>> throw a wrench in his rebranding effort. >> what will republicans agree to in terms of a pathway to the undocumented who get some sort of status? >> his with or without you message to wisconsin and tennessee. >> i want to work with them, but i can't wait for them. >> he'd rather blow kisses to his liberal base than work with republicans. >> he called us to work together. >> they want those that disagree with them to sit down and shut up. >> i was going to start out by saying the state of the union is cold. >> it is a new day. ensconced in a party retreat at the hyatt regency chesapeake bay golf resort spa and marie ena in columbia, maryland, house republicans pledged to turn the page on their obstructionist tendencies. >> it's important that we show the american people that we're not just of the opposition party, we're actually the alternative party. >> the discussion at this retreat is going to be not just about opposing the policies of

this president has been about. >> starting today the grand ole party is engaging in some creative brainstorming. >> also at the retreat this year we've brought in some innovative outside of the box speakers, t.e.d. talks speakers that we've seen to provide a little -- a little creativity to our members. >> even if you can't always see it, rest assured that there is a lot happening behind the scenes at the republican party retreat. >> the speakers that we've had are innovative. they're not looking from a concept of a short time frame. they're looking at what the world holds. if you watch inside, which you don't always get to see, but inside these conference, a lot of debate, both sides, challenge. >> challenge. challenge would seem to be something lawmakers at this week's retreat are intimately familiar with, and some challenges seem to have been overcome. the gop house cooperated on a

budget. they finally passed a farm bill, and according to published reports they will not push the country to financial precipice when it comes to next month's debt ceiling. but there is always a "but." on the one issue that isn't standard operating procedure for a political party, that would be stuff like passing a budget, approving a farm bill, and raising the debt ceiling, on an issue that calls for the party to chart a path forward for itself, there will be challenge. look no further than the question of immigration reform. it appears that the gop is not quite there yet. >> i think it's time to deal with it. but now we deal with it is going to be critically important. [ inaudible question ] we're going to talk to our members today about the principles that the leadership team has put together. i'm not going to get out any further. we're going to have the conversation today and i'm sure you'll hear all about it. >> it is highly likely that the speaker himself will hear about

it. from talk radio and the conservative base, and most assuredly from members of his own party. as john stanton reports according to one southern republican lawmaker, the reason the party has had such a hard time doing anything on immigration reform is because "it's racial. if you go to town halls, people say things like these people have a different culture than we do, and that's code for race." joining me now is political editor and white house correspondent at "the huffington post" sam stein and nbc news capitol hill correspondent luke russert. luke, you are at the hyatt regency chesapeake bay golf resort spa and marina. you got a question in to speaker boehner on speaker reform. how optimistic should reform advocates be at this particular moment? >> alex, it goes back to something that i've said on your program over the last two years it's been on, and that is what constitutes border security for house republicans?

john boehner said this morning before they move forward on immigration principles they have to figure out what border security is. one said verify then trust. the billions of dollars towards border security in the senate bill has not satisfied house republicans. we are still left wondering what that is. i'll throw this on top of that. once we find out what border security is, there's a lot of fear amongst more conservative members, specifically the ones i talked to that say we don't trust president obama to actually execute a border enforcement strategy because a la the health care bill he's going to pick and choose what he wants to enforce and he's going to keep the legislative branch out of it. so those are the two big fears the gop leadership has to overcome when they sell this plan to their members later today. we don't know what the specifics are -- go ahead. >> so the question as you hear it is what is true border security in an age of historic

deportations and whether or not the president can be trusted but not as much back and forth over the question of citizenship or quote, unquote, amnesty? >> well, legalization is a word that puts a lot of fear, shall we say, in the rank and file, specifically what you just mentioned about john stanton's piece. but before you'vend get to the concept of legalization which the outside conservative groups will be up in arms about, the leadership has to sell border security. this is why you tched on something important. there's no timetable for immigration reform, no ticking clock they have to meet a deadline for. we've seen when there's no firm deadline there's no real call to action. today greg walden said we'll probably see immigration reform at least in the piecemeal sense after the primaries for republicans, meaning they can't get flanked to the right. so, okay, that puts in around may. then we e get into the summer. then we're creeping up on november. what constitutes border security

