punish good. so now we come to who did this. who recruited this team. who gave them their marching orders. who let it all happen. >> has to do with rachel. >> exactly. >> gene said slow jam the news. >> when you get president obama on and the first lady is going to be a guest later this week as well so jimmy is coming out of the gate hard and fast and the way we do it around here on "way too early." thanks, gang. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ on the night move trying to make some front page drive-in news ♪ ♪ >> i'm lucky to say my parents are still here with us. they are here tonight and here to see me. mom and dad? jim and gloria fallon, thank you for being here. i wish i could have gotten you better seats but, you know, it's

very hot show, dad, very hot show. this is important and fun. it's what we are all about. i remember being a kid and asking my parents, can i stay up to watch johnny carson. i know it's a big deal to stay up late. i would continue i was there and what they would do before i went to bed. i think there is a kid out there asking their parents to stay up to watch me and it means a lot to me and i hope i do well. i just want to do the best i can and take care of this show for a while. if you you let me stick around long enough, maybe i'll get the hang of it. good morning. it is tuesday, february 18th. isn't that nice? that was genuine. no punch line. >> i love him. >> welcome to "morning joe." with us on set former communications director for former george w. bush, nicole wallace. don't read twitter today.

>> why? i didn't say anything yet. >> we will talk about the republican party and you're going to say some thing. >> i think it broke last week and i didn't reinstall it. >> the host of "way too early" thomas roberts. how are you doing? >> i'm good. >> probably thomas saying all of those bad things about me. >> no, he is mild mannered. >> he is. >> president of the council on formulations, richard haass. my mother wrote a lovely e-mail. did you bring it to the table? it's so nice and great when she checks in. do you have it there? >> i do. >> what does it say? >> now i have seen the glasses and i think they will really bad because they make you look like a school marm. so many good looking glasses around. surely you can do better than that than what you wear now and then it goes on. by the way, did you see dad on chuck? his point on our policies on

syria was dead-on. >> there you go. >> positive reinforcement. >> i like her glasses. >> i like your glasses. >> she hates the glasses but i can see. thanks, mom. in washington, senior white house correspondent for the huffington post, sam stein. >> hello. >> we had good ones in the past. thomas, i keep a file and i'll let you see it. that is for my mom file. we are going to have much more on jimmy fallen coming up. thomas, you did a report on it and it's great. >> such a good start and he has an authentic eye with the mo monologue it was a character of the show in and of itself along with the cameos from the top joan rivers. the band is lifted.

joan rivers came back. carson had compiexiled her. >> we will much more of that at the end of this block. it's been five years now since president obama signed his $800 billion stimulus plan to jump-start the economy. the white house celebrated the anniversary releasing a report touting the plan's successes. that includes 1.6 million jobs created or saved per year between 2009 and 2012 that they argue is thanks to stimulus spending. joe is on location today. i think he didn't come in because i think he had a special term for the stimulus. didn't he, alex? was that for stimulus? >> steaming pileup garbage. >> right. we will get to that. i don't think it was, but anyhow. nice of him. unemployment has dropped from

10% in october of 2009 to 6.6% now. the report also pointed out the real world impact of spending, including the improvement of 40,000 miles of road. 2,700 bridges and bringing high-speed internet to 20,000 community institutions including schools. the bill passed in 2009 with only three republican votes across both chambers. mitch mcconnell called the law a tragedy. isn't that going a little too far? his colleague ted cruz took to twitter saying they are all at the irs and the nsa. come on, guys. 2016 hopeful marco rubio says the stimulus is proof that big government not the answer. >> the notion is if the government spent all of this money, somehow the economy would begin to grow and create jobs.

of course, it clearly failed. five years later, unemployment is still too high. the number of people dropped out of the work force is outstanding and unemployment remains stubbornly high and our economy isn't growing fast enough. proof that particularly debt spending is not the solution to our economic growth problems. >> richard haass, so there is probably a little bit correct on both sides here. is it a tragedy? >> no. it's neither a success nor a tragedy. it's half a loaf. >> all they could get. >> you can't be seen in isolation and more significant policy than the federal reserve which is lower rates and be so active in the marketplace. but it's true that we have created jobs. on the other hand, u.s. employment levels are still below where they were five or six years ago. the percentage of working aged americans are working. in poem think it will be around 3%. we are still coming out of a recession more slowly than history suggests we should.

so there is ammunition here, if you will, for both sides. both for the administration to say things are better than they were and the opposition they are not where they should be and because things have improved not because of the stimulus. each side will find exactly what it is they want in this. >> nicole, a steam of pileup garbage or a tragedy or something else? given the fact that we were on the brink of what could have been an epic disaster economically. >> the problem for the obama white house is on the brink of an epic disaster, he stood before both parties and said i won. this bill was his way or the highway. he passed this bill with no republican -- >> with three, right? >> with three republicans joining in a moment when you said we were on the brink. it was a moment that set the tone for the rest of his presidency and could have

incorporated republican policies and have something that now democrats are having to grin and bear it and campaign on something none of them want to campaign pop the success of the stimulus is determined and i think the failure of the stimulus is determined by the fact the democrats aren't very enthusiastic about it. i think if you look at the cumulative effect of what that bill and the way he passed it has done, i think you see all you need to know about it and in the way health care went down which is on top of stimulus, another partisan legislative process and all of the democrats -- >> i would argue that health care was probably the most difficult lift of, i mean, this generation for a president. >> but the fact that the president. >> i hear you. >> so willing to do something with partisan arguments being made and the fact that he carries all of the baggage, he doesn't even have democrats -- >> that is loaded but, sam

stein, let's try to pick it apart emotionally. i have to say many americans may agree with the call, argument by the republicans at least, according to a new gull lallup . americans believe the unemployment is the biggest country's problems. economy is next and replaces the government with the number one problem. other important issues are the economy, health care and the federal debt. 22% of americans, sam, are satisfied with the way things are going. >> it's been a tough slog. not to get punchy too early in the morning but i would is a humber with a couple of things nicole said there. one-third of the stimulus was tax cuts and ended up being more than a third because they added more tax cuts later on and that was designed to get republican

support. one of the reasons the republicans didn't support the stimulus, the inauguration they would oppose this and the president couldn't do much to get votes. i would also one thing to richard's point. a third side to this debate. yes, republicans might find things they don't like in the stimulus and democrats might find things they do like but a progressive wing who thought the stimulus didn't go far enough. christina romer thought you needed to do something close to a trillion dollars not 800 billion dollars to get out of this recession and malaise. they thought that couldn't be done because a tough political lift but a third side of this debate which is not an insignificant side which said we should have done more stimulus and not backed away from it in 2010 and we might be in a better situation. >> one of the things not talked

about how much the white house franch franchised it out to the congress with programs specifically designed among other things to generate and rebuilt the infrastructure. why would you take one of the significant pieces of admission in your legislation and hand it over to the leadership? it didn't make sense then. >> as we think about where we were as a country then and what the american people did and the unified voice and electing president obama into office that time. we saw the backlash come 2010 and how things reversed to be a more divided government. but when it comes to health care and the stimulus and trying those heavy lifts as mika was pointed out, we know health care has been vetted continuously through the american people and the supreme court.

