"jansing & company." i'm ari in new york. >> and i'm chris jansing in sochi. >> and that's where we want to begin with terror threats. the department of holland security is warning airlines bound for russia that terrorists may try to smuggle on to planes inside tubes of toothpaste. russian officials still insist that these reports about terror attacks are overblown. there's no reason to believe it's any different than any other big cities. >> i want to repeat one more time, the level of security in sochi is absolutely the same in new york, london, washington or boston. >> but peter king, a member of the hopeland security committee was briefed about the threat yesterday, said the opposite. >> this is a type of threat that is very concerning to us. i can't go into the detail. but i can tell you that our intelligence people are working on issues such as this, around

the clock. i would not go myself, if i were an athlete, that's one thing. just as a spectator, i don't think it's worth the risk. odds are nothing is going to happen. odds are higher for any other olympics that something could happen. >> to pick up on this, we go back to chris jansing reporting live in sochi. chris, we know this is your seventh olympic games. you can tell us, is there a sense of fear on the ground at the games. >> i actually think, ari, at the games, the tensions are easing. they seem more comfortable, more at ease. the folks that have been here, most of them journalists, obviously, the athletes coming in over the last several days are getting used to that. and the real test will be perform as the games get under way and full swing. let's talk a little more about security here in sochi. i want to bring in congressman

william chidi, and don borelli, a special agent in charge of the fbi/nypd joint terrorism task force. congressman, you've gotten a briefing on the latest terror threat. give us your assessment of the threat on the ground here in sochi right now. >> well, i think it's above other olympics, because of the location. the north caucasus area is a dangerous area. with the caucasus, threats issued. there have been three suicide bombers. when i was there, between 100 and 200 miles north. there were six men killed. they found a bomb in a car. sure. this is an area where there have been threats. and it's also an area where president putin has put himself on that world stage which is so

inviting for the terrorists to climb on to that world stage and embarrass him. yes, there's a higher level. on the other hand, the threats don't always equal assessment of the risks. >> and you also got an opportunity, being here, to see how they're handling this threat. and i'm wondering if you think that what the officials said today is true, is this as safe as any big city? as safe as boston, as safe as new york? >> i don't think so i don't honestly. but i do think there are great security measures, by accounts 100,000 security forces. 30,000 active military. 40,000 police. the ring of steel is there. but there's is it ill going to be threats. i think the greater threats alie, as you go further away from that ring. the security lessens and terrorists can take transportation hubs out of this area and they're in danger. and claim credit and get the attention they have with softer targets. >> somebody who knows a lot

about security at the olympics, of course, is mitt romney because he, of course, stepped in the salt lake olympics. i want to play for you what he had to say about this just yesterday. >> i believe the games will be safe. but we're in a very different setting in sochi than we were in salt lake city. sochi is a very dangerous neighborhood and there are people who have relatively easy access to a place like sochi that didn't have access to a place like salt lake. so what we did was extraordinarily intensively focused on intelligence work to see who was come into the city, where they were, who might represent a threat. that's very difficult to do in a city like sochi. >> having been here again, congressman, are you satisfied with what the russians are doing? and do you believe that they're sharing the kind of intelligence that american officials need? >> when i was there, there were reports that one of the black widow terrorists was there and had penetrated that ring and was indeed sighted in sochi.

so i think there are real problems. i think it can be improved. communications with the u.s. having, by our accounts, product evidence. but i think they could have gone further and enlisted more of our aid. but i understand russia and the history and it's their sovereign country. and the u.s. is probably the last country they want to get too much assistance from. >> it seems like a trite question because it's been asked so many times yet you heard what the congressman said about it, would you feel comfortable sending your family there? >> i was there myself after the three suicide bombers. if i had a family member who was participating that this olympics was important to, i'd say yes. be in contact and sign up for the state department. things might be great this moment. and that can change in an instant. and the state department will give people important information, be able to network back home. i really think everyone should do that. the other thing i will mention, too, and chris knows, if people

are bringing their phones, bring a disposable phone. they're not like in the u.s. in terms of penetrating social networking, those kind of conversations. and be careful what you say, if you give comments publicly, whether they're lbgt issues because there are different laws there. different enforcements. and the state department is your lifeline and your family's lifeline to know what's going on there. >> congressman william keating, it's good to have you on the program. thank you so much. >> thank you, chris. >> don, i want to go back to that comment with the russian officials that it's as safe here as in new york or boston. you have an unique perspective on that having been with that task force. what's your thought on that? >> well, i think one of the key things that you touched on with the congressman is intelligence sharing and that's really the key, especially when you have these events like the olympics or the world cup and these mass gatherings.

