workplace. i wonder if you can first explain the delay and also talk about whether over the long term you see a future where health insurance is less tied to the workplace? >> well -- >> i'm sorry. >> if i may for president hollande, you both talked about the pursuit of the trans atlantic trade agreement. i wonder if you have followed the domestic battle here over fast track authority and that raises questions in your mind whether such a deal could be ratified? >> you know, the announcement yesterday was fairly straightforward. the overwhelming majority of firms in this country already provide health insurance to employees and are doing the right thing. the small percentage that do not, many of them are very small and already exempted by law. you have some small category of folks who don't provide health insurance, who aren't exempted by law. they are supposed to make sure

they meet their responsibilities so that their employees aren't going to the emergency room, jacking up everybody's else's costs and the employers end up not having any responsibility for that. what we did yesterday was simply to make a adjustment in terms of their compliance because for many companies, just the action of comply,ing mid-size, it may take them time if they are operating in good faith. we want to shamake sure -- the e of the law is no to the punish them, but they are eithering providing het insurance to their employees or that they are helping to bear the cost of their employees getting health insurance. and that's consistent actually with what we've done in the individual mandate. the vast majority of americans want health insurance.

many of them couldn't afford it. we provide them tax credits but even with the tax credits they still can't afford it and we have hardship exemptions, phase-ins to make sure that nobody is unnecessarily burdened, that's not the goal, the goal is to make sure that folks are healthy and have decent health care. and so this was a example of administratively us making sure that we're smoothing this transition, giving people the opportunities to get right with the law, but recognizing that they are going to be circumstances in which people are trying to do the right thing and it may take a little time. our goal here is not to punish folks. our goal is to make sure that we've got people who can count on the financial security, that health insurance provides. where we have companies that are trying to work with us, we want to make sure we're working with

them as well. and that's going to be our attitude about our -- the law generally, how do we make it work for the american people and for their employers? an optimal sort of way? what was the second part -- >> long term. >> long-term in terms of employer based. well, look, we have a unique system compared to many parts of the world, including france, where partly because of historical accident and some decisions that fdr made during war time back in world war ii, our health care has been much more tied to employers. that's not the case in most other developed countries. it has worked for a long time but what is also true is that it has meant for a lot of u.s. companies, a greater burden,

more costs, relative to their international competitors. that's a challenge. it's also meant that folks who were self-employed, for example, or independent contractors, weren't always getting the same deal as somebody who -- somebody who had a job. it meant that folks who worked for small businesses sometimes had more trouble getting decent premiums and decent rates than folks with large companies. there was -- it just created a great amount of unevenness in the system. i don't think that an employer based system should be replaced any time soon, but what the affordable care act does do, is it gives people some flexibility. it says if i'm working at a big company like ibm or google and i decide i want to start my own company, that i'm not going to be inhibited because i'm worried

about keeping health insurance for myself and family. i can go make that move. if i'm a a woman whose husband is a farmer -- and i would really like to work with him on the farm but we can't afford health insurance on our own, so i've been working at the county clerk's office for the last ten years. now maybe i've got the opportunity to no longer work in a different job and instead work on that farm. and increase the likelihood of economic success for my family. it's giving people more flexibility and more opportunity to do what makes sense for them. enultimately that's going to be good for our economy. but, we understood from the start that there were going to be some challenges in terms of transition. when you've had one system where a whole lot of people did not have any health insurance whatsoever for a very long period of time and we finally

passed a law to fix that, we knew there were going to be some bumps and transitions in that process and that's what we're working with all of the stake holders involved to address. you had a -- >> translator: the question on the trade partnership, you wanted to know when this partnership would be signed? we discussed with president obama in the way of the debate currently under way in congress, but as long as principles have been set up, as long as mandates have been decided and the interests of everyone are known, speed is not of the essence. what we need is to find a solution.