when it comes to the stimulus i guess it still remains to be seen how well it will do and only history will be able to -- >> i think that is hard to define. >> just five years out, i guess a lot of people would say i wish it were better and we were recovering better. >> or maybe i wish it had some sort of long-lasting impact in terms of being a strategy, in terms of building but it was roads, bridges which also was necessary and some of the other things that i mentioned earlier. >> fill the potholes in this state, i would be behind it. good lord. you can barely make it. >> you would be bout. >> the obama white house. you rock your way down. >> nicole, here is one for people in your corner. republicans may have backed down on the debt ceiling fight rye now. they hope to zero on in the midterm elections.

as today's "the new york times" points out, without the last second brinksmanship, democrats lose a chance to paint their opponents as obstructionists or worse. i guess we have short memories? is that it? i don't forget ted cruz shutting down the government. do you? >> that cuts both ways. >> the expression the elephant that ate peanut butter? you won't forget it. >> i don't think i want to. the article says leading members of the president's party are, quote, alarmed by what one senator calls the grim reality of outside money pouring into a united gop to help further unify the caucus, republicans with putting big ticket legislation on the back burner to stead focus on issues that have backing in the party and that means immigration will be

shelveed t shelved the rest of the year. republicans hope to punch back with a hedge funder to spend up to 100 million on attack ads against government and lawmakers. he helped big to get terry mcauliffe to get elected in virginia and another target is rick scott in florida. the organization could rival the network of charles and david koch. wow. that's big. you see other republicans getting lined up. i think it's our friend scott walker is loring property taxes and they have a surplus to work with after that very i'd say contentious beginning with him for the unions. republicans are lining up not just for the midterms but for 2016 as well, nicole. >> absolutely. i think last week when john boehner sort of walked the political plank and passed the clean debt ceiling without the support of this caucus, i was on

conservative radio last week and they were killing him. i said, listen, i think he deserves a medal of freedom. i know joe was skeptical too. six months ago when the government shut down, everybody was jumping up and down and begging an pleading for a grown-up in the republican party. we now have many grown-ups in the republican party that may have done what would have been in the moment they resisted the passions of the right wing of our party and they did the grown-up thing. i think it now is viewed not too much later, five, six days later as a very wise move in terms of allowing our party to focus on a contrast with this president and with the democratic party that unites all republicans and that is the wrong headedness of the way the -- >> we will have to have joe chime in but i tell you, it is sort of what you're saying at least builds the point that, you know, this is a party that needs to win and if you're focused on -- >> seems to be led by the

grown-ups. >> if it's a wing, you need to play off of that. was nicole is saying is exactly right. they can talk about the impre s implication of health care reform. what boehner did was extraordinarily smart. >> i agree with all of that. i think if i was a republican, i would want to discuss nothing other than obamacare and you do that take off the self-inflicting wounds of the debt sealing and shutdown and take them off to one side and focus on one thing. i'd like to go back. is it not crazy how many billionaires are deciding they want to throw hundreds of millions of dollars away? it's nuts! >> why not put it in a pot and raise the minimum wage. i mean, seriously! >> unbelievable. >> that stimulus? >> this is supreme court. >> stimulus for like cable channels running political ads but it's crazy. it's like if you have a billion

dollars now the trending thing to do is start your own super pac and see if you can tip the balance. >> interesting. come on, thomas. tell us. we will talk about fallon now. this is historic and so much fun. >> it's great. it is literally just three stories above us now. >> we can all go. >> field trip! >> pay for me. >> evening joe. >> jimmy, last night, officially became the host of "the tonight show." the legendary program returns to new york city. will smith joined fallon as his first guest and includes hip-hop dancing and the empire state building in the background, u-2 performs. before going down to the studio

and performing an acoustic show for fallon. it may change the face of late night tv. >> reporter: one of the most coveted jobs in economy now belongs to jimmy fallon. >> to my buddy said i would never be the host of "the tonight show" you owe me a hundred bucks, buddy. >> reporter: after four years on late night, fallon takes over as late my host but along with the spotlight comes the pressure with starring in the nation's longest running talk show. big shoes to fill for the "snl" alum. >> this program will go on forever. >> reporter: september 27th, 1954, nbc debuted "tonight" starring steve allen. allen was a true one-man band known as a musician, comedian

and writer and a pioneer of late night. >> many people say what kind of a show is this going to be? and the thought occurred to me as i was walking out here, i really don't know! >> reporter: jack paar replaced allen in 1957 and he is credited with developing the modern standard of late night tv, incorporating monologues and skits and interviews. >> here's johnny! >> reporter: but it wasn't until johnny carson came along that america truly fell in love with late night. >> i cooked. i cleaned. i took in the inseam on your big leaf! >> why didn't you just give me a smaller fig leaf? >> they don't grow that small! >> reporter: carson and side kick ed mcmahon came one of the most recognizable due owes creating must see tv every night

on tv. >> sis boom ba. describe the sound when a sheep explodes! >> reporter: "the tonight show" would broadcast from new york before moving to burbank. >> people, it's been an honor to come into your homes all of these years and entertain you. i bid you a very heartfelt good night. >> reporter: the late night tv legends stepped down and handed it off to jay leno in 1992. >> let me start with question number one. what the hell were you thinking? >> reporter: despite a decades long feud with letterman, leno is going out on top passing the reins back to the new generation back where it all began in new york city. >> i wouldn't be here tonight if it wasn't for the previous "the tonight show" host. thank you to steve allen, jack

