>> hi, everybody. i'm thomas roberts in for tamron hall. "news nation" following news of this hour. this afternoon the senate will hold a vote on the bipartisan proposal to temporarily extend unemployment benefits. it could be the last hope for the 1.3 million americans who saw their benefits expire just before the new year. it's unclear if democrats can even get to the 60 votes needed to advance that measure. the proposal by republican senator dean heller and jack reid extends benefits for three months and comes with a hefty price tag of $6.5 billion. most republicans say they won't support it without spending cuts to offset that cost. it was in the last hour where senator reid addressed that argument while speaking to my

colleague, andrea mitchell. >> our extension is just for three months so the finance committee, the committee of jurisdiction, can look at the appropriate way to pay for it if necessary. most times we have passed emergency unemployment extension bills without paying for it. we've done it a number of times since 2008. the best way to do that is not on the floor, various ad hoc proposals, it's the work of the committee. >> the vote on unemployment benefits is part of a long and ambitious to do list for congress following an historically low year. democrats are pushing to raise the minimum wage, immigration reform, military pensions and the looming fight over the debt ceiling and farm bill. kelly o'donnell joins me now to talk more about this. they need 60 votes for this to advance. what's the temperature and does harry reid have that in his back pocket to make a move forward? >> it's unclear right now, thomas.

part of the reason for that is on big issues like this sometimes senators will hold back where they stand on an issue until sort of the political moment is ripe and while the senate is just now getting under way or will be in a moment or so, many senators have not yet returned. part caught up in the weather trouble that's affecting so many people around the country with flight delays and that sort of thing. so it is within the realm of possibility that there could be a delay on that vote later today. that has not happened yet. it could happen. and part of the reason could be that if harry reid doesn't have the 60 votes and there are some members missing, it might be worth it to him to delay it to allow for that and get everybody here and get everybody onboard and take the vote. you heard the issues explained in terms of a shorter time period just three months. the argument there is try to fix this for families that have been affected since december 28th without that check or help and then figure out over a short period of time how to pay for it

if that's even necessary. that's one of the issues. some republicans are saying they would support it if there is a fuller debate on other kinds of measures to try and stimulate job growth so fewer people would need to be on unemployment and to try to get jobs moving. this is a core issue that often does get a lot of republican support but we don't have many republican members saying yet where they stand on this. lamar alexander of tennessee says he's a no vote unless there's more discussion of these other measures. dean heller, who is a republican, is co-sponsor. he's a yes. but we don't yet have a real sense of the picture. if it doesn't go forward today or if it goes forward and fails, democrats say they will try again quickly to sort of get public momentum to resolve this. it's likely to pass the senate. the house is a whole other matter. the issue is do you find the money by making other cuts? is it the right policy?

those are some of the issues that will be debated. >> and what about the confirmation of janet yellen as fed chair. explain where the temperature sis on that one. >> that should go forward in light of changes that have made it easier to get confirmations through. i'm told by talking to a bunch of people here that at 5:30 that vote is scheduled if everything goes forward given the weather issues and she's likely to be confirmed without much of a problem at all. there have been some who have opposed her but this kind of nomination is likely to get passed and it's the type of nomination where republicans can even find some support in giving the president his option to pick the people he wants to serve. thomas? >> kelly o'donnell, thank you. appreciate it. joining me right now, national political reporter for the atlantic and msnbc contributor. let's start about this. the support for this bipartisan extension of unemployment benefits. molly, it looks bleak in the senate with republicans saying they won't vote for it if it doesn't include spending cuts.

