the state of the union. what can the president say in his big address to build momentum for 2014? a former speech writer talks about the keys to success. any clues online? i'll be talking about what he's discovered. it's already time to talk tax return, so what's the most hated tax in america? you'll find it on today's list of number ones. no respect. why does everyone think the super bowl is being played in new york, and why is that upsetting some people where the game will actually be played? good day to all of you. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." we start with developing news. just a short time ago, authorities in maryland released

new information on that mall shooting. here's what we know. officials identified the suspected gunman in yesterday's deadly mall shooting in columbia. police said it is 19-year-old darion marcus aguilar. he opened fire inside the crowded shopping mall, killing two people before turning the gun on himself. they say not only was he heavily armed, he was carrying a backpack full of homemade explosives. >> we had come across in the store a backpack that contained explosives, ieds. these were homemade devices consisting of flash powder and household items. >> the mall remains closed today as police continue to search for a motive. kristen welker is there. what's the latest on this? >> reporter: alex, good afternoon to you. police tell us they were able to disable those homemade devices that you just heard the police

chief talk about. they also say next to the suspected shooter, they found a mossburg 12-gauge shotgun. they believe it was purchased legally by mr. aguilar in december. meanwhile, this community continues to be rattled by the violence that erupted here yesterday. police say 21-year-old brianna benlolo and 25-year-old tyler johnson were working at the clothing store when a gunman opened fire killing them both before police say he turned the gun on himself. >> it was just boom, boom, boom! and people just started screaming and running. >> reporter: the shooting began just after 11:00 saturday morning. 911 calls captured the first terrifying moments. >> we have an active shooter at the columbia mall. last seen in the food court. >> reporter: witnesses say the crowded mall became a scene of fear and chaos. >> we were, like, crying. we were scared out of our minds. >> it was completely crazy. everybody started running,

screaming. i almost passed out because i couldn't breathe. >> reporter: some fled while others sought a safe place inside. >> it was a young couple with two brand-new babies, so we have like a restroom at the end in the storeroom. and so everybody -- as many people as we could fit in there. >> reporter: police say they got to the mall within minutes of the first 911 calls. they say they found three bodies in the second floor store, and next to the gunman, a shotgun and more. >> he also had a lot of ammunition still on him. concerns about any weapons he may have or explosives. we are approaching this with an abundance of caution. >> reporter: while police worked late into the night searching the mall for clues and scanning surveillance video, outside a vigil for the victims, as yet another american community prepares to mourn innocent lives. >> when something like this

happens, it just makes you realize how fragile life is and how it can change for you in an instant. >> reporter: police are still working to determine a motive. they say that surveillance video shows the suspected shooter was dropped off here at a mall -- at the mall about an hour before the shooting began. they say ultimately he fired off between six to nine shots in and around that store, which was located on the second floor. they say one of those shots hit a patron who was located on the first floor in the foot. that person was treated and released from the hospital and is expected to be just fun. was interviewed by police earlier today. meanwhile, alex, at this hour, some of the patrons who were here yesterday are coming back to the mall to a nearby location to pick up some of their items that they left here. we expect this mall will be closed at least until tuesday, although we're also told the mall is trying to open earlier, if possible. alex? >> okay, thank you so much, kristen welker for the latest in

columbia. let's go to politics, and new details about president obama's state of the union address in two days. here's jay carney today. >> the president sees this as a year of action, to work with congress where he can, and to bypass congress where necessary, to lift folks who want to come up into the middle class. >> the white house says the president's speech can be summed up in three words. those you see right there. opportunity, action, and optimism. and here's the white house senior adviser. >> i think what you're going to hear from the president on tuesday night is a series of concrete, practical, specific proposals through a wide set of means. job training, education, manufacturing, energy. and these will be some legislative proposals, but also a number of actions he can take on his own. >> shauna thomas is joining me now. a good day to you. anything else the white house putting out there about the president's speech on tuesday? >> reporter: they're going to say -- we're going to hear him talk about his plan to help

