right now on "news nation," amid growing security concerns in sochi, some u.s. olympic athletes are hiring private security to protect them at the winter games. richard engel will join me live. justin bieber accused of drag racing just a week after a raid at his home. is the pop star turning into a cliche of young hollywood? plus, an injured gop comes together for its winter strategy meeting, as chris christie and bob mcdonnell, once the stars of the party, face major scandals. and developing within the last hour, mike huckabee telling the crowd that democrats want to insult women by making them believe that they are helpless without "uncle sugar." "news nation" is following the extraordinary added security precautions, at least by parts

of the u.s. olympic 200 american athletes. global rescue is providing additional security. global rescue has provided security to companies and individuals. meantime, with today being the social media sendoff day for the team, first lady michelle obama said join ne wishing the u.s. olympic team good luck in sochi. go team usa, we are rooting for you. however, amid the security concerns, athletes,' families and spectators are now deciding whether to go to sochi or not. american snowboarder's parents say they won't be going, while the mother of bobsledder asia evans and the parents of speed skater brian will go. >> our son is going, and so unless they cancel the olympics,

we're going to be there. >> i'm certainly going to be more focused on my surroundings. >> it definitely limits you, makes you kind of freaked out. also, a "washington post" column by sally jenkins titled "the international olympic committee jeopardized the safety of athletes and fans in awarding games to putin's russia." nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us live from sochi. i'm sure you've heard that you've got athletes now hiring private security firms. does that add to the confusion, or does that add to the sense of really what's needed at this point for some of these athletes to feel comfortable? >> well, i think it shows the level of concern that these teams had. the snowboarding and ski team have used security consultants for years, actually, to provide advice, potentially medevac, because what they do is

inherently dangerous and they could be seriously injured. but this time, they will be providing actual tactical intelligence where they need to go, kinds of things that they can do to provide -- to keep themselves safe. and i think that is a different kind of advice than they would be giving to attend the x games or other kinds of sporting events. >> obviously, richard, we know that the security issue is hovering over the head of vladimir putin. i guess a lot of people are wondering how he is reassuring the world that the place he selected will be safe after all, if something does happen, god forbid we know that this will be seen as putin's failure, and everything we know about his ego, his leadership, and how he sees himself in the hierarchy of the world is at stake as well. >> reporter: it is also a question of the threshold for violence, the level of acceptance of violence. putin has said repeatedly and

russian officials -- and i was just talking to one of the olympics officials, that the games here in the park will be safe. but they also say there might be some violence outside the park. these things sort of happen in russia. and the question is, will putin and will russia see a bombing in some remote part of the country at a train station as an absolute failure, or will it see it as the kind of thing that happens in a country where they have a long history of conflict against insurgent groups in the caucuses. and the question is, how will americans react? how will the media react if a bomb blows up and kills 15 people, which does happen in this country, it happened over the new year, and no athletes are killed and some russian commuters are killed, will the world scramble and say this olympics has been a failure? if something happens here in the park, however, that would be a different story. but in this compound, it is highly secure at this stage, or at least perceived to be highly

secure because there are so many check points. you need badges, you have to go through security checks all the time. you can't bring in glass bottles. it is not the easiest place to even walk around. you're stopped and asked for identity. >> i saw you earlier on the "today" show, richard, where there was a diagram or just an aerial view of the layout really where you outline where much of the games will take place. and when you look at it, what is the size area that we're looking at here? if we have that graphic, maybe you can illustrate that for us of what kind of space we're looking at here. >> reporter: absolutely. we're now in the coastal zone. and this is the coastal cluster, as it's officially known. and we are right on the black sea. and behind me, you can see the stadiums, the hockey stadium, the stadium where the opening ceremony will take place. and they are organized like spokes coming out of a bicycle wheel. they radiate from the central point, which is metal plas sa. this area is where the

nonmountain events will take place. the hockey and the speed skating and the figure skating. it's a small-ish pedestrian zone, and to get in and out of here, you have to go through the check points. you have to go through repeated screenings. and then once you're in here, you get to go -- if you have tickets -- to all the different events. then there's the mountain cluster, which is about a 30-mile drive from here. that is along a -- there's a train or the road that you can get to the mountain cluster. that road is not really in the security zone. it is a road connecting to areas. that is a potential target. and then there is the mountain cluster itself, which is protected. there are fences around the venues. but protecting the mountains because there are trees and there are hills and there is cover is inherently more difficult than protecting what feels kind of like a convention center here on the black sea. so those are the two layouts connected by the mountain road.

