>> what could we do to have avoided that? we can't control mother nature. just as we could not make better predictions neither could school superintendents. >> the mayor and the governor got on tv yesterday and said, oh, this wasn't expected and that's not true. we were talking about this monday, that this was going to happen. they took a gamble. >> paying the price. thousands of motorists stranded on the roads and thousands of their young children trapped at their schools. for one family a panicked delivery on side of the highway. >> my wife said we're not going to make it. it happened so fast, i didn't have time to panic. >> the big cheese, the president in wisconsin today stressing clean energy at the ge natural gas engine plant. >> i remember when i was up here campaigning first time and there was cheese heads for obama and i felt pretty good about it.

>> as republicans hold their winter retreat to retool their agenda. >> it's important that we show the american people that we're not just the opposition party. we're actually the alternative party. >> and sochi security, just a week from the start of the olympic games, the state department is doing a google hangout with you had athletes and families to address their security concerns, i'll talk to bonnie blair before she heads to russia. we'll have a live report from richard engel in sochi will russian officials say the games will be safe. >> a senior russian security official said that there are no reports, no intelligence of any suicide bombers having made their way into sochi and said that in russia's assessment, there is no credible threat to the games.

>> hello, everyone, i'm andrea mitchell in washington, it took only 2.6 inches of snow to grind atlanta to a halt, with some people stuck in their cars more than 20 hours. the governor blamed the national weather service. really? joining me from atlanta, matt pearl and the weather channel's brian norcross. thanks to you brian, i read your blog. give us the facts of the case. what was caused by the weather and how early those warnings came? >> first of all, the talk of the storm as al roker said in the open, was going on for several days. the question really was how much. the national weather service talked about it earlier before on monday and then overnight into tuesday, put up a winter

storm warning for atlanta, which is the highest level of warning. now yesterday the governor in the news conference didn't seem to indicate he wasn't aware that this had happened. where it looks like the breakdown came here is in the threat assessment system at the state, the city and school board. if all of those people do their own threat assessments in the city which is bizarre, if they do them all separately, then all of them misidentified the threat. because the fact is that any snow here with a warm ground and bitter cold air to flash freeze the melting snow, it's happened in other cities and meteor logically understandable and they should have been able to assess that threat based on information they had. >> hang with me for a second. i want to bring matt pearl in. from the mayor's own

acknowledgement today to matt lauer on the "today" show, they were in a meeting together and why didn't the emergency office, i think at the city level open any earlier than it did? and why did they even let schools open? they knew at 3:00, 4:00 in the morning at the latest. they could have closed school then. >> i think that is the big question that officials are trying to answer right now. when the governor came out and said this was unexpected. there was a lot of pushback immediately, including from our own meteorologists who went on the air and said that is simply not true. that is going to be the big criticism they are facing at this point. when you look at so many districts and areas and counties in this state having to function as one, a lot of times it's the lack of cooperation or lack of quickness in mobility that creates the problem. >> brian, i want to ask you about the weather today and the forecast going forward. one of the problems is that they don't have the kind of equipment

in atlanta and in alabama and other southern cities, obviously that we have up here. even given that, if people had not been on the roads, you have the mayor saying, they were state highways but there shouldn't have been people on the highways other than interstate travelers. what about the weather now and as it melts? >> it's melting and the roads are getting better. they have to get the stranded cars off the road which is a big problem. every highway is lined with stranded cars. but the fact here is, where the mayor is not getting good advice, he's talking about well, what we would have done is staggered the release and somehow that would have made a difference. the road was icy because of mother nature. it doesn't make any different whether it was a mob scene on the road or two cars on the road, they were going to slide up and down the hills. and southern storms are different than northern storms because the ground isn't frozen. so the snow melts and turns to ice. in the north it blows off the