restore security to the middle class. something we've heard from him before. the legislative action we're going to hear him talk about, immigration, raising the minimum wage. which, by the way, are both things he talked about in his 2013 state of the union. but this white house hasn't been shy. dan pfeiffer wasn't shy. he's going to talk about executive actions. things he can do that don't require congress. this is going to be a large focus of the speech. expect him to talking about executive actions with jobs, retirement security, education skills training. this is going to be how he's going to define this year. >> yeah, he wants to strengthen the middle class, empower all who hope to join us. what else with regard to the republicans? they are preparing, as we understand it, not one, but three separate responses to the state of the union. what's that all about? >> well, first response is the sort of official gop response. representative kathy mcmorris rogers. and by the way, in case you haven't noticed, she's also a woman. they tweeted out a photograph of her with her baby practicing her

speech last week. something the republicans need. they need women on their side. senator mike leigh, he's giving the tea party response. and then senator rand paul is giving his own response. i think it's with an eye on 2016. he talked to david gregory today on "meet the press", also with an eye on 2016. let's take a listen. >> i think the thing we make the mistake of up there is we try to agree to too much. i'm the first to acknowledge the president and i don't agree on every issue. but if you took ten issues, i think there are two or three that we agree on, and we may agree firmly on. why don't we go after the issues that we agree on. >> reporter: so, we heard from him. we're going to be hearing a lot from senator rand paul. but the three responses, i think the only one you'll probably see everyone take is probably representative mcmorris-rodgers. >> i think you're right, but i'm sure we'll hear about all three. thanks for sure. good to see you there at the white house. so for more now, i'm joined by the member of the

appropriations committee and the intelligence committee. it's always a pleasure. thank you for joining me. >> it's a pleasure. >> what do you want to hear from the president on tuesday night? >> well, i want to hear him make the case again for why we need a move on immigration reform. an increase in the minimum wage. but i think as you indicated earlier, we're also going to see a pivot to what the president can do on his own administratively. i think that's wise. he's dealing with an incredibly dysfunctional congress. he shouldn't put all his eggs in the legislative basket. the other thing i'd like to see, and this is not just on tuesday night, but in the year to come, that is the president is at his best and most effective when his name is on the ballot and when he has a campaign-like approach to what he wants to get done. and i think that same kind of focus on message, on making sure that every action he takes is back to his message, that relentless discipline he ought to bring forward, beginning with a playbook that he announces tuesday night and continuing all yearlong. >> dan pfeiffer, as you know,

sent out that preview yesterday. here's how it read. "the president will lay out a series of real, concrete practical proposals to grow the economy, strengthen the middle class and empower all who hope to join it." so how do you see those playing out? what do you want them to look like? >> i think that's exactly the right focus. we still haven't left where we were at the beginning of five years ago, and that is the economy is still the major concern for americans. so i would expect that to be the bulk of what he has to say and the challenge will be articulating how he can through the executive office, through the power of the administration improve people's job prospects, attack the problem of this growing gulf between rich and poor, and i think that a lot of his proposals are going to be along these lines. and there's a lot that he can achieve. i also don't expect him to shy away from the affordable care act. that will be the largest administrative task of this year, and so i think he can do a lot to make that a success and really will need to continue to

keep a focus on burnishing that part of his legacy. >> but regarding the format that you were talking about. let's be honest, the white house has been calling for a jobs recovery and a strengthening of the middle class for five years now, so what's going to be different this time? >> i think he'll point out just how much we have achieved in those five years, because there's been an enormous amount of job growth. we're in a much better position now than we were before. but i think he's also going to point to things that he can get done administratively. new initiatives that he can undertake to make sure that we're hiring veterans, that we're hiring people who are long-term unemployed, that we're working together in a collaborative fashion, the private and public sector, that our community colleges are retooling so that they can meet the needs of the new economy. these are things that don't require big legislation. they could use a boost from a president focused on the task. and these are things that can be done in a collaborative way. >> let's switch gears a bit now, talk about security at the sochi olympics. let's take a listen to your colleague from the intelligence

