Skip to main content

tv   The Cycle  MSNBC  January 21, 2014 12:00pm-1:01pm PST

12:00 pm
wonderland. government offices and the national zoo are closed. capitol tours have been cancelled. now new england is old man winter's sitting duck as the storm marches north. let's start with where it is and where it's going. chris warren starts us off. >> you mentioned that in the thick of things, millions of people. the blue is snow. the heavier snow coming down. d.c., philadelphia and new york. the snow is closer to boston. for the rest of the day the snow is going to come down heavy at times throughout the i-95 corridor. tonight, winds are really going to pick up. if you are not where you need to be tonight you definitely do not want to be on the roads. hang tight because the winds will get going. blizzard conditions for the cape over to martha's vineyard and nantucket. winter storm warnings from
12:01 pm
roanoke to d.c. things will be dangerous outside. on the cape, martha's vine yard and nantucket. winter storm warnings for the i-95 corridor. it will be a messy scene. more than a foot of snow. this evening's commute will be nasty. by tomorrow morning a lot of the snow from d.c. to new york will have stopped falling from the sky but the winds are going to mean the snow will be blowing around, still a dangerous commute tomorrow morning. back to you. >> thank you for the update. now to the nation's capital where the flakes have been flying all day. ka kait parker is near the capitol building for us. >> reporter: it's blustery. the winds are gusting up to 35 miles per hour. when you factor in that the temperatures are in the 20s you have the wind so it feels like the low teens. one to three inches so far in the nation's capital. three to five just to the northwest of here. the snow is more intense but you can see how low the visibility
12:02 pm
is here. it's difficult to see the nation's capital behind me. you can see that the snow started to accumulate not only on the grassy areas but a hefty amount of snow on sidewalks starting to accumulate on the roads. they were treated with a briony mix that kept the freezing point lower. it is getting cold enough to see accumulations. the evening commute will be treacherous. it's getting slick out there. low visibility. it's a dangerous situation. it is recommended you do not leave the house. it is best to stay at home, nice and warm with the slippers on and some coffee today. >> thank you, kait. we couldn't stay home with the coffee and neither could ron mott where estimates of a foot of snow could have fallen.
12:03 pm
how much has fallen? >> reporter: in the last hour we have gotten an inch and a half on top of what was here. we are probably three, three of that inches at this point. like the other folks reporting we expect the heaviest stuff to fall around 5:00 or 6:00. on long island we expect upwards of 14, 15 inches of snow on the high end. maybe eight inches or so on the low end. this is the long island expressway. the l.i.e. and it don't lie today. excuse me my english. it doesn't lie. traffic backed up ahead of the city. eastbound traffic trying to get out of new york city. this looks like most folks are getting a chance to get off of work early. as we have been reporting, five or 6:00 you won't want to be here. a lot of school districts out here on long island had classes today. they cut short the school day. a lot of kids were able to get out at 12:00, 1:00, 2:00 in some cases. a lot of evening activities were cancelled for the night.
