>> protesters turned out over the weekend to voice their outrage. the parents of jordan davis spoke out about the verdict and their son's killer. >> and we will continue to stand and we will continue to wait for justice for jordan. >> he's going to learn that he must be remorseful for the killing of my son. >> all of this as george zimmerman, who was acquitted in connection with the shooting and killing of trayvon martin is speaking out in a new interview, saying he's not comfortable being the face of the controversial stand your ground law and hopes to one day become an attorney himself. joining me live now, cory strolla, michael dunn's attorney. let's start with the appeal. you plan to appeal this decision. on what grounds do you plan to base your appeal?

>> well, there was some pretrial rulings made by the first judge. we have recused, she was one of the ones who denied bond, she denied indigent funds for my client, which would have helped. in terms of acute stress disorder, post-traumatic syndrome, rulings that happened throughout the trial, including the very last instruction that was read by judge healy prior to the verdict coming down. >> we should note the specific complaint regarding the obstruction? >> basically, the way the law works is if you're justified using deadly force in florida against one person, you cannot be charged for others, basically, the fact the jury deadlocked and even asked the question, if we hold him justified in self defense on one, is that for everybody, and the judge's answer was no, everybody must be considered

separate. >> much has been made of some of the jailhouse letters that your client wrote. how surprised are you that the prosecution did not try to introduce those letters to at least attempt to rebut your portrayal of mr. dunn as gentle and calm? >> well, i think a lot of those letters weren't relevant. we do have rules of evidence and on both sides, there was evidence i could not bring in because of rules of evidence regarding jordan davis and the other gentleman in the car, same thing with the michael dunn letters and some of the audiotapes, so the judge did make pretrial rulings, so i think that may have prohibited a lot of it, but a lot of letters are to his family, his grandparents, his daughter, his mom and dad. >> one of those letters dunn wrote to an undisclosed recipient, "i just got off the phone with you and we were talking about how racist the blacks are up here. the more time i am exposed to these people, the more prejudiced against them i

become. i suppose the white folks that live here are antiblack, at least the ones who have been exposed to them." you said in the past michael dunn is not a racist. he said the same thing. when you read this letter, not just the excerpt. we could show other letters, it reads like a racist letter. >> and you have to understand, and i would agree with you. if you take that snippet out of it, this was a man that was never exposed to a jail cell or a jail system, was put in isolation, and unfortunately, it was a culture shock. >> the jail made him racist? >> i wouldn't say the jail made him racist, but in jail, there are racism. the whites have issues with blacks, the blacks have issues with whites, hispanics have issues with that. inside the jail, there's a dynamic, and when you're threatened daily about we're going to rape you, we're going to kill you, and it's coming from the black inmates walking by his cell banging on the door, after about 12 to 15 months of this, it may change the way you

look at it, and there's actually a phone call he does talk to his family and says, i'm starting to think differently, i never believed this. michael dunn has an african-american nephew who's part of their family, who's been to thanksgiving, been to dinners. two of his former wives are hispanic. >> if jordan davis had a gun, why didn't he fire that gun when michael dunn started shooting? >> i don't believe he had the time or knowledge and ability to do so, and in that aspect, i think once a 17-year-old kid with a gun, even if he thought i'm just going to scare this guy and show him i'm a boss, i'm a big man, when michael dunn turns around and sees he racks one in the chamber, even at that point the kids in the car all ducked and the only one who didn't duck was jordan davis. >> why was there no residue on jordan davis's hand? there would have been a trace of residue. >> that's absolutely false. you will not get an expert in

the false. it's if the gun was fiered and the residue is so sensitive, not one single kid, including jordan davis, nobody's hands were tested by forensic. the forensics by law enforcement was nonexistent in this case. >> why did dunn's fiance say that dunn didn't tell her that he had a gun? >> her recollection, if you look at the evidence about a day later, the state took a sworn statement from the fiance, she indicated that he didn't mention a gun. when i talked to her and said, based on your mental state, and if you saw the testimony of her on the stand, she was hysterical, couldn't walk on the stand, and said her mental state was worse on the night of the shooting and the next day. >> that's strange credulity and you know that. >> i don't agree with you, and hear me out. if someone's mental state is so much worse than being able to stand and walk and compose themselves, i even asked her, is

