas. is that it? >> yes. it's not they're without policy. they favor lower taxes and less regulation. and the smaller government. but the thing is they push those ideas at all times and have a

theory about why to grow the economy, lower taxes give incentive to produce. although tax rates have to get quite high for that to matter a lot. the economic theory si says nothing about the labor market being slack. people find nobody will hire them because there are three job applicants for every job. or the depth of the recession. the agenda doesn't have anything to say about that. you see the kernels of the ideas at american enterprise institute. we should have programs to encourage employers to have job sharing like in germany. keep people in employment and have a government program to help them out because their hours are duty cut. people have ideas on what the reserve should be doing to stimulate growth. but doesn't get through at all. they give out the same messages

in 2008 and 2004 when the economic differences were different. >> it's cut regulations in good times and bad. it's out there. there's -- they have the economic ideas to fix long-term unemployment. one will be to lower the minimum wage for businesses so they could hire the long-term unemployed. relocation of workers who are willing to move. as josh mentioned, work sharing. lowering the minimum wage, and an earned income tax credit. put them out there, but they never find their way into policy-making in washington. >> we're talking not about a policy problem in the senate. this is a bipartisan vote, it's in the house. they aren't dealing with policy, it's the politics of obstruction. that's working up to a point, but not for the long-term unemployed. it's not unique to this country, and the problem is most of the

issues, talking about wage prices, the minimum wage ideas or even work sharing. they don't really affect the long-term unemployed because they are a special category. >> right. >> what happens when you become unemployed for an extended period of time, the skills are no longer what the employers are looking for, never mind the job competition. it needs a long-term solution that requires investment in training and retraining. that's not something either party is talking about. they don't have the appetite to put the money up. the three-month extension of benefits. as opposed to tens and hundreds of millions of dollars going into training in each individual state where the long-term unemployment is a particular problem. >> the president talked about training and in the last state of the union and trying to replicate certain programs. the problem is it's the politics, not the policy. when you're having the same conversation over and over again

with john boehner and ted cruz, and the answer is no. there's only so much you can do. ironically, some of the ideas, investing in infrastructure used to be supported by republicans, but barack obama says it be with and we can't do that without an offset. part of the problem is, so much of this is about the politics of obstruction and the idea it would give obama a win. rather than just a pure messaging stand point, i don't understand why the republicans don't say let's all get credit. you can say we created jobs. >> what's frustrating, josh, is it does seem even an unemployment extension of three months becomes an exercise in futility. to the points, no one is tackling the longer term problem you have to get the economy to generate jobs. but at the same time, the economy is losing jobs, there are figures out showing that just one week of people losing

these jobless benefits is going to cost $408 million, that's money they can't spend into the economy. ongoing damage is being done, and we're never getting to debate how to change the structural problems that are causing unemployment. >> it's unfortunate. the fortunate thing it while it's a terrible time, it's less terrible than a year ago. because we have had a significant, though insufficient improvement in the labor market. it might knock .2% off gdp growth, which is negative, but not a disaster. >> but it's a disaster -- >> it's going to be the kind of thing that as it keeps rolling out, it'll affect more people and communities, who's fault? obama's fault all over again. >> he got at something important, neither republicans or democrats have an answer to, we have this increasingly structural problem with the long-term unemployed.

the harder to get back into work. six months of unemployment benefits versus two years will alleviate a lot of human misery and delay the problem. but not back in the labor market when they expire. i think the reason we rely on that it two, it's hard to get the job training right. the federal government is very good at writing checks. it's not that good at figuring out any given sector what's the training -- >> if we have training, infrastructure spending could happen. you could do things if people were willing to spend money. >> the president has the state of the union. pick up ideas for instance about community colleges that give the work place training. and say let's come together here, this is a problem we didn't invent as democrats or republicans, but it is a legry of the great rescission. have job retaining that involves

some kind of extension. but extension of benefits is not where you want to be. not permanent benefits, they want permanent jobs. get the training and employer incentives right. you have to have stopgap measures for people. >> he will need a partner with congress to do that. he talked about that last year and the year before. >> as soon as president obama says he's for job training, it's marxism. >> right. >> right. coming up. more on the winter weather and how some cities are digging out and preparing for the bitter cold. a live report from the hardest hit areas and a live report from our meteorologist. 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.