paar, johnny carson and jay leno. >> he is really adorable and nice. >> as with we look back, what a history "the tonight show" has had and the amazing brand jimmy gets to inherit and the fact it's back in new york and the fact everybody likes jimmy so much. >> when you look at the long history of hosts, you remember growing up watching them and now we are older than the host. >> seriously. >> thank you for that, mika. he is 39 years old and should be there a long time. >> when you work in the white house, this is how you know what the country is focused on, what is on "the tonight show." >> sam, you can still watching growing up with your parents. >> i still do every night. >> keep it really quiet and you'll get through the first guest. okay, sam. thank you. coming up on "morning joe,"

republican senator roger wicker and nbc's andrea mitchell and eugene robinson and the soccer star landon donovan. >> first, bill. >> it's not that bad. >> it's not going to get worse, is it? >> not too bad. >> when is it over, bill? >> about noon. >> is there another one? >> never. it will never snow again. ever. >> make it end! >> you better not be wrong. >> we are going to wear shorts and t-shirts on friday. >> bill, take it away. let's talk about the snow. there is a little bit out there but it's not that horrible considering how bad it's been this winter. it's warmer this afternoon so the roads will dramatically improve. two areas of snow. one from pittsburgh to buffalo and erie and another one sliding through new york city right now and down along the jersey shore. looking outside in new york city it's not that bad.

it's snowing but the temperature is near 32 degrees so it could be worse. take a look at jersey city. this is across the river from new york city. you can see there is some snow on the roads and coming down and traffic is moving just fine. a closer view of the radar shows the heaviest snow along trenton. manchester, new hampshire, and portland, maine, biggest shoveling. how warm is it going to be? the temperatures in the middle of the country today. kansas city is in the 60s. upper 70s in dallas. this is the warm air that is heading to the northeast and the east coast as we go throughout the end of this week. if you survived this morning, you get your break from winter the rest of this week. leave you with a shot from atop of our building here. skywalk a little slushy. you're watching "morning joe." ♪ spokesperson: we decided to settle this.

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it is time now to take a look at the morning papers. from our parade of papers, "the washington post," violence continues in venezuela this morning as clashes mount between pro and anti-government groups. the unrest is fueled by widespread crime and inflation and supply shortages. president ma grduro accused somf opposition forces. the state department says his allegations are baseless and false. what is going on here? >> you have the successor to chavez trying to continue his policies. you have this crackdown and charges are preposterous.

the problem is the opposition has been weak and divided. what everyone is hoping, obviously, it comes together and poses a serious political alternative to the president and his hedgeman but i think a long process in venezuela. this may be one of the most successful countries in the hemisphe hemisphe hemisphere. high profile witness is implicating atlanta's former superintendent of schools in a cheating scandal. the head of human resources will accept a plea deal in exchange for her statement. she says the superintendent was aware of the cheating on standardized tests and ordered her to destroy evidence. this cheating scandal dates back to 2009. let's go to the billings gazette. three passengers and two flight attendants hurt after united airlines flight hit severe turbulence yesterday. the flight originated in denver and ran into trouble while

landing in montana. witnesses say the plane dropped abruptly and without warning, causing several people to hit their heads. one person is still hospitalized. "wall street journal," a large majority of new york state voters are in favor of legalizing medically marijuana. a quinnipiac poll says 80% of new yorkers oppose a change in the law. new york is one of the only -- one of the eastern states without an active milliedical marijuana program. the impact of loneliness may take years off your life. a study out of the university of chicago says loneliness can increase the chance of dying early by 19%. scientists say feeling lonely can alter sleep patterns and raise blood pressure and increase depression. >> i think i'm codependent enough to live a long time. >> are you like a kuola bear?

>> i think i'm alone a little more often. >> i think they should have done it along gender lines. >> it depends. >> just like one night every three weeks. >> you need more than one night, nicole. you need like three days. >> even if it shaves time off your life overall? >> the dog, the baby. so many people in my life. >> two words for you. empty nesting. >> so far away for me. >> i totally understand. i can. >> on a serious note. "the san francisco chronicl chronicle". the prospect of two tech giants have the world buzzing. testla motors and apple's chief met last spring and could hint to a potential shift from

electronics to cars. mika will need a new iphone now. the report is bringing attention to apple's future an ipad and iphone sales continue to slow. >> i'm getting a new one on friday. >> are you really? you need a bigger purse. >> they are like this big. >> they are light and good looking and i bet they don't rack. >> well, there is that. >> cracking! >> how many have you bought? >> there is an incredible industry that has taken advantage of american consumers through the iphone. can i tell you? you can't go in there without spending a thousand dollars and finding out that your plan didn't cover the problem you have, number one. you sit there going through the genius bar and you don't feel like a genius, okay? because you're an idiot because you got to spend so much money. then they have another bar to fix the cracks for over like a hundred dollars because the phone doesn't come -- listen to me! encompassed in something that keeps it from cracking.

you have to buy something for a hundred dollars to wrap it up! it is a joke! they are making fun of you! and they have a monopoly on it. and the chargers, they are all different! >> they don't charge. >> they are all different. some of them stop working. >> then they decide suddenly they are not longer compatible with your device. >> it's enough. walking around with your iphones and not telling the truth about how they don't work. >> some of us who have blackberries. >> i want the company to do well. >> your story is interesting because people have been saying for a long time what is apple's new thing and if this story has any legs to it, that it's not the tv but it would be apple branching out. >> looking very interesting. >> a story to -- future proof. >> what do you mean? put it in a car? >> to use testla and apple to integrate themselves. >> have you no choice. are you kidding me? people, stop. >> a great story. this weekend, patrick's birthday

is today. >> what are you getting him? >> we are getting in the elevators and checking out and is a little hungover so don't mind me telling you this. he slipped forward. the i phoned went through the elevator shaft around 11 floors. dink, dink, dink, dink. it survived. it fifed. >> thsurvived. >> you drop this thing two feet and it will crack and you pay 200 dollars at the bar. everyone has one and everyone just adapts and they have to, otherwise, can't be -- we have to stop! we are spending thousands of dollars! >> this is my fourth. how many have you been through? the others are disposable. >> 600 dollar disposable item? what is wrong with america? >> we are all disposable. >> what is wrong with us? >> our kids are cheaper than that! >> you know what alex said in his ear trying to help me along? you know who is not disposable?

