don't drink the water in west virginia until further notice. that's the latest message from government officials. more than 300,000 people are still unable to drink, bathe or cook with the water coming out of their taps. it may have been contaminated by a massive chemical spill. tests are being conducted on the water right now. the president has signed a federal disaster declaration for nine counties, which include the state capital of charleston. in the past few hours, the u.s. attorney says federal authorities are now looking into what caused that spill. already grocery stores in the area have sold out of bottled water. schools and restaurants are closed and the state legislature is on hold. the chemical leaked into the river close by from a local coal treatment facility yesterday. it's colorless and some say smells like black licorice. it can be harmful if inhaled or ingested. environmental officials say

nothing can be done to clean the chemical because of it floating on the water. joining me on the phone is david gutman from the charleston gazette. most alarming part of this and there are many parts to this is that many of the stores are out of water and the question is what are people going to do if they just need simple, clean water here? >> well, richard, the government has set up a number of stations where people can go to get water at local high schools, local small colleges, firestations, emergency facilities, where they are continuously trucking in tankers full of water and the big issue right now is nobody knows how long this is going to last for. >> how long and then how to clean it up. any word on that? >> no. at this point they don't even know that much about what the chemical is. it's known as crude mchm. they know it's hazardous. what they know about it is only

in its purest form and they know almost nothing about it in its diluted form which obviously it is diluted. it's mixed in a river. >> we are hearing here, david, that it is not toxic but you are saying it is hazardous. which of the two is it? >> well, the chemical in its form we've been told is hazardous. what they're saying about the water is we don't know. we don't know that it's safe. they're not saying it's unsafe. they don't know that it's safe and they are telling people don't use it in any way. don't drink it. bathe with it. wash with it. >> they don't know enough right now. >> you know, so there's the issue of those who may be affected by this. it is said to be an eye irritant. throat irritant. skin irritant. have you heard from the hospitals about patients complaining about the effects of this chemical? >> we have but it's too soon to say anything. the charleston area medical

center say they treated four people overnight but they couldn't say that it was because of this. if somebody comes in with nausea or scratchy throat, they can't say the cause at this point. we really don't know. >> state of the emergency by the state and the federal government. any word on what fema is going to be doing here? >> fema has been in contact with the governor. he spoke with the chief of fema last night and i believe they are coordinating with trucking in tankers from neighboring states and things like that trying to get water to these counties. >> all right. david, i can't thank you enough for stopping by today. it's affecting as many as one in four west virginians on this day. thank you again very much, david gutman, from charleston gazette. to more breaking news we're following this day, we just learned president obama will announce the results of his review of the nsa surveillance

program in a speech one week from today. the president has been meeting with congressional lawmakers, intel officials, tech companies and privacy groups. he's also been considering more than 40 recommendations from a presidential commission that proposed broad changes to the nsa. we should get word next friday on what his possible changes might be. also this hour, there are new developments in the bridge scandal involving new jersey governor chris christie. craig melvin has been following that story for us and picks up the live coverage from trenton. hey there, craig. >> reporter: any moment now in trenton, new jersey, we are expecting the state legislature to release north of 900 pages, some 900 plus pages of documents related to the bridge scandal. the shutting down of two lanes on the george washington bridge last september. we were told we would get the documents late morning. that still has not happened. at last check we were told it could happen any moment now. in those documents when we do get our hands on them, we are

expecting to see among other things additional e-mails, additional text messages that were turned over as part of the state legislature's investigation into the matter. there's also of course this federal inquiry and calls for a full federal investigation. a class-action lawsuit has been filed in federal court by at least six new jersey residents taking aim at christie's now former deputy chief of staff and former port authority officials along with the state of new jersey and the port authority. all of this suggesting that even though christie apologized in that two-hour long press conference yesterday, this issue is far from over for the governor. the governor has no public schedule today but as our first read team notes, he now faces a serious problem that goes well beyond whether anyone contradicts the story and time line he laid out on friday. he has enemies. both democratic and republican who are sharpening their knives.