>> all right, richard engel, thank you very much for joining us. we greatly appreciate it. thank you again. we are also following developing news from washington. republicans are gathering right now for their annual winter meeting. just within the last hour, mike huckabee addressed the crowd with some comments that are already getting a lot of attention. meanwhile, it's been a rough couple of weeks for the gop, and two men considered to be rising stars in the party. chris christie and bob mcdonnell are, of in scandal. we are joined by casey and michael. casey, let's start with the developing news. mike huckabee and his comments regarding women and the democratic party. let me play for our audience a little of what he said and get more on how the crowd reacted. let's play it. >> and if the democrats want to insult the women of america by making them believe that they are helpless without uncle sugar coming in and providing for them

a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it, let us take that discussion all across america, because women are far more than the democrats have played them to be, and women across america need to stand up and say enough of that nonsense. >> obviously this is following up on what democrats called a war on women, directed at women by the gop. what was the reaction from the crowd there? >> well, tamron, just as you said, this language that huckabee used was actually in the context of discussing the war on women and the way that democrats have framed the gender gap between the two parties at this point. and while he was clearly referring to democrats in his construct with this, there's already been some strong reaction. jay carney was asked to react and he said it sounds offensive to him, although he was not yet familiar with huckabee's remarks. i actually spoke with huckabee very briefly after his remarks

here. he didn't comment further, wouldn't clarify his remarks in this regard. you have to consider the broader context here. we're at the rnc's winter me meeting. they're discussing ways to rebrand the party. one of the key points was to make sure that they were doing more to reach out to women voters. and while huckabee's full quote in context is one thing, it's clear i've spoken to a few democrats about this already and they say this adds fuel to their fire. >> but as i understand it, you have republican leadership who had spoken to potential candidates and others, and the word is that listen, when you have candidates who use incendiary language or language that is seen to alienate women voters, that they won't back those types of candidates. >> reporter: right. and there were reports that the nrcc, that the republican campaign committees were training their candidates in making sure that they weren't

using language like this. so it's clearly at some point an issue of tone, and they recognize that they need to be using a tone that's a little bit different than some of their candidates have in the past. i mean, they -- it's widely believed that they lost at least one senate seat because of insensitive remarks that were made as related to women. it is something that they are making an effort to change. whether huckabee sets the right tone as the keynote speaker for this event, it's an open question. >> and i'll ask you that. this is how the party or the conference starts, with mike huckabee saying "that democrats want to insult women by making them believe that they are helpless without uncle sugar coming in and providing them with a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government." is that the counterargument that you believe would bring in female voters? >> no, i don't think that's the way you grow the tent and that's the gop problem. i thought that the more

problematic part of his quotation is where he said that the gop is at war to empower women, and of course the response is going to be to empower them, i guess, to do everything but to control their own bodies, right? i mean, it's really surprising that he would walk into this because he's usually so much more measured with his language. but to casey's point, that autopsy of a year ago said that what the gop needs to do is grow the tent. the gop grows the tent when more people are participating in elections. this is not the way you do it. they need to open that door and let more people flow in and cast ballots. this will keep people away. >> and especially when you have a comment that is equating birth control with libido, because birth control does not control libido, that's not the design of it. it's kind of these comments that would give women -- and not talking about women who are registered republicans. just women in general who would

read something like that and say where do you make the comparison of libido with birth control? >> well, and it just reinforces what we went through in the last couple of cycles with aiken and murdock and a whole host of senate candidates, where this becomes the gop brand. the response is going to be you're playing gotcha journalism by talking about it. how could you not talk about it? this is a process where they should be discussing the election timetable, the convention and where it should be held and how they're going to keep out the fringe factor in primary season. >> and i believe those were prepared remarks, not ad libs, so that would be something to note as well. it's not gotcha if it's all prepared there. but nevertheless, let's transition to chris christie. bob mcdonnell -- you're looking at two people who were stars in the party. there's no reason to say that chris christie is not at this point. he's not been indicted, as been the case with mcdonnell. nevertheless, what a difference time makes in one's life, where these people were looked at as vice presidential contenders and

