did do washington journal c-span from the comfort indoors of the studio at the corner but now i am outside and thanks to "the cycle" team for asking me to do this as a weather hit. i did have some meetings on the hill today. i was in the senate and house side. and it was a ghost town. there was almost nobody there except for a few security staff and a couple of legislative staffers and a couple of offices. d.c. is definitely shut down, which might be good news to some people who don't think d.c. gets that much done anyway. let me give you some weather stats, cyclists. it's about 8.5 inches of snow here. >> do you have a ruler, ari, for that? >> i don't have a ruler but what we have now is more akin to freezing rain. it's not a technical rain but that's what it feels like coming in sideways to my face. >> it is a technical term actually, ari. >> i'm being told by control room it is a technical term. it's water and close to freezing cold. >> you're doing a great job, ari. >> you're like a natural --

where is the weather channel to call you and get you on their team. you belong on their team. you are really good at this. >> i almost know what kind of precipitation is falling in d.c. almost. >> the point is that it's cold. i can tell you, i can confirm for you it's cold this morning when i got up and walked around. it's cold right now. beyond the 8.5 inches, both airports are closed, dulles and reagan. i am looking to do a train later. we'll see how that goes. check twitter for updates on that. the only thing i can tell you on the political side, vice president biden was supposed to travel. that got cancelled. the white house briefing, cancelled. most other government events, cancelled. as i walked around today and tweeted up some of the photos, it's beautiful. there was sledding and children running around the hills by the capitol. >> children running? >> but there is not a lot going on. >> you are so good without prompter, ari, i'm so kbreimpre. >> i'm very impressed. we all hope you make it back but in the meantime enjoy some

sledding. >> can i ask a question? >> of course. >> can i go inside for the next segment? >> no, stay there. you are crushing it outside, ari. stay there. >> abby and i think you can come in. >> yes, why don't you snowshoe back into the studios. >> let's hold a vote on the commercial break. back here in new york, it's been no picnic either. conditions are a mess today. getting around by car is a nonstarter. getting around on foot is tricky, trust me i've experienced it myself. that leaves trains and buses. they are definitely the best bet. as we've seen, not a sure bet. here is some perspective from new yorkers and wnbc's aaron. >> whatever train was supposed to come, it was an extra half hour after that. >> what was that like after that? >> i'm used to it after the other storm. i'm like all right, as long as i can get one train to get to my destination, i'd be happy. >> reporter: not so happy, new york city high school students who rely on mass transit. these girls waited for the second of three bronx buses to

make it to class on time. >> take one bus to another bus to another bus. so the 15 to the 9 to the 3. >> reporter: you take three mta buses to get to school, to get to high school. >> yeah. >> reporter: but it all could have been worse. in fact it has been worse this winter during other storms. warmer temperatures meant less icing. and on metro north, commuters had a pretty realistic perspective. >> they have always been consistent through these storms. it's the random stoppages when the weather is fine that kills you. >> if the trains are running, you might as well just brave it and go in, so that's why i'm going in. >> school buses were out this morning in new york city because public schools remained open. despite a warning from the mayor for everyone else to stay inside, that left a lot of people scratching their heads. today the mayor defended his decision. >> are schools open and running, yes, they are. is the mta running largely on schedule? yes, it is. things are working. and we are not in the business of shutting down things easily.

>> schools were closed, though, in philadelphia today. some areas picked up close to a foot of snow mixed with ice and that thing ari talked about, freezing rain. it's a real mess down there. chris palone is just north of philly. what's going on there? >> yeah, toure, how are you doing. it's actually a mess right now. you can see this tree. this is what they're worried about here. this damage happened last wednesday during that storm that came plowing through here. with this storm they had about 10 inches of snow overnight. that was followed by very heavy rain. right now it's just pretty much misting, light rain falling from time to time. officials here in the area are really worried that what's going to happen is all of the snow that fell overnight is going to suck up that rain like a sponge. it's on trees, it's on power lines. they're worried that those trees and power lines will come down and have a similar type of power outage like they had here last week. you might remember that there were more than 700,000 power customers in this area without

electricity last week. that was the second biggest storm that they have had in this area, only behind superstorm sandy. right now nothing like that. last we heard, about a half million customers all along the east coast from louisiana up to maine are without power, so those numbers are certainly better than they were last week. but it certainly is a concern that as the temperature drops, they're going to get another several inches of snow overnight so they're not out of the woods yet. as we said, it's nice and cold, so if the power goes out, it could be miserable for lots of families here throughout greater philadelphia and the surrounding area. back to you guys. >> chris palone outsiede philly thank you. reynolds wolf has been tweeting about the snow in my state of virginia and snapping some really pretty pictures. now he's made his way to washington. reynolds, tell us about your long day thus far. >> reporter: how much time do we have? hopefully a lot of time. >> as much as you want.