you know, it takes everybody's collective knowledge and intelligence in sharing that in putting the pieces together to really make sure that the public is safe. yes, the ring of steel is important. all the physical barriers and technology needs to be in place. but at the end of the day, the real key to thwarting these threats is getting out in front -- in front of them with good intelligence. we saw the dhs bulletin that was released last night. about the potential bombs on airplanes with security and toothpaste. and this is the result of intelligence collection. and then sharing that intelligence with people that need to know. >> well, then, and this is a common question that i've heard. if that intelligence is credible, should they just ban toothpaste tubes on flights? >> well, i think you get to the situation where you're trying to evaluate the credibility and the likelihood. and intelligence collection is not always an exact science. you get bits and pieces of information.

you try to put it together. the best way you can. and then you're also running against time. apparently, this threat was specific to the start of the olympics which is is upon us now. so you do the best you can to try to corroborate it and take measures to prevent it. but then, the clock says you've got to take some kind of action now because of the timing so the calculus is made to release the information and let the airlines and security officials do what they need to do based on that information. >> so let me ask you quickly, what kinds of fixes, if for lack of a better word might they do? what should they be doing right now? >> just the normal screening things. they may take measures about banning certain amounts of liquids on planes as we've done in the states. i understand the russians basically, you can't bring any liquid on carry-on. but that doesn't necessarily stop the threat of somebody having those materials once the

plane lands. i mean, yes, carrying explosive materials on board with you that can be mixed and put together could be used to take down an aircraft. but just getting those into the country in your checked bag and then using them for whatever reason, that's a whole different type of threat. so, you know, i think there is a fair amount of technology place to help screen for closives. and i'm sure that's being deployed in sochi. and also it's just, again, trying to get as much intelligence as you can to get out in front of this threat. >> don borelli, thanks so much for coming on the program. appreciate it. >> thank you. you heard congress keating talking about the lbgt issues here and we're expecting the american delegation to arrive tomorrow. one of only three gay athletes from the u.s. delegation, billie jean king will no longer be coming box of her failing health of her mother. much disappointment on her part. and many others who were hoping

to see her here. obviously, we wish the best for her and her mom. but today is also an exciting day because we saw the bdebut o two olympic, one slopestyle. it's snowboarding over obstacles and off of three very large jumps while two americans qualified today so they were able to essentially skip through the preliminaries. they will be competing. two of the american women. and also debuting will be team figure skating. it's something we've seen seen before. i guess the best way to describe it kind of like gymnastic in the summer olympics where they compete in their individual sports but short program, long programs. and they have a system of scoring. and actually in this competition, the americans are considered threats for a medal. that's going to do it here for sochi, ari, and i'll see you back on "jansing & company" tomorrow. >> fantastic, chris, thank you for your reporting. we will see you tomorrow as we

get ready for the opening ceremonies. we're going to turn and check the news feed here. almost 600,000 people are still in the dark and cold after yesterday's wintry weather. crews are looking to restore power in eight of those states. most of those outages are in pennsylvania. this morning, we're watching snow go through oklahoma city. they're expecting several inches there. according to meteorologist nbc bill karins, 64% of the country is actually covered in snow. and the investigation into the apparent overdose death of philip seymour hoffman. broadway just last night dimmed its lights to honor the memory of that revered actor. hoffman had three tony awards there. three drug suspects were arraigned in new york city and one of them did have hoffman's cell phone number. and also opening statements in your stand your ground trial of michael dunn. dunn is accused of killing 17-year-old jordan davis at an

argument a jacksonville gas station in 2012. he claims he felt threatened and thought davis had a gun. there are six men and ten women serving as members of the jury. as alternates, the jury is diverse. some legal experts a the makeup of the jury has been a factor in similar cases in the past. now, the republicans' latest strategy may be to put dem yats that a potential corner trying to tie military benefits to the debt ceiling negotiations. we're going to break it down with our company right ahead after the break. regenerist luminous collection. renews surface cells to even skin tone. in just two weeks, see pearlescent, luminous skin. new regenerist luminous. from olay. new regenerist luminous. if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns.