there a possibility he mentioned a gun and you don't recall? there are three or four witnesses we're going to be calling in the retrial where she did talk about that afterwards. the problem is, she gave a sworn statement to law enforcement and they held her to that statement and not to waiver and i got her to waiver on cross examination. >> why weren't you able to produce a single witness? >> we did, michael dunn. >> besides michael dunn. >> here we go, the only two people that know what happened, every single state's witness outside of the kids in the car indicate they were not looking over in that area until after they heard the gunshot being fired. as a matter of fact, the one witness who claims he heard mr. dunn say something, he even said, i only looked at the gun, i never looked at the suv, so not one single witness can talk about jordan davis being out of the car and even the kids in the car admitted he could have threatened michael dunn, but they didn't hear him. >> the prosecution has said it's going to retry on this top count. are you going to represent michael dunn in the retrial?

>> as it stands right now, yes. there are things that come into play, we talked about the defense budget. >> what would having more money, what difference would that have made for the defense? >> we'd be able to bring in experts to show that when you are in a life and death fight or flight situation, what the mind goes through, what somebody may go through, and we get it. from day one we understood it was going to sound irrational that he left the scene, didn't call 911, let me finish, until someone puts a gun in your face and you believe your life is in jeopardy, you never know how you're going to react. >> at some point, you pick up the phone and call authorities, did you not? >> he did the next day. >> why not an hour later, two hours later? >> that's why a psychiatrist and forensic expert would come into play, talk about how the human mind works. post-traumatic stress disorder. >> you did not have the funding? >> the one witness we did have, the judge excluded him from the

trial and that would be part of an appeal, as well. >> do you know the jury breakdown on the charge? >> we do not. they don't, unfortunately, i'd love to know the way it works, they do not give you whether it was first, second. i can tell you this, if you look at one of the last question they asked, their question to the judge was, if we find self defense on one, is it self defense for all, so my humble opinion is that jury was hung on jordan davis was getting out of the car and that michael dunn shot in self defense and the minute judge healy instructed them every count has to be broken down separately, that's when they were hung on count one and came in on count two, three, and four. >> dunn apparently also wrote a letter to you while he was in jail. this one he talked about you in a letter that he wrote to his daughter, it's almost as if they are trying to hold me for as long as possible because they know they have such a weak case against me and no chance of winning. cory, my attorney, says i have a

much stronger self defense than zimmerman does, writing of george zimmerman. he should i should not worry if he loses, but it's a great sign if he wins. zimmerman was acquitted. your client was not. why was your calculation off? >> and i don't think my calculation is off. i think mr. dunn took what i said out of context. what i was explaining to him is, in zimmerman, they were trying to show that george zimmerman was the aggressor, he got out of the car, approached trayvon martin, he created that conflict, that physical confrontation. in mr. dunn's case, and i think what i was trying to convey to him, he didn't start a confrontation. everyone keeps talking about this as a loud argument over music. every guy in the car admitted mr. dunn didn't raise his voice, didn't curse. >> he didn't have to raise his voice. he took out a gun and fired ten shots, ten rounds. >> that was after jordan davis got out of the car with a weapon. >> let me ask you this before you go, why ten shots? if he was concerned, if the goal was to try and keep this

dangerous teenager at bay and to save his life, why not a warning shot, one in the air? two shots, maybe even three shots? >> by saying why not a warning shot, there is a black african-american female in jail right now in duval county where my client was prosecuted, she is sitting there, guess what x she got her conviction overturned on the jury instructions and on stand your ground. those people who are arguing against stand your ground are now portraying this as a win for an african-american female in jacksonville, who fired a warning shot. so if my guy fired a warning shot, the state attorneys would still prosecute him for that very warning shot. >> have to leave it there. i appreciate your time. >> thank you, sir. >> saturday's verdict leaves the state of florida once again scratching its head over the failure to convict a high profile murder suspect. will it be different a second time around?