with us now, chief white house correspondent mike allen! >> what a segway! >> i just pulled it off. you got the morning playbook, mike. let's talk about megadonors and not i-phones unless you have a bad story will lots of money you had to spend unexpectedly. mike, republicans have big money spending who are trying to do more than win elections and trying to shape the republican party but who are these people? >> mika, they are led by paul singer. he is the hedge fund billionaire who we have seen on the show talking about immigration reform, gay rights, the state of israel are his top three issues. mika, in playbook today, i call this group the new koch's. this is out of sort of a moderate version of the koch brothers conservative network. another sign of how power is shifting in politics away from state parties and even national political parties and to these

big donors. a big part of the republican power now is based in new york city. paul singer is unveiling in politico a new group called the american opportunity alliance and this is a group that brings together some of the richest donors in the republican party to try to push the party toward a more moderate position on these issues they care most about. they already are raising money for some of the top senate candidates. they are having a big event in colorado coming up next week. speaker boehner is going to be there, a sign of how that center of gravity in the party is changing. >> business is called where basically parties are losing their role and you're having alternative sources of economic power essentially replace them. the problem is going to be building consensus in this expanded marketplace of political ideas and money. this is a sign of not just the times, but the future. >> okay, here we go. nicole, thoughts?

>> i'm not a fan. when you work on a presidential campaign you want to contain as much control over the message as you can. nobody knows where the money is come from and i think it moves from grassroots and transparent support of a campaign. i wouldn't have any clue how to wage a presidential change in this climate. the world has changed so much since 2004 and 2008 since i was involved in the presidential campaign. i don't have any problems with a specific group but just the complete reversal of where campaigns are funding and where the message that is going to go to voters. when you're at home watching tv, it's not always abundantly clear where a message is coming from. these are a barrage of ads. >> what unites them? >> as i said, i was involved in campaigns before all of this money flooded. i think on both sides. when i was working in 2004 on a presidential campaign, george soros was the biggest outside funder and it was on the democratic side and had a

devastating effect but i think the kerry campaign appreciated all of their messages. no presidential campaign wants all of the money to be outside of their control and that is what these efforts do. >> plus they wink, wink, don't talk. politico's mike allen, thank you very much. coming up, they have done what no american ice dancing duo have done before. the record setting performance from meryl davis and charlie white. >> they twizzle. >> "morning joe" sports is next. there's this kid. coach calls her a team player. she's kind of special. she makes the whole team better. he's the kind of player that puts the puck, horsehide,

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>> it looks like stockholm. what the heck? >> willie is going to come back with a suntan. >> it's raining. that will warm your heart. >> can you go to times square now and show me the difference?

ridiculous. >> there is times square. >> get me out of here. of course, they didn't end us to sochi. >> let's check in with nbc's brian shactman. you can hear how bitter all of us are. you have such great weather. >> if she were here, she wouldn't want to be here. >> exhucuse me? what was that, shactman? >> reporter: i thought you here the first day i was here. i had a bottom sheet and no top sheet. what would mika think about that? >> you don't think i can rough it? >> what would mika do? wwmb, make a bracelet. >> what was the thread count, brian? >> bring us up-to-speed. the ice dancing duo, new american couple that we are all getting to know a lot better now that they took the lead and bring home gold. >> reporter: yeah. it was a bona fide gray day for the united states yesterday.

meryl davis and whaerl white the first americans to ever win gold in the ice dancing duo competition. judge for yourself as to how they did. >> the story of the legendary persian queen who captivates and entices the king with her story telling. in return, he rescues her life. coming up with their twizzle, beautifully timed to the music. >> reporter: they are amazing. i don't really know if i get some of the interpretive elements out of it but the way they skate is just unbelievable.

>> twizzle there, baby. >> twizzle is all i can do with it. they train with a canadian pair they beat virtue and moir and they won gold in vancouver and this time, they came in second. these two have been together for 17 years, white and davis, so it's a huge emotional relief and this is them afterwards. >> we're so excited but i think we are kind of in shock a little. i'm excited but i'm not really sure what i'm feeling and i don't even know what is going on. >> we did everything that we could and that, in itself, a justified 17 years of hard work and to come away with a gold medal is amazing. >> reporter: a couple of quick things here. two-man bobsled first medal by the united states in 62 years. steve langton and steve holcomb ran that. thursday against canada, 70 shots on sweden so everyone is

looking ga forward to women's hockey. basically like roller derby on snowboard down the hill on this event. i thought slopestyle was crazy. this is even crazier. we got a medal there. 18-year-old phenom had a giant slalom today and she finished in fifth place and a good showing but not a medal for her. here is a look at the medal count. canada -- germany, excuse me, has the most gold medals with eight. so they are pretty proud of that. i think it might come down -- listen, if it's u.s. and russia and gold medal hockey game. some think the u.s. could get a medal every day from here on in. >> like the cold war. russia and the united states. >> good for tv. >> my father is glued to the tv.

come on, usa! brian shactman, thank you so much live in sochi. up next, the must read opinion pages. we will do which should be syria and north korea and maybe a little more venezuela. don't go away. we will be right back. ♪ i need a love to keep me happy ♪ [ crowd gasps ] the comeback trail. [ buzzer sounds ] it's easy to get lost here among life's false starts and what-ifs. but this isn't the end,

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♪ ♪ >> foreign policy hot spots we will hit and start in north korea and syria and iran. richard haass, a u.n. panel relieved a new report that talked about different human rights abuses, to say the least, happening in north korea. andrea mitchell had a piece that was absolutely gripping and horrifying. two questions. how do we know it's actually happening for sure? and what exactly can we do?

