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 escalating this.

>> dunn faces charges of first-degree murder in davis' death along with attempted muir for the teens inside the suv with davis. dunn maintains the shooting was in self-defense. he described what he perceived as davis threatening him with a weapon. >> he slammed something against the door and said, yeah, i'm going to [ bleep ] kill you. because when i asked him are you talking about me, he was just saying i should kill that mf. he says, yeah, i'm going to [ bleep ] kill you. i look and he's showing me a gun and he's threatening me. >> no gun was ever found at the scene. dunn started to get emotional especially when discussing his

fiance who was at the convenient store in jacksonville the night of the shooting. >> did you ever see anybody throw the shotgun or deadly weapon away? >> no. >> and at that point, if they have a shot gun, what kind of sight do they have to you? >> right, this is where rhonda starts coming into my mind because i know she's heard the shots. i know rhonda. it wasn't just my life i was worried about now. >> lisa bloom is a legal analyst and also the author of suspicion nation, the inside story of the trayvon martin injustice and why we continue to repeat it. i want to play a little bit more here of the cross-examination of dunn. especially when he asks dunn

about why he asked davis are you talking about me. take a listen. >> so you thought the best course of action is to roll down your window and say, excuse pieme, are you talking about me? >> correct. >> that's what you you felt the best idea was? >> yes. you know, nothing for nothing, but, you know, he could have been singing. i don't want to assume that they were talking about killing me if they were singing. >> the truth is, sir, when you rolled down your window and said are you talking about me, you were challenging this 17-year-old boy. >> i don't believe so. i put the infliction on me. >> lisa, why is that significant whether he challenged that 17-year-old boy? >> because the prosecution's theory is not that michael dunn acted in self-defense as he maintains but that he acted in aerpg, th

anger, that he shot into that car because he's being disrespected. and when you shoot spepintentioy in anger that is first-degree murder. >> he told police the muse ib was not playing when he pulled up next to the suv and you recall over the weekend, his fiance testified that he said that he hated that thug music. his words. this is what he said today. >> they asked you was the music playing. >> and it wasn't. if they had music on, it wasn't heavy base where i would notice it. >> but it was loud enough to be thug music, right? >> that's what rhonda characterized. i don't recall saying that. >> you don't recall saying i hate that thug music? >> i would have said anything, i would have called it rap crap. >> why is that important, lisa bloom, how he perceived that rap crap? >> well, i think what we're really getting close to is the racial issue in this case which

as in the george zimmerman case, prosecutors seem really afraid to talk about at all. but when you talk about thug music in the con test of a car full of four young african-american males, i think there is a racial tinge, but they're afraid to get too close to it. in this case, there are three african-americans on the nates r jury. and i think that makes a difference. >> are you getting the impression at all that the prosecution has learned lessons from that zimmerman trial that it's now applying to this trial? >> well, not enough in my opinion. my book is very sharply critical of how the state of florida bungled the trayvon martin case. but they have learned one lesson and that is they didn't put on michael dunn's videotaped statement to the police or any prior statements, so they forced him to testify. that was something they did not do in the zimmerman case. and george zimmerman never did testify. so michael dunn has been on the stand, he had to to claim self against.

although i have to say he has stuck to his story that he felt threatened, that he saw a gun, he has stuck to that on cross-examination. the biggest problem he has, no begun w gun was ever found. >> how does he come across to you as a witness? >> i think he comes across pretty well. he's an intelligent guy, he's reviewed all of the evidence. he even argues ballistics in the case because they do not support his story that jordan davis got out of the car and was threatening him. so i think he's had a lot of time to review all the evidence. but he sticks to his central story. and for the jury to believe him, they have to believe that the youngsters in that car threw away the gun and that the police never found it. i think that is a tough story for the jury to have to believe. >> lisa bloom, thanks as always. in the past hour, president obama and french president hollande wrapped up that sweeping joint news conference at the white house in the east

room where president hollande is making a state visit today. the news conference followed talks between the two leaders on you issues including nsa spying, its nuclear program and how to end the nearly 3-year-old civil war in syria. this is what president obama said about syreayria and the cut peace talks. >> the geneva process recognizes that if we're going to solve this problem, we have to find a political solution. we will continue to commit to not just pressure the assad regime, but also get countries like russia and iran to recognize that it is in nobody's interests to see the continuing blood shed and collapse that is taking place inside that country. right now we don't think that there is a military solution per se to the problem. but the situation is fluid.

