that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com. the hype of the olympics never reaches higher of a peak than it does at opening ceremonies. >> walking out was so surreal. >> it was amazing, it was perfect. >> just seeing the crowd, seeing the excitement, it was cool. >> look at those excited faces. after a spectacular opening ceremony, it is the first full day of the winter olympics in sochi. competition is under way in the mountains. and one american has already nabbed a key win. we are live in sochi just ahead. good saturday afternoon. i'm milissa rehberger in for craig melvin. you are watching msnbc. hope dims for a deal on immigration, speaker john boehner blamed the president. we'll talk live with a congress who's negotiating a bipartisan plan.

also ahead -- >> we really needed this surge of snow. >> when i was a kid, this is normal. but lately this is probably the worst one i've seen in 20 years. >> winter weary, what is behind this season's crazy weather and is this what we have to look forward to? and banking on the post office? today's big idea could save the struggling agency and help the poor, but how? plus this -- >> i don't think there should ever be just one story about slavery because slavery was u.s. is a multifaceted experience. >> bold and beautiful, this actress is stealing the spotlight. why she is called hollywood's new "it" girl. this is the first full day of sporting competition at the olympic games and already some medals have been awarded. let's go to brian shactman who's there. we don't want to spoil it.

so we're going to give people a few seconds to turn away if they want to. >> reporter: okay. >> hopefully that should do it. the first medal awarded today, right? >> reporter: yeah. the event is amazing. people have to check it out in primetime tonight because i went up there on tuesday to watch some practice runs when they were talking about the danger of the course and shaun white backed out of the event to focus on the half pipe. but shane koskinenburg does not even favorite. but early in the week when everyone was worried about it, he loved the course and clearly came through. the judges absolutely loved it. i don't want to say he shocked the world because no one's seen this event. but he amazed and he had a couple of great runs and stole the gold. the first medal at the games won by an american which hasn't

happened in decades. >> how about the usa women's hockey team? they're emerging as a big story already, right? >> reporter: yeah, they beat finland 3-1 today. they scored within the first minute and cruised to victory. if people don't know the women's game, canada and the united states are clearly the two best teams in the world. but finland is the third best team. they have a goalie who played at the university of minnesota. she did a great job, but not enough to beat the americans. so it's a good first win for them. katie stone is their coach, the first female coach of the u.s. women's hockey team. they skipped the opening ceremonies to focus on the game because it was a noon game here in sochi. and it really worked for them. they're off to a good start. >> let's take another quick look at the medal count with two golds for norway. one for the u.s. and for the netherlands and several other top medals all around. we're done spoiling you. you can turn back around if you didn't want to see all that.

brian, back with you, i understand there was a little bit of a ruckus with the u.s. bobsledder at one of the hotels. tell us more about that. >> reporter: yeah, johnny quinn, a u.s. bobsledder took a shower. he was locked in his bathroom. didn't have a cell phone. didn't know what to do. so he busted himself out and he tweeted the picture of the damage that he did. it looks like the hulk busted through there. he's had at least 14,000 retreats on this. it's gotten him quite a bit of attention. but anecdotallanecdotally, i wae bathroom in the mountains myself, i swear this is true, and i got locked in the bathroom. one of the camera guys had to jimmy the lock. it can certainly happen here in russia. >> at least it wouldn't have cost you a potential gold medal. embarrassing still, though. thank you. have fun out there.

msnbc's brian shactman from the olympic park in sochi. thank you. there are heightened security concerns at the olympic games this weekend following that hijacking attempt of a flight bound for turkey yesterday. just as the opening ceremony was getting under way, a 46-year-old ukrainian man who's now in custody allegedly tried to divert the passenger plane to sochi in an effort to get anti-government protesters in his country released. the games' organizing committee president tried to allay concerns by saying this -- >> we were aware about this incident. there were not any threats. i know that the ukraine and turkish authorities fixed the incident. >> don joins me now with more on this. looking back on this hijacking attempt yesterday, what does that tell you about the current atmosphere? >> certainly this hijack attempt

came right on the heels of the dhs warning about the toothpaste bombs potentially being smuggled on airplanes. so obviously tensions are high. but kudos to the crew and the security officials on the ground. they got the plane landed safely. all the passengers got off without being hurt. so handled very professionally. but certainly there's going to be some more investigation that will continue with this. it appears it's kind of a lone wolf type incident. but they're going to take that and run it aground and make sure this individual is not associated with a larger group. >> that was going to be my next question to you. at first glance, does this look organized in any way or does it look like a person who was just passionate or -- >> at first blush, it looks like kind of a one-off situation with somebody that was passionate. there were reports that he was in some kind of an altered mental state, either alcohol or drug induced. but when you have the stakes as high as they are with the olympics, you're not going to take any chances and just write it off.

you're going to run every lead aground to make sure this guy is not affiliated with any larger group and that there's not more of these type of threats planned in the future. >> do you think that now that opening ceremonies are over, that security people are breathing a sigh of relief? >> i think so, yeah, sure. that's one of the biggest hurdles that you want to get through from a security perspective, the opening ceremonies. all eyes are on the ceremony, lots of people there. it's a huge event. it's maybe one of the most watched events. so certainly from a security point of view, i think they're breathing a little bit of a sigh of relief. but not out of the woods. we have another few weeks left of games and the closing ceremonies and so forth. but good job to the russian security folks and everybody that made sure that the opening ceremonies went off without a hitch. >> we've been hearing a lot about this ring of security around sochi. how likely is it, do you think, that a terrorist could already

be inside or that there could be some kind of incident? >> when you talk about the ring of steel and certainly the venues themselves are very secure. there's multiple layers of security, strict access control. we know that the russians have been out making a lot of arrests, kind of rounding up all the usual suspects. that's just what's been reported. who knows how many other people have been arrested that we're not hearing about? but as you mentioned, one of the potential threats is if somebody's already inside. so many volunteers are needed to run on an olympic games, whether it's checking tickets or hospitality function or whatever. you have to make sure that those people have been properly screened and vetted and trained so that you know who you're giving an all-access badge to because if somebody's already in the inside, they have access and they're intent on doing some harm, the ring of steel does you no good. >> don borelli, thank you very much. to politics now, we're

barely one month into the new year and the president has already made it clear that he wants to see immigration reform happen in 2014. not so fast, however, says house speaker john boehner. announcing thursday that progress is stalled because republican members don't trust the president. >> he's feeding more distrust about whether he's committed to the rule of law. listen, there's widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws. and it's going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes. >> joining me now is kentucky's democratic congressman john yarmouth, thank you for being with us here today. >> thank you, milissa. >> how big of a blow are the speaker's comments? >> i think this is really the subterfuge. i think what speaker boehner is

trying to do is take attention off immigration reform. he has a difficult path to navigate. he's trying to get at least half of his republican members to vote for immigration reform. the intelligence we get is about a third are ready to vote for it now. a third will never vote for it. so he's working on a third. i think he feels the best way to do that is to take it off the front pages so he can work quietly because this is all a distraction. he wants very much to get immigration reform done. we know there are enough votes to get it done right now. but he wants to make sure that there's at least half of his republican conference. >> in slate today, john dickerson notes the conservative, moderate and grassroots wings of the gop have long been at odds over immigration. "given this political landscape, why would republicans want to have a fight over legislation that will divide their party, especially when they could spend their time attacking democrats over obamacare?" . do you think speaker boehner wanted to get immigration off

