and have to make this a major issue for women and mothers at the midterm elections. we need to fight at our state legislatures and with our american businesses. >> shannon watts, founder of moms demand action for gun sense in america. dalia, senior editor of slate tm.com. thank you both. that's "all in." happy valentine's to you, everyone, and especially to you, babe. i'll be home in a bit. "rachel maddow show" starts now. happy friday. thanks for staying with us this hour. u.s. presidents give the order to blow stuff up all the time. commander in chief in charge of the largest military in the world. that means all the military stuff we do, even the secret stuff. so they get to blow stuff up by giving the orders for other people to blow stuff up. one thing u.s. presidents don't get to do very much in person anymore is blow stuff up themselves. right in front of everybody. out in the open. blowing stuff up. personally. that really never happens anymore. used to. watch this little piece of tape that we found today from jfk. this is 1962. president kennedy went to

california to open up a joint federal state water project in central california. so he gives this little speech. finishes his speech. watch what happens right after his speech. watch. >> and i hope from this great project will spread a renewed sense of commitment by all the american people. so that this country in 1962 and continue to move forward. thank you. >> behind you. over there, governor, and the opposite window over here and across the valley here. >> everybody ready? you lead.

>> ready? one, two, three. >> part of the job of being president is you do get to give the order to blow stuff up, but you really never really get to blow stuff up yourself anymore. right there in front of everybody. but john f. kennedy got to do that in 1962, literally the ground breaking with tnt for the san luis dam, a joint federal state project in california. the other guy with him there holding the other cartoon style plunger to set off the tnt explosion was the then governor of california, edmond brown who was the father of california's current governor, jerry brown. today president obama is back to california. the latest president to travel to california to address water issues in that state. the president today was in fresno announcing emergency relief for farmers and ranchers who've been devastated by the worst drought in over 100 years

in california. the white house science adviser also did a call in advance of the president's trip today to let people know there should be no ambiguity about the fact this white house and president see the extended drought in california and challenge of extreme weather more broadly as linked to climate change. so the policy approach from this white house is to try to mitigate some of the harm from extreme weather and drought like with this emergency funding for ranchers and farmers today. but to also recognize that extreme weather and prolonged drought are things that are associated with climate change which is not only real, it's happening right now. so climate change, itself, is something we ought to be trying to address from the point of view of this white house. but we also need to be simultaneously coming up with ways to survive it. ways to increase our resilience in the face of the effects of climate change. the president today to that end announced a new billion-dollar climate resilience research effort. which sadly for anybody who likes that idea is something that would require the approval

of congress. so presumably that will never happen. while the president is in california, though, he will also ge a chance to do one of the things you can comfortably do in california really only if you will willfully don't think about the terrible drought out there. which is to say the president will be playing golf today with the king of jordan. who's in the united states on other business but who's flying out to california specifically to meet president obama and to hang out and play spores with him. happy valentine's day, guys. before kicking off his bachelor valentine's day weekend with the king, though, president obama also spent the earlier part of valentine's day today with these handsome devils. the president before going to california today went to see the house democrats at their retreat in maryland. and most of that discussion between the president and the house democrats today was closed to the press. closed press, off camera. was a one-on-one question and answer session with any house democrat who wanted to ask the president about anything.

we do not have footage of that part of the day because they kicked the reporters out for that part, but they did let the cameras in for his opening remarks to the house democrats which were about both policy and politics. the president talks here about how the average age of people who get the minimum wage is 35 years old. it's a myth the minimum wage is only for teenagers. but then he gets really positive on politics and specifically he gets really positive on congress of all things. watch this. >> sometimes the debates on capitol hill get so abstract and to be next to folks average age, by the way, 35, these aren't teenagers, these are folks who are looking after families and trying to raise kids. and to see what it would mean to them for us to have a federal minimum wage of $10.10 an hour, and how much relief that would give them and how committed they

