hi, everyone. i'm tamron hall. the former chief of staff for senator lamar alexander has been found dead. it was just last month that he was arrested after a raid on his home where police say they found child pornography. nbc's luke russert joins us live with the latest. luke, what do we know? i know the family released a statement regarding wanting privacy here. what are police saying? >> well, police are saying that they were called to the family residence this morning and it was evident that he had taken his own life. this comes on the heels of early december. mr. lawskin was charged with international pornography. this came as a huge shock to washington. he was very well known.

he was known it is a chief of staff to lamar alexander and was known as being one of the top republican message men. he was one talking to folks before came on your show very well liked by both sides. i saw him personally. a lot of hill happy hours. very pleasant. one of the nicer aides you would meet. hence why it was so shocking for a lot of folks what he was charged with, severity of the crimes. tragic ending. in a town that's often heartless, cruel and tragic, this sets a new standard from every angle. i think that's very true this morning. >> he was arrested by u.s. postal agents attempting to distribute child pornography and waiting for his rile to start on those charges. have we heard from senator alexander's office yet? >> senator alexander's office

said it is an absolute tragedy from beginning to end. a short statement. he was supposed to go to trial. the next hearing was february 10. this closes what is surely going to be a sad chapter that will be talked a lot for a long time in washington and with -- among the specific group of reporters and operatives. mainly because of just how shocking -- out of nowhere it came. happening on december 10, a little over a month later mr. loskarn is now dead. it is shocking to a lot of people. >> developing news in egypt. at least six people are dead and a wave of bombings today in the egyptian capital. a car bomb exploded in front of cairo's main security headquarters. video posted online which nbc news has not been able to

independently verify allegedly shows the car involved driving up and stopping in front of the building. the driver gets out and gets into another vehicle and drives off. the parked car explodes about 2 1/2 minutes later. there have been clash necessary the streets of other egyptian cities between security forces and the supporters of deposed president mohamed morsi. this comes on the eve of the third anniversary of the uprising that toppled president hosni mubarak. first, this explosion, there are many security questions this evening or -- in the night there regarding the access or ability of the bombers to get so close. >> absolutely. you know, egypt over the course of the last several months has witnessed a lot of attacks in similar areas across the country. security had been pair sxhount had been beefed up at many

buildings across the capital. you are going to start off by serious questions by officials and investigators as to how the vehicle was able to get so close to the building, enough to damage it and a nearby museum. that will be one. we also understand that a massive manhunt now is under way. they available to identify four alleged suspects, owners of the vehicle, knows that may have been in that vehicle when they parked it and ultimately escaped. we understand egyptian police and special forces have begun that manhunt and have identified the individuals and released the names but at this stage no announcements about any arrest. >> we know that the unsettling and continued violence is very clear in egypt and here we are the third anniversary. january 25, of the beginning of the uprising that eventually ended with hosni mubarak. the instability of egypt as it relates to the muslim brotherhood. and the developments there even today leaves many wondering what the status of that country is and in what the united states can do to assist at this point.

if anything. >> yeah. in short, you know, it is a very chaotic period for egypt. the last three years have been anything but stable. there has been a lot of turmoil both politically and now we are see something the last six months, a lot of security upheaval undermining the way the government is at least functioning in some areas but more importantly the government says lit push ahead with its road map. one of the major crises that you have now in egypt is a political deadlock between supporters of the ousted president and islamist parties, if you will, and those that are now carrying out the violence. they are not necessarily related but the government is having a hard time trying to bring in those supporters of the ousted president into the political fold. as a result, there are those that are -- trying to capitalize on this divide and n creating the violence that we are seeing. but in terms of what the u.s. can do, u.s. has been steadfast now in trying to support this government saying that it wants to see a cessation of vial frens both sides. but also wants to see egypt push ahead with democratic reforms and try to ensure that the

uprising that began three years ago fulfills what the people wanted which the s a democratic state. >> thank you so much. greatly appreciated. there is a new terror threat against the sochi olympics. it comes in a chilling video posted online. the video features an islamic militant. apparently from an al qaeda branch in the video the man mocks russia's response to last month's mass transit bombings that killed 34 people and warned more violence is to come. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins from us sochi. as i understand this video is apparently posted online earlier this month. but it was only discovered now. >> it was initially posted in mid january. it was on a pass or protected forum and not that many people saw it. but now it is circulating and it is gaining momentum. the problem is that there are now many videos like these. these threats are growing and different al qaeda-inspired