committee, congressman peter king in an interview this morning. >> this is a dangerous situation. hopefully things will work out. but it's nowhere near ideal. i can't emphasize enough the russians have not been cooperative as far as sharing intelligence. again, the greeks did, the chinese did, the brits did, the russians did not. and that's dangerous. >> do you agree, the russians aren't sharing their intelligence? >> they're not sharing intelligence the way we would like them to, the way they should. on the other hand, it's not a big surprise. we don't have the same kind of relationship with them that we have the british and with other nations. even with the chinese. so it's not all that much of a surprise at the moment. particularly when you consider the fallout after the boston bombing and the finger pointing about the fact that russians should have provided us more information that would have led us to potentially chase down leads before that tragedy. so not surprising. yes, they can do more. i also think at the end of the day, the risks are pretty

manageable for people wanting to go to the olympics. the most dangerous part i'm convinced will be the traffic on the way there. but it is a big target and they could be doing more. >> but in a worst case scenario, u.s. officials told my colleagues at nbc that they do not have an evacuation plan prepared should something happen. what do you think of that? >> we'll have resources near the region. we'll have two ships near the region. i think that's accurate. the reality is we're going to be reliant on the russians. we can't simply fly into russian air space and do what we want to evacuate our people. so at the end of the day, if there is some kind of attack and we want to get our people out of there, in the first instance our security people on the ground, as limited as they may be, will make sure that we move people hopefully to a safe area within sochi until plans can be made for an evacuation. but we are going to be heavily reliant on the russians any way you look at it. >> all right, representative adam schiff. are you going or just watching the games? >> i would go if i had tickets, but i'll be watching and

rooting. >> me, too. we'll be right there with you. good to see you. we invite all of you to watch the state of the union tuesday night at 9:00 eastern. we also want to know what you think the state of our union is. you can take a photo or video of completing the sentence "the state of our union is --." see all the responses, including mine right there. another potential data breach at another major retailer. plus, the threats in sochi. an expert on internet chatter tells me what he's seen online. new information with just 11 days to go before the olympic games begin. paws off pal. just one squeeze? just enjoy it with your eyes. [ female announcer ] new charmin ultra soft is so soft you don't even have to squeeze it to believe it. for the first time you can actually see the softness with our new comfort cushions. new charmin ultra soft is still so much softer and more absorbent you can use up to four times less. i believe it, but i still gotta squeeze it.

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the u.s. is bracing for another arctic blast this week. much of this country could see temperatures 15 to 30 degrees below average. the cold is putting a strain on

americans trying to heat their homes. >> at the end of this week, it's supposed to get bitterly cold. >> it's our gas bill that will feel a little higher because of the heating in the home. that's it. maybe 20%, 30% higher than the year before. at the same time this year. >> dr. greg postel is here. >> earlier this week, have a look at some of our temperature forecasts this week. for monday, high temperature of minus-7 in minneapolis. 30 degrees below average. notice that the temperatures start to tumble on monday night and tuesday, even in the deep south. look at some of these numbers for highs on tuesday in atlanta. 34 degrees. that's almost 20 degrees below average for them as well. this cold air continues to filter in wednesday as well. this is not just a one-day event. it's a couple of days at least,

guys. i unfortunately have to say that along with this arctic air, driving south all the way to the gulf coast, we will have moisture riding up and over that, beginning perhaps as early as tuesday, and then going tuesday night and into wednesday. and that is going to set us up for a wintery scenario across the gulf coast. significant icing is possible. significant snow is possible. all along this corridor tuesday, tuesday night, and into wednesday. stay tuned for details on this forecast. this is a changing situation. and places in the south that rarely see wintery weather will likely see it in a couple of days. guys, stay tuned for that. then let's move forward a little bit into super bowl weekend. take a peek into the crystal ball there. what we've got is an unsetted p -- unsettled pattern, setting us up for a 30-degree day, with the possibility of some rain and/or snow in the area. so stay tuned again for details