now they're fighting for their, one, freedom, and the other's political destiny. >> mcdonnell, he was flying around with mitt romney as a nominee throughout the general election and was considered to be vice president and clearly does face the battle of his life now that he's left office. but on christie, i've been talking to quite a few republican committee members who are here about christie's future. the establishment had been very high on christie as somebody that could be a very strong nominee, raise a lot of money. stand up to hillary clinton as a strong democratic contender. and here, they're still saying -- they're giving him the benefit of the doubt. they're saying, you know, as long as another shoe doesn't drop, he could potentially still be a strong presidential candidate. but you're also starting to hear people put him into an ever expanding pool of other potential candidates. so he's now one name on a fairly long list of republican governors who could potentially identifying for this nomination.

>> thank you both. greatly appreciate it, michael and casey. we're also following developing news in florida, where pop star justin bieber has just appeared before a judge following his arrest early this morning. the judge set bieber's bond at $2,500. he's charged with dui, driving with an expired license and resisting arrest. he was arrested after 4:00 a.m. after police say he was drag racing. police say bieber told them he consumed alcohol, marijuana, and prescription drugs. in fact, there's video now showing bieber behind the wheel of his rented yellow lamborghini. he was pulled over -- and again, this is video that has just been released of bieber behind the wheel. doesn't show the actual arrest or confrontation with police. police believe bieber was racing his friend who was behind the wheel of a rented ferrari. police say the singer was initially uncooperative. >> the officer asked him to exit the vehicle, he was questioning why he was being stopped.

ultimately, he eventually did step out of the vehicle and would not follow the officer's instructions. the officer at that time did place mr. bieber under arrest. >> nbc's mark potter joins us now from miami. mark, we've got video apparently of justin bieber leaving the -- i guess jumped on top of a car and waved to fans as he was leaving. i guess that's him with the red shoes on and the black hoodie in front there. but just regarding this arrest and these charges, $2,500, there he is getting up on top of the suv to wave to his fans. we've seen celebrities do this in the past who have been in trouble and pretend that this is not all happening and this is about the fans. these charges and the bond is pretty standard, i guess. the $2,500. >> absolutely standard. and you're right, that was bieber. that just occurred a couple of minutes ago after getting that bond. $2,500 bond. 1,000 for two of the charges, 500 for the other. he did walk out of the jail.

whether he's going to stay in this area or go to a plane at the airport perhaps where he came into this area. he and an r&b singer were picked up in a residential area going about 55 to 60 miles an hour allegedly where the posted speed limit is about half that. police say he was uncooperative at the scene, but he was brought here to the police department, as the chief said that here he calmed down a bit. he became more cooperative and it was then that he told police that he had consumed alcohol, marijuana, and some sort of prescription drug. the three charges that he faces, all misdemeanors, dui, resisting arrest without violence, and driving with an expired license

that was issued in georgia. it was a video conference between him and a judge in two different buildings. he was represented by roy black, a powerful attorney, very famous attorney in this area, actually known nationwide for his representation of big name clients. he said have you ever heard of a beesh song, can you name one? so many people said -- he said he was going to have to take the fifth. but he is representing him. but right now, bieber is out. we'll see where he goes. this is the suv carrying justin bieber to whatever destination,

whether it's leaving miami or to a hotel. this is the beginning of that conversation we often have, this typical young hollywood. we'll have to see. still ahead, virginia's attorney general joins the fight against his own state's ban on same-sex marriage, siding with two couples suing to get the ban ruled unconstitutional. justice correspondent pete williams will join us to talk about the next step in this step for marriage equality. plus -- >> i don't think i'm a villain. i think that people always say the old cliche, don't judge a book by its cover, but they're judging the book by its cover. >> richard sherman now responding to some of the names he's been called, including thug, which he says has become an acceptable way of using the "n" word. what do you think? let us know. join our conversation on any of the stories. you can find me at tamron hall

