so ditch your dishcloth and switch to a fresh sheet of bounty duratowel. look! a fresh sheet of bounty duratowel leaves this surface cleaner than a germy dishcloth, as this black light reveals. it's for everyday surfaces where dishcloths deposit germs. and only bounty duratowel is clinically proven to be 3 times cleaner. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to bounty duratowel. the durable, cloth-like picker-upper. it's really cold. it's really freezing. i hate it. i wish it was gone already. >> it doesn't bother me. i don't mind it at all. >> beautiful place in july. but this time of the year, it's tough. >> a 1-2 punch. good saturday afternoon. i'm craig melvin. you're watching msnbc. america on ice. right now, millions are dealing

with record low temperatures as they dig out from record snowfall. we are live on the ground in boston. we also have your weather channel forecast. no sign of stopping. a court rules the government can keep spying on your phone records. now a republican senator is suing. also ahead -- >> you are number one. >> colorado's mellow rollout. how's the bold marijuana experiment going so far? what's next for other states? we'll talk live with a denver city councilman. from religion to same-sex marriage to women's rights, the big cases headed to the supreme court this year. and miss amazing, a teenager puts on a pageant for the disabled. how today's big idea is about much more than beauty. a whole heck of a lot to get to. but we start with the record low temperatures, brutal cold front is bringing some of the harshest weather this country has seen in nearly 30 years.

millions are still digging out from that massive winter storm that's killed at least 13 people so far. snow was not the only problem in new jersey. parts of atlantic city flooded. the nation's airports are still trying to recover from the storm. 900 flights have been canceled today. nearly 2,800 more have been delayed. massachusetts was one of the hardest-hit areas. they got nearly two feet of snow in some parts of that state. msnbc's richard lui has been braving the temperatures in beantown. richard, what's it like there today? >> reporter: craig, good day to you. you know the difference from this morning till now, huge. it was negative 1 at 7:00 a.m. here in boston. it's now 21 degrees. folks are loving it. they are out and about enjoying the day. and what's great about the fact that the weather is better is that they can begin to start cleaning up the streets. it's going to be a lot easier.

you can probably hear some of the activity that's going on around me. they have the shovels out. they have the brushers out cleaning up everything. the difference, though, that they're concerned about at this moment is that the windchill factor is about 9 degrees. if i could not be wearing what i'm wearing now, i would not. but it is still chilly enough to be concerned about that. now, what they are saying is, remember, this is massachusetts general burn unit saying, remember, all you have to do is be out there for three minutes before you get frostbite. take a listen. >> within about three minutes with a windchill the way it is now, you can start to get damage to the skin. if you're not appropriately covered. >> in three minutes? >> roughly three minutes. >> reporter: now the other concern that they've got is the roofs and how much snow there are on them at the moment. we've been looking at this pile over the last two days. this pile is a good representation. this stuff is probably per cubic

foot about five pounds. when it gets wet, it could be 25 pounds. so those roofs might start to cave in. and one of the great things when we're looking at this, this is the snow they've got at the moment, this is great champagne powder. but this is what they like even more. it's this sound. because it's melting. the salt's working now. they're coming back. and with 20-degree weather today and 40 tomorrow and then 50 on monday, they're looking a lot better here as they go through what is being called the big dig for now. >> another big dig, so to speak there. richard lui, thank you so much. we'll check in and talk about just precisely how cold it is going to get for other parts of this country coming up in just a few moments. we'll get a forecast. topping the saturday headlines right now, former first lady barbara bush has been released from a hospital in houston. bush was first admitted on monday for treatment for pneumonia. after being released, the 88-year-old thanked her doctor

and said she's looking forward to getting back to her husband and their dogs. a military convoy has come under attack in kabul, afghanistan. security forces say the fuel convoy was hit by an explosion near the entrance of a nato compound. so far at this point, there are no reports of injuries or damage. meanwhile, al qaeda-linked militants have claimed control of the western iraqi city of falluj fallujah. fallujah, the site of two of the bloodiest battles in the iraq war where more than 140 americans were killed. with more now on the fall of fallujah and the growing fight over surveillance and what to do about edward snowden, david rhode and david allen. david, how significant is it that al qaeda forces are claiming to have regained control of fallujah? >> it's very significant.

you mentioned 140 americans dying to liberate those cities. what is the strategy in the middle east? you've got bombings in lebanon, fighting in iraq now. and we're sort of focused on nsa surveillance here and who's to blame for benghazi? where's the strategy for how to deal with these growing militants? >> what happened in fallujah? how did we lose it? >> it's a probably with the iraqi government. the iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki who's a shiite, she's not sharing power with sunnis. so tribesmen turned against the government. it's a divide spreading across the region. is there more we can do. i don't think we should send troops. that's not the answer. but diplomatically, can we arm some of these tribesmen that are fighting al qaeda? there are some local tribes that don't like al qaeda. when al qaeda retakes towns in iraq, the population actually loathes living underneath them. the same thing is happening in

northern syria. how can we help local groups living in the region? >> john, what have we heard from the white house in regards to the fall of fallujah? >> marie harf put out a statement referring to the bar barbarrism. >> let's talk about the other top story today, the s insa. the agency won permission from a secret court to continue collecting americans' phone record and data. most of us learned of this program thanks to the leaks from edward snowden. in an exclusive interview with "meet the press" set to air tomorrow, janet napolitano weighed in on the recent calls

for clemency. take a listen to what she said. >> if we're concerned about other documents, other material that he has, as "the new york times" suggested, should clemency for him be on the table if it meant securing some of this other information? >> i think that would require more intimate knowledge of what he allegedly has. but i would not put clemency on the table at all. >> how realistic is the possibility that edward snowden ends up back in this country this year? >> i think over time, it's more and more possible. i think the white house is on the wrong side of this issue. i think as more and more leaks happen, as there's more prove that james clapper, the head of the nsa, how he lied to congress about this, he made false statements. the leaks showed he was lying, the nsa is not telling the american public -- members of congress need to be happy with that. i think more and more people in the u.s., the average person is going to be more and more outraged by this. so i'll be interested to see

what happens in the months ahead. >> john, republican senator rand paul says he's filing a lawsuit against the obama administration after the nsa's data collection. take a listen. >> we now have several hundred thousand people who want to be part of this suit to say to the government and to the nsa, no, you can't have our records without our permission or without a warrant specific to an individual. so it's kind of an unusual class action suit in the sense that we think everybody in america who has a cell phone would be eligible for this class action suit. >> how far could this go, john, or is this just rand paul pandering? >> i think the supreme court is going to make a decision at some point. maybe not immediately. but there have been several lawsuits already, some that made their way through the district courts going to appellate courts and eventually will end up at the supreme court to make a decision about the shape of this program and whether the spying programs as it's -- actually several programs, whether they are infringing on americans'

liberty under the fourth amendment or under other parts of the kogs. >> i want to come back to something you said about edward snowden. sounds like you're saying you think he's a whistle-blower? >> i do. i think as time goes by, people are going to be upset at this. there was one judge that ruled it illegal. another said it's legal. that every phone call any citizen makes inside the united states is recorded and held by the u.s. government. >> but all of snowden's leaks have not dealt with domestic surveillance and domestic spying. >> true. there's been some about how we're spying on other leaders. it really hurt our relationship with germany. politically this is going to become more and more of a problem for the administration. barack obama has embraced secrecy, nsa drone strikes, that's not what he promised when he came into office. and there's an american suspicion of government. republicans talk about it all the time. that's what rand paul is playing on. i think this is going to be an issue and snowden will be seen

more and more as a whistle-blower as time goes by. >> big thanks to both of you. happy new year to you as well. >> happy new year, craig. a right to life? after doctors refused treatment saying she was brain dead, a family wins their fight to move a 13-year-old girl to a new facility. it is a clash very similar to the terry schiavo case from 2005. we'll talk live to schiavo's brother. and also later, paying it forward. a man spends christmas eve as a panhandler but gives an unbelievable surprise in return. it's a great story. straight ahead, ford more years. how toronto's crack-smoking mayor rob ford is now being import lized. tt

