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 cycle." president walker was on, great

having him. if you missed him, what are you doing at 3:00 on friday? the real president's staff tweeted out, "please, no spoilers." kevin spacey, who plays the manipulative v.p., says the show about 99% accurate. >> for me it's like performance art. you know, i sometimes watch it actually -- we can get done shooting on a day, and i'll come home and turn on the news and think, you know, our storylines are not that crazy. they're really not. >> one man who's always 100% accurate and who benchwatched all 13 -- >> wow! i watched nine hours, perry. 13 is impressive. >> perry bacon, political editor at the grio. perry, there is an extraordinary level of viciousness on "house of cards." they have ramped it up. i think they have exponentialized the business. i hear some folks on the hill love the show. some hate it. what does the attitude of people on the hill about "house of cards" say about how they

actually feel about d.c.? >> first of all, good to see you guys. small correction -- i watched the first six episodes, then i fast forwarded to the last one. i was a little bored -- >> oh! >> yeah. >> what's this cliff's notes watching, perry? >> i think i'm winning the race then. i'm on episode nine. >> okay, are you ahead of me then. i would say the thing people on capitol hill like it "house of cards" is it's a show that's really about congress. the one thing to remember is the "west wing" was a great show about the white house. we've not really had a show about congress, one. and most people who live in washington worked in congress. it's actually most people have not work ted white house. so there's that part of it to think of. then, two, the show really gets right the sort of legislative part of the process like kevin spacey's character spends a lot of time meeting one on one with members of the house and trying to get them to vote for stuff. that part is realistic, something we haven't seen in the show before. >> not just that, perry. when they're going after raymond tusk, they talented him with the federal regulatory energy

commission investigation. you don't hear a lot of ferc talk in washington. i want to turn to presidents' day and play something that goes aways. lbj talking to mlk in 1965 about the war on poverty and talking about the votes he was trying to get, not exactly frank underwood, but getting 40 some votes in the senate, working toward full employment, their idea of economic stimulus. take a listen to this here on presidents' day. >> the country's got to stand up and support what i'm doing. and i can't have these poverty things hitting me 43-43. >> yeah. that's right. >> 43-42. that's too close for the united states senate. >> that's right. >> and i've been seeing you on television every night. you make a reasonable and fair, just thing. but i think you ought to say that the president recognized this thing months ago and has talked to you about it. but we can't wait. and we've got to have some these

housing programs. and we've got to get rid of these ghettos. and we've got to get these children out from where the rats eat on them at night. we've got to get them some jobs. we've got two million unemployed. >> just a remarkable piece of history there, lbj talking to martin luther king. contrast for us what he was talking about there and the outside/inside strategy they had unemployment to what we're seeing today? >> two ways to look at. this the first is lbj and the way he articulated his goals was much more unabashedly liberal than president obama. the phrase "full employment" not one president obama uses much. i think we look back at these six years, these eight years when he leaves, we may wonder if the white house underestimated the depths of the economic problems we had and maybe should have had more liberal proposals. even if they would have died in congress, just to have those in the agenda. i would say in terms of the way he talks, we undersell obama compared to johnson in terms of legislative strategy.

you know, i cover the white house a lot and know they think a lot about how do we go from a to z. how do we get bills passed. he doesn't talk about that a lot and wasn't majority like lyndon johnson was. republicans think about how do i get immigration passed. his view is the less i talk about certain things the better they are to get passed. that's a smart approach and one he doesn't announce out laude because it's not very helpful. >> perry, i think one other thing that we could just go back to is the fact that presidents' someday an opportunity for us to really think about the legacy a president leaves. now we're on 44 near, and we know that he has focused a great deal on income inequality. you talked about his jobs agenda. he had the american jobs act during his first term last congress. what do we expect to see now given this growing gap between the rich and the poor, and how far is he really going to take this economic inequality agenda? >> he's going to take it as far as he can.

you saw him last week announce the executive order about the minimum wage for federal contractors. he wants to -- one thing i know he's thinking about is what can i propose that maybe won't be passed by congress but that will be on the table and, therefore, hillary clinton, scott walker, whoever's in the campaign, has to talk about that. universal pr-k. if they're not on the table now, they have to be on the national agenda. we're watching a legacy project on race and civil rights issues. you saw eric holder's comments last week. you saw this, "brother's keeper's" initiative. the president also think issing about his legacy as the first black president. laying out stuff. you'll see more that establishes that he's tried to deal with african-american unemployment and black men underachieving. he wants to be a president who's worked on an issue a lot. >> i hate to take the focus away from presidents on presidents' day, but i'd like to ask about pot if that's okay.