of course, speedy agreement would be a good thing because otherwise there won't be fears and threats. so if we are acting in good faith and if we respect each other and want to promote growth where we can go faster. and i think now we'll hear a question from mr. post, since last year, foreign investments in france have been crumbling and we are not benefitting in france from the world recovery. president obama, do you think that mr. hollande doesn't do much to encourage american investors to invest in france. mr. hollande, you will meet businessmen so then you are a socialist and think the world of finance is an enemy and tax wealth at 75%. how on earth are you going to convince businessmen here and

what will you tell the head of the employer's union in france who said here in washington he wanted no compensation for the labor cost cuts? >> it's good to know that, you know, reporters have something in common in france and the united states. you know. >> translator: these would be? which one would these be? >> i think that all of us were traumatized by the crisis of 2007-2008. and you know, united states has to take responsibility for its role in that crisis. we made some quick decisions that allowed us to stabilize the financial markets and begin the

long process of recovery, but it was painful and it was slow and you know, it was only because of the incredible resilience of the american people and businesses as well as i believe some well timed policies that we were able to begin a growth process that we've now sustained for some time and we've brought our unemployment rate down. but europe has a different set of challenges because of the eurozone and because of the nature of shared currency but not completely shared governance and super advisory authorities, you know, that has created some particular difficulties that francois and others had to deal with that we did not have to deal with as a country with a reserve currency that could make

some independent choices. despite that, i think europe actually has made enormous strides over the last year. france in particular has taken some stuff structural reforms that i think you know, are going to help them be more competitive in the future. and you know, i think all of us in the develop the world are having to balance the need for growth and competitiveness to be what we say in america, lean and mean, and make sure that we are maximizing efficiency as well as innovati innovation, but also do it in a way that allows for the benefits of growth to be broad based so workers are all benefitting from some sense of security and decent wages and rising incomes

and the ability to retire securely. and so each country is going to have different circumstances. the kinds of reforms we need in this country right now revolve around things like investing in infrastructure where we have not made the kinds of strides i would like to see and would boost growth even faster. we'll have to invest in skills training, which every country is going to have to do because businesses will locate where they think they have the most capable highly skilled workers. we still have to do more on the innovation front as innovative as we are, i think we're still under investing in research and development. so america has some inher ent strengths but also have areas where we've got to make progress. and i think francois would be the first to say france is in the same position. i would certainly encourage american companies to look at

opportunities for investment in france. i'd encourage them even more to look at opportunities to invest money back in the united states. and i would welcome any french companies who want to come here to do business. but one of the great things about our commercial relationship, which is also part of the reason why i think the trans atlantic trade partnership could be valuable. a lot of the growth is in small and medium sized businesses. they are the ones who could stand to benefit greatly from export. they don't have the ability to decide where to invest. they are going to be in their home countries. if we can open up trade opportunities for them, because they don't have a lot of lawyers or accountants and can't move locations and open up new plants to different places, if we expand trade opportunities for them, that could mean jobs and growth in france.

it could mean jobs and growth here in the united states and so i'm hopeful that we can get this deal, which will be a tough negotiation. but i'm confident we can actually get it done. >> translator: france is one of the world's countries that receives the largest amount of foreign investments. one of the world countries that is the most open to foreign capitals and i want to strengthen and enhance this attractiveness of france. if you look at physical investments and real investments, not just financial investments, not transfers between companies, if you look at genuine investments in france, factories, job creation, in spite of the crisis in 2013, we maintain the level of

investment in france, which bears witness to the confidence in france in france's talent know how, companies and this is nothing new. there are more than 2,000 american companies that are working in france. employing 500,000 people in my country. and the united states of america, one of the main investors in france. and i hope that this trend will be confirmed and strengthened in the future. barack is perfectly right, i have nothing to fear from the french investments here in the united states. there are many french companies here in the united states and they create 500,000 jobs, not all in the silicon valley but everybody where the united states. when they invest in the u.s., this is good for the united states and for france.