groups. this one of particular branch of al qaeda are adopting sochi as their cause. that's a problem. you don't often see militants, extremists, adopting sporting events as one of their issues. you don't see videos on the internet talking about the world cup or the wimbledon tennis tournament but they are talking about sochi and it is less than two weeks away. >> absolutely. i'm curious, from your vantage point, what you are seeing regarding security, richard, from -- perhaps even the beginning of this week, at tend of last week, to now we know that there are ongoing military operations and drills happening. from your vantage point have you seen so much in your career. what are you seeing as far as the tone of security and intensity at this point? >> there are counterterrorism operations as you mentioned in the caucuses. because this is not so much the olympic games that are being targeted by militants. it is russia that is targeted

and olympic -- targeting olympic games is a way to hurt russia. because russia right now is in the middle of a battle between separatists and islamic caucuses that want islamic law and want more autonomy and there are ongoing military operations to try to suppress those groups. every time there is suppression, it creates more black widows and creates more anger and we are seeing a ratcheting up of military operations in the caucuses right now leading up to the games actually of a report on that tonight coming up on "nightly news." in the -- on one side you have these ongoing military operations in the caucuses which in some sense make the situation more secure because you are -- counterterrorism operations. on the other side, they are provocative and create anger and frustration. while that is happening, you have the security bubble here in sochi around the venues. that's extraordinarily tight. it takes about -- go about four different checkpoints, for

example to get into any of those stadiums behind me. there is an outer perimeter, inner cordon. another one and checkpoint at the gate. so it is -- control after control after control. >> i can only imagine, i was at the london games in the security there, obviously, was at the highest. and -- there were not the same lets, it seems, on video and daily we are seeing, obviously, here in sochi. we know that the president, president obama, vladimir putin, spoke over the phone this week. do we know of any more engagement between u.s. and russia at this point following that important conversation between the counterparts? >> i'm not aware of any high-level conversations. u.s. embassy officials are constantly in touch. there's -- there are fbi personnel who are supposed to be coordinating security for the u.s. delegation. those conversations are always taking place. but in terms of a summit level, i haven't heard of any major developments.

>> still ahead, former virginia governor bob mcdonnel and his wife plead not guilty during their first court appearance today on corruption charges. why legal experts say that this had case against them is not a slam dunk. we will dig into the law versus perhaps perception in this one. and developing news out of texas where a judge will hear arguments this afternoon in the case of a woman who has been kept on life support against her family's wishes because she's pregnant. the hospital says it is following texas law. supporters of a mentally ill homeless man were shocked last week when a jury acquitted two of the california police officers charged in his beating death. now one of the officers wants his job back. the father of the man who was killed will join me live. you can join our conversation on twitter. you can find me at tamron hall.

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welcome back. former virginia governor bob mcdonnell and his wife left a federal courthouse after pleading not guilty to corruption charges. >> make room, everyone. >> their trial date is now set for july. july 28. the judge ordered the couple not to leave the country. the two only spoke briefly in acknowledge they understood the charges and entering their pleas. month cameras were allowed inside and the judge sternly warned both sides not to publicly discuss this case. they arrived at the court in

hand surrounded by family members, supporters, and their priest. the mcdonnells are facing a 14-count indictment alleging they accepted and solicited tens of thousands of dollars in gifts, loans and trips from local businessman johnny williams in exchange for promoting his business. but as "the washington post" points out, quote, nearly all public corruption prosecutions are uphill battles because proving an official's intent is tricky. and many legal experts tell "the post," the trial is likely to serve as an important test of a line between political favors and official state action. "washington post" national reporter carol joins me now. thank you for joining me. >> glad to be here. >> in your piece on this, you quote a number of experts. one that initially caught my eye was a george washington university law professor. his quoted is they can't just show that he got these gifts but must prove he received them in exchange for official acts. he goes on to say that simply