12:04 pm
as we have been saying if you don't need to be out, get home and stay home. it will not be fun driving out here in three or four hours. as we have been mentioning this is expected to go all night into the early morning hours. probably 5:00 to 7:00 in the morning before it stops. we are expecting it to fall hard when it does. half inch to an inch an hour. it will pile up quickly. fun for the kids tomorrow. my guess is most kids will not have school in this area. guys, back to you. >> ron mott on long island, hang in there. now to southeast massachusetts. it's not seen the worst yet. don't worry. it's coming in a big way. mike seidel is in plymouth for us. >> reporter: the early flakes of the storm flying across the south shore in plymouth and cape cod. a blizzard warning kicks in tonight going through 1:00 tomorrow afternoon. down here south of boston by 45 miles the winds will be stronger. thus the blizzard warning. could gust 45 to 50 miles per
12:05 pm
hour. it will be dry powdery snow with temperatures in the teens. it's 18 now. behind me is the harbor at plymouth and the boats -- fishing boats in port. visibility is coming down now. a light chop out here. we have protection from a spit of land and from the jetty that lines the harbor. snowfall rates picking up one to two inches an hour around massachusetts. boston, metro area under a winter storm warning. they won't have as much win. but snowfall totals will be as high as a foot. as you get farther west and inas dst land snowfall totals drop off. big impacts at logan. they have cancelled arrivals and departures. tomorrow already 100 flights have been cancelled. departures out of logan. check with your air carrier. much like on january 2, a cold air mass comes in behind the storm. not as cold as that one and the one the first week of january. highs again tomorrow in the
12:06 pm
teens. a good solid 15 to 20 degrees below average. the wind chills tonight and tomorrow drop down to 10 to 15 below zero. guys, back to you. >> mike seidel, thank you very much. here we go again. it's been a brutal winter for the northeast. travel is obviously a nightmare. you flew in today. i can't wait to hear your story. i didn't think it would be snowing until later. so i left this morning obviously not prepared to travel in the heavy snow. >> wrong footwear? >> slipped my entire way to the subway. being from utah you would think i would be more coordinated. i'm one of the clumsiest people. i had to grab so many people. i'm sorry, i'm sorry. >> i'm sure they were unhappy to be grabbed onto by abi huntsman. >> they were upset. we are now lucky to be inside. i'm sure many people are struggling. ari, you're in brooklyn. i can't imagine how difficult your trek was.
12:07 pm
>> oh, my gosh, from brooklyn. >> don't spare the details. >> it's cold. all the snowflakes are artisanally made. it's the only place in the country where each snow flake is sort of hand crafted by a hipster in a played button-up shirt. >> and no two are the same? >> that's what uniquely means. >> i was supposed to by andy my daughter's first musical theater performance today where she'll be performing, i kid now not, rihanna's "umbrella". >> no way. >> her name is ella. >> so cute. i love it. >> i'll have to wait now for next week. it's hit our family hard. >> probably no school tomorrow. >> that's one thing. i wanted to ask you. before i moved to new york everybody told me how tough new yorkers were about the snow. i'm not impressed. they close school at the drop of a hat.
12:08 pm
>> windy, school's cancelled. >> i don't know. my guys had a snow day today. neither went in because my wife was home alone with them the. she said, i don't know if i can deal with it. all right, fine. do what you want to do. they are in a tent watching "frozen" over and over, their new favorite movie. i started in dallas. woke up at 5:00. made it 7:00 a.m. we're a hovering over d.c. and the pilot's like, everything at laguardia is closed. nobody is going to laguardia. we'll hover over reagan and hope they let us in. he said, okay, we'll race to jfk. we made it in. just a different airport. >> you like jfk more than reagan, i heard. >> they're all good. bob hope in california actually. >> should there be an airport named after president obama? >> okay. >> we started this conversation
12:09 pm
about the weather. >> an airport named for lena dunham. i'm worried about my parents who live near plymouth in randolph, massachusetts. they have wintered so many difficult -- damn you, brian. you can't do that to me in the middle. right in my ear. >> explain what happened. >> our senior producer made notes in the ear. >> making jokes while we try to do television. >> makes me feel like the team in the control room, like they are not taking this segment seriously. >> they're not. >> neither are we. >> go ahead, finish. >> my parents have been through a lot of difficult winters in boston. you're always worried about them. you never nou know how hard it will get. the winters keep getting worse and worse. >> stay home. >> yeah. all right. great job, guys. up next -- most people would be
12:10 pm
bummed if their inaugural party got snowed on but we know somebody content to hunker down. forecasting the next four years for governor christie with howard fineman as the cycle rolls on. [ female announcer ] who are we? we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. and we're here to help start yours. lovely read susan. may i read something? yes, please. of course. a rich, never bitter taste cup after cup. 340 grams. [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] always rich, never bitter.
12:11 pm
gevalia. i nethat's my geico digital insurance id card - gots all my pertinents on it and such. works for me. turn to the camera. ah, actually i think my eyes might ha... next! digital insurance id cards. just a tap away on the geico app. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know that when a tree falls in the forest and no one's around, it does make a sound? ohhh...ugh. geico.
