in terms of what happens in this still expanding bombshell of a story. thanks for being with us tonight and all this week as we've chronicled this story. that does it for us tonight. we will surely see you again on monday. >> weekends with alex witt starts now. new information the target breach was far worse than first thought. 100 million people at risk. now word that another store was breached. more than 2,000 documents related to the scandal of the george washington bridge scandal. will a polar vortex chill the economy? surprising numbers. >> my conversation with kathie lee gif ford. she helds me how she and hoda came to be. good morning and welcome to weekends with alex witt.

here's what's happening out there. the new jersey state assembly released thousands of pages of e-mails, text messages and documents related to the traffic jam on the george washington bridge. it's the biggest scandal of governor chris christie's tenure. they demand the lanes be reopened. he wrote he was worried state and federal laws had been broken. the documents revealed governor christie, appointee david wildstein showed up to witness the traffic jam in person. we are going to michael isikoff who has the report for us. michael? >> reporter: good morning, alex. these e-mails are rife with details about the hardships created by the lane closures on the george washington bridge in september. the executive director of the port authority is furious about this, calls them abusive, a

threat to public safety, worries that lives might be endangered. there are e-mails showing that officials from ft. lee, new jersey, whose mayor refused to endorse christie's re-election were calling up saying emergency responders were having difficulty responding to a missing child, who was later found and a cardiac arrest. when that e-mail comes to david wildstein and he's the christie appointee in the middle of this, his e-mailed response discussed is radio silence. wildstein is the guy to watch in this. he took the fifth amendment when called to testify before the legislative committee on thursday. one little notice coded to that is his lawyers said, at the end, if he's granted immunity, you will get the answers to your questions. he's talking to the committee. a pretty clear sign he may be

willing to talk. he may be willing to spill his beans. on tuesday, the new legislature comes back here to trenton. they are going to renew their subpoena power. the chairman of the committee that's investigating this says he tends to issue new subpoenas to christie's former and now fired deputy chief of staff and others. it's a sure sign, alex, this sign is not going away anytime soon. >> you are right. thank you so much, michael isikoff. see you later. the massive data breach at target is bigger than previously thought. at least 70 to 110 million customers were hit making it one of the largest breaches of its kind. katety tur has the latest. >> if you thought the fraud did not affect you, think again. last month, it was credit card numbers and 40 million people compromised. today, names, e-mails, phone numbers and home addresses for

70 million more making the hacking one of the largest security breaches ever. this loyal shopper found out she has a problem when she started getting calls from her credit card company. >> i woke up to a phone call from my bank asking me if i booked a flight to catar? i said in the middle east? she said yeah. i said no. >> reporter: she had to change all her credit cards. >> my life has been miserable. i didn't think it would be as hard as it was. >> reporter: it's not all that's worrying experts. >> they are hackers after money. >> if they have my phone and e-mail address, they can steal my identity. >> it's full blown identity theft. that's the concern. people are going to start getting e-mails that look like they are from target or the fbi. it's real sounding information. they know all this about you. >> reporter: on the website, they issued an apology writing i

know it is frustrating to learn this information was taken. we are truly sorry they are having to endure this. target is offering free credit monitoring to customers at u.s. stores. whyte says she still needs to shop. >> it has changed my mind set. every time i swipe my card, i think, here we go again. >> that was katy tur reporting there. neiman marcus is saying their data base was hacked in december. they say some customer's cards were possibly compromised. the online customers do not appear to be affected. with both the stores, how concerned are you about using credit and debit cards? you can talk to me on twitter. i will read your tweets throughout the show. president obama is outlining his economic agenda for 2014

calling it a year of action. i'll keep doing everything i can to create jobs and opportunities with american families, with congress or on my own and with everyone willing to play their part. that should begin by extending unemployment insurance to americans laid off through no fault of their own. republicans dedicated their weekly address focusing on the affordable care act. here is ted cochran of mississippi. >> if the law can't keep their most basic promise, it should be repealed. we have introduced legislation to do just that. we should go back to the drawing board and draft common sense, bipartisan legislation that will work better for all americans. >> president obama said to announce his decision to changes on the nsa surveillance program friday. a board briefed the president