the table to make sure obamacare remains the main focus in this election year? >> there are two ways to look at that. one is to get it off the table, the other is to get it done so it's off the table and doesn't become part of the fall elections. in a number of states where there are important senate races, if the republicans are seen as the party that derailed immigration reform, it could have a big impact on republican chances to take over the senate. while i don't think many house members would lose their seats over immigration reform, i think the senate races could be very important. there are a lot of kind of subplots involved here. but, again, i think speaker boehner when he talks about not trusting the president, that's a rhetorical device he's using. the absurdity of that argument is that first of all under president obama, border security has improved dramatically. he's deporting twice as many

people as were deported by george bush. so he's enforcing the laws right now. and the other thing is, if we pass the law this year, immigration reform, most of the enforcement really wouldn't be under president obama. it would be under the next president. >> "the new york times" suggests there could be a negotiating tactic for the white house to use with republicans on immigration, which is making concessions on trade deals. this is a quote, republicans, through boehner's remarks and other channels, are letting the white house know that one way it can begin to win back confidence of the house republicans is to work with them on issues such as expanded trade authority despite house and senate democratic resistance to new trade deals. would you be willing to make concessions when it comes to trade deals if it moved the ball forward on immigration? >> well, first of all, president obama has been a very strong advocate of expanded trade agreements. so i'm not sure where the negotiation would take place. our caucus in the house would be very split on those arrangements.

but we met with the president last week. we talked about, for instance, the transpacific partnership, the tpp, which he said basically hasn't been negotiated yet. there's plenty of issues to still be negotiated. so it's hard for democrats to really say, we're for it or against it when we don't know what it is. fasttrack authority is a problem which gets into the weeds. but i think the administration has made itself very clear that they want -- they're pushing very strongly for expanded trade. >> congressman, thank you very much. >> thanks, milissa. up next, 50 years since the war on tobacco. ♪ we have come a long way. and now the nation's second largest drugstore is making a bold move to help people quit. will it make a difference and will other stores follow suit? we'll talk live with former surgeon general. and new speculation surrounding

the chris christie scandal. could this be a new sign of dysfunction in his office? we'll talk live with a new jersey lawmaker involved in the investigation. and inside the winter games, much more from sochi coming up. and here's a look at the events to watch tonight in primetime. legs up! legs up? legs up! legs up! legs up! verizon has free tablets and free phones. get here anyway you can. good job! free tablets. free phones. on the best network. only at verizon. get tablets like the verizon ellipsis 7 free. and when you trade in your old smartphone, you can get the samsung galaxy s4 free. or the droid maxx by motorola free. plus get a data plan with unlimited talk and text for as low as $45. this week only. getting free tablets and phones on the best network. that's powerful. verizon. if you have a business idea, we have a personalized legal solution that's right for you.

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a decision by a pharmacy giant cvs could help change the way smoking is perceived in the u.s. cvs announced this week that it will ban sales of cigarette and tobacco products beginning in october. let's bring in dr. richard carmona, he was the surgeon general of the united states under president george w. bush. and he joins us now. thank you for that. >> happy to be with you.

>> cvs's president says it makes no sense for cvs employees to be selling cigarettes. let's listen to that. >> they're working with our patients and our customers who have chronic conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol and diabetes. and we know that smoking is extremely antithetical to helping people with their health care needs. >> so how big a deal is this for a private corporation to take a stand like this? >> it's a big deal, a very big deal and one that we should all applaud and thank cvs for stepping forward and being an early adopter. >> there are still a lot of smokers in america. pew research found that 19% of americans, 44 million people, currently do smoke cigarettes. what kind of health impact can those people expect to see in their lives? >> they'll have a significant health impact. tobacco is the largest preventable cause of death in our country.

millions suffering irreparable harm from diseases like heart disease and strokes and cancers. by eliminating tobacco altogether, there will be great health benefits and the cost of care will drop significantly. >> actor and director leonard nemoi tweeted out this, i quit smoking 30 years ago. not soon enough. i have copd, grandpa says, quit now, llap. depiction of movie and tv characters smoking has diminished. cigarette ads once a mainstay of advertising. having been banned for more than 40 years now, how much of an impact does starpower play in introducing people to smoking or convincing them to quit? >> well, the advertising and marketing in the past was a big driver of that. now fortunately we've regulated

that so people don't see that. but unfortunately we still have one out of five americans smoking, one out of three servicemen and women that are smoking. it's a burden to economic society and causes many problems. it's one of the reasons the surgeon generals spend so much time on anti-tobacco activities and that we need a surgeon general that has a depth and breadth of knowledge about these issues. >> president obama has nominated the next surgeon general and you opposed the nomination. why? >> not opposing him specifically. i think he's a gifted doctor early in his career. i object to the process. this is a position that's more like a tenured professor that you earn the right to get to that position. it also comes with the rank of admiral and that's also an earned rank, not something that can be conferred. mostly, though, it's important that the person that is the surgeon general has a depth and breadth of experience and

training and a rolodex that's significant, connected to the rest of the world and has earned credibility in this space so they can get the job done. somebody very early in their career who has none of the above is going to have a challenge in trying to move forward any health agenda and addressing the health security of the nation. >> dr. richard carmona, thank you for being with us today. >> thanks so much. topping the saturday headlines, house republicans may look to raise the debt limit as early as next week. the debt ceiling expired add mite on friday. a new wave of fighting in the syrian city of homs has forced aid workers to halt efforts to evacuate civilians trying to flee. a u.n. brokered agreement called for a three-day cease-fire to allow civilians out. some have reportedly survived on just app spoonful of food a day since the year-long blockade began. but those things are amazing.

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embattled republican new jersey governor chris christie may have a new set of challenges on his hands and it could be his current inner circle. a new report says the recent memo from christie's office attacking david wildstein was not seen ahead of time by governor christie. this is the memo that went out after wildstein's lawyer alleged the governor knew about the controversial lane closures on the g.w. bridge last fall while they were happening, something the governor's office says is untrue. quote, christie's aides did not run the document which took the extraordinary step of highlighting incidents from wildstein's high school days, by the governor before they sent it out. instead, someone tucked the high school lines into a daily briefing e-mail to the governor's supporters and blasted it out earlier than planned. joining me now is new jersey democratic state senator nicholas cuteri who's been involved in the christie investigation. thank you for being here. is it plausible that governor christie did not know about this

memo before it went out? >> i guess it's plausible but it would be very surprising, considering the sensitivity of the information that was put into that document and how it was blasted out. i'm surprised his advisers or whoever prepared the memo wouldn't have shared the information with the governor. >> it was met with huge criticism. if the governor really didn't know, what should he do now? >> he's got to get to the bottom of it. we're seeing a pattern of not knowing about certain information going out, not knowing about responses to political criticism. i would hope that if he was the chief executive of the state of new jersey that he'd get to the bottom of why people are putting out that information, especially if he didn't agree with what's in the informational memo that went out. >> you've been involved in assembling the paperwork for the 20 subpoenas issued in this investigation. this past week, documents your colleagues requested have been coming in. so what can you tell us about the process as it is going right now? >> members are going down and looking at the information

that's been provided, only a few have actually complied with the subpoenas. the committee is meeting on monday. one of the topics they're going to speak about is how to get better compliance with the informational subpoenas that have been served already. >> isn't it true a lot of the people in groups that were subpoenaed have asked for extensions so far? >> they've asked for extensions. two have pleaded the fifth amendment. that's going to be discussed on monday with counsel. >> how long before we see all these documents? >> it's going to be a while. some of the informational has been gathered and is being ferreted through. monday there's going to be another meeting, a discussion as to the widening of the investigation and the compliance of the subpoenas that have already been served. >> when you say a while, a year? and what kind of power do you have to expedite it if any? >> that's one of the topics that's going to be discussed with the counsel for the joint committee is what things can they do to compel the information to be turned over by the two that have pleaded the fifth and the others that are

asking for extension. one of the things we want to be absolutely certain of is the information being requested is going to be turned over. >> thank you very much. good luck to you. >> thank you. one for the record, we are in the middle of a winter with historic lows, record snowfall and economic disruptions. we'll talk about the billion-dollar impact of this season's nasty weather. and hollywood's new "it" girl. she could earn an oscar for her very first movie. what's next for her as we celebrate black history? hey, i notice your car yeah. it's in the shop.