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first came the snow, now comes the cold.

dangerously cold temperatures are blanketing a huge swath of this country. in some places, it's expected to get as cold at 30 below zero. let's head live now to the weather channel's keith carson for a forecast. what are we looking at, especially in the upper plains? >> yeah, craig, this is some historic cold in spots and it's all in the wake of a storm system that's moving right now through parts of the great lakes. we have winter storm warnings in effect. we are going to see some snow out of this. the colder air will be a part of the equation, the bigger part. the low is going to move out of here out of the south. we'll see a pretty good swath of snow from chicago all the way into indianapolis. good 5 to 8 inches of snow there. and then behind it is where that cold air is going to kind of drain in. good news for some cities on the east coast of new york, boston, that got hit by this last winter storm. it will actually be raining for them as we head into sunday night and monday. see all the green air, warm air pouring in around boston and pure rain. but the story behind it will be

the cold air moving into the northeast and plains as well. here's your snowfall forecast. a widespread 8 to 12 inches. we think chicago will be right around 8 or 9 inches of snow. then trailing off to around 1 to 3. but craig nailed the story. it's cold that even places like minnesota haven't seen in 10 or 15 years. take a look at these forecast lows. minus 35. tuesday morning, minus 20 in minneapolis. minus 16 in chicago. chicago at some point won't see temperatures get above zero. it's been a while since they did that even for highs. when you add to that the windchill, minus 48 is what it will look like on monday morning. that's what it will feel like in fargo. minneapolis, minus 43. minus 43 in chicago. there's cold and then there's dangerously cold. that's what's coming into the northern plains to start the workweek. >> crazy cold. keith, thank you so much. do appreciate you. the battle between the

family of 13-year-old jahi mcmath in children's hospital in oakland may be coming to an end. both sides reached an agreement after a court hearing that would allow jahi's mother to remove her daughter from that facility. that's as long as her mother takes full responsibility for jahi. the girl's family continues to insist that she's still alive despite the fact that doctors have declared her brain dead. they did that last month due to complications from a tonsillectomy. the family's attorney calls this agreement an important first step. >> what we needed to know is that when all the balls are in line, that we could move quickly and not have to then have any impediments so that we all understood what the protocol was and there would be no argument about how it would proceed or no unpleasantries at the hospital. >> bobby shindler is the brother

of terry schiavo. thanks for coming by the studio. i want to remind folks about your sister, folks who may not be as familiar of the story of terry schiavo. they became essentially the face of the right to die debate in this country about nine years ago when her husband and your family battled over whether to keep her on life support. how have you and your organization helped counsel the mcmath family in this particular case? >> well, what we're talking about -- it's different from what we're dealing with now with jahi. but we're helping jahi's family rather than advising or counseling them. we're doing everything we can with our team to try and find a facility that will take jahi -- >> i want to stop you. we're having some trouble with your microphone. i want to take a quick break. we're going to come back and get this microphone situation straightened out. we'll pick up the conversation after that. irst floor bedroom in tallinn, estonia

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feet...splashing. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage your ra, now may be the time to ask about xeljanz. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz is an ra medicine that can enter cells and disrupt jak pathways, that comes with ra. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. don't start xeljanz if you have any kind of infection, unless ok with your doctor. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz, and routinely check certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you have been to a region

where certain fungal infections are common, and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, and if you are pregnant, or plan to be. taken twice daily, xeljanz can reduce the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe ra, even without methotrexate. ask if xeljanz is right for you. this is the creamy chicken corn chowder. i mean, look at it. so indulgent. did i tell you i am on the... [ both ] chicken pot pie diet! me too! [ male announcer ] so indulgent, you'll never believe they're light. 100-calorie progresso light soups. bobby shindler is back.

the brother of the late terry schiavo. also a member of the terry schiavo life and hope network. we were talking about jahi mcmath. you have been advising the mcmath family during this ordeal. i feel like we should remind folks about your sister. folks who may not be as familiar with terry schiavo. she became the face of the right to die vote about nine years ago when her husband and your family battled over whether to keep her on life support. how have you and your organization been counseling the mcmath family? >> terry's life support was different from the situation with jahi. but we've been helping their family. we're doing everything we can to try to find a facility to take jahi to help her to see if she might improve. >> are we close to finding a facility? >> there's facilities available. we've been running into problems with the hospital.

but i'm hoping by the hearing yesterday those problems have been taken care of and we'll be in a position to transfer her. >> this is really focused on whether jahi is or is not dead. here's part of the uniform deck willration of death act, an individual who has sustained either irreversible cessation of circumstance toir and respiratory functions or irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain including the brain stem is dead. why continue this fight? >> we're standing with the family. we think this diagnosis was made very quickly. there's other cases out there where people have improved from the same similar types of diagnosis. so we want to just see if given the opportunity, jahi might improve from her current condition. it was made awfully quick.

i think the problem here is -- the brain dead diagnosis is very controversial, incidentally. this speaks to a larger issue, that medical rights are being taken away from the family and put in the hands of hospital boards, ethics committees and now we're going to see government-controlled health care. when we start doing that -- we've been seeing it more and more with the organization that we started. more and more of these boards are making decisions in place of families. that's what we all should be concerned about. >> jahi's situation has prompted lots of comparisons to your sister's case. most notably when jahi's mother sa said that she is still breathing, still moving. that's my understanding of what her mother said, correct? >> yes. i have spoken to the father and he relayed the same thing to me. >> an appellate court back in 2001 ordered an additional medical review of your sister after family members said that she was able to follow a balloon with her eyes.

this is what dr. ron cranford who participated in that review said, quote, she has no sustained visual pursuit and that's the hallmark of the vegetative state. why are those supposed movements indicative of anything when doctors have already discounted those as indications of someone being alive? >> we can rehash terry's case and i can tell you dozens of doctors believe she was improving from her condition. our family was willing and wanting to care for her. and that was -- the reason we were fighting so hard and we were told no. that's why we're supporting this family, jahi's mom. they loved their daughter and they want to give her a chance. they're being told the same thing that our family was told. before we decide to end jahi's life, we need to give her a chance to see if she can improve. >> this is the hospital's attorney yesterday. even he got choked up a bit at the end. such an emotional case.

take a listen to what he said. >> it's horrible that this child has died. it's also horrible that it's so difficult for her family to accept that death. and i wish and i constantly think that, wouldn't it be great if they were able to come to terms with a terrible, tragic event and i didn't have to stand here in front of you all? time after time -- >> the hospital always cited ethics. what's your take? >> you understand the parents' situation. this hospital has put her in this condition in the first place. you can understand -- i think any parent -- they want to fight for their daughter to see if she has a chance to improve. provide her the therapies that might improve her condition. i don't know what she's getting but nothing that could possibly improve her chances of recovery. >> bob, i wanted to have you on

because your perspective is so unique. thank you for sharing it with us. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back. polident kills 99.99% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. that's why i recommend polident. [ male announcer ] cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. ♪ ♪ to help me become an olympian, she was pretty much okay with me turning her home into an ice rink. ♪ she'd just reach for the bounty select-a-size. it's the smaller, powerful sheet that acts like a big sheet. look, one select-a-size sheet of bounty is 50% more absorbent than a full size sheet of the leading ordinary brand. use less, with the small but powerful picker-upper,

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her long day of pick ups and drop offs begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪ [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. [ m'm... ] great taste.