>> joining me a national reporter for the post. cath rip, let me start with you. it was wide ranging. syria, iran, nsa spying to hit the three top topics there. what was your major takeaway from the news conference this afternoon? >> well, there wasn't anything surprising. this was a trip that came at a very good time for hollande. he is languishing really in the pits of unpopularity in france. but he's a president with huge ambitions for france's role in the world. so we were talking about parts of the world this much he sin w france playing a crucial role and where he's confident that french hard power and french diplomacy will both be tee sis sif and that he can build that case. >> and this is a rare sight for this administratiadministration.

this is the sixth state dinner. the first visit by french head of state in roughly 20 years. what was the major takeaway for you? >> i think that's right, you do have a president from france dealing with in some ways many personal issues and you've heard the fremp prench press try to dt on that. but you have a president in obama saying they're looking for political solutions. the problem is they don't have political partners in russia or iran for dealing with those. so again, you see sort of the pagea pageantry. we haven't seen a french president here in 20 years and the state dinner being a forum the reagans particularly liked. nancy reagan telling michelle obama very early on to have as

many state dinners as possible. so i felt this was an interesting moment and a contrast between where america was in terms of french relations back in the day when we talked about freedom fries. >> katherine, i want to play something the president said. president obama was talking about ongoing negotiations with iran over its nuclear program. >> i don't think the concern during the course of these negotiations is whether or not we'll be making too many concessions. i think the concern will be whether or not iran can recognize the opportunity to prove in a verifiable fashion to the world in ways that scientists and technical experts can confirm that any nuclear program they have is for peaceful purposes. and the facts are what will guide these negotiations.

>> there is also the issue as you know of the united states warning some french companies about rushing to do business in iran now that thoseaeen eased. some 200 french business people went to tehran recently. secretary kerry saying that does not help matters. what more you can tell us about that? >> well, france has a long history of not doing what the united states tells to do. and france has a long history with iran that is quite it distt from everybody else's. when everybody else shunned, fraps maintafrance main titaine relationships. but one thing clear about the french mentality, the one way do you not get french on side is to appear to give them orders. and i actually interviewed hollande just before he set out for this trip and he talked

about coming to washington as an equal. so whether we are talking about if the role france can play in iran or whether we're talking about syria or whether we're talking about the ongoing trade talks, for him, it doesn't matter that he is essentially quite a weak president coming over in international terms, he sees himself as having a strong hand and that's the only way to deal with him. >> all right. that state dinner tonight will be i understand on the south lawn under a tent. mary j. blige will be providing entertainment. i did not know she was french. who knew. >> and we were trying to figure out, because tip being will you they like to invite people to state dinners who have ties to the country. and we were trying to figure out who are they going to invite. shia labeouf? >> mary j.. >> apparently she has french ties. >> thanks to both of you. do appreciate your time. still ahead here,

catastrophic and historic. just two of the words that forecasters are using to describe this latest round of winter weather that is set to wallop the south overnight into tomorrow. >> heooer here we goep again, g, but this time it may be more serious. plus with no more options, house speaker john boehner throws in the towel announcing that he is going to put forward a clean bill tonight. conservative drgroups wasting n time hitting back. also new comments from attorney general eric holder today urging states to change laws that prevent felons from voting after they have done their time. >> these restrictions are not only unnecessary and unjust, they're also counter productive. >> should felons be allowed to regain their voting rights? a "news nation" gut check.

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still ahead here on a tuesday afternoon, a rally on wall street as janet yellen makes her first public comments as fed chair. what she said that is moving the markets. also, an interstate egg fight. missouri is now suing california over a law that regulates the living conditions of chickens. the battle pits new animal protections against the economic interests of farmers. it's a fascinating debate. we'll dig into that later and talk to the california democrat who wrote the law. (meow mix jingle) right on cue.

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it has been a week now since sandra ta sandra fall being announced she'll be running for a seat. fluke as you know became famous back in 2012 when congressional republicans prohibited her from testifying at a hearing during the contraception mandate discussion. she later testified about birth control coverage and the rest is history. thanks so much for being with me. you considered running for retiring congressman henry waxman. there he is. you considered running for that seat. what made you decide to run for the state senate instead? >> ultimately for me this was a decision about where can i create the most effective