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we are continuing to follow the impact of the massive winter storm in the northeast. snowfall in boston broke a 100-year record, dropping more than 10 inches yesterday alone. and just to show how cold it is, this is a photo of a frozen fire truck in foxborough, massachusetts. and joining us is bill to look at what to expect in the coming days. but first to the weather channel's mike seidel in boston. how is the cleanup going? >> it's fine. these are the professionals. the snow ended a few hours ago, it lightened up before sunrise. and the downtown streets, slushy. easy to get around. schools closed, state employees not in, a lot of businesses didn't open. a few folks from the south shore

off the ferry. this is a slack rush hour, and the holiday period. temperatures warmed up a little bit. down to zero, down to 1, up to 9. the wind chill warmed up, it's not 21 below, it's 8 below. and the wind has backed off. it's not quite as windy. it was over 40 miles an hour, now just over 20 miles an hour. the sunshine, not going to warm things up, low to the mid teens. tomorrow morning, the forecast low, 4 below zero will tie the record in boston. but then the big warmup on the weekend. sunday and monday, because the next storm is going to go up to the west. that's going to bring warm air up the coast and temperatures in new york and boston are going to be in the 40s to near 50. but get set for maybe even a colder air mass tuesday and wednesday. to so it goes up and right back down. back to you.

>> thanks so much, weather channel's mike seidel. we just learned minnesota is cancelling schools due to the temperatures. >> that's something for minnesota. they're hardy folk. >> exactly. what else in the midwest and the plains? >> what's next? sunday in the plains and somebody we haven't done no 20 years within incredible arctic outbreak in minnesota. this is going to get your attention. nor'easter rating up into the north atlantic, say good-bye, and a calm period. not a fun day of shoveling, but the winds are dying and the sun is out. do it before it refreezes. a little bit of snow, st. louis, chicago, once again, and detroit and cleveland, more snow for you, but it's behind that, it's a historic cold outbreak. i mean, the temperatures that are forecasted, some of them haven't happened in city's

histories before. maybe like chicago, detroit, toledo, areas that are typically cold, maybe one of the coldest recorded in those cities. the these are the wind chills, sunday morning, the arctic blast through fargo and worse from here. sunday afternoon, even during the day, the temperature the continue to drop, minus 37 wind chills. that's heading for chicago, detroit, and that football game in green bay, dealing with temperatures well below zero too. so we're not done. winter, looks like it's here to stay for a while. >> i think santa might want to relocate. >> i think he did relocate. rudolph's nose went out. >> thanks so much. appreciate it. meteorologist bill. and coming up, new reports suggest speaker john boehner is embracing immigration reform.

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♪ frankly, i just think that they've lost all credibility. if you recall, the day before the government reopened, one of the people -- one of these groups stood up and said we never really thought it would work. are you kidding me? >> that is the best boehner ever. call it the new john boehner, taking on the tea party idealogues, he's now signaling potential support for immigration reform. last month he hired rebecca talent, a long-time adviser to john mccain who worked with democrats in 2003 and 2007. house republicans could fast track legalization for

agricultural labors, increase the number of visas and provide an opportunity for young immigrants to become american citizens. don't expect to see a path to citizenship on the house floor any time soon. his ability to get the bill through will be his willingness to buck the conservative tea party caucus and convince the democrats. boehner basically said smaller is better. >> the american people are skeptical of big, comprehensive bills. and they should be. we have to address the complicated issues one step at a time. >> or as one republican aid described the delicate dance, they won't try to push through something that conservatives can't work with. we have former arizona congressman jim colby. thank you for being here.