>> the scale of the human rights challenge in north korea is hard to analyze. this regime is about abuse. it's the most totalitarian. there is some thought that more than a million north koreans have died of some version of malnutrition and starvation. this regime is about as bad as you can get. the world is not turning a blind eye to put the spotlight on it. the other interesting things there are signs diplomatically the first time the chinese are getting a little bit frustrated shall we say with their, quote/unquote, friend north korea. they realize this country is on an unsustainable trajectory. the chinese are beginning to privately talk about some ways of dealing with this and this is the key. two-thirds of north korea's trade goes in and out through

china. the only country has serious leverage over north korea is china. it's not the united states and it's up to beijing. >> maybe we need to influence them a little bit as well. sam stein? >> i'm shocked that dennis rodman didn't solve the north korea mess. just to shift focus a little bit. ramped up rhetoric from john kerry trying to put pressure on the russian government to crack more down with syria and bashar al sad. are we too hamstrung here? the russians know we tested out possibly a vote in the congress to do an aerial assault in syria and it was going to fail and it didn't get to a vote. do the russians see it and say the u.s. has its back against the wall and not many options and if so what are our options? >> the russians look at our policies and it doesn't up. our means are modest and not willing to use force ourselves and not willing to pay force to

the opposition. >> we don't enforce our own red line. >> right. we have to become more modest in what we seek to do and that would mean not insisting that assad go today. maybe he goes down the road as some part of a diplomatic process or we have to increase our support for the opposition or both but you can't sustain a foreign policy where you have extraordinarily ambitious goals and say we are not going to do this and not do that. john kerry is right. the real question is whether president obama, working with congress is prepared to flair owe this gap. >> richard, that is what we have time for at this point. thank you so much. still ahead, we will reveal the selection in the "morning joe" book club. keep it right here on "morning joe." (vo) you are a business pro. seeker of the sublime.

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hour, "the washington post" eugene robinson and andrea mitchell joins the table as well and we are getting positive to your glasses, richard, and negative to mine? >> really? >> they agree with my mom. "morning joe" back in a moment. i'm beth...

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♪ to my buddy who said that i would never be the host of "the tonight show" and you know who you are. you owe me a hundred bucks, buddy. you do. >> you did it. you did it.

>> welcome to 11:30! [ bleep ]. >> oh, my goodness! that is pretty funny. everyone is laughing, even eugene. welcome back to "morning joe." nicole wallace and richard haass and sam stein with us. we are all older today than "the tonight show" host. isn't that weird? host of andrea mitchell reports, andrea mitchell joins you us. in washington, columnist for "the washington post" eugene

robinson. we have nicole and richard on e-mail watch. you are gauging twitter. your glasses win. >> i love your mother and a great artist and a great sculpture but your glasses look terrific. >> good luck with her the next time you see here. >> i know. >> we could try these. do you like these better? >> no, i think i like the other ones. >> tell me what they are saying. they love you and they hate me. >> i can vouch for that. >> what you got? a cabinet secretary? your wife? who else? >> some people on our twitter. >> make mika envious. >> nicole, what did you get? >> mine is all hate all the time. your glasses are not so positive. >> we have to start tweeting. >> it's all right. >> i know glasses. i like your glasses. >> thank you. >> your glasses are great. >> i like seeing.

it's really nice. and you all are very attractive. i've never seen that before. jimmy fallon, amazing. i'm kind of excited for him. i really like him. >> i think we should go. >> i want to go. i think they would let us sit in the audience. >> i love watching it. actually, my train broke down so many times that i was just arriving in time to watch -- >> oh, no. the life of andrea mitchell. >> it was incredible. >> you know what is neat about him? he takes opportunities to be heartfelt and leaves it there. there isn't some punch line. even during his monologue. he was so grateful. here it is with his parents. >> i'm lucky to say my parents are still here with us. they are here tonight and here to see me. mom and dad? jim and gloria fallon, thank you for being here. i wish i could have gotten you

better seats but, you know, it's a very hot show, dad, very hot show. this is important and fun. it's what we are all about. i remember being a kid and asking my parents, can i stay up to watch johnny carson? i know it's a big deal to stay up late. they would let me watch the monologue and i would pretend i wasn't there so they would let me get to the first guest. i would continue i was there and what they would do before i went to bed. i think there is a kid out there asking their parents to stay up to watch me and it means a lot to me and i hope i do well. i just want to do the best i can and take care of this show for a while. if you you let me stick around long enough, maybe i'll get the hang of it. >> lovely. >> sweet. >> really good. >> u-2 at the top of the rock. >> at sunset! that was amazing! >> gorgeous. >> we had a full recap and it was an epic show. i think there will be more to come. another kind of piece of nice news to start the morning off,

we had a couple of from detroit, a skating pair that won the gold. meryl davis and charlie white winning the first gold for the u.s. in ice dancing and a great news on a number of levels, given where they are from and also they were pitch perfect. you can tell they knew at the end, you know? >> 17 years working together from childhood on. with the performance of their lives at the olympics in sochi. let's get to the news. a lot to cover, including some really, really dark and difficult stories out of north korea. we are going to get your piece in a moment, andrea. first, it's been five years now since president obama signed his 800 billion dollar stimulus plan to jump-start the american economy. remember that plan that joe talked about a lot? he had a certain term for it. the white house celebrated the anniversary releasing a report touting the plan's successes.

that includes 1.6 million jobs created or saved between 2009 and 2012. that was difficult to gauge because as the economy was sliding into the abyss, they say it's jobs which is hard to put a number on so it always became a point of contention. they argue they say those jobs, thanks to the stimulus package. unemployment has dropped from 10% in october of 2009 to 6.6% now. the report also pointed out the real world impact of spending, including the improvement of 40,000 miles of road. 2,700 bridges and bringing high-speed internet to 20,000 community institutions, including schools. the bill passed in 2009 with only three republican votes across both chambers. the party's sour opinion of the recovery act haven't changed. mitchell mcconnell penned an op-ed calling the law a tragedy.

his colleague ted cruz took to twitter saying, quote, unfortunately, they are all in the irs and the nsa. 2016 hopeful marco rubio says the stimulus is proof that big government not the answer. >> the notion is if the government spent all of this money, somehow the economy would begin to grow and create jobs. of course, it clearly failed. five years later, unemployment is still too high. the number of people dropped out of the work force is outstanding and unemployment remains stubbornly high and our economy isn't growing fast enough. proof that massive government spending, particularly debt spending is not the solution to our economic growth problems. >> i'll get to that in a second, nicole. is it a tragedy of mitchell mcconnell? >> i don't think it's a tragedy. i think it did do not do what its backers claimed it did. 1.6 million jobs is a drop in

the bucket. >> yeah. >> that is not any kind of job creation. the infrastructure creation is a good thing, i think. probably we need a lot more of it. but i would argue that what ben bernanke did had more to do with the survival of the economy coming out of the deepest recession. >> i think when mitchell mcconnell calls it a tragedy, this felt to republicans, i remember john mccain saying this at this time, that this was generational theft. that's what republicans felt about the stimulus, that we were stealing some future generations to do something that would not make a dent in the unemployment situation. you don't have to buy marco rubio's argument. you can just look at new public opinion polling that shows americans now overwhelmingly believe that unemployment is this country's gravest problem.