i don't have this vision of focusing on protection and blaming anyone who invests abroad because it won't bring about new technologies and know how. it will be useful, especially if they come back. we need to make efforts when it comes to attracting business. and soon i shall invite many foreign companies to take part, to attractivety council which we call the invest in france council to see what can be done to improve the situation in france, including when it comes to tax stability. this is what is very often referred to as stability of rules because companies wasn't stability first and foremost. but, american companies that have operations in france ask them why they stay, why they

invest in france, it is press sisly because they find french society particularly welcoming for them. you also asked me a question on a statement that was made by mr. gat ez, the employer's union president on what i call the responsibility factor. this has nothing to do with the declaration of statements. what is the responsibility pact? i'm explaining mostly to american journalists because french journalists are familiar with it. this responsibility pact is about mobilizing the entire country to reach one goal. barack obama mentioned the american economy's resilience following the crisis. well there comes a point after an ordeal you have to be stronger then you were before the ordeal, before the crisis, you need to be able to mobilize

more strength and more energy. you need to be able to make sure that the economy focuses not on what was before but on what will be after. this is precisely is at the very root of this recovery in the american economy. companies mobilized their workers to go ahead and this is precisely the spirit of this responsibility pact we have, modernized our labor markets and we have modernized and updated vocational training. there's a whole list of things that we have done and are doing, but there are other things we can do we want to strengthen competitivety and streamline regulations, create more visibility in terms of tax regime, but everyone has to do its bit. the state is going to make an

effort. there are tax breaks that have already been granted. we also need to look at fiscal policies in order to have commitments that have to be made. these commitments need to be shared by companies and businesses in order to create jobs in order to improve vocational training, to fight against the outsourcing of activities to promote investment. and i hope that discussions will move along quickly between employers unions and employees unions because this is a prerequisite for confidence. it is true of international relations but also true of the economy. >> thank you, everybody. >> i'm peter alexander in for andrea mitchell.

you have been watching president obama and president hollande, no lack of english and french in the course of that conversation right now. joining us for immediate analysis, katy kay, anchor for bbc world news america and ms nbc contributor for the atlantic, steve clemens. steve, i'll begin with you, among the topics, the spiraling crisis in syria. the president said the state of syria is crumbling and expressed in his words enormous frustration about the situation in syria, directing most of his ire at russia as the lone as he described it holdout in the situation right now. let's play what we heard from the president a moment ago. >> the geneva proses recognizes that if we're going to solve this problem, then we have to find a political solution. we are going to continue to commit to not just pressure the

assad regime but also to get countries like russia and iran to recognize that it is in nobody's interest to see the continuing bloodshed and collapse that's taking place inside that country. right now we don't think that there's a military solution per se to the problem. but, the situation is fluid -- >> steve, in many ways syria serves as the back drop for this state dinner, one of the primary reasons hollande was invited to the u.s. because in some ways the american president hung him out to dry as he was expressing supports for strikes in syria. >> you have the french president reminding all of us, they were the only ones with us when we were about to strike syria. and right now the president as you just heard, there's no military solution there. what do you do? you basically use a big spotlight and focus on those that are propping up the syrian regime, and iran and russia and russia while its hosting the

sochi olympics, while you're trying to look like a great country, you're holding up a cruel tie rant who's torturing and killing his own people and government is assaulting convoys out of homs. to a certain degree the president is using a bully pulpit to embarrass, but it's probably not going to solve this. it's going to go on and on and shows how impotent all of those watching this horror are. >> chuck todd at the east room joining us as well. i want to get a sense having sat just rows away from both presidents today. what struck you in the conversation today? >> it was the president's language on syria, called it a horrendous situation and yet at the same time says there's no military solution. i know you have been discussing that. basically they seem to both admit there's not just much they can do but they are sitting here

staring at the situation that they feel as if they have to do something. they continue to talk about geneva, you heard the president put the best possible spin, at least they showed up. that was -- how did the geneva conference go? at least everybody was in the same room. it didn't go well, he admitted those things, you could see and feel the frustration. i've talked to folks behind the scenes on this issue with syria and the president clearly is frustrated by an inability to change the game on the ground. they -- i think if there were -- if they thought there was a military solution in their minds, they would have used it by now but they really don't. that was always the problem before. they don't know what to do the day after you stop dropping bombs on assad. of course now we have an added problem, which is the opposition in many ways is seen as a national security threat if you listen to the testimony of james clapper. >> as president obama said, peace talks in his words are far

from achieving the goals of halting violence. katy, there was another moment that caught your attention as well, when the president was asked if france is replacing the uk as america's number one ally and here's what we heard the president in responding? >> it's not actually correct to say that we have a quote/unquote no spy agreement with great britain. that's no what happens -- there's no country where we have a no spy agreement. we have like other intelligence -- >> first of all, i have two daughters and they are both gorgeous and wonderful and i would never choose between them. that's how i feel about my outstanding european partners.