>> he was a good kid. there's a lot of good kids out there, a lot of good nephews, a lot of good grandsons, granddaughters, nieces, and they shouldn't have a voice, they shouldn't live in fear and walk around the streets worrying about if someone has a problem with somebody else, that if they get shot, it's just collateral damage. there's no such thing to parents that their child suffered collateral damage. >> we just get ready and we come back into court and we work just as hard and we seek justice in the same way, so retrying a case is something that we've all had to do, and we'll continue to have to do, and we'll give it the same full attention. we don't back off having to retrial. >> joining me now, michael scolick. kendall coffey. let me start with you, mike, if

the jury did not buy -- if they didn't buy the michael dunn defense, how do they convict on the lesser charges? can you explain the two verdicts for me, kendall? >> well, it seems speculating, the jurors haven't been interviewed yet, but it seems somebody, at least one person who may have been holding out against a first-degree murder conviction believe that maybe there was a reasonable doubt about dunn's account of what jordan davis was or wasn't doing. however, as the judge indicated, you've got to look separately at the self defense allegations with respect to three other victims, and as to those three, there was nothing whatsoever that could have justified aiming a gun in their direction and shooting into their car, so there's a rationale, it's not a happy rationale, but there is a rationale for seeing a difference. >> can you also explain here, because there's been some confusion over the role that stand your ground played in all

of this down there in florida. walk us through that. >> well, stand your ground is very much a part of a trial like this, and the jury is specifically instructed to apply the principle that a defendant doesn't have to walk away from trouble, in fact, they have no duty to retreat and can literally stand their ground. so whether or not there is a separate stand your ground hearing, and that's where some of the confusion comes from, you have a right in florida prior to the jury trial to have a judge separately evaluate your stand your ground defense and if the judge believes you've proven it, the judge says you can't be sued for wrongful death. there was no stand your ground hearing separately from the trial itself, but believe me, stand your ground was part and parcel of what the jury was asked to apply. >> your take on this, mike, has been a bit different in that you want to make sure that we remember that the other teenagers who were in that

vehicle that night and for them, justice was, in fact, served on saturday. >> i think it's important that michael dunn tried to kill four people. he killed one. he attempted on three others. those three young men in the car, tommy was driving that car as a hero, pulled back and drove away as michael dunn stepped out of the car and continued shooting and pumping bullets into a car full of unarmed teenagers. those young men deserve justice, as well. we still want justice for jordan davis, we're going to fight for justice for jordan, but at least those three young men got justice they deserved. >> here's the thing, i remember vividly having almost an identical conversation with you after the zimmerman trial, and it seems we're talking about a lot of the same issues with regards to stand your ground and what appears to be quite the culture of guns in the state of florida. how do we move the conversation forward? >> i think it's important to point out the distinction. we saw davis, lucy mcbath,

jordan's mother, about their composure and what they said and lucy mcbath said after her son said, let us pray for michael dunn. let us pray for him, as well. let's pray for mr. strolla. mr. strolla came out and said this isn't about a black or white issue, it's about a subculture of thug. the only thug at the gas station that night was the guy that put bullets into a car full of unarmed teenagers. when is this nation going to have a conversation about the subculture of men who kill unarmed teens? let's have that conversation rather than perpetuating young black men are thugs because they are listening to rap music. >> stand your ground, not george zimmerman's defense, he has given a couple of tv interviews. i'm going to play a quick clip. >> are you comfortable being the face of stand your ground? >> i'm not comfortable being the face of anything, to be honest with you. i'd like to, professionally, be

continuing my education, hopefully become an attorney. i think that's the best way to stop the miscarriage of justice that happened to me from happening to somebody else. >> he sees himself as a victim of injustice, kendall coffey. does this speak to part of the culture that we were just talking about that exists in florida, and perhaps beyond florida? and can anything be done about that? >> well, it's a culture that, frankly, strongly supports people in the position of george zimmerman. what could be different is if michael dunn somehow gets acquitted, given the very weak self defense claim he has and given the fact that he seems to have come up with a formula for walking out of jail, which is, hey, i thought i was in danger of my life, i thought he had a gun, he was coming at me, i had no choice. if that completely unsupported set of self serving allegations by a defendant walks him away

from a first-degree murder trial, then i think there is going to be a real momentum to change stand your ground laws and perhaps the culture could react and change a little. >> i wish we had more time with both of you, but thank you so much, appreciate your time. still ahead here on msnbc, the voter i.d. fight heats up in the lone star state. why the future of the voting rights act could hang in the balance. plus, from hockey to figure skating, the action is on ice in sochi. could the united states take home its first gold ever in ice dancing today? we'll talk live to two-time olympic figure skating medalist nancy kerrigan. that's coming up. you're watching msnbc. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three types of good bacteria. i should probably take this. live the regular life. phillips'.