were to the american dream and getting ahead and just hoping that somebody was standing up for them. it reminded me of why i'm a democrat. and it reminded me of why i'm so proud of this caucus. because you're standing up on behalf of them. across the board, we're moving, but as i said at the state of the union, i want to repeat today, we an get a whole lot more done if we've got congress working with us. and this caucus has shown time and time again under the most difficult circumstances the kind of courage and unity and discipline that has made me very, very proud. and i was just talking to nancy before i came out here, the fact that we are no longer going to see, i believe, anybody try to hold our government hostage, and

threaten the full faith and credit of the united states of america, in order to contract policy concessions, the fact that we were able to pass a clean debt limit is just one example of why when you guys are unified, you guys stick together, this country is better off and i could not be more thankful and more appreciative and prouder of what you're doing. >> when is the last time you heard anyone praise congress as doing stuff and doing it well and helping the country? and, yes, it is a rah-rah session because it's the president talking to democrats who serve in congress and talking to them about how they're doing their job, but president races an interesting point there about whether or not democrats have been able to turn their position as the supposedly powerless minority in the house actually into a constructive force in washington. thanks to the majority of the republicans being so fractured. it's a point that vice president joe biden also made today. although how did it in bidenese

which means he said literally and he meant it. this was great. watch. >> i came back to say, again, thank you, and i'm not being gratuito gratuitous. literally thank you. were it not for the house of representatives and the way you stood by the president and particularly the leadership of nancy, it would not have -- this could have been a much, much rougher, rougher road. >> vice president biden today echoing the president's remarks to house democrats that from their position in the minority, in the house, by sticking together, they have been able to make congress actually do some constructive things. even though from the minority, you're not supposed to be able to do anything in the house. vice president biden also went on today, though, after that part of his speech to give what essentially wases a barn burner. an extended riff that kind of brought the house down. talking about what democrats stand for. what democrats are fighting for right now in terms of policy matters and how much he says the rest of the country stands with

democrats on those issues. watch this. >> this is the first time in my career, nancy, where on every major issue, the american people agree with the democratic party. i mean, think about it. no, i really mean it. i know that sounds like hyperbole, but think about it. every issue facing the american people, particularly the embattled middle class, on every single issue, from which you were able to do in the debt ceiling, they weren't about to go ahead and play game with it this time because of you. to minimum wage, 72% of the american people support an increase of the minimum wage. early childhood education, 86% of the people. immigration reform, 73% of the democrats. 60% of republicans. background checks on weapons. 90% of the american people. infrastructure, 88% of the american people think it's a means by which to grow the country. american people agree with us.

overwhelmingly they agree with us on pay equity and even 55%, as all the difficulties you're facing now with the aca, 55% of the american people don't want to see it repealed. i can't think of a time when the issues that most effect the american people, the middle class, overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly they support us. i make another point to you. there isn't a republican party. i wish there were. i wish there was a republican party. i wish there was one person who could sit across the table from, make a deal, make a compromise and know when you got up from that table it was done. that's what political parties, that's what nancy is able to do. that's what president is able to commit to. but there is -- all you had to do is look at the response of the state of the union. what were there, three or four? i'm not being facetious. so i think we should get a little focused here. keep your eye on the ball. keep your eye on the ball. the american people are where we are.

and let's go out and make every single effort not just to defend, but to aggressively push. aggressively push our agenda. they are with us. they are with us. and i'm sure hell glad i'm with you. thank you very much. >> vice president biden today speaking to house democrats and showing why even if he doesn't run for president, he is still the democrat that every democratic group in the country wants to come speak at their events. nobody preaches to the choir better than joe biden preaches to the choir. while the democrats were in maryland with both their vice president and their president giving them some serious pep talking today, both of them raising this very interesting issue of whether or not nancy pelosi has found a way to be powerful and effective, while working in a job that's supposed to have no power at all running the minority party in the house. the democrats were celebrating themselves and celebrating their strategy in the house today. the republicans were not.

no, today republicans had a very, very, very difference day than that. hold that thought. we'll be right back. you can separate runway ridiculousness... from fashion that flies off the shelves. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. and only national is ranked highest in car rental customer satisfaction by j.d. power. (natalie) ooooh, i like your style. (vo) so do we, business pro. so do we. go national. go like a pro.