12:12 pm
little help here. 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.
12:13 pm
two big storms in new jersey today. first the winter weather and then the storm surrounding chris christie. while the state is expecting a foot of snow, christie was sworn in for his second term as governor. the weather has knocked out his party tonight on ellis island
12:14 pm
which is owned mostly by the state of new jersey, not new york like ari thinks. the storm around christie is intensifying with state lawmakers creating a joint committee to investigate the gwb traffic jams and other allegations christy avoided mention of the issue instead focusing on bipartisanship and diversity. >> we will fight to continue to change so we value our differences and we honor the strength of diversity. because we cannot fall victim to the attitude of washington, d.c. the attitude that says, "i am always right and you are always wrong." the belief that compromise is a dirty word. as your governor, i will always be willing to listen as long as the listens ends in action. >> chris christie was sworn in with a focus not on his
12:15 pm
presidential aspirations. we turn to howard fineman from the huffington post media group. chris christie is fighting a two-front war now which is incredibly difficult for anybody in that situation. he has bridgegate, hobokengate, any number of subpoenas flung their way. how does he run new jersey with all that's going on? >> with difficulty. and dealing with the other fronts including the tea party right and the republican party. democrats s in new jersey, manyf whom were going along with chris christie politically who now either don't want to or have been embarrassed into moving in opposition. i think we are in the lawyering up phase. the phase where everybody is picking the lawyers. that's important because of all
12:16 pm
the subpoenas that are out there. because you've got a former u.s. attorney from chicago who's been brought in by the legislature. you've got the u.s. attorney in new jersey, paul fishman, beginning to look at various things. chris christie will have to set up an informal department of government to keep track of the investigations going on. >> yeah. that's absolutely right. what we heard today didn't match that environment. this government today almost sounded like he was in a pretraffic e-mail mindset. like he was still living in the time before. we all saw the documents that showed people in the administration used and misused government resources for payback. take a listen to him. >> we have to play outside the red and blue boxes that the media pundits put us in. we have to be willing to reach out the to others who look or speak differently than us. >> he makes it sound like it's other people's problem when it
12:17 pm
is partisanship when his own aides were doing partisan payback. >> the problem with the narrative as we say these days is he was talking about bipartisanship while his idea of bipartisanship was apparently you do what i tell you or i will cause you a traffic jam. >> right. >> that's really not bipartisanship. his other narrative was i'm the corruption-busting former u.s. attorney who is not your usual politician who comes from a different place. he's been seen that his administration is behaving too much in that way. i think he's got no choice but to give the kind of speech he gave today. what i'm saying is there is a whole other sort of split screen story going on which is with the lawyers. to me one of the most important things was michael chertoff, former judge who knows new jersey like the back of his hand
12:18 pm
who has a contract with the port authority who knows where the bodies are buried and the strings are to be pulled in new jersey was brought in to advise and represent david sampsta dav. i think chertoff may be the first among equals among the defense lawyers out there representing the pieces of the now somewhat shattered christie administration. >> i'm grad you mentioned that he had no choice but to keep with the bipartisan message. you have many folks out there, mainly democrats, already assuming chris christie is guilty. as of now there is not evidence directly linking him to either scandal. that's a bit frustrating. we have to look at facts now and let it play out. on that note there is an interesting piece in the washington post about christie and his team trying to turn bridgegate into partisan scrum. he writes democrats need to be careful not to overplay their hand on the allegations.
