then they had upgraded it all the way back up to a warning. >> okay. i'm not going to get into an argument about what the national weather service did. i want to pay tribute to the local meteorologists, that i think they were more correct than the national weather service forecasters. >> why did you declare a state of emergency before the storm hit rather than after? >> well, we did not think it was justified to do so. we were putting all of our resources in play without the official declaration. the official declaration doesn't really do anything in terms of getting outside help or whatever. all it does is simply say that the state's resources will be available to local levels of government if they choose to ask us for that. and there were a minimal requests even now, from local levels of government for additional state assistance. >> if you declare a state of emergency and tell people to stay home, would that not have

kept people -- south carolina and other states aren't dealing with the same sort of issue that we're dealing with and they declared the state of emergency before. >> you may be right. that is a lesson we need to look at and see whether or not it would have made a difference in this circumstance. >> yesterday, between 3:30 and 4:00 trying to get into the emergency center, but they said it wasn't activated. they told me they think there wasn't an emergency. how would you say there wasn't an emergency when kids were stranded at school? >> charlie, you want to answer? >> yes, sir. the state operations center was partially activated and that means that some key state agencies were in place. and we were talking to even more of those people over the phone and through e-mail and things of that nature and we were still gearing up for the reresponse,

because at 2:00 or 3:00 yesterday, it had still not gotten terrible on the roads. >> at 3:30 or 4:00, it was terrible on the roads. >> it wasn't as gridlocked as it is now. >> governor, do you agree with that? >> i'm afraid i don't. because i was on the roads about that point in time, and it was getting to be gridlocked. the interstates were already experiencing major difficulties. side roads that people were trying to take to get off were experiencing difficulties. so, you know, we all have some lessons we need to learn here from this. and i think we all will take that away. whether or not the declaration would have changed the circumstances is a question i don't know the total answer to. we will talk with other departments such as local school superintendents as to whether or not they would have made a determination on their part had a declaration been issued earlier. i don't know whether that would

have been the case or not. but certainly, all of that is the kind of thing that we have to evaluate. and will dictate whether or not we react in a different fashion at another point in time. hopefully it will not happen any time soon. but obviously this one is a bad situation and we're trying to deal with the realities now. >> some people are blaming you for the gridlock and the perception across the country is that georgia can't handle a storm like this. even al roker said it's a result of poor planning. >> well, i'm willing to take whatever blame comes my way. and if i'm responsible for it, i'll accept that. i think the important thing to understand, though, is that we have geared up by way of resources, the mayor has already outlined that as to what the city has done since 2011 when we had a similar storm. the state has allegation done that as well through d.o.t., and

of course, here again calling in the national guard and the assistance of the state patrol, with the amount of equipment that is out there, we have much more equipment available. the problem was, though, the equipment could not function with so many people on the roadway and unable to move. now, i don't know the best way to solve that other than to start taking it gradually to unclog that part of congestion, and that's the approach that we've been taking, and those large trucks are a major portion of it. maybe i should ask keith to talk to you about what could be done in terms of preparing them to either avoid an area such as this in a time of crisis with the storm, or whether or not there are requirements that they should maybe have chains on the wheels in order to avoid these jackknives. >> he thought that everybody was let out at the same time.

do you agree, or do you think there were any errors made? >> well, obviously, there were errors. if you think that the -- the mayor used a descriptive term. it's like somebody blew a whistle and everybody decided to leave at the exact same time and that's exactly what happened. whether or not we blew the whistle earlier, i don't know the answer to that. >> did you make the right call? >> well, i think we did under the circumstances of what we knew at the time. we alerted our state employees so that they could leave earlier, get them off the roadways if they were in a position to be able to leave. you know, we've just got to learn the lessons from this. there are hard lessons. and every situation manifests itself differently. it's not always the same way. we have always had emergency plans in place. sometimes they're adequate. sometimes they're not. let me ask keith to talk about the situation with the