>> reporter: we did cover all kinds of weather phenomena but this was a beautiful story in terms of aesthetics. this is beautiful snow here. a lot of times we talk about really wet, damp snow. this is obviously white snow but it's also like a powder. the kind of stuff you have in steamboat springs. it's just incredible. now, the snow has begun to melt. we have temperatures currently at leesburg, virginia, at 39 degrees which means nature will take care of itself quite a bit. but this walkway, which you couldn't see across the street this morning, has been cleaned up. there's been a lot of cleaning up that's really been handled by the governor and some of the orders he gave less than 24 hours ago. terry mcauliffe, governor of virginia, put out over 12,000 pieces of equipment on many of the roads in the old dominion state. when he did that across the commonwealth, these guys are working around the clock to keep roads in good shape. i would say that's what they have accomplished. however, people are still urged to stay off the roads.

overpasses, bridges, you know what happens, they get susceptible to black ice. so there is a good chance we'll have a lot of slick spots overnight with a hard freeze and maybe another 1 to 2, maybe 4 inches of snowfall. we could have all kinds of travel issues, other issues. reagan national was closed this morning. they're back operating but only a few flights tachat the same t. it's been very sketchy at dulles and bwi. well, tomorrow they have already cancelled a lot of flights. they hope to get things back under way by midway tomorrow as temperatures warm up to the 40s. now get this, over the weekend there's a chance we might be getting a little bit more snowfall late friday and into saturday and then temperatures below the freezing point over the weekend warming up finally but next week. talked to some people a little while ago, they cannot wait for spring to get here, as you might imagine. >> i feel the very same way, reynolds, great stuff. thank you very much. down south the storm has moved out but the damage is not done. from the carolinas to tennessee and georgia, we have seen some impressive snow totals.

especially by southern san diego. but in many areas it's been about the ice. weather channel's jim cantore brings a firsthand look. he is in augusta, georgia. >> reporter: boy, it's everywhere, the damage. this is green street here in downtown augusta. now that we're above freezing and the sun is out, listen to the melting. it's almost like a heavy rainstorm under here. listen to this, it's just pouring down and that's just the melting that's going on. huge, huge oak here. this is a very strong wood. when you start to see limbs like this, you know we have got big problems out there. look at this. you've probably got a foot circumference, maybe 14 inches, and the whole branch came down in the middle of the street. hopefully nobody was near this thing when it came down, that's for sure. but we still have as we look out here on green street tons of ice that still sit on top of these trees. the good news is no wind and temperatures are up above freezing. the bad news is we'll go below freezing tonight.

as we get into friday and saturday, temperatures in the 60s will continue to do a job on this ice. the problem, damage like this. we've got to clean this up before we get people back online. people to the tune of hundreds of thousands without power. i'm meteorologist jim cantore. >> all right, jim cantore in georgia, thanks. they do not call it a nor'easter for nothing. while the snow and ice is winding down in the south and mid-atlantic region, it is just getting started in new england. ron mott is in portland, maine, where they have got a long way to go. >> reporter: hey there, abby, good day to you. this snow has been coming down now for a few hours. it's a dry snow but still has quite a bit of moisture in it. you can see by these trees that we don't have that problem they have been seeing down to the south with that freezing, cold rain that will bring tree limbs down on the power lines. that cannot mean that there's not a power threat here for the power to go out because later tonight all along coastal new england, from the cape up to nova scotia, we're expecting very high winds tonight. these will be 50-mile-per-hour