12:19 pm
they have to keep their personal feelings about christie separate from how they act publically. anything they do that has the whiff of partisanship, christie and his able political team will seize on as a way to paint this controversy as a partisan battle. if christie isn't linked to the scandal might the strategy be effective? >> i think that's right. in a way that's why u.s. attorney paul fishman who is a key player here who people haven't paid attention to is interesting. he's a low key guy with a reputation as a nonpartisan, careful investigator. not a show boater or a grand stander. they should rely on what fishman has to say about this. by the way, chris christie's people will try to politicize any investigation. and cry foul about it being politics. i have to agree with you that as
12:20 pm
of right this minute, we don't know of and haven't seen evidence of a direct action by chris christie himself. of course that's what the subpoenas are about. by the way, they haven't issued all the subpoenas they will be issuing. this is the first round. it takes the outer layer. they are working their way in. they will get to sampson, others and christie eventually. that could take months. christie has to set up a system to deal wit while he tries to be governor. >> that's the problem for christie. forget 2016. he has to get through this term as governor and not be in jail frankly. my buddy jeff smith who knows about this wrote a great piece for politico titled "yes, the feds are out to get you, take it from me, i ended up in the clink." they brought down al capone for income tax evasion, not bribery,
12:21 pm
bootlegging or murder. this may be a bridge to other administration misconduct. this is the problem. investigators are pulling the threads and this isn't something that will go away soon. >> nothing is ever simple in new jersey. paul fishman has been in the u.s. attorney's office there for 20 years. he knows a lot of back stories, a lot of the history of these people. the burden is really going to be on him. additionally, with i don't know what level of cooperation with reid schaar, now a former u.s. attorney who bagged rod blagojevich in chicago, who will be handling things for the legislature and the joint investigation by the legislature. there is a tremendous amount of detailed political and legal maneuvering that will be going on. in many ways it will be a more gripping story than chris christie's relationship with various townships and boroughs
12:22 pm
and hamlets in new jersey. that's the problem christie has. he can try to talk about national themes, reaching out to this person and that person. most of the attention in the months to come will be on the investigations. >> you're right and abby is right when she said there is not yet a fire but there is a lot of smoke. up next, the weather is making a mess of travel. i barely beat it here from dallas today. we'll check on delays and cancellations next. ♪
12:23 pm
♪ [ male announcer ] don't wait for awesome... totino's pizza rolls gets you there in just 60 seconds. ♪ totino's pizza rolls gets you there in just 60 seconds. [ female announcer ] some people like to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk.
12:24 pm
really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat too, and has five grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i -- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? oops. [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. ensure high protein... 50% of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. see? he's a good egg. [ major nutrition ] ensure high protein. ensure. nutrition in charge!
12:25 pm
breaking today in the cycle a massive winter storm that 56 million americans could not escape if they tried because old man winter is in the cockpit this afternoon. believe it or not this is reagan international airport now. nationwide more than 2900 flights were cancelled today. we are only beginning to see the worst of the snowstorm.
12:26 pm
for those flights not yet scrapped delays are in the area of 90 minutes. tom costello? >> we have about 5,000 delays today the most affected airplanes will be the boston area and the new york city area. all three airports today, philadelphia and the washington, d.c. area. here we've got reagan national and dulles. chicago affected as well as atlanta and dallas. amtrak is up and running on the northeast corridor. no delays to speak of. people who missed flights are from am a track trying to get point a to point b. in d.c. we expect three to six inches.
12:27 pm
they are talking about the possibility of ten inches of snow. here in d.c., the federal government is closed. also city and state offices closed and most schools closed as well. we are not expecting the absolutely traffic nightmare we had when a snowstorm hit during rush hour. we had tens of thousands of people stuck ohhen the highways for up to ten hour that is night. some people not coming home until 2:00 in the morning. this time there is nobody working in d.c. today. now the storm is moving up to new york, boston. we expect more snow accumulations there. us it is likely we'll see more.
12:28 pm
tomorrow will be recovery day. >> thank you very much. washington is on a snow day. work continues behind the scenes for and against. president's effort to fast track trade deals through congress. there are two things happening here. supporters want to renew fast track trade authority. that allowed congress to set parameters for trade deals and pass them with an up or down vote without amendments. the president wants congress to use the power to pass not one not two but three deals including the trans pacific partnership of is it nations. we know some of the details of what's in the deal like property rights and concerns like wikileaks. remember nafta and the jobs lost as a result? remember this moment from the 1992 presidential debates?