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justice department is among those currently challenging texas's strict voter i.d. law, a

law texas enacted the first chance it could after the supreme court struck down section 4 of the voting rights act last summer. it requires voters, among other things, it requires voters to show photo identification when voting in person, but now several experts are raising new concerns. if the latest challenge ends up in the hands of the high court, it could put the remaining pillar of the landmark act at risk. zachary roth is a national reporter for msnbc.com. he wrote the article for the website, "voter i.d. cases could let john roberts destroy voting rights act." michael lee is an attorney who specializing in election law and texas redistricting. good to see both of you. the voting rights act prohibits racial discrimination, including laws that have the effect, the effect, of discriminating. as you've written, how could this section fall apart because of voter i.d. challenges? >> well, if this case, the challenge against texas's voter

i.d. law, goes to the supreme court and if the justice department wins in the first round, it's very likely that it would. john roberts and his allies on the court could say, we don't agree that section 2 should bar laws that have the effect of discriminating, we think that's too law. it should only bar intentional discrimination and the problem is it's rare, difficult to improve intentional discrimination, so that would narrow what the voting rights act can do. >> are these the chance that this particular court has been looking for? >> they could well be. i mean, there's been, for decades, since john roberts was a lawyer in the reagan justice department, he has expressed the view in general in civil rights law, allowing these kind of broad laws that bar the effect of discrimination is too broad for him, and he wants to narrow that, so this could finally be his chance. >> you wrote a memo, if i recall, early '80s, no? >> that's right, 1982. >> michael, this current

challenge to the texas voter i.d. law, if it makes it to the supreme court, how do you see the case unfolding? >> well, i think the state of texas, obviously, has gone really big in its claim, as zach pointed out. and this is not new. in the redistricting case, in the voter i.d. case, texas has always gone big. i think it's going to be a close call, you know, the supreme court is increasingly been weary of race-based remedies. increasingly find trouble with them, and i think there's a serious risk here. >> mike, as you know, texas voter i.d. law already rejected once by a federal court in 2012 for, quote, imposing strict unforgiving burdens on the poor. how is this latest trial different? >> well, the latest trial is a little different in the sense that in the earlier case, the state had the burden of proof. in other words, texas had to

prove that the law didn't have a retroaggressive effect or didn't have intentional discrimination. in this case, d.o.j. in the private african-american and hispanic plaintiffs have the burden of proof, so it's a little harder in that sense, which is one of the reasons why they are spending more time developing the record, you know, when in 2012 the state of texas decided to push forward for a very fast trial, because without the trial, the law wouldn't have been in effect, in this case, the law is in effect, but in so d.o.j. and others are trying to weigh through all the various data issues and it's really complicated. in texas, we don't register checking rights or anything like that, so the data record is very, very complicated. >> section 2 does get struck in or is, in effect, narrowed, what's left of the voting rights act as we know it?

>> you have a few other provisions that can come into play in certain cases with language minorities and so on, but section 2 and section 5 are really the heart of the voting rights act, so it's almost a dead letter if you don't have those two. >> we'll leave it there. msnbc's zachary roth, attorney michael lee, big thanks to both of you on a monday. coming up, more hazards ahead for chris christie as the george washington bridge scandal widens. the latest on the investigation, including why port authority cops are now being questioned. and is the tide turning in nevada on marriage rights? i'll talk to congresswoman nina titus on why the state could be the next to legalize gay marriage. stay with us, you're watching msnbc. [ male announcer ] a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, this can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain

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months ahead. and former presidential candidate mitt romney talking about former and future clinton white house, but why is he talking about it at all? those are today's topics for our agenda panel. staff writer at the daily beast, james peterson, director of studies at lehigh university, and elizabeth plank is executive social editor at policy mike. good to see all of you. good reporting by msnbc's own steve kornacki connects a port authority police officer with close ties to governor christie to the george washington bridge scandal. text messages submitted show that the officer personally drove david wildstein, the christie appointee who supervised the closings, on a tour of the area while the lanes were shut down. that police officer is lieutenant thomas chip michaels. michaels has a history with both christie and wildstein. all three grew up in the same town in livingston, new jersey.