winds that could easily topple some of these lines. as for the snow, it's not going to be a problem. these folks are accustomed to it. anywhere snow totals from z7 to 10 inches along the coast. here in portland, they're already above their seasonal average for snow. not quite as much as last year. we've seen some towns around the midwest run out of salt to treat the roads. that's not quite the story here, although they are running to that point where they're starting to get a little concerned. they started the season with 8,000 tons of salt. they have used three-quarters of it and you still have a good four weeks of this kind of weather to deal with in portland. they're probably crossing their fingers we don't see too many more systems like this before they start wondering whether they have enough material to keep the roads clean. i drove up from the boston area today. it was pretty easy driving a couple of hours ago, although the snow is starting to pick up. as we get into the evening hours, we'll have this continue and all that wind coming

through. that's the x factor from here. guys, back down to you. >> ron is in one of the jewels of new england. let's get more of what new england can expect from meteorologist dr. greg postel at weather channel world headquarters with the forecast. what have you got? >> it's a big-time storm, guys. and there's a lot of snow across parts of new england. right along the coast, right along the i-95 corridor, enough warm air has gotten in to move things to rain. you can see rain right along the coast there. new haven, connecticut, new york city. you might be tempted to think it's over, but it's not. we still have a long ways to go because low pressure still really is just southeast of the coast of new jersey there. and that's going to be moving up over the next several hours. so what it's going to do as it moves off to the north, it's going to bring colder air back into play and probably bring snow back into play in places like new york, philly, many places that even haven't seen that much snow, including the new jersey coast. overnight tonight, guys, here's the timing it out for you.

by 1:00 in the morning, it could be snowing again in new york city and maybe some heavy at times snow. so keep that in mind. maybe some lightning strikes with that snow. but by tomorrow morning it should be all gone. the roads may be real tricky to deal with but overall the storm should have moved out to sea but not before, of course, dropping -- look at these amounts. this is amounts on top of what we've already gotten. i know we were showing some of those graphics this showed you places that got well over a foot. add those numbers to these numbers. this is how much still is to go. this winter storm means business and i know temporarily right along the coast things may have gone over to rain but i think there's a real chance even those places will go back to snow tonight. we've got to wait at least another 12 hours shall guys. back to you. >> all of our reporters, including ari melber, thanks so much. from the blast of winter here to summer, winter games in sochi, there is a shocker to tell you about. we'll go live to olympic park up

next. but first ari's weather coverage continues on twitter with pictures of our nation's capital blanketed in snow. "the cycle" rolls on. it's thursday, february 13th. [announcer] if your dog can dream it, purina pro plan can help him achieve it. ♪ driving rock/metal music stops ♪music resumes music stops ♪music resumes [announcer] purina pro plan's bioavailable formulas deliver optimal nutrient absorption. [whistle] purina pro plan. nutrition that performs.

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and there are no networks. you do your push-ups today? prepare to be amazed. [ male announcer ] don't wait. call today to request your free decision guide and find the aarp medicare supplement plan to go the distance with you. go long. there's drama to tell you about on day eight of the winter games on sochi. here's your cycle olympic update with the latest results. it will take about 40 seconds so if you want to turn away, you've been warned. we'll start with the shocker,

yevgeny plyushchenko has withdrawn for medical reasons, ending his bid for solo gold. he was a heavy favorite. the 2006 gold medalist helped lead russia to a gold in a team event earlier this week. jeremy abbott took a serious fall in his short program. more on both these developments and how they could shake out up the event. first, the american men swept the slopestyle skiing. joss christensen set a mark no one else could beat. gus kenworthy and nick goepper took home the silver and the bronze and the u.s. men's hockey team dominated in their first outing in olympic ice, routing slovakia 7-1 in first round action. up next, russia on saturday. the ghosts of our 1980 upset will be in the rink. he's your current medal count. norway still leads with 13. but they are closely followed by us and the netherlands with 12.

russia is in fourth with 11. joining us now is the boston globe sports enterprise reporter, sharon springer. she's in sochi where it's a bit after midnight. some good news for the americans, a serious setback for the russians in skating. let's first talk about what's going on in skating. >> reporter: yeah, that was the big shocker of the day, yevgeny plyushchenko withdrawing from the men's figure skating competition. he appeared to stumble during warmups on a triple axel, landing a triple axel, he was in obvious pain. this is a skater who has dealt with multiple back injuries throughout the year and he was sort of piecing himself together surgery after surgery just to be able to compete in his home country at these olympics. and it was a real blow to the russians who have been out and about with lots of national pride. he was the only competitor in the men's figure skating competition for russia, so they will have to go without him and