earlier on recommendations of the upcoming report. john kerry departs for paris. the topic will be the civil war raging in syria. two people are dead after a downpour in south florida. nearly two feet of rain fell in 24 hours in palm beach county. some residents has to use canoes to get around the flooded streets. dylan dreier is here with the forecast. good soggy morning to you. >> good morning, alex. a nice mild day up and down the east coast with temperatures in newark, 50 dgt. the cold air in the northern plains, not as cold as it has been. we have a rainstorm producing heavy downpours in kentucky to tennessee. parts of the southeast is going to move eastward. we have freezing rain especially through central new england. if you are traveling this morning, the roads could be slippery. most areas, southern new england

and south back toward buffalo, it is all rain. we have a slight risk of strong storms. the biggest threat is damaging wind gusts, isolated tornado. that would be not really all that likely today. other than that, heavy downpours with the wind gusts. mild today. 61 in washington, d.c. 62 in atlanta. 80s through florida. 28 in minneapolis for a high. tomorrow 38. melting out that way. 41 in chicago. as the rain clears on the east coast, temperatures drop to the upper 40s. alex? >> thank you so much for that. the death toll as the flu outbreak spreads across this country. you have heard of perspective colleges and employers checking out accounts, but banks? what you post could affect you getting a mortgage. you see the gray. try root touch up by nice 'n easy. just brush our permanent color matching creme right where you need it. then rinse. in 10 minutes, zap those grays and get on with your day.

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it is not safe to drink the water for hundreds of thousands of people in charleston. that is where we find luke russert who joins us live to talk about this. talk about a mess in every way, shape and form. what is the latest? >> reporter: well, the latest is this morning 15% of the state's population will wake up and not have access to clean, accessible tap water. it's spread over 300,000 people over nine counties. officials tell us they expect it to be problematic today as it was for the past few. they will set up water distribution sites around the nine counties. for a lack of better words, bottle water is currency, it is king. it's had a huge impact on people's daily lives. you know how much you use water from brushing your teeth to cooking and showering and

whatnot. a lot of folks here in charleston, can't go about their daily lives. a lot of hotels shut down. restaurants can't serve their patro patrons. officials are going try to test the water in the elk river to see if the chemical introduced in the spill thursday die luted to the point where the water is safe and accessible. right now, officials say there's time before that and how much time we do not know, officially. the company responsible for the spill, a company called freedom industries, they have been ordered by the state to remove the tanks close to the river. they have to empty the tanks of all chemicals even though they are not leaking and move to a facility further inland. investigations are launched by officials and they want answers. a lot of folks on the ground feel the company has not been apologetic enough. yesterday, they had a press conference, if you will. the gentleman in charge of

freedom industries said we had a long day and would like to wrap up the press conference. a lot of folks feel we are going to have a long weekend because of a mistake your company made. alex? >> yeah. i'm reading an additional line. it was unfortunate and unanticipated. in his delivery of the message, he could have been more sympathetic. you are getting a list of things. what about hospitals, too. they have to conserve water. a man was supposed to get a kidney dialysis treatment. they said no. there's so much that hinges on this. >> reporter: elective surgeries are put on hold in a lot of hospitals in nine counties. any water the hospitals have is strictly preserved for emergencies. it's a huge issue. the illness issue, i should mention, yesterday, over 600 cases reported to the west virginia center for disease control. folks having all kind of

symptoms like nausea and vomiting. ten people admitted to the hospital for the latest numbers. we expect it to stay steady as most report what has occurred to them. one last thing i will throw at you, because of the businesses being closed, you are starting to see lawsuits come up against this company because of all the lost amount of revenue. similar to the gulf coast, what we saw a few years ago. expect this to be the beginning of the beginning, alex. >> the beginning of a long beginning. luke russert, thanks for the live report. thanks. the fallout continues. we are learning details about the controversy surrounding the george washington bridge lane closures and impact on new jersey governor, chris christie. at the end of the day, chris christie is going to win the presidency if he runs and everything goes right and he stays chris christie. >> say there's something else that comes out. politically dead as presidential candidate? >> if it's serious enough.

he's already got a big problem in that department because of the ads that can be made against him on this. >> both sides of the opinions there. a new jersey legislative department released thousands of pages of documents. governor christie says he didn't know about the plan. kevin and ed joining me. hi guys. good to see you. >> good morning, thanks for having me. >> glad you are here. all the documents, a couple thousand pages worth. what are they telling us? >> they are detailing the cover up or the attempt to stall revelations about this explanations for it. there were media inquiries, inquiries from the new york officials that help run the port authority. there's evidence new jersey officials were basically saying hold off or there's nothing to it, don't worry about it. that adds to it. there doesn't seem to be anything as explosive as the first run of e-mails.