on that. still a long way out to iron out that forecast. >> yeah. >> alex, back to you. let's go now to the other stories topping the news. u.s. health officials are expected to board a royal caribbean cruise ship, explorer of the seas, today, to investigate an outbreak of a highly contagious norovirus. the ship departed new jersey on tuesday for a ten-day caribbean cruise and is scheduled to dock today at st. thomas in the u.s. virgin islands. another data breach for a major retailer. michaels stores is investigating a potential security breach that may have compromised customers' credit card information. they are asking customers to check their statements for fraudulent charges in the wake of cyber attacks on target and neiman marcus that compromised millions of americans' payment information. u.s. officials expect the stream of terror threats aimed at the sochi winter olympics to continue in these final days leading up to the games. but just how credible are they? and with the unprecedented security measures russia has put

into place, just how safe is sochi? joining me now, evan coleman. with a welcome, i know that you monitor all these extremist websites. what are the most alarming things that you're seeing online in regard to the threats against the games right now? >> i think you're right. we're seeing an increasing crescendo of these kind of threats pop up. in addition to threats from the caucuses itself, people in dagestan or chechnya, we're also seeing threats from outside. just in the past few days, we saw video from the afghan-pakistani border. the russian national with a group called the islamic jihad union, which has come up with plots targeting frankfurt international airport, and they issued a statement in the run up to sochi threatening attacks on the infidels. it is a question, how much of this is propaganda, how much of this is just trying to take advantage of media focus, and how much of it is real. but look, there's been a lot of very serious threats. these are serious groups. these are groups that have been behind previous terrorist attacks, significant plots.

so they have to be taken seriously, unfortunately. >> yeah. as you weigh the answer to those questions you just posed, are there ones that you find credible? >> yeah, i think particularly if you look at some of the threats from folks that carried out the volgograd bombing, the trolley station bombing. this is the kind of thing where we should be really concerned, because these folks are in close proximity to where sochi is taking place. they have a very, very strong reason or methodology to carry this out. they want to make putin very embarrassed on a world stage and this is the perfect opportunity. they have said that they're going to do it and they've said that they have explosives and they've said that they don't care about world opinion and they've issued warnings saying to people if you come here, we've got a present for you. again, it's very easy for them to say that and i think the reality is that these folks could just as easily strike in any major city in russia as they could in sochi and they would have the same exact impact. >> true. >> just because they're saying this, look, they might carry out an attack. it might be hundreds ofsochi.

i'm not sure that's the immediate impetus to cancel plans. >> with regard to who they're searching for right now, the russian authorities have got at least five suspected terrorists, including the infamous black widow. can they really keep them all out of sochi while maintaining the openness that you need to host the world for the winter olympics? >> i think that's the warring thing. the russians don't seem to know whether these people are there, whether they're not there, where they are, what's happened to them. one of them was killed several weeks ago. i think that's what's concerning, the level of confusion and chaos. i mean, these women may not do anything related to sochi, but the fact that the russians don't seem to know where they are, don't seem to know what their intent is, think they might be up to bad intent. there was supposed to be a ring of steel surrounding sochi. what happened to that ring of steel? i think the russians overestimated their ability to close down this area when you have thousands of tourists and athletes and others that are coming to participate in the olympic games. i think it was just overly optimistic and now they've set themselves up for a very embarrassing situation, where after they've talked about how

great their security is, anything bad that happens now, they're going to look like fools. >> the u.s. state department has issued that new warning for american s in sochi to be vigilant. individual americans may not necessarily be targets. do you read it that way? >> i think anyone that's going to the olympics is about equally a target. i don't think that the folks are really looking to target the olympics are going to be able to discern between an american or a german or somebody from south america. it doesn't really work that way. i think bottom line, if these folks are going to strike at the olympics, they're going to strike at the olympics. it's not going to be a particular country participating in there. their primary motivation here is really to embarrass president putin of russia. so it doesn't matter in that sense which country they go after, as long as they embarrass putin. if they carry out an attack, it could just as likely be in a city like st. petersburg.