michaels also coached christie's son in little league hockey, his brother is a top republican lobbyist in the state. james, seems a new chapter emerges daily. jaim james, what does all of it mean for chris christie? >> i think what it means ultimately is the diminishing capacity for him to be a front-runner for the republican presidential nomination, and i think as the sort of corruption unfolds and we see the kind of cascading activity and how deep it is, you know, what voters not just in new jersey but across the nation have thoib, do you want this guy in charge of the u.s. military, do you want this guy in charge of overseeing the nsa? the kind of petty, punitive politics that this investigation is suggesting, to me, i think diminishing his capacity to be a front-runner for the president of the united states. >> liz, investigators are also looking into why port authority cops pointed stalled drivers

towards ft. lee's mayor. what's more damaging here, the new headlines, or the uncertainty about what we have not heard yet? >> definitely the uncertainty. we don't know how many more allegations are going to come out, but what's worrisome for voters is really what more is there, what more don't we know? it is not chris christie coming forward with these things and saying, okay, i did something wrong and i'm sorry, he's denying it. and excellent reporting at msnbc finding out all of these things, so what more is there? voters are always going to be wondering that and that's really bad for christie. >> i want to talk about this interview that mitt romney gave on "meet the press" yesterday, about the ability of the clintons returning to the white house in 2014. >> i think hillary clinton, if she becomes the nominee, will have plenty to discuss about her own record. i don't imagine that bill clinton is going to be a big part of it. that being said, the times when he was president were by and

large positive economic times for the country. on the other hand, he embarrassed the nation, he breached his responsibility, i think, as an adult and as a leader in his relationship, and i think that's very unfortunate, but i don't think that's hillary clinton's to explain. >> so, you know, jamelle, you heard the beginning of the answer, mitt romney said this is what the race should be about, about hillary's record, then the back end, we heard him sort of echo some of what we've been hearing from rand paul off and on over the past few weeks, as well. which is it going to be, hillary running on her own record, or is it going to be the sort of hillary running on her own record and, wink, wink, nod, nod, remember what bill did? >> well, i hope it's hillary running on her own record. yeah, there's rand paul, reince priebus, lewinsky's fair game, but i hope the smarter republicans recognize that in

2016, a good chunk of the electorate, almost half, will be people who either weren't adults or even aware in the 1990s, or they were young people in the 1990s and likely to support bill clinton. so i just can't imagine that strategy will resinate for anyone who's -- anyone who wouldn't already be inclined to vote for republicans. so, for their sakes, for the sake of them actually running, you know, a good campaign, i hope they shy away from that stuff. it's very irrelevant to most people's concerns. >> you know, i agree with what was just said. the first time you heard it from rand paul, i remember thinking, wow, that was odd. but by the second and third time, you have to wonder, liz, is this part of a calculated strategy, and if it is part of a calculated strategy, to whom would that strategy appeal? are we talking, you know, primary voters in the deep south? who is that message geared for?

gear towards? >> i think it is a strategy, a really bad strategy, especially if we look back at when this scandal happened 16 years ago, which is a long time ago. this actually helped hillary clinton professionally. before the scandal, her ratings were quite low. the study found she was the butt of more jokes in late-night television than any other politician, and after the scandal, her approval ratings spiked. she came off as stable, as a loyal figure, so i don't know why the republicans think this could actually hinder her, when it's helped in the past. >> big thanks to all of you. do appreciate your time. ahead here on msnbc, the latest sochi problem. there it is right there. fog. lots of fog. at least two events have been postponed, but the action on the ice is still on, including america's meryl davis, charlie white's historic quest for gold in ice dancing. first, though, the new push for