12:29 pm
>> pay a dollar an hour for your labor. have noing . have no environmental control, no pollution controls and no retireme retirement. the and you don't care about anything but making money. there will be a giant sucking sound going south. >> any excuse to play that. do president obama's efforts to push the deals through on the fast track go against his fight to end in equality? his expertise on this includes work as the former executive committee and economic adviser to ted kennedy during the nafta debate. thanks for joining us. >> happy to be here. >> i want to start with the lessons of nafta. how did the promise of nafta live up to its realities and what should we learn?
12:30 pm
>> proponents of the deals always overstate the benefits. we were told nafta would create millions of jobs. the best estimates, we had a net loss of 650 to 700,000 jobs. so those benefits are overstated. second it's often said that it is a world of free trade or protection. those are economist abstractions in a textbook. what we have is some sectors will win and some will lose. who the u.s. decides to advocate for in the deals is important. what we let go in nafta and are continuing to let go are manufacturing jobs sh good jobs in the united states that the president wants to protect. we are supporting financial interests, pharmaceutical companies and we want to loosen the rules to let secrets out.
12:31 pm
>> a lot of that goes to who of benefits. for people watching saying, wait, don't we have a lot of global trade and capitalism? what exactly would the deals enables under fast track do that's different? >> let's understand fast track which says congress has to take the deal as it is, up or down. no amendments. there is a lack of democracy and transparency in the process as well. leaving those issues aside, the u.s. already has six bilateral deals with the countries. you could ask why is u.s. is now on a big deal -- >> right. >> the u.s. deal introduces new subjects. it really doesn't focus on jobs much. these have been secret but wikileaks let us see some of the feg united nationss. what the u.s. is advocating for are stronger patent protections.
12:32 pm
doctors without borders came out against the agreement. they are afraid medicines will be more costly. >> i will jump in. these conversations are going to be had whether the united states is a part of them or not. aren't we missing out on job and export opportunities at a time when we are building momentum with energy and the auto industry? that void will be filled by china, india, brazil, you name it. >> absolutely. we want trade and growth. we want good jobs, high environmental standards and opportunities for american companies to export. there is no question we want that. the question is will we get it? we haven't had a good track record. the u.s. auto industries are oh opposing the deal because of currency manipulation. they want language to make it harder for other countries to keep currency low so they can dump goods into the united states at lower prices. the u.s. auto industry now opposes the deal.
12:33 pm
>> all right. rick, thank you. great stuff. up next, it's an epidemic sweeping the nation. kids missing out on real life because they are consumed by virtual life. are parents the ones to blame? as a mom, obviously not. we'll talk about it next. [ julie ] the wrinkle cream graveyard. if it doesn't work fast... you're on to the next thing. clinically proven neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. it targets fine lines and wrinkles
12:34 pm
with the fastest retinol formula available. you'll see younger looking skin in just one week. one week? this one's a keeper. rapid wrinkle repair. and for dark spots rapid tone repair. from neutrogena®. as a police officer, i've helped many people in the last 23 years, but i needed help in quitting smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking.
12:35 pm
chantix reduced the urge for me to smoke. it actually caught me by surprise. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking, or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental-health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away, as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood-vessel problems or if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping, and unusual dreams. i did not know what it was like to be a nonsmoker, but i do now. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. the recent increase in cafeteria prices is not cool. when you vote for flo, we'll have discounts. ice-cream discounts. multi-cookie discounts. pizza loyalty discounts!
12:36 pm
[ kids chanting "flo!" ] i also have some great ideas on car insurance. [ silence ] finding you discounts since back in the day. call or click today. i like her. it's a common concern these days that young people are missing out on the real world because they are always on their technology and that the only way they interact is through social media and they are anti-social off line. not so fast says our next guest. author of "smarter than you think" how technology is changing our minds for the better says kids aren't addicted to facebook and twitter. they are addicted to each other. if your kids seem anti-social don't look online for the culprit. look in the mirror. he joins us now at the table.