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the debt ceiling. those are three little words many hope to never hear again but no such luck yet. the fight over the debt is shaping up a little differently on the hill, however, in contrast to past standoffs.

you might remember congress suspended the debt ceiling in october a move that ends tomorrow and resets the clock. under the law, congress must raise the debt ceiling to account for any spending its already authorized. the treasury secretary recently said there's a title window here for the congress to act. >> unlike other recent periods when we've had to use extraordinary measures to continue financing the government, this time, these measures will give us only a brief span of time before we run out of borrowing authority. given the realities, it's imperative that congress move right away to increase our borrowing authority. >> congress is listening to jack lew, but some republicans say they should get something in exchange for that increase. there was talk of asking the president to approve the keystone pipeline. or doctors with medicare, but those ideas fell apart this week. well, today, republicans have hit on another idea. it's one that some think may be harder for the white house to at least dismiss out of hand.

the idea is to restore selected benefits for retired military personnel. now, i want to bring in our company, suzy kim, and ron fournier, a director of the national journal. ron, i want to start with you. old fight, new tactic on which thing they're asking for. most folks in washington don't think they'll get it. and yet, the military is not something that either party wants to be seen as dismissing out of hand as i mentioned. >> right. obviously, the military should get those. wes. there's a lot of things the military, especially the soldiers are get argue that owed them to them and they should get. the debt ceiling say different matter. i ont know about you when i may my visa bill and my credit card bills i don't expect something in return. if i don't pay them, i'm going boo bankruptcy. republicans they've already authorized the fund gz. they've already spent the money, they've already run up the credit card bills. we've got to pay our bills or

otherwise, we're going to be facing a severe economic punishment. >> the nicest emotional point you can make, sometimes when you finish the dinner and the bill comes you feel do i owe this much? i'm full now. people understand some of that feeling. just like people understand your point that sometimes they don't want to pate credit card bill. as we mentioned in the lead. the bill has been run up by congress and the president together. let me play for suzy, some of what eric cantor said his perspective, whatever you think of the tactic, there's a fiscal problem they want to emphasize. take a listen. >> we should be able to work together, yet again, to try and do something to move the needle towards fiscal reform to move the needle towards reduction in spending while we continue to incur more debt. >> and, suzy, that point there, that larger fiscal planning point, doesn't have to automatically be pursued through

this kind of hostage-taking. >> well, the point is the government -- you know, that we have runaway spending that we need to exert more fiscal responsibility as eric cantor says as you often hear from republicans then why would you propose something that actually increases the deficit? you know, reversing this cut to military pension, to their cost of living adjustments would actually increase the deficit by $6 billion over ten years. in other words, it's actually more government spending. so that's kind of the opposite of the message that you usually hear from republicans. >> well, let me elaborate on your point. it's not only a mess ageing point, it's a math point, right? >> yes. >> i want to get to ron anyway second. but just to finish up, suzy, what would it do if instituted

through this maneuver or other way, what would it do for individual veterans? >> so for individual veterans, basically, if you serve for 20 years in the military, you're 38 years old, it would basically give you about $100,000 more in pension benefits up to age 65 so basically it would affect working age military veterans who served 20 years. so, yes, it would mean something substantive to them which to ron's point, you know, it is something that we want to respect and honor. but it's not talking about fiscal responsibility. >> all right, ron, go ahead. >> well, actually, i disagree. it is fiscally responsible if you raise taxings to pay for it. or if you cut spending somewhere else to pay for it. that's the bigger problem that i'm sure you agree with. we're fighting over the little things but not the bigger thing that you mentioned earlier, we have this huge and ballooning budget debt. it's going to skyrocket again according to the cbo, nothing is