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the american people are where we are. and let's two out and make every single effort not just to defend, but to afwrggressively push, aggressively push our agenda. they are with us. they are with us. i'm sure in hell glad i'm with you. thank you very much. >> house democrats today hosted both the president and the vice president in maryland at their annual retreat. and honestly it was the most rah-rah show of democratic we can do it unity that i

personally feel like i've seen in a long time. the democrats were enjoying that today and congratulating one another on what they've been able to both accomplish in their own terms and stop the republicans from doing by holding together in a unified way in the house while democrats had that kind of day today. the republicans had a very different kind of day today. >> it is remarkable. in the 13 months i've been in the senate, it has become apparent to me the single thing that republican politicians hate and fear the most. and that is when they're forced to tell the truth. it makes their heads explode. >> that was not a liberal. that was texas tea party republican senator ted cruz speaking on conservative talk radio today on mark levin's show taking what amounts to the ted cruz version of a victory lap. in this case, for how much he hurt other republican senators with the trick that he pulled in washington this week. when democrats in the house went

to their house retreat this week, where you just saw that footage, right, they were at the hyatt regency hotel in cambridge, maryland. that's the exact same hotel where the republicans in the house held their retreat just last week. and the democrats today are all excited about their unity, the republicans came back from their retreat at the same hotel in the same town last week and announced that they'd been able to come to no agreement on what to do about immigration and no agreement about what to do about the debt ceiling so much so they were going to have to essentially surrender on the debt ceiling issue. just agree they couldn't agree on anything about it and have to let the democrats pass it with however many republican votes were needed to get it done. total, total collapse on the republican side. collapse day was when john boehner ended up singing zip-a-dee-doo-dah to reporters. remember? >> thanks. >> zip-a-dee-doo-dah.

zip-a-dee-ay. my oh my what a wonderful day. plenty of sunshine coming my way. >> the republicans collapsed in the houns the debt ceiling. that bill passed with a smaller proportion of the minority, excuse me, of the majority than anything else since anybody's been keeping records of that. it was a democratic bill that they just gave them enough republican votes to get it done. what that meant was that the house voted to raise the debt ceiling. so then it had to go to the senate. in the senate they could have passed it by unanimous consent which means nobody casts an actual vote. they just let it pass. or the republicans could have let the democrats pass it alone. if the republicans didn't filibuster it, it would only take 51 votes to pass it. more than 51 democrats. the democrats could have done it alone. all the republicans could have voted no on it which of course would help them immensely with republican primary base voters back at home. they could keep their hands clean while the debt ceiling got raised. but tea party senator ted cruz decided that he was lonely maybe? just not getting enough attention? too well liked this week? ted cruz decided to filibuster

the bill which meant that it couldn't pass with just democratic votes. some republicans were going to have to cross the aisle to vote for it, or there would be international economic armageddon. but they were so embarrassed about doing it, they so did not want to be seen casting those votes that the republicans did something that has maybe never happened before in congress, at least as far as we can tell. you can tell from this tape, this is the way it usually goes when the senate is voting on something. you're watching on c-span or lucky enough to be there at the senate watching in the gallery. this is how it usually goes. watch. >> mr. schumer, aye. mr. thune, aye. mr. hoeven, aye. mr. markey, aye. >> that's a normal vote. see if you can spot the difference. >> mr. markey.