there are no medal chances for russia there. some interesting news for the americans too in that event. jeremy abbott also took a big fall and seemed to injure his right hip on that fall. he paused for about 10 or 15 seconds to collect himself. at one point it seemed like his coaches were going to come out and collect him off the ice, but he collected himself and persevered and he won over the crowd by fighting back. he finished the short program in 12th place and the other american, jason brown, finished in sixth place. and i particularly am looking forward to jason brown's long program tonight -- tomorrow night, rather, which he does to the river dance. >> bunch of soud stories there, you sound like a meteorologist bringing us the bad news. but the american men are doing very well in hockey saand slopestyle. >> yeah, in hockey they dominated slovakia today. it was a barrage of goals in the

second period. they scored six goals in about 13:51 and just put slovakia away and now can move to know russia, which is the hotly anticipated hockey game in the preliminary round of the men's competition. and then in free skiing slopestyle, the u.s. swept the medals, reminiscent of 2002 when they did the exact same thing in men's snowboarding halfpipe. so a big win there and one of the extreme sports. interestingly enough, silver medalist gus kenworthy is going to take home more than just the silver medal. he found a stray dog in sochi and then he found four more and he just couldn't resist trying to bring them back home to colorado. he is making arrangements with kennels and also trying to get them vaccinations. i can see possibly a new olympic sport or a new competition among olympic athletes, starting how many stray dogs can you save from the streets of sochi.

>> he gets the gold medal there. >> good one, shira springer, thank you very much. let's take it to the table. >> i want one of those puppies. >> i know you do. maybe you can get one of those. look, part of what we're doing here with the olympics is trying to create stars. even though america as a nation is doing very well, we're trending toward the top, we're seeing some of the big brand names, bode miller, shaun white, shani davis, flopping. and it has me wondering like where are the big stars, where are the brand names we expected to come out? who will be on the wheeaties bo at the end of these two weeks? >> it's a funny one. a lot of times at the games the whole team is clicking and cleaning up or everybody is off. i experienced the same thing when i was swimming in college. the whole team was either on it or they were having an off day. here it seems to be a real mixed bag. a lot of the young, unexpected folks have been stepping up to the challenge.

i wonder if it has anything to do with the really weird weather. it was upwards of 60 degrees on the slopes today. it was so warm that one of the other slopestyle skiers, bobby brown, actually did the event in a t-shirt, in short sleeves. >> that's amazing. there's a weird dynamic going on. you have some of the great athletes that are getting a little older and ones that are just coming up, the next generation of athletes, that aren't quite where we expected them to be. that's interesting. who knows what it will be four years from now. the sport that i love to watch is curling. i find it so fascinating. i cannot take my eyes off the tv, specifically the norway pants. >> i love those pants. >> but they're amazing. and the history of curling is pretty fascinating as well. ari, i know you are a big fan of curling. i would love to hear your take. >> you do know that. you've known that for a long time. i'm surprised you've waited this long to bring it up, quite frankly. i wanted to pick up something that toure had mentioned which i think is important. who goes on the wheaties box.

i, for one, am worried that it's going to be norway on this wheaties box. i don't understand why norway is so good. i don't have -- >> it's cold there, ari, that's why. >> okay, it's cold, but we've been practicing and we have multiple parts of our country that is cold. i'm rooting here for the united states. it's nothing personal against norway, but i don't think norwegian wheaties would be that good anyway. toure said something on the show yesterday which was keep an eye on norway, and i second that. >> that's a very strong statement. >> the other thing real quick -- the other thing i wanted to mention was a beautiful moment was the skier, anton garafa, this got a lot of attention when he needed help getting down a mountain with a broken team and a coach from another team, from the canadian team, to help him. that was an amazing moment of sportsmanship. i think a lot of people thought that was a really great thing that represents what the olympics are all about.

>> exactly. >> no, you're absolutely right. but nothing comes close to rescuing stray dogs. up next, a fresh look at one of 2016's most powerful players. the hillary clinton book that has washington talking. we'll hear from its authors as we cycle on. is everything? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. as a police officer, i've helped many people in the last 23 years, but i needed help in quitting smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced the urge for me to smoke.