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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. look outside, if you are in the northern half of the country, you are likely looking at snow or facing subfreezing temperatures. yes, it is february, the heart of winter, but for much of the united states, it has been one for the record books. what's behind this season's cruel weather and how is it affecting everything from travel to your job? we have assembled an a-list panel, gaven smith is a climateologist, josh marks is

ceo of mass flight, edwin dale and co-chair of building america's future, contributor for msnbc. gaven, let's start with you. for all of us shivering our behinds off, what is the science here? >> it's wintertime. we have a number of really cold fronts come through this year. mostly associated with meandering of the jet stream. you can see it on the weather maps. you get this big dip going down. that's bringing cold air down from canada and the arctic where it normally sits and bringing it down to us. >> is that what is making this year so unusual? >> we've had an unusual set of patterns. but it's not that unusual. new york city in decades past has seen much, must have worse. 1934, we got down to minus 19 fahrenheit. we've seen far more snow. if you actually look at the statistics, on average, the winters have been getting

warmer. so this is a bit of an aberration going against the trend. but it doesn't keep you any warmer. >> it's that darn groundhog. he saw his shadow. now how much longer of this? >> slightly more reliable than small ferret animals. >> you don't trust the rodent? >> i don't, i'm sorry. >> what about climate change? does that have anything to do with this? >> climate change is a real thing. last year was the sixth or fifth warmest year in the record that we have going back 150 years. there are extreme warmth going on like in australia. alaska is having an absolute blowout winter. places that are normally zero are now at 20 degrees, basking in the warmth there. but when you get a lot of these meanders, you get places where it's really warm and really cold. and the climate effects of that,

you average over all that. it's a little bit unclear what the -- whether there's a connection between how wavy this this is and climate change. there are interesting ideas out there but nothing that you can say, we can blame it on the polar bears or blame it on something else. >> another thing that is directly affected is definitely travel. let's go to josh marks who will talk with us about the weather. thousands of flights canceled or delayed due to this weather. what has been the ripple effect that has been brought about by all this? >> it's as gavin said, the meandering of the jet stream and the breadth of cities that have been impacted this winter is the telltale sign for the airline industry as to what's creating the majority of the disruption. there's not a single major hub airport east of the mississippi with the exception of miami that hasn't been shut down in one form or another by the winter weather this year. that's what's driving cancellation numbers higher than anything we've seen before. there are some other regulatory reasons in terms of changes to

pilot staffing rules and airport rules that are also contributing to it. but at the core, we're seeing just the impact of weather on everyday flight operations. >> has any part of the country escaped unscathed in all of this? >> the western u.s. i think is doing quite well. if you look at california, they had a good period of time, although now the rainy season has started to kick in. as gavin said, it varies. it varies by the part of the country. but when you look at where the major connecting hubs are in the united states, when you're flying from coast to coast, where you're likely to be catching your connection and where you're most vulnerable to weather impact, it's those central hub airports like chicago o'hare and the east coast centers that have been most impacted. that's what makes it so painful for everyday passengers. >> how much is this costing the airlines but also travelers? >> the airlines, hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs. de-icing costs, accommodation costs when they have to put you up at a hotel overnight. those costs do add up. lu

ultimately it's going to translate into higher airline fares. and a loss in productivity. february isn't looking a lot better so far. >> governor rendell, to you, winter has re-emphasized many of the weak spots in the nation's infrastructure. vice president joe biden put it blun bluntly in philadelphia on thursday. let's listen to him. >> if i blindfolded someone and took him to 2:00 in the morning into the airport in hong kong and said, where do you think you are, he says, this must be america, it's a modern airport, if i took you in blindfold and took you to laguardia, you would think you were in a third-world country. >> is he right? is america's infrastructure in such sad shape? >> first of all, let me say as a former governor of pennsylvania, i object to punxsutawney phil, a

noble beast being called a rodent. punxsutawney phil is no rodent. >> you stand corrected. >> to answer your question, the american infrastructure ten years ago was ranked first in the world, best in the world by the world economic forum. we're now 16th. our air transport infrastructure is 22nd best in the world. our ports our rails, our roads are in terrible condition. and it's for a simple reason. we're not willing to invest in revitalizing our infrastructure and bringing it up to even satisfactory levels. and weather like we've been having, especially in the cold weather state, wreaks havoc on the capital budget of states because the more snow, the more ice, the more salt, it just beats the living daylights out of roads and emphasizes the facts that we have a crumbling infrastructure. >> would weather have less of an impact on this infrastructure if it was modernized? and what would the impact of

that be in the meantime, also? >> well, there's no question, if we modernize our infrastructure, if we put in the best of new techniques, bridge monitoring to tell which bridges are in danger of falling, there are so many things we could be doing but we have to invest. this whole argument in washington about spending, we don't want to spend money, true, we don't want to spend money on things that aren't important. but we need to invest in our future. that means having a first-class infrastructure because the president was right, he didn't talk about public safety. but he said in the global economy, first-class jobs follow first-class infrastructure. and he's dead right. >> what is your biggest concern during the winters? our airports, our railroads, roads, bridges? what makes you worry the most? >> mostly roads and bridges because you can have horrible accidents when there's black ice or a sheet of ice. you've got to be very, very careful. there isn't a mayor or governor

in america who when they hear snow in the forecast doesn't get a shiver up their spine. >> who would the dollars best be spent and who's paying for it? >> we could spend dollars that come from the private sector. we haven't used those. they're on the sideline waiting to come into play. local dollars, state dollars and federal dollars together. and we've got to have a comprehensive plan. one of the things we've been telling the congress and the white house, building america's future, let's sit down and do a ten-year plan and do it in o commonsense way and attack the things that need to be attacked, rebuild those that need to be rebuild and build anew what needs to be built anew. >> what kind of losses could the country be looking at because of the winter when you look at empty storefronts and delivery delays and grounded travelers? >> we've seen the numbers mostly come up in the employment reports where hiring has been depressed.