[ tapping ] sounds good. campbell's healthy request. m'm! m'm! good.® for the first time in five decades, cubans are able to by new and used cars. until now, the government had strictly regulated who was allowed to own cars in cuba. but mark-ups of 400% or more has put new cars far out of reach for just about every cuban. for example, a 2013 vehicle going for about $91,000. i'm craig melvin. good saturday to you. here's a quick look at some of the other top stories making news right now. 25 states are now reporting widespread seasonal flu activity. that's up from ten just last week according to the centers for disease control. so far nationally, six children have died from the flu. an accused murderer who escaped from a mental health facility in south carolina is back in jail now. troopers were able to track

jason mark carter down by tracking his cell phone to a motel in tennessee. officials believe he was on his way to california where he has family. and the white house is proposing two more executive actions it says will prevent people with mental health issues from getting a gun. the first would clarify who's ineligible to possess a firearm under federal law. the second would strengthen the federal background check system to keep guns out of potential i dangerous hands. more on that in our next hour. right now, though, the new year is bringing a new obstacle for a key section of the affordable care act. justice sonia sotomayor is being asked to require some religious organizations to provide health insurance that includes birth control. as of now, however, sotomayor has not budged on hit.

a former texas legislator to argue roe v. wade joins us and mike sachs joins us. mike, let me start with you, is justice sotomayor -- is she putting religion in front of law here? >> not at all. she's simply waiting for all the facts to come in and will likely then refer this case to the entire court. i'm guessing by monday we'll know whether or not they're going to let this small nunnari nursing home group that's essentially a nonprofit be exem exempt. we'll find that out at the beginning of next week. >> other legal battles involving women's health in this country. later this month, the high court deciding whether to take up a challenge to arizona's 20-week

abortion ban. it follows a wave of new state abortion laws that have shifted away from outright bans toward regulating the circumstances in which abortions will be allowed. how is this shift changing the legal debate? >> well, it has changed the legal debate in several ways. but what it's really done is changed whether or not women have access to safe and legal procedures. example tomorrow or monday in new orleans, there will be a hearing on one of the texas laws that was passed this last session that says no doctor may perform an abortion unless he is admitted to a local hospital. now, there was a local federal judge who was appointed by the republicans who said, no, this isn't a law that's required or that really helps anything. it shouldn't be allowed.

so he enjoined it and said, you can't do this. that went directly to a three-judge panel. it makes me sad. it was a three-judge panel of all women who then said, no, we think it is legitimate. so we'll let it stand. but we'll let the law be enforced. >> if that three-judge panel had been all men, would you have felt differently? >> not necessarily. but you just hope that with women, they would be more understanding of the burdens of not having access for other women. so there will be three women again who will hear it on monday, a different -- one of them is different. and it's kind of a combination, like the american medical association has said, that law doesn't make any sense. it doesn't help anything. the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists said, that doesn't help anything. but texas has just about every anti-law you could get right now. so it also has the 20-week ban

which might or might not be accepted by the supreme court in the arizona case. >> mike, i want to pivot here to the issue of same-sex marriage. lawyers, of course, for couples in utah have asked the high court to reject the state's efforts to block same-sex marriages. they argue the state has failed to demonstrate how the weddings are harming anyone else. where does that fight stand right now? >> waiting on justice sotomayor as with the contraception case we spoke about earlier in the segment. justice sotomayor has received the briefing from utah and the same-sex couples seeking to continue to get married in utah. and i'm guessing on monday as well or maybe on tuesday, we'll hear from the court saying whether or not they're going to stop those same-sex marriages in utah or let them continue indefinitely until the appeals process continues. >> the question here seems to be whether the state's ban violates federal guarantees of equal protection. how did the supreme court sidestep that issue last summer?

>> what i'm really focused on is the privacy rights that the u.s. supreme court established partially in roe versus wade. and it said that a woman has the right to make those decisions up through 24 weeks viability. and so it's sort of a different aspect of privacy. and i beat mike can answer your question more directly. >> mike, what say you? >> sarah's talking about the lawrence v. texas case where there's a right to privacy to engage in sexual activity between consenting adults in the privacy of your own home. there's also the federal government cannot under the fifth amendment forbid or discriminate on same-sex couples. it harms their dignitary interests in getting married by labeling them second-class citizens. now it comes to the states. two other justices said you can't be serious. the states will surely use this

reasoning in doma to apply to similar same-sex marriage bans at the state level. that's what's happening right now. that's what the judge in utah did. a judge in ohio did that as well. this is what we're seeing in federal courts across the country. >> mike sacks, here's a challenge, 15 seconds, a few of the other issues that you see the high court making landmark decisions on? >> church and state, revisiting legislative prayer and how high the wall between church and state will be for sectarian prayers. we also have a case on campaigned finance about aggregate contribution limits. i'm guessing the court will strike that down relating to politicians. and then we'll likely have a case -- we'll see about the nsa cases. >> that was pretty good. sarah weddington, mike sacks,

appreciate your time on a saturday afternoon. thank you. building self-confidence for women and girls with disabilities. it is today's big idea. the miss amazing pageant isn't just a beauty contest, it's a program that encourages participants to dream big and reach their goals. jordan summer is the creator and ceo. she started when she was just 17 years old. good to see you. >> good to see you, too. so happy to be here. >> explain in broad terms how this program is helping people with disabilities. >> definitely. we provide an opportunity for girls and women with disabilities to focus on the things that they can do but also to improve social and communication skills by participating in a one-on-one interview and public speaking. it's an opportunity for them to focus on all these things and reach their full potential. >> a big part of this is the miss amazing real girl youtube series. i want to play a portion of that. here it is.