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hillary clinton has now been out of the state department for a year but her favorability ratings could not be higher. we all know her story, first lady turned politician turned powerful u.s. diplomat. she waged one of the best political comebacks ever, overcoming 2008's crippling primary loss to become one of the highest ranking members of the president's inner circle. her four-year tenure at the state department is chronicled in the new book. it's the work of friend of the show jonathan allen, the new white house reporter for bloomberg news. congrats on that, by the way, and the hill's amy parnes. it's great to have you guys.

>> thanks for having us on. >> jonathan, i'll start with you. i want you to respond to some of the criticism jonathan karl -- sorry, i'm sure you read the "wall street journal" review where he said there isn't a whole lot new in this book. there's not a whole lot about hillary clinton that we don't know. so what can we learn from this book that we don't already know about her? >> actually this is the job that she's had that's had the most responsibility. her first time in charge of a large department of the government, 70,000 people. i think there's great information essentially all over the book. there's a lot of news in here. what you really take away is an understanding of how she makes decisions, who she puts around her, what her priorities are evened how she might govern as president. i think for anybody who's thinking about how they will vote in 2016, and we expect she's going to run, this is a book they have to read to get a real understanding of who hillary clinton is at this point in her career.

>> amy, one of the things that you report on in the book is hillary's hit list. i did a little commentary earlier in the week and i may be added to the list. i was saying i didn't think she was quite the right person for the democratic base or for the moment in this country right now. you all call her a clinton centrist. maggie is writing it's striking she finished eight years in the senate, four years at state without being identified with any big signature idea or policy proposal. does she have an issue of being a bit out of step with the democratic party that does know what they want, that is very passionate about economic populism and income inekwaut. >> that's one thing we heard is that she didn't really have a marquee peace deal, doesn't really have anything tangible.

she had her fingerprints all over domestic policy, particularly health care. and so i think that you can point fingers to that. there was one meeting that we talk about inside the room where we basically say that hillary clinton actually had a very big role in this. she urged the president's cabinet to get behind this. she said come on, guys, we have to rally behind health care and we have to make this happen. and i think that's a big achievement for her. if she wants to make that case on 2016. >> john, as previously mentioned, some people who are like a sister to me came out on this show and said hillary should not run. let's take a look. >> her entry into the race would likely keep out elizabeth warren or another real middle class champion. so though i admire and respect secretary clinton deeply, i must say don't run, hillary. don't run. >> that hurts so much, krystal, that you do that to us. but look, i think that hillary is actually already running in terms of the invisible primary. her folks are fanning out to the

superpacs, setting those up. obama folks are coming into hillary's world, things are already happening. but some people are saying hillary may be less healthy than we've been led to believe after the blood clot was discovered. did you find any information, john, that leads you to believe that she may not run? >> first of all, i'd like to congratulate you, going to the videotape with your own promos there. >> that wasn't awkward at all. >> we didn't find any evidence of any further health problems. we certainly talked to a lot of people around her. we interviewed more than 200 people for this book. that's not something we came away with. obviously there are concerns among some of her closest friends about the rigors of a presidential campaign and rigors of a presidency. obviously the time that she spent traveling as secretary of state is something that wore on her. the president doesn't travel as much as the secretary of state does, certainly not across the

world, but it is a rigorous job and i think that's something that she's going to have to think about going forward if this is something that is good for her health. >> guys, let me ask you a little bit about her tenure as secretary of state. of course she was there during one of the biggest shifts in terms of the arab spring. yet there is a question about how she and the obama administration set priorities at that time. speak to our approach about libya. the arab league initially had a no-fly zone. the u.n. authorized some kind of intervention. there was tremendous concern over whether the united states should be supporting the overthrow of gadhafi and doing another military intervention, however multi lateral, against a muslim state. that was a very difficult set of questions. what did you learn in your reporting about how she handled that diplomacy? >> ari, we went into great detail in the book. washington didn't want a big military footprint and a lot of

cost. europe was talking about a no-fly zone, but the americans who had experiences with that thought that wasn't going to be enough. the arab league was willing to go in for a no-fly zone, wasn't clear if they were willing to do a little bit more, the sort of pummelling of gadhafi of the and hillary clinton literally shuttled diplomacy going to europe, going to the middle east, talking to folks back in washington, really put together that coalition that was later talked about as leading from behind. the united states sort of letting the europeans and middle eastern countries take the lead in terms of the cost and the responsibility, keeping combat boots off the ground in libya. if you're somebody that thinks it was the right thing to do to go into there, you would say that was a great bit of diplomacy and a good thing to do. if you think we had no business being in libya and we should be out of there now, you might look and say that's great that she pieced together this coalition but it was for the wrong thing. i think that's something that will be part of the 2016 campaign. this is something we go into great detail in the book.