i was talking to a friend who runs a large auto dealership in new jersey. things have ground to a halt in january and february. foot traffic is down. they can't even get some of the cars delivered to the showrooms that they want to sell. it's having an impact on retailers, on automakers, an impact on travel. billions of dollars and some depressed gdp potentially. economic output in the first part of this year, because things have slowed so considerably over one third of the country. we could see a bit of a growth slowdown because of the weather we've seen thus far. >> good news and bad news yesterday as far as the jobs report. tell us about that. >> it's hard to tell how much the weather is affecting the jobs report itself. we created 113,000 jobs last month. the unemployment rate fell to 6.6%. it fell for the right reasons, more people came into the labor force and found work. so it was a good number. even still, a lot of economists are suggesting that the soft patch that we've seen since the

start of the year might largely be attributable to weather. the only problem is we're not going to know for sure until some time around mid to late spring whether or not the economic was being held back in the first part of this year because it was starting to take off at the end of 2013. we won't get any reliable data that's not weather influenced until march, april or may. >> does it bring any benefit to some workers -- >> anybody who benefits from having cleaned up the streets -- depending on new york city being a little bit behind in that regard. there are people working overtime. there are sales of winter equipment that go up during periods like this. by and large, it's more of a net depressant. >> all right. let's all warm up. thank you all. >> thank you. time now to flash back to this date in 1978 when new

englanders began to big themselves out of an historic blizzard. three major storm systems converged over the atlantic coast dumping as much as 55 inches of snow over massachusetts and rhode island. scores of deaths were blamed on this blizzard. more than 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. here's how nbc's robert hager reported on this disaster from providence, rhode island. >> reporter: dubumper to bumper cars and trucks all abandoned, all buried in snow. the city is paralyzed. snow removal crews have barely managed to clear a few city streets and can't begin to dig out the thousands of vehicles still jamming the interstates. over 1,000 drivers had to be rescued from stuck cars and trucks. the death toll in rhode island has climbed to nine, mostly from heart attacks. these people are sleeping in the bedding display of a department store. they're some of the 5,000 people still stranded here, staying in

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and we're here to help start yours. using the post office as a bank to combat inequality? that is today's big idea. nearly 68 million americans have no bank accounts and some use payday lenders, pawnshops and check cashing stores to do their banking. could panicking at the post office be the answer? it is something the inspector general of the united states postal service calls for in a new report. david dayan wrote about it and he joins me now. you write that this idea could help solve the post office's financial problems and reduce inequality. how? >> as you said, so many americans, one in four households, lack access to financial services. the post office is in every zip code in america and if they delivered these services at a massive discount compared to check cashing stores and payday

lenders who are very unscrupulous and cost the average family over $2,000 in interest and fees every year, then they would save massive amounts of money, promote financial inclusion for underserved communities and help with the finances of the post office, which is a major employer. so it solves a lot of problems. >> it's a major employer that's been losing billions of dollars in recent years. how could the post office itself benefit from this? >> well, payday lenders and these other alternative financial services make about $89 billion per year. so the post office could deliver that service at maybe a tenth of that amount and still take home a pretty hefty profit. the usps inspector general report estimated about $8 billion annually. so this would significantly help the finances of the postal

service while also saving 68 million americans lots of money. >> what kind of banking services could the post office realistically provide? >> well, there's three recommendations in the report. an atm-type service, prepaid debit card, also maybe a checking account and small loans, like the kinds that payday lenders provide, only at drastically reduced interest rates. >> isn't there concern that they're an institution that's been losing so much of its own money handle other people's money? >> well, there should be a concern about the gouging that payday lenders and other services do to underserved communities and the fact that banks have been pulling up out of low income communities. the postal service, 58% of their banks are in zip codes that have zero or one bank branch in them. so these communities are being left behind and the postal a

service is well positioned to help them out. >> in your article, you say, this is not really a new idea. some of us are hearing it for the first time. why is it gaining popularity now? >> i think the report opened a lot of eyes. senator elizabeth warren has endorsed the practice. as you said, it's not a new idea. the postal service provided a postal savings account from 1911 to 1967 at the height over 4 million people had a postal service bank account and it still provides money orders today. the i.g. report made the point that they could use their existing authority since they already provide non-bank financial services to do this, which means they could bypass congress. that makes this an idea that's tangible that could actually happen rather than subjecting it to the whims of a gridlocked congress. >> david, thank you so much for being with us here today. >> thank you very much. >> and do you have a big idea that's making a difference? tell us about it by tweeting us.

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as we continue to celebrate black history here at msnbc, the gr grio is out with a list of influential african-american. front and center is lupita nyong'o. >> i got this for mrs. shaw. i stink so much i make myself gag! 500 pounds of cotton day in, day out, more than anyone. for that, i will will clean. that's all i ask. this here. >> joining me now from the grio is the editor, chris withersp n

witherspoon, who sat do you know with lupita. she's handling all this with such grace. why did she wind up on this very, very prestigious list? >> i have to say first off, when you watch that clip, you see amazing acting ability. lupita is an amazing actress. that was her first major film. she's a breakout star in the film. she rips you out of your seat. you pay attention to her. you walk away asking who she is. she's taken over the fashion scene. if you watched the golden globes, she was hailed the queen of the red carpet. $7,000 dress and she made it look like it was a million dollars. she's become an international fashion and style icon and broken the mold of how dark-skinned actresses are in hollywood. she's a hailed beauty icon and an amazing actress. she's a talented young lady, 30 years old. >> and he's handling it like a veteran. >> she totally is.

she's so sought after. all these designers are clamoring to get their hands on her and she was only a household name in october. no one no who she was. she went to school, yale's school of drama, mex con born. raised in kenya. never had a big film until "12 years a slave." >> among that and other things, what are the elements that go into you feeling like she is the new hollywood "it" girl. >> more than anything, just breaking the mold of how dark-skinned women are viewed. in the african-american community, sometimes there's an issue of colorism in hollywood. you don't see dark-skinned women in hollywood. someone who looks like lupita, with short hair. clearly looks like she's from africa. you don't see them breaking into hollywood and also being on the cover of magazines like "dazed and confused," a fashion spread in "vogue," on the cover of "w"

magazine. it never has happened for someone who looks like her. >> we look forward for more from her. thank you so much. up next, we return to sochi. we'll check the medal count and meet team usa's women's hockey players. that's coming up. ay to go. let's talk asset allocation. sure. you seem knowledgeable, professional. would you trust me as your financial advisor? i would. i would indeed. well, let's be clear here. i'm actually a dj. [ dance music plays ] [laughs] no way! i have no financial experience at all. that really is you? if they're not a cfp pro, you just don't know. find a certified financial planner professional who's thoroughly vetted at letsmakeaplan.org. cfp -- work with the highest standard.

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they lived. ♪ (dad) we lived... thanks to our subaru. ♪ (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. a live look in sochi, russia, on the first full day of the winter olympics. right now, norway leads the medal count. team usa is very close behind. we'll have the latest from sochi. good afternoon. i'm milissa rehberger in for craig melvin. you are watching msnbc. getting personal. house speaker john boehner blames president obama for keeping immigration reform from moving forward. what's the president's response? we're live at the white house. it is ludicrous, absurd, crazy to have marijuana in the same level as heroin.

>> deadly overdoses. there's new focus on the explosive rise of a dangerous heroin hybrid amid new efforts to relax restrictions on marijuana. and is pot prohibition a civil rights issue? the shocking statistics that have suddenly made reforming drug laws a priority among african-americans. plus, doubling down, senator rand paul has called president bill clinton a sexual predator. now he's targeting democrats who have campaigned with the former president. why is he so focused on clinton now? we start in sochi, russia, where the first full day of sporting competition at the olympic games is under way. some medals have been awarded in events like the men's slope style and women's ice hockey. we don't want to spoil it for those of you who prefer to watch it first. so when you hear the music, if you want to turn away, go ahead and do that. we go to brian shactman in sochi for the latest report.