>> i feel like people -- they fear what they don't understand. and so when they fear what they don't understand, they engage in acts of hate. i've just been trying to kind of overcome that and basically make sure that that doesn't happen to me or anybody i know or any other kid. >> that's cool. >> yeah, definitely. that real girl series right there, we're trying to also, along with the pageants, produce new media that can go viral through facebook and social networks and online that really represents girls and women with disabilities with their multifaceted identities, the different parts of themselves, not just their disability or that part of their identity but everything they do in their lives. they're people. we're all multifaceted people. >> what's been the response? >> it's been wild. i held the first miss amazing pageant when i was 13 in 2007. >> in nebraska? >> yeah, exactly. from the good old midwest. it spread nationwide in 2011.

now we're in about 30 states. it just keeps going up. we've had talk about international expansion. there's a huge demand for the miss amazing pageant. >> why do you think it's caught on so fast? >> i think it's just the fact that we focus on the things that they can do. people with disabilities so often are just brought to think about what they can't do. and whether that's an intentional thing by society or not, the miss amazing pageant is a chance for them to focus on what they can do. that's what we all want to do, to be powerful, influential people. >> and you get volunteers obviously. and all of these places help you out. >> a huge amount of volunteers. volunteers are the most difficult thing to acquire. they want to help out and be there. we have fantastic productions at the miss amazing pageants, too. it's a fun experience for volunteers, participants, families, everyone. >> what's next?

>> we defleinitely want to brin on more sponsors to take the pageant to a nonprofit level, to accomplish the same mission as the miss amazing pageant. we just want to keep becoming stronger and keep evolving. >> jordan somer, it's our big idea, miss amazing, cool idea. thank you so much for stopping by. >> thank you for having us. >> do you have a big idea that's making a difference? the hashtag is what's the big idea, if you are at home and you are on the twitter. you can tell us about it. there it is. bigidea.msnbc@nbcuni.com. we'd love to hear your big idea. paying it forward. meet the man who pretended to be homeless and sparked a chain reaction of giving. that's straight ahead. [ male announcer ] winter olympian ted ligety

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welcome, welcome. you are number one. >> my plans are basically just to pick up a quarter bag, smoke weed, watch movies and play video games. >> $1 million, that's how much the mi hil experiment raked in on the first day of legal recreational pot sales in colorado. with me now to talk about the rollout, denver city councilman, charlie brown. you said you were pleasantly surprised by the first day of sales. how surprised were you? >> i expected cannabis chaos. it's that fear of the unknown. we didn't know how many people were coming here or what time they would go line up. some of them lined up pretty early, about 3:00 in the morning. but i visited four stores and i give them credit. the people in line were patient and they were -- they had manners. but i would also add, they were eager to purchase, which is i guess what this is all about. >> well, i would imagine so.

my understanding is that the state has already licensed roughly 350 other businesses, is that correct? 350 other -- >> yeah. for government, we're under a tight deadline. we only had 18 stores open in denver. we expect to have close to 100 more, believe it or not. it's going to take some time. but this is capitalism at its best. >> i'm glad you said that. i want to talk about the cost of pot in colorado right now. >> right. >> there are already reports of price gouging there. some retailers are selling top shelf for $400 an ounce. medical marijuana users are paying $250 an ounce. what, if anything, is the city doing to regulate sales? >> we are not going to -- the government in colorado or in the city of denver is not going to

get involved of price controls. this is a free market. once the stores start opening more and more stores, you'll see the price come down. let me assure you in observing first day sales on wednesday, no one complained about the taxes or the price. they said they're fortunate to be able to buy it and not get arrested as what happened in some other states. >> right now, anyone 21 and older can legally purchase a small amount of -- i believe in state you get an ounce, out of state, a quarter of an ounce. >> yes. >> but parents in your state are arguing that the industry is already marketing specifically to young people. take a listen. >> okay. >> the experiment that we're talking about is taking place in my home state where my three kids go to public school. >> what's the city doing to educate people, especially kids, about the dangers of addiction, the dangers of substance abuse? >> thank you, that is an excellent question. and i'm going to be lobbying for

and talking about a public information campaign because, frankly, i think the city and county of denver has a moral obligation to reach out especially to our middle school kids and convince them that this is not the drug for them, that it will affect your mind development and stay away from it. we need money. that's why we raised these taxes and that's where some of this money should go. i agree with that parent. >> where is that? where is the money going, by the way, for folks that haven't been following the story closely? >> we only increase taxes on recreational marijuana. i consider that a sin tax. people don't have to buy this. it's just like alcohol. it's a sin tax and had to be approved by the voters and it was overwhelmingly in our city and in our state. the state has a different tax rate of about 25%. so no doubt it is taxed. but we have to be concerned about public safety and the cost, the increased cost for public safety. >> where's the money going?

>> that's what i mean. we're going to hire more than 20 new police officers. >> oh, okay. >> for this new business. there's going to be pressure on our mental health institutions -- >> really, councilman? really? do we think that legalized recreational pot use in colorado is going to lead to a strain on mental health service there is? >> yes, i'm already -- i have been told that we are seeing that already. >> it's been three days? >> no, no, we had it with medical marijuana and young kids getting it. what happens, craig, is that perception of this being a safe drug. that goes down when you see all the hype. we have to plan for the worst. that's what we are planning for. >> denver city councilman charlie brown who says that he is pleasantly surprised it's gone as well as it has so far. that's an accurate characterization, correct? >> yes. >> keep us posted. we'll continue to follow this

story. >> okay, craig. good talking with you. this you're's sugar bowl was alabama versus oklahoma. but the real battle perhaps happened in the stands. lose the banner here, guys. an alabama mother took a nosedive, kicking and screaming in a brawl with students from the other team. she was allegedly defending her son who was being taunted by sooner fans. asked about it later -- by the way, that was a heck of a bicycle kick. the mom there said she'd do it all over again. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com.

what would you do if this homeless guy walked up to you on the street and asked you for money? those who answer with an act of kindness got a remarkable gift in return. des moines businessman johnny wright dressed up as a homeless panhandler on christmas eve. when people stopped to give him donations, he in turn handed them envelopes of cash.

some with 100 bucks inside and he encouraged them to pay it forward. johnny wright is in iowa for us. good to see you, sir. >> thank you, craig, how are you? >> how did you come up with this idea? >> you know, it had been on my bucket list for some time. and i thought about the fact that we all give -- >> i'm with you, keep going. >> okay. someone said, hang on just a second. sorry about that. so i thought about people give anonymously. so first and foremost it was a way to give them back to acknowledge them. it was also a way to bring attention to a social ill, homelessness. we do have the homeless in iowa, unfortunately. and it was also a way to honor a promise that i had made to god many years ago when i was in a pretty bad place in my own life. those are the basic reasons.

>> where were you in your life and what was the promise you made to god? >> i led a less-than-productive life for many years, lost in the wilderness, i think, is an appropriate way to describe it. i bounced from job to job. i lived all over the country. i was seeking happiness externally and i kept changing what was in front of me until one point i sort of had an epiphany light come on in front of me. i used to weigh 320 pounds. i was really in a bad place. i asked god, if you can help me out of this, i'll give back. whatever i can give back at some point when i'm ready and i have my head on my shoulders and i can do that, i'll give back. so this is part of fulfilling that promise i made. >> what was the reaction when you handed folks an envelope with cash inside?