you worked with miss talent before. what does that hire signal about boehner's willingness to move on immigration reform? >> she brings intelligence and knowledge and experience on this topic. i think it's a clear signal that the speaker's going to move on this issue. somebody -- a metaphor i heard, the general hasn't given the army the order move, but the army is in place. the troops are moving forward, the logistics, the bills are being written, the committees are moving, the calendars being cleared. i think the speaker's going to move on this. >> in 2003, she helped draft a major immigration bill that you co-sponsored. what is the difference in the atmosphere in the house in particular between then and now? what's changed? >> well, i think the change in the house of representatives -- the change is a very profound one, and that is that i think

republicans now decided they really want to clear the decks. get this issue off the table. and they know they really need to do something. they want to do it in small increme increments, that's what the speaker said, but one large bill for the president to sign it. a self-enacting bill to put all the separate bills together and send it back to the senate. but i think they're going to do them quickly all in a week or a few couple of weeks. so quite quickly. >> and the panel, karen, does that sound plausible they would do it step by step and put it together at the end? >> i could see them trying to do that. i don't think overall that's going to work. when you're crafting legislation, it's the little pieces that pull this way and that way, that's how the sausage gets made. so the scepticism is, if i let you do this and that little piece and lose my path to citizenship, i have no leverage to say i'll give you a path to

citizenship if you give me more border security. >> right. that's why the activists are wary of the idea of the piecemeal approach. >> and they'll say they'll pass just border security and leave out all the things important to democrats. i was surprised there was an interesti interest in doing a dream act like bill. that's not popular with the base. >> if it is a piecemeal approach that doesn't deal with the biggest piece, it's not going to go anywhere. if this is a face-saving measure where tea party republicans said i didn't vote for this, but did for these other things. that's a different picture. but it's a messy conference situation where all of the really ugly work of sausage making has to happen, things will go back for one vote. that's where the sausage falls apart. >> and i'm skeptical as to

whether the political incentives now are any different. they might be worse than they were in 2003. base is dead set against what they say is amnesty. i'm curious whether this makes political sense for republicans. there's primaries to get re-elected in a year. >> i think a halfway piecemeal approach is the worst political way for republicans to go. they will annoy their base which does not want any of the components of immigration reform except border security, and won't satisfy advocates. what's been outlined, you have a guest worker program, and high school visas, and dream act that affects people who came to the u.s. when they were young. you don't have a solution for the vast majority of people in the country who need a solution for them. i think republicans, if they take the approach, can alienate everybody. you could have something where the former congressman

describes, you could have a broad legalization as part of it, and that might satisfy the activists. and the democrats take the deal. but that's a tall order for most of the republican members of the house. >> i want to get the congressman in on the point. there is a deep resistance in the republican base, hasn't changed, to anything that looks like amnesty. speaking to josh's point, is this truly feasible or the thinking part of the party or we need this to fix our demographic probl problems? >> it's feasible. they can't pass all the bills or a comprehensive bill with a large number of democrats and others, large number of republicans and some democrats. a single vote, a single vote on a comprehensive piece.

it's going to have legalization that's far beyond the dream act we're talking about today. include something for those who are not yet citizens. >> but i think the key point to what the congressman just said, there are going -- john boehner is going to have to rely on nancy pelosi to get democrat votes. in the past he hasn't been comfortable doing that. if this is the new backbone from john boehner, that's great. and depending on what's in the bill in the path to legalization, that's where the senate side will weigh in. if they don't think it's real. >> we play that sound, which is fun to hear from john boehner, but signalled something real, boehner has to decide between the old sort of commanding interest of the party, big business, that wants immigration reform, and the new commanding interest, the tea party and the outside groups. he's signalled that he's made a choice. or has he? >> he has.