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welcome back. virginia's newly elected attorney general is joining a lawsuit against his own state to find the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. mark herring announced this morning that he will support those seeking to strike it down in federal court. >> i believe the freedom to marry is a fundamental right. and i intend to ensure that virginia is on the right side of history and on the right side of the law. >> today's action is the result of a sweeping victory by democrats in the state's november election. "the washington post" called today's announcement a "stunning reversal in the state's legal

position on same session marriage." joining me now, justice correspondent pete williams. it was andrea mitchell who said this is the reason why elections matter and have ramifications. and also an example of the key decisions. >> reporter: probably mostly the state's electing a democratic attorney general and governor. now, what the attorney general says is that virginia is certainly a key foundation on liberty in america, but that sometimes it's been on the wrong side of important issues. it fought school integration. it fought marriage for interracial couples. it fought allowing women into dmi. he said he was afraid if virginia continued to defend the ban on same-sex marriage, it would make another historical mistake. so he said he believes she on the right side of law and on the right side of history. a couple of interesting things about this, tamron, number one,

the marriage law in virginia will still be defended. this will not be like the situation in california where the state also declined to defend the proposition 8 law that was ultimately declared unconstitutional. here, two counties continued to defend the law, so that's day one. there still will be a trial. there will be oral arguments in this case next week. the second point is that while obviously this trial is taking place, even though the state says it will defend the law, it will continue to enforce the law. it's still the law in virginia. so those are two important notes. but this is a very interesting legal development. the state will not defend its own law. >> all right. thank you very much. we greatly appreciate it. what a situation there in virginia. compelling. still ahead, calls for change after the death of a new york teenager with autism. we'll talk with actress and activist holly robinson peete who says adults failed

14-year-old avonte oquendo the day he was captured on video running out of his school. and a third prominent conservative group coming out against senator mitch mcconnell's re-election, accusing the top republican of "helping the democrats." we'll dig into it in the first read. 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.

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[ 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. ♪ welcome back. an attorney for the family of avonte oquendo, the 14-year-old boy with autism who went missing in new york city more than three months ago, announced they now intend to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the city. their worst fears were realized tuesday when the city's chief medical examiner confirmed that body parts found along the shore of the east river matched avonte's dna. avonte had been missing since video camera showed him wandering out of school october 4th, sparking a massive search across the city, including its waterways and subway tunnels. "the ordeal of this missing child united millions of

strangers in the shared emotions of anxiety, hope, and grief. a silent 14-year-old boy became the catalyst for one of the most deeply felt communal experiences new yorkers had seen since the attacks of september 11." the medical examiner is still working to determine the cause of death, but there are no signs of foul play here. there are many unanswered questions as well. and what to do in the future to help prevent something like this. actress and autism education advocate holly robinson peete joins us now. she and her husband founded holly-rod foundation. she's spoken with us on a number of occasions regarding avonte. i want to thank you for your social media presence about this story. also that you came here to new york to assist the family, and to get the word out for avonte. i know that from reading what you've posted, you're hea heartbroken like the rest of us to hear that this happened to him. >> i am heartbroken. we have to stop failing these children. this is a young man who was so

vulnerable and did not have the tools to go out on the streets of queens and advocate for himself. he couldn't say i need help, i'm lost, i don't know where i'm going. these are children, especially the nonverbal ones with autism, who sometimes don't understand and know how to process danger. so it is incumbent upon us, we adults, in a school setting, you know, every child deserves to come home from school. and we cannot allow something like this to happen again. >>. >> we know that he had a history of running away, which i learned from you is something that is not uncommon with children with autism. but the business insiders law and order editor breaks down the timeline here, something that many people have noticed is that it was at 12:40, his teacher noticed that he was missing. it wasn't until 12:56 that an assistant principal was notified and it wasn't until 1:20 that the principal was notified. it wasn't until 2:00 eastern

that police were contact. again, this is all going to be sorted out in court. but as a mother of a child with autism, as an educator teaching us all about autism and what we should do, what do you believe is one of the key things you'd like to see, not just in new york but in schools across the country where these children are? >> well, you mentioned avonte's mother. it was in the iep, which is basically a blueprint to help these children through their educational process, that he wandered. so you need to be able to shadow this child and make sure you know where he is at all times. i'm not a lawyer, tamron. i'm only here because i don't ever want to see this happen again, and what needs to happen is education. whoever was sitting at that door when he ran past needed to have gone after him, and like you said, there should have never been this delay in alerting the community. because that's like throwing a kid into a lion's den. he could not advocate for himself. so many things could have happened to him. so it's very important that we understand the situation with autism and wandering.