the governor can say his job is to promote virginia businesses. that's when he did but not in exchange for this luxury he receive. >> yeah. it is a great point had a was made. it is the central issue that will be coming out at this trial of former governor mcdonnell and his wife, maureen. the issue is really -- if you are going the try to prove that somebody sold their official office, you know, use that your state power to get all these goodies, you will have to show there was a criminal attempt and striking a corrupt bargain with the businessman. in this case, johnny williams, the owner of a former tobacco cigarette manufacturer that had converted into this sort of dietary supplement company. his company was fragile. he needed help and -- he says that the mcdonnells promised him they would use the levers of state power to help him. >> earlier this week we heard

from the former governor. let me play what he said at his press conference on tuesday. >> i deeply regret accepting these legal gifts and loans for mr. williams. all of these now have been returned or repaid with interest. i repeat, again, emphatically, that i did nothing illegal for mr. williams in exchange for what i believe was his personal friendship and his generosity. >> and -- he was very generous, as you pointed out. 120,000 in loans. $15,000 to cater a wedding for one of mcdonnell's daughters here. in your piece, carol, you have a defense attorney that says on one side this would be a fantastic case. the laundry list of the gifts and expense level but -- he says that the biggest problem the government has is what official act did the governor take to further the interests of this company star scientific. the governor does not have to show how williams benefited.

only that there was promise will. >> that's important what you said. you don't have to show that johnny williams' company benefitted and you will see that reaction a lot around the country. people are saying where is the pro in this quid pro quo. you don't have to show he succeeded in getting help for his company, star scientific. what you as the government need to be able to show and prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury of his peers is that the governor was telling johnny and promising him and offering it to him not explicitly necessarily, i am going to help you. i'm going to take care of you and your company. in reading the indictment and charging papers, there's a lot of atmospheric quality that that happened. proving it beyond a reasonable doubt is another issue. the strength of this case is the eye-popping amount of stuff. you know -- if -- a regular friend doesn't say to you, yeah, i would like to pay for your daughter's wedding catering and

i would like to loan you $1 20,000 to pay off your mortgage bills. >> how about let me take your wife on a shopping spree in new york for designer boutique. that's where the jury and perhaps their perception of this will come into play but whether or not it falls under being against the law. i mean, it is one thing, yes, i think anybody would be creeped out to know that some guy took another man's wife on a shopping spree. but that is the creep-out factor. we are talking about the law here. lastly, though, you do point to the blagojevich case in illinois. the uphill battle for these corruption cases. in the case of blago he was heard on tape and it was still a difficult one. >> yes. amazing. one of the best prosecutors in the country, patrick fitzgerald, and his team in chicago had blagojevich, you know, dead to rights. he is cursing up a blue streak and he's saying "i'm going to sell senator barack obama's seat for money." the first trial deadlocked on all but one of the charges.

honestly i think having covered this a long time, it is almost a surprise sometimes when the justice department brings a public corruption case because they are so hard. and yet, it is the -- their duty when they see something that looks this untoward to sniffing it out and make a decision whether they think that corrupt bargain happened. hear they definitely think it did. >> we will be talking with you a lot more this summer. thank you. developing news now, less than two hours, and emergency hearing is scheduled in the case of a brain-dead texas woman whose body is being kept on life support because she is pregnant. the family of 33-year-old marlese munoz is expected to ask the judge to take her off a ventilator today. she never wanted to be kept live artificially. the hospital admitted that munoz is brain dead but according to texas law, you cannot withhold or withdraw life sustaining

treatment for a pregnant patient. joining me is robert wolinski. this development from the hospital was yesterday's court filing, the hospital had not formally commented on miss munoz's condition. they are confirming she is brain dead. what is what her husband said he was told from the onset of her being taken to the hospital. >> right. we have known that kind of since officially this week and court documents released. the family said eric munoz said the hospital has said that marlese was brain dead. the hospital has maintained all along when it is referring to life-sustaining measures they are talking about the fetus and no longer talking about marlese. the general perception is she has been brain dead the entire eight weeks she has been hospitalized. >> mr. munoz, eric, filed the lawsuit against the hospital. he said the law is being

misinterpreted his wife is not a pregnant patient but a dead body. in his filing, he went on to say -- heartbreak, as you well know, his quote was, i have to have had to endure the pain of watching my wife's dead body be treated as if it were still live. as a married man i became very familiar with the way her body felt, smelled and the way her eyes when she looked at me. over the past would months nothing of my wife indicates that she is alive. those are his emotions and assessme assessment. one of the authors of the law, smu professor, was also quoted as saying he believes that the hospital is misinterpreting the law here. >> many people that looked at that time law, one of the men that drafted it, has, in fact, said they are not talking about when they drafted this law they were not talking about a fetus. they were talking about the person being kept alive. that this was meant to apply to the terminally ill or those who could not make decisions for themselves.