if we don't have a firm answer to that, who knows. there's ban lot of optimism, maybe pathways for permanent residency in some capacity. but before that question is even answered we go pack to the herman cain. is it a mote with the alligators? do we build a north korea/south korea border around mexico? what is it? >> sam stein, one would hope we have moved past the question of alligator-fillede eed moats buts a fair point that john stanton brought up that what's driving division over immigration reform is the base itself, which makes tackling it that much harder. john boehner came out and excoriated outside groups over the last spend iing fall if you will and seemed to maybe be putting those demons in a box. but this is very much the heart and soul of the republican party, this argument. >> yeah. and when i talk to republican aides on the hill and when you

listen and read what they say in the news, one of the big primary motivators, one of the big fears they have is that down the road you will have legalized essentially 12 million undocumented americans. primarily the vast majority of which will then vote democratic. so they think that they are basically assigning themselves to a permanent minority status when it comes to national elections if they do this. so what you're starting to pick up in recent days is a bill that would essentially say you have the right to not be deported but you do not have the right to citizenship. and that is a tricky sort of middle ground that i don't think advocates of immigration reform will go for. so in addition to what luke said weather all the problems of verifying border security, making sure there are no -- or certain percentage of crossings aren't happening, you have that issue, which is a political issue, which is can republicans get their head around the idea that they aren't going to be politically hurt if they go forward with comprehensive reform? and i'm not sure they will.

>> sam, to follow on that, it's also a question for democrats. if republicans come up with an incredibly onerous path to permanent residence or citizenship, which is a sort of pie in the sky scenario, how much is too much to ask of the 12 million undocumented workers in this country? and in that way, if we're talking act political strategy, it could be a good move for -- it definitely is a good move for the gop to settle on something because then the ball is back in the democratic side of the court. >> i agree. and the question that, you know, i've wondered myself and i should put to more people is let's say the democrats were offered a deal that included something akin to the dream act, would they take it or do they feel they've moved off that conversation onto something bigger. these are a lot of unanswered questions. it's tough to sort of piece together what type of coalition will ultimately put forward because it all depends on the context of the bill itself.

we have a long way to go. i agree that it's probably not going to happen until after the primary season, but even once you get there, if the house produces a bill, they have to conference it with the senate bill, it has to go back to chambers, then you have to build coalitions to pass this thing. and it's going to be very tricky. >> maybe they can prorate the path to citizenship based on the year they actually started talking about real reform. just a suggestion. before we let you go, i have to ask you about this. in a let ore the president, the house leadership outlined four areas of agreement. and i don't know about you, but they seemed kind of small. skills training, natural gas, not energy, but natural gas workplace rules and federally funded research.s on that lette. >> it's part of this new tone the house gop has for 2014, which is to apear more conciliatory, like they're trying to work with the white house. these are very small drops in the bucket, those four things

mentioned. some of them had tepid democratic support. i'm sure you could get the natural gas people refitting through if you really put your negotiation powers into it, alex. but, you know, this is the rebrand for the house gop this year. eric cantor said today they' put forward their own health care laws. we'll see that on the floor. they want to talk about what they're for instead of against. if there was a change for 2012, we thought they were going to rebrand with young people and minorities, the rebrand is saying we're not just the opposite of the president's party, we actually stand for something. will america buy that? who knows. one thing on the immigration thing sam said about trying to go to conference, the house gop says they don't want to go to conference on the senate bill so, that adds another layer of difficulty to this ultimately getting passed. i agree with mr. stein, there is a long, long way to go, alex. >> sam, before we let you go, what do you think of the rebrand, the mini rebrand, the workshoping that is going on