it happens a lot. and it's something we have to be amore aware of, especially as we have these children in the educational system in public schools. >> absolutely. and let me ask you, when you talk with other parents as of late regarding avonte's case, and just general concerns, what do you believe you're hearing most from parents who worry that the education process, meaning the rest of us becoming educated on what is needed, what is just not resonating? >> you know, i just think a general stigma of autism is still something that's difficult to process. people just don't know what it is. and i think people are scared of what they don't know. and so it just has to be out there more. we have to talk about it more. i want to thank you guys for having me on a few times. really nationally, this has not been a big enough story. so this is a learning moment. this is a learning process for america to understand that children with autism tend to wander, and we have to make sure that we stay on them and we cannot fail them anymore. >> well, i've learned a great

amount from you and other parents who have children with autism. and we thank you for your voice. and again, your passion. i know you're not doing it just because your child is affected and impacted by this. i know you do this because you are a caring person. >> thanks, tamron. can i just quickly add, my son has wandered before and i know that feeling and it didn't have a bad end. but i also want to thank the people in the community who have come forward. autism speaks. people who have come together to help the family right now when they need it the most. so hopefully this isn't the last we'll hear about this topic and we can get the word out and spread education so it never happens again. >> absolutely. you are not alone. all of those organizations have done outstanding work and i know you all continue. we'll be here for you. thank you so much. >> thank you, tamron. still ahead, dozens of passengers injured after police say a man attacked a greyhound bus driver while behind the wheel. >> he was actually hitting the bus driver. hitting him hard in the face. he was saying "help me, help

me." >> the alleged attacker now faces a laundry list of charges. we'll have the latest on what happened there. very scary. we're also following a bizarre story, a judge ruling that a man must pay child support after providing sperm to a couple who posted an ad online. it is our gut check, and i promise to give you more details before you chime in on what you think. 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. [ angelic music plays ] ♪ toaster strudel! best morning ever! [ hans ] warm, flaky, gooey. toaster strudel! [ female announcer ] try new pillsbury heat-n-go mini pancakes. [ male announcer ] what kind of energy is so abundant, it can help provide the power for all this? natural gas. ♪

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the choice is obvious. verizon's superfast 4g lte network is over three times larger than any other 4g lte network. now get one, two, or even three-hundred dollars off a new smartphone depending on the smartphone you trade in on america's largest, most reliable 4g lte network. that's powerful. verizon. now get a free lg g2, with a 13-megapixel camera. another conservative group has endorsed mitch mcconnell's kentucky gop primary challenger. a political article notes freedom works praises matt bevan as the more fiscally sound choice. also criticizes senator mcconnell for "helping the democrats fund the president's health care law during the fall." mcconnell's campaign quickly blasted freedom works, saying "internal problems unfortunately have changed their focus from conservative reform to conservative cannibalism."

joining me live now, nbc news deputy political editor dominico. mcconnell swings hard with the conservative cannibalism, speaks to the infighting. >> there is no question. mitch mcconnell, unlike harry reid on the other side with democrats, is a tough fighter. e wi he is not going to go down without a fight. everyone expects him to get through this primary. it's may 20th, that primary. it's going to give us an early indicator of where this tea party versus establishment story line is heading. we're going to get another example of that march 4th in texas when john cornyn goes up against steve stockman, the conservative representative running against him there. and both are expected to win. so, if that happens, how this story line starts to change as republicans try to take back the

senate should be interesting to see. >> absolutely. and just regarding that battle for the senate being up for grabs, what kind of allies does mitch mcconnell have at this point? who are his strongest allies? >> well, he has a lot of the kentucky establishment behind him. he's been there a long time. he has a ton of money in the bank. he's got all of the d.c. establishment that he could want. and he's decided to wage this war. this is a really important race because of this rift that we've seen, and mcconnell's basically had enough. he's had enough of being dictated to by the jim demints of the world. he's had enough of being dictated to by the ted cruzes of the world. he sets the agenda in washington for republicans and he wants to make sure the tea party understands that. >> democrats have had enough of tea party establishment and some of the other groups, but that has not kept some of their messages from being drowned out by those very groups. when i ask what allies mcconnell

has, we know he has the establishment, but certainly, having the establishment behind you has not always worked. lately with boehner, but not always. >> there will be a handful of other races to watch. tennessee, kansas. we're going to see if this has any kind of strength. if the tea party has the kind of strength it had in 2010. there are signs that that strength is actually ebbing. we'll see if they actually are able to prove that they can keep up the pace a little bit in some of these other places as well. >> all right, thank you so much. and still ahead, seattle seahawks cornerback richard sherman has already apologized for the highly criticized postgame rant. now he's hitting back at some critics that he believes across the line were calling him a thug. >> the only reason it bothers me is because it seems like it's the accepted way of calling somebody the "n" word nowadays. it's like everybody else says the "n" word and then they say thug, and they're like oh,