change, do the most to serve the constituents of los angeles, of beverly hill, west hollywood, santa monica, down to the south bay. and i believe that from my work from my experience working with legislators in sacramento and also advocating in d.c. that being a came men toe is somewhere where we can create progressive change in a more effective way than d.c. is able to right now. sacramento is not perfect and i want to bring a fresh perspective and new ideas about how that system should work. but that is a place where we can create change that will hopefully roll across the country. california is a model for legislation in other states and it's a way to do the most for high constituents to further the work that i've always done and to have a big impact. >> how concerned are you, or are you concerned at all about being able to create your own political identity? are you worried that folks are only going to associate you with all the nastiness that came out

after you testified with rush limbaugh and all? >> i'm very proud of the fact that i stood up and didn't back down when i was personally attacked, but more importantly, that i stood up for women across this country for their access to health care. and so i am very proud of how i conducted myself during those difficult times. but the more i talk to voters and constituents in my district, the more they understand that that is far from the most important thing that i've done in my career. i've been working on legislative advocacy on issues of minimum wage and living wage, gay rights, human trafficking, of course gender equality, a whole smorgasbord of social justice for ten years now and those are the kind of victories that i am most produce of, far more than anything that has received more press coverage. >> we'll leave it there. sandra fluke, thank you so much for your time. still ahead here, chris

christie on the road, but unable to escape bridgegate. he's in chicago right now struggling to keep the focus on the work that he's trying to do for the republican governors association. also house speaker john boehner announcing today that he is going to give up trying to get something in return for raising the debt ceiling. >> the fact we don't have 218 votes. when you don't have 218 vote, you have nothing. >> the big question now, how many republicans will vote for that clean debt ceiling bill. t. 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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[ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. [ sneezes ] i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! wall street reacting with a rally to the first public comments by janet yellen as is fed chair. the dow up almost 200. s&p up. and the tech friendly nasdaq also up, as well. yellen who took over as fed chair on february 1st started delivering the fed semiannual report to congress. she gave a positive assessment of the economy. she also embraced the policies

of ben bernanke. >> my colleagues on the fomc and i anticipate that economic activity and employment will expand at a moderate pace this year and next. the unemployment rate will continue to decline toward its longer run sustainable level. let me emphasize that i expect a great deal of continuity in the fmoc approach to monetary policy. >> co-anchor of cnbc's "power lunch". sue, it seems like the street thoroughly enjoyed what janet yellen had to say. >> it's a big sigh of relief because this was her first testimony as the new chairperson and wall street thought that they knew that she was aligned with ben bernanke, but once they heard her testimony and her reand you are shns rass that the fed will stay the course in cutting back on its stimulus because the economy is getting better, they were very relieved that basically they have another

what they call dove on the fed which means that they will keep monetary policy steady and slightly lower and looser than what is called a hawk, which would be someone who would favor higher interest rates or tighter monetary policy. so as a result, we have a triple digit gain in the dow jones, really across the board. so a pretty good day and wall street is very relieved. >> what else stood out for you from yellen's testimony? >> well, she said that the only way that they would change course is if there was a noticeable deterioration in the economy. and she stressed the word noticeable. because as you know, we've gotten a couple kind of squishy employment numbers for the last couple of months. everybody was trying to figure out whether or not the fed would have to pour more money into the system. and she seemed to indicate that unless there was a continued deterioration of not just the employment number, but of other economic gauges, that the fed would be there if they need to be there and prop up the economy. but unless we get a big

deterioration in the economy which she does not expect, that they basically will stay the course. and that is exactly what wall street wanted to hear. in addition when she said in the sound bite you you ran that she expects a lot of continuity on the federal reserve board, that is a relief, as well. because it's always difficult for wall street to discern where fed policy stands when you get a divided vote. when you have a unanimous fed, it's a strong signal to wall street and others that the fed is all on the same page. that they're all going in the same direction. not that you don't want discussion, but it's usually a relief to financial markets when you have a unanimous fed vote on policy. >> all right, sue herera, thank you for that insight. folks, we're also following a developing story that is moving the markets, as well. in just a few hours, the house will be voting on a clean debt limit bill after a surprising concession by republicans this morning. speaker john boehner announcing he would be bringing up the

clean debt bill to a vote, giving in to democrat demands that no spending cut provisions be attached to such a bill. boehner saying the gop will supply a, quote, minimum number of votes to help democrats pass the legislation, admitting republicans don't have the leverage to oppose the president on this issue. >> when you218 votes, you have nothing. so the president driving up the debt. the president wanting to do nothing about the debt that is occurring will not engage in our long term spending problem. and so let his party give him the debt ceiling increase that he wants. >> so the house vote will now take place tonight instead of tomorrow as originally thought because of the impending snowstorm due to pummel the east coast. and it represents a political victory for president obama who has taken a hard line against negotiating over the debt limit, but for the speaker, it may come at a cost.