insofar as republicans are presenting themselves to be a party not just of objection but of alternatives and, you know, the senate plan that is an al tern toich the aca that would kick millions of americans off health care and no long ver the protects of people with pre-existing conditions? is the rhetoric enough? >> there's two types of rebrands happening right now, a policy rebrand, which is very subtle and tough to pick up, and a temperamental rebrand, which is easier to figure out. what you're seeing now is sort of an acceptance of sort of the crummy status quo that this country is in by both parties. the fact we'll probably not have a fight over the debt ceiling is a different tone than we had in the fall of last year. and so those things matter. in addition, i would say on the health care i was struck by how in the republican responses to the state of the union address the talking point was that we can't go backing to what we had before, which is sort of a complicit recognition that a full court repeal of the

affordable care act is off the table. there is a rhetorical rebrand happening. i don't think it's insignificant, but when you get to the policy segments it is kind of minor. >> kind of minor. we'll leave it at that. sam stein and luke russert, thank you both. we have developing news. an italian court has found 26-year-old american amanda knox guilty of fatally stabbing meredith kercher in the university town of perugia seven years ago. the decision upholds the original guilty conviction of knox, which had been overturned in 2011. the italian court sentenced her to 28 years and 6 months in prison. it is worth noting that amanda knox was not present in court and she remains in the united states. coming up, election 2014. will democrats have to sacrifice the lower chamber to save the upper? we will discuss when ben le bolt and casey hunt join us next on "now." ♪

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i'm not going to -- i'm going to predict that democrats will take the house back. what i will predict is we'll pick up seats. >> where? >> and i's because -- down, boy. >> republicans may be in disarray, but democrats are not exactly reaping the rewards. today democratic representative hnry waxman, the former chair of the house energy and commerce committee and a key member of minority leader nancy pelosi's inner circle, announced his retirement. waxman joins a list of seven democrats planning to retire at the end of this year. it is tough news for the left flank of the lower chamber, and it is not the only bloom on the horizon. according to reporting by politico today, democrats are

reportedly getting ready to throw in the towel on taking back the house of representatives in 2014 and focus their energy instead on holding onto a thin majority in the senate. the fighting spirit on the heels of a botched health care rollout and weakened presidential poll numbers isn't exactly high. said one pelosi donor, unless we have a george washington bridge fiasco in the house, control is not going to change. but the main reason for the democratic retrenchment is actually the same reason for republican optimism -- money. senate republicans have reportedly spent over $17.2 million on tv ads this current election cycle, nearly twice as much as democrats. in five of the most competitive senate races, arkansas, iowa, louisiana, michigan, and new hampshire, republicans have outspent democrat base more than 3 to 1. but you can't have millions of dollars in campaign spending without outside groups. americans for prosperity has spent a staggering $22 million this election cycle alone on ads

targeting the new health care law, including this one released on the day of the president's state of the union address. >> i can't afford to continue to pay for obamacare, i don't get my medicine. i don't get to see my doctors. i'm very disappointed in barack obama as a president. >> joining me e now is former national press secretary for the obama campaign and co-founder of the insight agency, ben le bolt. and from capitol hill, nbc's casey hunt. my first question is does this sound like a good strategy? because there is some concern on the part of the democrats that if you lose the house now it's just going to be a steeper loss in 2016, that you should sort of put all your money in to shoring up as many gains or as few losses as possible in both houses rather than sort of conceding one house to republicans in 2014. >> well, i reject the concept that there's any one person who makes this decision for the

