on nbc sn and noon eastern czech republic and slovakia, latvia on msnbc. for all of us, so long from sochi. and a good blnd ood monday . i'm at 30 rock. welcome to "news nation." and a big nation welcome to those who were just watching semifinal imwomen's hockey to switzerland and canada. congrats to team canada. another mild day in sochi. that's created some extreme fog. so foggy, in fact, two events were postponed. for those marking the presidents' day holiday at home, it's a good day to catch up on the olympic action in russia. there are no shortage of storylines to follow over the

weekend and heading into this week. the emotional bronze medal more 36-year-old bode miller in the super g. that thrilling weekend for team usa men's hockey. and the instant olympic sensation t.j. ashioshie. and a spoiler alert. don't tweet me -- this is a spoiler alert. american gold, historic american gold for meryl davis and charlie white in the ice dancing championships, the first time the team usa has claimed gold in that event. beyond the feats of athleticism and fickle conditions from mother nature, one storyline that we heard a lot about at the outset of the games, much less since, though, security. that, of course, is a welcome sign for host president putin whose security regime has

included people walking unchecked past metal detectors. security guards no longer poking around at the pockets and ankles of every person entering olympic facilities. tangerines and bottles of coke are making it through security barriers that banned them two weeks ago. nbc's richard engle has been covering security in sochi throughout the games. joins us live now. richard, let's start there as we move into this second week. is that a fair assessment? is that what you're seeing on the ground now is laxer security, a laxer security apparatus than a week or two ago? >> reporter: we have seen the restrictions not quite as rigorously enforced as they used to be. but i would say that in general security is still very tight. i don't want to give the impressiona auto -- maybe the

article gives the impression that it is now an open environment and people can just come into the olympic park and leave as they choose. that certainly is not the case. in the beginning, there may have been an exaggeration. you couldn't bring water bottles in, you couldn't bring fruit in to come in and out of the venues. it would at times take hours. now the -- there's more of a rhythm, if you will, and the security guards are using a bit mother nature discretion. so we haven't seen the same kind of tight checks, but i think for most of the visitors here, that's a relief. >> what are you seeing in terms of protests? >> well, in terms of protests, that's a bigger and far more controversial story because the russians set up this protest zone. sort of like the chinese did in beijing. this was an area that the russians set apart and said, if you want to protest, you can go there. the problem is, according to the official russian authorities and local authorities here, almost

no one has applied for that permit. we know that's not because there's no one in this country who wants to protest. there are a lot of russians and international activiists who don't like russian policies, the environmental policies, don't like the environmental damage that happened before these games, don't like russia's position on gay rights. but a suspicious number -- well, really no significant protests have happened in that protest zone. and some people say it's because the police have been too strict. that they've been getting to activists. that they've been arresting activists. at least one known environmentalist, well-known environmental activist, has been arrested. so the protests don't at this stage -- seems mostly symbolic. >> richard, really quickly, last question here. unrelated to security. unrelated to protests. probably technically even not even newsworthy. what's your favorite event? what's richard engle's favorite olympic event? >> reporter: well, i -- you're

right, it's probably not newsworthy. i'll tell you. i was at that hockey game that you were just highlighting and was there and saw the -- that final shoot-out with oshie. that was pretty exciting. and people here are hoping that there will be another moment where there is a u.s. gold medal hockey event. so that's the hottest ticket right now to get. we at nbc, i can tell you, have a limited number of tickets. and that is the one that everyone wants. we had a little bit even of an office pool going around today. i didn't win the pool, but that's the ticket that everyone wants. >> richard engle -- >> reporter: hopefully the u.s. gold medal hockey match. >> richard engle with a wink-wink, nod-nod to management. he appears to be looking for tickets -- >> reporter: i would like a ticket. >> not even a wink-wink, nod-nod -- >> reporter: i'm not winking or nodding, i'm saying it directly. >> thank you, be safe, sir. back to domestic politics.

