five more games including the sochi debut of the u.s. men's team, they take on solvakia. for jeremy roenick, i'm kathryn tappen. we'll see you tomorrow. good wednesday. this is the news nation, i'm craig in for tamron hall. president obama is in the white house. he has been speaking for about five minutes, signing the executive order raising the minimum wage to $10.10 for contract workers. >> making $7.76 an hour. 7.76 an hour. there's a fast food worker right down the street making $9.81 an

hour. there's a laundry worker at camp dodge making $9.03. and starting next year, as their contracts come up, each of them and their fellow coworkers are going to get a raise. by the way, that includes folks who get paid in tips. they'll get a raise too. so -- [ applause ] the tip wage has gone up even slower than the regular minimum wage. so just as it's good for companies across the country, this will be good for america's bottom line, for contractors and for taxpayers. the opponents of the minimum wage have been using the same arguments for years, and time and again they have been proven wrong. raising the minimum wage is good for business and good for workers and it's good for the economy. puts more money in these folk's pockets. that means they have some money to go shop, which in turn means

the business has more customers, which means they may hire more workers and make more of a profit. and let's not forget, not only is it good for the economy, it's the right thing to do. there's a simple, moral principle at stake if you take responsibility and you work as hard as these folks work, if you work full-time, you shouldn't be living in poverty. not in america. we believe that. [ applause ] and this executive order will cover americans are disabilities, because this principle doesn't just apply to some of us, it applies to all of us. so i'm going to keep doing whatever i can to raise working american's wages, and i would ask any business leader out there, any governor, any mayor, any local leader listening, do

what you can to raise your employee's wages, to work -- to raise the wages of citizens in your jurisdiction. they'll support these efforts. a majority of americans, not just democrats, not just independents, but republicans too support raising the minimum wage. it's the right thing to do. so that's something congress should keep in mind this year. there's a bill right now in front of both the house and the senate that would boost america's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, just like i'm doing with this executive action. it's easy to remember. 10-10. 10-10. let's get that done. raise the federal minimum wage to 10.10 wouldn't just raise wages for minimum wage workers, it's effect would raise wages for about 28 million americans.

it would lift millions of americans out of the poverty immediately. it would help millions more work their way out of poverty without a single dollar in taxes or new spending. it's the right thing to do. just last month, 600 economists, including seven nobel prize winners wrote the leaders of congress to remind them that the bill before congress would have little or no negative effect on hiring, on jobs. so it's not going to depress the economy, it'll boost the economy. yes. it will give more businesses more customers with more money to spend, it'll grow the economy for everybody. so -- yeah. he's excited about it. so members of congress have a pretty clear choice to make right now, raise our worker's wages, grow our economy, or let wages stagnate further and give

workers what amounts to another pay cut this year. restore unemployment insurance for americans still looking for that job, or expose them further to hardship. [ applause ] members of congress, you can help people make progress in their own lives, or you can hinder that progress. and every american deserves to know where your elected representative stands on this issue. so ask your senator, ask your representative in the house, do you support raising the federal minimum wage to 10.10 an hour? if they say yes, tell them, good job. you know, they don't hear that that often. so give them a pat on the back, give them a hug, let them know, way to go, that's the right thing to do. if they say no, now, be polite. i mean, don't just yell at them,

but say, well, why not? ask them to reconsider siding with an overwhelming majority of americans. encourage them to say yes. give america a raise. so i'm about to sign this executive order. when you hear me talking about my pen and my phone to make a difference for middle class americans and those working to get in the middle class, this is exactly what i mean. i will do what i can, congress needs to do what it needs to do. i will not give up on this fight. americans deserve a raise, americans deserve to know more economic security in their own lives. we have to create new jobs, strengthen the middle class, build new ladders for those working their way into the middle class, just like these folks right here. there are millions of americans who could use a little boost. millions of americans outside of washington who are tired of the old, stale political arguments,

or just tired of people looking out for people who can afford big lobbyists and big campaign contributions. there are folks out there who want to see us restore an economy that works for everybody, and get back to our founding vision of opportunity for all. i know you guys will work with me, but go out there and organize some more. thank you, everybody. let's give americans a raise right now. i'm going to sign this. >> president obama at the white house signing the executive order raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 for contract workers. also calling on congress to raise the minimum wage as well, and also to extend unemployment benefits to the roughly 2.3 million americans who lost them back in december. we're following that story at the white house. news nation is also following the winter storm that the national weather service describes as, quote, an event of