>> reporter: thanks, melissa. it is knighttime here in sochi. but we had a busy, busy day of sports. finally nice to talk about the sports. a few results, first, the very first medal given out in this games was to an american winning gold. sage kotsenburg won it in the slope style snowboarding event. a lot of talk about maybe the course was too big or dangerous. he aced it with a lot of personality. and the judges loved it. he wasn't even a gold medal favorite but he came through in a big way. the u.s. women's hockey team, one of the gold medal favorites, came out of the chute against finland. cruised to a 3-1 victory. finland considered the third best team in this country behind the americans and the canadians. canada also won in their first game. a couple of quick ones for you, ashley wagner, the women's figure skating in the team skating competition finished fourth in the short program. the u.s. team still has a chance to medal there after struggling early on in the competition.

ski jumping, the men, they had three americans qualify outside of the first stage. that's very good news for them. the thing to look forward to for tomorrow is the downhill on the men's side. bodi miller has been lights out during practice runs. we'll see if it translates into the real deal when he skis for gold. that's it from sochi. >> brian shactman from the olympic park in sochi, thank you. immigration reform advocates were dealt a major blow this week when house speaker john boehner said any bipartisan agreements may already have stalled out for the year. >> i have never underestimated the difficulty in moving forward this year. the american people, including many of my members, don't trust that the reform that we're talking about will be implemented as it was intended to be. >> but just days before, boehner had announce at a gop conference that republicans were looking to make headway on immigration this year. according to "the new york times" today, he got swift

pushback saying, ardent opponents grew bolder in the week after the republican retreat. representative raul labrador, republican of idaho and a negotiator on immigration, suggested a push now would cost mr. boehner his speakership. representative mo brooks of alabama echoed the threat. joining me with reaction from the white house is nbc's kristen welker. the president has already said he wants immigration reform legislation to be passed this year. but given the speaker's latest comments, is this something he will now use executive action to push forward? >> reporter: i don't think so, milissa. the white house is signaling the president is not going to use executive actions to deal with the issue of immigration reform. the president has consistently called for a broad bipartisan bill to get passed. it looked like 2014 was the year, as you point out, that immigration reform could actually get done. republicans saying behind the scenes that it is politically smart, especially after you saw president obama win the latino vote by wide margins in 2012.

we saw house speaker john boehner bring a woman named rebecca talent on board, onto his team. she's someone who's worked extensively on immigration reform in the past. i've been talking to those who are familiar with speaker boehner's thinking. they say he wants to see immigration reform get done. having said that, as we have reported on extensively, there are deep divides within the republican party and they are showing themselves in this immigration battle and continue to. house speaker john boehner's really taken on sort of the tea party branch of his party, as of late, particularly when it comes to things like getting the budget deal done, the farm bill accomplished. but this, it seems like at this point, is a bridge too far. so you heard speaker boehner come out this week and make those comments, really giving himself some cover and trying to put the blame on president obama saying, look, because president obama is taking all of these executive actions, republicans can't trust that he's going to actually enforce immigration reform if it actually does get

passed. of course what's really happening is what you pointed out, milissa, at the top, which is that he is getting a lot of pushback from the conservative branch of his party who say they just don't want to move on immigration reform. >> the other big issue is raising the debt limit. house republicans have signaled they will hold a vote next week. where does this situation stand right now? >> reporter: there's been a lot of saber-rattling going on on both sides. president obama saying he's not going to negotiate. republicans saying they would like to extract something. i am told that because we are in a mid-term year, it's 2014, that it is unlikely that we are going to actually see this go to the brink or we're going to see the debt limit expire. having said that, you never know. things could always change here in washington. that's what i'm being told right now. i think we will see the debt limit extended. will it go down to the wire? we'll have to wait and see, but i don't think it's going to be the crisis situation we've seen

in past years. >> nbc's kristen welker, thank you very much. >> reporter: thanks. actor philip seymour hoffman is being remembered by family and friends. hoffman died last sunday from an apparent heroin overdose. the actor's death has brought renewed interest in the debate over drug use in america and the continued federal prohibition on marijuana. here's what steve cohen said. >> it is ludicrous, absurd, crazy to have marijuana in the same level as heroin. ask the late philip seymour hoffman, if you could. nobody dies from marijuana. >> congressman cohen joins us from washington. thank you for being here. those were stark words and looked like they were being received with a lot of attention.

we have seen legalization of recreational pot in two states, colorado and washington. but no movement so far on the federal level. why is that? >> there have been efforts. there's a real cultural lag between what the people's interests are and what we've seen in the states where it's been enacted in washington. we've come close to get votes together to tell the d.e.a. not to intervene in states where they have legalized marijuana but we haven't had a majority. the republicans who were states rights aren't when it comes to this type of issue. and they need to get straight. this is a popular issue with the people. most people know that marijuana should be on the least of the drugs that the federal government is concerned about and that the emphasis should be on heroin and meth, crack and cocaine, prescription pills. the ones that cause addiction and cause people to resort to crime to feed their habit. marijuana doesn't do that. and the idea that it's rated

schedule 1 as heroin is, and a level above opium and cocaine and crack is, as i said, ludicrous and crazy. i was a fan of philip seymour hoffman's. i was very upset that he died. such a great talent. he didn't need to. it's just so sad. i've had a personal friend who's died of a heroin overdose. heroin is where we should be concentrating our efforts. it's becoming more and more prevalent in america. >> i was very sad by this. i think we all are. it came as such a surprise to everyone. given this and everything that you just said, where should the government's efforts be focused in terms of combatting heroin use? >> well, there needs to be -- there should be efforts in afghanistan and there allegedly have been, obviously unsuccessful, in reducing the poppies which a large part of the heroin comes from that area. and in america, we need to look more at rehabilitation and treatment. putting heroin addicts in jail is not the right answer.

we have to find treatment programs and make them available, methadone programs and not have methadone centers have to deal with the politics of sometimes not in my back yard politics. we just need to have a different approach. but much money needs to go into mental health and health care and rehabilitation on folks that do get addicted. and for those people that el is it, i think we need to have strict measures. those people need to be dealt with by incarceration. a lot of people are locked up for sell and life sentences who has sentences need to be commuted. our prison population is greater than any other country in the world. it cost us $30,000 a year to incarcerate people. it does work adversely, particularly on minority populations. my district in memphis is african-american. african-americans use drugs in same percentages as others but are four times more likely in some areas and seven times more

likely in some areas to be arrested and convicted. there's a disparate treatment that is wrong in a lot of the male population has been decimated. >> i want to change topics here. you sit on a committee that heard testimony on security breaches at stores like target and neiman marcus. a senate committee heard testimony as well. at the senate hearing, a target executive was asked about replacing the electronic strip. >> we tried it in 2003. we put guest payment devices in our stores to read chips. we introduced a new payment card, a target visa card with a chip in it. but without broad adoption, there isn't significant benefits for consumers. >> congressman, do you think that big business is really seeing the scope of the threat to its customers and acting appropriately to protect them? >> i don't think they have. it's a amazing that it's taken this serious breach to bring it to the public's attention and to their attention. as i understand it, target and neiman marcus are looking at

correcting their systems. a chip and p.i.n. system is used in europe. it will cost billions of dollars to bring it into the american system. but we need to do it. thest co of not doing it is terrible for consumers and businesses who should be liable. we need to go to this system. that's the system that can protect individuals. there's theft and that's going to be a problem, a danger to our country, too, is all kind of new security breaches with the new high-tech technology. with that convenience, we also have dangers. >> congressman, thank you. >> you're welcome. nice to be with you, milissa. >> thank you. a big win or a big loss? the bipartisan farm bill will keep some from going hungry and help country towns thrive. but who is losing out? and team usa women's hockey took it to the ice today. how'd they do? we have the results as we meet the members of the history-making team. this is msnbc. my mother and my grandmother are very old fashioned. i think we both are clean freaks.