>> all right, abby. >> we continue to see this rapid shift across the country to legalize marijuana for medical uses and small amounts of personal use. a poll was just done in the state of new york. and not a total surprise here. 88% support medical use. 57% support small amounts. and perry, there's a difference i see in supporting marijuana in a poll like this and demanding that elected officials doing doo something about it. are we reaching a point where there is going to be this pressure that elected officials feel lake they have to move, or are -- feel like they have to move, or are we getting there soon? >> i think we're getting there really soon, abby. one thing to look at, there are five states talking about having ballot initiatives legalizing marijuana including california and florida. very big states. in fact, i would argue the populous is leading the politicians on this issue. i think colorado and washington passes initiatives and president obama saw it and said, oh, things are moving. you saw actually not only president obama but rick perry recently made comments. one of the most conservative

people in the country, about how he wants to decriminalize marijuana. i think the public is out in front of the politicians like on gay rights, i would argue a couple years ago. now you're seeing the politicians catch on and see that's a good issue for them to be out in front of. >> abby, let me tell you something. it's never wrong to talk about marijuana on "the cycle." >> one thing i have learned. >> but let's talk about immigration shift here, another big issue for the country. i think perhaps d.c. is perhaps historically more sophisticated than the nation on immigration, although the folks are catching up in that border security, new polling showing border security is growing equal in importance to what we do about the undocumented. so folks are realizing what a lot of folks in d.c. are realizing. but the republicans have recently scuttled a chance to actually do something about this because they were afraid of what it would do to them, in terms of primaries, in terms of voters on the right, in 2014. but some think that not dealing with immigration will have an

impact. do you think that not having dealt with immigration will have an impact this fall? >> i don't think this fall. here's the thing that's going on. the republicans are worried in 2016 they'll have a problem with latino voters. they don't deal with immigration. i think there's a small window during this year. here's why -- most republicans in the house are worried about getting a primary challenge from the right and losing if they support immigration reform. there's going to be a small window in like july, august, september, where most of the primaries are actually over. so if i'm a conservative member, i already won my primary. and now i just have a general election against a democratic opponent who's pretty weak. in that small period between july and november, i would watch to see if there's some way to get an immigration bill done, particularly when the big divide is john boehner says i'm for legalization of illegal immigrants. president obama says he's for citizenship. if there's some way to bridge that divide and n augu-- in aug there's a possibility of a bill passing. >> i love you. i don't know where the space is

between legalization and citizenship. but it someone can find it -- >> semantics is in washington. >> if anybody can find it, you can find it. maybe ari will find it. >> thank you. >> maybe frank underwood. >> speaking of which, there's a nice tease into "house of cards" which people were bingeing on this weekend. if you weren't doing that, there was a lot of awesome olympic action to be watching. how about that american hockey team? that's not the only exciting outcome to celebrate. your "cycle" olympic update on the way. the end. lovely read susan. may i read something? yes, please. of course. a rich, never bitter taste cup after cup. 340 grams. [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] always rich, never bitter. gevalia.

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there are clear skies over sochi tonight. though that was not the case for much of the day. last week, it was warm temperatures. early today, fog played a factor in olympic winter games and forced organize force postpone men's border cross and biathlon. nothing could dampen the day for some americans. here are the latest results from today's events -- there's your warning and spoiler alert. in case you missed it, the u.s. earned its first-ever gold in ice dance. >> nice! >> yay! >> meryl davis and charlie white beat their canadian training partners, the defending gold duo of ressa virtue and scott moir by five points. russia said bronze davis and white who have skated together for 16 years were nearly flawless during their free skate which airs again in primetime tonight. >> yay. >> for the first time in 61 years, the u.s. men have immediatallied in -- medaled in the two-man bobsled. they slid to bronze just .09 second behind the russians who took home the gold.