new jersey state senator joins me live now. he's one of the aforementioned folks calling for a full federal investigation. senator, good to see you on this friday afternoon. thanks for being with us. i want to start with the theory that has been advanced by my colleague, rachel maddow on her show last night. it picked up a lot of traction. i'm sure you're familiar with it. basically rachel claims that this was not in any way, shape or form necessarily about the mayor of ft. lee. this is rachel on her broadcast last night. take a listen to what she said and i'm talk to you about it on the other side. >> who represents district 37. two members of the state assembly. and the leader of the senate democrats. leader of the senate democrats represents ft. lee. roughly 12 hours after governor christie blows up at the senate democrats and torpedos the kr career of a supreme court

justice because senate democrats are animal and he won't let justice loose to those animals leaders of those animals in the district sees her district get the order of destruction from governor christie's deputy chief of staff. >> reporter: leader of the state democrats in new jersey, this was her response last hour on andrea mitchell's show. take a listen. >> the reason for the varied speculation is to who, why, what, where and when is because the governor has not been forth f forthcoming. i've been involved in this issue for four months. it amazes me the governor discovered two days ago that this was a big issue. >> reporter: this is rachel maddow's theory. we don't have evidence that this actually happened. what say you to that? how palalausible of an explanat

that to you? >> what the governor discovered two days ago is that we discovered, we found out what actually happened and that's what he was covering up. it almost doesn't need an explanation. this governor has made a reputation of beating up and beating down people. one of his big targets has been senator loretta weinberg. lives were put at risk for political purposes and that there was a massive coverup that covered over four months and will take a long time for us to get to the bottom of this. >> massive coverup, senator. how wide of a coverup are we talking here? >> we're certainly talking about the entire staff at the governor's office, his communications director, his campaign staff, this was plotted and schemed. they thought they would get away with this phony traffic study explanation because they have gotten away with everything so far.

that didn't wash. that didn't float. as soon as that e-mail came out, that's when they discover the governor said, oops, i'm in trouble. >> reporter: barbara ran against christie when he was up for re-election. this is what she said earlier today at 11:00 here on msnbc. they was talking about the culture that exists here in trenton. take a hilisten. >> there's a culture of fear. i got little help from the democratic party and powers that be and bosses in new jersey. >> reporter: that was hers response when they said she she didn't do more to expose this. she didn't do as much to expose it because of what she just said. what do you say to that? is that the case here in trenton? >> not at all. in fact, the chairman has been aggressive at getting down to the bottom of this. it took time.

there's a lot of stonewalling going on. governor christie got away with a lot. he thought he would get away with this. when we finally got e-mails and found out what actually happened and it's just going to get worse and worse as we discover more and more. >> all right. democrat from new jersey, senator. again, i want to reiterate that we were talking about a theory that was being advanced by my colleague, rachel maddow. thank you so much. joined now by msnbc contributor and host of a great radio show over on sirius and joined by anna palmer with politico. we should note for our viewers that we are in trenton waiting on hundreds of pages of additional documents set to be released today that we hope sheds more light on the investigation here. michael, let me start with you. at this point what don't we know? what are some of the questions out there that you want to hear answered that need to be

answered? >> well, "the wall street journal" reported that in early december there was a conversation between governor christie and governor cuomo, the gist of which was governor christie said your representatives on that bridge commission are pushing too hard for an investigation of this matter. if that's true, i want to know all about it because that then starts to speak to what was the response and did the response take on any element of a coverup. something else i want to know and it pertains to documents that are about to be released, governor christie was emphatic in two hours yesterday. he drew a line in the sand and said he had absolutely no knowledge whatsoever. if there's one bit of evidence that should now be put forth that he was in the loop, i think this takes a dramatic turn for the worse for him. >> when you say i didn't know anything until 8:50 yesterday morning, you really have boxed yourself in. anna, you know, we heard from a

number of republicans over the last 24 hours. everyone from house speaker john boehner yesterday who seemed to be siding with governor christie and nikki haley also came out to support him. we also heard from a number of republicans who have done the exact opposite. lindsey graham saying this plays into narrative that he is in fact a bully. this is what former new york city mayor rudy giuliani said this morning. >> he held a press conference and answered questions you had of him and he actually something washington could learn from, he held people accountable and people who were close to him. that had to be hard. >> reporter: anna, what's the perception right now in terms of how the governor handled that news conference yesterday? how he has handled questions so far? >> i think across the board everyone from consultants to lawmakers have really said they think he handled it as best as he could have.