18-wheelers. >> yes, after the 2011 event, which was really a totally different event, that event started at night. by monday morning, we had about five inches of accumulation and we didn't get above freezing for over four days. a really different event than the one we had today. to compare the two is not totally fair. but what we did do at the 2011 legislation is we actually noticed that trucks were a problem and we continued to work on that. so we actually got a statute passed that said we could require chains on tractor trailers. and so that statute was passed. but it's very difficult to do that. you have to remember the interstates are built to move commerce and that's the primary purpose of them. so looking at the event at 4:00, 5:00 in the morning and knowing that we were looking for dustings or light dustings, maybe up to two inches, we would not have changed our response. for us, the department of transportation, we wouldn't have changed anything because we were still expecting heavy accumulation south of georgia,

whether it was two inches north in cherokee or one inch north of cherokee, we're looking at three to six inches in the middle part of the state. so we could not have repositioned any of our folks. i don't know that we would have activated that, but that's something we'll be working with the department of public safety on and trying to determine when's the best time to make that call to require tractor trailers to have chains and to make sure that when they come into the area they actually have the ability to have the traction and not have the impacts. >> at a point in time when everything was shut down, are you able -- >> we started posting signing early yesterday afternoon advising tractor trailers that they should have chains. and many did have chains. most of them do have chains as a part of their actual systems. so we started doing that. we did not make it a mandatory event. we talked with the colonel about maybe the next event, what we would do differently and how we might can make that call.

>> your communications strategy. did you and the state have a conversation before this all happened to anticipate the possibility that on weekdays, on a workday, that you might have what seems to be the catalyst, which was everybody hitting the roads at once, to communicate before then to avoid that? >> i don't know that we went to that local planning, but we always take all kinds of scenarios into play. this is -- i think many people remember in 1982 we had an event where many people were trapped like this, trying to get home from work and had to do a lot of walking. but you always try to take into consideration any scenarios. i think that those are always taken -- yesterday, as i mentioned with the governor in speaking to him, it was very challenging for us -- again, that congestion did not allow us to get out and do the treatment. i would second his notion that the actual delay of us getting out there was really driven by the traffic. >> communication to the general

public, don't go on the roads. >> we have been watching an extensive press conference being led there by the georgia governor, essentially trying to explain the mess you see on the other side of your screen there. an absolute mess in and around atlanta. the governor spending a great deal of time responding to questions about what left thousands of motorists stranded, school kids trapped in buses. also some of those kids having to spend the night inside those schools. the governor faced down a volley of tough questions about why they weren't better prepared. if you live in or around atlanta, you undoubtedly remember 2011 when an ice storm paralyzed that city for roughly a week. shortly after that ice storm, we heard a number of lawmakers in and around atlanta vow to do things differently. the governor essentially saying this time is basically the same as last time. private businesses, school districts making individual

decisions yesterday, essentially deciding to allow folks to leave at the same time. the result, the mess you see on your screen right now. again, roughly three inches of snow and ice. we heard also during that news conference from the atlanta mayor reed addressing the traffic situation a short time ago. this is now stretching into its second day. >> we've got to get people out of their cars and get our interstates cleared up. and from the very first moment, in fact, on your station, i said that i thought that the error -- and we have shared responsibility for the error, was everybody letting out at once, which caused a massive traffic jam. >> there's the explanation. that was mayor kasim reed from an earlier news conference. these incredible images have been coming in all day. roads and interstates turned into park lots. cars crawling along. we've heard from folks who say

that they were trapped on highways, upwards of seven, eight hours. that winter storm wreaking havoc. paralyzing not just the area around atlanta. southern states in general. 900 accidents reported in the greater atlanta area. almost eerie to see this happening just outside america's ninth largest city. these are some images from douglas county just west of atlanta. graveyard of cars and tractor trailers. the governor there is saying that these 18 wheelers have been a major part of the problem. these 18 wheelers that have gotten jackknifed on the interstate. blocking regular cars from passing. a lot of these cars haven't moved since yesterday afternoon, last night. several reports of people who say they had no choice but to spend the night in their vehicles. the governor saying that as of last night midnight there were roughly 100 school buses still trapped on those highways. the georgia national guard deployed last night in an effort to get food and water to people who were stuck.