mr. mccain. mrs. mccaskill. mr. mcconnell. >> it's not that they're not voting, but the republicans refused to allow their votes to be said out loud because they didn't want anybody to know how they were voting on the debt ceiling. they asked harry reid's permission to do it this way and said out of deference and respect to his republican friends, he would let them do it. really weird. nobody has done this in congress in years. c-span was furious. all the reporters who cover this stuff from the senate gallery were furious. this was essentially a way to obscure what the vote was. they couldn't tell what the votes were because they weren't said into the microphone. a reporter from roll call was so annoyed in trying to figure out which republicans actually voted for this thing because some of them clearly did that he went town to the senate clerk and asked to see the actual scrap of

paper on which the clerk marks the votes by hand. as people vote in order to figure out who done it. and it's amazing, look, roll call's now posted it online. the actual sheet. see the senator's name in the center column there and the clerk marks by hand, no with a mark on the right or yes with a mark on the left. and the squiggly lines here, yeah, those were changing their votes. that was one, two, three, four, five, six senators. six republican senators who at least it appears from handwritten notes appear to have officially voted no on the debt ceiling, but then they came back and had the senate clerk change their vote to yes so the debt ceiling would pass. even though, yes, it is important the debt ceiling passes, it, for example, avoids international economic armageddon. nevertheless, a vote like this, this is absolute kryptonite to hardcore base republican voters. this is a flaming pile of exactly what you think it is left on the front doorstep of these six senators and the

democrats did not do it to them. no democrat was involved in this debac debacle. democrats sat back and watched republicans do this to themselves. ted cruz did this to the riest n the senate. democrats are unified right now. democrats don't agree on everything, but they do agree, all of them, on how much fun it is to watch republicans do this stuff to each other. joining us now, d.c. bureau chief at the "huffington post," ryan grim. nice to see you. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> the senate opted not to verbally pronounce the votes for individual senators for this vote. how strange is that? >> oh, it's awfully strange. what i'm told is that harry reid's response to mcconnell was, look, if this is what you need to avert a financial crisis, fine, go ahead. we'll do it this time. but you're right, it's unheard of in recent memory. and it's silly because all it takes is going down and grabbing a sheet of paper and you can see

who switched sides. so it didn't even serve their purpose. >> in terms of why the republicans wanted this, obviously it didn't work in terms of keeping their votes secret. is it fair to say that these votes will hurt the six senators at home who cast these votes? it's not like none of them have ever voted for a debt ceiling rise before. >> right. probably not. because, you know, the people who voted for this voted for it because they can afford it politically. people like mccain and barrasso and jeff flake in arizona who wants to be seen as more moderate because arizona is tilting more blue. ironically, what i've been told is it was moderate republicans that forced this on them. murkowski and collins came up to mitch mcconnell and john cornyn and said, look, since you're making -- since cruz is making everybody vote on this, we're not going to be the only ones to go out on a limb here. you, mcconnell, you, cornyn, have to vote with us on this. that meant mcconnell and corn y were in a position to be deciding votes on a vote like

this and don't want to be there. that's when they started scrambling and told harry reid, shut off the microphones and they corralled as many people as they could, took them in the cloakroom, explained the situation that murkowski and collins were going to vote no if they didn't get the support of leadership. then you see people like mccain come out and change their votes and vote yes. >> that's fascinating. that explains why the votes were crossed out and changed because the moderates were like, no, we're not going to do this alone. >> mcconnell and cornyn thought it was going to be business as usual, they could go about, they could vote no on this, they could demagogue it on the campaign trail. then they found out, hmm, it's either demagogue on the campaign trail or a financial crisis. so, you know, to their credit, they decided they would not force a financial crisis on the globe for the sake of their re-election campaigns against tea party opponents that they're probably going to beat anyway. >> ryan, across the aisle today, president obama and vice president biden were with house democrats at their retreat and

they spoke in pretty glowing terms. it may just be flattery. it may be the kind of thing you want to say to get a nice warm round of applause from knowing your audience. but the point that they were making about what democrats in congress have been able to do by stickinging to, what nancy pelosi's been able to do with her minority caucus, in the house. has the republican fracture in the house on debt ceiling and everything else, has it meant that democrats and -- that democrats can actually do some stuff for by sticking together? >> no, absolutely. because it didn't have to go this way. you know, democrats are not exactly famous for their unity. what's that saying i'm not a member of an organized party, i'm a member of the democratic party? it's not a given that they would have hung together on this. and the strategy from house republican leadership from the very beginning was, this is what they were telling reporters, we're going to find some type of debt ceiling package that splits democrats and unites enough republicans that it forces the senate to go along with it. we wrote at the time such a