historical proportions. it's now battering the mid-atlantic after sweeping across the south and leaving at least eight people dead in weather-related traffic accidents in texas, mississippi, north carolina, and south carolina. more than 350,000 customers do not have power in georgia, south carolina and louisiana as well. that storm is going to head up the coast into new england, dumping more than a foot of snow in some places. right now in atlanta, where a storm two weeks ago took that region by surprise and stranded thousands in vehicles, roads are slick, but with schools and most businesses closed, traffic is quite light. here's the governor who had trouble with the last storm. >> our biggest thing is that people continue to heed the warnings and that they say home and stay out of the way of

emergency agencies and power companies. especially the power companies. >> there's georgia governor. others are bracing for the worst. this is charlotte, north carolina, in the past hour. traffic is snarled as heavy snow falls. here's that governor earlier today. >> storm is very unpredictable. it's one of the toughest storms we're going to see in our history. most likely do the common sense things, we know it's coming, take the precautions right now. >> that was governor mckrorry. so far 3500 flights cancelled today, expected to grow. and you can see courtesy of the misery map, atlanta airport, the world's busiest, virtually all red. and joining me on the phone is ken from the atlanta emergency agency. what's the scene like in

georgia? >> well, as governor diehl mentioned, by and large most people have heeded the warnings and are at home. i understood that most roads are deserted, and so are, you know, the highways are deserted, and so are city streets. >> that's certainly good news considering what we saw there some two weeks ago. sounds like people heeded the warnings this time. what's the greatest concern right now? >> power outages. right now we've got a report of approximately 200,000 customers without power statewide. and that number is probably larger and is going to increase even more as the day wears on through early tonight. the national weather service is forecasting that we'll have high winds today, 20 mile an hour plus gusts. and for trees and so forth with

coats of ice, these high winds are guaranteed to cause more outages. so that's our major concern right now. >> ken, thank you. keep us up to date, sir. we appreciate your time let's go to charlotte, north carolina. erica edwards is standing by there. what's the latest on conditions in charlotte? >> reporter: we're not used to snow like this. we are expected to get up to 8 inches here. but it's the ice, we have been watching the ice storm from georgia into carolinas, causing massive power outages to a quarter million people. officials saying stay home today and tomorrow. we have seen the images of the cars on i-277, that's the main loop around charlotte. we are not hearing reports of people abandoning their vehicles. the roads are slick and people are getting stuck. they have called off school tomorrow. >> 8 inches in charlotte, north carolina, might as well be 48

inches in the tar heel state. and bring in the meteorologist from wnbc. we know the storm is headed our way, what can we expect as the storm makes its way up the coast? >> well, the good news, we were checking out the latest computer models, and for coastal areas, it looks like a warmer storm system. we're going to mix with rain or snow or just plain old rain in the northeast. this will keep the snowfall totals down. however, north and west of new york city and down washington, d.c. and towards charlotte, we're going to see heavy snow. check out the watches and warnings we have in effect and across the deep south, that's where icing is a huge concern from atlanta, georgia, to columbia. you can see the pink. that's the icing. we could have an inch on trees and fopower lines. that's why people lose power. otherwise, plain old rain. from charlotte to raleigh, heavy

snows. this general area, 6-9 inches over the next couple of hours. and rain on the coast. and all will go up the eastern sea board into tomorrow. around 10:00 p.m. tonight, it will push into washington, d.c. there's the computer model, the snow, the mixing, there's the rain. around 10:00 or 11:00, snowing in d.c. and baltimore. and moving into southern new jersey. early tomorrow morning, the snow in and around new york city. there's the snow line. notice it's down near atlantic city. as we head towards lunchtime, it's rain in the city, in new york, new jersey, it is all rain. all rain in boston at this time. but it's all snow from upstate new york back into pennsylvania and back towards washington, d.c. starting to change over. and the evening, it's all rain along the coastal areas, heavy snow inland. and as cold air wraps around into the storm system, changing

back to snow from new york to albany and boston. it's a little too late to pick up any significant snows at that point. otherwise, snowfall totals look like this. it's a very big storm in the inland areas. washington, d.c., 10 inches, philadelphia, 7, scranton, a foot or more. albany, 8 inches. but again, notice, from new york city up to long island and up towards boston, snowfall will be lower because the rain/snow line shifts inland as the storm system hugs the immediate coast. that's it, back to you, craig. >> the brutal winter continues. we continue to keep our eye on the storm. we are following developing news on capitol hill as well. the senate voting on the clean debt limit bill passed by the house, we're going to get an update on that vote, next. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's