>> i think andrea's point ben bernanke which he said was necessary simply because the administration and congress couldn't agree on a fiscal program and it deserves most of the credit for keeping the u.s. from going over the cliff. the thing that was never addressed in this stimulus or anything else sense is american titleist obligation. there is a traen wreck coming six to seven years down the road and nothing has been done to avoid that train wreck. at a time when the united states has reduced its dependency on imports of oil we have increased our dependency on imports of dollars. it is bad. >> i should clarify that i don't think the feds wanted to do what they did. richard points out it was the inaction by the republicans and democrats. the administration paralysis. >> nicole, is it started with you and when richard was talking. the al gore sigh coming from washington.

eugene robinson? >> yes, yes, i did sigh. i did sigh. everybody these days lives and dies by the cbo. ask the cbo what the stimulus did, it saved or created 1.6 million jobs a year. that is not a drop in the bucket but the number of jobs we have lost in the great recession, if you add it up. it's not insignificant and as far as what has happened to our long-term debt obligation, something actually has happened to the train wreck that has been pushed farther into the future which is not solving it. however, the drivers of that train wreck are diminished. health care costs are growing at a slower rate than they have in decades. that is not an insignificant thing. i don't know if president obama can claim credit for that. but he certainly can't be blamed for it.

in fact, our long-term fiscal position actually looked better than it did five years ago. >> i would agree with that. >> this is a failure and tragedy. >> i don't think so. those are ridiculous choices of words. sam stein, let me ask it this way. at that point in time given the choice we were facing with our economy and the risk, we were at the edge of something really bad, what were the other options? >> that's a great question. we were losing 800,000 jobs a month at that time, 8% retraction. it just was not -- it was a bleak situation. what were the other options? well, republicans actually put forward their own stimulus plan and roughly between 400 billion and 700 billion dollars largely if not exclusively with tax cuts. i know we look at the president's stimulus plan and say it blew up the deficit and

he didn't address long-term debt. same would have gone true with the republican plan. wasn't as if only one plan out there. present plan was spending and tax cuts. i think at that moment the administration realized it had to act. i would argue the biggest criticism is what richard said in the 6:00 hour he left it largely to congress to put this together and what happened they had a hodge-podge of ideas as opposed to one constructive simple stimulus. the idea the administration shouldn't have acted or didn't act properly is silly. we were losing 800,000 jobs a month. we had to do something. >> let me read what eugene has written in "the washington po " post."

in the past republicans have joined democrats in voting for needed increases. in an election year, however, struggling wage earners are out of luck. the 11 million men and women, mostly women, i would contend, and children in this country without documents are immigrants of the calendar. president obama and the entire congressional leadership agree there is an urgent need for immigration reform. it's one thing to seek an advantage at the polls. it's another to make innocent people suffer for your ambition. guilty members of congress and i'm specifically including you, senator cruz, should hang their heads in disgrace. euge eugene, those are fairly strong words. >> you know, it's an election year. essentially congress has given up on achieving some very basic things. extending unemployment benefits in the wake of a historic

recession, raising the minimum wage. dealing with immigration reform to bring 11 million people out of the shadows which is what everybody says we need to do. there's an unusual number of victims of this election year, and i would argue in previous error, some of this work, at least, would have gotten done, but it looks like it won't now. that's not what the election is supposed to be for. they are not supposed to be for doing damage to people for political reasons or failing to help people for strictly political reasons but that is what is going on now. >> both sides are using pretty harsh terms. let me get to north korea. you have an nincredibly piece w are going to air right now. the crime against humanity is no secret but a report by the u.n.

is issuing a call to action. yesterday a u.n. panel said kim jong-un and leadership could face international justice for atrocities which are now compared to those committed under adolf hitler. andrea, here is your report on this. >> reporter: north korea's kim jong-un at his father's mausoleum. a birthday tribute on sunday and accuse the kim dynasty of atrocities and a vast network of prison camps and horrors going back decades and extermination and murder and slavery and forced abortions. >> there will be no excusing a failure of action because we didn't know. we do know. >> reporter: survivors of the prison sketch pictures to illustrate starvation and torture of tuhundreds of thousands. this prisoner at camp 15 said a fellow prison trying to escape was dragged back to the camp

behind a truck. then executed for all to see. kim in prison for 28 years drew pictures after she got out. she said guards would spit in their mouth if they gagged, they would be beaten. former guards told human rights watch, many people lost their mind. children starved. families hunted for snake and mice to feed their children. most often guards force the mother or third person to kill the baby by drowning it in water or suffocating it by holding a cloth or other item against its face or putting the baby face down so it cannot breathe. >> this report is really the most comprehensive documentation we have seen of the north korean prison camp system. >> reporter: a north korean army general who defected said today's report could bring hope to the north korean people but will they ever learn of it?

>> i don't think any regime in history that sealed the country like north korea. >> andrea, you said that is just the surface of some of the gruesome atrocities that you could not put on television. >> it was so disgusting, we could not put it on tv where children and others, you know, watched. what happens next? well, there is a defector, a prison guard who is going to testify at the human rights commission in geneva but the u.n. is paralyzed because china has a veto at the security council and china enabled north korea by returning defectors permitting them to be executed and one of the arguments is that we as serious as it is, we are due and, you know, rally the region against north korean nuclear weapons and don't complain about the human rights abuses. john kerry to his credit in beijing and south korea the last

couple of days talking about the nuclear issue but not talking about human rights that we know of. >> given what andrea has just said, how challenging is it to get china to actually take that opportunity and use the leverage they might have? >> it's exactly it. the old saw about germany, the french once said i like germany so much, i'm glad there are two of them. that is basically the chinese policy toward the koreas. the goal for the u.s. foreign policy or to be to reassure the chinese that a united peninsula undersold not pyongyang would not be to china's detriment and that means having a serious conversation with china about the future orientation, complexion, denuclearization of the peninsula and only hope that china comes to see north korea increasingly as a liability not as an asset. >> tell me what puts it over the edge? because, obviously, we know at the table here hope and conversation mean nothing unless there is leverage.