even if the proposal passed the senate, house republican leaders have expressed no interest in extending the program. it lacks a pay for. i asked democratic congressman peter welsh about this earlier today. this is what he had to say in response to this. take a listen. >> only one in four unemployed americans receives unemployment insurance benefits. it's essential to them they be extended. it's also important to the economy. >> are we looking at the possibility of getting nothing done on unemployment benefits even for the short-term let alone thinking about this at the long-term of 2014? >> i think it's too soon to say where this is headed. as kelly just said, even if this does pass the senate, it is going to be uphill in the house. there will be pressure on them. part of the reason that you have a lot of republicans not saying where they stand on this is that they realize that's politically unpopular position and tough position for them to take and

that's why you see democrats being so aggressive on this. the reason democrats were willing to leave this unemployment extension out of the budget deal that got done in the waning days of december before congress left town was they did feel like they could prosecute an effective case and get republicans to do it in january. that's now being tested. with it is being tested the potential for a legislative thaw in the new year. >> it was an interesting exchange over the weekend where we have both senators rand paul and chuck schumer appearing on "this week" discussing benefits and the two different positions that the men have. very interesting especially to see them come to blows. take a listen. >> i think it's a little insulting, a bit insulting to american workers when rand paul says that unemployment insurance is a disservice. they want to work. >> i'm opposed to unemployment insurance. i am opposed to having it without paying for it. i think it's wrong to borrow money from china.

>> so let's talk about this. wrong to borrow money from china. okay. so nobody wants to borrow what we don't need to be borrowing from china anymore than we already have. this measure comes with a $6.5 billion price tag. are republicans right that this should be figured out, a way to offset the cost of this? there are ways to make it happen. >> i would have a lot of sympathy for rand paul and the tea party if they felt the same way today that they did when george bush was president but they don't and they didn't. that's my problem. the hypocrisy is screaming out here. here's the thing to understand about these people losing their benefits. they actually have to look for work to get the benefits. so they can't just sit around at home and be welfare queens. they have to go out and look for work. that's the case. we're saying you look for work and you paid into the system, you get penalized for paying into the system and for continuing to look for work and congress still gets paid for not doing much work at all frankly. it's disingenuous for rand paul

to say that. we're in the highest deficit of all time. should they pay for this? perhaps. we could look at sugar industry. oil and gas industry. lots of places we could look for pay fors. the finance committee. ways and means committee, they have inches and inches and lists of pay fors that they could easily pull out. once you do that, you take from one and give to the other and that makes everybody mad. the pressure will build on the house if the senate passes it and i think they will pass something. >> you set me up well for this. as we look to continually strategize over how to goose this economy and goose it correctly because looming next in congress is the fight over minimum wage. president obama has signaled that economic and equality is a huge topic on his agenda in 2014. democrats think it will be the big issue in the midterm elections and they want to run on that issue. are democrats gambling too much

on the fact that the health care law won't be as big of a deal come november, something they need to hide from? >> well, i think they're trying to change the subject. of course democrats would rather income and equality be what the elections are fought over and not obamacare. we heard republicans saying over and over that they want obamacare to be the central issue in the midterm elections and for a while democrats said yeah, we do too because we think it will get better and everyone will love it. that could happen. i'm not predicting it won't. we see democrats wanting to talk about something else and the minimum wage increase is very popular. even among republicans there's a lot of popular support for a minimum wage increase. it hasn't actually come on the agenda in any concrete form. we haven't seen any actual proposal to do that. but this is another area where democrats think if they turn the subject away from the health care law they may have a winning issue to prosecute.

>> states leading the way on this 13 different states on january 1st raised their minimum wage so we could be taking a cue nationally from the state level and just to remind everybody that national minimum wage stands at $7.25. last week we had "the new york times" reporter who spoke with john boehner signaled that he's opening to some immigration reforms. do you think that that is an authentic answer? the pressure was on john boehner before. when we think about the authenticity of that answer and action behind those words, is it more words just to buy people cover to get them through the mid terms? >> no. i think speaker boehner is at a point where he has taken the very conservative, tea party members of his caucus, taken to the edge and looked over just how bad that government shutdown was and they've been scolded. they've been scalded by that if you will. he's free to do -- he's in a much, much more powerful position than he was prior to