democratic party in this day and age. i think if you've got a good campaign, a grassroots campaign, you can go out to an e-mail list and raise money independently of the party. but this was also going to be a difficult year for the house. if you take a look at the gerrymandered districts, there are about ten open seats in which democrats have a good shot at it. but preserving the senate was always going to be the goal. and i also think there's the potential to pick up some key governors mansions across the country too. so that's another area where donors are going to focus their efforts. >> casey, what's the view on the hill? you know, for those of us who have followed the liberal lions, george mitchell and henry waxman and george mitchell and their exploits over the year, it would seem to be a fairly big loss for the keepers of the flame, if you will. what is the reaction to that among democrats in the capitol building? >> i think what you're seeing on the hill in these retirements of george miller and waxman is an acknowledgment of what these donors are saying, that it's

very unlikely that democrats will be able to retake the house and to a certain extent putting a lot of attention and effort and energy into it is a little bit of a waste of time at this point considering what's going on on the other side-the capitol rotunda, which is the fear among vulnerable senate democrats, which frankly has gotten -- it's increased in recent months, not dmin shing. instead of focusing just on states like louisiana and arkansas and alaska that democrats knew would be competitive there are new states in the conversation, virginia where ed gillespie is challenging mark warner, new hampshire where republicans are trying to tell scott brown he better hurry up and make a decision about whether or not he's going to run. >> whether he's a new hampshire person all of a sudden. >> the carpet bagging charges. and the people of new hampshire have a great nickname for the people in their neighboring state of massachusetts. so it's a little unclear exactly -- >> not for this family program, kasie hunt.

>> it is not. but the overall point being we're talking about states we weren't talking about six months ago about being in play where republicans could pick up seats. as the rollout of the health care law's continued, as the president's numbers have gotten worse or stayed the same, they're not getting any better, that's dragging them down and they're at the point they don't want to appear with the president in their home states. so i think that's part of what's driving this focus over to those races. it's frankly that the narrative's getting worse for democrats at this point, not better. >> then we played from that from americans for prosperity. i think democrats at one point believed, and rightfully so, that the affordable care act will be helpful to them. however, that may not be this year. because the law is so new in terms of execution and americans actually getting familiar wit, it becomes a war of who makes the best ad really. we played that ad from a conservative group, which is very critical of the aca. the supporters of the president, the democrats, could have another anecdotal ad.

it becomes a war basically of he say, he say, she say, whoever say. there is no -- the narrative is very much in flux. how much of a concern do you think that should be? and also the numbers here are staggering. >> well, the numbers are staggering but let's take a look at the results of the 2012 election. americans for prosperity spent tens of millions of dollars. they did it in a way that wasn't particularly targeted. when we ran ads saying wait a second, this is a couple of oil tycoons who are doing anything they can to avoid taxation, i think voters began to reject their arguments. certainly republicans are going to be talking about aca implementation throughout the campaign. democrats will be talking about the government shutdown and republican obstruction. ultimately those arguments may cancel each other out. some of this will be in the strength of the candidates. i disagree that democrats are on defense across the board. if you look at a state like georgia, michelle nun, somebody

who's got her own brand in that state, there was a poll with her leading all of the republican primary challengers of this point that was out today. grimes is a great candidate in kentucky. mitch mcconnell's approval rating is is at 31%. you might see some fresh democratic faces in the senate. >> kasie, i wonder what folks on the hill are making of the new white house engagement on down ballot races, because i remember in the 2012 cycle obviously the white house was more concerned with re-election. in 2010, there was not that much attention paid to the down ballot races and we saw what happened there. are they thrilled with the fact that david sheamus is heading up a new office on politics? is it overdue? what is the general response? >> democrats have felt that the president has not been as engaged as they would like him to be on their own political fortunes. and i think at this point it's viewed with a combination a

little bit of skepticism about what this is really going to mean. there's a little bit of acknowledgment there's self-interest from the white house in this just because the president hasn't been able to move his agenda through with just one of the houses of congress controlled by republicans. if they lose the senate, the last two years of his term are going to be much more difficult even than recent years. >> even more difficult than previously thought possible. >> something like that. so i think that they're eager for the engagement and people i've talked to up here say they're pleased that at least the outreach appears to be there, but there are also questions about just how much the president can help at this point considering where his approval rating is. >> it is worth noting that president obama will be attending the democratic ree treat so there is one step forward for every -- >> and bill clinton. >> who else do you want? inside agencies ben lebolt and kasie hunt, thanks for your time. new developments this afternoon in connection with last year's boston marathon