thing does not actually exist. there is no way that they were going to find that. they threw every random thing they could think of up against the wall and nothing stuck because democrats realized if we hang together, we will win because there is nothing that will unite the republican party. i think widen actually kind of hit something rather profound there h. there actually isn't really a republican party now. there are a lot of different factions that are united under this thing that they're calling the republican party. >> i totally agree. i've been, i mean, for me i've been wondering we the schism becomes formal. it feels like the schism is undoubtedly there. ryan grim, thank you for joining us. is up you have been working longer hours than usual. i really want to congratulate you. sydnid sidney and virginia, tha are their names? >> it's a terrific valentine's day present. >> congratulation, man. they're absolutely beautiful. lots to come including me making kevin spacey really, l

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fair warning if you're a kid or maybe if you're not, this is thing that might make you want to grow up to be a judge some day. almost 154 years ago as abraham lincoln approached the cataclysmic rending of our nation, a rending that would take his life and lives of hundreds of thousands of others, he wrote these words. it could not have failed to strike you these men ask for just the same thing.

fairness and fairness only. this so far as is in my power, they and all others shall have. the men and women and the children, too, whose voices join in noble harmony with plaintiffs today also ask for fairness and fairness only. this so far as it is in this court's power, they and all others shall have. nobody quite knew when this virginia court ruling was going to happen or what it was going to be but it happened in the middle of the night last night. abraham lincoln gets his moment in the sun in the south and there's more. stay with us. in the nation, we reward safe driving.

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allow me to introduce you to william wirt, attorney general for more than 11 years in the 1820s under presidents james monroe and john quincy adams. he's the longest serving attorney general in u.s. history. the next longest serving a.g. was janet reno, 150 years after william wirt she got closer to anyone else in history to his record when she served nearly eight years under president bill clinton. what about the guy who's there now? what about eric holder? at the start of president obama's second term, a lot of

the other really high profile members of the president's cabinet left. not necessarily because of the scandal or disagreement with the president, or something, but because, you know, first term's up. time to move on. hillary clinton left as secretary of state. tim geithner left as treasury secretary. steven chu left as energy secretary. all the marquee names left but not attorney general eric holder. he stayed. sort of quiet assurances at the time that he did not intend to stay for the whole second term, but he did want to stay at least a little while longer so he is till there now. five years into it and counting. nobody's quite sure exactly how much longer attorney general eric holder is planning to stay in office. while he's still around, though, turns out he's making it crystal clear he's going to make the most of the time he has left. the attorney general sort of quietly without much attention has been on a real tear recently. i mean, oat a remarkable pace, he's made big policy announcements and changes and

dramatic statements about public policy and fights he wants the justice department to engage in from his perch atop that department. this latest example was this week. speech at georgetown university. he put a spotlight on the fact there are 5.8 million people in this country who aren't allowed to vote knthough they are adult. described it as unjust and unacceptable. 5.8 million people, larger than the population of 31 individual states. 5.8 million people is the number of americans who would otherwise be able to vote but who can't because they have a criminal record. 11 states continue to place restrictions on people's right to vote even after they served their time. or finished off their probation or parole. after they fully paid their debt to society. in florida, that means that fully 10% of the population that would otherwise be able to vote can't vote. 10%. in mississippi, it's 8%. this week attorney general eric holder called for all states to reform those policies. and to make the point that this isn't and shouldn't be seen as a

partisan issue. mr. holder cited republican senator rand paul's work on this same issue and cited republican former virginia governor bob mcdonnell's work on this issue although now that governor mcdonnell is facing a federal criminal indictment, we should see that as a slightly more self-interested decision than it seemed like at the time. still, though, point made. eric holder really has been on a tear. before this week's claire yrion on voting rights, the attorney general has taken on stand your ground laws across the country. sued texas over voter i.d. laws. called for the end of mandatory minimum sentencing policies for nonviolent drug offenses. he cleared the way for colorado and washington to go ahead with their new state laws that legalize poll which meant major changes to doj's priorities when it comes to prosecuting marijuana cases. announced same sex couples married in utah before the state shut down their right to do so, those couples' marriages would be recognized by the federal government even if they weren't recognized by their home state. he also issued new policies that