>> you know, they were someone surprised and a bit taken aback because they don't know what i was giving them. it could have been ricin, poison. didn't really know, why is this man handing me this? the reaction after they opened the envelope and read it was phenomenal. and i received texts and calls from them. there was one woman in particular named maria -- i've told this story a lot -- who told me she only had $16 to her name and that she had stopped and seen me and given me a dollar and bought me some doughnuts and she opened her envelope and it had a $100 bill in it. she was actually one of the first people to donate. and that happened over and over. and people paid it forward and they doubled it and gave to their own favorite charity but it created this sense of giving and connection, too, that we're all connected. we're all connected. >> yes, we are, jonnie. sir, it's a fantastic idea. if you do something else like this, keep us posted.

thank you. >> thank you, craig. the president's first order of business for congress, next week he'll be pushing the gop to extend that employment benefits. we are live with the president in hawaii. deep freeze, much of the country is dealing with bitter below zero temps. even more cold is on the way. we're live in boston next. 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. ♪ this is the creamy chicken corn chowder. i mean, look at it. so indulgent. did i tell you i am on the... [ both ] chicken pot pie diet! me too! [ male announcer ] so indulgent, you'll never believe they're light. 100-calorie progresso light soups.

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♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. and we're here to help start yours. bipartisan group in congress is working on a three-month extension of unemployment insurance. unless congress restores this insurance, we'll feel a drag on our economic growth this year. that's a self-inflicted wound we don't need. >> the president's push. good saturday afternoon. i'm craig melvin. you're watching msnbc. he calls it the first order of business. this week, president obama will again urge congress to extend unemployment benefits that have just expired for more than a million americans. house speaker john boehner may back that plan but under one condition. also, the big chill.

people digging out from this weekend's record snowfall is now facing a deep freeze and arctic blast. the coldest in decades. we're live. also ahead -- >> we're not there yet. but we are making progress. >> we're working hard to achieve an agreement on core issues. >> pursuing peace. right now, secretary john kerry is in the mideast meeting with palestinian and israeli leaders. but so is senator john mccain. is the arizona senator undercutting kerry's efforts. and crews save 52 scientists from a stranded ship. now the rescue ship itself is stuck. we start back here with that deep freeze. a large portion of this country could see the coldest temperatures in nearly three decades this weekend. the national weather service

says the arctic blast could make it feel likes it's between 30 and 50 degrees below zero in some places. richard lui is live in boston where residents are digging out from up to two feet of snow in some cases. are folks out and about digging or is it too far to even get out with the shovels? >> reporter: they are out and about. we've been watching them all throughout this area of downtown boston get back to work. this mound of snow, you've seen it throughout a lot of our reports. the reason why i'm back on it this afternoon is to show you how things are already changing. this mound of snow now half of it's been chopped off. they've been trying to get the snow out of the streets. and you can see it's dirty. dirty snow means progress. on the left-hand side behind the folks that are out and about, you can see this dumpster. that's a second dumpster. they're filling it up with snow and getting it out of here. and then something else that we

take for granted is right over my left shoulder again, parked cars. they had a parking ban that will started on thursday and moved into friday. they stopped that parking ban. but we didn't see cars on the street until just today. now, the concern is, how are the roads today and are people able to get around given that the windchill factor on the skin is 9 degrees? here's what a couple told me a second ago. >> it's so cold out that everything is freezing over. the salt's not doing anything lately. it's just slipping and sliding everywhere. >> reporter: are you worried about another storm on tuesday? >> we're ready. we're new englanders. >> reporter: they're new englanders. folks getting back to work. they're about 15% to 20% of their head count at this ice rink. but they want to get out and do some stuff here in boston. >> richard lui in boston, one guy just skated -- same guy

skating by. richard, thank you so much. we appreciate the live reporting there in boston. back to politics now, monday, the senate is expected to hold a key procedural vote on a three-month extension of long-term unemployment benefits. more than a million americans, about 1.3 million americans stopped getting their checks. monday's vote sets up the process of sending the bill to the house where, of course, it faces an uphill battle. nbc's john yang is traveling with the president on the last day of his vacation in honolulu. john, good to see you, sir. the president used his weekly address to once again make the case for unemployment benefits. take a listen. >> denying families that security is just plain cruel. we're a better country than that. we don't abandon our fellow americans when times get tough. we keep the faith with them until they start that new job. >> john, what do we know about

how republicans are planning to deal with this issue, the issue of extending unemployment benefits? >> reporter: the majority leader cantor says it's not on the agenda, it's not one of the things the house is going to take up when they get back to work later this month or in a couple of days. but house speaker john boehner is now saying that he is willing to considering renewing the long-term unemployment benefits if it is paid for. the senate bill doesn't pay for it. and if the bill also includes something that would boost the economy, that would help create jobs. the administration says that not renewing hurts jobs. that by taking that money out of the economy, they estimate that about 240,000 jobs that would have otherwise be created will not be created. so it looks like that there is some willingness to give on the house republicans' part. but they want something in return as well.

>> yesterday the administration proposed two new executive actions that would make it easier for states to provide mental health information to the national guns background check are system. why the need for executive action, john? >> reporter: well, the white house says they're trying to tighten up the definitions, trying to tighten up the restrictions on people who should be denied ownership, gun ownership on the basis of mental health, their mental health history. and one thing, why the executive action is because congress hasn't been able to act -- that there was a portion at the beginning of last year after the newtown tragedy, but nothing really happened in congress in spite of the discussion after all that. the white house said they acted on their own, took executive action because they wanted to remind people that this is still high on the administration's agenda, something they are still going to push for but something

that still, it looks like, is going to get blocked in congress. >> nbc's john yang traveling with the president in hawaii, john, thank you. secretary of state john kerry is talking peace in the middle east once again today. the secretary met with palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas this morning in an effort to push the peace process forward. kerry spays the talks are progressing. take a listen. >> we're not there yet. but we are making progress. and we are beginning to flesh out the toughest hurdles yet to be overcome. >> kerry met with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu who earlier in the week, the two met again today. ari shavit joins us now. this is secretary kerry's tenth trip to the region.

syria and iran are also issues on the agenda. what really progress have the secretary, the netanyahu government and abbas made? >> well, it's a great question. but this visit is different than the previous ones because really the drama is approaching a peak, a climax. secretary kerry actually wanted to have in this visit or in his next one, to have a framework agreement defining the negotiations between israelis and palestinians for the next year. this document that he's trying to draft is a very important one should he succeed because it will have the principal of the future peace agreement. it will not be the peace agreement itself but it will have the basic principles of that. if secretary kerry succeeds, this will be a huge dramatic way

to change the political scene in israel and palestine. but the stakes are very high. the risks are enormous. and no one is quite sure to the very end whether this can really work out. >> republican senators john mccain and lindsey graham are also in jerusalem this week meeting with prime minister netanyahu. senator mccain expressed some doubts about the obama administration's plans. take a listen. >> we support a legitimate peace process, but we also are very concerned about some of the aspects as has been presented to us of this agreement as to whether they are truly enforceable and viable options that does not put the state of israel in jeopardy. >> ari, what does the presence of those senators do to secretary kerry's efforts? and is this something that the netanyahu government is encouraging?