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with the super bowl over a week away, sports headlines are dominated by the interview given by richard sherman. while sherman has apologized for his heated remarks, yesterday he directly addressed the backlash particularly the numerous comments referring to him as a "thug." >> the only reason it bothers me is because it seems like it's the accepted way of calling somebody the "n" word nowadays. it's like everybody else says the "n" word, and they say thug, and it's like oh, that's fine. that's why it takes me aback and it's kind of disappointing because they know. what's the definition of a thug really? can a guy on a football field just talking to people -- maybe i'm talking loudly and talking like i'm not supposed to, but i'm not -- >> joining me now is the nation's sports editor, and earl

who has written about sherman and this ongoing situation. thank you both for joining. earl, let me start off with you. richard sherman says that the word thug is the new "n" word for some people. what do you think? >> well, i agree. and i think he nailed it. we've heard over and over again, especially about the national football league, because we know 65% to 75% of the players are african-american. all kinds of things that have been said about the league. the national felon league. the thug league. and when richard sherman, when he said yes, thug equals the "n" word, he nailed it to the wall. he understood right away that even though, as we well know in most circles, it's not acceptable anymore to use the "n" word, although many people still do, some, very notable people at the same time, when you say thug equals black and certainly an nfl or nba player, many people say ah, we know. sherman said something else that was very interesting. he said, look, you know, you

have brawls all the time in hockey. also soccer, baseball, rugby. but at the same time, no one ever says that's a thug league. that's a thug sport. sherman got it right. >> let me play what he said regarding hockey. i'll get you in on this, dave. let's play that. >> i don't think i'm a villain. i think that people always say the old cliche, don't judge a book by its cover, but they're judging a book by its cover. they're judging me on the football field, during a game, right after a game, and they're not judging me off of who i am. now, if i had got arrested ten times or committed all these crimes or got suspended for fighting off the field and done all that, then i could accept being a villain. but i've done nothing villainous. there was a hockey game where they didn't even play hockey. they just start fighting. i saw that and i said oh man, i'm the thug? what's going on here?

jeez. so i'm really disappointed in being called a thug. >> that's a great point, i think. what's your take? >> tamron, when there are fights in hockey, you never hear people say that's what you get when you get french canadians all together in one rink. what kind of music do those french canadians listen to? you never want to be in a dark alley with a french canadian. you don't see that because that's how racism operates. it's the burden of mass representation. so michael vick is caught fighting dogs and every african-american athlete is asked what do you think about dogfighting? as if they have something to say about it. and what's so amazing about richard sherman is that he gets that. he gets the history of the african-american athlete in a way that's very profound. he did a great interview today about his love of muhammad ali. he says i understand what he dealt with hundreds of times more intense than what i'm dealing with right now. when i read that, this is such a

crazy coincidence, i tweeted out an article about what muhammad ali had to deal with. so richard sherman gets it. >> i think he does. to your point about this perception, justin bieber arrested overnight when he wore his pants baggy on the "today" show plaza, people thought his butt was cute. it's all a matter of perception. i was actually not on air when this was the hot topic, but i watched that video and i marvelled at the fact that people were put off by aggression from an athlete, a guy who was paid to essentially knock the other guy off his feet, and he talks tough and everyone's like what? he doesn't have a gardenia in his ear? i was just like -- and i don't like to use this often when people say our society has turned to kind of wimp culture, but you have people shirtless in wisconsin in 30 below because they want to appear tough.