but doesn't mean it will continue. >> he made a choice for a minute. >> he made a choice -- >> scary -- >> back on that choice. and this is a very ad hoc arrangement going on, it will be great for everyone if what the former congressman outlines is going to be enacted. it would be great for republicans to say we are more open-minded about what kind of voters to reach out to and who constitutes what this country looks like. but so many challenges along the way here. and the speaker has negotiated positions, outlined very strong positions and caved because his fellow leadership disappears when he turns around. let's see if they can hold together. >> and we have been talking about a house, josh, and the senate isn't the senate anymore. you have people like ted cruz who combine to blow up legislation just like in the house. even if it were to make it through the house, ted cruz wants to run for president as

the far right wing conservative. could this get blown up in the senate too? >> ted cruz would complain, but there are votes for immigration reform, they passed it through the senate. it was 70 votes all told? >> yea. >> there's deep support for this. the real challenge is the house. and you have seen john boehner stand up to tea party groups for a specific reason. the shutdown, it was a political disaster. they lost ten points in the je nearic ballot polling. and they can lose an election because they can lose by seven or eight nationally. they have clawed back because of the obamacare mess. you have that, and then the shutdown actually interfering with other substantive policy goals. they lost ground because they picked this fight. he had to stand up there. i don't know the impetus to pick another fight with them over immigration reform and for people currently here without

authorization. the gop would like it. i don't think they are as passionate as the republicans stopping breaking everything. >> i want to give the congressman the last word. >> just look around you, and you'll see those fire brands, the activists on the republican side have receded into the background. boehner would not center hired becky talent and she wouldn't have taken the job if he was not determined to move this. there are five republican bills on the legalization issue. a lot of movement behind the scenes. >> jim colby, your mouth to john boehner's ear. thank you so much. after the break, after more than -- more than a decade after it opened, guantanamo bay has more than 150 detainees, but president obama may be getting closer to his goal of closing the prison. we'll discuss when the executive director of amnesty international usa joins us next.

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it's been nearly 12 years since the first prisoners arrived at american prison in guantanamo bay. only seven of the nearly 800 detainees who passed through have been convicted by military commission and one tried in civilian court. of the 155 detainees who are there today, nearly half, 76 of them have been cleared for transfer or release. and yet the prison remains open. perhaps not indefinitely. possibly responding to pressure after over 100 prisoners went on hunger strike earlier this year, in 2013, they released some. and sent prisoners home to saudi arabia and sudan. and last week in a significant milestone per the pentagon, they

sent three detainees to slovakia. and now president obama signed a law that eased transfer restrictions on detainees who were never charged and cleared to leave. it's the first step to ease the hurdles since president obama took office. he called it a, step, but said the continued operation of the facility weakens national security by draining resourcing, damaging our relationships with key partners and emboldening extremists. joining us now is steven haw king s from amnesty international. what are the remaining barriers to closing it? >> the remaining barriers are simply that the president should move to transfer out those 76 people who have already been

cleared for release as you mentioned. and then with the remainders, the president is going to have to press congress to allow for fair trials on american soil with respect to these deday niece. and they cannot simply be moved to some other facility somewhere else in the world and continue to be held indefinitely. that would just continue to violate their human rights and the values that we hold as a society. >> but you say they have been cleared to be transferred out, but to where? isn't one of the issues, there has to be a country willing to take them. the detainees not from slovakia, but that's where they went. there just isn't a country willing to take them? >> the united states has made progress in negotiations, several countries. and clearly they have to go to a country that's going to respect

their human rights. so much work still has to be done, but there are active negotiations going on with respect to those detainees. >> bring you back out to the panel, isn't that the conundrum, let them out, they have somewhere to go. congressal rules, can't bring them here, and in another prison, they would be imprisoned indefinitely. it's not an obvious answer. >> that's why he's stuck. not wanting to keep the prison open, but it's the least bad of political options available. and restrictions imposed through congress. i think that's why it's persisted for so long. >> the other issue too, a lot of where the detainees are, the majority are in yemen, 17