it was a similar problem for many of the schools around the region. again, without the buses to take those kids home, the decision was made to keep thousands of students and teachers at school overnight. >> my assistant principal and some other staff, they got into the cafeteria, started making some pizzas and we were able to feed all the kids, and after we fed them all, we took them back into the gym, played another movie. they eventually started falling asleep. >> the problems started yesterday afternoon as that snow began to fall. mayor reed says everyone hit the road at the same time, offering a valuable lesson for atlanta going forward. >> if there were one major lesson learned in the middle of this challenge, that would be that we need to stagger closings for private sector companies, for government, and for the school system. >> we're also getting a closer look at the road conditions causing these traffic problems. wxia reporter jeremy campbell filed this report, standing in

what is normally one of atlanta's busiest interstates. >> i'm standing in the middle of interstate 85. this is one of the main arteries of atlanta. and as you can see, it is at a complete standstill. the city of atlanta is virtually shut down, and it's been this way since rush hour last night. drivers left work trying to escape the wintery weather. little did they know they would be stuck in this gridlock in the cold weather. all because of this. if you take a look, you can see that the roadway is coated in ice. it's so slick, you can barely even walk on it, much less drive. so dangerous that 500 students were kept at school last night, away from their home because authorities deemed it was too dangerous for them to try to transport the students home. and that just may have been a good decision, when you look at the ones who tried to make it, you realize they just couldn't get through the storm. in atlanta, jeremy campbell, back to you. >> all right, jeremy, thank you again. late word now, atlanta

hartsfield international is open. they say there have been a number of cancellations there, encouraging folks to check their flight status before they head to the airport. also, we heard from the governor a short time ago. state government is going to be closed there tomorrow. one of the more telling moments during that news conference, when asked by a reporter whether he should have declared a state of emergency sooner, governor deale admitting, "you may be right." we're going to continue to follow the breaking news out of atlanta, but when we come back, we'll turn to the president's state of the union speech and the day after mr. obama hits the road. [ screaming ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing the bold, all-new nissan rogue

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it is you, our citizens, who make the state of our union

strong. few things exposed hardworking families to economic hardship more than a broken health care system. and in case you haven't heard, one of the problems is fixing that. america does not stand still and neither will i. >> let's get back to washington and the possibility of a political fall, maybe. the president pledging last night to ability on his own authority when necessary, but that does not mean that he's letting congress off the hook entirely. congressman charlie rangel, a democrat from new york. congressman, always good to see you, sir. for the second year in a row, president obama used his speech to call on you and your colleagues to raise the minimum wage. at this point, do we think that's something that's going to be able to happen and happen soon? >> i don't know about how soon, but i really am very, very optimistic in here in washington. the american people are fed up with washington. they're fed up with the

congress, republicans and democrats. the president is making an appeal to the american people to do the right thing. these are not democrat and republican issues. and what has to be made clear, craig, is that we're not talking about the republican party. we're talking about a handful of republicans that are holding the entire congressional republican caucus hostage. all the speaker has to do is to ask his people to vote either f for or against the president. another thing that makes me optimistic is if the tea party is allowed to poison the face of the entire republican party on a national level, what i've been saying is not one republican can give me the name of one republican candidate that has a platform to stand on if they're going to run anyone for

president. and so we're not talking about just people hating obama and hating democrats. we're talking about the country. >> what did you think in general, congressman, of this speech last night in broad terms? >> i was inspired. because a lot of democrats should have hit the republicans a little harder, but you can't do that. >> why couldn't he have done that? >> because there are a lot of republicans that want to cooperate with the president. take immigration. there's no question in my mind that if the speaker of the house would allow all the republicans just to vote their conscience in their district, we would have it. take the extended unemployment compensation. they're not unemployed democrats. they're unployed americans that have worked hard and lost their jobs. but the fact is they made a pact that even the tea party agrees

on there's no vote ordered by the republicans. so i am optimistic that we can do these things. the last time the republicans in the house refused to allow the president to vote on it the debt ceiling, wall street came to washington and talked to the republicans and they allowed themselves to vote and saved the nation's fiscal economy. >> speaking of your republican colleagues, congressman michael grimm, your fellow new yorker. he made some headlines after the speech. there he is right there. made the headlines after the speech. has made some threatening remarks to a reporter. threatened to, as you know, toss him over the balcony there. also used some language that we can't use here on cable news in the afternoon. he issued a non-apology last night. kelly o'donnell caught up with mr. grimm a couple moments ago