being done about the debt. we're having skirmishing instead of figuring out what taxes can we raise and what spend can go we cut that comes to a grand bargain for the next generation. >> your piece that has the word "crappy" in the head line. you know, you must have been concerned coughing them out. but your point is even though the overall numbers have decreased that the deficit has decreased as a matter of spending, you think that entitlements are still a part of this? >> yeah, my analogy was picture your basement. now, picture your basement with raw sewage running into it. you call a plumber. the plumber turns it a little bit half the amount of sewage still going in. basement still fills up with sewage. the plumber says, my job is done, here's your bill. in this analogy, both the congress and president obama are the plumber. they're pretending that they're doing something because the sewage isn't going in just as

quickly but it's going to fill up. but they've got to do something about this, otherwise, if you look at the numbers, the fact that we're just a few years away from 100% of our gdp being debt that's not sustainable. >> yeah, i think what you're speakinging to as an analytical point, the frustration that many seem to feel with this congress. a lot of messaging exercises, a lot of brinksmanship. and not necessarily how to solve gdp and problems. >> this congress and this white house. >> i mean washington. ron fournier and suzy kimm. thank you both. president obama meeting with democratic senators at their annual pow wow. what did he tell them? and what is the white house saying about the fact that some democrats are on record saying they need to distance them from the commander in chief. that's up next. ♪

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welcome back. president obama joined the vice president and the first lady among others at the national prayer breakfast in washington this morning. the president spoke about what his faith has meant for him and how religious freedom is important, not only for the united states but also around the world. the president gave his support to those facing religious persecution, including singling out imprisoned american kenneth bae. we bray for kenneth bae, a christian missionary who has been held in north korea for 15 months. sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. his family wants him home. and the united states will continue to do everything in our power to secure his release because kenneth bae deserves to be free. >> the president also told the gathering of political leaders that protecting religious freedom around the world is important to u.s. national

security. now, following the lead of colorado and washington, there say move to legalize pot in, yes, brand-new two more states. and all this is coming at the same time that we're seeing this backlash against cigarette smoking. now, are we getting mixed messages from politicians pushing pot legalization why trying to curb cigarette smoking. you know, i don't think i was meant to sweep. it's a little frustrating. look. [ zach ] i can't help out as much as i used to. do you need help? [ doorbell rings ] let's open it up. it's a swiffer sweeper. it's a swiffer dusters. it can extend so i don't have to get on the step stool. i don't know how it stays on there. it's like a dirt magnet -- just like my kids. [ afi ] this is a danger zone. that is crazy. ah-ha-ha! [ zach ] yeah. no, this definitely beats hanging out on a step ladder. what's up, baby?

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and castles were houses dragons lurked, giants stood tall, and the good queen showed the boy it could all be real. avo: whatever you can imagine, all in one place. expedia, find yours. president obama is rallying senate democrats meeting with by them on wednesday. and emphasizing his goal in keeping the senate in democratic control but that meeting comes amid recent policy splits between the president and democrats. and the fast track trade agreement the administration's handling of the keystone pipeline and additional sanctions on iran. some up for re-election are distancing themselves from the

president. kay hagan, landrieu. jay carney was asked about it? >> president will be actively involved in assists democrats up for re-election and run for office in the senate and house as would you expect. >> as you would expect. and white house officials say many incumbent democratic candidates are eager to get any help from the president. let's get to it, i'm going to bring in daniela gibbs, and hector barreto. how are you doing, guys? >> good. >> let's look at the meeting. "the washington post" noted that the democratic meeting had way more politics. no discussion of trade. someone in the room said that's

basically one blind quote from one who doesn't want it to sound like a top meeting. but we thought maybe it it was democrats not wanting to be near president obama go into the midterm? >> i don't think there's any democrat who doesn't understand it's going to be tough going in 2014. but there are many issues where democrats are united. especially economic issues. you can always find issues that some democrats are going to break with the president. overall, they're pleased with what they heard from the president in the state of the union and to taking steps to improve the lives of everyday americans. and when it comes to minimum wage i think you find a surprising amount of agreement among democrats. >> you mentioned the mill wage. that's a police where the president is already acting saying he'll do it with or without congress in areas where he can control the wage.