marlese munoz is a former paramedic. her husband and as well. they know what goes on in cases like this. she did not want to be kept live if she was not. the author of the law said that the law says very specifically life-sustaining measures. how does one sustain life in a patient who is dead? that's what they are talking about. especially when they look at the state of the fetus now. we just learned this week, for instance, that the fetus may,ing in fact, be incredibly deformed to the point they cannot,ing in fact, determine the gender. the lower extremities may be deformed and there may be watt other the brain. there appears to be significant heart problems. the judge, r.h. wallace, at 3:00 will have to determine and take away from all of this the politics and the passion that is accompanying this for. for weeks this has become an international story. many people argue you can look at the semantics of the law, life sustaining, does that refer to the woman or baby? it is going to be up to the judge to determine how that law was meant to be applied to begin

with. >> robert, with the "dallas morning news." we will continue to update our audience. the u.n. is challenging laws that criminalize homosexuality . i his attorney successfully argued the boy's wealthy family never taught him the consequences of his actions because they were so rich. [ female announcer ] hands were made for playing. ♪ legs, for crossing. ♪ feet...splashing. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage your ra,

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[ coughs ] i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. hmm? [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. thanks for the tip. [ male announcer ] no problem. oh...and hair products. aisle 9. [ inhales deeply ] oh what a relief it is. ♪ pfrmgts united nations is launching a new legal fight against malawi over laws that make homosexuality illegal. it is not the only country where being gay is a crime.

homosexuality is illegal in nearly 80 countries. that includes 35 of them in africa. among them, nigeria, somalia, where homosexuality is punishable by death. also, 20 countries in asia, including saudi arabia, iran, and yemen, homosexuality is punishable by death. joining me nows is james who wrote "the curious case of countries where being gay is a crime." the u.n. is launching a legal fight against malawi who like a number of other countries defend on support from western countries. the u.s. in particular who would have admonished and -- pointed out the cruelty of the laws. particularly where it is punishable by death to be gay. >> in nigeria it is very strange. this bill is called the prohibition of same-sex marriage act. same-sex marriage is already -- it is not legal in that -- it

never has been. what this does is makes it illegal to have a private ceremony. anyone who has a private ceremony where they want to get married, will is no legal right. they can go to jail for 14 years. it also makes it illegal to belong to a gay organization. gay or straight people who are members of the gay group can go to jail for ten years. so it is really -- not just a violation of gay people's rights. it is a violation of everyone's rights and basic freedom of association. >> january 16, there was a report bbc, a nigerian man, received 20 lashes after a court convicted him of homosexual offenses. we know that there have been several reports of roundups happening as of late as well in nigeria and other places where some have been reportedly disappeared and haven't been seen since they were brought in. >> yes. the police reported -- dozens of men, tortured and blackmailed them into extracting the names of other gay people. there is -- apparently a list going around with the names of hundreds of men. you mentioned that it is

punishable by death in some of the muslim parts of nigeria. it is a country divided evenly between muslim and christian. there has been tension over the years. an insurgency group and this is one of the issues where christians and muslims can agree in that country. i think it is a politically motivated act on behalf of the government to tray tow unite the country behind this particular regime right now. >> which is what you point out in your piece. you wrote homophobia in the developing world is not just a mass phenomenon but serves a populous agenda for scrupulous political leaders. back to the u.s. and influence it may or may not have in nigeria where -- the -- influence or aid of the united states is not needed. many wonder what can be done. >> well, not so sure about that. nigeria gets money in terms of fighting aides. they have a lot of refuge here. they should make it clear to these governments that if they want to continue receiving the