the government shutdown. i certainly believe that. i think most democrats believe that. that being said, he wants to actually be the speaker for all 435 members and we have now seen him do time and time again where he is not doing the majority the majority relying on democrats to get things out of the house. one thing that's coming up, the spending bill that has to be done by january 15th. that's a key indicator. if he gets that and sends it other to united states senate in a couple weeks without a bunch of republican votes but with democratic votes, that means he's free to do whatever the hell he wants to between now and next january when he is perhaps no longer speaker or perhaps the next speaker of the house again. >> jimmy, thanks so much. we'll see if freedom is at the end there for speaker john boehner. >> we'll see. >> molly, jimmy, thanks so much. we move to growing concerns about an al qaeda linked insurgency taking place in iraq. secretary kerry promised to help

fight off islamic militants but america will not send troops back to iraq. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. that is exactly what the president and the world decided some time ago when we left iraq. so we are not obviously contemplating returning. we're not contemplating putting boots on the ground. this is their fight. >> this comes after a week in which al qaeda fighters took control of the key cities of fallujah and ramadi in anbar province and the same region where more than 1,300 americans died during the iraq war. senators john mccain and lindsey graham are now slamming the obama administration releasing a statement that says the president's decision to with draw troops from iraq is partly to blame for the new violence. joining me now is nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel. richard, explain to all of us or remind us where the loyalties of these insurgents lies and more

importantly the arming and funding of these operations. where does it originate? >> let's start with what the situation is right now. most of the activity is focused around the city of fallujah. fallujah is a small to medium sized field about 300,000 people to the west of baghdad. it's currently surrounded by iraqi forces. they are attacking fallujah from the air and with artillery. inside fallujah, a core group of al qaeda linked militants have taken control. they are digging in and they are now under fire. but also in the city around the militants according to the government, these people are being used as human shields, are iraqi civilians and some of them are trying to leave the city by any means possible. many of them are heading north to get out of harm's way and thousands of people have already left fallujah in the last 24 hours. there is a clear sectarian tension here. a sectarian divide. the people of fallujah and

ramadi are sunni muslims and they are being attacked by their government, the government which the united states backs and has long backed which is a shiite government and those sunnis in fallujah believe that they have been ignored by the government and that they have been neglected which is one of the big reasons why this sunni extremist group, al qaeda, was able to establish a safe haven or reestablish a safe haven inside fallujah because the same situation happened when u.s. troops were on the ground as you mentioned. >> so if you trace arms and funding, where is it originating from for these insurgents, these cells? >> a lot of weapons are in iraq. a lot of weapons are in circulation. they are also coming across the border into syria. we have one sunni shiite conflict that stretches from southern parts of iraq from basra and goes all of the way to

beirut in lebanon. weapons are movie ining very ea. mostly what fighters are armed with are light weapons. they made improvised explosives. they set up booby traps in case the iraqi army decides to penetrate the city. they set up things that militants had experience planting when u.s. troops, mostly marines, were stationed in anbar were still in iraq. >> so real quickly before we let you go. "the wall street journal"/nbc news conducted this poll last year. it talked about what people felt about the war itself. according to this poll, six out of ten americans think the iraq war wasn't worth it. 35% say it was worth it. the reason for that is thousands of americans who died fighting in the war. many of them in these very cities in fallujah and ramadi and now that we are discussing these very same cities and we see secretary kerry saying that

american troops are not going to go back on the ground there, how does the iraqi army have the needed strength to be able to push into take those cities back if it doesn't have u.s. support? >> they do have the brute force to do it. they have tanks and artillery. fallujah is a city of 300,000 people. inside there are several hundred, maybe a couple thousand militants but to drive them out using very blunt instruments like aircraft and tanks is going to cause an enormous amount of damage. so can they do it? can they push these insurgents out? yes. can they do it without destroying fallujah? that's a less clear answer. and then can they hold the city after that without a political reconciliation. that's also an open question. going back to what you were saying the u.s. legacy, the united states spent so much time

in fallujah in iraq and invested so much money so the lives of so many troops, obviously it's disheartening to see these gains being wiped away. i remember being in iraq and fallujah and many other places and talking to soldiers and marines who said that we are giving the iraqis their best shot. we think they're going to have stability now after our years of effort and our deployment after deployment. and clearly that stability has not held. >> nbc's richard engel reporting for us. thank you. appreciate it. still ahead, back here at home, a very dangerous deep freeze affecting more than half of the country. temperatures hitting a record breaking 15 below in chicago. now, that life threatening cold is moving east. plus, same-sex couples once again barred from getting married in utah. that move from the supreme court late this morning. or justice correspondent pete williams will join us to break it down and what it means going forward. and exit stage right. liz cheney dropping her bid to

unseat popular wyoming senator. why the team says she came across a candidate that felt entitled to the seat and didn't figure out a way to earn it. join our conversation on twitter. ♪ ♪ nothing says, "you're my #1 copilot," like a milk-bone biscuit. ♪ say it with milk-bone. and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest.