what would our leverage be? >> i think at this point we have so little leverage with the chinese, they are our bankers and holding our treasuries. i think what human rights and other advocates hope for is have a big conversation and not have all of us say we knew that was happening under kim jong-un and his father and grandfather because we are then complicit and according to a recent report unparalleled. we are talking about things happening in africa and other places around the world. >> read it. eugene robinson, chime in. >> just a question for andrea. isn't it possible that china will decide the new leader, kim jong-un, is just too unstable and too unpredictable having, you know, executed his uncle and

conducted this purge and, you know, he seems a little unstable and a little crazy frankly, not that his father and grandfather didn't seem crazy, but he seems unprepared to run this policed state this family has created. could that perhaps prompt the chinese to take another look? >> it could, unless -- there is another theory that he actually was reacting against the military takeover of his regime and that execution had more to do with the military taking charge than with kim jong-un. yes, the chinese are very worried about this young leader and that could be our best argument with them. >> andrea, stay with us, if you can. eugene, thank you so much. we will looking for your column online and in "the washington post." >> great glasses. >> thank you. >> they are. >> sorry, mom, but you were outnumbered. up next, the latest election in the "morning joe" book club.

author kevin roose walls wall street the most luck rahhive and soul crushing fraternity in the world. you're watching "morning joe." we will be right back. honestly? this deal was way too good to believe. instead of paying too much for an ipad, i got the surface 2. first of all, it comes with office and outlook. then, with free skype calls to phones in over 60 countries, i can talk to my cousins any time. and then, i got 200 gigs of cloud storage -- free -- so i can get my photos and stuff almost anywhere. others charge for that. surface is such a great deal. i feel like i should tell somebody. hey! ♪ honestly ♪ i want to see you be brave ♪

♪ i want to see you be brave 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. consumers already did that. twice. huh. maybe that's why nobody else showed up. how does one get out of a death cage? vo: hurry in and lease the 2014 passat s for $189 a month which includes a $500 bonus. great. this is the last thing i need.) seriously? let's take this puppy over to midas and get you some of the good 'ol midas touch. hey you know what? i'll drive! i really didn't think this through. brakes, tires, oil, everything. (whistling)

♪ what can i bring for you on this glorious afternoon? >> hector, here is the game plan. bring us two absolute martinis. you know how i like them straight up. precisely 7 1/2 minutes after that bring us two more and two more after that every five minutes until one of us passes out. >> excellent strategy, sir. >> i'm good with water for now, though. thank you. >> thirsty on wall street. give him time. >> all righty then. oscar nominated film "the wolf of wall street" depicts the wildlife of traders in 1990

before the bubble burst. what was it like after the economic crash? kevin roose has been shadowing investors in top investor firms and out with a new book "young money inside the hidden world of wall street's post crash recruits." we have selected kevin's book as our new mojo book club pick so we are all reading it and nicole is all the way through. >> so good! so good! >> you're like our "morning joe" nerd. >> i'm a book nerd but this is so good. >> thank you! >> it reads like a novel. >> thank you. >> it reads like an hbo series in the making, which i can only hope and pray it is. but what i am so still rattled by is the indoctrinization of these young bankers. they go from being college kids in health doses want to save the world but then i have to pay back my loans. in the end, the money sucks them in. >> right. these were eight first and

second-year bankers at goldman sachs and jpmorgan and all of the other big firms who all entered after the financial crisis, so in 2009 and 2010. wall street attracts a ton of people still at a lot of top colleges. it's the number one destination for new graduates. i was fascinated. i was like who are these people and why do they still want to work on wall street. >> who are they? >> who are they? >> yeah. >> they are 22-year-olds who come out of college and decide to work on wall street for various reasons. some of them need the money. >> put them in three categories. the one who are successful. the gunners who maybe came from families where kids hadn't gone to college they thrive because it's so appealing the idea of advancing for their whole family and socioeconomic class and the one who are legacies. that was interesting to me too. it isn't just anyone that cuts it, right? >> this is surprising to me. i expected all of these people

would have come to wall street for the money. that's why we assume everyone goes to wall street. when i asked them why they had done this a lot more said because i needed a job, or because it was structured. colleges -- banks are very good at recruiting at colleges. they come on your campus and say apply for the job and we will make it easy for you and you'll have something locked up and it's only a two-year commitment so you're not signing away the rest of your life. all you have to do is do this for two years and then they say you can go do whatever else you want. in the wake of the crisis when unemployment was really high and hard to get a job and these were appealing offers to some people. >> what do you see about the changes the people go through. the young men and women coming in metamorphosis? >> to understand what happens to them, i think you have to understand the world of wall street for young people is nothing like the wolf of wall street. it's not cocaine and fast cars.

these guys work incredibly long hours. a hundred hours a week sometimes. one told meal the thing called the banker 9:00 to 5:00 is working from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 a.m. the next day, 20 hours in a row. that's not uncommon for them. they are really put through the wringer. i think in the end that changes them. that structure, that provision and the things that they are being taught all around them by older bankers and people in their classes. >> is there still a old boys club? or women making inroads? >> of the eight, two were women that i followed. i think that's a little underrepresentative. i think at the young levels, it is actually pretty diverse. what happens, though, is as you rise up the ranks, as you go to the managing directors and the partners and the executives, it starts to look a lot more male and a lot whiter and i think that is going to be something that wall street is going to have to contend it. >> you are right. no black or hispanics of any

wall street firms and still porcelain white. >> it's true. i think what was sort of sad is to see these young bankers come in and be very ideaistic. they do think they are going to help make the world a better place. over the course of their two years -- it's joining a religion. they teach you what to wear and how to act and how to talk and the values that are important for you to share, and it sort of changes them. >> to nicole's point, you snuck into the kappa beta phi. what did you find? >> it's a fascinating thing and remains one of the most bizarre things i've ever seen. this is a society of wall street executives that meet once a year. >> is this where the "wolf of wall street" scenes come? >> if martin sorcorsese got fro this a writer he would say we have to cut this. >> these are photos you took.