the question remains now going forward because he was so emphatic that he had no knowledge of this when these kind of hundreds of pages of documents you could see e-mails or if he's at all tied into knowing that this happened or there was other political repudiation they have done could be an issue for him going forward. >> michael, barbara bueno talked about how she thinks it will play out for governor christie. it caught my attention. take a listen. >> it's one of two things. either the governor is lying or he's incompetent. my prediction is this. he will be leaving the governor's office before his term is up but not to run for president. >> is this the kind of scandal that tanks governor chris christie? >> not based on the record as it now exists, no. i don't think so. i think there's an open question as to what it does to his prospects in 2016. he certainly is not the candidate today that he was 48

hours ago. i think unless there's something that now is forthcoming, it is not going to in and of itself end his chances to win the white house. in fact, i'll go so far as to say there are people among us who will look at this and say as you heard from mayor giuliani, this is a moment that he can actually emerge from showing some leadership for the way in which he deals with it. i'm not making that prediction. you know, he's always been, governor christie, glass half empty and glass half full and some look at those characteristics and they like it and others look at the same characteristics and they don't. >> anna, what are you looking for in these documents that are going to be released? we should note here that this is, you know, there's nothing like getting 900 pages of documents on a friday afternoon related to a political scandal. what are you looking for in these documents? >> a long night for some reporters that's for sure. i think you look at any other aides that knew about this.

there's been fragments, small phrases in these text messages so have they done this before? is this something that other people knew about and there was more of a strategy in terms of how they decided to engage and do it. any other details, there's going to be potential treasure-trove of new information that we're going to get tonight. >> a big thanks to both of you. again, we're here in trenton waiting on those documents to be released. right before the broadcast i was inside talking to some folks. first of all, we should note here, you would be hard pressed to find a state lawmaker inside behind me. that's customary on friday afternoons here. the handful of staffers said that part of the problem right now is that the file itself is so large they're trying to figure out just how to disseminate that information. when that happens, we'll bring it to you live here on msnbc. for now, back to the studio. richard? >> you'll be doing a lot of

reading this evening. your speed reading skills coming in handy no doubt. craig melvin, appreciate it, my friend. first jobs report of 2014 saw the unemployment rate drop but the worst job gains in more than three years. the numbers, unemployment rate 6.7% from 7% last month. only 74,000 jobs were added in december. that's far fewer than the anticipated 200,000 jobs that many analysts had expected. wall street has had mixed reactions to this report so far. we're down 47. just a hair down really from what it was at opening this morning as well as s&p down less than a point. joining me now, zach is here from reuters. two theories right now. i want to go to moody's mark zandi. listen to what he said. >> i don't believe them, chuck. they were uniformly weak and number was so low it's just not

consistent with all of the other economic data that we're getting. i think these numbers will get revised. every year we have a month where we get an outlier on downside and outside and it gets reversed in subsequent months. this is one of those months. >> perhaps driving mark zandi's thought here is when we look at housing numbers, we look at the dow which we have watched over the last year and other great economic indicators doesn't jive. is this an outlier? >> mark is totally right. these jobs get revised constantly. even november's number which was very good at 200,000 got revised up to 240,000. we don't get up today and this show did not lead with jobs numbers revised up 40,000 in november add to 75,000 in december and you have 115. even more to the point in a country of 310 million people with a labor force of nearly 120 million, these are really fractional amounts. i'm not suggesting that one job

is a fraction for one person who has it. if we look at things systemically we know we create 2 million jobs a year for the past couple years and that's insufficient to meet a growing population and a lot of jobs are not such good paying jobs. >> is this number an outlier or not? >> we really shouldn't be as much as i support we should talk about the labor situation, we should not talk about these numbers as a horse race game. >> so the other side -- the other view on this number if you look at the rnc is they say there hasn't been enough stimulus to help jobs and obamacare is putting weight on the economy. >> great thing about arguments this is product of misguided government policy is completely nonfalsifiable. we can't go back four years and replay the tape and see how many jobs we think we would have with different policies. it's a great political argument to say it's because of your policies that things are turning out this way. this economy has been shifting structurally under republicans

and democrats. government may be able to do a lot about this but unless government goes out and hires every single unemployed person, this is not a governmental problem. this is structural economic problem. these reports show that we're not in a crisis but we're not in this massive interesting job creation engine going forward. >> some of the breakdown here. national unemployment rate 6.7 as i was saying. among african-americans looking at this number here, you can see 11.9%, almost double the national, latino americans, 8.3. asian americans, 4.1. about the african-american unemployment rate, the participation rate also at a low that goes back some 35 years. 3.5 decades. >> these are conversations we should be having. if you factor in african-american males with a high school degree or less, you're talking about a 25% to 30% unemployment rate. you add incarceration levels and difficulty in finding jobs and if you don't have skills of