they're going to get the same amount of media attention and they don't have to worry about the security in place around sochi. so we have to be careful about putting too much emphasis on those black widows. >> thank you so much. new york's super bowl is in new york city, right? wrong. why residents where the game is actually going to be playing say they are rodney dangerfields of hosts. it's hip-hop. for cross-country, classical. and for jumps, i need something...special. so i use my citi thankyou visa card for music downloads and earn two times the points... plus a little extra inspiration. [ ♪ music plays ] the citi thankyou preferred visa card. earn two times the points on entertainment and dining out with no annual fee. citi, with you every step of the way. suddenly you're a mouth breather.

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of the measures of a new study of states with the best schools. a study by the publication education week finds states that excel in the classroom are among the big spenders on education. the publication education week gives the top score to massachusetts, which is lauded for having the third highest preschool enrollment. maryland ranks a close second. new jersey third. mission specialist rhinestone. i am off structure. do you copy? >> sandra bullock has high hopes to win best actress for her lead role in "gravity," while the film's oscar chances look even broughter. the dga winner has won the best director oscar in all but seven years since 1948. good odds, right? those are your number ones here on "weekends with alex witt." 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 ]

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paws off pal. [ female announcer ] new charmin ultra soft is so soft you can actually see the softness with our new comfort cushions. plus you can use up to 4 times less. enjoy the go with new charmin ultra soft. welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." now to headlines at the half. we go to egypt to where the death toll continues to rise.

49 have died in the recent clashes in that country. the fighting comes as thousands gathered in cairo to mark the third anniversary of the revote against former president hosni mubarak. they remain divided. a new interview with nsa leaker edward snowden, german broadcaster saying the national security agency does industrial espionage and would use information it finds useful even if it's not related to snurt matters. after weeks of speculation, the president of france announced he has broken up with his companion of seven years. they were not married. she occupied the presidential palace and functioned as first lady. two weeks ago, a tabloid magazine published photos of hollande allegedly visiting the apartment of his mistress. in a new interview, rand paul was asked if chris christie still has a shot at the 2016 election.

>> i think that's yet to be determined. the nomination goes through some very conservative primaries. i think there's room for more moderate republicans in the party and i really am a believer that we should have an expansive and diverse party. but the primaries are a very conservative process. >> joining me now is bob engel, the author of "chris christie, the inside story of his rise to power." good to see you, bob. >> my pleasure, thank you. >> you wrote this interesting column in which you asked if his speech was aimed at a national aud audience. do you get the sense that he's considering a presidential run? >> i get the sense that speech was written in july before any of this stuff happened. i think they think that in maybe a year, it will all be history and he can get on with the plan. >> and your biggest takeaway from the speech was? >> that it was aimed at a national audience. >> not in policy. it was like this is kind of

pre-presidential. >> it wasn't really too jersey specific, actually. that was the first clue. >> there is a new poll from rutgers which gives us a mixed review of the governor among his state voters there. ing on 27% find him trustworthy. 56% say yeah, he's a strong leader, but 43% say he's a bully. then 56% have a favorable opinion of him -- pardon me, 46%. can you reconcile all those numbers and translate? >> no. it's a poll, for gosh sakes. a poll is good for the day it's taken. if you take the same poll tomorrow, you may get different results. the thing that i noticed was the 43% who now think he's a bully. after all of this, it's up to 43%. which some of his enemies i think would be surprised that it's that low. >> what about anecdotally? what are you hearing about him from his constituents? >> well, the administration is very close-knit, very tight. they're very, very careful about

anything that's said publicly. my mail indicates that people still are backing him. he has some strong, strong backers. and people on the other side, of course. but the people on the other side were the same people who were against him before any of this happened. >> what about the fact that federal prosecutors have issued their first subpoenas this week for the bridge scandal? what did you glean from that list of targets? >> i gleaned that they're looking to see if they can see a pattern. i don't think they know what they're looking for. i think they're just out there looking, like pieces of a pussle. and they'll try to put it together and see what they have. >> do you think there's a smoking gun anywhere out there that could connect christie to any of this? >> i really don't know. don't have a crystal ball. but there is also a meeting tomorrow of the legislature to create another committee to look into the governor. and i think the great -- the problem could be here. and it's what happens when you