to president obama who enjoyed bit of his own winter games. golf in his case. in the sunny climate of palm springs this weekend. he returns home later today to the far colder climate of washington, d.c., and capitol hill. his first public act will be a speech in maryland tomorrow on the economy. a souj which he also spoke during his weekly -- subject on which he also spoke during his weekly address saturday. >> too many americans are working harder than ever just to get by, let alone get ahead. that's why we've got to build an economy that works for everybody. not just a fortunate few. >> national reporter for msnbc dij, jimmy williams, democratic strategist, susan delpurceo, contributors, we kept it in the family. everyone, let's start. here we are less than nine months before the mid terms, believe it or not. democrats talking income inequality, republicans talking by and large a lot about obamacare. how are the 2014 races shaping up so far? anyone landing punches at this

point? >> it's an interesting moment to focus on economic inequality. congress skipped to its recess, congratulating itself for having done the bare minimum. at the same time, we are looking at enormous cuts in food -- supplemental food assistance that is going to affect the very poor. we're looking at a lack of increase in -- sorry, lack of extension in unemployment benefits. so at the same time people are going to vote at the ballot box, they're feeling a lot of pain and feeling food insecurity. >> those food stamp cuts you're talking about, as you know, a product of that farm bill which was widely lauded on both sides of the aisle. seems as if that's something that really got lost in the overall story. >> it does -- it did. my colleague has reported on how it's impacted folks in new york city. again, as the president talks about it, you can't really deny the fact democrats and republicans came together to make these cuts that are going to affect the absolutely neediest. >> jimmy, eric cantor seemed to be opening a new front against the president today.

this one on foreign policy. there was a speech that mr. cantor gave at vmi this morning. he hit the president on failures of the foreign policy, the obama administration's foreign policy including syria, negotiations there not going well. eric cantor took the president to task over iran in the speech. how real is the danger that syria, that iran, that it helps fuel negative opinions that people have about the president's leadership? >> well, first let me point out that eric cantor voted for all the wars that we're currently in. i find it slightly hypocritical that he would ding the president for something he voted to put the president into. secondli, it does matter because it is now obama's foreign policy legacy. he is the president, he has been now for five years, going on six. and so he has to own where we are and where our troops are. syria is a debackally. iran is implode -- debacle. iran is imploding.

so i think there's so much tumult in the middle east that there's just no way for him to get his hand around it, and as long as we don't have major, major, you know, all-out wars per se, and i mean the entire region going to war amongst themselves and with themselves, then the best he can hope for are no major, major tragedies that we saw back when george bush was president. >> what happened to making the mid terms solely about sfwhoik. >> -- about obamacare? >> we'll see, that maybe not in the house races. but on the senate side, a lot of democratic senators up for re-election are running away or trying to temper their relationship with the president on obamacare. that's what's troublesome for the president in wanting to lead an agenda when he can't even be out there because people who are seeking -- you know, if they want to keep the senate democrat, they need to keep those seats.

so obama's a problem for them. he's weakened that way, as well. it does give the opportunity for the republicans to stay on message on obamacare. it would be a big mistake if that's all they focused on. i think that you still may see immigration come up again. i know people have stead's a dead political issue. the republicans need to show that they can get something done. that they're not just the party -- >> the debt ceiling, we talked about the farm bill. you look at the recent budget compromise. there does seem to be at least this -- this air of bipartisanship. >> right. that's every -- once we did the debt ceiling, that's all congress really had to do until the elections. we are clear, there's no major hurdle that we are going to have to see a stop clock on saying the countdown to fiscal disaster. so that's their only responsibility, you know, that was their own responsibility left. now it just seems like it's going to be a lot of talk. >> we're out of time. women's hockey took our time today. wish we had more. big thanks to all of you. >> thanks.

new protests over the verdict that stunned many, that confused many all over this country. 47-year-old michael dunn may be heading to prison for a long time. but not for the murder of teenager jordan davis. and of course, renewed scrutiny over that so-called stand your ground law in florida. when charlie burgyn created the north florida luxury golf company stitch golf, he wanted to source his supplies locally. he found them by going door to door throughout the state, finding the perfect partners and helping the local small business economy. for more, watch "your business." if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions.