switzerland won silver. get ready for the rematch. it will be team usa versus archrival canada for women's hockey gold. >> oh, boy. >> yes! >> today the american women beat sweden 6-1 to advance. canada narrowly defeated the u.s. 3-2 earlier in the games. the final puck drops thursday. here's your current medal count -- russia and the u.s. are on top with 18 medals each. >> that's right! take that, norway. >> the netherlands has 17. norway and canada are right there with 15 each. >> you see you norway. >> olympic-sized coverage. live from two continents to give us a sense of how the games are playing here and there. yahoo! sports' eric adeleson was following the bobsled action and joined us from sochi. from right here in new york, all the way across the set, john wertheim, executive editor of "sports illustrated." welcome back, john. >> thank you. >> eric, i want to start with

you. there was a lot of talk and tweets, of course, about the lack of preparedness in sochi from the drinking water to on a more serious note potential terrorism now that the games are well underway. how are things playing out with folks actually at the games? >> reporter: well, it's been very smooth and very efficient so far. everything is running on sexual and on time. they used blowers to try to -- and running on time and they used blow force try toboro t bl fog away. that didn't work. staffers have been cordial, there have been very few problems to this point. of course, security always goes well until it doesn't, and we're not through it yet. >> john, across the set, is that view different or the same from here? >> i would say a little of both. it's been whacky. we've had the time difference, the 50-degree days. but it's been fun.

we haven't had a great breakout star yet. some of the u.s. favorites, shawn white, that hasn't materialized. we've had the chance to view whacky sports. like you said before, we've got a lot to look forward to in the second week. men's hockey, women's hockey. the short program skating. there's a lot in the next few days that will make it special. >> john, i'm sure you saw the interview yesterday. there's been a ton of reaction to this incredibly emotional interview with nbc's christin cooper and bode miller, talking more about the death of his brother than the win itself. people saying she went too far, he ended up on his knees in tears. he's not an emotional guy. he sweeted, "i appreciate everyone sticking up for me, please be gentle with christin cooper. it was crazy emotional and not all her fault. #heatofthemoment." was what she asked out of line, or are we making a big deal out of this because we don't normally see that type of

reaction? >> i'm squarely in the minority here. but i didn't think it was that bad. a, it was compelling tv. b, i think context was important. this is bode miller, 36 areas old. he's always been an outspoken guy. as you say, you know, chris cooper isn't just a a journalist, she's a former olympian. did the cameras linger too far? probably. again, i think bode's response was telling. if the subject isn't particularly bothered, maybe the rest of us ought not to be. >> when the interview knows the subject better, they can and often do go further than somebody who's a stranger to the subject. eric, i am -- i remember watching in 1980, lake placid, when the americans, jim craig and michael ruggion oi, beat the russians. gave me a nice chill to hear about the americans and see the americans beating the russians at hockey once again. shades of 19 0. but it was only a preliminary

game. so it wasn't the big deal like it was in 1980. it gives us hope for this hockey team that do bigger things going forward. >> yeah, it's a big deal here. i would say the breakout star is t.j. oshie. the guy who scored four shoot-out goals in that overtime period. it was electric in the building. all the russians cheering and then going silent. all the reporters that i spoke it here, even the hardened nhl reporters said that that was one of the best games they've seen in person. i've watched hockey all over the world, and i would agree with that. oshie now, oshie is sochi. that's his reputation. and it's only just beginning. the americans have a shot to win this thing. >> yeah. and eric, when you look also at the americans breaking through on bobsledding, winning that bronze, breaking the 61-year shutout there for medals, a track is 4,900 feet with about 17 turns uphill in parts, an amazing run there. tell us about that and what we can expect looking forward to lolo jones.