bombing. the justice department has announced it will seek the death penalty for the surviving accused bomber, dzhokhar tsarnaev. in a statement, attorney general rick holder said "the nature of the conduct at issue and the resultant harm compel this decision." the 20-year-old has pleaded not guilty and no trial date has been set. coming up, winter weather, crippling gridlock and fi finger-pointing paralyzed atlanta. i need proof of insurance. that's my geico digital insurance id card - gots all my pertinents on it and such. works for me. turn to the camera. ah, actually i think my eyes might ha... next! digital insurance id cards. just a tap away on the geico app. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know that when a tree falls in the forest and no one's around, it does make a sound? ohhh...ugh. geico.

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recreational crack smoker rob ford, think back to just last year. 44. and all the crazy decisions he made then. ultimately mayor ford has bigger concerns than the fate of alleged drag racing, drug using, arrest resisting canadian superstar justin bieber. a lawsuit filed yesterday claims rob ford ordered the brutal jailhouse beating of a toronto man named scott mcintyre, a man who was formerly the common law husband of ford's sister. in 2012, mcintyre was sentenced to ten months in prison for breaking into mayor ford's home and making threats on his life. but while serving that sentence a savage beating left him with a broken leg and a mouth full of busted teeth. in the lawsuit, mcintyre claims that not only did ford order the beating but ford previewed it in this infamous caught on camera rant. >> mayor ford has not commented on the lawsuit, but his legal

representatives called it without factual foundation. in true ford style, the mayor remained defiant this morning. >> we're gonna win the next election. i just can't wait till october 27 president. >> yes. somehow impossibly rob ford is still the mayor of toronto. coming up, following this week's brutal snowstorm, temperatures in atlanta will again dip below freezing today. and conditions between residents and their lawmakers are about just as frosty. we'll ask former philadelphia mayor and pennsylvania governor ed rendell about the perils of preparedness. hey guys! sorry we're late. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few 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

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well, did you know that just one sheet of bounce outdoor fresh gives you more freshness than two sheets of the leading national store brand? who knew? so, how do you get your bounce? with more freshness in a single sheet. plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. with 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+. the two-day gridlock is finally starting to clear. but the blame game is only just beginning. the atlanta region was paralyzed after just over 2 inches of snow fell on tuesday. at least 13 people were killed throughout the south.

thousands of motorists spent hours in traffic. many of them just gave up and walked home in the prefreezing cold. according to the georgia state patrol more than 2,000 cars were abandoned on the freeways. yesterday the georgia national guard was called in to help evacuate the 2,400 school students who were trapped in atlanta area schools and in buses. to hear it from the region's leaders, though, you might have thought it was somebody else's problem. this is georgia governor neatha deal yesterday blaming the meteorologists. >> rather than playing a blame game we have shared responsibility. but i want to state clearly i don't have jurisdiction to clear interstate highways in the city of atlanta. i'm responsible for the streets that are in the city of atlanta. >> and this is atlanta mayorca similar reed last night -- that actually was kasim reed. this is -- this is governor nathan deal doing his part to share responsibility by basically abdicating

responsibility. >> we can't control mother nature. just as we could not make better predictions, neither could school superintendents. that's why the school children were in the situation they were in, because they were probably looking at the same modeling that some of our state folks were looking at. >> in another press conference this afternoon, governor deal said a lot of confusing stuff about accountability. >> we will hold people accountable, but we also hold people accountable for what they are going to do to prevent it in the future. >> amid all of this, at least there was this man, charlie english, the head of the georgia emergency management agency. >> we get constant weather information, and i have to make decisions based on that weather informs, whether it's warnings, whether it's watches, whether it's special statements, whether, regardless of the situation. and i got this one wrong. >> joining me now is nbc news