it does demonstrate the concern that christie's aides were being brash. either he was permitting it or unaware the staffers were doing this. it will contribute to the concern, the narrative that he's running an unwieldly operation and one people will appreciate because it's a no holds barred or not like because it's too aggressive. >> we have new york magazine who says the scandal is probably going to destroy christie's 2016 prospects. then you have mike murphy saying it may blow over by 2016. there's both sides there. also reflected in the soundbytes, what are you hearing? >> i think that the underlying problem here is the political culture in new jersey. now, governor chris christie, who spent years carefully

crafting an image of a rough and tough, no nonsense republican governor is going to have to redefine himself, following this scandal. he can either, the question becomes, is he going to be an agent of change against this political culture where something like this in new jersey was able to happen or was he a part of this political culture as his critics are sure to be pointing out that he was in the coming years leading up to 2016. >> okay. no doubt we will discuss it further. let's switch gears here. kevin, we'll start with you. as the president addressed the latest jobs numbers, he's calling 2014 a year of action. let's listen. >> across the broader economy, signs of progress. manufacturing and housing sectors are rebounding. our enery, technology and auto sectors are booming. thanks in part to the reforms health care costs eat up less of our economy.

>> the govern added to the economy, 74,000 jobs in government. unemployment dropped to 6.7% largely because a wave of americans stopped looking for work. how do the numbers bode for the president, kevin? >> we can talk about the numbers and all the statistics, the final point you made about how the reason that we had a decline in the unemployment rate from 7% to 6.7% is because folks have largely stopped participating in the job market. that, in itself, is disappointing for this administration and also, i think, is problematic. the recovery has not gone as quickly as many hoped. i think as we head into the debate about unemployment benefits, economic issues is coming to the forefront this month. >> yeah, to that end, the president repeating his call for congress to renew the unemployment, the one that ran out three days after the

holidays. where does that stand? >> looks like we are waiting to see whether democrats or republicans in the senate can come up with a deal. the numbers released are going to compare both sides. there's good news and bad news for everyone. yes, there's a reduction in the overall percentage of unemployment. the long term unemployment number is growing. a lot of republicans who voted to proceed said they were concerned for the long term unemployed. if there were more of them and they are seeking the benefits, they are going to have to find a way. this will be cast by some as a victory for the president. remember, there are real world consequences if the benefits expire and will not be renewed or if they are. people will benefit from it. i think there's an election year concern that if you are seen as really holding back something that would help people, especially in this kind of economy, you know, republicans, democrats could suffer consequences. i would not be surprised if

there is a deal reached monday or tuesday. i would not be surprised if there isn't, if that makes any sense? >> why? because you cover capitol hill? >> and so used to seeing failure, yes. >> thank you so much. good to see you both. i appreciate it. the price tag of the polar vortex. how much it cost some companies when the mercury dipped low. our three big money headlines are coming up. 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.

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to adhere to two new rules going back to the basics. the first is the ability to repay. basically, that means that people that are wanting to get a mortgage have to prove they have enough income as well as assets to pay off the amount of the loan. so, if you are getting a loan for $156,000, you have to prove you can pay that off. the second one is the qualified mortgages rule. that means your debt to income ratio has to be below 43% before they give you that money. there are instances where they may lend that money if you have a higher debt to income ratio. you have to prove you have the assets in order to get that money. >> is it going to take longer to get a mortgage now? >> as anyone knows who bought an apartment or home, it takes a long time to get the paperwork through. with the new rules, it is going to take longer, especially when it gets to the loan process. this is to protect the consumer.