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last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ welcome back on this presidents' day. let's look at news around the news nation. new revelations in the chris christie bridge scandal. further allegations reported first this weekend by my colleague steve cornacki and the "up" crew that could bring the governor closer to the lane closures on the george washington bridge and the traffic that followed. investigators are looking into a report that port authority police officer thomas chip michaels, someone with long-time ties to governor christie, may have actually been present at the george washington bridge last september when those

lane closures were helping. it's unclear whether lieutenant michaels is responsible for any wrongdoing, though. believe it or not, more? . more snow is on the way for much of this country. millions of americans looking toward more of the white stuff. a medium-size snowstorm is expected to dump another three six inches on the midwest and great lakes tonight. that same system is going to make its way right back to the u.s., northeastern part of the country, tomorrow from d.c. to new york expecting to be hit tomorrow morning with a brief period of heavy snow. we continue to keep our eyes on that forecast. let's turn back to the courts and the weekend verdict in florida. it's been called the loud music trial. but it's less about the music than it is about the killing of another teenager. after four days of deliberation, michael dunn on trial for the november, 2012, killing of 17-year-old jordan davis.

he was found guilty saturday for attempted murder for firing ten shots into an suv full of teenagers after a dispute over the volume of the music they were playing. while dunn was also found guilty of the lesser charge of firing into an occupied car, the judge drayer eed -- declared a mistri when the jury was unable to come to a decision on the top count of first-degree murder which applies only to the death of jordan davis. dunn's sentencing hearing is expected to take place next month. state attorney angela corey said that her office plans to retry dunn on the first-degree murder charge. jordan davis' mother voiced her gratitude and her disappointment saturday night. >> we're so grateful for the truth. we're so grateful that the jurors were able to understand the common sense of it all. and we will continue to stand, and we will continue to wait for

justice for jordan. >> jordan davis would have turned 19 years ode yesterday. for more on the verdict and fallout, i'm joined by criminal defense and civil rights attorney john burris, and msnbc contributor and director of africa studies at lehigh university, james peterson. james, the lack of a verdict on the top count of first-degree murder, what message does that send? >> it's con founding, craig. first, thank you for pointing out the fact that we should probably not refer to this as the "loud music trial." the loud music was used to once again criminalize a young black man. i think that's one of the more unfortunate aspects of these cases. i was try sog explain to students this verdict -- trying to explain to students this verdict. the best way to explain it is that we understand that mr. dunn saw the menacing sort of dangerous black young men sitting in their ca minding their business, playing their music too loudly. i have to submit to my students that for some reason members of that jury believed his story and

also believed the fact that for some reason those young men, those boys really were somehow menacing mr. dunn. and i think it just goes to the ways in which race has become more and more criminalized within our criminal justice system. >> john, here's the thing. race itself, it was not explicitly talked about much in the trial. many, though, clearly looking at this in those terms, specifically some of the letters that michael dunn wrote from jail which made some overt -- made overt racial statements. i had the chance to talk to his attorney about the letters this morning. take a listen to what he said. >> this is 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. when you have -- >> the jail made him racist? >> i wouldn't say the jail made him racist. but the jail made him think differently about the race. >> john, help us understand. those of us who do not have a legal background, why was there not more of a focus by those

letters by the prosecution? >> you know, i think that the prosecution itself is unafraid of the question of race. they don't really understand how to prosecute it, how to involve it in a case. and as a -- they lack sensitivity to these issues and how to explain them and bring them to a jury. so as a consequence, they stay away from it altogether. that's not helpful to the jurors' understanding. even though in this particular case it would have been helpful to the jury to at least consider it. they may not have brought in and supported a verdict one way or the other, but the context of evaluating where this took place and why it took place, race was in fact an important element because it went to the state of mind of mr. dunn. what was his mental state. he had his racial notions and animus toward african-american young men. so any moves they make, he views that as a threat. that was important for the jury to consider, and i don't think they really got that at all. >> we'll have to leave it there. john burris, professor james peterson. a big thanks to both of you on this presidents' day.

thank you. coming up, we're going to check in with our white house correspondent as the sun sets on the final moments of the president's sunny lands vacation. as we go to break, we want to wish good luck to jimmy fallon. perhaps you've heard, he's taking over the "tonight show" this evening, just the sixth host in 60 years. the show itself returning it its original home right here in 30 rock. [ male announcer ] are you so stuffed up, you feel like you're underwater? try zyrtec-d® to powerfully clear your blocked nose and relieve your other allergy symptoms... so you can breathe easier all day. zyrtec-d®. find it at the pharmacy counter.