political analyst, former pennsylvania governor ed rendell. governor, it is always great to see you. and in this area i feel like you have particular expertise, which is the idea of accountability in elected office and things like snowstorms. how much should we reasonably be expecting from our elected officials? when you saw what was happening in atlanta, did you think this was a failure of the governor or the mayor? >> well, probably partially, yeah, alex. i know mayor reed and i know he's very effective mayor and cares very deeply about the people he remits, and he was right that on interstates that go through the city of atlanta just like interstates that go through the city of philadelphia, when i was mayor i had no jurisdiction over those. those were policed by the state police and if there's an emergency like this, the guard, the state and national guard should be the responder. but, look, it's always a question in southern states of how much preparedness do they

want to have at the ready. do they want to have salt trucks, do they want to have all their truck, equipment, plows. that costs money, and is that money that could be expended elsewhere on things like policing, on things like community development. you know, what would the citizens of philadelphia have said if i said we haven't had a tornado in philadelphia in 60 years but let's get ready for them. i'm going to spend millions of dollars building tschetters so if a tornado sweeps through town people can get into the shelters. they'd probably have thought i was crazy. but i think the point that the emergency management fellow made is true. cities now in the south have to accept that climate change is as real as the president said and that with climate change bizarre weather outcomes are possible and they've got to be prepared and ready to go not only with the right equipment, salt, plows, et cetera, but with the right division of responsibility. >> that seems to be a huge part of this, right, because we're really talking about 2.6 inches of snow. part of the issue i think at

least it sounds like governor is that the national weather service issued a warning for metro atlanta on early monday morning. but on tuesday hours before the snow fell school children were going to school. and inasmuch as one can -- i don't think anybody expects at this point atlanta to have the plows and the salt at the ready the way a northeastern city might, perhaps there should have been more awareness and preparedness. i will ask you, though, as someone who's overseen a huge metropolitan area, rebecca burns and politico brought up this isn't a story necessarily about weather preparedness as much as it is a story of suburban sprawl and terrible city planning. the metro area of atlanta is massive and basically we've been reliant on a 1950s era highway system. this is a story about infrastructure. >> no question, and the american infrastructure isn't ready to support anything, no less these

type of significants. but what ought to be happening instead of finger pointing is that state officials, city officials, the emergency management people, the national guard, both police forces, they ought to be sitting down and running hypothetical scenarios for the future so everyone knows what the level of responsibility is, what the level of pree pairedness should be. preplan can avoid a lot of these situations. for example, in philadelphia if the forecast was maybe for 2 inches of snow the next day, we wouldn't have recommended canceling the schools on that forecast. but that's different for us because we're used to it, we have the equipment, we have the ability, so everything has to be taken in context and preparedness is the key here. >> and maybe a little bit more spending on bridges, rails, alternate forms of transportation. >> amen. the american people have to understand that if we don't invest in our infrastructure things like this are going to

happen time and time and time again. >> former governor ed rendell, preach it! thank you for your time as always. >> my pleasure. this afternoon, new york city mayor bill de blasio announced a major shift in the city's controversial stop and frisk policy. we veal the details. [ male announcer ] the new new york is open. open to innovation. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com.