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find out if your business can qualify at start-upny.com a new push for marriage equality in nevada from gay rights advocates and officials, this after an about face from nevada's attorney general who says she will no longer defend that state's ban on same-sex marriage. dina titus joins me live now. congresswoman, you said last week that you will use your leverage on the house veteran affairs committee to back the effort to grant benefits to same-sex married veterans. why now? >> well, it's certainly past time, and a number of different state agencies and federal agencies are already recognizing same-sex marriage and providing benefits for partners. only the veterans administration is lagging behind, and we have got to get a push there. we've got to change the definition of spouse. we've got to make sure they get spouse benefits, and we need to

make sure they are able to be buried together in our national cemeteries. >> nevada's attorney general, as you know, announced she's no longer going to be defending the state's ban on same-sex marriage. just the latest of the democratic attorneys general to do so. also of note, republican governor brian sandoval agreed with her action there in nevada. what do we know about what influenced her decision? >> well, i think it was partly politics and partly the decision that had to do with jurors not being discriminated against because of gender orientation, but we're fighting the battle for marriage equality on every front simultaneously here in nevada, the state legislature, in the courts. >> what do you mean partly politics, in terms of the motivation? >> well, when that brief was submitted and you had some pretty extreme language in there comparing marriage equality to incest, that was a pretty large expression of outrage here in

the community of why was she doing that. >> how does the recent momentum around the country, for instance, last week a federal judge struck down virginia's ban on same-sex marriage, as you know. how does this impact public opinion and nevada's recent about-face, as well? >> well, it's very interesting. we've almost flipped exactly. it was in 2002 that they passed the constitutional amendment saying that marriage was between a man and a woman. that passed about 2-1, but a recent poll by the retail association showed that public opinion is now 2-1 in favor of marriage equality. >> all right. congresswoman dina titus of nevada. congresswoman, thank you. >> thank you. today's producer pick comes to us from amanda ingersoll, and it doesn't get much cuter than this. check it out. there it is right there, a polar bear. a polar bear cub, actually, at the toronto zoo, made his public debut this weekend. the crowd loves him. only three months old,

apparently. the baby bear's also, as you might imagine, a social media phenomenon. do we know the cub's name, anybody in the control room? oh, it hasn't been named yet. you can probably name the cub, shoot him an e-mail. online videos of the cub's first steps, first bath, and first time frolicking in the snow have received millions of hits. judging by his adorableness, it's clear to see why. list, i don't know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley. for over 18 years we've helped people take care of the things that matter most. join today at angieslist.com i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. yeah. everybody knows that.

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spiriva helps me breathe better. does breathing with copd weigh you down? don't wait to ask your doctor about spiriva. this is mike. his long race day starts with back pain... ...and a choice. take 4 advil in a day which is 2 aleve... ...for all day relief. "start your engines" well, you better grab a slice of chicago-style pizza while you can. time now for the poly side bar. we start with the supreme court justice's ruling on the windy city deep dish. scalia telling a crowd friday night that the chicago-style pizza featuring a thick crust and loads of sauce should technically be called a tomato pie. according to "the chicago sun times," scalia said, real pizza

is thin, it is chewy and crispy. no word yet on the decision of this important national debate. up next, if you are a "house of cards" fan, you are probably just now resurfacing from a weekend full of binge watching and if you thought the d.c.-based drama seems all too real, you are not alone. the show's star, kevin spacey, thinks that the story lines hit close to home for politicos. >> we can get done shooting on a day and i'll turn on the news and think our stoilline story lines are not that crazy, they are really not. >> they are really not. could your music tastes reveal your political meanings? pandora thinks so. this weekend it's going to start trying to make money off that idea, matching political advertising to listeners based on music preferences and zip codes. former first lady eleanor roosevelt topping the lists of

the best first ladies. the findings based on a interview with some 242 historians, political scientists, and scholars. this poll rounds out the top five with abigail adams, jacqueline kennedy, dolley madison, and michelle obama. mrs. obama will be one of the many a-listers stopping by for the tonight show with jimmy fallon. for the first time in more than 42 years, the broadcast is returning to the big apple, and fans can't seem to wait. they have been lining up outside 30 rock for hours now, overnight, in fact, for their chance at tickets. you can watch tonight at a special time, midnight, right after the olympics. midsize sedans. the volkswagen passat against all comers. turbocharged engines against...engines. best in class rear legroom against other-class legroom. but then we realized. consumers already did that.