largess of the u.s. government then they shouldn't be allowed to inflict these laws. particularly on hiv prevention, it makes it very difficult to accomplish that it is a whk you are criminalizing and driving, you know, gay men who suffer from this disproportionately underground. this will make that problem worse. >> 2011 in geneva, at the time secretary of state hillary clinton called out for the rights of gay people to be respected. but she did not outline sanctions for countries that failed to reform. is it likely that we will see that next particularly with some of the roundups and brutal crackdowns that we are seeing? >> there is a bill that applies to russia that puts visa freezes and asset freezes on russian officials implicated in human rights abuses. we have called for this law to be applied to russian abusers of gay rights. and there is now movement in congress from senators car d s and mccain to expand the law globally. political leaders, private

citizens, will face sanctions and they will have bigger visas to america withdrawn and can have any assets they have in american banks frozen. so i think that this is one opportunity where we can see action. >> your reporting is great on this. james, thank you very much. people should go on "the daily beast" and check out your article. still ahead, our news nation gut check. one of the california police officers acquitted in a beating death of a mentally homeless man. he is now trying to get his job back. i will talk to the father of that man. ♪ ♪ stacy's mom has got it goin' on ♪ ♪ stacy's mom has got it goin' on ♪ ♪ stacy's mom has got it goin' on ♪

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to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. it is time now for the "news nation" postscript at the rnc winter meeting in washington. republicans voted to shrink the party's primary calendar and move up the gop nominating convention. the move comes after mike huckabee's controversial remarks about women yesterday and a week that began with some of the party's rising stars continuing to deal with scandal. here is a quick look back at the

week that was. >> mayor zimmer's version of our conversation in may of 2013 is not only false but it is illogical and does not withstand scrutiny when all of the facts are examined. >> i thank all of hose who have once again placed their faith and trust in me and i make this promise. i will not let up. >> encourage young people, men and women to realize that sexual assault is simply unacceptable and they are going to have to summon the bravery to stand up and say so. especially when the social pressure to keep quiet or to go along can be very intense. >> 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 lib eyido without the assistance of the

government, so be it and let us take that discuss across america because women are far more than the democrats played them to be. >> joining me now senior political editor mark murray. that's the week that was. we saw developing news that you are reporting on in our system, the republican national committee passed a resolution condemning the nsa surveillance program and you say that this is obviously significant. >> may colleague, casey hunt, down on the ground reported that passage and -- tamron, i wouldn't make a huge deal about it. tons of resolutions are often passed with these types of rnc and dnc committee meetings. but this is notable given that, you know, certainly it comes in this, the edward snowden revelations. the poll numbers showing that nsa surveillance programs are not as popular as they once were. for the republicans this is a very big rebuke of george with bush. he was the president that first put the programs in place. the republican party is traditionally, at least over the past 60 years, been a -- party that has been very strong and

hawk i sha hawkish when it comes to national and foreign policy issues. this is something to look forward to in the 2016 contest. >> the state of the union address next week and the sunday morning programs, what are you watching for? >> absolutely -- everything is teed up for the state of the union. that's going to be the big event next week. i think that the big political question is can president obama regain some of his political footing he lost in 2013? almost all the polls show him in the low 40s to mid 40s. the question for a lot of democrats who are up for re-election in 2014 this year in senate contests is hoping he goes from the low 40s back to the high 40s and perhaps the state of the union and has the ability to start doing that and commanding some of the items on his agenda. >> mark murray, we will see what happens on sunday. of course, we will talk with you on monday. thanks a lot. >> thanks. outrage over the acquittal of two officers in connection with the death of a homeless man in southern california has gotten more intense as one of the officers now is trying to get his old job back. last week officer manuel ramos

and corporal jay cicinelli were found not guilty in the death of kelly thomas who was mentally ill and homeless. cell phone and surveillance video capture ad violent struggle between thomas and six police officers and a transit station in fullerton on july 5, 2011. kelly died five days later. the defense attorneys argued thomas was combative and ignore the officers' orders. a day after their acquittal the attorney said he would begin the process of trying to regain the post he lost. after residents took to the streets to protest, residents packed fullerton city hall to protest this. the decision lies with the city council. if they don't accept him he can still take it up with higher courts. kelly's father, ron thomas, was also at the meeting tuesday night. he joins me now for -- thank you so much, sir, for your time.