>> well keeping the family metaphor as we played the u.s. spying sound bite as well. it's been a tough dinner table with america and european allies of late, hasn't it? >> there have been problems. the president was wonderfully diplomatic and saying he would never choose between the french and brits. there have been problems because of the nsa spying, mr. hollande went further than the germans have during the press conference and said trust has been restored. the white house was less concerned about the outcry in france over spying on millions of french telephone calls than it was about the allegations coming to light about spying on angela merkel's phone calls. that worried them a lot more because germans don't do this kind of thing and because mrs. merkel is not known for being a kind of prima donna about this thing. when she got upset, they took that seriously.

but there's been leaking of the phone call about the ukraine, which showed there are rists between europe and america over how far to push russia on ukraine. there are definitely areas of sensitivity. my takeaway was despite all of the pretalk about this being dominated by president hollande's love life, there are very substantive and serious iss issues, iran and issues over the spying and ukraine and russia. all of that needs to be managed at the moment and in a fairly urgent time frame. and the more that the two sides on europe can sit down and deal with these things, hopefully we can get movement on those. >> chuck, we want your sense, there was a little bit of domestic politics as well with questions about another affordable care act delay here as well, for the president the u.s. president had to deal with this domestic policies and french president with his own domestic politics, that was an issue he tried to run away from.

>> he did. the french economy right now is not in good shape and this is probably the bigger driver of his own political problems, forget the personal life and all of that, that's been added to it. with the president you've heard the same thing, they believe their decision on the employer mandate is much adieu about nothing. we've heard exceptions on the individual mandate and this is all part of the implementation process. he's trying to paint a picture of nothing to see here but republicans are trying to paint a picture of there they go again. he's changing the law and trying to -- they are trying to paint a picture of these guys don't know what they are doing, you don't know what's going to come next. how do you even follow the law? i have a feeling this one is going to fade a little bit. but i don't think this employer mandate attack by the right has a lot of legs today. >> the issue of trust here an issue in the u.s. between the

american parties and u.s. and foreign allies as well. thank you both very much. chuck, thanks to have very much as well. we move to other major headlines, the international competition at the olympics is heating up in sochi, norway in the lead with 11 medals. the u.s. now has a total of 7. aloit of attention has been on american shaun white who competes in the snowboard halfpipe final that take place today, trying to win the same individual event in three consecutive winter olympic games. as you've likely heard a lot about. there are significant problems for the snowboarding competition. how are our athletes faring today? i'm joined by kevin tibbles. if we can, we want to kick things off with shaun white. this has been one of the most highly touted american athletes, let alone highly touted events of these games. the competition taking place

right about now. what do we know about the conditions and how he's performing? >> reporter: well, we know the competition is taking place, that's all the news i can bring you with regards to the half pipe. but with regards to the conditions, the motto of these games is hot, cool, yours. well, the reason hot is there for the first word is a good one. because there's been a lot of talk, not only from the half pipe but from other skiing events about the fact, you know, it's just a little bit too warm here in sochi. there's no snow down here. that's not affecting the events down here because hockey and curling and skating and everything are taking place in the arenas. but up on the mountains, peter, i spoke with alex bilodeau and he did not have a very good run the first rundown the mountain. a number of other skiers fell, some hurting themselves and he said to me today, it was really slushy, it was really soft. he had a hard time getting used

to it. then last night, we heard from people like shaun white saying, well, the half pipe was not not really up to snuff and the problem was at the bottom it was really slushy and even sandy in places. they actually pushed the events back into the evening from the afternoon in order to get the colder temperatures today and that's why those events are starting to take place right now. a lot of people say this is just something that happens normally in winter events. the problem, of course, is that the eyes of the world happen to be on these mountains in sochi right now, peter. >> tibs, they may be better served holding olympics here on the east coast of the united states. we have more frigid temperatures and plenty of snow. >> or chicago. >> reporter: your home as well. president obama announced he's going to be returning to france in june for the 70th anniversary of d-day. five years ago he joined the leaders for the 65th anniversary