road. just a different kind of thing. atlanta and state of georgia has to have a system like you have in the north where there's a snow day, they just call everything off and weather forecast is bad, everybody stay home. let's get past this. if it doesn't happen, that's the way it is and good luck on us. that's it. >> matt pearl, what about the political blow-up over this. we remember historic moments when new york city mayors got trapped because they didn't deal with it and mayor de blasio got off to a rocky start with that snow in new york this time arou around. is there going to be a big political pushback from the mayor and governor, they have to face the voters eventually? >> reporter: well, that is true. again, the big thing we talk about it being an election year for some and not for others, mayor reed was just re-elected in november. governor diehl is facing re-election this year. many wondering is this going to be something that gets brought up by his democratic challenger as the year goes along. for mayor reed, here is someone

who typically likes to address controversies directly and goes on national media and puts himself out there. usually that works well for him. that makes him look very favorable. i think in this case, especially considering the differences between the way the south and north handle snowstorms, it was a very difficult situation for him to be in and going on a lot of these national tv appearances with the "today" show and quts morning joe this morning, he's found himself facing very harsh criticism that he probably would have liked to have seen directed across the board in the area. >> and brian norcross, this has been just such a terrible winter. the president was just in wisconsin saying that he felt tuesday night by getting up here and saying the state of the union is cold then thought better of it. we're having this unusual freeze. is there an explanation that makes sense from a scientific point of view? >> well, we are in the east, of course but we are not in the west and it is boiling in

alaska. you know, mother nature gets stuck in patterns sometimes. sometimes that causes a drought. sometimes that causes persistent cold weather. it happens to be this year that the jet stream pattern is driving the cold into the east keeping the warmth in the west. it's breaking down a little bit and we'll see if it continues now. for right now that's it for the midwest, more cold weather and snow on the way. >> we know even today governor brown in california is having emergency meetings about the drought and water crisis out there. thank you so much, i know how busy you are, matt pearl you are covering this crisis. we appreciate you're being with us today. thanks to both of you very much. joining me now from our daily fix, chris cillizza, managing editor of postpolitics.com and luke russert is he house republican retreat in maryland. there is going to be a political fallout of all of this, people have to pay the price for such

terrible management. >> let me first apologize for my voice. this cold weather has me under the weather but you're exactly right. reed's appearance on morning joe was very telling. he kept saying the pictures you're showing, those aren't the city of atlanta. those are the highways. that's not a great explanation. it may blow over but you noted we've seen this happen in places like new york and happened in washington, d.c. where these -- i don't want to say unexpected but school scope of these weather related problems really causes political damage. why andrea? because most people are in a car sitting in a car, can't get home, worried about their kids caught at school. it's an issue that touches everyone, the weather. they are very few issues out there that everyone relates to. >> and it's so relatable because it's so real. we've all been in trouble.

but i have not -- luke russert, i haven't had an experience ever like talking to jennifer wilkins yesterday, a mom in her car for more than 20 hours at that point. didn't get back home until 23 and a half hours. we checked in with her yesterday nafr noon and had been in touch on twitter. the bottom line is, that woman had no food and water, just one bottle of water and worried about her kids for hours and hours. i don't know if it comes up at the republican retreat but there has to be a better way to manage these crises. >> it will pose the question of what can be done from a federal level, can you institute policies for regions not used to that type of weather? the other thing i will say, politically, that governor, mr. diehl, he is up for re-election, i spoke to a democrat on the state ust union night for the georgia delegation who thinks this will help democrats in the governor's raice. mayor reed is a rising star in

the democratic party and gop says mayor reed has just the same amount of problems as governor diehl did. interestingly enough, i don't think -- the democrats hope to get phil brown from the state of georgia. >> daughter of former senator running for the senate and still facing a primary but has been doing national fundraising as well. the big henry waxman retirement announcement today. another democrat, first to you, luke, that's your beat on the hill there. then i went chris to weigh in on it. joining george miller already from the pelosi forces, the california delegation, that's 40 years in the house. >> it's a tremendous amount of experience. two things, greg walden, who is chairman of the nrc, representative from oregon, he met with us about an hour ago,