information technology, you're left with very low paying retail jobs or no jobs. we talk about the revival of manufacturing in this country. that's not a drive of jobs anymore. that's people with software skills that can handle manufacturing. so there's a racial component to this. there's a gender component. women are doing better overall than men as you pointed out some ethic groups are doing better. we should talk about education. we should talk about the racial issues. we should talk about inhibitions to job creation for those that this is hurting. this is 50th anniversary of war on poverty. there's more endemic job issue in certain parts of the country. that's the real question. whether we added 74,000 or 200 this month would not change those challenges one way. >> thank you so much. still ahead, turns out at that target data breach is worse than first thought. nearly triple as

affected and hackers sold more than your credit card and name information. and a twist over same-sex marriage in utah. the federal government says it will recognize hundreds of same-sex marriages there even though the state government refuses to do the same. join our conversation on twitter. you can find us @newsnation. ♪ ♪ if i was a flower growing wild and free ♪ ♪ all i'd want is you to be my sweet honeybee ♪ ♪ and if was a tree growing tall and green ♪ ♪ all i'd want is you to shade me and be my leaves ♪ grown in america. picked & packed at the peak of ripeness. the same essential nutrients as fresh. del monte. bursting with life™. i have a big meeting when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms,

plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. what a relief it is.

♪ ♪

attorney general eric holder announcing that the federal government will recognize marriages made in utah over the last few weeks even though the state has chosen not to do so. >> these marriages will be recognized as lawful and considered eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the

same terms as other same-sex marriages. these families should not be asked to endure uncertainty regarding their status as litigation unfolds. >> nbc news justice correspondent pete williams has the latest on this story. pete, what does this announcement mean? >> it means that the couples that were married during the 17-day window after a federal judge in utah struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage and when the supreme court slammed that window shut earlier this week when it put a hold on that ruling, those couples that got married in utah will get all of the federal benefits that any other same-sex couple would get or any married couple would get anywhere. they won't get state benefits though for now while this case is on appeal through the lower courts and may ultimately be headed to the supreme court. it's a bit of a surprise because the federal government had been guided by the states. what the justice department is saying in essence is we looked at all of the things the state is saying and the state seems to say it will consider those

marriages performed during that period as accepted even though it questions ultimately their legal validity in the future. >> all right, pete. thank you so much. nbc's pete williams with the latest. new developments in the case of marissa alexander. that florida mother awaiting a new trial for firing what she says was a warning shot at her abusive husband. a judge ruling that alexander did not violate terms of police wh release when she left her house to run errands. she was released on home detention in november. kerry sanders joins us live from jacksonville. kerry, what happened in court today? >> reporter: well, i guess devils are in details here. she did run those errands and, yes, the judge said it was a violation of the rule he established for her home detention. here's the details. she got permission from the

sheriff's office civilian officer whose responsibility it is to oversee home detentions to run these errands and while the state attorney said errands were to the grocery store and to the bank and to other small errands that seem to violate the spirit of the judge's order, when they dug deeper, the reason she went to the grocery store was because it was less expensive for her to get a cashier's check or postal order, a money order, from the grocery store than say from the bank and she needed to get that money order to pay the costs of her home detention which is administered by the sheriff's office and the reason she went to the bank was to get the cash so she could go to the grocery store to get the money order. when the judge heard all of that, he said okay, mistakes were made here. the prosecution not happy with that. the prosecution saying, look, we don't know whether maybe she got a gun. no evidence presented that she got a gun. just sort of hypothetical

question. at the end of the day the judge said that she needs to adhere by the order which means she stays at home. the sheriff's department doesn't have the authority to give her permission to go run errands like this as opposed to if she does it again, she'll likely wind up back in jail and go back to jail awaiting the trial and the trial is at the end of march and again that is for the case where she fired the weapon in the air the first time she went to trial she was convicted. tried to use stand your ground defense. didn't work. convicted and sentenced to 20 years. on the heels of what she went through firing that gun in a domestic disturbance and what took place in the george zimmerman case where there was talk of a stand your ground defense although ultimately that was not presented, it was certainly viewed by many that the stand your ground influenced the jury's decision. it's going to be interesting to see how this new trial plays out. the defense today said that indeed they may use stand your

ground as a defense. again, the trial is set to begin at the end of march and reason there's a new trial is appellate court said there were technical problems when she was initially convicted and sentenced. >> kerry sanders, appreciate it. still ahead for you, celebrations in the central african-american republic after the president caves into pressure there and resigns unable to stop deadly violence forcing nearly 1 million people from their homes. we get a live report from that war-torn country. plus, i'll talk to the writer of this interesting article from "the washington post." our first lady, michelle obama, and beyonce, faces of 21st century feminism. it's time for "your business" entrepreneur of the week. derrick lost his coat at a bar in college and thought there had to be a better way. the entrepreneurship major decided to update the coat check process for the digital age.

for more, watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does.