and this is what he said. >> it was harsh. >> yeah, it shouldn't have happened. the bottom line is, i lost my cool and it shouldn't have had. but that's why, you know, i apologized. i'm not going to answer any more questions. i answered your questions, so please be respectful to me. >> to the ethical issues, will you give a more full statement about where that stands? >> i think i've done that for the last two years. >> congressman, what's your response? what do you say about michael grimm? >> a lot of us may have thought that many times. >> don't walk away, congressman. >> felt annoyed, felt embarrassed, back against the wall that you don't have an adequate answer, felt ill-prepared and felt embarrassed and responded in an unprofessional way. and this is not what happens. when you disagree with those people, they have a job to do. they're supposed to ask the hard questions. and like truman said, if the kitchen's too hot, get the heck on out of it.

>> congressman charlie rangel, we will leave it there. congressman, again, i hope that you haven't been threatening reporters down in the capitol. that doesn't sound like the congressman that i know. >> you can depend on me not doing that. >> all right, thank you, sir. do appreciate you. pocketbook issues now. from minimum wage to student loan debt. lots of pocketbook issues came up. when they did, so did one order word -- congress. >> this congress needs to restore the unemployment insurance you just let expire for 1.6 million people. i want to work with congress to see how we can help even more americans who feel trapped by student loan debt. in the year since i asked this congress to raise the minimum wage, five states have passed laws to raise theirs. to reach millions more, congress does need to get onboard. >> republican senator john barrasso represents the state of wyoming. three things. unemployment insurance, extending those emergency benefits, raising the minimum

wage, and infrastructure spending. those are three things that in the past, republicans -- even republicans in congress had been onboard with. what's changed? why not now? >> well, thanks for having me, craig. a couple of things. you and i and your viewers know how important it is for someone to have a job. in terms of their ego, their human dignity, the way they view themselves, self-worth. so i think it's very important. and the idea of unemployment benefits for those first 26 weeks, if someone's out of work, to find a job is very important to help them. we've had a terrible economic situation, so we've had this emergency program in place. i'm willing to vote to extend it, if it's actually paid for by cutting spending other places. >> let me just ask you this question, when it was extended five times under the previous president, there were no pay fors. why a pay for now? what's changed? >> we have a $17 trillion debt in this country. i've been traveling the state of

wyoming, visiting in high schools, grade schools, senior centers. people of all ages are very concerned for our country's future with this level of debt. the second thing you asked me about was the minimum wage. a year ago, the president said raise it to $9. last night, he wanted to raise it to $10.10. unfortunately, under the president's health care law, we see more and more people being forced into a part-time work. a part-time economy. that doesn't help people take home adequate pay. so i don't think that raising the minimum wage is the answer. i think it's trying to help people find jobs, find careers, getting people, america back to work. many people have actually given up looking for jobs in this economy. >> so, senator, it sounds like you don't support raising the minimum wage right now. >> no, i support trying to get people back to work and converting part-time work to full-time work. >> i wanted to go back to something else you said about the debt.

i'm not here to defend the president, but i think the facts are important. and you have to acknowledge that the share of the debt -- the share of the debt with regards to the gdp, the lowest that it's been in roughly three decades in this country. it's dropped by half since president obama has been in office. so what's your response to that? explain -- reconcile those two things for me. >> well, the total debt of the united states accumulated by the presidents all the way up to president obama, when you take a look at what he added to the top of that, i think it's almost doubled the amount of debt that we've had as a nation. and we owe that money to other people. some of it overseas to china. i think it doesn't help us as a nation to have that kind of debt looming over the heads of kids and grandkids. >> all right, senator john barrasso, of wyoming. i wish we had more time. >> thanks for having me, craig. still ahead, critics are wondering if president obama said nearly enough. we're going to pose that

question to antoinette tuft, the atlanta school employee who used compassion and kind words to keep an unstable gunman from unleashing terror on an elementary school last year. also, the power panel parentally standing by. we'll get to them after this. b? it's eb. want to give your family the very best in taste, freshness, and nutrition? it's eb. eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. it's eb. her long day of pick ups and drop offs begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪

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e*trade. less for us, more for you. the fund's prospectus contains its investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other important information and should be read and considered carefully before investing. for a current prospectus visit www.etrade.com/mutualfunds. state of the union, a busy day in washington. president obama wasting no time jump starting what he says is going to be a year of action, taking that message on the road today, the president will be speaking in pennsylvania next hour. highlighting his new proposal on retirement accounts. first, though, it was a visit to costco in maryland. and his call to raise the minimum wage. >> it will give more businesses more customers with more money to spend. it would help a lot of americans make ends meet. so i need everybody here and everybody who's going to be watching, tell congress to make

this happen. give america a raise. >> power panel is here. msnbc contributor, soon to be host joy reid. jimmy williams, and margie olvera. i suggested a name for the show. >> secret. >> you know what? i want to start with where we just left off with senator barrasso. when i asked him about raising the minimum wage in this country. we've seen the polling. we know how popular it is, not just with the average american. but with republicans as well. why that response? >> i think that republicans are kind of caught in a feedback loop. it has to do in part with their base. their base needs them to continually oppose president obama no matter what, even on issues that are really not core issues for the voter. the minimum wage is not an ideological issue for conservatives or republicans. at least it didn't use to be. but it is when it's attached to the person of president obama.

anything attached to him. you also asked the senator about the national debt. >> right. >> the national debt fell year over year from the end of world war ii all the way until reagan and then started this incredibly steep line that we haven't ended, except for clinton. they used to say -- dick cheney saidficits don't matter. but when a democrat is in office, deficits matter. >> polls show, as you say, a majority of republicans support increase in the minimum wage. and if you look at not just the specific policies, but the context of how you talk about the poor and income inequality. i mean, people are just much more tolerant and forgiving and accepting of their fellow americans than some of the language you hear from republicans. >> this isn't about defending the president. the facts are facts. and when it comes to the debt and deficit, it's difficult to deny that we are far better off as a country as it relates to the gdp than we were just five

years ago. so let's get to the speech from last night. i want to talk to you about the content of the speech, because it's an even-numbered year, a midterm election. it seemed at times that the president was checking boxes. take a listen. >> this congress needs to restore the unemployment insurance you just let expire for 1.6 million people. help more kids access the high quality pre-k that they need. it should be the power of our vote, not the size of our bank accounts that drives our democracy. america must move off a permanent war footing. let's get immigration reform done this year. >> how much of what we heard last year was a campaign speech for dems? >> 101%. [ laughter ] and by the way, the rebuttal was -- >> we're going to get to that in just a moment. >> but look, the president touched on everything. he hit syria, he hit iran, he hit afghanistan. hit it clearly.

he hit ui. he hit the eitc. 27 million americans are on the earned income tax credit. get it. i bet you they're not all democrats. at some point the republicans are going to wake up and realize. who was the chief proponent of the eitc in the congress? former maine republican senator olympia snowe. are they going to extend it? the point here is he was clear on every single one of those issues, every one of them. he had policy proposals for every single one of those issues. six more high-tech manufacturing hubs across the country. >> was the speech too wide ranging? did he focus on too much? >> i don't think so. you have a lot of people today saying this was a very modest speech, but if you look at -- well, one, the frame. the frame is a year of action. and that's a good contrast with republicans in the house who have literally shut down the government. so that's a clear contrast. it's not just about a laundry list of proposals. and also, if we're able to get some movement on some of the

things we talked about, that we talked about last night, whether it's immigration or infrastructure or preschool, income inequality, women's equality, those are some major -- >> in fact, it was passed this morning. it was a populous speech without sounding too progressive. >> it was interesting. i saw the speech as kind of an invitation. the president was very energetic. he was very -- i thought in a way sort of magnanimous to republicans, that sort of nod to john boehner being the son of a bar keep it was an invitation. saying the american people and i are going this way. we want to create jobs. give america a raise. this is what we want to do. and congress, come on. he didn't really attack them. a lot of people on the left are annoyed that he didn't use the speech to really beat up on the republican party because i think he was trying to leave some space open for any republicans who remain who do want to make a deal. >> especially on immigration. >> i think even on things like minimum wage and extending unemployment insurance benefits.