>> well, for a while, prime minister netanyahu and his government have been playing in a sense the american political system in order to try to put that pressure to balance the pressure they get from the administration and from the white house. but let me say something about secretary kerry. secretary kerry's proving to be not only very ambitious but i would say quite charismatic, very insistent. he's proving to have a lot of e.q., he's doing many things that many other diplomats in the past, americans, europeans, failed to do. yet the mission is a very, very difficult one. so it's not clear at all -- there is a combination here. on the one hand, actually something that we've not seen before, enormous effort with some signs that at least on the israeli side, there is some softening, there is some willingness to really go forward

towards secretary kerry. it's not clear whether this will work out and it's not clear where the palestinian side is. but behind this -- and this is not another weekend, not another trip. january is a very dramatic month for the israeli/palestinian conflict and for secretary kerry's dramatic peace initiative. >> ari shavit, thank you. now testing the fed's approved drone test flights in nine states. the industry could be profitable but it's also sparking privacy an safety concerns. we'll talk live with a person who's involved with developing one of those test sites on the other side of this break. plus, police name new suspects in the disappearance of madeleine mccann. how detectives made the break. and here to stay -- today is day four of legal recreational marijuana. sales in colorado. my thoughts on what it means for other states, the government and the american people.

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topping the saturday headlines, the state department says it is in close contact with iraq's political leaders as troops try to take back control of the city of fallujah. they're trying to take it back from al qaeda-linked militants. fallujah was the site of two of the bloodiest battles in iraq where more than 140 americans were killed. south sedinese rebels and government officials will hold their first face-to-face talks tomorrow. negotiators are hoping to implement a cease-fire. leaders of the rival delegations were there today. and florida congressman tray

radel will return to congress after being arrested for cocaine possession. he's reiterated his commitment to serving in congress despite some calls for hez resignation. the united states is taking new steps to make civilian drones a part of our everyday lives. those drones will be a distant cousin of military drones like this one that the u.s. military personnel use. they use these drones in countries like afghanistan, pakistan, yemen as well. the drones we're talking about are a kinder, friendlier, gentler drone, so to speak. a version that could soon find a home in cities across this country. the faa this week picked six teams in nine states to test the drones. gregory mcneal is an associate law professor at pepperdine university, at the law school there. he co-directed a counterterrorism program there.

and an officer at the desert research student in nevada. alan, let me start with you there. what's this testing going to include? >> that's a good question. the testing here involves everything from physically testing the systems and also developing techniques to control them, to manage what goes on. and really it's a soup-to-nuts approach over here. airspace issues, corridor issues, technology issues, even the training of people to operate this. so it involves all different aspects. >> how are companies going to deal with the public image that a lot of folks have that the drone, unmanned aerial vehicles, are killing machines? >> that's the image everybody had has in their head right now. i think the difference is stuff like amazon coming out with their announcement that they want to have drones that can deliver products.

>> but you know what, that video freaked a lot of people out. >> you know, i guess because it's something new. but as soon as people start seeing how they work and they realize that the drones have been tested and that they're safe, a lot of those concerns will start to go away, especially on the deliver drones. you don't have the privacy issues that a lot of people are worried about. >> how are drones going to be used in law enforcement use in this country? i know some of this is speculative. >> the military use is pretty much off the table. the law enforcement use, though, search and rescue operations are the big things law enforcement wants to do. in cities like houston where if there's an automobile accident and they have to document the scene, oftentimes, they have to take the ton of time on the ground documenting the accident scene whereas now they can pop a drone up over the accident scene and take photos and drop it back down. >> rescue as well? >> but no armed drones. >> not yet.

alan, the faa, what does the agency have to do before we see drones in our skies? >> well, there's a whole host of things that have to be done. for example, you have multiple aircraft occupying a space there. how do you avoid collisions? one of the things we talk about is how do you avoid the lawn darts, in other words, accidents happening. all of these things have to be developed. we have to develop those protocols. it's like driving a car. we had to set the rules of the road. and that's the type of things that needs to get developed right now. >> this may seem like a silly question. but one of the things that continues to strike me, how are we going to stop someone who does not want a drone over his or her property -- how do we stop them from shooting it down? >> there is the one town where it is legal to shoot them down. but i think part of it is, as was said earlier in this piece, we have to be able to look at those peaceful uses. right now in our head, we have to get away from seeing the

predator. you look at firefighting, we had that accident in prescott arizona where 12 firefighters died. if you had drones in there to go in there, be low, see through the smoke, maybe we could have avoided that. we have to really change our mindset. get away from what we're thinking about now, which is real, and look at these other applications. as we learn to accept them, then you're going to get away from that sort of -- that desire to say, there's a drone, let me shoot it down. >> you wrote something in "forbes" that was the catalyst for this conversation. you wrote in part, quote, while individuals may believe they have an expectation of privacy in their back yard and that the government or other persons should not be allowed to operate an aircraft to peer down onto private property, that belief is fundamentally flawed. what court rulings back that up? >> it's totally wrong. in the late '80s, there were some cases, law enforcement had

flown over properties and took photos. in both instances the court looked at it and said, you don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy from aerial surveillance because any other person would have been flying by in a cessna, taken the same picture and handed it off to law enforcement. >> illegal search and seizure. unreasonable search and seizure. it would seem to me this is going to give rise to an entirely new body of law. >> totally. not just in privacy. in all different kinds of areas. it's going to be bigger than the internet, i really believe that. you're talking about ways of delivering not only goods to individuals here but if we go to africa where the road system is not going to be developed for 20 years, you could start getting aid packages to people. you could get medicine to people who have never been treated before. you've got opportunities in

agriculture and search and rescue. it's a limitless industry so long as we don't regulate it in a way that holds it back. >> i want to have you back. alan, i want you to be one of our drone guys. >> i can go on for a while. >> we're not going to pay you. but we want to have you back. gregory mcneal, come back as well. i guarantee you, someone's tweeting about you right now. you have quite the fan following on twitter. big thanks to you both. a decades-old tv rule almost meant that fans at home would not be able to watch their beloved green bay packers, their cincinnati bengals or the indianapolis colts this weekend. you know what i'm talking about here. it's the 1950s blackout rule. and basically -- it's a stupid rule, but in a nutshell, it states if games are not sold out 72 hours before kickoff, they

can't be broadcast on local television. and given the forecasted minus 30-degree temperatures on the field at lambeau specifically, many fans wanted to stay at home and enjoy it from the confines of their warm dens. generous sponsors stepped in and donated tickets. they also donated some hand warmers as well. and local military families are going to get a lot of those free tickets. it's really cool. legs, for crossing. ♪ feet...splashing. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage your ra, now may be the time to ask about xeljanz. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz is an ra medicine that can enter cells and disrupt jak pathways, that comes with ra. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections,

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off roble avenue. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. and of those who believed they had the power to do more. dell is honored to be part of some of the world's great stories. that began much the same way ours did. in a little dorm room -- 2713. ♪ this magic moment ♪ ♪ like a bridge over troubled waters ♪ ♪ i will lay me down oh, former "american idol" star clay aiken hoping to bridge troubled waters in washington. apparently he is thinking about running for congress in the tar heel state. he is meeting with democratic

operatives in north carolina to talk about it. but aiken's not the only excitement right now in north carolina politics. david waddell, a town councilman in the raleigh area just handed him this. it's his letter of resignation. you can't read it because it's written in klingon. next up, he says he's hoping to run for u.s. senate. and the embattled toronto mayor can be yours for $80. at least a miniature version. a toy manufacturer has made a few action figures. this version here is the talking mayor, joe. we can't play what it says on afternoon cable television, but, trust me, it talks. this one right here in the army fatigues is the thug version.