eliminate the distinction between married straight couples and married gay couples in federal criminal justice matters. stuff like filing for bankruptcy, rules about testifying against your spouse in court. all that stuff. and those are not all the things he's done this year. but he has done all of those things this year. just in the past year since he and president obama started their second terms in office. again, nobody knew heading into the second term whether or not attorney general eric holder wanted to still be in that job but the way he's spent this past year, quietly, makes it clear that he's making the most of it and along the way seems to be becoming one of the most quietly consequential attorneys general ever. meanwhile, though, at the same time, there's a revolution happening in the federal courts on the gay rights issue mr. holder has made a high-profile part of his time in office. on wednesday night this week a federal judge in kentucky ruled that state has to recognize same-sex marriages legally

performed in other states. follows a ruling in a more conservative state of oklahoma last month striking down the oklahoma marriage ban. the oklahoma decision followed a similar federal court ruling in utah striking down the utah marriage ban. just this week, the republican governor of nevada said that neither he nor the state's democratic attorney general will defend that state's marriage ban as it is challenged in federal court. and now it's valentine's day. and about 9 0 minutes before midnight, 10:30 p.m. eastern last night, a federal judge in virginia handed down her own impassioned ruling. striking down the virginia ban on same-sex marriage. coincidentally or not, timing it so it would be in every valentine's day newspaper in the country this morning. the ruling starts with a quote from mildred loving from the famous loving v. virginia case that struck town that state's ban on interracial marriage. and it ends with a ringing and unequivocal striking down of virginia's same-sex marriage ban today. with all this happening at the federal level, both in terms of policy from this apparently

newly energized justice department, and from the courts at rather lightning speed, what's going to happen next here? joining us now, the chief justice professor of constitutional law at nyu. nice to see you. thanks for being here. >> great to see you, rachel. >> we have seen this cascade of similar rulings in other states recently since last summer's week -- last summer's landmark rulings. but this one in virginia sort of feels like it has a little more at least historical hest, am i right or imagining that? >> no, i think you're absolutely right. when i asked ted olson who joined this case, he, of course, was part of the odd couple team that litigated the prop 8 case in california. i asked him why this case. you could have had your pick of cases. everyone was inviting you into these cases. there are dozens of them percolating around the country. why virginia? he said it's because i spent my formative years in california, i currently spent a lot of time in virginia so these feel like

homes to me. it's because of this loving v. virginia case and has in our constitutional history. so if you think back to 1967, unanimous supreme court, chief justice warren writing the opinion strikes down this ban on interracial marriage saying it's the law of the land that individuals can marry whoever they want regardless of race. so he said that the poignancy of joining a case in virginia and drawing the analogy between the interracial marriage issue and the same-sex marriage issue was what drew him into the case. >> the virginia decision does echo what we've seen elsewhere in citing the wind zsor case to invalidate the state-level ban. is it starting to feel like the logical and predictable outcome of that decision every time federal judges are going to look at it around the country? could things have gone the other way on this case? >> they really could have. i think if you look at justice

scalia's dissent in the windsor opinion which was the 2013 opinion handed down just last summer, he called the majority opinion's reasoning rootless and shifting were terms he used. what he meant it was up in the air as to whether or not this was a state's power decision or whether it was a gay rights decision. because if you interpret it as the problem with the federal defense of marriage act was that it failed to recognize marriages for federal purposes. that the states, themselves, had recognized. that would be a state's powers issue because marriage has traditionally been as all family law is a matter of state law. this is a presumptive matter. so if that had been the ground of the ruling, that wouldn't have had that much effect on state bans because it's a state prerogative to define marriage, they can define it how they will. on the other hand, if you read it as a gay rights decisions, that means restrictions on him sex marriage are just as obnoxious to the constitution as