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what do you think of the term obamacare? >> i like it. i don't mind. and i tell you, five years from now when everybody's saying, man, i'm sure glad we got health care, there are going to be a bunch of people who don't call it obamacare anymore because they don't want me to get the credit. >> president obama there talking with the round mound of rebound himself, charles barkley, in an interview that aired sunday. the president is expected back in washington later in the day.

and to preview what the week holds for him, we bring in nbc's peter alexander. pete, let's start with that speech in maryland tomorrow. what are you hearing about what the president plans to cover? >> reporter: quickly, you know, charles barkley also asked the president to compare michael jackson and lebron james. he went with mike, want to make sure you're covered on that topic. heading to maryland, revisiting themes he's been focused on since the state of the union. this year of action as the white house likes to describe, talking about topics like the need to raise the minimum wage, income inequality. also would be surprising if the president didn't also address the five-year anniversary that is today. the recovery act. the stimulus, the vice president's traveling to illinois it speak about that topic on wednesday, as well. and the white house put out a blog post a short time ago when they referred to the substantial positive impact on the economy, the recovery act, even as there's been a flood of negative comments today by republicans

including john boehner who moments ago said it was an example of big promises, big spending, and little results. >> alsoslighted to appear at a northe north american summit this week, one of the figures there, the canadian prime minister, talking about the keystone pipeline. what more can you tell us? >> simply, the canadians can't wait to start pumping oil. the u.s. can. and the message i think simply will be from the president, be patient. we hear from senior administration officials -- we heard from senior administration officials the past couple of days saying now that there's a process in place, they're in the middle of this 90-day input period where secretary of state john kerry ultimately will give his recommendation before the president weighs in. there is no deadline for kerry. there is no deadline for the president right now. and there is a lot of obstacles to this happening in the near future. for one, environmentalists obviously, craig, have been pushing for this thing not to happen. they view this as the potential to really sort of test the

president's real strength on this topic, his willingness to halt global warming, but there are also senators in key states, democrats in particular saying, mr. president, go ahead with this. let's create new jobs. >> all right. peter alexander. just for the record, i think we both agree with mr. obama on mj. >> on my childhood wall still. that's what i'm saying. >> that's going to do it for this edition of "news nation." i'm craig melvin. don't go anywhere. "the cycle" is up next. cut! [bell rings] this...is jane. her long day on set starts with shoulder pain... ...and a choice take 6 tylenol in a day which is 2 aleve for... ...all day relief. hmm. [bell ring] "roll sound!" "action!" a steel cage: death match of 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.

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let me just put this away. [ male announcer ] how did edward jones get so big? could you teach our kids that trick? [ male announcer ] by not acting that way. ok, last quarter... [ male announcer ] it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪ i can't believe your mom has a mom cave! today i have new campbell's chunky spicy chicken quesadilla soup. she gives me chunky before every game. i'm very souperstitious. haha, that's a good one! haha! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right. the start of a new week find us in the same old storm cycle. i'm toure. a storm moving in bringing half a foot of snow to places like chicago, minneapolis, and detroit. it's not a blockbuster system, but it's still adding insult to injury for parts of the country that simply haven't seen a break. and that includes the northeast.

here in new york city, we're bracing for our third snowstorm in less than a week. >> what? >> thanks a lot, mother nature. from the same system that will race eastward tonight into tomorrow morning. several more inches are expected from cleveland to pittsburgh to boston. new york and d.c. by the way, 30 hours and three days until spring, not that anyone's counting, abbey. snow aside, it's also presidents' day. day to honor the 43 men who have led our country. some more memorable than others. also a chance to take stock of the state of the nation. this is obama's sixth presidents' day in office. and his approval ratings are near a record low, not uncommon at this point in presidency. same story for congress which is off this week. as for the voters, the national opinion on things like immigration, marijuana, and fair pay are all shifting. let's call this presidents' day, precedents day. homonym city here. as for politics, this weekend saw the launch of season two of "house of cards." the best show on tv after "the