one prominent conservative group already calls on house gop members oppose him should he run for speaker next year. mark murray joins me now. mark, break this down for us here. was this move by the republican leadership, was it unexpected? >> it wasn't hfr-i think it was expected at the end of the day. and here is one of the reasons why democrats held the cards in this debt ceiling standoff. you have some republicans who would vote against any type of debt ceiling increase even if republicans were able to get something in return. some tea party republicans say, look, i don't position we should ever increase the debt ceiling. when you take those people off the table, all of a sudden republicans don't have the 217, 218 votes just to pass something by their caucus alone, which requires democratic votes. and the obama administration changed their strategy on this. in 2011, they said, look, republican, we'll negotiate with you, we want the debt ceiling increased, what would you guys like in return and of course we ended up seeing the debt ceiling

standoff from 2011. after president obama's re-election victory, they said we're not going to negotiate on the debt ceiling anymore, we're happy to have budget negotiations outside the parameters of raising the get ceiling, but we're not going to negotiate. and it seems that this tactic has worked for the obama white house. >> this is what conservatives if you said, a group that works to elect tea party candidates to the senate, this is what they said today in an e-mail to supporters in part. quote, john boehner must be replaced as speaker of the house. unless we install a new leader who will actually go on offense, democrats will never fear us. and we will never have any leverage. we also heard this afternoon from the club for growth, they have encouraged members to vote against raising the debt ceiling. saying this is going to be a part of their scorecard. is the speaker in trouble now, mark? >> i'm not sure. and craig, the biggest result from the speaker is going to be looking at the midterm elections and making sure his house of

representatives keep their majority and that the senate republicans are poised to perhaps take over that chamber. and that is the way to look at this through a political lens. one of those groups you mentioned said they wanted to go on offense. that is probably a sure fire way to upset the 2014 midterm apple cart and turn that over and perhaps give democrats the boost that they were looking for. but there is a silver lining for all republicans in this. almost kind of a long term victory for them. you look at the overall federal deficit, $514 billion down from $1.4 trillion in 2009. that means the deficit has gone down substantially. some of that is due to the economy. some of it has been due to increased taxes that have gone on. but a lot of it is also due to the fights over the budget and republicans came in saying we fought the good fight, we have reduced the deficit, now it's time to declare victory and go home. folk, we're breaking news

right now in florida where the defense has rested its case in the murder trial against michael do dunn, accused of the shooting and killing jordan davis. he has been on the stand virtually all day, more than three hours testifying in his own defense, sticking to his story that he acted out of fear for his life. during that testimony, dunn described what he perceived as davis threatening him with a weapon. no govern wun was ever found. the coconut maine tail in new lobster in paradise -- amazing! [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's lobsterfest! with the year's largest selection of lobster entrees, you won't find choices like these anywhere else. my favorite is lobster lover's dream! the dueling lobster tails are both winners. [ male announcer ] two maine lobster tails, one crab-stuffed, and one topped with savory garlic shrimp. nobody does lobster like red lobster. [ male announcer ] hurry in to red lobster.

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the storm is starting to hit parts of the south today and already more than 900 flights across the country have been canceled as a result. the worst of it, though, will come tomorrow i withe area spe l especially hard. and it will make it way up authority dumping 18 inches along the way. georgia officials insist they are better prepared this time.ig the way. georgia officials insist they are better prepared this time. the state of emergency includes 88 counties or about half the state of georgia. meanwhile, in north carolina, the governor there also declared a state of emergency this morning. >> here we go again. but this time, it may be even more serious. it's probably going to be more unr un unpredictab unpredictable, but our goal is to be overprepared and underwell

himmed. >> mike seidel is standing by for us in greenville, south carolina. the national weather service is using some very strong language to talk about this storm. calling it, quote, mind boggling, if not historical. is that unusual? >> reporter: it is because of you how unusual this setup is down here in the south. we don't often get wintry weather and the setup is perfect for not only some ice, but a lot of ice. and you mentioned the area from atlanta along i-20, augusta, columbia, all the way up towards the raleigh area that band in there, somebody will get half an inch, maybe an inch of ice. that will paralyze the power grid and the area could be without power for days. the one good thing is as we get past this storm, most of the country will go into a very big warm-up next week. that will take an edge off the chilly weather after a very long cold and snowy winter for many. here in greenville up towards