for the invasion of normandy. >> i'm very pleased to announce that i have accepted francois's inhavevy tags and will travel to france in june to mark the 70th anniversary of d-day. i was there for the 65th anniversary and it was an extraordinary experience. i'm looking forward to returning to honor our remarkable veterans and reaffirm this extraordinary alliance. when you order the works you want everything. an expert ford technician knows your car's health depends on a full, complete checkup. the works. because when it comes to feeling safe behind the wheel, going the distance and saving at the pump you want it all. get our multi-point inspection with a a synthetic blend oil change, tire rotation, brake inspection and more for $29.95 or less. get a complete vehicle checkup. only at your ford dealer. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice.

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publicly caving and now gives the president, president obama, the clean vote he has been asking for all along. joining us for our daily fix, chris cillizza and managing editor of postpolitics.com and here in the studio, ruth marcus, "washington post" columnist. we'll start with you, there were real fears this would be deja vu all over again. what changed? >> well, i think john boehner's willingness to sort of push this all the way out to its logical conclusion is what changed. he tried to incentivize his conference as we've seen him do from the government shutdown to the fiscal cliff to the farm bill to virtually every piece of legislation, to get the tea party wing, 30 or 40 folks very resistant to voting for a debt ceiling increase, to get them on board. that failed. that is a song we've heard before but i think boehner just made the decision, look, we're

not going to sort of -- this brinksmanship, we're not going to go that way. the reality is and this happened with a number of major initiatives, it has to be passed with a majority of democratic vot votes. >> hopefully that's the last time we heard that phrase, full faith and credit of the american people -- >> in the sights for conservatives for month, heritage, club for growth and all of these have been targeting him. how is this going to now be a situation that he's really going to fire, isn't he? in the election year he'll be in the sights again for him. >> you know how we talk about rhinos, republican in name onlies, i think speaker boehner is a sino, speaker in name only. he does not have control of this very rambunctious caucus. he's essentially kind of handing over the -- not the reigns of

government, but the power of the speakership in this situation to the democrats. i think it's a good outcome in the sense that a clean debt ceiling vote is the right thing to do. but it puts him in an increasingly precarious position with this rambunctious crew he's got there. >> that's certainly the case. chris, also separate topic, shifting gears to christie, we're going to watch his remarks that take place this hour. these days you can't escape his problems even when he hits the road. new subpoenas and investigation into helicopter flight records, this is live pictures from chicago at the economic event he's speaking at. is the clock running down on christie's time as head of the rga? >> i think it's telling that the four candidates running for governor, four republican candidates running for governor in illinois, none will be appearing with chris christie while he visits. we saw that happen when he went to florida recently as well, rick scott, the governor there

not appearing in public with him. i still don't think he's going to step down from the rga chairmanship unless and until his hand is sort of forced. i don't think we're there yet. he's still able to raise a lot of money. the rga continues to be one of the most high performing committees in terms of raising money. i think if he starts to not be the fund raising draw or if you have a lot of candidates in high profile races saying we don't want this guy around, that's when i think he might go. >> ruth, finally this report from diane blair's archives, one of clinton's closest con fidants, do you think there's something to it or early research, what we'll see for the course of the next three years. i'm truck by the fact a new voter in 2016 wouldn't have been born when the monica lewinsky scandal first broke. >> are you trying to make me feel old? >> 1998.

diane blair is one of hillary clinton's -- one of hillary clinton's until she passed away closest friends, the notion there's a smoking gun in there that's going to derail hillary clinton is a little bit hard for me to believe. there's two things going on simultaneously. they sound contradictory, one is that for many people who were around, who have been around for a while, views about hillary clinton are baked in the cake and very unlikely that one or another comment in diane blair's archives are going to shape them. for others, this is just ancient history. they are going to judge hillary clinton based on her service as barack obama's secretary of state, maybe back to her time which now seems ancient, in the senate and going forward. so from my quick reading of the materials that were released, you can pick and choose and find good things to say and bad things to say about hillary in there but nothing earth shattering. >> there will be plenty to relitigate. >> we'll relitigate, yes.