i used to scrub the floor on my knees. [ daughter ] i've mastered the art of foot cleaning. oh, boy. oh, boy. oh, boy. [ carmel ] that drives me nuts. it gives me anxiety just thinking about how crazy they get. [ doorbell rings ] [ daughter ] oh, wow. [ carmel ] swiffer wetjet. you guys should try this. it's so easy. oh, my. [ gasps ] i just washed this floor. if i didn't see it i wouldn't believe it. [ carmel ] it did my heart good to see you cleaning. [ regina ] yeah, your generation has all the good stuff. [ daughter ] oh, yeah. ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

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topping the saturday headlines this hour, a wisconsin kn newborn missing has been found. he was snatched from his crib early thursday morning. he was found wrapped inside blankets at an iowa gas station on friday. the baby's aunt is charged with kidnapping. duke energy is diverting the flow of coal ash away from a north carolina river but they couldn't declare the spill nearly contained nearly a week after it was discovered. up to 82,000 tons of toxic coal ash have leaked into the river that lies near the border of north carolina and virginia. and the justice department be extend a new package of federal benefits to same-sex couples on monday. in a speech he is set to give tonight, new york attorney general eric holder will say the

new benefits will give, quote, lawful same-sex marriages equal and full recognition to the greatest extent possible under the law. there are clear winners and losers in the nation's new $956 billion farm bill. in part, it slashes $8 billion from the supplemental nutrition assistance program known as food stamps over the next ten years. republican house leaders were fights for as much as five times more than that last year. president obama signed the $956 billion bill into law on friday. >> despite its name, the farm bill is not just about helping farmers. secretary vilsack calls it a jobs bill, an innovation bill, an infrastructure bill, a research bill, a conservation bill. it's like a swiss army knife. >> the president concedes the farm bill isn't perfect but at what cost? let's bring in jeff wax from

"share our strength" and tiana gaines turner. let's start with you. your state, pennsylvania, is among the states that are impacted. in fact, the average loss in pennsylvania is estimated at an expected $65 a month. walk us through who losing $65 a month means for you. >> thank you so much, milissa, for having me and for having me on the show. i'm outraged as many americans are with this cut. i understand that the farm bill is very important. but $65 is a difference from having adequate fresh fruits and vegetables to having canned peas or canned string beans. it's very sad that i feel like all the cuts that have come down the pike are on the back of low income americans who are already struggling, who are already trying to make ends meet.

and it's ridiculous that this cut is going to happen. i'm very upset. this is a way that millions of americans feel across the globe right now. >> let's take a moment to listen to what the president said. i want to get your reaction onto flip side. >> the second thing this farm bill does that is huge is help make sure america's children don't go hungry. the truth is a lot of folks go through tough times at some point in their lives. that doesn't mean they should go hungry. not in a country like america. >> but do you think that more children, more people in general will go hungry with the food stamp cuts? >> well, thanks to the voices of many working americans likelyanna, the most draconian proposals that would have thrown off millions of families off of the program completely were defeated. yet this bill does mean that hundreds of thousands of families are going to face these cuts that actually average $90 a month nationwide and be put in

this unconscionable position of having to choose between paying their rent, paying their medical bills and feeding their kids. the bottom line is that we can't have a strong america with weak kids. and that means that moving forward, we've got to have policies that do a better job of connecting the 16 million kids a year who struggle with hunger with the food that they need to grow and thrive. >> the economist writes, quote, given a blank slate, nobody with an interest in either alleviating poverty or improving farming would construct such a law. josh, what do you think about that? >> what is very clear is that kids in this country are struggling with hunger. and we've got to have stronger policies in place that do a better job in reflecting the food that they need to be able to grow and thrive. and long term for this country

to realize that as the president said, hunger is an economic issue. hunger is a jobs issue. hunger is an education issue. that feeding our kids have long-term societal impacts that are crucial for the success of this country. >> in 2013, the usda says an average of 48 million people used food stamps. if you look at it that way, this could have been a whole lot worse because some lawmakers were looking at up to $40 billion in cuts just a few months ago. at the end of the day, it's down to $8 billion in cuts. what does that really mean for the tens of millions of people who rely on this assistance, when you compare one number to the other? >> it is better than it could have been but it is still impacting hundreds of thousands of families in ways that will be devastating to their budgets, as you heard from, theianna,. >> if you could say one thing to

lawmakers, what exactly would you say to them? >> i would like to say they need to put theirselves in my shoes and many americans' shoes. i would like for them to understand that because of these cuts that there will be a lot of people and a lot of families that will have to tell their children that there are no seconds. let's not talk about the many seniors that also participate in food stamp programs. me knowing myself i will be one of those parents that will not be able to tell my kids that there's seconds, get adequate fruit and vegetables. they won't go hungry but it will be a bigger stretch for us to make sure -- i want them to put themselves in my shoes and look at their children. when they sit down at dinner tonight, i want them to see the faces of my three children and know what it feels like to go to sleep hungry or not have food such as me and my husband have done in the past and so many americans will. this cut is outrageous. i feel like they have shortchanged us all across the board. we need to have more conversations like this. i welcomed them to welcome me to

the table so that i can tell them what i need. i don't want them to guess on what i need or what my kids need. i want them to have me to the table so we can have a respectable conversation and i can tell them exactly how i feel in a respectable way because this is totally outrageous. doesn't make any sense. >> let's leave it there. josh wax and tianna gaines-turney. thank you so much. another milestone for gabrielle giffords who drove a car for the first time since she was shot in the head three years ago. giffords posted the video on her facebook page saying, 2014 will be a year of many wins for me. moments when i do something i thought i might never be able to do again. [ male announcer ] this is betsy.

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which is why citi and evan are giving back to community sports programs to help future athletes every step of the way. ♪ we asked people a question, how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? $500,000. maybe half-million. say a million dollars. [ dan ] then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. ♪ i was trying to like pull it a little further. you know, i was trying to stretch it a little bit more. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. [ man ] i looked around at everybody else and i was like, "are you kidding me?" [ dan ] it's just human nature to focus on the here and now. so it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪

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especially in the battle for late-night rivals like a veggie chop infomercial. thank you figure br our last guest. >> it's an honor to be here. i personally want to say to you, you've got to pull it together, man. >> i know, right? ♪ >> jimmy will be back february 17th when he takes over for jay leno on the tonight show. [ phone dings ] [ nephew ] hi, heath. i can't wait to see you win gold!