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under today's agreement, a court-appointed monitor will oversee the nypd's reform of stop and frisk for the next three years. the mayor made his announcement in the brownsville area of brooklyn, the neighbor with the highest concentration of police stops in all of new york city. coming up, this weekend's super bowl is more than just a contest between the broncos and the seahawks. it is also a showcase for the only two states that have legalized marijuana. and that could be just a bit awkward if the game's hosts and for the national football league. we'll go green when former denver bronco, author, and marijuana enthusiast nate jackson joins us next. first hampton pearson has the cnbc "market wrap." hi, alex. let's take a quick look at how stocks look going into tomorrow. the dow closing up 109 points to close at 15,848. the s&p up 19, and the nasdaq tacking on 71 points, 4,123 is the close there. that's it from cnbc first

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people who call it the stoner bowl, the bud bowl, and my personal favorite, the super doobie bowl, this super bowl sunday the pot punning will be in full effect as teams from the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana, washington and colorado, face off against each other. on sunday it is the seattle seahawks versus the denver broncos. and the average super bowl party could get a lot more interesting. think about it. bigger laughs, better appetite, and also more conversations about trying to sink the halftime show with "the dark side of the moon." in colorado, marijuana dispensaries are selling blue and orange bronco-themed bongs and marijuana strings including orange crush. in washington, even though pot

is technically not legal yet, clubs have been selling blue and green seahawks themed cupcakes. stonerbowl.org, yes, there is one, is even selling marijuana-themed swag like this thc jersey. marijuana remains on the nfl's list of banned subs, but that doesn't mean it's not on the list of privately enjoyed substances. and last week, nfl commissioner roger goodell said the nfl would consider allowing athletes to use marijuana to treat concussions and other head injuries as long as they have the permission of medical experts. on monday, seattle seahawks head coach pete carroll made a similar recommendation, telling espn that we should explore medical marijuana as treatment for nfl players. so weed is in the air, literally. this weekend the oddest rivalry that super bowl attendees will be treated to is probably this one. on the highways near new jersey's metlife stadium where the game will be played there's a billboard war going on with

marijuana activists on one side advertising weed is something that is safer than both alcohol and football, and anti-pot groups on the other side proclaiming weed kills motivation. joining me now is a man who knows about both weed and motivation, former denver broncos tight end nate jackson, who argues in support of marijuana use in the nfl in his new memoir "slow getting up." thanks for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> i hope you don't take offense at our proclamation that you are a weed enthusiast. i'll quote from your memoir. "the nfl should remove marijuana from their banned substances list. don't tell anyone about it. just stop testing for it. pain is a big problem in the nfl." why is marijuana, for example, better than pills on the question of pain? >> for me personally it's not as addictive. pain pills, i had some injuries over my career that were pretty bad and required surgery and a lot of rehab and pain pills made

me feel sad, depressed, down, sluggish mentally, and pills are something you can do all day long. you could be sitting at meetings taking pills whereas marijuana you can't do that at meetings, you can't be at practice smoking weed. it's something you do after the fact. and for me it helped me take my mind off my body and the pain and it wasn't physically addictive. there were no withdrawal symptoms. >> one of the things you said in an earlier interview is you guessed about 50%, maybe 60% of players use marijuana. that seems like a fairly big percentage given the fact that it's not officially sanctioned in the nfl. was it kind of -- the coaches look the other way? what was the culture in and around the use of it? >> yeah, i think the coaches look the other way. they understand these guys are 22, 23, 24-year-old guys who grew up in america who are familiar with a social life, you know, familiar with weed and alcohol. and if you get to that point in the nfl where you're competing at your job, doing a great job, coming to work, satisfying your coaches' demands, they don't

care what you do, i think, as long as you come to work prepared and in shape and dissecting the playbook and all that stuff. >> how surprised were you at roger goodell's comments? the nfl is not known to be at the forefront of pushing the cultural envelope. he didn't say we're going to sanction it but opened the door to it. did that surprise you? >> it did. there always seems to be a disconnect between the players and the league. it shows me roger is getting a little more compassionate about what those guys go through and maybe understanding there are consequences to that violent product on the field and not everyone can just go home and say i don't need anything, i'm fine, pain follows you off the field. some guys medicate with pills. my personal belief is weed is just not as harmful. >> it's interesting that you couch it under the sort of rubric of pain because the nfl has come under a lot of fire lately for pain, injuries, concussions. you talked about the violent product on the field. what do you think about the sport right now? and what do you think needs to be done to address that question? >> i love the sport.