have politicians investigating politicians. that if you lose the public confidence, it doesn't make any difference what you find out. they're going to think it's a political circus and it really doesn't matter. >> how about the hoboken allegations. what are you hearing about that? >> there seems to be a difference of opinion on the hoboken city council. i guess there's some intracouncil squabble there. there is a woman on the council who said on msnbc this morning she thinks 250 days is way too long to hear about it. should have had to hear about this publicly. wants to know why the mayor shared that information with some council members and not others such as her. >> right. okay, well, bob engel, thank you very much for the wrap as it stands today. thank you. it's the state of the union like you've never seen before. white house chief of staff dennis mcdonagh calls this year's version an enhanced speech, offering this preview. >> the president has been hard at work on the 2014 state of the union. and when the president addresses

the nation, the white house will provide you something online that you can't find elsewhere. an enhanced version of the speech that offers charts, graphics and data that further explain the decisions that shape the policies and issues in the president's remarks. >> and joining me now is the former director of speech writing for president bill clinton, michael waldman. thank you, michael. you just heard all those things that are going to be going on. it's going to be a hot bed of activity concurrent with the broadcast of the speech. do you find that to be potentially distracting? >> well, it's interesting. these speeches are required in the constitution. for about a century, they sent it in in writing. and then when radio came along, it became a big radio event. and then when it was television, it was a big television pageant. we think of ronald reagan with his showmanship or bill clinton's long speeches. so it's entirely understandable that the internet and all the ways we communicate now would become part of it. as long as the members of

congress stay off their blackberries and stop tweeting during the speech. >> can i just ask you to talk about bill clinton's long speeches? he certainly had long ones. did you have to write long ones for you or did he embellish them? >> no, we wrote long ones and he would cut them and then he would make them longer. as we saw this past year during the democratic convention. here's the interesting thing. when he would give these long speeches, pundits would sneer and say there he goes again, he has no self-control, it was self-indulgent. and his ratings would go up. >> yeah, he's a great speaker. are you kidding me? >> it was not only that. it was also the longer he spoke, the more people tuned in. it's the one chance, even now, that we have as citizens to hear from our president unfiltered about where he wants to take the country. it's a remaining civic ritual. there aren't many of those left. and people actually want to hear that kind of stuff directly. so it's still got power. >> but given where we are today with social media, do you think the addition of all these different platforms enhances the ability to get the message

across, or do you like the concept of everybody gathering around televisions or radios and listening and concentrating on what's being said? >> well, i think that i like the chance to talk, but i think that -- you don't want it to just be like a power point presentation with five bullets and three bar charts for every point. and there's a risk of it getting gimmicky. but i think if the president has something powerful to say, for example, about health care. you know, it's worked in these ways. this many people have gotten it. or job growth, or other things. sometimes you can make the point with visual aids as well. i think the bottom line is the words are still going to be the heart of it, no matter what. >> the president's speech comes as a new poll has been released today. it shows his approval rating stands at 46%. his disapproval rating at 50%. there's also the new article in "the washington post" which talks about the tough year the president has had in 2013. the title of it is "obama's rough 2013 prompts a new blueprint."