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i can't believe your mom has a mom cave! today i have new campbell's chunky spicy chicken quesadilla soup. she gives me chunky before every game. i'm very souperstitious. haha, that's a good one! haha! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right. anybody have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three types of good bacteria. i should probably take this. live the regular life. phillips'. third day of snow coupled with freezing rain is making driving conditions hazardous in parts of oregon. the wintry mix has also toppled power lines in the portland area resulting in power outages there.

it dropped more than a foot of snow in the region causing a multi-car pile-up leaving one person dead. i'm milissa rehberger in for craig melvin. here's a look at some of the top stories making headlines today. a peace walk for trayvon martin is now under way in miami to commemorate the second anniversary of the teen's fatal shooting by george zimmerman. actor jamie foxx and the family of emmett till, a black teen murdered in 1955, will join that walk. a retired police officer accused of shooting a man to death inside a movie theater in florida will remain in jail. a judge denied bail for curtis reeves yesterday, a second day aft trial. chad oulson and his wife were watching previews in the theater when reeves became annoyed that oulson was using his cell phone. a man who once donned the costume for mcgruff, the crime dog, is now doing time himself. john morales was sentenced to 16 years in prison this week on drug and weapons charges. this after police seized more than 1,000 marijuana plants, 27 weapons, including a military grenade launcher.

marijuana arrests of young african-american men far outpace those of white americans, even though black and white americans use the drug at similar rates, african-americans are nearly four times as likely to end up in jail for simple possession. there is a move across the country to liberalize marijuana laws. one stumbling-block could be tumbling away. pro-marijuana activists say they've long been frustrated that few black leaders have publicly joined them in their efforts. with the majority of americans in favor of more lenient laws for cannabis, more are breaking with their long tradition of supporting the 42-year-old war on drugs. neil franklin is the executive director of law enforcement of prohibition. why has there been a reluctance from african-american leaders to voice support for marijuana law reform? >> milissa, thanks for having me on your show. i think this is an issue because

this is all we've lived with, prohibition, the prohibition of marijuana. we haven't taken a good enough look back in history with alcohol prohibition to first of all learn that prohibition doesn't work. i think what we're finding out from books like michelle alexander's book, mass incarceration and an age of color blindness, these policies of prohibition are more devastating to the black and brown communities than any other communities. from the way we in law enforcement apply these laws of prohibition, these policies of prohibition, how we go about enforcing them. but in addition to how we criminalize people disproportionately for smoking marijuana, from the perspective of what it does to the black community as far as violence and crime is also much more significant than any other community. and we have to realize that. >> you've been in law enforcement for 30 years. you favor, as you said, regulation over prohibition.

what type of regulation exactly would you like to see put in place for specifically marijuana? >> well, i'd like to see something that is similar to alcohol or tobacco. one thing we have to realize, we can't regulate anything we do not control. and currently we do not control the marijuana market, which is huge. we have literally given it over to criminals and organized crime and a cartel to control it, to manage it. so we have to first take it back from them, we have to take control back. the only way to do that is to end the policies of prohibition. i'm very happy to see that the president is starting to speak about this. i'd like to give credit to people like alice huffman from the naacp who has been in the forefront of this from the black community going back to 2010 out in california with proposition 19. >> recreational pot is on sale, as i'm sure you know in colorado, soon to be washington state as well. what can the rest of the states learn from these two, but also

the federal government? >> one of the first things they can learn is if you look at the pictures, if you look at the videos from the first few days of sales from legal outlets in colorado, look at the hundreds if not thousands of people who are standing in line to buy legal marijuana. these aren't first-time buyers. what we've done, we've removed them from the criminal marketplace. we've separated them from the criminal marketplace where you're going to find heroin, cocaine and other drugs. in addition to that, the millions of dollars that they're now spending in legal outlets which is paying the salaries of employees who pay taxes, for instance, the first week, $5 million in gross sales is no longer going into the hands of criminals and thugs who are selling marijuana on street corners in dangerous places. it's now going into the hands of responsible business owners who value that license hanging on the wall and who are paying taxes. colorado is moving forward very quickly on this. also there are no kids standing

line out in colorado buying marijuana from these legal outlets. >> neil franklin from the law enforcement against prohibition, thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. the headlines didn't look so good earlier this week for president obama and the affordable care act. tuesday's "new york times" brought this headline, health care law projected to cut the labor force. it's based off the recent report on the projected economic impact of that law. let's get straight to our "brain trust." anton gunn is now in the private sector as a consultant. bob franken and amy holmes. thank you all for being here today. anton, republican leaders wasted no time bouncing on the cbo report. here's what congressman paul ryan and house speaker john boehner had to say. let's listen. >> what is particularly troubling is cbo's projection of the labor force participation. >> the law is going to drive 2.5

million full-time workers out of the economy. just like that, gone. >> was that the reaction that you expected? >> of course, i expect the same thing from these guys every single time. they've tried to repeal the affordable care act more than 40 times and they have never had anything good to say. why should anybody be surprised that they have something negative to say about this? it's not people leaving the labor force. the cbo report doesn't say that part-time work will be any higher after the affordable care act than it was before the affordable care act. but the big thing that really is missing are the number of inturp neuros who are leaving jobs to start their own businesses and will create other jobs, by the way, because of the affordable care act, because they don't have to worry about not getting health care insurance. they can get the things they need for themselves and their families. they will start businesses and create jobs. i've talked to them. the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well because of the affordable care act.

>> amy, the democrats say the report paints a much different picture than "the new york times" and gop leaders have headlined. here's an exchange between chris van holland and douglas elmandore. >> you go on to say, the net increase in demand for goods and services will in turn boost demand for labor over the next few years. that's the conclusion you make, right? >> that's right. >> when you boost demand for labor in this kind of economy, you actually reduce the unemployment rate because those people who are looking for work can find more work, right? >> yes, that's right. >> amy, who's right here? >> i think we're comparing apples and oranges. when you look at the demand side versus the supply side. it wasn't republicans that said that workers will be moving more into part-time work. it was democrats, jay carney, the white house communications director, he himself said that and actually applauded it.

and it was the cbo report itself. the cbo director confessed that obamacare, in his words, disincentivizes work. you can spin it all you want that people are in job lock, they're stuck in jobs that they go to only because they need the health insurance from their employer. a lot of republicans actually do agree with decoupling health insurance from employment and letting health insurance be portable. but what we have with obamacare is straight income redistribution. those people working full-time and paying taxes quite literally subsidizing those who "choose" to work less. >> bob, do you think what we really have going on is a little bit of political cherry-picking to meet a certain political agenda? >> absolutely. amy and i have been friends for a very long time. >> uh-oh, what are you about to say, bob? >> until now. because what i think that you do is you use this code word income distribution to make things sound like we have some sort of

marxist approach to all this. >> it was president obama who said he wanted to spread the wealth around. >> there's a difference between spreading the wealth and this socialist view -- the socialist term income redistribution. we have a situation in the united states where there is a growing inequality between the very, very rich and everybody else. and, sure, the need to redistribute things just a little bit. that's very american. >> "brain trust," stay right here. up next, on the attack. senator rand paul calls president bill clinton a sexual predator. why is he so focused on clinton right now? see, the special psyllium fiber in metamucil actually gels. and that gelling helps to lower some cholesterol. metamucil. 3 amazing benefits in 1 super fiber. 3 amazing benefits 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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interview that will air tomorrow. let's listen to that. >> i really think that anybody who wants to take money from bill clinton or have a fund-raiser has a lot of explaining to do. in fact, i think they should give the money back. if they want to take a position on women's rights, by all means, do. but you can't do it and take it from a guy who is using his position of authority to take advantage of young women in the workplace. >> so what is senator paul's end game here? >> the end game is getting nominated. he's trying to appeal to the base and no shot is too cheap when it comes to the people that he's trying to win over. the fact of the matter is that this is something that we're all horrified about when it occurred in the 1990s. but he's presiding over a party now -- he's in a party right now that has people like mike huckabee getting a lot of approval for talking about women's inability to control their libidos. this is going to be a very, very rough presidential campaign. and rand paul is trying to maneuver to be a big part of it. >> amy and i just had a little