i love the dangerous, violent nature of the sport. that's what drew me to it. that's what draws most people to it who love it. so, the players aren't afraid of that, not afraid to get hit but there are consequences to it. i think it's important we take care of these guys after they get hurt when they're, you know, 5, 10, 15 years down the line, if they're running into head or body issues. i wish the nfl had a health care plan that took care of those guys. as of now it's five years post career health care and that's it. so the mind runs out in the next year and then after that i'm on my own and a lot of times these injuries don't pop up until later. i'm all for protecting these guys off the field but on the field it's violent and they're drawn towards it. >> that is the game it is at this point. >> it is. when you're talking about health and safety and football it's a pr issue more than anything else because the mothers of america are trying to decide whether to put their kids into the game. you know, these 7-year-old, 8-year-old, 9-year-old kids putting on helmets, they don't

need to be smashing heads. they should wait till high school. >> smash heads. >> exactly. wait till high school. >> i asked you the really dumb question of who you were going to be rooting for. obviously you'll root for the broncos. what are your super bowl plans? >> i'm going to be back in the bay area with my family. it's my dad's 85th birthday celebration so it's going to be a big group of us sitting around a tv by the beach watching the game. it's going to be good. >> ta doesn't sound so bad, sitting by the beach. i notice you just like driving the knife further into those of us on the east coast. former denver broncos tight end nate jackson, thanks for your time. ? thanks very much. coming up, a dee situation by the ninth circuit court of appeals sets the stage for a possible supreme court fight over so-called gay conversion therapy. we will expose the con in conversion. welcome back. how is everything? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order.

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i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. this week in an important ruling for the lgbt community

and, indeed, for all americans who believe in a 21st century society, the 9th circuit court of appeals upheld its previous decision rejecting challenges to california's first in the nation law banning gay conversion therapy. when he signed the bill into law in 2012, california governor jerry brown tweeted, "these practices have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dust bin of quackery." the issue rose to national prominence during the 2012 republican primary when it was revealed that michele bachmann's husband, marcus, ran a clinic, one that received federal funding, while practicing gay conversion therapy. in a 2012 suit filed against a prominent conversion group, the plaintiffs, four new jersey men, said they were left emotionally scarred by humiliating techni e techniques that included stripping naked in front of the counselor and beating effigies of their mothers. the american psychiatric association has warned the potential risks of repair tif

therapy are great, including depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior. given all the evidence at hand, much of the country seems to be marching in the right direction. new jersey became the second state to want the practice last year and legislation has been introduced in pennsylvania, virginia, ohio, minnesota, massachusetts, new york, and maryland. the 9th circuit ruling made clear that california's law did not fall afoul of the first amendment. instead, it struck a blow to the dangerous pseudoscience behind repair tif therapy. as constitutional law professor dale carpenter wrote in "the washington post," the constitution protects political and religious quackery but not quackery administered to vulnerable minors under the guise of treatment for something that is not a sickness. that is all for now. see you back here at 4:00 p.m. eastern. sh "the ed show "is up next.

xweengood evening, american. well thom to "the ed show" live from new york. let's get to work. >> workers earning the minimum wage basically got the equivalent of a $200 pay cut because the minimum wage stayed the same. >> do you believe that there's going to be an increase in the minimum wage? >> no, i don't. >> i want to repeal the law of the land. is that clear? >> concentrating the wealth. >> nobody who works full-time should ever have to raise a family in poverty. >> demonize the rich who spend and buy things and stimulate the economy is crazy. >> that's their world, but that's not the real america. >> good to have you was tonight, folks. thanks for watching. i have always been a believer that there is a huge difference between a venture capitalist and a vulture capitalist. you know, the vulture chart, that thing we put up so much,