>> we appreciate your time. thank you. >> the southeast is bracing for a blast of brutal winter weather that could have catastrophic impacts beginning tomorrow. a lot of folks on east coast and southeast are talking about, the winter weather will travel up the east koeflt bringing as much as 18 inches of snow to washington, d.c. say it ain't so. the weather channel's dave mall kof joins us from atlanta in the cross hairs as well. give us a sense how the city is preparing? >> reporter: peter, they don't want the same thing to happen that happened two weeks ago today where you remember atlanta froze solid. the governor of the state, the mayor of the city had to come on tv and publicly apologize for lack of preparation. this time, as you can see, the preparation is under hand well before the storm. you can hear the hum of the diesel engine behind me in the salt truck. they have lots of these salt trucks out.

what they are doing right now is kind of waiting for the temperature to go down. right now we're at about 38 degrees. they are waiting for it to go down to that freezing level overnight, then they are going to take this mixture of sand and gravel and salt and put it on the roadways. this time around is going to be a lot different than last time around. last time it happened during the day, during the school day, during the work day, all of the people on the roadway at the same time and that's what caused the problem they couldn't get the trucks out there to get the ice off the roadway. this time, it's going to happen in the overnight hours. so at 3:00 a.m., there's going to be no one out there except for the salt trucks, peter. but there could be a lot more ice this time. we'll have to wait and see what happens here in land before the ice gets up to you. >> the winter that never ends, dave malkoff, good luck, thanks so much. >> we need that luck up here

adds well. the run-up to the olympics has been marred with controversy on the human rights how have the athletes and spectators have been dealing with the censorship. brian, i appreciate your time today. >> thanks for having me. >> with so much hype leading up to the games about this very topic, i'm curious from you a sense of why there hasn't been any public protest? there's been no sort of moment with a fist raised or rainbow moment, however it would described. why do you think that is sns. >> there has been a lot of public attention brought to what's going on in sochi, it happens to be happening elsewhere. and i think that's in a large part because people are cognizant of what the law is and the risks they face with what the russians would call propaganda on behalf of gay rights. >> there are only seven openly gay athletes competing, one made

headlines a few days ago, ireen wust, the first openly gay athlete to win a medal taking gold, 3,000 meters on sunday. she once said she wanted to focus on her skating. do you think that's really what the effort is for a lot of these athletes right now to perform like any other athlete so to speak and have that be what the lasting impression is? >> absolutely. i think you see that from her and all of the openly gay and lesbian athletes that are there and that is what the focus should be on. they shouldn't have to worry that they are lgbt people and they could be fined or deported because of speaking out on behalf of thifr community. >> in the u.s. a lot of businesses have been using this as a significant moment, a platform to speak out. the google doodle, that tweet from cho bani yogurt as well. what is your take on how this sparked a national discussion? in some ways it's gone past the olympic games. >> it has raised the profile in

the u.s. and internationally and i'm hopeful it goes beyond the olympic games. the real test for russia when the international community eyes turn away and what happens to lgbt russians then. >> this nfl prospect, michael sam, sports illustrated putting out a cover, michael sam will be on front. we also heard -- there's the picture of the "si" coming out. we heard from an unnamed general manager who spoke out and said the following, how will drafting him affect your locker room? and i'm sorry to say when we're at this point in time, i think it's going to affect most locker rooms. a lot of guys will be uncomfortable. ten years from now, fine, but today i think being openly gay is a factor in the locker room. >> every team is full of people from all walks of life with differing opinions and backgrounds and religion, what have you, nfl team is managed to

make it work to come to work each day and do their job, which is to play football. that's what michael sam is going to do when he comes into the nfl and any team with good coaching and a welcoming environment is going to succeed with him on board. >> is this the last wall in sports? >> there certainly is more sports where folks are not out yet and we know there are other gays playing in professional sports that haven't jet had the ability to be out. i hope this is the beginning of the end of those sorts of questions. >> brian, thanks for your time, thanks for coming in. >> [ julie ] growing up my mom let me use her home as an ice rink.