so how can the speech tuesday create momentum for him in 2014? >> i think understanding that it is a new period and a new year really is the key. he was right, i think, in 2013 to test the very convincing re-election that he had. and see if that was going to make it possible to have more productivity and more success with congress. the fact is it didn't, by and large. that's not because necessarily of him not having people over for drinks or whatever. congress is divided. it's dysfunctional. it's gridlocked. it's not even entirely hostile. just can't agree to do much of anything. as the president has been saying, he has other ways to advance policy, as he said the pen and the phone and on tuesday, the microphone. and so he's got to talk not at the congress alone, but to the whole country about where it ought to go. and not be judged so much by what the house republican caucus

or some other faction is going to let him pass. >> yeah. we're told that income inequality in this country is going to be a big topic. how best does he convey that message and get it across? >> it's a challenge, because of course we want our president to talk aspirationally. we want our president to talk in a way that speaks -- inspires us. and talk about the american dream and opportunity and a great threat to that american dream is this remarkable widening of inequality that's happened in the country. i think a lot of people will say oh, class warfare. but i think if it's done right and i think people at home will be very happy to hear about it. as long as it's done in a way that points forward and with some hope and optimism. >> yeah. how do you effectively do that, though, when you're also trying to give almost a laundry list of your accomplishments since the prior year's state of the union speech? you have to list things and you have to get with the rhythm of the speech. that's a challenge to write. how can you be inspirational and factual at the same time? >> these speeches are always

some form of laundry list. an eloquent laundry list if you're good. and that's the nature of it. there's a lot going on. but i think people ought to walk away with some basic sense of the president's vision, of what the president thinks the role for government is. he has very rarely talked about, for example, the health care law in his big speeches. i think he probably has no choice now. and i would very much like to hear him touch on some of the things he's talked about in earlier speeches. for example, last year, he talked about the disgrace of having people have to wait online for hours in this country to volt. he appointed a commission. that commission, bipartisan, republicans and democrats, last week put out a really strong report. and since then, the supreme court gutted the voting rights ability. there's a strong bipartisan bill to fix it. so voting turns out to be something where he can actually point to republicans and democrats working together. that's pretty rare. i hope he takes that opportunity. >> yeah, okay. i think it's so cool what you

did with the clinton administration. and i'm excited about your new book, so come talk to us about that when you get it done. thank you so much. 11 days to go before sochi. why cork and switch could soon become household names. but first, a surprise appearance by leonardo dicaprio on "snl" last night. jonah hill was the guest host and started talking smack about his co-star on "the wolf of wall street." that's when dicaprio showed up onstage. it calmed down and then things got weird. >> remember when we were onset and i would get really nervous? >> yeah, yeah, yeah. i remember. >> can we do the thing we always did every day, the thing that made me feel safe? >> is it going to help you be less nervous? >> yeah. >> yeah, sure, we can do it. >> all right. thanks, man. ♪

[ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] >> am i flying, jack? >> yes, rose. yes, you're flying. anybody have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating?

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with a week to go to the super bowl, all eyes are on one city -- >> new york city is hosting the super bowl. >> new york. >> new york city. >> reporter: but there's one small problem -- actually, the game won't even be played in new york, but instead about eight miles west of the big apple in new jersey. >> oh. yeah. new jersey. same thing. >> reporter: not if you ask senator senator bob menendez. >> peyton manning isn't going to be scoring any touchdowns in central park and richard sherman isn't going to be yelling at anybody in the financial district. it's going to be happening here in new jersey. >> reporter: you wouldn't necessarily know it if you looked at the hype around the game. the nfl's epicenter for super bowl fans known as the super bowl boulevard is in the heart of times square. super bowl tickets and official promotional material, the vince lombardi trophy is imposed on the new york city skyline with new jersey barely noticeable. how do you feel about all of the attention being given to new york, but the game is actually being held in jersey? >> no, that's not fair. >> reporter: while the nfl

insists the super bowl is shared between the two states, this is about much more than bragging rights. >> it would have been great if the giants or the jets were the ones playing, but nonetheless, having the pride of having the game here, but the economic impact. we're talking about potentially hundreds of millions of dollars. >> reporter: money that is mostly going to new york instead of new jersey, which is hosting the game and more importantly footing the bill for security and making sure the super bowl goes off without a hitch. while new jersey's restaurants and hotels will see a spike this coming week, in the end, the charm of new jersey may have a hard time competing with the glitz and glamour of the big apple. >> it's a little hard to sell the caucus of ea-- secaucus and east rutherford. >> lots of great restaurants. people doing their own version of super bowl boulevard. they're calling it super bowl street. they hope the fans will get to know the people and see what a great place new jersey is. >> i'm sure they will. let's hope so.

thank you so much. the backlash against lolo jones at the sochi olympics. does she deserve a chance to compete? ♪ yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! ♪ we are one, under the sun ♪ under the sun... [ female announcer ] fiber and protein. together as one. introducing new fiber one protein cereal. 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.