rob ford, toronto mayor, o canada. welcome back. how is everything? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex.

i needed a new laptop for my pre-med classes, something that runs office and has a keyboard. but i wanted a tablet for me, for stuff like twitter and xbox, so my downtime can be more like uptime. that's why i got a windows 2 in 1 which does both -- works as a laptop and a tablet. so i can manage my crazy life, and also have a life. [ beep ] gotta go. ♪

new developments this afternoon in the case of missing british girl madeleine mccann. "the daily mail" now reports british police have identified three suspects in the girl's 2007 disappearance. police say mobile phone data led them to these suspects who were in the area where the 3-year-old girl disappeared during a family vacation in portugal. at this point, though, no arrests have been made. three new suspects, according to "the daily mail" have been identified. i'm craig melvin. here's a quick look at some of the top stories making news right now. the number of states reporting widespread flu activity has more than doubled from ten to 25 in the week following christmas. the centers for disease control says southern states are being special hard hit.

so far, six children have died nationally. the minnesota vikings says it will be investigating claims that former punter chris kluwe was cut from the team because of his outspoken claims on same-sex marriage. and it turns out that pope francis leaves a voice mail just like everyone else. the people's pope had a new year's message for a group of spanish nonuns but they didn't pick up the phone. so he left this message -- what are the nuns doing that they can't answer the phone. this is pope francis. i wanted to give you grooe greetings for the end of the year. maybe i'll try to call again later. may god bless you. the u.s. coast guard may soon join efforts to rescue a chinese ship that's become trapped in thick ice off the coast of antarctica. the chinese ship had just

airlifted 52 scientists and tourists from another ship when it got stuck. nbc's reporter has been tracking all of this for us. >> reporter: this is getting confusing. the scientists and journalists are now on their way. they have to sail for a few days to an antarctic base where they drop off supplies then the long journey back to australia hoping arriving in mid january. yesterday it looked like there might be another delay when the chinese icebreaker said it was stuck and the aurora was staying in open water. the chinese ship is the one that sent a helicopter a few days ago and helped rescue those scientists stranded since christmas eve. you have the rescuers needing rescuing. a reporter onboard told how an iceberg appeared overnight blocking the chinese ship's return. but the crew said it was okay,

they don't need help, that they will get out soon. they think they might be able to break through on monday or tuesday. >> duncan, thank you. the new year undoubtedly means new challenges for president obama's new health care law. let's get right to the "brain trust." anton gunn is the former director of external affairs at the department of health and human services. he's now in the private sector as a consultant. gail lemond is a senior fellow at the council on foreign relations and peter suterman is an editor. let me start with the new guy, the new trustee. anton, you're one of the most visible proponents of the president's health care plan. now you're on the outside. i want you to start by shooting me straight here. >> craig, i --

>> i know you always shood straight. what would you have done differently or what would you have suggested the administration have done differently? >> i think it's easy to point out that there are a lot of things that could have been done differently. americans still don't know that the affordable care act is the law of the land. a lot more education needs to be done. we can talk over and again about the i.t. challenges, the glitches, the problems with the website. we all want that to be better. but the real deal is i think we should focus on the fact that there's a big number out there. that number is 6 million. 6 million people now have health coverage because of the affordable care act that wouldn't have had it before. we need to focus on that going forward that there are going to be a lot more people than 6 million that continue to get public and that's a good thing. >> republicans are still quite vocal in their opposition to the new health care law. a new report reads in part, house majority leader eric cantor has let it be known that the house will vote on

legislation ostensibly meant to protect americans from breaches. several republicans have introduced healthcare.g healthcare.gov-related information. is the new strategy to go f a it piece by piece, bit by bit? >> the republican strategy is simply going to be to play to what the public wants here. and the public is still opposed to this law. the polls are pretty clear on this, even the uninsured are really not so thrilled. you've seen polls showing that the uninsured are not having good experiences with the exchanges, that the uninsured are opposed to the law. in fact that since the exchanges went online in october, support amongst the uninsured dropped. republicans are going to use that and play to that and so they're going to sort of pict this piece by piece. whether it's the data breaches, whether it's issues with

people -- coverage being dropped or we're also seeing reports that it's very hard to add children at this point. all of these problems that exist with the law, the republicans are just going to pick through them one by one and make an issue of each one of them going forward. >> gail, peter's talking about this gallup poll, i think, back in december. it shows that about 59% say that they have had a negative experience. these are folks who go to the website. this is according to gallup. here's the thing, though, as folks especially in places like kentucky, as more folks sign up and as more folks get obamacare, so to speak, in some way, shape, form or fashion, what are we going to see happen to those numbers? what happens to public opinion, then? >> we live in this instant replay media where you don't have the benefit of waiting to see how a policy is implemented and what it means down the road for people six months or one year later. we live in an era where

everything is analyzed at that moment. i think what's fascinating from the gallup data is that people saw health care as both the president's biggest achievement and his biggest failure. and i think it just shows you the hardened attitudes we have, whether we're talking about health care or what the president is going to try to do for 2014 in terms of how we see legislation and the role of government in our lives. and there is no consensus on that. and some people are going to continue to think this is the best thing that happened to them. i personally actually got a letter yesterday saying my children's dental care is now covered because of the affordable care act, which i hadn't even known existed. so you'll have people who are getting letters who are going to find it's a great thing. but you won't have the benefit of actually knowing how it's changed people's lives for a while. >> gayle has a positive obamacare experience. someone from the white house is e-mailing you right now. >> i won't do any phone calls, i promise. >> anton, i do have to ask you about -- one of the arguments for expansion of medicaid

specifically under the new health care law is that it would reduce the number of expensive emergency room visits. but there's this new harvard university study, i'm sure you're familiar with it. it finds that among other things that enrollment in the public program significantly increases enrollees' use of emergency departments. the research shows a 40% increase in emergency department visits among those low-income adults in oregon who gained medicaid coverage in 2008. how do you explain that study and those numbers? >> i think the study is not an indicator of what the reality will be. first of all, it's a short-term study. it's only for the last 13 months. if you've never had health insurance before, never gotten preventative care, you're probably going to use the hospital and emergency room. but in massachusetts, what they did, a long-term study to look at what emergency room visits were in massachusettss over time, you'll see that it went down from 8% down to 5%. once people understand what insurance is, what coverage is, how to use the coverage and not

to go to e.r. but to an outpatient facility or prime care doctor, you'll see non-less emergency care provided and it lowers the visits and the cost to the system overall. you'll see it with a long-term study. not in a study that only reflects the last 13 months. >> when we come back, tougher checks. the president proposing new rules to keep guns away from the mentally ill. what else is on the 2014 agenda? more "brain trust" on the other side of this break. we're gonna be late. ♪ ♪ ♪ oh are we early? [ male announcer ] commute your way with the bold, all-new nissan rogue. ♪