>> i just got back from there. again, a great feeling from the americans, 62 years since they medaled in this event. i looked it up, bill clinton was 5 years old when that happened. the price of a gallon of gas was 25 cents. that's how long it's been. >> wow. >> yeah. americans in bobsled, this is -- this is a trend now. they won a gold medal four years ago in vancouver. and now here and steven holcomb's the name you need to know. even ahead of lolo jones. if he wins another medal in this game, which it's possible, he will be -- he will tie for the most medals ever for any bobsledder from the united states. >> wow. >> eric and john, we thank you so much for joining us. up next, we are getting all tmz in here. >> what? >> the spin cycle turned celebrity psych well british version of the oscars. and our man, jimmy fallon, taking over. we "cycle" on. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup

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it's a celebrity news "cycle." here we go. two weeks until the oscars, and the stars were out across the pond for their version of hollywood's big night. the awards were held at the royal opera house in central london. "gravity" all but swept the board except when it came to the biggest award of the night. best picture. that went to "12 years a slave." "american hustle" also picked up a couple of honors including original screenplay and best supporting actress, jennifer lawrence. and the east beat the west at last night's nba all-star game. turns out america's top teacher schooled the competition this weekend. >> oh! >> education secretary and former harvard co-captain arne duncan made his third consecutive appearance on the court for the celebrity game. check this out -- this no-look pass in the fourth quarter two i'll askar diggins. he finished with 120 points, 11

rebounds, and six assists. >> shut it down. >> and speaking of slam dunks, that's what nbc is hoping jimmy fallon will do when he officially takes over the "tonight show" tonight. when i got to 30 rock this morning at about 7:00 a.m., the crowds were already there outside waiting. fans hoping to still score a lucky seat for that premiere. it's 42 years in the making, that's how long it's been since the production moved to l.a. in an interview with a legend all his own, chuck scarborough, jimmy explained why the show belongs right here. >> all of the late nights should be in new york city. i mean, look at it. it's just gorgeous. like when i think of l.a., i don't think of nighttime. i think of daytime. i think of sunshine and palm trees and i think of new york city and broadway and times square, and the excitement at night. >> the "tonight show" right back where it should be at nyc. also the 12:30 show, seth meyers, starting next week will be in new york city. so new york once again, the center of the entertainment universe. >> can i say, in our old office,

by the way, which they deserve. >> absolutely deserve it. look, fallon has this winning way. he's got this every man's sweetness. the sort of boy next door, comic genius. i love him. i loved him at 11:30. i think it's going to be great. part of what i love is that music will be integrated into the show like nothing else in late night. we've seen branford marcellus and quest love and the roots behind him. it's not just like let's have a performance, but let's take the musical performances and juice them to a different level. let's have sketches that involve them in a more interesting way. look at this with how he did with justin timberlake. ♪ ♪ yo yoyo

ooh ah ♪ i got you on the check ♪ ♪ can't you see sometimes the words hypnotize me ♪ >> you know, that's just about comic genius and love of music and having a band that can flow with you. yeah. >> what he does with timberlake, angela and i were talking about there before the show. she was saying it was #awesome. i was like, #that'sright. she was like, #nodoubt. >> i'm like #shutup. >> i would have said #awesomesauce. the roots crew, they do make his show. it is a very collaborative effort, as you said. that's the only thing i have to say. jimmy is awesome because the roots are there. >> absolutely. >> lease awesome. you mentioned this, he comes across like such a nice, authentic guy. anyone i run into in the building that were like, i just saw jimmy fallon. he was cool and nice and funny. he's also very musically inclined as you point out. you often don't think of jimmy as being this, you know, great musician. but she. and i sometimes go back just for entertainment purposes and watch his audition tape. >> for entertainment purposes.

>> yes. >> for the purposes of entertainment. >> just for the purpose of being entertained. yeah. when i'm bored. when i'm through with all the "house of cards" episode. what can i do? >> i think it's pronounced entertainment. go ahead. sorry. >> anyway -- >> it's on tv. >> boo-yah. >> back f you're on youtube, look up his audition tape for "snl." incredibly talented. -brings his music to the audition. take a look. >> this is aland is morissette. ♪ ♪ my voice is annoying my video's boring ♪ ♪ you see only my face ♪ you thought i was finished but i thought this last verse

back at the hotel ♪ >> pretty amazing stuff. and to remind everyone, tonight the first guest he has, will smith and youtube doing music. what i think will be great about the show, you don't know who will pop by. tina fey is a good friend. justin timberlake will probably surprise everyone. i think that's what everyone will look forward to. >> he's creative and doesn't have certain boundaries like, oh, this is late night, it has to be a certain way. he broadened it. i think he did it for entertainment purposes. >> you know, it's entertainment. i'm sorry. >> i think that was the purpose. >> entertainment. >> it's amazing. >> always. >> funny. >> you're so mean. >> what a thing to say. gosh. but another person who i think will also fill his shoes well is seth meyers. as you were pointing out, he debuts next monday. his first guests are, to me, the ultimate dinner party. he has vice president joe biden, lina dunham, creator of "girls,"