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we know you're just back within the last couple of days. wanted to get a sense of your experience and with so much focus on the security leading up to these games, how did it compare to the other olympics that you've traveled to? >> i thought the security was great. obviously being with the delegation, we had official security around us and also russian bodyguards, but traveling all around the city, there were no cars on the road. it seems like there were only official vehicles and there were literally security guards at every intersection at every point that a car would go through. it seems like the perimeter of where all of the venues are is really secure and it's actually taking a long time for the audiences to get through the security blocks. >> brian, obviously you were there as an american ambassador but also as a gay american. i'm curious, if you think the message of inclusion and tolerance was adequately

delivered. if you think it resonated with the people on the ground in russia. it was certainly clear what the message was from the administration, do you think the others got a sense of that? >> i really do. that's the reason i decided to come out publicly, was to support the message of tolerance and diversity. we were doing media from all over the world, including very liberal media from russia and we had a press conference with all of us. so everybody that was there realized the message we were delivering and i think we did it in a great way and supporting the country and supporting the preside president's message. i do feel we delivered the missage. >> can i ask you about michael sam, the nfl prospect who announced publicly he is gay. he is waited to be drafting by a nfl team, the nfl locker room viewed as matchismo, are you confident that football is ready? >> it was only a matter of time. i think he's a very brave young

man. and i think that he is probably looking at, you know, playing as his job. it's silly for people to think that the locker room would be anything more than going to work in my opinion. so like i said, he's brave and you know, it's really moving forward and that's what it's all about, this guy is moving football forward. >> the u.s. grabbing the gold if we can talk figure skating, if you'll indulge me, i've been watching with my family. i want your view on this, u.s. grabbing bronze, gracie gold with a stunning performance. how is the u.s. setup for the individual events ahead? >> gracie gold's performance in the team event has got to give her so much confidence for the individual event. i think she could actually sneak in, it depends on how the other women ranked ahead of her skate, but i think if either of our

women skate really well, they could sneak in and get a medal. so i'll be glued to my seat as well. >> does anybody beat plushenko. >> i think his work is cut out for him in the individual competition it's going to be a tough ride but he performed so well for his age. he's certainly an athlete to look up to. >> brian boitano. thanks. >> we're going to be right back. financial services companies in the country? hey. yours? not anymore. come on in. [ male announcer ] by meeting you more than halfway. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing.

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some breaking news for you from chicago where new jersey governor chris christie is participating in that q&a with the economic club of chicago. christie was asked about the bridge scandal. here's what he said. >> some people who work for me made significant mistakes in judgment. and when you're the leader of that organization and you're confronted with that, the first thing that happens to you, what happened to me, was extraordinary disappointment.

extraordinary disappointment that people that i had trusted had made such bad judgments and had not told the truth. but you only have a few minutes to wallow in that disappointment and then if you're a leader, you have to try to get a handle on the story and then take decisive action, which we did by letting people go and talking to the public about it. we're in the midst of an internal review now and whatever that internal review discloses, we'll release to the public and if there is more action that needs to be taken, i'll take it. but i don't think that it will curtail for the long haul a second term agenda. >> that was governor christie. a programming note for you. the show will be preempted bio h olympic events, it will return a week from thursday. but you can follow her on facebook and twitter.

craig melvin has a look at what is next. >> developing news in the next hour, the man accused of shooting and killing a unarmed florida teen over loud music is now of now testifying for his open defen own defense. we'll take you to florida. also president obama has already declared a state of emergency in georgia. that is where forecasters are predicting a, quote, catastrophic potentially historic storm. georgia not the only state in the danger zone. we are tracking it all this afternoon. and we are also following the interstate fight between california and missouri over chicken and eggs. we'll talk to the california democrat who wrote the law that missouri is now suing over. all next on news nation oig. uhhh.

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i'm craig melvin. the "news nation" is following developing news in florida. this is a live look inside the courtroom where jurors have now heard more than three hours of testimony from michael dunn, the man accused of killing a teen over a dispute over loud music. he is being cross-examined by the prosecution. earlier today he had a chance to give his account of what he says happened the nice jordan davis died. >> i asked for a common courtesy, hey, can you you turn that down, please. if they would have said fu, we're not doing it, that's basically what they did. they turned it off, turned it back on. i wasn't going to ask them again. i was done. i asked them for a common courtesy. they gave it. i said thank you. and that was the end of it. even when they turned it back organization that was the end of it. that was jordan davis who kept