the federal denial of benefits was. of these two interpretations, we don't know which one would prevail. so it was really left to the lower courts and now we have utah and oklahoma and virginia not necessarily predictable jurisdictions saying windsor was a gay rights case and no other way to read it. now the decision are piling up, cumulating in a way that i think is very, very powerful in terms of how this case is teed up for the ultimate decision by the united states supreme court when it returns there. >> exactly. that's the fascinating thing to watch now. not just what's going to happen in the individual cases but which one of them ends up being the basis on which the supreme court makes its next decision. fascinating stuff. nyu law. thank you very much for being with us ukenji. appreciate it. thanks so much, rachel. happy valentine's day. >> you, too. thank you. stay with us. car and hotel together to save even more. plus, get an extra $100 when you build your custom trip. expedia, find yours.

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this is some really, really, really awkward tape we just got our hands on. this is north carolina today. republican governor pat mccrory giving what he thought was a press conference about the winter storm that walloped his state, left hundreds of drivers stranded on the highways yesterday and today. people in the state playing dude where's my car? trying to find out where the state might have towed the cars if they did. but as north carolina's governor today took reporters' questions,

you could see with the storm leaving the state now, he has a far bigger headache in the making. watch this. >> will you, for the record, what discussions you've had with duke energy executives, regarding the citizen lawsuits and the action taken by your administration with that settlement and lawsuits? >> first of all, my emphasis is right here on the storm. i'd be glad to have you talk to the secretary regarding that, but i've had no conversations with duke energy about the lawsuits or about the federal action. >> governor mccrory, will you disclose the value of your duke energy stock and do you think there's any appearance of a conflict of interest from the ownership? >> i stated in records i have 401(k), original 401(k), duke energy value. >> governor -- >> i didn't -- excuse me, sir,

but you have not been recognized. okay? and i'd be glad to take any other -- sir, excuse me, sir, i told you i'd get back to you and be glad to answer your questions. no time to be disrespectful. >> north carolina's governor would rather talk about whether he botched the response to the big snowstorm yesterday than talk about his handling of this. one of the largest spills of coal ash ever reported in american history. the coal ash belonged to mr. mccrory's longtime former employer duke energy before a pipe ruptured earlier this month and sent tens of thousands of tons of coal ash into north carolina's dan river. yesterday we learned federal prosecutors in connection with that spill have issued federal grand jury subpoenas to both governor mccrory's former employer duke energy and to governor mccrory's administration. today we asked duke energy for a copy of the subpoena that they received from the u.s. attorney. the company declined to show it to us. the associated press and local

station wral did get a copy of the subpoena that went to the mccrory administration. requires the state to hand over documents related to the dan river site spill. and to testify the spill and to testify before a federal grand jury. that federal grand jury subpoena went out on monday and the timing turns out to be really, really interesting because the day before on sunday, the associated press that reporter who you just heard there asking questions of the governor, the associated press had just publish ad bomb shell article about the administration moving to take over and essentially block lawsuits against duke energy by environmental groups and then they would settle those suits in private for just $100,000 total. the day after the ap's report on that north carolina officials asked a judge to not approve the settlement that they themselves had already put forward in those cases and the administration then got that subpoena, that same day on monday and then the next day on tuesday the governor

talked publicly about the state's decision to delay the settlement. so he's talking about his state dealing with duke energy and coal ash and these spills. again when he made those remarks his administration had already gotten that federal subpoena and although the governor was talking about it publicly he didn't mention they received the subpoena. he skipped the part about his administration receiving a federal criminal subpoena. his administration had just gotten it. federal authorities investigating a potential criminal felony on that issue, the governor doesn't say beat. now that reporters are covering the news of that federal criminal investigation the governor would like for his press conferences about the weather to be just about the weather. even if he had been willing to talk about the coal ash thing before. ap reporters today pressed the governor about his financial stake in duke energy where he worked for 28 years in his financial disclosure forms he does report owning stock in duke energy worth at minimum $10,000