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. ♪ all aboard. that it's given me time toabout reflect on some of life'seen biggest questions.

like, if you could save hundreds on car insurance by making one simple call, why wouldn't you make that call? see, the only thing i can think of is that you can't get any... bars. ah, that's better. it's a beautiful view. i wonder if i can see mt. rushmore from here. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. paws off pal. [ female announcer ] new charmin ultra soft is so soft you can actually see the softness with our new comfort cushions. plus you can use up to 4 times less. enjoy the go with new charmin ultra soft. violence killed thousands and left 1 million displaced and now the central african republic top leaders are resigning. thousands celebrated in the streets after the president and prime minister announced they are stepping down.

regional leaders have blamed the leader for failing to stop seco sectarian violence. one humanitarian said it's like darfur plus anarchy. will the replacement of these leaders stop the deaths, stop the displacements? >> well, that is the great unknown here. there was a great deal of celebration, cheering in the street that had public joy earlier on. despite those public displays of joy, there was also a great deal of uncertainty about what will happen now. it is possible that the potential vacuum makes things even worse if you can imagine such a thing. this is already the worst

humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world according to some those operating here with 1 million people forced out of their homes as thousands of people killed in just a few weeks of violence. so no one knows what happens precisely now but there was a great deal of celebration certainty and optimism among the christian community and this was a muslim president who is linked to rebel militia in way it seized control around a year ago and the christian militia today were actually trying to blockade the airport preventing the interim president from returning to the country if he didn't resign. he did and there was celebration here. >> thank you so much for that report there in the central african republic for us. the very latest.

stale ahead, conservative payback. our first read team says christie's enemies are sharpening their knives including governors up set over the support of president obama. for the first time ever in congress, made up mostly of millionaires. one of the things we thought you should know. 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. we're open to it. life could be hectic. as a working mom of two young boys angie's list saves me a lot of time. after reading all the reviews i know i'm making the right choice. online or on the phone, we help you hire right the first time.

with honest reviews on over 720 local services. keeping up with these two is more than a full time job, and i don't have time for unreliable companies. angie's list definitely saves me time and money. for over 18 years we've helped people take care of the things that matter most. 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. that would be my daughter -- hi dad. she's a dietitian. and back when i wasn't eating right, she got me drinking boost. it's got a great taste,

and it helps give me the nutrition i was missing. helping me stay more like me. [ female announcer ] boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. grandpa! [ female announcer ] stay strong, stay active with boost. the chris christie press conference. the less you knew, the more you were impressed. the more you knew, the less you were impressed. that's what msnbc's first read team said about the controversy going on to say christie's enemies, democrats and republicans are ready to pounce. joining me right now is mark murray. i hope i quoted you the right way. >> just perfect. >> good stuff. thanks for being here. senator lindsey graham told nbc yesterday that christie is kind of a bully. then earlier on msnbc as you and

i were listening, rnc spokesman defended christie. take a listen. >> governor christie took responsibility and showed what a leader does. i think that's refreshing. i think it's important that you see that is what happens when republicans deal with situations. >> just want to let you know we just learned here on msnbc our nbc news investigative team received those documents regarding the chris christie case. we're now going to be going through them and when we have the latest information, we'll of course be reporting it here on msnbc. okay. mark, you know, as we just listened, two different viewpoints from republicans reacting to republican chris christie in this situation. is this another issue that will show a split in the republican party like right down the middle there? >> it's important for people to know that a lot of conservatives don't trust chris christie and don't see him as their biggest champion and whether it's now or poe continuationly heading into