he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪

yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap.

more than half of the country is under a deep freeze today. historic for many who have never experienced cold like this in their entire lifetime. records could be set in two dozen major cities with temperatures expected to plummet more than 30 degrees over the next day or so and you add in the windchill and it will feel like negative 50 degrees in many spots. by 5:00 p.m. today, jetblue operations at jfk and boston will be shut down in an attempt

to catch up from the delays because of other days of severe weather. moments ago new york governor andrew cuomo announced parts of new york state thruway will be closed. in the midwest, several states took the precaution of closing roads and schools today and in a news conference indiana governor mike pence told residents to stay inside if at all possible. >> we are still in the midst of a dangerous winter storm. while the sun is out, they should not be deceived by that. wind gusts are expected to be in excess of 40 miles per hour. if you can stay in today, stay in all day today. >> if you can, stay in. nbc's ron allen is live for us in chicago, which has already hit a record low for this date of minus 16. ron, as we talk about chicago, we know that this is a city that is used to hard winters but this one is really catching everybody by surprise at just how extreme these temperatures are. >> reporter: it's stunning how cold it is out here. as you can see here in the

center of chicago, it's pretty much deserted. normally there are thousands of people here. one of the busiest parts of town. people have been heeding the advice to stay home and work from home or don't come out unless they absolutely have to. michigan avenue in this direction is just nothing happening there. we do hear a couple sirens going by, ambulances and emergency vehicles going by because obviously there's a lot of concern about people who are vulnerable, the homeless, elderly and so forth. the governor said stay indoors if at all possible. as for temperatures, 15 below, windchills of 30. once you get in the certain range, it feels the same. we stand by the chicago river so we have felt the wind coming at us since we've been out here this afternoon. i can tell you that it's just biting. there are very few times when i can remember being as cold as i am now. or have been. i'm feeling quite comfortable because i've only been out here for a short time and we'll get back in as soon as we're done with this. travel nightmares over there, a

couple buses seem stalled. there's a train and transit problems as well. the airports here are still hundreds of flights canceled again this morning after thousands over the weekend. somewhat miraculously i was able to get here at 5:00 a.m. this morning. it's possible but not advisable to do that. and jetblue as you said is canceling all their flights later today and tomorrow because they had such a backlog. i was flying jetblue yesterday. you can tell people get worn down by this trying to deal with people frustrated. there was a woman next to me in tears because she couldn't get where she was going. this is the end of the holiday season. bottom line out here, people are heeding the advice to stay in. it's quiet. it's deserted. we're not hearing of any problems of massive problems happening because of this. temperature goes up tomorrow into single digits. double digits next day by 30 here at the end of the week.

while it will get colder where you are, it's getting warmer here. warmer is a word you can use in this context at all. >> we'll take warmer if we can get if there for you. joining me now, nbc new york meteorologist raphael miranda. you have this wild looking scary map behind you. >> polar vortex. the core of it sitting over chicago. windchills around 40 below. that's what ron allen is feeling. in new york city, temperatures were in the 50s. the polar vortex will pivot toward our region tomorrow. let's take a look. you see the core of the coldest air. arctic air mass, white color area will rotate around tomorrow covering the northeast and great lakes. that's when we feel those dangerous windchills around 10 to 20 below around new york city. it retreats back to the poles.