12:37 pm
the premise is if your child is anti-social, always looking at the phone it's the parents' fault. what are they doing wrong? >> to a certain extent i mean all adults. adults created a world where it is hard for teenagers to hang out the way i did as a kid which is face to face, alone without parents around. they are either over scheduled after school, or the parents have been freaked out by the stories and don't let them out of their sight. or there are subdivisions without a park to hang out. this has been documented well. there was a decade talking to young people who tell her we would love to hang out. now they do it online. >> dana boyd writes some teens spend a long time crafting a message to spend to a crush providing relief from the awkwardness of stumbling over years. melanie, a 13-year-old, says the computer mask is valuable to
12:38 pm
learn how to negotiate relationships. it's easier to say what you are thinking when not looking at someone. higher bandwidth channels are preferable. social media allows us to talk and navigate when it might be awkward. she says younger people don't look at it as binary, on or off line. and she says talking to people at first in a dating environment might be easier online. then you move forward. >> older people see it as a weird separate world. if you grew up with it you are accustomed to the idea that certain types of communication are best done face to face. but some are playful, terrific if you do them online, texting. they are aware of the down sides. if you only talk online some of the stuff comes back to bite you. snapchat is a big thing. they have seen their older sisters and brothers bur s burn
12:39 pm
traces online forever. they want plausible denieblt. >> there is a different way we communicate on or off line. it's more shallow online. the face to face conversations, there are cues going on in the face, the body. it's freeing to communicate through twitter or facebook. people say things they would never say to your face. you remove the facial cues and these things. it's easier to talk. is that part of it? >> there are big misunderstandings online. people mistake sarcasm, why you don't respond after three minutes. are you annoyed at me? this is why it's interesting looking at things this way.
12:40 pm
young people don't seem as weird or different. they are exactly like previous generations. they are just not allowed to do this stuff. they would like to have the face to face conversation. >> bring it back to blaming the parents. >> blame the adults. we created a world that is claus phobic. look at a kid's life and you don't realize how little time they have autonomy to be by themselves. >> give kids more freedom which is to let them go in the backyard. times are different. what do you mean by freedom today? >> truthfully, i don't have an answer for that. one of the problems is what you said. if you say, okay, i have a 12-year-old, go run the streets. there is no other kids to run with. it's a network problem. if everyone adopts the same behavior you can't break out of it. >> it goes to what we consider as separational child rearing which is a lot of scheduled and formal structure and structure
12:41 pm
is great there is something said for kids hanging out to just be rather than going from soccer practice to viola practice. >> blaming the parents, come on. >> i think it's an interesting article. an interesting take. thank you very much for being here. we appreciate that. >> glad to be here. >> cycle fans are addicted to their cell phones. most check every hour. others sneak updates when no one is looking. what do you think we do during commercials? check us out at the cycle.msnbc.com. up next a real life david versus goliath story. but goliath is scared of david. i have low testosterone. there, i said it.
12:42 pm
see, i knew testosterone could affect sex drive, but not energy or even my mood. that's when i talked with my doctor. he gave me some blood tests... showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% testosterone gel. the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman, which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are or may become pregnant or are breast-feeding, should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body,
12:43 pm
enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal. talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%. [ angelic music plays ] ♪ toaster strudel! best morning ever! [ hans ] warm, flaky, gooey. toaster strudel! [ female announcer ] try new pillsbury heat-n-go mini pancakes.