hector and john padesto a former clint administrator. the same power in the clinton administration. john know what is he's doing here. and he has thought a lot about the extent of presidential power in this field. and, hector, i want to put that question to you. why do so many republicans seem to have a problem with the president acting like a president? >> well, i think, because they expected so much more. you know, it wasn't that longing that he had this big wish list of all of this legislation that he was going to do.none of thatt off to first base. and i think it's a reflection to the legislative strategy didn't work. they got no support. in fact, when you talk to business people, you talk about you things that are important to them, things like trade, getting fast tracked authority.

things like the keystone pipeline, things like simplifying the legislative environment, the tax environment, are much more important and we don't see much leadership there. >> can we just talk about the elephant in the room that's keeping the legislation from being passed? >> he's had a very cooperative house republican caucus who pretty much said they're going to be about no. it's not just that they don't have the strategy, they don't have willing partners so the president didn't say in the state of the union that we're just going to do stuff and not work with congress. he said, i'm going to work with you where we can. where you're going to be an obstructionist party. and people want to see people actually do something to improve their lives. >> hector, what is your response there, let me ask you, a lot of people feel that the issue there is not that the house or the senate doesn't have the ability to stand back and say, we don't want to act. they are elected too. what i think daniela is speaking

to, though, is something that people around the country wonder, how is it they say they don't want to act. and then attack the president for not having a, quote, successful legislative strategy that they're blocking? >> you know, our friends on the other side like to remind us that we only control one half of one thirld of the branches of government. look, at the end of the day, when he says we'll work with you where we can, that means my way or the highway. that means if you agree with everything that i want, we'll work together. if not, we'll have something like obama care where you don't get any republican support. of course, now you see what the ramdfications of that strategy was. i think where it makes sense, i think there are some areas that we just talked about. i think republicans are ready to work with the president on the keystone pipeline. they're ready to work with them on expand expanding trade. they're ready to work with them on things that will really reduce the deficit that will improve the economic environment, especially for

small businesses. they talked a lot about small businesses. but small businesses still have a lot of headwinds in front of them. >> hector, i'll make you a deal. we'll give you the last word this time and daniela closing arguments if we get to do this again, does that sound all right? >> all right. >> thank you both for talks us today. if you check your retirement funds regularly throughout you may have noticed a dip after this year rocky start to the new year on wall street. but it isn't the only factor to investmenter success. and some reports reveal gender. men are in better shape than women, they're often able to save more because of incomes they have, but also they tend to think they will need more. what kind of difference are we talking about? >> we're talking about a big difference here. women have saved on average $34,000 for their retirement, compared to men who have saved about $70,000. this data comes from the retirement security project.

and what's really interesting is, it's not a matter of women not being able to contribute to 401(k) plans and retirement plans. part of the issue is they're not putting in as much of a percentage of their pay and they're not putting in money to make that full matching contribution to their 401(k). as you mentioned, of course, getting paid less and working part time are also big factors in this. but the other thing we're looking at is what women want to count on for retirement dollars. yes, they're saying the 401(k) will be there for them or an ira, but they're also relying on pensions and/or social security. we know those payouts will not be as great for them because they haven't been in the workforce quite as long, taking time out to take care of the family. so they're relying on money that might not be there for them in retirement. >> in terms of pensions there are structural ways those things are built, while they don't mean to, they actually do hurt women more because many women in

families have two or three kids and out of the labor market. >> 12 years. on average, women on average are out of labor force for 12 years. caring for their kids, caring for the elderly. the other thing that women puts us back a little bit is putting our families first. i think what everyone, men and women need to realize, it's important to invest in yourself. and put yourself first so you can be better able to take care of your family. that's something that women have to remember. another thing that's been holding women back is just not putting in as much as they can do an ira or 401(k) because they are out of the workforce. a lot of people don't realize if your spouse is working they can put money in for you spousal ira. you can still do it if you're a stay-at-home mom or out of the workforce for some period of time. i think the biggest question is how can i save, i have so many bills, how can i actually put that money away. i think it all comes down to a