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corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal. talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%. the "brain trust" is back. former h.h.s. official anton gunn, gayle lemmon and peter suderman. president obama has already taken the first steps with regards to his 2014 agenda. the white house announcing friday two executive actions to tighten federal background

checks and prevent or try to prevent guns from ending up in the hands of mentally ill people who could pose a threat. gayle, let me start with you. is 2014 the year that congress decides to do something about gun control in this country? >> i think 2014 is the year the president decides to do what he can about gun control in this country. i think that would be my version. they're really focused on doing what they can but also the three "is." income, inequality. there's a debt limit vote coming up. there's also the question of what's going to happen with unemployment benefits. as you've been talking about earlier, there are about 1 million people who have lost benefits who are only going to be hurting more economically without having expanded emergency help. we've never been in a situation in this country where this many people have been this unemployed

for this long and have had benefits cut out from under them. >> one of the things you didn't mention there is the conversation perhaps that starts about raising the minimum wage in this country. be interesting to see whether that's something that will start in earnest. at last year's state of the union address when we first heard the president talk about that, it's going to be interesting whether that's something that he brings back up as well. peter, how about you? where else do we think the president is going to invest his political capital come 2013? >> rhetorically, a lot of talk about income inequality. but i don't think that's going to be the place for practical action. >> why? >> because house republicans won't go along with a raise in the minimum wage. that's why the practical new legislative initiatives are going to be based on budget and immigration. that's where house republicans might actually be willing to play along. beyond that, the focus is not going to be so much on new legislation. it's going to be on making the health care law work because

president obama's legacy is tied to the health care law. the fate of that law is the fate of his presidency. so everything else really is secondary. >> anton gunn, you've got to agree with peter. this is, of course, going to be the president's legacy, obamacare. is that where he is going to have to put all of his political capital come 2014, later this year? >> of course it is. peter's right. you can guarantee that this do-nothing congress is going to do nothing in 2014. that means focus on the things that have already gotten done, fully implementing the affordable care act. we have to remember that people are now getting benefits that they're going to use. we have to overcome the challenges but this year alone, we'll also have a second open enrollment period where people will need to enroll in coverage. those who are still uninsured at the end of this year. the third thing i want to point out, this is an election year. 2014 means that health care will be on the ballot in many states

because the candidates will be talking about health care. the candidates that know how to talk to people about how why health care is important and how people can take advantage of these benefits that they now have because of the affordable care act, that will be happening this year. and the president will have to spend significant capital focusing on those districts to have success -- >> is it politically advantageous for the house or senate to campaign with president obama and talk about health care? >> i think there will be. it just depends on those races. you have to look at some of the districts where small business owners have been trying to provide coverage. you have lots of stories of families who are now getting coverage that have never had it before. i talked to a small business owner yesterday. never had coverage in the last ten years. went to a doctor yesterday because he had coverage in the marketplace. the more stories we hear about this, they will inject themselves in the campaign. and the president can help bring success to some candidates in some districts across this country. >> gayle, i want to talk about another issue that may seem like

it's out of left field, climate change. climate change could be a 2014 political background issue. the hill reporting that republicans like mitch mcconnell plan to go on the attack against president obama's climate action plan which they have dubbed a war on coal. gayle, could climate control become a dark horse issue of 2014? >> i think it could become a campaign issue of 2014 because there are a lot of people who feel very strongly about it on both sides and they don't tend to talk to each other and both sides can tend to vote around those issues. i think the polarization is only going to continue. and it is going to be hard to get almost anything done. you're going to have to cement the affordable care act, talk about climate change. but we haven't talked about what's going to happen if the rest of the world explodes on the united states and how if you don't want to talk about foreign policy issues, they are still going to come up. we still have a war that's happening. issues like climate change, they

matter in campaigns but i don't see them actually making a real difference when it comes to what congress passes in the year ahead. >> peter, we spend a lot of time here talking about nsa and surveillance and our surveillance state now. i think obviously the conversations are justified. but i continue to wonder whether that is going to be an issue that gets people out of bed come november. >> well, we've already seen public opinion change about nsa surveillance. we've already seen more people concerned about it. it's on the white house agenda already. president obama has said that he will be looking at some sorts of reforms, changes presenting perhaps a package of potential reforms and ideas later this month, early this year some time. i don't expect that he will be fundamentally rethinking the nsa's mission or mass surveillance activities. but the fact that he has said he's going to do this shows that the white house really feels like they have to play defense on this issue. >> really quickly before we go,

30 seconds, anton, you get ten seconds since you're the new guy. one thing you'd like to see congress accomplish in 2014? >> anything. they haven't done anything since they've been elected. i'll be happy with seconds. >> unemployment insurance and deciding what happens with afghanistan. >> peter, we'll end with you, sir. >> i'd like to see a republican health care plan put forward. >> there is -- oh, the last part. you did well, anton. we may have to have you back. >> i would appreciate it. >> you weren't nearly as bad as we thought you were going to be. >> yeah. >> when we come back, the great pot experiment. first colorado. soon washington state. it's only the beginning. but the beginning of what? my thoughts. [ sneezes ] [ coughs ] 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.

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else happened this week. there's a state in this union where you can stroll into a shop, buy some pot, and go home and smoke it without fear of prosecution. folks in colorado endured long lines and some weather as well. they also endured sky-high prices to get their hands on some ganja. three dozen pot shops opened for business statewide and officials have already approved business licenses for roughly 350 more. what we saw happen in colorado this week and what will happen late they are year in washington state is likely only the beginning. the beginning of what remains to be seen. the great pot experiment could mean as many have suggested an uptick in tourism, sin tax revenue and savings, savings because cash-strapped governments, local and state, should not have to shell out as much as on prosecution, defending and locking up low-level street dealers and

smokers. that's one possibility. the other? well, to hear some pundits, columnist, and analysts tell it, this could start to look something like straight out of zombieland, masses of addicted stoners roaming city streets because they've smoked their brains to mush and lost their jobs. i'm not trying to make light of the research that shows that marijuana can be addictive, especially dangerous for young people, but so can cheetos, porn, blackjack, and beer. we allow those things. but we regulate and restrict them. and that's where the national conversation should move next. how do we balance best the rights of people to do whatever they'd like in their own homes as long as that behavior does not affect greater society with public health and our collective ability to keep our children and roads safe? how do we strike that balance? those should be the new questions that we ask. that should be one of the

questions that we ask. one more thing. along with the high-fiving over what's coming, let us remember that futures destroyed because someone had a dime bag in his or her pocket. their record. their low-wage job. recreational pot is here to stay, and not just because the people want it. wait until those tax receipts start to come in. here's a thought. maybe recreational marijuana use in colorado won't be the end of american civilization as we know it. thanks for watching. i'll be back tomorrow starting at 3:00 eastern. i'll be joined by colorado congressman jerry pu maman who y to go in the house to take it nationwide. first, though, the first of the new year. "disrupt" with karen finney. hey kevin...still eating chalk for heartburn?

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hello, disrupters. happy new year. i'm karen finney. in this hour, if corporations are people, can they refuse women health care? plus, give florida, your tired, your poor, your needy, and they'll give them a cup to pea in. >> in florida they have been promoting forsd drug tests for people on welfare. >> a district judge shooting down the law requiring drug tests for welfare recipients. >> one-fourth rate of the general population. >> is this another win for the entitlement nation? >> a series of court rulings h