this is proof that democrats do not believe they can win the house this cycle. george miller and henry waxman who are like this with nancy pelosi, it's proof that they are retiring because this know she can't get that back. if she were, they would be in a very powerful position. number two, i think which is fascinating andrea, as you look forward with this with henry waxman. what does it mean for nancy pelosi? she has been the stalwart fundraiser and been the lead are for a long time. george miller, henry waxman, two of the closest allies leaving the speculation on nancy pelosi's future will be turned up now that they are out. no one knows what she's going to do. there's a gentleman from the state where i am right now, steny hoyer, who is looking at this very closely that's wondering, maybe he's going to get a little bit of promotion come november of this year. >> we can say affect natalie

he's been the prince charles of democratic house politics. >> indeed. >> chris cillizza, at the risk of putting your voice to a real test here -- >> it's okay, it just sounds bad. >> but the other thing is the president out on the road today. trying to generate excitement on his post state of the union agenda and in wisconsin, an important state met by scott walker. i have to tell you, after all of chris christie's problems, when you talk to big republican money people, they are now looking very hard at scott walker as a potential republican contender. >> i think you're exactly right. i would say that two people benefited from chris christie dropping a little bit. rand paul and scott walker. scott walker is now seen as the potential establishment yet still could nservative alternat to someone like chris christie. but it is a telling statement of

what it's like to be a second term president. i would argue the most important thing happening in politics today is happening where luke is in cambridge, maryland, which is republicans are going to try to figure out or at least talk about where they go on immigration, what they do? do they try it? can they agree on a series of small board proposals that they can pass? president obama obviously mentioned the idea that both parties were behind this in a state of the union. i think that's a critical thing to watch. does any language come out of that retreat that suggests republicans can find a way to in a piecemeal approach pass these things? that many in the party don't want to do in advance of 2014 but people looking at 2016 and the fact that barack obama won 71% of the hispanic vote feel they have to do any chance of winning back the presidency. >> i'll throw in right there real quickly. the issue that chris is talking

about, these principles that will happen at 4:30 p.m. from the house gop leadership, the one they keep coming back to from conversations i've had with members, what constitutes border security? the bipartisan senate bill was not adequate for border security. and for members i've spoken to and outside groups very close to conservative members, they say this issue will continue to affect whether this bill can move forward because a lot of members do not trust president obama to enforce whatever would be passed. so until that concept is figured out, no one knows what will happen with any piecemeal bill because john boehner said this morning, border security has to be number one and we don't know the definition of what's adequate on that front yet. >> scott walker met with the president last week in the white house when he was there for a mayor's meeting. so there is at least a predicate of a relationship where the president does want to work with republicans where they can and where they think it's in their

interest as well. get some chicken soup. >> can i add one thing very quickly, i won't subject you to my voice anymore? remember that scott walker we're talking about in the context of 2016, he needs to win re-election this november in what is at best a swing state, maybe even a little bit of a democratic leaning state, may play a role in his decision to appear with the president. >> he didn't have to show up at that airport. it was awfully cold out there this morning. that have definitely tactical. luke russert, thank you very much in a sunny day in maryland. good to see you. >> thank you. >> we have tragic news out of kentucky, last night this home near greenville went up in flames. the state police say 11 family members lived in that house. two parents, nine children ranging in age from 4 to 15, six members of that family have been confirmed dead. one adult and one child survived and flown to vanderbilt in nashville. sadly, three people remain

unaccounted for. investigators say they don't know what sparked the fire at 2:00 in the morning as daylight reveals the scope of the tragedy. >> i'm numb. didn't know what to do, what to say, just stand and watch. >> w things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ i took medicine but i still have symptoms. [ sneeze ] [ male announcer ] truth is not all flu products treat all your symptoms. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus severe cold and flu speeds relief to these eight symptoms. [ breath of relief ] thanks. [ male announcer ] you're welcome.