plan. you have to have a plan on how to cut back on some of those expenses and try to make saving a priority. it has to be one of those major bills like all the others. >> one piece is simply, can i afford it? a lot of people especially feel like they cannot. >> right. the. >> second piece, what category, is this something you think about every month or every year because it's part of your life? or something that you only thing about when you have a formal job. they drop that intimidating pile of papers here's your investment options. sharon, thank you for the report. >> thank you. as chris mentioned earlier, the snowboard slopestyle competition began today in sochi. it one of 12 brand-new events being added to these olympic games. you want to know the others. men's and womens ski slopestyle which is similar to the snowboard where skiers go through with obstacles and jumps. men and female will go for big air, the halfpipe. the biathlon mixed relay is made

up of two men and two women and combines cross country skiing and shooting. and men's womens and pairs ice skating will do a combined team score. and women's ski jumping after a pretty long and hard-fought legal battle. the full list is up at jansing yat msnbc.com. look for it. hey guys! sorry we're late. did you run into traffic?

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don't cause cancer and future research should further investigate the link. welcome back. now you the red states of alaska and oklahoma are the latest to jump on the marijuana bandwagon. alaska voters will decide in august when to approve the recreational use of pot over oklahoma. a state senator has introduced a bill as well. the politics are complicated here. while politicians and voters are warming to marijuana, clearly, the crackdown on smoking tobacco continues. yesterday, cvs said it will stop selling all tobacco products. that move takes effect in october. the company was immediately praised for it including a shutout from president obama. all of this led to a pretty interesting critique from senator marco rube bow who wrote many of the same people alloweds cvs for not selling tobacco are okay with making it easier to buy and smoke pot.

since on twitter he adds a #makesno sense. let's bring in ryan grimm, author of "this is your country on drugs." ryan is of course, with the huffington post and msnbc contributor. welcome to you both. ryan, when you see states like alaska, looking at putting pot use on the ballot, a state that romney won by 15 points. it's not just colorado, it's not just blue or what some call green states anymore. connect that with this other critique of tobacco. >> sure, and rubio's right that the history here is confusing. but if you go back, we can start with the 19th century. you know, at that time, liberals who are pushing, people today we would call liberals who are pushing things like abolition and the women's suffrage movement were also the same people pushing the temperance movement. there's been this yomp lap in the liberal mind-set of trying

to condemn things that they see as harmful behaviors. that transferred to smoking in the '60s, '70s after they successfully got prohibition passioned in the 1920 chs blew up in their face. if you notice, the movement to legalized pot today began with med marijuana. otherwise, the movement said to liberals not of your individual right to smoke weed. they said it is beneficial to your health to smoke weed. once that took effect and once that people saw that that was actually true, that's why marijuana was able to separate from something that is genuinely harmful like smoking tobacco. >> it's such an interesting point, ryan. doctor, we're thinking of that in terms of social policy. what is good for people. ryan is putting forth an historical view of basically folks on the left in different time periods being open to what might be good pose. medical marijuana is a long way from decriminalization, though. >> right, i think we have to

distinguish between the decriminalization, removing harsh personalities for marijuana use that incarcerate innumerable young men, especially in this country versus the medical consequences. the consequences are serious. there are psychological consequences. it's been demonstrated a higher rate of schizophrenia. there's a tendency towards a type of loss of focus and concentration. but also you're inhaling burning plant substances. >> and yet, part of what you're saying, has to operate in a larger sort of political environment, what wee focus on. if you look back over the history, ryan does some of this in the book, how smoking has been perceived in this country. 1964, got the surgeon general warning. in the '70s, you had the separate smoking sections on airlines but you could still smoke on them. as move into the '80s, you get the airline smoking ban. beg tobacco in the '90s denying

nicotine as addictive. and it's only in the last 10 or 15 yiers see the much bigger cultural and legal constraints on being able to smoke. in new york, it's very hard to smoke just about anywhere. i want to play some the sound from your response, ryan, the famous hearing where tobacco executives did deny that it was addictive. take a listen. >> yes or no, do you believe nicotine is not addictive? >> i don't believe that nicotine is not addictive. >> i believe that nicotine is not addictive. >> i believe that nicotine is not addictive. >> i believe that nicotine is not addictive. >> i, too, believe that nick codeine co nicotine is not addictive. >> we don't see at the supply level marijuana approached that way yet? >> no, not yet. and the thing that we need to