afgha afghanis, and ten saudis and on from there. and by and large, potentially transferring a people back into countries that are not necessarily considered to be bastions of stability. >> the argument is if you send them back, will they go back to fighting. go back and pick up the fight against the united states all over again. in some instances, suggesting that's the case and others, that's not the case. the biggest problem for the president, he's ham strung by what you talked about in terms of congress won't let him do one thing, if you're having trouble negotiating to put them somewhere else, that's another problem. and don't to want put them in another prison, that's another issue. i hope he will talk about it at the state of the union. it's a long time. and he campaigned ton vigorously and talked about. and it's a stain in american history i think. >> and he didn't just campaign

on, but took action on immediately. a couple days after the inauguration, there was an executive order to close the prison. shortly after that, you had a vote in congress about funding the transfer of detainees, almost all the democrats voted against it too. and republicans passed more legislation to block, you know, the transfer them to the u.s. no to illinois, no to new york. it's no, no, no, and bipartisan nos. >> and that's important. it's not the policy issues. we know the end game. and president bush, john mccain, they want to close guantanamo. it's the politics of fear. and the president himself -- he's not just been hamstrung, he hasn't wanted to take this on. this is like the nsa debate as well. people are so worried, including the president, that something

might happen, and therefore the established security apparatus, it's the nsa or want counterterrorist forces, don't want the politics to bite you. until we have the courage from the president on down to say the risks are tiny here. the idea of having a mainland trial is not going to pose a significant terrorist threat, we are prepared to defend the country in those circumstances. that's what needs to happen for the congress to say we'll blame the president if anything happens and hide behind him. someone needs to say they have taken it on and move beyond the politics of fear. >> the recidivism right is less than 5%, other studies say maybe 16%. it's not the statistics, it's the political will. focus on the president, any advocacy to get that same

movement no congress by the aclu, that's where the legislative power has to come from. >> the amnesty, aclu and other groups are active in a lobby in congress. but, yes, we have to get beyond the politics of fear. and the notion of continuing to hold people who have been cleared for release because of fear that they might also go out and commit some further act. you know, imagine if we were to hold everybody in the united states who we feared would commit some further crime. we are not a society that's -- that -- that is geared in that way. and -- and this fundamental violation of their human rights to a fair trial has to -- has to be resolved, and we're

confident, hopeful that the president will. >> all right, amnesty international usa, steven hawkins, thank you. >> thank you. >> while parts of the country brace for a round of potentially life threatening cold, other areas face treacherous roads and maddening travel delays. a report next. you're comfortable here. it's where you email, shop, even bank. but are you too comfortable? these days crime can happen in a few keystrokes. american express can help protect you.

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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. ♪ the year's first big snowstorm is already being blamed for nine deaths in the eastern part of the country. the associate press reporting fatal crashes in michigan, kentucky, indiana and illinois. it's creating havoc for airline travel. more than 2,000 flights cancelled today. and the flight aware misery map, showing long delays in chicago, d.c. and new york. and joining us now is craig melvin. how is new york responding, you look warm and bundled up.

>> reporter: looks can be receiving. it's different than central park two or three hours ago. take a look behind me. it's actually fairly normal for friday afternoon this time of year. you have a number of dog walkers, a lot of tourists. we have seen a number of kids enjoying sleds here. there's a skier, you see this guy over here, that skier. we have seen a lot of folks bringing their skis out. about three hours ago, the wind, the snow, had kept a lot of folks inside. the temperature was about 15 degrees. it's climbed to a balmy 22 here in central park. how about 5 inches of snow here, 10 inches of snow in the outer boroughs and the suburbs. the story is the bitter cold. the wind chill right now we're told is somewhere between 10 and 15 degrees.