that's where we like to see the po po po poler vortex. it becomes dangerous tonight and tomorrow. right now windchills are brutal across the midwest. 37 below in chicago. windchills in 50 below zero across the upper midwest. windchills down to 30s right now and feels like 6 below in pittsburgh and 14 degrees at this hour in atlanta. tomorrow from atlanta to new york city, the great lakes, boston, windchills are 10 to 20 below zero. even florida could deal with windchills in the teens throughout the day tomorrow as the cold day for new york and everything gets better as we head into wednesday. by the end of the week, temperatures even in chicago, are back to above freezing. that will be a nice break there. it looks like next week we also get a break with some milder temperatures. still a lot of winter to go. >> nice break above freezing.

that's just nasty. all right. thank you. appreciate it. still ahead, 13-year-old girl declared brain dead after tonsil surgery has been transferred from the hospital that refused to keep her on life support. her family now declaring a victory in this heartbreaking battle. we'll bring you the latest. and new york now set to become the 21st state to allow medical marijuana. details are still being worked out on this one but advocates are already worried that the policy won't go far enough. plus -- >> my name is jordan. the year i turned 26 i made $49 million which really pissed me off because it was 3 million shy of a week. >> it's coming under fire for the bad behavior. with a record 506 f-bombs, lots of sex and lots of drugs. is the movie over the top? our "news nation" gut check asks you that. ♪

♪ ♪

yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief!

the young girl whose body was at the center of a week's long battle between her family and a california hospital is being transferred to an undisclosed facility. jahi mcmath's family will not say where she will be cared for but last week a long island, new york hospital agreed to take the young girl and this morning her family was able to raise more than the amount court documents stated that it would cost to fly her to the hospital. nbc's miguel almaguer has more. >> reporter: thomas, after being admitted to children's hospital back on december 9th, jahi mcmath was moved from this hospital late last night. her parents have not released the new facility where she is headed to. instead saying their daughter has a new chance at life. declared brain dead for nearly a month, jahi mcmath was first released to the coroner sunday night. the 13-year-old's body then handed over to the custody her mother only after a death

certificate was issued. >> it's the hardest thing for my sister to do, for any parent to have to do which is to go out there and fill out an application for a death certificate for your child when your child is living. >> reporter: after ongoing a complex tonsillectomy, she fell into cardiac arrest. a team of doctors said she was gone. with heart beating with help from a ventilator, her mother believes that jahi is alive. a court order gave her family until tomorrow to move her to a long-term care facility. now they must find a doctor to insert a breathing and feeding tube. procedures children's hospital said it would not perform because it would be unethical they say to operate on someone who is deceased. in a statement, children's hospital says our hearts go out to the family as they grieve for this sad situation and we wish them closure and peace. a little girl who doctors have declared dead but whose family

says is still very much alive. >> reporter: jahi's parents have not released the name of the new facility but in just a few hours she should be in a more permanent location. thomas? >> miguel almaguer reporting for us. still ahead, same-sex couples once again barred from getting married in utah. the supreme court now giving the state time to appeal the decision that allowed hundreds of gay and lesbian couples to marry over the last few weeks. we'll bring you up to speed on the court drama. get it! no, let me get this. seriously. hey, let me get it. ah, uh. i don't want you to pay for this. it's not happening, honey. let her get it. she got her safe driving bonus check from allstate last week. and it's her treat. what about a tip? oh, here's one... get an allstate agent. nice! [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call an allstate agent and get a quote now. just another way allstate is changing car insurance for good.

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. it's hard to describe, because you have a numbness, but yet you have the pain like thousands of needles sticking in your foot. it was progressively getting worse, and at that point i knew i had to do something. once i started taking the lyrica the pain started subsiding. [ male announcer ] it's known that diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is fda approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these,

new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, changes in eyesight including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or skin sores from diabetes. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain.

diarrhea, gas, bloating? yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues... with three strains of good bacteria. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. purina dog chow light & healthy live the regular life. is a deliciously tender and crunchy kibble blend. with 20% fewer calories than purina dog chow. isn't it time you discovered the lighter side of dog chow. purina dog chow light & healthy. the supreme court today put same-sex marriages on hold in utah temporarily. the justices acted on a request by state officials after a federal judge ruled on december 20th that utah's ban on marriage equality is unconstitutional. nbc news justice correspondent pete williams joins me now live with more about this decision. pete, explain what it means that the supreme court has weighed in at least to this point.