remember here. smoking pot may very well be habit-forming and it may very well have health consequences but there's currently more harm associated with it, than just that. in other words, you can get arrested. you can go to jail. you can lose your job over it if you're on probation or parole, you can violate and go back to jail for that. and what the movement is basically saying now, and the majority of people are saying now, the harms associated with prohibitinging it, are worse than the harms associated with smoking it. and when it comes to medical marijuana, many doctors saying it's actually a benefit. so that's why it's so hard to compare it to that famous tobacco scene. >> ryan grim and dr. ronald hoffman, thank you both for talks to us today. we're continuing to keep you caught up on all things olympics. if you have questions ask chris jansing. go to msnbc.com tonight on "nightly news," chris' story on the athletes to wash will air.

and i want to show you the tweet of the day comes from one of those athletes u.s. hopeful ashley wagner. she tweeted out center ice, just hanging out with the rings this morning. this is my dream and i made it happen. of course, #sochi2014. to me. i'm going to have to say verizon. verizon. the choice is obvious. verizon is america's largest and most reliable 4g lte network, with data plans starting as low as $45 monthly access including unlimited talk and text. plus free world messaging unlimited for three months. that's powerful. verizon. the samsung galaxy note 3 in limited edition rose-gold just $149.99. i prefer today. [ female announcer ] new clairol age defy color collection. with our best breakthrough gray coverage. lustrous, radiant color that looks 10 years younger. today. [ female announcer ] new age defy color from clairol.

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and to politics now from "american idol" to american politician clay aiken is singing a different tune. he's running for congress in north carolina. >> you've seen what's happened in this district and so many other districts around the country, people have gone to d.c., and they've just lined up behind the people in their party. lined up behind the leaders. taking votes, cast votes in order to get positions for themselves. it's disheartening. i think the entire country is tired of this type of dysfunction in washington. >> something else that could make you tired, 60 parties in 60 days. that's how recently sworn in

governor terry mcauliffe is describing this ground. "washington post" reports that mcauliffe has restocked the bar and thrown over the doors and paying for top shelf and micro brews. >> joe biden said there's one thing standing in the way of him running for president in 2016. his love of corvettes. >> there's a lot of reason to run for president. but there's one overwhelming reason not to run for president. i'd like to get that z- -- zero to 60 in 3.4 seconds. finally a bittersweet day for the entire nbc family. after 23 years, jay leno will take the final bow on the "tonight show."

and tonight's guest will be billy crystal who was his very first guest on the "tonight show" it will return with the brand-new host jimmy fallon. that wraps up this hour of "jansing & company." if you want more of me, join us on "the cycle" at 3:00 p.m. where kristal ball and abby. hi there, the democrat showdown. emergency unemployment benefits for 1.7 million americans. now, if they succeed, it goes to the house. wee talk to congressman levin about whether he'll ever see the bill. new outrage that reports that george zimmerman is set to fight rapper dmx in a, quote, celebrity box, match. also, a new security warning as the olympic games kick off in sochi, russia. we'll get a live report.

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hello, everybody, i'm bettinbet iy nguyen. a key vote is expected in a few hours to pass an extension. the estimated 1.7 people have lost emergency benefits since they expired at the end of december. senate majority leader harry reid is proposing a three-month extension. republicans want to offer amendments, something reid says still is not happening. 60 votes are needed to go forward today. here's reid on the floor just a short time ago. >> the no vote on extendingen employment benefits is a no vote because they don't want to extend unemployment benefits. they'll come up with a law that excuses why we can't do this. they want amendments,

mr. president, that's just a lost leader. >> joining me live from capitol hill is luke russert. do democrats have enough to get the vote passed or is today's exercise just a bit of a practice run, if you will? >> that's a good question, betty, we'll see around 2:00. a state decimated by unemployment, nevada over the last few years but this is really a strategy play by democrats. obviously, a lot of folks on capitol hill believe in restoring unemployment benefits. republicans would like an opportunity to try and craft some of their own language within this bill. democrats countered that by saying, look, we're a. doing something made by republicans that make sure millionaires don't collect unemployment benefits. anyway, with that being said, the strategy here is to pump up income equality. put democrats on the side of the working people.