12:44 pm
who gets the allstate safe driving bonus check. rock beats scissors! [ chuckles ] wife beats rock. and with two checks a year, everyone wins. [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call 866-906-8500 now. [ dennis ] zach really loves his new camera. problem is...this isn't zach. it's a friend of a friend who was at zach's party and stole his camera. but zach's got it covered... with allstate renters insurance. [ female announcer ] protect your valuables for as low as $4 a month when you add renters insurance to your allstate auto policy. call 866-906-8500 now. what are you doing? we're switching car insurance. why? because these guys are the cheapest. why? good question. because a cut-rate price could mean cut-rate protection. you should listen to this guy. [ female announcer ] with allstate you get great protection and a great price, plus an agent! drivers who switched
12:45 pm
saved an average of $498 a year. call now and see how much you can save. just a few more ways allstate is changing car insurance for good. [ female announcer ] call an allstate agent and get a quote now. welcome back. a recent new york times article examines the small advocacy groups getting super sized pushback from big business. they are the groups that organize the black friday protest, fast food worker walk outs and unusual but attention grabbing stunts. one of the largest, the restaurant opportunities center, put a 12-foot tall inflatable cockroach outside one of new york's fanciest restaurants and staged protests during busy meal times claiming misappropriated tips, unpaid overtime and other discrimination. the group reached settlements with several chefs. one for more than a million dollars.
12:46 pm
now other groups aren't fighting back. joining us from san francisco, welcome. >> thank you. thanks for having me. >> i want to start with the big picture which a lot of people know the share of the union labor force is declining, down to 11%. that's the lowest since 1916. where do your groups fit in in a labor force with less unions? >> we are trying to fill the gaps. in particular, we are actually creating new models that allow workers to come together in different ways with other stake holders. employers actually organize employers who are doing the right thing, providing good wages and working conditions. consumers, a lot of organizations like ours that are new and newly emerging are engaged in very different
12:47 pm
tactics than unions or the unions of the past. they are really trying to put out a frame of collective prosperity. the idea that if these workers do well, many of whom are the lowest wage workers in america and also don't have union support. if these workers do well, employers do well and consumers as well. >> and as you know, there is a real concern among the business community that worker center should face the same restrictions as labor unions under the law. the vice president of the national restaurant association put it this way. they are trying to have it both ways. they are a union and not a union. they are organizing workers but not organizing workers. they have a history of tactics unions could not get away with. why not just be more transparent? >> we are not a union. not just workers but also employers. we have a hundred restaurant owners across the country that are a part of the network. several thousand consumers.
12:48 pm
those are things unions don't do. we don't seek collective bargaining agreements. those are things unions don't do. there is nothing wrong with being a union. they have done amazing things to raise working conditions and wages for low wage workers. that's not who we are or what we are trying to do at the moment. the real issue is that the national restaurant association is afraid we are getting the message out there, messages they don't want heard like the fact that the minimum wage for tipped workers has been stuck at $2.13 an hour for 22 years. we have exposing that these are mostly women living on food stamps, unable to put food on the family table. they don't want the message heard so they are trying to attack us, labeling us a union or trying to stigmatize us. it's just not working. >> part of the problem is the regulatory, legal environment for unions has become so difficult. in my view it's part of what led to the decline in unionization
12:49 pm
and also led to the situation where workers have essentially no power. right? you have this totally unequal power relationship between the worker and between the employer. i see your organization and others as doing a great job to tie to fill the gap. i wanted to ask you, given the nature of the unequal power dynamic, are workers frequently nervous about joining with your group, about speaking out about conditions they aren't satisfied with or that may be discriminatory or illegal at the work place? are they fearful of getting involved? >> absolutely. workers are -- the that's true throughout the history of the united states. there were times when workers have been afraid to come forward. other times when workers succeed. i would say this is a moment of great opportunity where we are seeing a lot more workers, low wage workers come forward to demand change. we have seen it with the fast food strikes, with our walmart. we have seen it in our own campaigns. workers across the country are
12:50 pm
organizing in darden starting as the first full service company. they own capitol grille, olive garden, red lobster. workers ingarden, red lobster. workers are standing up more than we've seen in the last decade. yes, there's tremendous fear, but at this moment, we're seeing tremendous opportunity and also workers really coming forward feeling very empowered by seeing other workers across the country stand up. >> a lot of these issues you write about in your book. people can check that out. i was proud of you taking on some high-class restaurants in new york city. the front house workers tend to be white and the behind the kitchen door workers tend to be brown. when they try to move up, a lot of times the door closes for them. >> there's pretty severe
12:51 pm
occupational segregation by race. one of the biggest issues in our industry is that actually all workers of many different races face severely low wages in our industry. white workers, people of color, immigrants, nonimmigrants. this is the lowest paying industry in america and we're seeing severe poverty across the races. so yes, in fine dining, we need to address this issue. nationwide, we need to lift wages as well. particularly for tipped workers. >> that goes to crystal's point. is our inequality a part of how we organize power in this country? we have krystal ball's
12:52 pm
audition for saturday night live. stay tuned. last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ give him the calorie-smart is a in snutrition of . beneful healthy weight. with wholesome rice,real chicken,soy, and accents of vitamin rich veggies... plus a taste he loves. beneful healthy weight...from purina. [ chainsaw whirring ] humans -- sometimes life trips us up. sometimes we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance.