they're trying to leave the door open. >> you wrote something that caught our attention with regards to the response. >> which one? >> well, one of the four or five responses from last night. the official response came from congresswoman cathy mcmorris-rodgers. here's a snippet. >> so when i showed my animals at the county fair, my parents used to say to me, cathy, you need to save this money so you can go to college one day. i came to congress to help empower people, not politicians. >> you wrote that this was something like your words. the american gothic republican response. what did you mean by that, jimmy williams? >> so we have this sort of faulty picture that the congresswoman was portraying, which is she grew up on a farm in eastern washington, blah blah blah. and she made it. her parents said save your money, you're going to make it. the american dream. great. congratulations. that's what most americans can do. and now you're sitting in the

united states capitol, a nice fire burning behind and looking remarkably refined. great. what are your policy proposals to make that dream better for everybody? here's what she said. we have plans to improve our education and training programs. >> details to come. >> dot, dot, dot, dot. that's all you have to tell the american people, that you're going to do instead of what barack obama is going to do? get off the sofa and go back to the apple orchard and maybe you can understand what minimum wage workers are actually earning these days. >> big thanks to all of you. we will be right back. violets are blue. splenda® is sweet. and so are you. [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. ♪ splenda® lets you experience the joy of sugar without all the calories. it's a very good reason to enjoy something sweet with the ones you love.

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and i intend to keep trying with or without congress to help stop more tragedies from visiting innocent americans in our movie theaters, in our shopping malls, or schools like sandy hook. [ applause ] >> so there it was. by our count, less than 30 seconds. 30 seconds devoted by president obama to gun safety in america in that state of the union, a total of 69 words. during last year's state of the union delivered in the aftermath of the newtown shooting and with gabby giffords in attendance, president obama spent nearly four minutes on gun control. some 439 words. listening intently last night from the first lady's box seat was our next guest. antoinette tuft. tuft was hailed a hero last year when she convinced an armed 20-year-old man who had walked into her atlanta area school to give up his gun. her role in stopping what would have been yet another school shooting tragedy inspired her new book, "prepared for a purpose."

just a short time ago, i talked with antoinette tuft. antoinette, you were obviously a guest chosen to represent the president's push to contain gun violence. were you happy with the amount of time that he spent on that subject last night? >> well, you know, my thing is, i'm not really an expert in that. so i can't really say that what he did and what he didn't do was great or not great. but what i can say is that i know what he spoke on was an awesome topic and everything he spoke was what he needed to be said in the time that was allotted. >> i want to play quickly this is the sound from last year's state of the union. >> the families of newtown deserve a vote. the families of aurora deserve a vote. the families of oak creek and tucson and blacksburg and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence, they deserve a simple vote.

>> obviously not what we heard last night. were you expecting to hear something different? >> no, not really. i know that at this time and place, that god has us all prepared for our purpose to be able to speak what needs to be said. so i know what he spoke on and the amount of time he spoke was what god needed him to be done at the time. >> did president obama or the first lady share any words with you last night before or after the speech? >> yes, they just wanted to let me know that they were proud of me and they were glad that i was being there with them to be able to sit in for the state of the union address, and it was an awesome and wonderful time. >> let's talk about the book here really quickly, which is, of course, about that day back in august. what was going through your mind that day? was there something that this young man did that made you think, i can reach him? >> no. it wasn't. he was unstable in all his ways,

allowing me to know that. i never knew during that time that i was reaching him at all. the only thing i did was kept talking and hoping that god would give me the words to say. >> what's next for you? >> well, i'm actually now doing my tour for my book, which is "prepared for a purpose." and i'm actually doing speaking engagements to be able to show others how to be prepared for their purpose nationally and internationally. and i also just did a non-profit, which is kids on the move for success. we just gave away our first scholarship to a student at the trumpet awards to be able to go to college. so god is just opening up doors for me and i appreciate him for it. >> are you going to become an advocate for gun control as well, or is that not something that you're going to take up? >> well, i can't say that i'm going to take that up, but i can't say what i'm going to do. what i can say is god did prepare me for the ak-47. i don't know what he has in line for me and what kind of resume he's going to build.

so what i do now is make sure at all times my heart is open to receive what he has for me to come in years. >> antoinette tuft in washington, d.c. for us. a good day not to be down in your city, down in atlanta. so good to see you. safe travels to you. >> thank you so much. i appreciate it. and have a great day. coming up, we'll head back that way. an update on the ugly weather situation in the south. the pictures keep coming in. something tells me that the blame game is just starting. [ male announcer ] this is george. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ really? 25 grams of protein.