>> the cold cuts. the polar vortex. talk about the blast of arctic air, what it had, the pros and cons. some were hurt and some benefited. >> the take away number is $5 billion. it's what it costs the nation when the polar vortex hit. the people not going to work, the bursted pipes, the canceled flights. the airline industry lost. 20,000 flights were canceled. 50 million to 1$100 million. there is a benefit. the delivery takeouts, the cable networks, they benefited from it. there was a little bit of give and take with that. it did cost the nation. >> quick, the social studies, small lenders are conducting social stud di-s. >> speaking of small lenders, people going out to ged loans,

certain lenders are looking on social media that says what is written on the social media matches the loan documents. if you are going out to get $5,000, they want to make sure what you are saying match the job description on linked in and facebook. there's pushback from that. consumer advocates are saying it's not fair. if you get a negative review on e-mail or, you know, let's say another social media, that could effect your ability to get a loan and, you know, because it's not federally mandated. >> i tell you. you have to be careful what you say these days. i'm going to say thank you to you. the new revelations from the george washington bridge scandal. will it affect the image of chris christie? that's next. he time, there's crest 3d white 1 hour express whitestrips. removes years of stains in just 1 hour. whitening without the wait. crest 3d white 1 hour express whitestrips.

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welcome back, it's half past the hour.

the wreckage of a small plane has been spotted in the mountains of central idaho. they don't think any of the five on board survived. it may be delayed because of an approaching storm. a travel alert for those planning to attend the olympics in sochi. there's no specific threat to u.s. citizens but advises people to be individual lent about their security. bp is ordered to pay more than $9 billion in claims stemming from the gulf oil spill. they have been fighting the settlement saying it allows unsub stan chated claims. theout break of the flu increased from 25 to 35 states. it's taken a deadly toll where it killed nine people in one hospital. he served six years for president reagan. larry speaks died at the age of

74. he became press secretary. those are the fast five headlines. new jersey governor, chris christie has been out of the spotlight since the visit thursday watching along with the nation as news organizations sift through thousands of pages of documents. they are looking to see if anything holds the smallest contradictions to the answers given at the marathon press conference at the capitol. kelly o'donnell is live in trenton covering all of this for us. let's start with the documents. you have e-mails, memos, detailed frustration and concern from local officials. nothing that goes up to the governor. what is this doing to his public image and future? >> one of the thing that is is unclear about this is what direction will this investigation go. will there be anything in the e-mails and documents being reviewed by journalists and investigator that is will fill in a picture that takes this in any new direction.

as you point out, he denied having knowledge of what his associates were doing, denied authorization, distancing himself from it and trying to demonstrate he's willing to take a tough stand by cutting loose from people who have been very close and loyal to him. we are in a bit of a period now where there is a waiting to see what comes next phase. the governor spoke for almost two hours. i think that was the longest press conference of an elected official or single official i ever attended in a part that was strategic to answer any question in the room at the time to allow for the governor to say i addressed the issues. that's all there is to say. looking at what's in the documents, it gives more color about the frustrations going on. it's adding new detail. so far, nut thag links it to the governor. if that holds and supports the story he made publicly, the question becomes can he weather

this by taking action and he can rebuild trust with the people of new jersey and set a different tone. those are the things that will take time to do. he suspects he will do more interviews with people on his staff and trying to be careful to not be perceived as getting in the way of the investigations. the political question goes on for awhile. the question of the moment is the reading of details and looking for potential clues. thus far, nothing really jumps out. what you also see in the e-mails is a sense of the human frustration in this. there are a lot of political elbow throwing moments in lots of people's administrations. it's unusual to see something spill out in the public domain that personally affects the con stish wanlts they serve. documents showing complaints coming in from people using the bridge. one woman talking how her husband had been out of work for a year, got a job and was late

in his first week because of the bridge traffic jam that appears to be intentionally, politically motivated. alex? >> kelly, thank you very much for that assessment of things going on there. it's a tough time in new jersey. thanks. for more on governor christy's image and how he recovers, let's go to steve, an expert on new jersey politics and a guest of ours frequently in the past. let's start with your backyard. how much more difficult is governor christie's job going to be? >> let's take one at a time. the job is very challenging. tough regain the confidence of new jersey voters. some people have such strong feelings of governor christie, many believe him off the bat, others don't. the vast majority are trying to decide how they feel about the governor. while the governor made a start in the two-hour press conference taking responsibility and firing certain people, it is a long way

from what needs to be done. every day, the governor is going to have to make decisions. a, he cannot get in the way of investigations. b, he has to totally cooperate and c, most importantly, he's got to be prepared to make tough decisions including letting people go who are close to him, personal friends, people who helped him get to where he is today politically. i'm talking people named in some of these e-mails because it's embarrassing. it's one thing, i take the governor at his word, i want to be clear, i take him at his word that he didn't know about it until it was made public. that does not mean there were failures of leadership. i have to do soul searching. mistakes were made and i am responsible. it's a long way from being out of this. final word, he has to act as a leader, let people go and be decisive. people have to decide politically what that means. >> steve, we are going to have you on to talk about this again.