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. nelson mandela and mother ter he is is a and barack obama and edward snowden, he's been labeled a hero by some and traitor by others. and nobel prize winner could also apply if his supporters in norway are successful. john tester joins me now and he's been nominated senator, that's the point. nominated this week for a nobel

for what he did in whistleblowing. your reaction? >> we've got whistle blower laws in this country that protect whistle blowers very well. i think it's very unfortunate that mr. snowden did not come up to the hill and talk to the folks who feel strong about civil liberties and myself included, instead he went to folks who often times want to take information and use it against us and do us harm. i think it's unfortunate he's being considered to this. i wish he would come back to the country and receive a fair trial and be held accountable for his actions. >> i want to ask you about the private security firm hired by the government, does the majority of security clearances uses for the u.s. government, they used to be part of the office of personal management and spun off as a private company, and now have been in court, it's a civil complaint from the justice department and

started with your investigation of claire mccaskill. that 40% of the security clearances background checks were done fraudulently and didn't go back and didn't -- they lied basically according to the complaint, at least, the allegation is that they claim to have doubled back and never really did. and snowden perhaps would not have gotten his nsa clearance for that hawaii contractor if he had been properly cleared. >> that's correct. i will tell you what it tells me is there's got to be additional oversight, additional accountability, we just passed a bill out of the senate yesterday that will allow a revolving fund to be audited by the inspector general. i think that's the first part about the accountability and oversight. we have a couple more bills and it might seem like common sense so we're doing it. if the contractor or individual works for the department, screws up on this kind of stuff, we're talking about background checks,

that they are fired. that's the way it ought to be. then the final piece of the puzzle i think, 5 million people that have access to see kret information because they have the security clearances, 5 million people, five times as many that live in the state of montana. that seems like an awful lot to me. we need to lay down perimeters so the folks who really need the security clearances are able to get them. and the ones that don't, don't. i think 5 million is way too many to have, 5 million people to have access to see kret information. this red flags have come up on this for some time now. you pointed that out. clair and i were working on this very issue and it's time for congress to act. we did yesterday but got more steps to take. >> looking forward to 2014, the president in the state of the union seemed to be setting out themes, big things that i guess he thinks will help red state senators democrats trying to hold the senate.

what do you think is the most effective strategy for some of your colleagues like mark pryor and others facing big challenges? >> they have to run their own race like i did in 2012. and focus on a lot of things the president talked about empowering the middle class, education, make sure we get our troops home from afghanistan, those kind of things i think is is a message that those kind of things can be included in the message. it works well for reelection or re-election. but the bottom line for all of these candidates, you know, montana's different from every other state, alaska and arkansas and louisiana and north carolina, they need to run their own race. if they run their own race, get out there, visit with the people, they'll be fine. the clinker in all of this is the amount of dark money that flows into these races. there's already incredible amounts flowing in as there was in 2012. you just got to roll up your sleeves and not let it impact

you and work hard. i think democrats will be in good shape come november. >> from mark beg ich in alaska and others, does that mean running away from the president? >> i don't think so. the president was on the ticket in 2012 with me. we ran our race and talked about what we thought was important and vision for the country. the president did the same thing. he got beat pretty soundly in montana and i won. that kind of method could be used again over and over again in this country. i think a lot of folks are very partisan and will vote for regardless is who is on the ticket. the majority of people look at the person, look what kind of service they have and react to the message. and i think that's what's really important. >> thank you so much, senator john tester and let's stay on this usage issue. >> you bet we will. this is only the first step we did yesterday. we've got more work to do.

>> thank you. >> and in tuesday's state of the union address, president obama said he will work with congress to reform the nsa surveillance program but stephen colbert thinks the president would rather have americans focus on this moment. >> it is time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a "madmen" episode. >> i'm sorry, sir, i think you're just saying that to distract from your domestic spying programs that belong in a homeland episode. huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. yeah. everybody knows that. did you know there is an oldest trick in the book? what? trick number one. look-est over there. ha ha. made-est thou look. so end-eth the trick. hey.... yes.... geico. fifteen minutes could save you... well, you know.

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. as the president makes two more stops, michelle obama is on a campaign stop of her own. she joined ryan seacrest to discuss her let's move initiative but she's not the first first lady to have an impact far beyond the east wing. in c-span's series on first

ladies, laura bush gives credit to lady bird johnson create platform for causes close to their hearts. >> lady bird johnson had that saying that i quoted that she had a podium and she was going to use it and she did. xbl do you think you used yours? >> i tried to use it. i talked a lot about women in afghanistan, still do. i'm worried now. >> you travel the over there? >> been there three times while george was president. i'd love to go again. but i'm worried that as we draw our troops down that their rights which are fragile, will be jeopardized. >> laura bush also told c-span she believes first ladies should not be paid. there are already enough perkz to the white house life and reveals the mixed response to this moment that brought down the house. i should add at the white house correspondents dinner in 2005.