and jeff dunham -- looks like an awkward dinner. almost the last supper. >> it would have to be jesus there. >> jesus. >> the last supper. >> yellow. >> sorry. >> i think that's actually something that if you could say that we've learned from them or whatever, it's that in i think especially in an environment where the internet has had a pull on those shows and changed the idea of what you can, do obviously fallon using the president to slow jam the news, using, as you mentioned, timberlake to do this fun stuff. use the roots and mama retirea carrie. that's gone viral. they come out of the "snl" sketch comedy mode. that's a change. leno and carson came out of standup. i think that's serving us well. we love sketch comedy for entertainment purposes. >> i will say the dinner table looks entertaining. >> it does. >> lorne michaels will be in charge of almost everything you see late night at nbc for years come. >> amen. >> don't forget to tune in to the "tonight show" starring

jimmy fallon tonight at midnight following the olympic and the late local news. as for the big move to n.y., our facebook friend catherine says, "new york better for reality-based people in entertainment." to be clear, facebook does not necessarily represent the views of this --not to say we don't want to hear your views. we do. keep them coming at the facebook.com/thecycle. up next, as the pot debate heats up, an eye-opening look at some of our dangerous devices, vices that are already legal. [ female announcer ] a classic macaroni & cheese from stouffer's

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when can forget those beautiful two super bowl ads? they leave such a warm, fuzzy feeling, it almost makes you forget that products like those being advertise read actually part of a public health epidemic. in a recent survey by the usda linked higher prices in healthy foods it higher blood sugar flef levels to people with type 2 diabetes. consumers can choose whatever they want largely because highly risky food isn't highly regulated. that's not an accident. the companies do heavy lobbying, $185 million since 2009, for the food and beverage industry alone. a flew book, "leith -- new book, "lethal but legal," shows how corporations have damaged public health at the expense of corporate profit. and how to change it. here to discuss it, author and profess sophoof public health at hunter -- professor of public health at hunter college, nick, thanks for joining us. >> good to be here. >> part of the issue is whether people have the information in order to make the right decisions s. that your argument?

>> well, i think it's both information and what's the easy choice. i think what we want are public policies that make healthy choices, easy choices. and unfortunately, because of the growing guideline of corporations and our political economic system, the easiest choices are unhealthy choices. unhealthy food is everywhere. healthy food is more expensive. tobacco is sold, you know, anywhere within arm's length. and so we need to be asking what's the role of government, what's the role of market in protecting public health. and especially the health of children and young people. >> yeah. and i thought your work on fad here was interesting. people do know something i think about tobacco and alcohol. you point out like cinnabon has those cinnamon rolls have 45 ingredients, 880 calories, 36 grams of fat. 59 gram of sugar. i hit him up when i'm in the airport. i consider it a treat. i didn't know that it was at that level. now is that a problem with me or

with -- >> yes -- >> or with regulatory information and access? >> well, i think it comes from food companies having a business model that depends on exploiting our vulnerabilities. we were hardwired, humans evolve to crave sugar, fats, and salt. and when we were out in the -- in the desert, those were good things because people were hungry a lot of the time. so you stoked up when you could. but today, sugar, fat, and salt contribute to our leading causes of illness and death. heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes. and so what helped us to survive now puts our health at risk. and so businesses are exploiting those vulnerability in order to sell products and make a profit. that doesn't seem right to me. >> you know, i don't want to put ari on the spot, but it was a few days ago when he thought eating cheese in excess was healthy. we've had it short of help him -- it to sort of help him understand that cheese, i love cheese, but eating it all the time isn't the best for you.