chuckle over that privately. sorry about that. is bill clinton really the target here or is it hillary clinton down the road? >> it's also about kentucky and that bill clinton is heading to kentucky to campaign for the democratic opponent to senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. i think rand paul is trying to help out his fellow republican mitch mcconnell with these remarks. but bill clinton's womanizing was pretty well litigated back in the 1990s, the fact that he has rather large sexual appetites is well known by the american public. but i don't necessarily think that's going to be relevant in 2016 nor will it be relevant to the base. i think republican base voters are focused on the issues at hand. as far as hillary clinton, whether or not she chooses to throw her hat in the ring, she'll have to answer those questions herself. >> another politician involved in scandal -- in a scandalous fund-raising is chris christie. the state's most influential gop stars are keeping their distance, not really being seen together with him in public.

something "the new york times" reports, democratic party operatives are unleering attacks on any republican in the country who dares to defend christie publicly from a potential senate candidate in new hampshire to a congress in new york. does christie still pose a big threat to democrats in any way? >> clearly he does. the democrats have put him in their sights, that he's such a huge target for them. they want to take him out because he does have national appeal as governor of new jersey, a blue state which barack obama won back in 2008 and again just in this last election cycle. if he wasn't a threat, they wouldn't care. >> anton, what do you think about it? >> well, i think chris christie has his own scandal and his own problems in new jersey. he'll get over those. i think he'll be able to raise money for the party as head of the republican governors association. but the thing about chris christie, he is a new jersey republican, which means if he was in the south, he'd be a democrat. so i don't think anybody's worried about chris christie in 2016. he's got to handle his problems in new jersey right now before

he even has a chance to be a candidate in 2016. >> how does being tied to a scandal affect somebody's fund-raising abilities? can it still somehow in the world of any p.r. is good p.r. be seen as an asset? >> first of all, those critics better watch out or there could be a traffic jam in their future. number one. >> he's not quite that powerful yet. >> well, nobody wants to be. the second issue addressing your fund-raising is that there is a real muscling going on now within the republican party. and the democrats are being perceived as the ones who are going after chris christie. but i can tell you that there are an awful lot of people competing for the affections of the republican party when it comes to the presidential race are seeing to it that the story is kept alive for those of us in the media. >> point in fact when chris christie went down to florida right after this whole scandal broke, in fact, they had record attendance. people were even more interested to hear from the governor. >> "brain trust," stay right there. up next, don't count him out

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we are back with our brain trust. here is where we tackle the stories of the week that have been overlooked and underplayed. first vice president joe biden appears to have dipped more than a toe into 2016 presidential waters yesterday with this interview on cnn. let's listen. >> there may be reasons i don't run, but there's no obvious reason for me why i think i should not run. >> hmm, will he or won't he? anton, let's start with you. >> i think it's pretty obvious this is hillary clinton's time to run for president. joe biden wants to make sure if she decides not to do it, he is

the current vice president, which makes him the likely next person to be president of the united states. he's trying to position himself to take advantage of the tonight. >> bob and amy? >> if he would get elected, we could prepare for the longest inaugural address in history. >> when i saw that clip, i cracked pup. i think of any reasons why i wouldn't run for president. >> the new jersey hospital association is training and hiring veterans to get jobs to help other veterans enroll in coverage under the affordable care act. very important story to see our men and women come home and struggling to find jobs and now getting opportunities to be trained and help others enroll. it's a great job in new jersey.

>> bob? >> well, the story has to do with victoria newland, who is now the assistant secretary of state for european affairs. she was recorded on a phone call with the ambassador to the ukraine talking about the russians trying to impose their will and the pleas for the european union to get involved when she said somewhat indelicately blank the e.u. that's not the story. the story is the united states exercising some amazing saint . >> amy? >> wendy davis, she's running

for the democratic position of governor of texas. she's came out in favor of guns. a lot of democrats in the state of texas are very concerned about this position but the nra doesn't believe her. they think this is election year posturing. but i think it's an interesting twist on who is wendy davis and what does he stand for? >> posturing in texas? come on. to be very honest with you, it's not often that i agree with the nra, but this really sounds like she's really trying to win over as many of the people she can in texas. >> and also underplayed in this story about wendy davis, her republican opponent, jack abbott, outraised her 3-1 in january. >> there are lots of southern democrats who carry guns and believe and support the second amendment. this is not a big deal to me. she's really building a war chest in texas.

it should be really interesting races in november. >> anton, you said before that chris christie, a new jersey republican would be a texas southern democrat. does that mean that wendy davis, the southern democrat, would be a new jersey republican? >> that's a good point. it could be. i don't know about gun laws in new jersey but in the south people take our guns very seriously and we don't want anyone else taking them away from us. thank you all. >> thank you. >> the olympic flame shining bright over sochi where the u.s. women's hockey team was already in action today. as erika hill reports, the team is led by a woman with an impressive resumé before the team even stepped on the ice. >> katie stone is no stranger to the world stage. >> that a way! >> see coached the u.s. national women's hockey team since 2010,

all while continuing to head the women's program at harvard. >> middle, middle, middle. >> where he set ncaa records with more than 400 win bus, but coaching this team is different. >> it's a little crazy, i got to be honest. but it's awesome. it's getting a little bit more exciting every day. >> team usa prepared for sochi by playing practice games like this one against the northern psy cyclones, a men's hockey team. >> we may or may not win these games, but when we get to sochi, we'll know that we played better teams. >> you're the first woman to coach a u.s. hockey team. does it feel different? >> it seems different. there are different conversations to, have

difference ways of motivating them and connecting with them and that's important. >> there's never a time i step on the ice i don't feel prepared. every instance in a game in split seconds they have a prepared for. i've never been coached like that before and i love it. >> reporter: stone chose this olympic team carefully, focusing on more than just their skills on the ice. >> whether it's their character, their work ethic, their willingness to block a shot, we have each one here for a different reason. >> reporter: there's also a mix of experience, which helps to balance the team. 31-year-old julie chu is the oldest. sochi will be her fourth shot at olympic gold. 19-year-old lee is the youngest. she was just 3 the last time the u.s. won gold in the sport's 1998 olympic debut. what's your goal? >> it's to play hockey. we're not working this hard to

be second, we're working this hard to be first. >> thank you for watching. i'll be back tomorrow starting at 3:00 p.m. eastern time. but first "disrupt with karen finney." have a great saturday. campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. [ m'm... ] great taste. [ tapping ] sounds good. campbell's healthy request. m'm! m'm! good.® we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. and we're here to help start yours.

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♪ ♪ hello, disrupters! the chris christie saga takes another series of twists and turns and makers and takers talk on display again this week, all coming up. >> he's done it again, the government of new jersey has denied being the governor of new jersey. >> politico.com breaks the news he was a terrible guy in high school. a hit piece. the hit piece should not be attributed to governor chris christie. >> so bush league, so immature. >> how can we know it