>> i am married to the president of the united states and here's our typical evening. 9:00, mr. excitement here is sound asleep. and i'm watching "desperate housewives." with lynne cheney. >> the people overseas were shocked and after that some world leader say, are you a "desperate housewife"?

breaking news, let's go to georgia governor nathan deal. >> with regard to getting those children home, we have made that a priority as of yesterday. all school children were returned and that was done over multiple school districts affected by the storm. now, yesterday and today, another of our priorities has been to deal with those vehicles

stranded on our roadways. and you will hear more details about that issue from the agency heads who have been involved in getting those vehicles removed in just a moment. >> but in dealing with those stranded vehicles, first of all, we wanted to make sure that everyone in a vehicle was given the opportunity to leave if they chose to do so, if they needed water or foot to provide that tool. the multiple agencies that were working on this by all reports have done a very good job in that regard. now, we continued yesterday to continue the road clearing efforts and you will hear from the department as to how effective that has been. i took an aerial view of the interstate system around the city. there were a few spots that still required action as of the middle of the day yesterday and into the afternoon by the end of

the afternoon, i'm told that even those spots were clear. one involved a wreck that had occurred at the intersection of 285 and i-75 north where apparently an 18 wheeler had jack knifed. now, i also want to assure you that our department of natural resources have made their people and their equipment available to be sure that hospitals had adequate blood supplies and adequate other supplies that they needed to keep their hospitals operational and apparently that was also successful. today since the sun is out and hopefully the temperatures are going to stay above freezing for a few hours, we're going to put a concentrated effort on getting those additional stranded vehicles removed from our interstate highways, the sides

of those highways and the in the medians themselves. to tell you what has been done in that regard and tell you what future preparations in that regard will be, i'm going to call on colonel mcdonough of the georgia state patrol to give you an update on that. >> thank you, governor, good afternoon, everybody, as of 10:00 a.m. this morning, 1,521 traffic crashes were worked by state troopers, 184 injuries and still only one weather related fatality here in the metro-atlanta area. >> that is the briefing from georgia from governor nathan deal saying that as far as he knows just about everything is now cleared and they are back on schedule to getting those cars cleared from what was obviously a mishandled disaster and blame from the mayor to the governor and back and forth. with only one week to go

until the olympics, officials in russia identified two suicide bombers wanted for a deadly attack in volgograd. russia also said they arrested two accomplices in those attacks. richard, what is the latest on security there? >> reporter: well, russia is trying to change the impression and message about security and trying to reinforce that in its opinion these games will be safe and there'sing into to worry about. today we got an unprecedented amount of information from russian authorities. it wasn't a great deal but compared to the last few days it was quite a bit. first, russian officials said that they did identify those two bombers from the new year's attacks in volgograd and said they arrested in dagestan two suspected accomplices, two brothers, russian security officials also gave a press

briefing here in sochi, in which they said in their opinion there is no threat, no credible threat to the games, no suicide bombers at large and they said they think everything will go smoothly. that said, so far today, the mood here did start to change. there was excitement building, the two olympic villages here, the coastal cluster, advivis av the skating venues, they open with a ceremony. the mountain cluster where skiing takes place, also a celebration with a rock conditiconcert. the mood is starting to change and russia is trying to change the conversation a little bit. >> richard engel on top of everything in sochi. thanks. athletes started arriving in sochi today. joining me now is former speed cater bonnie blair, member of the u.s. delegation to sochi and one of the most decorated athletes in olympic history.