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breaking news in texas. a hospital in ft. worth now says it will follow a judge's order to remove the life support from a brain dead pregnant woman. her family wanted the ventilator removed, but the hospital argued it was obligated to protect the fetus. despite security concerns, there was huge excitemented by building up around the 2014 olympics. the athletes and fans are just days away from descending upon the russian town for that country's first ever russian games. here with a preview, alan, nice to see you again. i want to begin with where you expect u.s. athletes to stay at the olympic village and what russia has in store for them? >> well, i would absolutely expect them to stay in the part of the village that is going to be called siberia. it's going to be as remote a

part of the village as could possibly be. this is absolutely the kind of thing you can expect. i don't want to say retaliation, but basically it's the kind of thing you expect in response to president obama's love letter to mr. putin by sending the white house delegation as it is to the sochi games. he's sending no senior political figures, no dignitaries. he's sending billie jean king. this is what you get, as i wrote, when it happened. >> what about the big news for the team? do you think they'll continue the big record-setting streak that they did in 2010 in vancouver? >> let's go through the numbers again. the american team, the team itself won 37 medals overall. that topped the medals count. so the u.s. ski team won 21 of those medals. the united states olympic committee is not in the habit anymore of making medals predictions, but what's important to know is that the

international olympic committee made a big decision in 2011. in vancouver, there are 24 free ski and snowboard medals opportunities. in sochi, there were going to be 48. the united states is very good at these action sports opportunities. so names like nick geper and david wise and maddie bowman, they're going to be big, big, big stars in just a few more days. >> lindsey vonn is a big name. she's not going to be competing because of injury. do you think this is the end of seeing her in the olympics and will our ski team be good without her? >> her career is going to come rocketing back up. the next thing you want to know, will the ski team be just as strong without her? bow bode miller finished third. he should have won the race but for one mistake.

ted laity won three gold medals at the championships last year. he is the best giant slalom skier in the world. julia mchughes is rounding into form. stacy cook -- the american alpine team is super strong. >> we have some superstars, for sure. how about olympic bobsledder lolo jones. kind of controversial with teammates. can you give me the story in about 20 seconds? >> she was the olympic hurdler, now a bobsledder. lolo attracts attention everywhere she goes. lolo made the bobsled team, so did lauren williams. they're both track stars turned bobsledders. lauren has attracted no attention and yet lolo does. this is just the way lolo rolls. people want to know, did lolo make the team because she's lolo or because she's really good? the stats back it up. lolo made the team because she's become a really good bobsledder. that's it. >> you did it in 20 seconds. you're a rock star. thanks so much. that's a wrap-up of this sunday edition of "weekends with alex witt." stay with us for the msnbc special "taking the hill" with

patrick murphy." it's coming up next. i will see you again next saturday right here on msnbc. have is a great week, everyone. ♪ wow...look at you. i've always tried to give it my best shot. these days i'm living with a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. at first, i took warfarin, but i wondered, "could i up my game?"

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♪ toaster strudel! best morning ever! [ hans ] warm, flaky, gooey. toaster strudel! [ female announcer ] try new pillsbury heat-n-go mini pancakes. good afternoon, and welcome to "taking the hill." i'm patrick murphy. it was ten years ago today that i came home from baghdad, iraq. but 19 of my fellow paratroopers never came home. we're here to give voice to them and the 1% of america that have deployed to iraq and afghanistan. together, we'll break down the civilian military divide. we have a great show today. we have u.s. senator kirsten gill brand that will talk about military sexual assaults and what can be done to fix it. we'll also hear from two former officers about how they think it would work in practice. but first, we'reng