obviously you want to express our condolences to your family for the loss of your son. i know you don't want this officer to get his job back. but what can you say to the city council at this point that wasn't revealed in court and in what you and the many supporters said? >> well, jay was out of the police academy for the los angeles police department two weeks when he encountered a real bad guy who shot him several times, including in the face. hay lost his left eye. as that turned out, the lap would low nonger allow -- longer allow him to carry. for favor, they called the chief at the time, pat sellers, who was former lapd. he was the chief of fullerton to

bring this guy on in nufullerto. the same officer had a could not perform his duties in the lapd is the one fullerton hired him. he is the one that wants his job back and beat kelly in the face with a taser but said he had no other option but to beat his face to hell. no, i don't want him to get his job back. nobody wants him to get his job back. >> you talk about your son -- and obviously much of the focus has been on those two officers. but in court, get your thoughts when you have attorneys who are saying that your son was not harmless and helpless and portrayed him in a far different way than what you have said and what many know they saw at that scene that day. >> it is true. i mean -- you know, kelly was a really good guy. loved to laugh. have fun. and as a video clearly showed he wasn't bothering anybody.

but they went back in his past and he had altercations in his life over the last 18 years. they portrayed him as this horrible drug-crazed maniac that was out there, you know, to beat up the police. the true evidence, the only evidence, by any drug use if kelly's past, are drug tests that he took over 18 years and every single one of them come back negative. that wasn't allowed in court. the defense attorneys took that and they ran with it. the fact kelly stated to a psychologist 18 years ago me tried meth 18 years ago. he tried tonight tenth grade. they ran with it and made him out to be a drug-crazed mainian which was not the case at all. but again, they couldn't bring up anything in the officer's past. only in kelly's. therefore, i felt my son did not get a fair trial as a victim.

>> well, i know as we mentioned this is in the hands of the city counsel and i will -- if they don't take this up, they can go to a higher court of the police chief already made his stance and will continue to follow this development but i want to thank you again for making time for us and our thoughts are with you and your family. we really appreciate it. >> i really appreciate it. >> we will be right back. we know we're not the center of your life, but we'll do our best to help you connect to what is. she'd just grab the bounty select-a-size. one select-a-size sheet of bounty is 50% more absorbent than a full size sheet of the leading ordinary brand.

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exclude factoring in a person's privilege into their sentencing. mike, thank you for your time. s. >> thank you for having me. >> i think that -- i'm not alone here. i did not know that your wealth or financial status could ever be used or factored in into your sentencing. until this case. >> yeah. i think most people realize intuitively that there are two justice systems in this country. this is one for the privilege and one for the ones not so prifd. there's only so much that we is as lawmakers can do on certain advantages that the wealthy may have. you know, access to better lawyers and knowledge of the justice system. you are right. when these things start to be described as syndromes that are akin to handicaps, the notion that a spoiled upbringing is a handicap, you know, i think it is appropriate for the legislature to step in and do something about. >> it was this your first time hearing such a case? read thing kid's background, the -- the therapist that

testified he suffered from affluenza pointed out that his parents taught him that rather than apologizing, you would give someone something or pay someone and he lived in a home where the mother simply focused on the acomelation of goods and luxury as opposed to moral barometer or moral compass that would be needed. i imagine in parenting any kid. >> unfortunately it is not the first example. may staff was able to find cases dating back to 1 t 1920s where wealthy defendants introduced this concept that they are not -- not aware of the consequences of their actions. and able to get less sentence because of. >> it do we see the counter? does someone's sentence get reduced? if this has been behind and have you seen cases that far back, have we seen cases where someone was able to get off after killing someone saying, hey, i was poor and my dad left me and my mom was terrible, too? >> well, it depends p i think our laws need to reflect society's values. and most people in society say that the notion that a spoiled upbrink something how entitles

you to a lesser sentence is ridiculous. there is -- ample precedent for society through our lawmakers stepping in and eliminating ridiculous sentences. in the eight niece response to the proliferation of the not guilty by reason of insanity, that defense was limited. >> i cannot imagine you are getting a lot of people opposed to this idea but i will have to ask it. what kind of support are you getting? >> you would be surprised. nothing is easy in sacramento, california. you know, even something like this that most people say should be a no-brainer, there is a lot of people who -- who seem to intuitively have issues with it. our law is written clearly. proposal we have just says that -- evidence of an affluent -- should not be considered by the court of law in sentencings or the trial phase by a defendant or defense attorney. >> all right. we will see where this legislation goes. i really appreciate your joining us today. thanks a lot. >> thanks for having me. i have the flu,