it's a pleasure and honor to talk to you. you're part of the delegation. when you talk to the other members of the athletes, how is this affecting in particular the athletes who have to be focused on the competition to come? >> right, you know, i think that's what they have to do. let the other officials do what they need to do and the athletes need to focus and stay on track and stay on task. if this is what i'm going to be doing every day, just try to keeping that same routine. i think too, once they get in the olympic village, every village i've been in has been overly secure. so they just have to stay put, go from there to the event site and everything will go okay. i'm glad to hear what was just said before as i'll be heading over there on sunday. and so it's nice to hear some good positive things on the whole security front and comfort

level. >> and i know janet napolitano, we've covered her for years, first as governor and then here at homeland security. she, better than anyone, knows about security threats and had to deal with that for years in washington. how do you and the delegation feel and how are you preparing? >> they've actually had a couple of conference calls for us. we have another one later today to update us on everything that's going on and i think it's kind of like anything, you be aware of your surroundings and keep your eyes open and be mindful of what's going on. i don't think like anything else that we would be doing, you know, now i'll be with a different group and there will probably be more security when i am with the presidential delegation at the end of the games. i think that will even be of more comfort to me. >> over the years you won five golds, one bronze.

what other advice do you have to the athletes? >> well, the olympics is very special and unique in itself unlike world cups and world championships and really being together there with team usa and all of the other athletes from the other sports and other countries is so very thrilling and exciting. they really have to like i said, kind of make sure they are staying on task and really focus on what they need to do. you know, kind of take in the other things that are going around on or around them. but for the most part, they are there to do a job. they know that. and you know, let's just hope team usa can bring home lots of medals for us. >> briefly, bonnie, we were on a conference call with government officials saying that they were telling the athletes not to wear their very distinctive uniforms, the red white and blue off sites outside of the venues. is that typically done?

is that just for sochi or normally the case, not to advertise you're an american athlete? >> right, you know, sometimes i remember back in the '80s, we were told to do that. you know, just try to go with the flow. don't try to bring a lot of attention to yourself. you know, i think that that's the main thing and like i said, if you're paying attention and keep your eyes open, i think everybody should be okay. >> bonnie blair, great treat again to meet you. at least over the satellite and safe travels, enjoy. >> thank you very much. >> and coming up next, maria shriver and mark shriver joining me to talk about two major themes from the president's state of the union address, early childhood education and equal pay for women. we'll be right back. i have the , i took medicine but i still have symptoms. [ sneeze ] [ male announcer ] truth is not all flu products treat all your symptoms. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus severe cold and flu

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the best investments we can make in a child's life is high quality early childhood education. [ applause ] last year i asked this congress to help states make high quality pre-k available to every 4-year-old. as congress decides what it's going to do, i'm going to pull together a coalition of business leaders and philanthropists helping more kids access the high quality pre-k they need. it's right for america. we need to get this done. >> universal pre-k is another promise unfulfilled from last year's state of the union and repeated this year. 30 states raised pri pre-k funding on their own. half of the nation's 4-year-olds are not enrolled and childhood education makes an enormous difference in narrowing the

achievement gap later on. i'm joined now by two experts champions of causes related to children and women, mark shriver, pushing hard for universal pre-k and of course, his sister, maria shriver and nbc news special anchor and colleague and force behind the shriver report about women and poverty in america. this is a treat for me. and maria, my god, what you have started and launched here, let me talk to mark and you first about the universal pre-k as a starting point. the president really adopted that last year and so he didn't get the federal promise, but how can you do this state by state if you have to? >> as you mentioned at the intro, 30 governors have done this. broad based support with democrats and republicans and law enforcement and military. 90% of the brain growth happens within the first five years of

life. this makes sense from an economic return. you see broad based business leaders folks like ben bernanke, saying it's the best investment. congress did do a great job in the bill that passed a couple of weeks ago getting this back to where we were 2008 as far as funding but we need to do more. we need to follow the leads of those governors and so many people across this country that want us to invest and that's what save the children is pushing. >> maria, in the shriver report you focused on the role of education for women and children and just how critical this is. you know from your own experience as a former first lady of the biggest state. >> well, exactly, i think as mark said it's a great investment for children and it's all helpful to their mothers in the shriver report we talk about the 42 million women who live on the brink and 28 million children who depend on them. those women need issues like the president talked about, childcare and pay equity and need their kids to be able to go to school so they can provide