what happens next? >> well, for one thing as you say, same-sex marriages stop in utah as of today. about 1,000 of them performed in the last two weeks since the judge ruled before christmas that the state's ban was unconstitutional. now the case goes onto the appeal. the state is appealing that decision. it will be heard by the tenth circuit court of appeals in the next month or so and same-sex marriages can't resume unless the tenth circuit says the judge was right. if they say the judge is wrong, they remain on hold while couples that brought this lawsuit in the first place appeal to the supreme court. in terms of what it means, the court typically did not give a reason when it issued this brief order. that's the usual practice. what it probably means is that a majority of the court simply thinks that things in utah were going too fast and that you have the situation where couples were married and you would have the situation of turning them on and turning them back off again and what the supreme court's order probably means is a majority of court said let's take this one

step at a time. let's first of all decide whether the judge is right. let's let the court decide whether the judge was right in saying the same-sex marriages should continue or should start up in utah and then let's have marriages or not based on what happens down the road rather than having them start up, stop, start up and stop. that's probably right. i say that because there were no dissents from what the supreme court did today. it's a brief order. sometimes when justices don't agree with what the court did, they'll note their dissent so it's possible. we can't be certain but it's possible that this was a unanimous order by the supreme court. >> we'll wait and see. pete williams reporting for us from washington. great to see you. thank you. liz cheney, the eldest daughter of former vice president dick cheney has dropped out of the senate race in wyoming. abandoning her effort to unseat michael enzi. in a statement, liz cheney says

serious health issues arose in our family and under the circumstances i decided to discontinue my campaign. my children and their futures were motivation for our campaign and their health and well-being will always be my overriding priority. joining me now is nbc news senior political editor, mike murray. do we know what that statement means serious health issues is the wording that caught a lot of people by surprise for her reason to bow out. >> we know it has nothing to do with her father. it appears it related to someone in her immediate family. and deciciting that as a health concern. it wasn't just this. the polls show she was trailing in this race. liz cheney was having to battle charges that she was a carpet bagger after moving from

northern virginia to wyoming. when you add that up, it gives you the reason why she decided to end her primary challenge against enzi. >> when you talk about the polls in and of themselves, again why not just use that as the reason to depart quietly? it seems that this draws more attention to maybe some of the reasons behind the scenes that are of more public concern that she has to put out there about having to claim some type of family illness. >> i think it's cumulative effect that maybe having two things exist would still be able to keep on but then when you add the family situation, it just makes sense to be able to decide not to run and one of the things worth knowing is that her decision to bow out right now gives her a viable path to run in the future if she had actually made this year-long campaign against mike enzi it would have been an ugly affair.

so much money spent, so many people caught in this particularly civil war in wyoming that everyone knows either mike enzi or the cheney family well there. she may be able to run in the future battle. new york could soon become the next state to legalize medical marijuana. governor andrew cuomo will allow medical marijuana for certain ailments. he's expected to announce it during the state of the state speech this week. the move is an about-face for the governor who opposed medical marijuana. it will be more restrictive than colorado and california, it moves new york one of the

nation's most punitive states for those caught using or dealing drugs, a significant closer to policies being embraced by marijuana advocates and lawmakers else why. joining me live is the huffi huffington post bureau chief and author of "this is your country on drugs. secret history of getting high in america." let's talk about new york and what it means. is "the new york times" right about this? does new york which has tough punishments for drug offenders, could it move so far to the other side to embrace marijuana advocates and what it means to have medical marijuana dispensaries? >> sure. new york is going to move. it's not a question of if. it's a question of when. cuomo recognizes which way the political winds are blowing here. not a symbolic measure. there's more to it if it goes into place. what this would do is revive a 1980 law that allows hospitals

to dispense medical marijuana for very serious illnesses, cancer, that sort of thing. you'll run into federal problems here because hospitals are not dispensaries that have no interaction with the federal government. it may end up being purely symbolic. consum cuomo sees the direction this is going. this is his way of saying i'm with you. as you mentioned, he hasn't been with them in the past. >> as you talk about that, new york being the 24th state to legalize medical marijuana. the governor would use administrative powers to do this other than going through the legislature. is that the gateway to medical marijuana being the foundational animals to get to recreational