>> jonathan, amy, it's great to have you guys. >> thank you. up next, the new frontier for fem nichl. hillary would likely approve.

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some have claimed that feminism is dead, but not if i and social media have anything to say about it. activists are putting the web to work and getting amazing results. policy mike highlights 23 inspiring digital campaigns that changed our world from forcing the lululemon executive to resign to keeping ken cuccinelli out of the governor's mansion in virginia and for making things like sandra fluke, wendy davis and the plight of female sex assault victims in syria matter to the masses. the executive social editor, elizabeth plank, joins us now to talk about it. liz, thank you so much for being

here. and you do go into 23 specific campaigns, but one of the things that i was thinking about too is i think there's been a broader awareness brought to society of what sexism looks like and what sort of things are going to cause you to become the focus of one of these campaigns. so it's caused a general shift. >> exactly. i think people are realizing that sexism is not just bad for women, it's bad for business. if you insult women, you're insulting the people who are making the major -- sort of like the decisions when it comes to the consumer market. who determines what we buy. who determines who's going to be online. it's 85% of the consumer that's driven by women. >> when you look at your list, so much of it is about corporate conduct. feminism has a cultural and political set of associations but corporations wield so much power, you cite some of the pressures on godaddy which of course has big super bowl ads

and other media that has been seen and widely derided as sexist. tell us about that piece of it and comment on something that i think is interesting that the lean-in campaign is doing, which is trying to get getty images and their stock photos to think more about the stock photos and they're working to accommodate that. >> yeah, i think advertisers and companies are also realizing that women aren't this niche market, they are the market. it's finally -- lean-in recognizes and other people at the same time realizing that women in the workforce exist. they're not just white, they're not just angry at their computers. there's a whole diversity of issues that aren't being showcased anywhere. >> i think the most important campaign on this list is the campaign against rush limbaugh that krystal had a big part in. it really had an impact. he's a serious thought leader on the right. it had a real impact in terms of

decreasing his advertisers and his stations. he works for himself. you can't do anything. and it definitely had an impact, i was totally wrong. >> and even two years later, these comments on sandra fluke happened two years ago and we are still seeing advertisers stepping down after twitter outrage, even last year captain morgan, orbitz are advertisers that have said we're not going to advertise here anymore. so it hasn't just cost him in terms of his reputation but money and literally cash coming out of his pockets. let's talk lululemon. i was turned off when the ex-ceo said our pants aren't created in all women's sizes. in another time would he need to step out or is it because of women reaching out on social media. >> i think that was really a major flop. it was a huge pr disaster. i think it wouldn't have made waves if women wouldn't have

been able to go to their computers, to go to their phones and realize i'm not just sitting here on my couch thinking i must be crazy, the whole world is agreeing about this, no. it's like there are other people who are upset about this. there's other people doing something about it. it's almost like for these companies the complaint department isn't just like in a basement somewhere or like a 1-800 number you call, it's in the public sphere and the public arena. >> so much so that they have to step down, they have to resign. >> exactly. >> i do think a lot of corporations, a lot of organizations before they put out that sexist statement or whatever, they are thinking twice because they have seen the impact on companies like lululemon. do you think that this is like the new model of activism? not just for feminism, but in general, sort of really grassroots, bottom up, social media driven activism? >> i think this isn't your grandmother's feminism. even though we stand on the shoulders of women who come before us and allow me to be speaking here right here right

now on television, we are very thankful for them but we are doing things very differently and we're taking advantage of the tools afforded to us by technology, social media, to really make a difference. >> women are the majority of social media issues on most platforms. thank you so much. up next, a cycle first. if you watch this show regular, you know that is really saying a lot. eating right, she got me drinking boost. it's got a great taste, and it helps give me the nutrition i was missing. helping me stay more like me. [ female announcer ] boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. grandpa! [ female announcer ] stay strong, stay active with boost.