information is getting better and better in terms of what is good for you and what is bad for you. for the most part, we know that smoking isn't good for you. we know drinking in excess is not good for you. going mcdonald's every day is not good for you. i have to ask, is it the government's troll protect us at, you know, or does it ultimately come down to personal responsibility? >> that is a -- a common argument, and it's an argument that corporations especially like because it takes the shift off them. and of course individuals are responsible. we're the ones who put the cigarette in our mouth or drink the alcohol or the food. we need to talk about everybody's responsibilities. what's corporations's responsibilities, what's government responsibility, and what's individual responsibility. the food, alcohol, and tobacco industries spend $25 billion a year trying to persuade us to consume things that will contribute to premature death and preventable illness. we spend less than half that amount for all the operations of the centers for disease control. that just doesn't make sense. as a society, we're investing

far more in promoting disease than in promoting health. and so that's what i wanted to point out in this book. i think we need to level the playing field which is really -- is tipped in the interests of corporations as they've come to have an ever bigger voice in our political system and in our economic system. >> the moment that that voice started getting bigger and the relationship between business and america started to tip in a whole new direction, 1971. louis powell, then a corporate lawyer, later a supreme court justice, writes his famous or some would say infamous memo it business launching business toward mobilizing for political combat. he writes, "business must learn the lesson that political power is necessary, that such power might be assiduously cultivated, and when necessary it must be without embarrassment and without the reluctance which has been characteristic of american business." how did this memo change america? >> well, i think what powell was reacting to was the growth of

the environmental and the consumer movement. we saw one of those periods that come periodically when people organize and mobilize, and win new protections. and in that '60s and '70s, we had something like 50 new laws, clean air act, clean water act. consumer protection action. creation of the environmental protection agency. and corporations were afraid that that was jeopardizing their profits. so they took the offensive. and they looked to roll back those laws. the election of ronald reagan ten years later was really part of this success in having, in business painting the problem as government, not the solution. and i think what we've seen since that time is that some of the protections that we were able to depend on have been eroded. and now it's really buyer beware. and the problem is that chronic diseases, diseases related to tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy foods, are now the leading cause of death in this country.

and they're also the leading cause of our health care expenses. three out of four dollars are spent on taking care of people with chronic illnesses. so we really need to ask ourselves, as a society, do we want to be helping to keep people healthy, or do we want as taxpayers, as citizens to be paying the price for corporations promoting these products that credibility to ill health. >> well, just to switch gears a little bit, i know that oftentimes we talk about the strength of lobbyists at the federal level. but oftentimes allow state-level policies to slip through the cracks. and i think one of the most recent egregious examples is the stand your ground policy that was a boiler plate type of measure that was utilized through alec, the american legislative exchange council, with the support of nra and other firearm manufacturers, garnered a lot of support with ledge slafbs. the gun lobby, talk about it, as

well, having significant impacts on manchin-toomey, changing backgrounds to be a little more stringent. can we focus a second on the fact that lobbying in and of itself is not necessarily the problem as much as the resources behind lobbying. just gets a dirty name and associate with it, i think, oftentimes for no good reason. >> well, i think we all have the right to political advocacy. and the problem is that the political, the democratic playing field has been tilted toward corporations. and the amount of money they have to spend on campaign contributions, on lobbying, it just way out of proportion to what average citizens have. and i think if we want to have a set of policies and laws that protect public health, we're going to need to level that playing field. and i think corporations are not only threat noting public health, but also -- threatening public health, but are

jeopardizi jeopardizing life through climate change and forms of pollution we have stark choices as a people about what we want for our future. and i think we certainly don't want a future where our children have shorter life spans than the current generation. >> yes. >> i mean, that's where really your political point intersects with the public health point. people like the idea of choice, you're trying to shine a light on the way that some choices have already been preselected and we're choosing from a matrix, perhaps, selected by other powerful actors, professor, thanks for spending time with us today. >> thank you very much for having me. bye. >> bye-bye. up next, can actually make yourself smarter? we'll put that idea to the test straight ahead. [ male announcer ] they say he was born to help people clean.