use in the future? >> it's like new york missed the entire medical movement. the country is moving on. states that are liberal generally as new york are moving to recreational legalization. it's almost quaint to see new york finally catching up here. new york votes much more democratic than colorado does and colorado moved a step ahead. they have history of these very draconian rockefeller drug laws that they are just getting over. >> great to have you on. thanks. still ahead, the pennsylvania woman who helped suspected terrorists overseas faced a life sentence but she could be out of prison in a decade or less. take a look at that face and we'll explain why.

we use this board to compare car insurance rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. [ rattling ] that's one smart board. what else does it do -- reverse gravity? [ chuckles ] split atoms?

[ whoooosh! ] hey, how is that atom-splitting thing going? [ rattling ] [ electronic whistling ] oh! [ zap! ] a smarter way to shop around. now, that's progressive. call or click today. -hit the beach in florida.ake -and a reunion in seattle.ar. [man] when hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. [woman] so we got our 4-star hotels... for half price. ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com is a really big deal.u with aches, fever and chills- there's no such thing as a little flu. so why treat it like it's a little cold? there's something that works differently than over-the-counter remedies. prescription tamiflu attacks the flu virus at its source. so call your doctor right away. tamiflu treats the flu in people 2 weeks and older whose flu symptoms started within the last two days.

before taking tamiflu tell your doctor if you're pregnant, nursing, have serious health conditions, or take other medicines. if you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash, or signs of unusual behavior, stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately. children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion or abnormal behavior. the most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. so don't wait. attack the flu virus at its source. ask your doctor about tamiflu, prescription for flu. what are you guys doing? having some fiber! with new phillips' fiber good gummies. they're fruity delicious! just two gummies have 4 grams of fiber! to help support regularity! i want some... [ woman ] hop on over! [ marge ] fiber the fun way, from phillips'. a judge handed down a ten-year jail sentence for the

pennsylvania woman known as jihad jane. she was part of a failed al qaeda plot to kill a swedish artist who offended many muslims by drawing a cartoon of the prophet mohammad. she was eligible for a life sentence and prosecutors asked she spend decades behind bars. joining me now is john shipman. let's talk about the actual sentence. ten years is less than what u.s. prosecutors were asking for but authorities also admit that she's been very cooperative in investigations for other terrorism cases. is that really the main reason why they were able to reduce the sentence? >> the judge cited two reasons today in court. the first reason was her cooperation. the second reason was her background. her growing up. she had an incredibly horrible childhood. she was between ages 8 and 13 raped by her biological father

repeatedly. spent a lot of time as a teenage prosecute. what her attorney tried to argue today was that she had really become screwed up in her head in terms of relationships and that she's relationships with men made her incredibly susceptible to the kind of recruitment she had from these al qaeda folks overseas and so the judge said it was extremely serious case and may have gone through with it but nonetheless the judge could have given her life in prison and gave her just ten years. >> as you point out having a harsh upbringing, it seems like she was vulnerable to the type of grooming that happened to her at the exposure of this group. the federal prosecutor said the case underscores the evolving nature of the terrorist threat that we now face in this country. as we look at that, do you think the jihad jane case helps them understand homegrown terrorism in her example?

>> one they said is that they learned a lot from what she told them and by learning about how people get radicalized inside the united states. she is one of about eight people who have been charged in the united states in the last four or five years who fit this pattern who have had perhaps mental issues or other issues who go online and get recruited and they find a sense of longing. when i talked to her when she was in prison, that's what she told me. she thought she was loss and that being part of this jihad she felt like she finally belonged to something. >> john, thank you. we appreciate you joining us on that story there. >> we're back with more. the wolf of wall street, the gut check. [ sneeze ] [ male announcer ] truth is not all flu products treat all your symptoms. what? [ male announcer ] nope, they don't have an antihistamine. really? [ male announcer ] really. [ dog whine ] but alka-seltzer plus severe cold and flu

speeds relief to these eight symptoms. [ breath of relief ] thanks. [ male announcer ] you're welcome. ready? go. get it! [ male announcer ] can't find theraflu, try alka-seltzer plus for fast liquid cold and flu relief.