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liking cassius clay once he changed his name to muhammed ali. >> wait a second, wait a second. a man has a right to change his name to whatever he wants it to. >> hisçó mama called him clay, m going to call him clay. >> big debates in black culture get settled in the barbershop because they're central spaces in the community. thanks, david, let's pick it up in a minute. so in the barbershop, political thought is nurtured and critical arguments like jordan versus lebron are broken down. the black barbershop is where a factory worker could be a philosopher and a postal worker a politician. i got my haircut at danny's his and hers and there i saw the depth. black barbershop experience which is detailed brilliantly in quincy mills' "cutting along the color line." how is it that black barbershops came to be a central place in the community where political thought was sort of nurtured?

>> barbershops in the 19th century used to be spots where african-american barbers would shave predominantly white men. this was a very lucrative market for them and erxcluded black me from coming into the shops. right around the 1900s, 1910s, black barbershops came to organized black communities. during the great depression african-americans could sit and organize and think and talk and figure things out in barbershops. they came to adjust in northern cities in barber shops because they knew where hubs were around communities. they knew which churches to go to, where to look for a job and where to look for housing. so these have been really, really critical. >> you talk about there's three dynamic and entities.ñr there's the barbers who have much to say, the customers who have much to say and the folks who are waiting, and they all get into the conversation and

that makes it really rich. >> indeed this waiting public is what i generally call them, this is why men come to the barber shops to sell watches, to sell dvds, to sell things. >> underground economyxd things >> because they know there's going to be a group of people waiting, either waiting to get a haircut or indeed just waiting, just to hang out and talk. so lots happens around this sort of waitingñr ñipublic, and inde this is the reason why there are many african-american health organizations that have gone into barbershops to talk to men, to stage interventions like the arthur ashe institute and even rob's barbershop cogm(9%qe foundation in maryland. they have looked to these spaces to engage black men -- >> you don't want the super cuts thing where you want in and out. you want to sit and be part of it. >> to that point iñi would thin especially in this time when a lot of our community institutions are falling apart and breaking away and people are living these very isolated lives, that the barbershop would become even more important.

but talk, if you would, specifically about the role of the barbershop in the civil rights era and the activism that was sparked there. >> so barbers talked very candidly about being able to openly contribute to campaigns, whether it was money or allowing their barbershops to be used as organizing spaz in the south, particularly because they were not beholden to a white employer or white customers. so this became quite critical. but also there were some african-americans, particularly students and african diplomats who were visiting around the 1960s who couldn't get hair cuts in white barbershops. and so they launched these protests. certainly this is the 2014 we're going to celebrate the anniversary of the '64 civil rights act. and so many african-americans could not get hair cuts in white barbershops. the irony here is that most black folks didn't actually want to hang out in white barbershops but they didn't want to be told where they could not get a haircut.

and so this is really critical, because this tells us certainly after the civil rights act of '64 was passed, african-americans didn't go running to white barbershop, they stayed inbarbershops. they stayed in black barbershops largely because imagine someone with an afro going to a white barbershop, one, trim my afro and two, let's talk about black pride and black politics. it doesn't happen. because of the production of black culture in black barbershops, these spaces have remained to be central to black politics and black communities. >> i remember as president obama was beginning to gain national prominence there was a question among the black community and how black is he really. and as they explored that question, they would ask what barbershop does he go to? you talk about it in your book. you say the barbershop served as a testing ground to understand the hot-button issue of whether or not the black community accepted obama's blackness. >> certainly obama so his credit

had this formally organized barbershop and beauty shop campaign so organizers would go in these shops to talk up the campaign. also what's critical is again historically these have been space where is african-americans who didn't have access to vote in the south would go to barbershops to talk about not having that ak ssz and would organize about that access as well. >> part of the thing happening here is these are black-owned spaces. when you own space, you could do whatever you want. that entrepreneurial aspect, locally owned. the owner is there. danny was a guy who cut my hair sometimes. saw him, that entrepreneurials a p pekt is a big part of this. >> and barbershops have always been these spalss, these occupations with low barriers to entry. so of any other aspect of the service economy, african-americans have always had the opportunity to become barbers and indeed to provide some sense of economic security for themselves and their

families so that's economically these spaces have been critical to the black experience. >> what barber do you go to? >> i don't actually. >> after all that. >> after all that. >> when you were doing this research, you had dreadlocks and some of the folks were saying, you know, you don't look groomed and you're not using my services, like that's not interesting to me. it doesn't matter that i'm not getting my haircut by a barber. also sbrelsing you started this research because our friend was harris perry, sent you to do this research. thank you very much. fantastic book. >> this going on here is fascinating. ? thank you, david. >> not too much in the back. >> up next -- right. the hottest new show on tv. abby reviews. [announcer] word is getting out. purina dog chow light & healthy is a deliciously tender and crunchy kibble blend. with 20% fewer calories than purina dog chow. isn't it time you discovered the lighter side of dog chow.