12:53 pm
save up to 10% just for combining your auto and home insurance. call liberty mutual insurance at... [ thump ] to speak with an insurance expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. personalized coverage and savings. all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. call... and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? 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.
12:54 pm
12:55 pm
walmart got more bad news last week. the national labor relations board, the federal body that is in charge of enforcing federal laws, filed a complaint against walmart alleging they illegally fired workers for daring to p protest their working conditions. they saw their hours cut, their schedules changed, our their jobs terminated altogether. walmart says they have an open door policy where anyone can bring their concerns directly to management. the workers should have just
12:56 pm
used the open door policy to talk to their managers about a living wage. i wonder what that would look like. how about that open door? what's in your head space? >> i work full-time for the largest company in the world. i was wondering if you guys could pay me enough to buy things like, for example, food. >> we passed out some literature on how walmart employees could apply for food stamps. i like you. you got some funny ideas, but i do detect a very high level of stress. what would you say is your current level of satisfaction with your kitchen life? >> my what?
12:57 pm
i'm sorry. >> your kitchen life. studies show the overwhelming majority of stress can be traced straight back to frustrations in the kitchen. >> there's no way that's an actual study. >> it's real. cleaning up while necessary is not the most exciting part of being in the kitchen. the rachel ray garbage bowl can cut down on cleaning and it's available right here in walmart for only 19.96. >> how could you possibly think that that would help my situation that i'm in right now? >> the savings. >> okay, so let me get this straight. a slightly cheaper bowl for temporarily putting garbage is going to make up for the fact you do not pay me a livable wage to live and exist. >> exactly. it's the american life. we give you a great deal on a great bowl.
12:58 pm
>> i don't need a garbage bowl. nobody needs a garbage bowl. >> everybody needs a garbage bowl. cleaning up while necessary -- >> i remember this part. 19.96 doesn't seem like that big of a savings. >> garbage bowl is a value purchase. it has a no skid bottom. >> they're anti-skidding things. oh, yeah like making me work 20 hours of the clock last month. >> yeah. it was the holidays. >> i didn't see my daughter for three straight weeks. she grew two braids. i missed two separate family reunions. >> you can't say that word in here. >> what word? oh, no. i said reunions. i didn't say unions. it's like part of the word.
12:59 pm
>> you're fired. >> i have the craziest dreams sometimes. thank you so much to my friend for his help with my walmart fantasy/nightmare. check out the new show "broad city" premiering on comedy central. that does it for "the cycle." time for some inauguration problems in trenton. if you're chris christie, the answer is yes. it is tuesday, january 21st, and this is "now." >> here it comes. >> the impending winter storm. >> bearing down on the east coast. >> chris christie takes the oath of office. >> i, chris christie, apologize to the people of ft. leelee. >> a wrath of scandals.
1:00 pm
>> christie is watching one of his biggest assets turn into a negative. >> his national ambitions are pretty much gone. >> even mother nature is spoiling things. >> due to weather, he has cancelled his inauguration party. >> it is only fitting that this administration with more hurricanes, snowstorms, flooding -- >> they're expected to get hit pretty hard by this storm. >> it is cold out here and getting colder. call it the no good, very bad inauguration day. the second inauguration day for chris christie was supposed to be a day for him to take the oath of office, celebrate his landslide victory, and party the night