the whole environment of football is tough and trash talking, and people were put off by sherman. i did not understand that. and i think it does in some cases go to a deeper issue. i don't like to say someone is racist or whatever. i don't know your heart. but i do think it falls into perception issues, earl. >> and something else, too, tamron. let's look at richard sherman. now, here's an outstanding young man by any standard. i mean, we know about his stanford degree. we know about his 4.1 outstanding academic average in high school. we know about his -- at least we should know about it and we do in southern california, his work, and he's been working for a number of years with charitable organizations. he's got his own non-profit, his own foundation. he goes back and he gives presentations to kids all the time about the value of education. but here's the deal, tamron, and dave, because of one and a half minutes of that quote unquote rant, all of the good things that sherman has done, and many other african-american athletes

too that get no recognition for their charitable and good work, all of that down the tubes. in one second because of that perception and stereotype. >> and it does go beyond richard sherman. i mean, there is -- when people make comments about football players, basketball players, you do in some cases get this notion that these people -- meaning most of the black athletes are being painted with a broad stroke, and then when someone follows up with a oh he went to stanford. i think that really took some folks off guard. because they thought he went to compton community college. when you said stanford, it's like oh. >> and that being said, just being connected to stanford doesn't necessarily make you a good person, insert condoleezza rice comment here. but i do want to say that one of the things that richard has done is he's proving a quote by james baldwin who once said america is a country devoted to the deaf of the paradox. people can't stand that he's

more than one thing. >> if there is a compton community college, i do not know. >> it's a very good college. >> i didn't mean it in that way. you know what i meant. and i've been to compton plenty of times and not for work. thank you very much. greatly appreciate it. thank you guys. a raging fire that burned straight through a senior complex in quebec tops our look at stories around the "news nation" today. at least three people were killed and 30 are still missing. fire crews battle the blaze through the night as they fought high winds that made rescue attempts difficult. authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire. police say a hallucinating passenger caused a greyhound bus to crash early this morning. authorities say the passenger attacked the driver on the bus, which was on its way to l.a. from phoenix. two dozen passengers were sent to a local hospital. police believe the man was under the influence of drugs. and we'll be right back with "gut check." goin' on ♪ ♪ stacy's mom has got it goin' on ♪

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thought you should know. authorities in romania say they've arrested the infamous hacker who broke into the e-mail account of former president george w. bush and other bush family members and leaked the former president's paintings a year ago. his other alleged victims include former secretary of state colin powell, and actor steve martin. house speaker john boehner is looking for some advice for his appearance on "the tonight show" tonight. he tweeted, "hey rob lowe, going on "the tonight show" with rob lowe, any advice"? it's unclear why he turned to rob lowe, but they did visit last may. time now for the "news nation" "gut check." a kansas judge ruled that a man who provided sperm to a lesbian couple in response to an online ad must now pay child support. he says he signed a contract with the couple waiving parental rights after he answered the craigslist ad. but a judge ruled that the

contract is not valid because they ignored a state law that says a licensed physician must be involved in the insemination process. the state does not recognize same-sex marriages and when the couple split up, the woman who kept the child applied for welfare. now the state wants the man to be declared the father and to pay back pay of $6,000 in welfare. plus, future child support. that's incredible. what does your gut tell you about that? do you think the sperm donor should be forced to pay child support? go to newsnation.msnbc.com. i have three guys already nodding no around me. whoo, that's a doozy. that does it for this edition of "news nation." i am rushing to read what you guys have to say. see you tomorrow. "the cycle" is up next. 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.

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xarelto is not for patients with artificial heart valves. jim changed his routine. ask your doctor about xarelto. once-a-day xarelto means no regular blood monitoring -- no known dietary restrictions. for more information and savings options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. ♪ every now and then i get a little bit tired ♪ ♪ of craving something that i can't have ♪ ♪ turn around, barbara ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ [ female announcer ] fiber one. 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. breaking news leads "the

cycle" today. any moment, edward snowden will start a live web chat. he has done this before. last summer with the guardian. but this time, the q&a is hosted by the free snowden website. the former nsa worker strongly denies new allegations that he is a russian spy. he's also expected to give his first public response to president obama's surveillance speech from friday. plus, some questions have been coming in using #asksnowden, so we will listen live once that gets good. in an exclusive interview, u.s. attorney general eric holder said he is open to some sort of resolution with snowden. ari will be back tomorrow with that entire interview exclusively here on "the cycle." but for now, the doj is accusing a private contractor that vetted snowden of massive fraud. claiming the front conducted phony background checks. another news story, this one has to do with the nsa wiretapping program that revealed to the world an