we do? i took the trash out. i know. and thank you so much for that. i think we should get a medicare supplement insurance plan. right now? [ male announcer ] whether you're new to medicare or not, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. it's up to you to pay the difference. so think about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay and could really save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now. with a medicare supplement plan, you'll be able to stay with your doctor. oh, you know, i love that guy. mm-hmm. [ male announcer ] these types of plans let you visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. and there are no networks.

you do your push-ups today? prepare to be amazed. [ male announcer ] don't wait. call today to request your free decision guide and find the aarp medicare supplement plan to go the distance with you. go long. there's a lot going on today and here are some of the things we thought you should know. republican senator rand paul say he'll sue the obama administration over nsa

collection practices. the senator says everyone in america who owns a cell phone would be eligible to join in his class-action suit. and the national zoo's baby panda made her first appearance today. this is the playful giant panda born on august 23rd. official debut is january 18th. wait for it. just a little fall. it's a baby. that happens. it's going to bounce back. everything is going to be fine. time for the "news nation" gut check. "wolf of wall street" has oscar buzz and leonardo dicaprio is up for best actor. the film is up for best picture. the film is generating controversy. our craig melvin has the story. >> my name is jordan. the year i turned 26 i made $49 million. >> from stock pusher to millionaire mogul. >> making a name for ourselves.

>> the wolf of wall street is a film about a stockbroker filled with greed, drugs and prostitutes. but the cursing is historic. it shattersed the box office record for f-bombs dropped in a movie. 506. for some it's too much. >> i wanted to crawl out of the theater. >> reporter: on the street and online, strong opinions. a twitter search for walked out results in tweets from movie goers who left like this person. so obscene that my friends and i walked out. embarrassment. >> it's a well made movie. it's also three hours of sex, drugs, bad language and people just treating each other horribly. that's not what some people want to see particularly from a christmas movie. >> reporter: there's another question being raised. >> was all of this legal? absolutely not. >> reporter: does the film condemn or glorify bad behavior. >> this was a ruthless greedy

guy who did what he could to get to the top. leonardo dicaprio does not play a likable guy in this movie and that's why it's so polarizing. >> reporter: controversy is not hurting ticket sales or award chances. the wolf of wall street raked in $63 million since it opened and two golden globe nominations. many critics contain it's oscar worthy. >> what does your gut tell you about it? do you think the wolf of wall street condemns or glorifies bad before? that's it for this edition of "news nation." tomorrow on "news nation," we will have a author and inspirational speaker here.

and it feels like your lifeate revolves around your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira adalimumab. humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief, and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region

where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your gastroenterologist about humira today. remission is possible. yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief!

[ cellphones beeping ] ♪ [ cellphone rings ] hello? [ male announcer ] over 12,000 financial advisors. good, good. good. over $700 billion dollars in assets under care. let me just put this away. [ male announcer ] how did edward jones get so big? could you teach our kids that trick? [ male announcer ] by not acting that way. ok, last quarter... [ male announcer ] it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪ dangerous, deadly and downright historic winter weather is affecting half of the

american population. good afternoon. 140 million of us are in mother nature's path this afternoon. temperatures well below zero. snow measured in feet. cities big and small crippled. check out subzero windchills. as low as negative 50 and 60 degrees and those conditions frostbite can set in in just five minutes. serious stuff. we woke up to 54 degrees and fog here in new york city this morning. we'll be near zero by the time we wake up tomorrow morning. jetblue grounded all flights in and out of all three new york area airports and boston. they're trying to get back up to speed after days of bad weather. officials tell wnbc they should be fully operational again by tomorrow at this time. bottom line is it doesn't matter if you're a die-hard or novice, when it comes to winter weather, everyone is feeling this. >> i'm not used to it. coming from southern california where it's 80 degrees in the