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there is a new neighbor on "sesame street." his name is dr. rooster. he is part after new health write makeover for burt, ernie, grover, and the gang. and at improving kid's health in the u.s. dr. rooster helps the in making healthier options. even the cookie monster is getting in on the act choosing his favorite treat, only once a week instead of every day. the character is inspire bid a real-life doctor. a cardiologist who started working with the "sesame street" workshop six years ago. their project targets 3 to 5-year-olds by gradually incorporating healthy messages into the hugely popular show. >> your beating heart creates a pulse in many parts of your body. you see, this spectacular organ, the heart, works like a pump. a pump. >> the pump, you say.

dr. valentin joins me now. your help it does you no justice and you are far more handsome in person but -- >> you think go i think you definitely are. i love this idea of incorporate thing. you were saying this has been hugely successful. the kids are jumping in on this. >> no question. the doctor is a role model. to see a doctor that gives advice is a significant dash has a significant impact on the children that are watch. >> absolutely. you know, it is so interesting. i grew up on "sesame street," obviously. that's probably why i have a sugar addiction because my cookie monster is my favorite. we are taking a serious look at what children are eating and teaching them how to make those healthy choices as opposed to the parents saying you can't leave the dinner table until you finish your carrot. we want kids to pick up a carrot on their own and instead of chocolate. >> there is no question. the -- age 2 to 5 is when we develop this behavior and this is really important because we are teaching these children how the body works, exercise,

nutrition, how to control the emotions. thinking that when they are adults, they will have a different behavior that we have. and these can be very, very preventative in terms of cardiovascular disease. >> especially when you look at juvenile diabetes the numbers are skyrocketing at a time as whole woe see exercise programs and pe disappear in some schools. honestly, eating healthy is more important than ever. >> we have an experience with a thousand children in colombia and now in spain. we have a program of 70 hours. we teach health over a six-month period. three years later -- there is a tremendous impact. >> here in the united states it says we are behind in so many things, math and science as well. but we are also behind the curve of educating our children. >> i tried to do this ten years ago in the united states. they said the curriculum is too full to have these kind of shelf

programs. now we are coming back. we are going to start in new york. >> it is fantastic. congratulations for sticking with it and finally breaking through. i guess in honor of you and the cookie monster, i will have just one cookie tonight. and then the rest of the weekend -- >> just one. >> just one. thank you, doctor. great message to end on on this friday. healthy eating for all of us. okay. i promise. that does it for "news nation." i'm tamron hall. my healthy eating friends, "the cycle," up next. this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location. during the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. at night and when it's cloudy, we use more natural gas. this ensures we can produce clean electricity whenever our customers need it. ♪

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[ angelic music plays ] ♪ toaster strudel! best morning ever! [ hans ] warm, flaky, gooey. toaster strudel! [ female announcer ] try new pillsbury heat-n-go mini pancakes. exclusive. "the cycle's" attorney general, ari melber. we have it more and coming up only here on "toure." it is fun and games until the lawyers get involved. >> crime and punishment. justin bieber hits the town again just hours after his dui arrest. i am krystal ball. this is starting to seem like a

broken record in hollywood. how can you rein these kids in? >> there is more frigid weather down the road. i am ari melber. how long will it last? we don't forecast out that far. >> all of that plus weather transition. can we just chill? the age-old dilemma between men and women. i'm abby huntsman. sit possible to just be friends? science sets out to find the answer. >> if you watched nbc nightly news last night or msnbc at all today there was one man you couldn't miss, ari melber. that's because of his interview with eric holder. that in tv talk is the setup which ari couldn't say about himself, he is too humble. in tv talk, here is what