charlotte, up towards the roanoke area of virginia, we're looking for mostly snow, maybe some sleet. in fact 6 to 10 inches of snow, this could an top ten snowfall certainly in february here in the up state of south carolina. the interesting call is metro atlanta. north side, more sleet than freezing rain. south and east side, more ice. of course if you want your power to stay organization you donn, ice. so an interesting situation out of atlanta on i-20. but again augusta, columbia, a parts of the atlanta metro, the especialpicenter for what could worst ice storm in a long time. and as you mentioned, it's all heading your way, but it will be either rain or snow. mostly snow for the big cities in the northeast on thursday. that will move out and as i mentioned, reinforcing the fact that the long range looks very promising for many who are just sick and tired of what we've been through for the past couple of months. >> mike, really quickly here, you're in greenville. i went to school not far from

there in spartanburg. where are you, what part greenville are you in? just curious. >> reporter: well, i actually worked here for five years at the nbc affiliate. i'm right off 385. i worked there in the '80s. you were probably still in elementary school. but right here on 385 and haywood road near the hay wood mall, if you remember that. >> oh, yeah, remember it well. >> reporter: what college were you at? >> wallford college. >> oh, yeah. i love that campus. >> mike, thank you. be safe. missouri's attorney general is suing the state of california essentially over chickens and eggs. in 2010, california passed a law barring eggs from being sold there that come from thens in cages that don't comply with new size standards.hens in cages that don't comply with new size standards.

farmers will have to make the coops larger if they want to sell their eggs in california. >> california has every right in the world to decide what type of housing they have for their chickens. but to close off the california market to the missouri based producers unless we expand our chicken houses is a breach of the u.s. commerce clause. >> joining me now, jared huffman of california. he actually wrote the legislation while he was in california state legislature. congressman, good to see you. first of all, let me get your response to the suit. >> well, i don't think it's a very serious lawsuit. the truth is states have every right to set their own health and safety and animal welfare standards. that has been upseld by t selhe courts and california just says they want all eggs to comply with the minimal standards that the voters established back in 2008. >> and the attorney general is

worried about the kind of press departme precedent that your law would set. >> they could tell us that very with to pick our soy beans by hand or move it in solar powered trucks. >> we're not talking about arc sought or a smaller state. we're talking about one of the largest states in the country. missouri farmers, i understand it, sell about a third of their eggs for california. and would cost about $120 million for the farmers to comply with the law. how fair is that? >> well, it's very fair because what california has done is said that anybody that wants to sell eggs in our state has to meet these minimal hen housing standards. these are standards passed for human health and safety and also for animal welfare. and a state's right to do that has been upseld ti selheld time again.

recently under litigation it was upheld. so we're not requiring anything different that isn't required of california's own egg producers. that is fair. >> does it put california farmers at all at a disadvantage with egg farmers in other states by having to shell out money more to expand their cages? >> no, it's actually the ob sit. what would put them at a disadvantage is if missouri were to shall how prevail, i don't position they will, in this lawsuit which would create a double standard. it would say that california can require these standards of its own egg producer, but out of state who don't want for set high standards can swoop in and steal the market. that is not right. so i'm very confident this lawsuit will be defeated and we should move on from here. >> congressman, really quickly, for folks who may not have been following the story very closely, what exactly was the impetus for the new law?

>> in 2008, california voters overwhelming passed an initiative that said that these battery cages where egg-laying hens are confined in incredibly concentrated conditions, they can never move around and spread their wings, california voters said we want a hire standard for eggs in our state. as written, it could have been interpreted to have a loophole that applied that standard to only eggs produced in california. so i introduced a law that passed bipartisan, signed by a republican governor in 2010. that's what this is about. missouri egg producers want to skirt the standards that california consumers have set for eggs in our state. >> congressman, thank you so much. it's a fascinating debate. we'll continue to watch this thing. do appreciate your time. >> thanks for having me. a congressional report on last year's navy yard shooting tops our look at stories around the news nation today. the report by the house oversight committee says federal investigators often don't have vital information about the people they're looking into

because local authorities either refuse to give them the information or only limited amount of information. access to raw police data could have made a difference in the shoot-out. and a new poll out today shows most americans want to go back to normal relations with cuba. it finds 56% of people nationwide are now in favor of changing the policy. that number jumps to 73% of floridians. those who support the economic embargo on cuba say the poll is politically motivated and was done with poor methodology. still ahead, our gut check on this tuesday afternoon. eric holder urging states to repeal laws that ban felons from voting even after doing their time.

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