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let's open it up. it's a swiffer sweeper. swiffer dusters. it can extend so i don't have to get on the step stool. i don't know how it stays on there. it's like a dirt magnet -- just like my kids. [ afi ] this is a danger zone. that is crazy. ah haha! [ zach ] yeah. no, this definitely beats hanging out on a step ladder. good jump, baby. on a step ladder. great. this is the last thing i need.) seriously? the last thing you need is some guy giving you a new catalytic converter when all you got is a loose gas cap. what? it is that simple sometimes. thanks. now let's take this puppy over to midas and get you some of the good 'ol midas touch. hey you know what? i'll drive! and i have no feet... i really didn't think this through. trust the midas touch. for brakes, tires, oil, everything. (whistling)

the show is about two retired cops in louisiana and an investigation of evil in 1995 that forever changed their lives. it's not the type of show i would normally carve out time to watch. but because i love matthew mcconaughey, i have to say it's one of the most brillian and provocative shows i've ever seen.

this is coming from a "breaking bad" enthusiast. it stars woody harrelson and matthew mcconaughey. harrelson steps outside of his normal role and gets to play normal for once as detective hart. a good old boy type with a wife and kiss. mcconaughey plays lonely detective russ cole, a haunted alcoholic weirdo. it describes mcconaughey as a coiled, intelligent, perfect thing that should once and for all erase his hard-earned image as a shirtless stoner drawling his way through a perpetual string of romantic comedies. i love that version of him too. he thinks life is evil, dark, and ugly, full of infidelity and deceit. he questions why anybody would want to live in a miserable world. wouldn't we all be off better dead than alive? >> i don't use $10 words as much as you, but for a guy who sees

no point in existence, you sure fret about it an awful lot. and you still sound panicked. >> at least i'm not racing to a red light. >> he scoffs at those who rely on religion for comfort and a sense of purpose. in his mind, we are all worse off by being conscious of our existence and convinced of our importance. he identifies with the deceased victims he investigations. he envies the sense of leaf on all their faces nape get to leave their horrible lives behind. in kohl's mind we are living a delusional dream. >> all your life, you love, all your memory, your pain, it was all the same thing. >> always a same dream, the dream you had inside a locker room. that dream about me abeing a pe. >> before you know it you're immersed in his totally bizarre world. the episode ends and you

struggle to reenter yours. as you slowly recover it makes you think about who you are and what your purpose in life is. this is the thought-provoking brilliance. "true detectives" takes us on a journey of our own. we are the detectives trying to figure out what happened to cole and hart avenue that 1995 investigation. 17 years later hart is divorced and while cole spends his days bar tending with a ponytail and a menacing look. who are these men and how did this murder change their lives? that is the real story and it's up to us to figure that out for their sake and ours. speaking of amazing shows, alex wagner, all yours. >> very kind, thank you, abby. "legends of the fall." chris christie is caught in a spiral of suspicion, but how does it tell the man from the myth? it is thursday, february 13th, and this is "now."

>> get off the roads and stay home. >> god-awful winter. >> i wish it ended yesterday. >> turns out he's not telling the truth. >> we have to re-evaluatre-eval. >> that is a dynamic and drugmaker shift. >> a god-awful winter i wish would end yesterday. >> say lin palin reflecting on her own time in office. >> it's hard to be the ceo of an organization and not know what the closest people to you are up to. >> those two have a long history of not getting along and sniping at each other. >> you blow it if you ever try to hide anything. >> sarah palin talks about blowing it. didn't she quit? >> things are miserable out there. i don't know if chris christie knows how this is going to end. >> a god-awful winter i wish would end yesterday. >> it is tricky out there driving.