we have breaking news we need to share with the audience. thank you for your time. nbc news confirmed the former israeli prime minister died at the age of 85. martin fletcher takes a look at the life and career of this controversial leader. >> reporter: if anyone symbolized israel's eye and fist, itd was ariel sharon. he was a fighter in the wars. 1948, wounded in the war of independence. 1967, after israel occupied gaza, he imposed tough anti-gorilla tactics for the next 20 years. 1973, sharon led israel's counter attack against egypt that saved israel from defeat. his military reputation, brutal and brilliant. >> we have to hold the sword in one hand. not because we want it, but in

order to defend ourselves. >> reporter: then, as defense minister in 1982, sharon faded fast after invading lebanon to defeat the palestinians, sharon and his troops stood by and lebanese christians stood by the refugee camps. they massacred 800 palestinians. the israeli government determined sharon was responsible and should never again be given the power of defense minister. after a decade and a half of champions the right wing and the settlers who occupied palestinian land, he reinvented himself as farmer, family man, fought elections and won. sharon became prime minister. his trademark tough military tactics helped calm four and a half years of violent palestinian uprising. then the old war horse stunned the nation yet again. >> for peace, we are ready to

make compromises. >> reporter: sharon said it was time to change, even if that meant destroying settlements he himself helped to build. he understood to keep some of the west bank they have to give upmost of the occupied territories. sharon stunned the settlers by giving up the gaza strip as a step to peace with the palestinians. another stunning move, sharon abandoned the political party he founded himself to start another party in order he said, to move faster toward peace. then sharon, on the verge of leading israel into new political territory fell victim to a massive stroke. he clung to life in a coma for years, but lost his final battle. martin fletcher, nbc news, tel aviv. ariel sharon dead at the age of 85. we'll be right back. you want to see something cool? snapshot, from progressive.

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power, politics an paychecks as we look at a foggy dome in d.c. the officials have been back at work since the beginning of the week. i wonder if things are clear to get things done. we are talking about the rising tide of wealth. for the first time, the majority of those in congress are millionaires. the study for centers of response and politics show 268 current members in 2012 were worth at least $1 million. median network is just over $1 million. the legalization of marijuana in colorado will likely put a strain on the budgets of law enforcement. the wall street journal says they stand to lose millions of dollars in revenues stemming from assets taken from marijuana dealers and growers. overseas in geneva and the p5 plus one countries are making a pact. iran says all disagreements have been resolved. the eu says they have made god

progress, in is as momentum is building against iran. gregory meeks, a member of the foreign affairs committee, welcome. glad to have you here in studio. what are you hearing ability the success of talks? >> from all signs, things are moving progressively. from -- it's been indicated by the iranian spokesperson and listening to some of our allies in the p5 plus 1, things are moving forward. for me, you take it day by day, step by step, you, you know, trust and verify, move forward and see where we go and where we are a few months from now. so far, so good, i think. >> the talk of sanctions, let's look at the number count. the ap reports 59 senators are backing new sanctions eight away

from the needed. the house has the necessary votes. where do you come down on new sanctions? >> i'm concerned. clearly, i think that, you know, we have our problem with iran. iran has not lived up to some of its commitments in the past. but, this is a new development for me. we have five nations plus one that are negotiating and these are our allies. what's made it successful, forced iran to the table is the unified effort of our allies to force them to the table. i'm concerned more with reference to that unity. sanctions only work when it is not, you know, just us, it's all of us together. in talking to some of our ally that is are negotiating and having to visit recently some of the countries, it is important that those, that commitment with our allies stands strong.