for their kids. children's issues are connected to women's issues. what's good for women in the workplace is good for men in the workplace, i was pleased to hear the president talk about when women succeed america succeeds. and i think when women succeed, children succeed. i think they are all interconnected. and the more we look at this who will wholistically, the better the country is. >> it might not surprise you to learn that moment from the state of the union was the most remarkable in terms of audience reaction, equal pay for women, maria, you went and talked to the president about before his state of the union about. he delivered in terms of addr s addressing that. let me just show you this. just within the last hour, he's done it again. this is the president in wisconsin today. let's watch. >> today women make up half of our workforce and making 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. that's wrong.

who said that? that's wrong. it's an embarrassment. i mentioned on tuesday, women deserve equal pay for equal work. [ applause ] women deserve to have a baby without sacrificing their job and should be able to get a day off when the kid gets sick. [ applause ] dads need that too. we've got to give women the opportunity -- every opportunity that she deserves. as i said on tuesday, when women succeed, america succeeds. and by the way, when women succeed, men succeed. >> amen. >> maria shriver, take a bow, let's talk about what you started. >> you've been talking about it for a while, a number of years ago. >> and thank you, andrea and mark has been out in the field working so diligently and obviously our dad began this work as the head of the war on

poverty 50 yrs ago. what president obama, when i went to see him, you're talking to me about issues i've lived. i'm the son of a singer mother and understand what you're you'g about, and the poll of the shriver report, it said across the board what would make the biggest difference would be paid sick days so people don't have to choose from their job which gives them dignity, puts food on the table or a parent who has alzheimer's and needs care giving. we are, as i always say, a woman's nation. that doesn't mean we're not -- that means we're invested. women invest in the whole family, invest in their kids like mark is talking about, invest in their partners, invest in the workplace. i think we're really seeing him talk about these issues in a new way and i'm really excited about that. i think it's also smart. women make up 54% of political voters. >> as women get stronger and get more support from the system

frrkts cumulatikmun -- system, community, children will flourish. >> i think what was important as maria was talking about is we as citizens get involved. talking about the importance of early education in this country, maternal and child health internationally. we need people to get involved in this. the president has talked about early ed for two years. congress put a little bit more money into it. put-back in the sequestration cuts. there's so much more that needs to be done. head start reaches less than 50% of the kids that are eligible. early head start reaches 5% less. we've made some great progress but we have so much more to do. people have to get motivated and get involved if we expect the political leadership to follow our leave. >> i can't believe we're talking about this all these decades later. >> when the president is talking about 77 cents on the dollar, that's even lower if you're talking about african-american women, if you're talking about latino women. there is an entire -- in some situations boston is trying to

close the gender gap, the first city in the nation. all of these issues are connected and i think that's where we're moving. i think each person, as mark said, has the power of their vote, they have their voice and what's good for local communities is good for the country. so i'm hoping that whether -- that people in this election year will vote for democrats or republicans. anybody who espouses these issues, male or female. we're one country and i think these policies have to be modernized for the way the american family is today. that's what so much of the reporting we did on nbc was about, that the american family is very different and institutions, businesses have not kept up. >> maria shriver, thank you so much. thanks for there can for us today. mark shriver, thanks to you. >> hi, mark. >> say hello, kids. >> hi. i'm in sacramento. call me later. >> e-mail. >> call me. >> i will. >> thanks again. the shrivers.

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i'm craig melvin in for tamron hall. we start this "news nation" today with some breaking news italy. at any moment, any moment now we are expected to get the verdict in in the third murder trial of u.s. student amanda knox and her boyfriend, her former boyfriend. you may recall that knox was convicted in her first trial. that verdict was overturned. knox was then freed. but then italy's highest court ordered this third trial. knox herself is not in italy, she's here in the united states. she's refusing to attend that trial fearing she would be returned to jail. we're on the ground in italy. we will have that verdict for you live just as soon as it's announced. join msnbc. now to that other big story we continued to follow. the fallout from the rare winter storm that brought the city of atlanta and the surrounding area to a