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♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] with five perfectly sweetened whole grains... you can't help but see the good. the reality is that the storm developed and the volume of traffic became so heavy in such a short timeframe that it became difficult to keep them moving in a safe fashion. >> that was georgia governor nathan deal there flanked by atlanta mayor kasim reed and also a member of the national guard. they were trying to explain precisely how it was that yesterday's snowstorm got so out of hand.

the georgia national guard has started handing out blankets. they've started distributing those meals ready to eat, those mres to stranded motorists on i-20. we don't know precisely how many drivers are stranded, but we are hearing lots. there are no students stranded on buses there, there are still thousands of kids stranded at schools who spent the night there. the national guard also working to get those kids home, we're told. as far as the roads, it's not clear, again, how many people are stranded, but governor deal saying a short time ago that part of the problem continues to be those 18-wheelers that have jackknifed here on the highways that are preventing cars and emergency vehicles from passing. we are going to continue to follow this. offices have been shut down tomorrow. meanwhile, president obama to speak to steel workers in pennsylvania next hour. on the other side of this break,

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president obama on the move and on message, following the state of the union address, the president is taking his push for greater economic security on the road. he already made one set of remarks earlier at a costco in maryland. he's also set to speak in the next hour on his plan for those starter retirement accounts that he mentioned last night. he's going to be doing that at a steel plant in west mifflin, pennsylvania. chris kelly is the mayor of west mifflin. he joins me live now from the site of the speech. mayor kelly, the american work force was at the heart of the president's speech last night. that visit today, to your town, what are you looking to hear from president obama about how to help those workers? >> i'm looking to hear that the industrial revolution is not dead, that we have longtime

paying jobs here, good supporting family jobs, and we need to keep these in america. everybody can't live on the minimum wage act, and i'm hoping that there's some way that we can cut the trade deficit in half. >> the president, as we understand it, is also going to be talking specifically about my ra, the plan for those starter requirement accounts that he mentioned last night. we heard, as you just mentioned, we heard the president essentialier talking about raising the minimum wage. how far would those two things, specifically, raising the minimum wage and those starter requirement accounts. how far would those things go toward reducing inequality in west mifflin? >> well, the ria is at a starting point. i can't say that i fully comprehend it, but there were a lot of good points that need to be explored. why i don't understand is why everything on one side of the

aisle is good and on the other side it's terrible. so that's what we need to start. and let's get these people that have worked a long time into a good requirement account help with the social security and get some younger people into family sustaining jobs. >> in general terms, what did you make of the speech last night? >> i thought he made some excellent points. some of it was rehashed from previous state of the unions. but he's an eloquent speaker. and i think that he came across very well. >> all right, mayor chris kelly. we're going to leave it there. before i let you go, where did you get that hat? i love it. >> donny gall. >> is that in west mifflin? >> donny gall is in ireland. >> oh. i thought it was the name of a shop in west mifflin. all right. we'll leave it there. >> i'll get you one. >> mayor kelly, thank you so much. that's going to do it for me.

we are going to cover the president's speech there in west mifflin, pennsylvania. up next, though, "andrea mitchell reports." she loves a lot of the same things you do. it's what you love about her. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical

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bounty basic. the strong but affordable picker upper. and try charmin basic. right now on "andrea mitchell reports", stranded with traffic frozen. why a once in a generation storm in atlanta. hundreds of young school children were forced to spend the night on school buses and in classrooms. we'll talk to one mother who has been stuck on the road all night, trying to reach her two kids. >> i've had one bottle of water and no food and i have about a half of tank of gas left and i'm just trying to get home safely to my two children. with or without you. the president takes his go it alone strategy straight to the american people. this morning at a costco in maryland, and this hour at a steel plant outside pittsburgh. >> america can't just stand still if congress isn't

doing anything. i'm not going to standstill either. wherever i can take steps to expand opportunities for more families, i'm going to do it, with or without congress. >> last night, the president tried to thaw the bipartisan freeze on a wide range of issues. immigration reform, raising the minimum wage, even taking on don draper. >> it is time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a "mad men" episode. this year, let's all come together. congress, the white house, businesses from wall street to main street, to give every woman the opportunity she deserves because i believe when women succeed, america succeeds.