therefore, i, you know, right now, think we need to give the president the opportunity to see whether this -- these talks work or not. >> that is the point i want to bring up with you. the president said we are looking at six months. we are a month into the six month trial period. iran said look, if you put new sanctions on us right now, i mean all for not that secretary kerry negotiated in geneva. >> it is clear that iran, based upon the agreement we have right now, we have unprecedented access that never happened before on a daily basis to see if, in fact, they are living up to the commitment. there's a certain level of enrichment they cannot go above. we will be able to verify on a daily basis. this is unprecedented access. i believe we need to give it a chance. we don't need to empower the

individuals in iran the right wingers in iran who don't want it to work either. >> can i ask you, the timing as well, can you there on capitol hill put together a sanctions package, get it approved say we can put it into effect the second this six month period ends if nothing moves forward or we are seeing things we are not supposed to see? can you do that? >> yeah. just remember the sanctions already in place are not being removed. they are still there. >> sure. >> we are not saying we are ending the sanctions against iran. what's being talked about is should there be additional sanctions? we can do it in a timely fashion if iran does not live up to its commitment. i don't think the message is the right time to deliver the message or for us to pass another sanctions bill. >> i want to talk with you about the situation in iraq. al qaeda's gains. what are your thoughts on the

decision for the united states to withdrawal completely on u.s. troops there? >> again, i think we cannot stay there. i mean, indefinitely. the president has gone in the right direction. we still need to make sure that we have troops on the outside to strengthen and help and strategize with the troops, the iraqi troops to make sure they are able to protect themselves. i think there should be an agreement. that's the issue, there's not an agreement between the administration of iraq and the united states on how do we work together moving forward. they are hurting themselves. >> do you see a cause and effect, a direct threat to our national security in iraq? >> yes, i think we cannot allow al qaeda and those affiliates to begin to reemerge and strengthen then comes the threat we had before. i think it has, in this day and

age of terrorism, it has a direct effect and we can never allow ourselves to become laxed. we have to stay on top of it and continue to be engaged and move forward. we can do that, i think, in a different manner than sending more troops and staying physically engaged in iraq in that way. >> representative gregory meeks, i appreciate you stopping by. i appreciate that. how could a drop in unemployment not be good news? et the old dining table at 25th and hoffman. ...and the little room above the strip mall 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 ♪

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many economists are scratching their heads wondering what happened to the december jobs report. the final unemployment numbers of 2013 show that only 74,000 jobs were added last month. but at the same time the unemployment fell to 6.7%. but that is mainly because a lot of people gave up the job search. and to drive home the point of

job market worries, check out this video. there are 5,000 people or so waiting in line to apply for 1500 job opening at a outlet mall. jarod, can you make sense of these numbers? >> first of all i can think of no better way to start the weekend than to talk to you about the jobs report. i think it's a bit of a head scratcher. there are such a thing as statistical outliars. these reports tend to have a fair bit of noise in them and the payroll number will be revised and probably revised up. the main thing is the decline in the participation in the labor force. people leaving the labor force. as you suggested you're not counted as unemployed unless you're looking for work. >> but if you break it down sector by sector, there were some strong gains in the retail and professional business

services but then you look at construction and government jobs, that was a loss. how do you interpret that? >> construction may have had something to do with unusually cold weather in december. here's a good point. the health care sector, that's a sector that continue yawly adds jobs month after month. for the first time in a decade it shed 6,000 jobs last month. the broader point is this. the job market remains pretty weak and right now in congress they're talking about whether they should extend unemployment insurance benefits. even if this report was less anom lis, the fact that there is so many long term unemployed people, these are signals, you saw that line in the picture you saw. any economy mist would look at that line' say labor supply is way ahead of labor demand. >> then you look at the entire year for 2013 you had 2.2 mill job jobs added to the economy.

but then the unemployment rate fell from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. how is our new fed chair janet yellen expected to do. >> they're going to held. economy with the still la tif monetary. all the fed did was essentially adding a little bit less juice to the economy as it were. it's not like they're winding down yet. they're just kind of doing a little bit less. and i think given the jobs report, even if it is muddy, janet yellen has consistently showed she ooh's krnd with it. i think she's going to continue to apply monetary similar lus. >> here's what's interesting. the president announces the formation of what he calls promise zones. so basically what these are,

they're neighborhoods where local efforts are going to be met on a national goal that a child's course in life will be determined not by the zip code she's born many but the strength of her work ethic. how do these promise zones work? >> so these are areas where businesses, entrepreneurs can get various breaks from the tax system, for example, if they set up shop in a particular area that's had a unique economic challenges versus another area that's doing better. it's targeting economic policily place. historically it's been kind of a mixed track record for those kinds of policies. but let's see how it works. >> thank you all always, jarod bernstein glad to see you. that's it for wek endz with alex witt. straight ahead, the who's who guide to the chris christie

bridge scandal. what you need to know from the reporter who knows new jersey politics inside and out. that is our very own steve kornacki. that is next here 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.

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