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here's a look at some of the top stories making news right now. a frightening situation overnight in the skies above europe. the copilot of an ethiopian

airlines flight hijacked his own plane. he was apparently afraid for his life in his own country and asked for asylum upon landing in switzerland. all 202 passengers and crew were able to carrying a

rainbow flag that read "gay is okay." no comment from the cops at this point. we also don't know whether she was charged with any offense. bob costas is back to work today. the broadcaster will be resuming his primetime duties tonight. the first time since leaving last week . this guy, t.j. oshie, the hockey shootout hero got a tweet from president obama after helping to

beat the russians over the weekend. he was also on the "today" show this morning. >> what was going through your mind at that moment? >> what do i do next? there's a little panic in there, saw the replay, it looks like i wasn't shaking, but i was underneath and really happy that last one went in. >> and here's the medal count, the netherlands leading right now with 17 overall medals, russia and the u.s. tied for second with 16 medals a piece. team usa has a solid chance today to add to its medal count. right now, meryl davis and charlie white are competing to become the first americans to ever win gold in ice dancing. the pair absolutely dazzled in last night's short program, earning a 78.89. it is the highest score ever recorded. they now have a very comfortable lead going into the finals. nbc olympics nancy kerrigan, a two-time olympic figure skating

medalist herself, joins me live now from sochi. nancy, good to see you. >> thanks, so glad to be here. >> let me just first of all get your reaction to last night's performance. >> well, meryl and charlie skated so beautifully last night. i mean, i was sitting in the audience and they were just so fluid. there was just smooth, right from the start. they really looked like it's not work for them. they look like they are out there and enjoying it. i mean, even tessa and scott who are in second place right now, training partners, they have the same coach, and the reigning olympic champions, you know, they just look to me like they are working a little harder. i mean, they are both beautiful teams, but meryl and charlie just look fluid. it was gorgeous. >> and, you know, it looked like, to me at least, looked like they were dancing across a dance floor, not skating on a sheet of ice. as someone who knows what it's like on the ice, how difficult was that type of routine?

>> oh, well, it's quite difficult. and they did the short program now kind of like what the compulsories in original dance were all combined. they did a fox trot and a quick step and in doing that, they have required elements in the performance, and you can see when they go around the corner, how deep the edges are. really, at any moment, that edge could go from under you, because they really press themselves and push themselves, and meryl and charlie are, like, the best ever at the twizzles. they are so fast. the fastest turning, and they are matched perfectly. i mean, they are really -- it's, for them to lose, if anything, because they are so far ahead. in the team competition, in fact, they were about almost ten points by the end of the competition ahead of tessa and scott, so, you know, they are compatible, the two of them really fighting it out, but i don't know, i think i have to go

with meryl and charlie on this. >> i want to change topics for just a bit. it has been 20 years now since you were the victim of that preolympics attack. you have now agreed to be a part of a documentary for nbc, espn also out with a documentary, as well. nancy, how worried are you that your career and perhaps your life will forever be associated with what you have commonly referred to as "the incident"? >> i'm not worried about it. i mean, it's been my life now for 20 years. it's sort of sad, i have two olympic medals and have, obviously, worked very hard to get to the olympic games and to be able to do it twice, you know, is amazing. i mean, as a little kid, i never dreamed that would be possible, and the amount of skaters that start and are practicing around the country to think you're going to be one of three, you know, is sort of setting yourself up, so, you know, i never dreamed that. it's been an amazing journey for

me, and, you know, i am linked with that as a victim, but that is out of my hands. >> are you surprised -- >> since then, my life has moved on. >> are you surprised there seems to be so much interest in that? >> yeah, well, we got together at an interview four years after i was attacked, and i had naively thought maybe if we talk about this, it will never come up again, and here we are 20 years later talking about it again. i think i got over the fact that's not going to be a part of it and it's just part of my life. >> nancy kerrigan, it's good to see you. thank you so much for being a part of the team here, do appreciate it. >> thank you very much. that's going to wrap things up for me on this monday, i'm craig melvin. see you tomorrow at 11:00 and after the olympics at 2:30. up next, though, olympic coverage continues, olympic hockey, canada versus switzerland.

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helps defend against these digestive issues with three types of good bacteria. i should probably take this. live the regular life. phillips'. score! >> team usa wins! a sparkling night. olympic park in sochi getting ready for the second semifinal in women's hockey, canada and switzerland. hello, everyone. welcome inside shayba arena. canada and switzerland in just a moment. the winner will face the united states for a chance to play for gold. usa getting under way earlier today against