2016. they didn't like that he and president obama were together after hurricane sandy and last part of 2012 election. they might not like his positions when it comes to immigration or on guns and so this could be an opportunity for some people to be able to say, see, i told you. this guy isn't the right person for 2016 and this is a very different situation if chris christie were already the nominee or if he were president of the united states where you would have an entire political party and everyone rallying around him. that's not going on as you just had a clip of. lindsey graham saying he's kind of a bully. there's at least the narrative that he's kind of a bully. you have the rnc defending him. in some ways as we put in first read, he's a man on an island right now. >> for now. you know, in "the wall street journal" peggy noonan responded to this situation and she compares christie's long press conference where he blamed his aides to the president's press conference a few weeks ago and she wrote this. "it was reminiscent of president

obama saying he was burned by the rollout of obamacare." two leaders taking the blame saying they were kept in the dark about activities their staffs were up to. do you think her comparison holds here? >> i see how some people make their point. this is where chief executive says i didn't have perfect information. i didn't know exactly what was going on. and certainly the obama administration were not happy with what happened with the healthcare.gov rollout. a difference between the two stories, equivalent of the white house is if healthcare.gov failures were targeted to particular opponents saying we want computers to crash and we have e-mails showing this is what we want to do. that's what guess to the heart of this george washington bridge scandal it was seen as political payback for enemies and the opposition. chris christie said that that kind of payback really staunted

his deputy chief of staff and are there other things that go into the record that there is some type of payback. >> mark murray, thank you so much. just getting into msnbc, we have the hundreds of documents that are related to this case that we're going through right now. when we get more information about what was in them, nbc news and msnbc will have it for you. still ahead, the target data breach worse than first thought. the number of people affected has nearly tripled. what we're learning today. is this the bacon and cheese diet? 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.

you'll never believe they're light. and i had like this four wheninch band of bumpsles it started on my back. that came around to the front of my body. and the pain from it was- it was excruciating. i did not want anyone to brush into me to cause me more pain than i was already enduring.

i wanted to just crawl up in a ball and just, just wait till it passed.

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 number of customers affected by the target security breach is nearly triple now as many previously thought. that tops our look at stories around "news nation" today. target saying the security breach that happened november 27 through december 15 affected 110 million people. originally target said 40 million people were affected. now the company saying the

names, mailing addresses, phone numbers or e-mail addresses for up to 70 million more customers were stolen. state attorney generals are joining the federal investigation into that data breach. the cdc says the flu is now widespread in 35 states. that's ten more than last week when four children died from the flu across the country. it's not too late to get vaccinated. michelle obama and beyonce knowles, fitness buffs and feminists as well. in "the washington post," a reporter knows how significant the relationship the two share is "as their friendship has developed, these two women have wittingly or not become markers of 21st feminism." thanks for being here. you write in your piece "they're incredibly competent women who have not just flourishing careers but flourishing marriages and flourishing children. that's a very inspiring feminist

message." so says anna holmes. it it feels very revolutionary. when you look at them, do they want to be feminists? is this what they are actively trying to do? >> that is an interesting question. you noknow, michelle obama hasn declared herself a feminist in any way. beyonce's latest album she really has. we can take a look at the song "flawless" where she quotes from a title we should be feminist and in the video that accompanies that song, it's clear that she claims that mantel for herself and that sparks debate. >> great article by the way. when you discuss this idea, they have done so much as women, so much as african-americans, do they set the bar maybe too high for other women to try to emulate? >> that's an interesting

question. this idea of can a woman really have it all. and we hear from folks who are talking about them being mothers and also professionals and where they put their emphasis. the idea that they can determine for themselves what success looks like and that they don't have to, you know, be just professionals or just mothers but they find a way to mix all of those things. >> on the flip side, they're also using titles as first lady does mom in chief and then you look at beyonce and she says mrs. carter in her titles. it is sort of a mixed message there? >> it has provoked criticisms. this idea of are they representing their husbands or themselves? what is their place in the relationship? are these equal partners? and is that a way that a feminist would present themselves? you also with beyonce have some who said with her overt

sexuality and some of her music and videos that that isn't feminist depending on how you define it and for the first lady to talk about herself as being mom in chief and emphasizing that more than her sort of professional credentials and educational background is also controversial. >> no doubt. two compelling figures that have done so much. thank you for stopping by and as i said, great article there in "the washington post." have a good friday. still ahead, the story behind the salute seen around the world. this moving picture when viral a few months ago showing a wounded army ranger saluting from his hospital bed. what he's saying in a any interview with nbc. this soldier surprise. check out reaction from this 5-year-old louisiana boy after seeing his dad for the first time in almost a year. the boy went to the mall yesterday on a thursday thinking he was just going to get something to eat. little did he know, the folks t