it's going to get a lot colder for a lot of folks in this part of the country. and those temperatures are expected to remain for the next 24 hours, 36 hours. transportation was a huge issue this morning. one of the largest and busiest airports, jfk international shut down and didn't open until 10:30 or 11:00. it's going to take a while to get them caught up newark, laguardia, also affected. no power outages, but folks just starting to dig out and recover. >> you make an important point about the cold. that's the important thing. and after the break, the obama administration responds to a supreme court order blocking a provision under the affordable care act. the details, next. id arthritis,, and you're talking to your rheumatologist

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this morning in response supreme court justice's order temporarily stopping the health care law's contraceptive mandate for a group of nuns, they have asked for religious groups to not get a temporary exemption. now that the justice department responded, either the justice or the the rest of the supreme court will decide if it will be extended. this isn't the only legal challenge to the obama administration when it comes to the health care law. yesterday, 11 conservative attorney generals wrote a latetr saying they were breaking the law by not going through congress. the colorado nuns were seeking an exemption they have.

>> i should do my disclaimer, i'm on naral, pro-choice america. they believe that by signing the paper -- that's how convoluted it is, that's giving essential permission or exemption -- or accepting someone working for them going to get contraception. >> so the freedom of religion argument, i'm wonder, if that becomes an issue of the court, how would the court decide an issue like that? the exemption is built into the law, it's a form of violating their liberties they're saying. >> a lot of different decisions the court will make. it's important to note, it's not the first amendment, it's the religious freedom act, that gives them exemption from the laws unless the government meets certain tests about why to impose the rules.

i think the law is vulnerable. the case that hobby lobby, where the owner said we don't want to give this, they have a religious exemption. they point out, and the appeals court say there are a great number of exemptions, including for a grandfathered plan that predates the law whether or not they have an objection. if they can get exemptions, why not us? it's likely the whole thing will not be applied. >> and quickly on the attorney generals, a lot of the exemptions by the executive branch, kansas, ohio, louisiana, saying it's illegal. >> it's preposterous. they must recognize that. i think the pope will give a waiver on contraception before the supreme court decides. >> on signing the form at least. >> with this pope? come on. >> he's the greatest pope. >> it's for profit companies versus the nonprofit. and the rights of the individual

versus the rights of the institution. >> it seems hobby lobby is more contentious. they're a private company with a religious founder. >> for profit. >> for profit. >> and unlike the group, they don't have an existing way out, they are legally required to provide the coverage unless ruled in their favor. >> so the test for the affordable care act, having more teeth in a legal sense. something for the right to fight. >> it's been discussed and for the moral waivers to put the moral waiver into the insurance companies. it's been laid out, will the sprout take this up. >> thank you for coming out on a snowy friday. and watch karen on disrupt at 4:00 p.m. eastern. alex returns at noon eastern from burr bank, california.

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>>. >> reporter: i just need a pair of skis. this would be such a fun ride. >> new york all over the city, be in the same snow, i wanted to to be here and do what i do. >> right now, the big dig. from the midwest to the northeast, millions are shoveling out from the new year's first majority winter storm. from chicago to new york to boston slammed with more than a foot of now, and biting winds and bringing airports to a standstill. but get ready for round two, the ark tick blast to follow. the mercury will fall to sub zero temperatures. the forecast for chicago, a bone-chilling negative 8 degrees on monday. >> it is freezes out, it is freezing. >> i'm layered up, four pairs of pants and four sweatshirts. so i'm cold.

and good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. from the midwest to the northeast people are digging out from the powerful winter blast that left almost two feet inform snow in parts of new england. it headed out to sea, but not before disrupting the lives of millions of people. bone-chilling temperatures, bad streets and delays at the busiest airports. we have full team coverage, and we begin with craig melvin in central park. >> reporter: a good day to you. this is a different scene in central park. different than it was two or three hours ago. take a look behind me, see people milling about in the park, a common sight in new york city. lots of dog walkers, joggers, a number of kids on ed