but we have no idea how much stock exactly he still owns. we do not know and the governor is not saying. the dan river spill itself is still unfolding. duke energy has lowered its estimate of the amount of coal ash it dumped into the river instead of 82,000 tons they think it's more like 30,000 tons give or take 10,000 tons. the state still says the water supply from the dan river is safe. but they also say you should not touch the water or eat any fish from it. also tonight the state says it has given duke energy ten days to plan and schedule a fix for a separate leaking stormwater pipe at that plant on the dan river. they want to prevent that second pipe from failing like the first one did. no matter what the governor of north carolina wants to talk about these days reporters around that state are showing that they are is going to keep looking into this and how he's running things now in his new job where he's positioned to do way more for duke energy then he

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thcar loan didn't start here. it began way, way back. before he had children. before he got married. it started in his very first apartment. see that overdue bill? it arrived after he moved out. and he never got it. but he's not worried. checking his credit report and score at experian.com allowed him to identify and better address the issue... ... and drive off into the sunset. experian . live credit confident.™ you're not doing anything as fast as you used to, which is funny, 'cause i still do it better than her.

you know, i don't think i was meant to sweep. it's a little frustrating. look. [ zach ] i can't help out as much as i used to. do you need help? [ doorbell rings ] 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. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop.

can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. best new thing in the world. okay. there's an unwritten but almost written rule when you work in television that when you're on tv you do not promote other things that people could be watching on tv besides you. besides the show that they are watching right now. you get the logic of that. i totally understand it. i even concede it might be a good idea for me to abide by this rule. but netflix isn't really tv, right? it's different. the original british version of the show "house of cards" was so good. it came out in 1990 as a bbc

series and had four long series. if you love drama about intrigue and politics and can stand humor, "house of cards" on the bbc was so good and so spectacularly creepy it can't be overstated. >> i do enjoy the visits to the palace. a glass of sherri, proverbial fencing and a dose of hatred and contempt and today there's going to be a little extra treat. no i won't spoil it. wait and see. >> that was the original version of "house of cards" in which the anti-hero was named francis erkhart. in the american adaptation kevin spacey has made that same character way more famous than he ever was. in his american version of the character he's a democrat from south carolina whose named francis underwood. i have good news and bad news about that for you. the good news is this, if you

like political drama and political intrigue and haven't seen the american version i'm here to tell you as your friend you still have the opportunity to find and watch the old british one, the old bbc one before you watch the american version. you should totally do that. take it from me. however, the bad news is that if you have already watched the american version, if you watched even some of the american version you actually can't go back, you can't go back now and watch the bbc one after you've seen the american one. it's like orange juice and milk, you can only do them in one order. you'll not like the bbc one if you watch it after the american one. also the other one is a big spoiler. it only works if you watch the british one first and then the american one. take it from me. the second season of the american version, kevin spacey has been posted today on netflix, which despite the rule

i'm allowed to tell you because technically that's not tv, right? also because what i'm about to show you makes it special for us here at the show. i'm not technically giving you a spoiler alert here because there's nothing actually given away in this clip but if you want to avoid seeing anything from episode two of the new series you should avert your eyes right now and go like this, la, la, la. >> this is not the most inspiring choice for a vice president. a well-respected operator, pragmatic, but let's face it this is a nod to congress. nothing more than a place holder until 2016 assuredly. not surprised he's doing a private swearing in that is the president wants to draw as little attention to this as possible. no real wow factor -- >> so in one year i got made into a simpson character in a got frank underwood mad enough at me on "house of cards" that

turned me off mid-word which here by i quit. my life can't get any better. my job is over. i won. now go to prison, you people. please i'm busy. go to prison. good-bye. due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >> msnbc takes you behind the walls of notorious prisons into a world of chaos and danger. now the scenes you have never seen." "lockup:raw." >> you have a lot of people here that now that they're in prison they resort to what they have to as far as sex. >> we manage to connect some times. >> your lovely bride. >> prison weddings, openly gay and lesbian relationships,