chick-fil-a had a surprise for him with his dad back from afghanistan. >> are you staying? >> yes, i am staying. >> yeah! hallelujah! >> i'm staying. i'm staying. i'm overwhelmed right now. he's all i could think about being gone and being away for the second time. so i'm just extremely happy right now. [ coughs, sneezes ] [ sniffles ] i have a big meeting when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? [ male announcer ] nope. they don't have a decongestant. really? [ male announcer ] really. alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a fast-acting decongestant to relieve your stuffy nose. [ inhales deeply ] alka seltzer plus. oh. what a relief it is. [ male announcer ] can't find theraflu, try alka seltzer plus for fast liquid cold and flu relief. humans -- we are beautifully imperfect creatures,

living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back, offering exclusive products like optional better car replacement, where, if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. call... and ask an insurance expert about all our benefits today, like our 24/7 support and service, because at liberty mutual insurance, we believe our customers do their best out there in the world, so we do everything we can to be there for them when they need us. plus, you could save hundreds when you switch -- up to $423. call... today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

before we go this friday. an update on an army ranger who we came to know because of an emotional image that went viral. the picture showed him saluting despite being under heavy sedation. he was awarded the purple heart in his hospital room. nbc's harry smith has more. >> josh is one tough son of a gun. he's up and about and it's proof of his grit. we knew that. that's josh. he just had been awarded a purple heart in a field office. no one dreamed he was conscious.

>> i knew what to do. i felt stuck a little bit. i started tugging on it. i pulled it all of the way up and presented my salute as best that i could. >> reporter: the picture went viral as soon as josh's wife, taylor, posted it on facebook and then taylor talked to us and the response kept growing. >> i have a brown paper back at home. it's filled to the top full of letters. >> reporter: josh and taylor wish they could respond to every message and they want folks to know that josh is doing well. taylor is too. she's due in may. how are you feeling. >> i feel good. tired. hungry. >> she's always hungry. >> reporter: already milestones like when josh stood up for the first time. >> the first big moment of, okay, we're on the road. we're healing. >> reporter: did it feel like that for you too?

>> being able to hold my wife again -- >> reporter: to hold your wife again. imagine. josh's left leg has healed enough to be fit for a prosthesis. the right one is soon to follow. learning to walk is a tricky business. it requires serious core strength and to balance in ways you have to see to believe which requires a kind of fearlessness. >> i don't want that hope. not at all. >> reporter: that kind of courage is easier to come by when you have a solid support system. next month taylor's brother, sergeant patrick griffith, is headed up a warriors walk to raise money for what will be a lifetime of added costs. >> i want them to know that no matter what happens throughout their lives, that they will always have us to back them. >> reporter: josh and taylor are humbled by the attention they've received but they want people to

know the war is not over. >> we're still asking this of our soldiers. go over there. maybe you'll come back. maybe you won't. but go over there. >> reporter: indeed it is we who should be saluted all of them. harry smith, nbc news, san antonio. >> that does it for this edition of "news nation." i'm richard lui in for tamron hall. "the cycle" is up next. stick around. ♪ ♪

♪

i took medicine but i still have symptoms. [ sneeze ] [ male announcer ] truth is not all flu products treat all your symptoms. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus severe cold and flu speeds relief to these eight symptoms. [ breath of relief ] thanks. [ male announcer ] you're welcome. ready? go. it's friday. it's 5:00 somewhere. 3:00 here in "the cycle." chris christie is laying low as the political class debates about what he knew or didn't know about the bridge fiasco i'm toure. thousands of pages of documents have been released and our team is poring through them as we speak. >> numbers game. 2013 out with a whimper on the jobs front but the unemployment rate continues to plummet. i'm krystal ball in washington today. we'll have more on why that's happening and why most economists agree it's not a good

thing. targeted. that massive security breach at target got a lot bigger. i'm ari melber. hours away from one of hollywood's biggest nights. i'm abby huntsman. the best are up for golden globes this weekend with a few glaring exceptions. moments ago, thousands of pages of documents related to george washington bridge lane closures were released including ones submitted by chris christie port authority appointee, david wildste wildstein. there's now a class-action lawsuit in the works filed by jersey residents who were stuck in the traffic jams and claimed they were late to work and lost pay. as g