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in the world that we can do. caffeine is one. physical exercise. i joined a boot camp exercise program that my next-door neighbor ran. i got learned to play the loute. learning a musical instrument is great. i tried to use meditation, in my busy thousands didn't quite work. there are working memory games. there is where a great deal of benefit has been seen. it's remarkable. people thought fluid intelligence was impossible to increase, and now there are dozens and dozens of studies saying that yes, you can make yourself smarter. >> we have more control than we thought? >> yeah. it was really a depressing idea. i mean, intelligence tests have been out there for 100 years, and people have always said you

really can't do anything about it. and you're losing brain cells every day as if you're just going to keep getting less smart. and so to find out that there really are things you can do that are possible that anyone can do is -- is a real breakthrough. and i think especially for people that have cognitive challenges, children with learning disabilities, i myself when i was in third grade was labeled a slow learner. and yeah, it's really difficult. i still couldn't read. and then by sixth grade, i was a straight-a student. i always wondered how -- how that happened, what happened there. and i think for this book i kind of went back and tried to figure out what really works. >> well, one common saying is we get what we pay for. because of that, i was particularly struck by your julie and the chess example in

your book. >> yes. >> and in my mind, i immediately went to the fact that there are far more julies and chess players where there are affluen more julie and chess players in affluent communities. this increasing focus on resources and access to opportunity and opportunity to become more intelligent, i'm wondering how much of this is a training issue if the poor can't afford those things and have to be more creative, where the rich have these types of things at their disposal. are there other things people with less resources can do to brain train as well? >> there absolutely are. anyone can play to learn chess. that's a cognitively challenging game. it's got to get harder as you get better so that you're growing. this is one of the big areas that it needs to be progressive.

so i was really moved by this story of a girl who had been left back, was the daughter of immigrants from mexico working in tough jobs in california, and she joined a chess club and the next thing you know she was ranked in the top 100 chess players in the country and ended up going to the university of georgia and really doing great. so parents that -- and piano lessons, i mean, the things that a lot of parents already are doing can help. where we see the difference is sometimes, you know, going to those piano lessons, going to play soccer, playing chess, doing these active things to grow really make a difference as opposed to sitting around and watching tv or just burning out

playing video games all the time. >> when we talk about intelligence, we're talking about memory and analysis. it seems easier to improve memory. are you also talking about improving our ability to analyze? >> absolutely. it's your ability to see pattern, understand things, get to the heart of it, read between the lines. this is really important not just for doing schoolwork or doing your own work at a job, but for getting along with other people, for being able to understand other people, understand what they're saying. that's why people that have dramatic brain injuries often are unable to get along well with others. so this kind of training -- and it's being done at walter reed hospital down in d.c. to help people get better as fast as

they can. >> the book is called "smarter." fascinating read. thank you for being with us. up next, toure's take on stand your ground and why it does not deter crime. [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor it says here that increases at the age of 80. helps reduce the risk of heart disease. keep heart-healthy. live long. eat the 100% goodness of post shredded wheat. doctors recommend it. 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.

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america. >> that familiar heartache is back, the one that burns a hole through my soul when an innocent black girl or boy is killed. jordan's killer was convicted of multiple counts of convicted murder, but he's not in prison for killing jordan davis. he's there for trying to kill jordan's friends after he tried to kill jordan. the jury deadlocked on first-degree murder because at least one juror insisted the killing was justified. that seems to have happened because of stand your ground, which is baked into the legal code, which is part of jury instructions whether a pretrial happened or a specific defense

has been used. perception of danger is on equal footing with reality. white and black alike are far more likely to think we see a gun in the hand of an unarmed black person. a new twitter meme, dangerous black kids is brilliantly trying to attack the perceptions. calling attention to it helps damage it. until we make black men no scarier than any white kid, then it's too much to have everyone allowed to use deadly force anytime they feel threatened. stand your ground does result in more people getting killed. the homicide rate in stand your ground states has led to

additional homicides. the law is applied relatively equally. this feels like a system telling us some deaths are more justifiable and some are considered worth less or collateral damage. >> there's no such thing to parents that our child suffered collateral damage. we don't accept the law that will allow collateral damage to our families. >> as long as we are seen as a threat and treated as collateral

damage, that heartache will remain tragically familiar. that does it for us. when the pressure is mounting alongside the snowfall, it's time to get out of dodge. it's monday, february 17th, and this is "now" live from washington, d.c. >> new reporting by msnbc. >> connecting a police officer with close ties to governor christie in the george washington bridge scandal. >> he drove david wildstein on a tour of the area while the lanes were shut down. >> chip michaels grew up in the same town as both christie and wildstein. >> the circle is expanding. >> his brother is a top republican lobbyist in this state. >> as the sort of corruption