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. we are following developing news in florida. closing arguments have been underway all day the trial of michael dunn, the man accused of killing a teenager in a dispute over loud music. the defense attorney started his closings by telling the juror the state failed to use the deadly force was not justifiable. >> the law of justifiable use of deadly force is the state's burden to disprove. beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt. think about that. they have got two burdens to carry. you cannot lawfully convict any human being unless every single element of the crime is proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

>> and erin wolfson delivered the first part of the state's closing arguments. >> let me be very clear. on november 23rd, 2012, when this defendant shot and killed jordan davis, there was no gun in that duran go. there was no stick, there was no bat, there was no lead pipe. there was no gun. what was in that durango were four teenage boys. >> dunn is charged with first degree murder, meaning that it must be premeditated. wolfson repeatedly went after that this morning. >> the defendant's actions surrounding the killing. that's what you as members of the jury can use in determining whether or not what this defendant did on november 23rd, 2012, was premeditated murder.

when he took that gun out and started shooting at point blank range, he knew what he was doing. he knew what he was doing could cause death or great bodily harm to those boys. >> dunn maintains he shot davis in self-defense. we're told right now in florida that the jury is receiving instructions. they're going to be getting the case this afternoon. defense attorney john burst joins me now. john, these jurors who are going to be deciding this case, what are they going to be looking at? >> well, i think the easy part of it is, there was ha murda mu homicide. is it first disagree, premeditations, manslaughter, a reasonable of life in danger. and was there cooperation from the defendant's statements. he claimed he heard them made statements, we're going to kill you, that he heard other statements and he was getting

out of the car. the witness that were present did not see or hear any of this. there's no cooperation for anything he has to say. and they will look and see that the claim of self-defense, clear and present danger is a deescalation. these are terms of art that normal, every day people don't use when they're talking about conduct. the question whether or not there was subjected, whether there's a basis for him to reasonably believe his life was in danger, or make up his mind, he didn't like the music or the statements and shoot them and create great bodily injury. when you shoot nine times into a car and there's no weapon, you intended great bodily injury or to kill the person. the jury has to look the at defendant's statements and see if there was a reasonable way for him or the position. the jury has to look first degree, second degree, manslaughter or not guilty is how they have to analyze the

facts. all right, appreciate your time on the truncated show. we should note the jury was receiving the instructions. you see john guy, state's attorney. this is part of a rebuttal as well. we expect the jury will be getting introductions later this afternoon. we will keep you posted. we will also be right back. is breakfast... with benefits. start your day with a delicious new crunch. healthy never tasted so good. [ crowd gasps ] the comeback trail. [ buzzer sounds ] it's easy to get lost here among life's false starts and what-ifs. but this isn't the end, merely a chance for us to begin again. at liberty mutual, we believe with every setback there's a chance to come back and rise. liberty mutual insurance. auto, home, life.

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we are also following developing news in the senate right now. here's a live look on the senate floor where the vote is underway to advance the clean debt ceiling bill passed by the house. this could be a major hurdle in getting this passed, senator ted cruz is threatening to filibuster the measure, pushing it to the 60-vote threshold. he's upset with house republican who is backed the clean bill after it was clear they would not be able to agree on concessions in exchange for raising this country's borrowing limit. at this point, you know what, it

just passed, i'm told. the vote did happen. cruz released a statement saying historically the debt ceiling has proven the most effective leverage for reining in spending. if republicans stand together, we can demand meaningful restraint to pull the nation back from the fiscal and economic cliff. that was the statement, but the vote just happened, and closure has happened in the upper chamber. it appears that the clean debt ceiling measure is going to happen. that is going to do it for this jam-packed edition of news nation.or i'm craig melvin.. i'm craig melvin.. the cycle is up next. [ male an] ...you'd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. kevin, neill holley's on line one. ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. [ male announcer ] sponges, take your mark! ♪ [ female announcer ] one drop of ultra dawn has twice the everyday grease-cleaning ingredients

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are not going to want to hear this. >> and the site of the winter olympics is in the midst of a winter thaw. talk about a yolo flip. and i heard a rumor that matt lauer was wearing a tank top? >> and come back to spin about a thaw of sorts in american politics and a potential storm for speaker boehner. i'm ari mel ber in washington. and democrats are asking what can we get this guy to do? >> plus in the guest spot, who let the dogs out? the moderate middle is unleashed right here on the cycle. i'm abby huntsman, tune in today for my one-on-one with utah democrat jim mathison. good afternoon, everyone. and for the sake of about 100 million americans, i suppose i will use that