what is going on there? >> these are photos. for every class of inductees the neophytes as they are called have to dress up in drag. these are some of the most powerful executives on wall street. they do skits and they perform comedy acts and a lot of them are mocking things like the 99% and the bailouts and making sexist jokes about various celebrities. it really was -- i snuck in and just sat there and watched this whole thing. at the end of this i had to sort of out myself and it was chaos. i really thought i might have left there on a stretcher. >> why? what happened? you said i am kevin roose? >> someone saw me take a picture with my phone. and he was at my table with me. and he said, who are you? as a reporter and i was working at "the new york times" at the time. their code of ethics says when someone asks you who you are, you have to on tell them who you

are. i said i'm a reporter. and everyone freaked out. it was like a bomb had gone off. no one in 80 years of this fraternity's existence has ever got inside. >> how did you get in? >> i thought it would be harder. i rented a tux. it was a black tie affair and went to where the high school kids get their prom tuxs aes an walked right in and i was 20 years younger than most of the people there. i can't explain it other than to say i think they must have thought i was a waiter or something. >> incredible hazing that goes on and you expect this at a less mature level like a college type of hazing. >> the hazing like, you know, college frat boys. it's amazing. >> in dresses? >> in dresses. >> all right. . the book is "young money." if that doesn't get you reading it, i don't know what will. kevin roose, thank you. you can read an excerpt on our

site and we will post a longer q&a with kevin. tweet us your thoughts using the #mjbookclub. i smell a movie, right? >> i hope you're right. >> with the hot young actors like mila? >> on tomorrow's show we will talk to john thune and wayne brady will be on the set. bill karins will join the conversation coming up. we will be right back with more "morning joe." ♪

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[ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. [ man ] i looked around at everybody else and i was like, "are you kidding me?" [ dan ] it's just human nature to focus on the here and now. so it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ new york city. snow falling for like the 100th time this winter but no one is complaining about this one. roads are holding up okay and it's almost over. this is an underachieving storm.

probably one of the first ones we have had this winter for many areas from d.c. to baltimore to philly and new york city and a sneeze compared to the big storms we have had. let's go to oakland, new jersey. dylan dryer is out in the snow. how much is on the on the ground out there, dylan? >> reporter: i'm so distracted by the icicle, bill. >> i am too. >> reporter: i can't keep track of how much snow is falling. we have had several inches of snow, maybe an inch and a half to two inches actually around here. it's on top of snow that just keeps coming down. the more you like put your foot down, the deeper you go and you don't know where the grass is. it's the icicles that kaw ours attention here. this one is probably half my size but behind us those are 5 1/2 feet high. i'm only 5'4" and they are towering over me. we have the warm-up to talk about by the time this round of know ends. we could end up in the 40s and 50s and this starts to melt a little and it grows. i wanted to rip some of those

off but i want to see if they will actually reach the ground by the end of the winter so this might be a place we have to check back in it. >> may rip down the gutters along with them. a new olympic sport and do some icicle tossing. perfect. >> reporter: it was fun. >> let us know how the car turned out. dylan dryer in oakland, new jersey. the snow is moving out of the new jersey area and new york city over the next hour. it has to head up into areas of new england so you're the ones that are next. how much snow can we get? manchester, 6 to 10 and portland 6 to 8. a newsome storm. more significant snow this afternoon as you travel through areas of new england. for everybody out there, we have a significant warm-up, even areas in the northeast have a chance of getting up near 50 to 60 degrees by the time we reach friday. that is all of the warm air that is in the middle of the country. all in all, considering the big winter storms we have had, not too bad. up next a member of the

armed services and budget committee, republican robert wicker is standing by and he joins the table when "morning joe" comes right back. ♪ for over a decade

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[ male announcer ] find out how fast aflac can pay you at aflac.com. ♪ i stand by what john boehner did and i know all of the points you were making about the veterans benefits and all that. john tried everything. i was so sgufed widisgusted whe people said they knew they had to pass a gut ceiling but not the guts to vote it. this is the same group that went into a government shutdown knew was a disaster and looked like

morons following ted cruz over the proof. john boehner would not allow that to happen again. he would not allow it to happen. he was a real leader. >> that is congressman peter king with his thoughts i'll say on the tea party members who resisted the debt hike. bus senator from mississippi, robert wicker. you're so nice and cheerful. what do you think peter king had to say? >> he is always nice for a nice sound bite. >> i saw you chuckle there. >> he is good tv. >> he is bad politics? >> i think peter king has been successful in his district for ages and ages and i like him and he does well. >> you are good politics, sir. >> not only are you from mississippi which, of course, makes you incredibly polite and charming. >> well. >> but also you've been around for quite some time in washington, d.c.

when did you start? >> well, i was elected in 1994. there was this guy joe scarborough was elected from florida. >> i know what? he is not here right now. he's on location. maybe i could get some intelligence, sir, on working with joe. >> he was originally one of the original bomb throwers. >> wait a minute. was he a red bomb thrower as pat buchanan says? >> i don't know about that but he was a hard charger and believed what he said and didn't mind saying it and he was good to work with. >> compare then and now and what peter king was talking about, what john boehner did last week and i think perhaps might be a good strategy toward the midterm but then again where do you all stand? >> the republicans fought back then. as a matter of fact joe was part of a group that challenged the speaker in the first term and voted down a rule, which brings

a bill to the floor, and the speaker called us all in and asked us to come up and give an account. then in 1997 there was the attempted coup against newt gingrich. we have had these little skirmi skirmish. the point is we got over them and we had the control of the u.s. house of representatives for 12 years. i think we are going to get over this one. i think this is the year of the six-year itch. president obama is very unpopular. he is seen as sort of imperial now. obamacare is a failed program. not only from a technical standpoint but also just from a human standpoint. so i think this is going to be a great year for republicans. so this little skirmish will be over. it is over. and we are going to move to things that unite republicans. >> is one of those things keeping our promises to veterans? >> absolutely. >> so talk about your op-ed and instead of reading it to you,

tell us why you wrote it and what us what your point was. >> to balance the budget. we are going to have to deal with entitlement. but why on earth would we choose as the first entitlement to deal with, people who have signed on for an active career in the military who fulfill their 20-year responsibility and are receiving pensions and cut their -- >> how did that become a political pinata? >> i think it says something about going back to following the rules. i was on the budget conference committee. nobody ever asked me about that. what turns out the compromise didn't come out of the conference committee. two people behind closed doors came up with this and it wasn't vetted by the membership. if it had been, i don't think it would have seen the light of day. but we got it corrected. and we're back to where we were. we are keeping our promises to

retired veterans and we found an offset and didn't add the $6 billion to the national debt which a lot of people would have liked to have done. >> senator, looking back seven days ago, last week. >> that's so last week. >> john cornyn and mitchell mcconnell, some people believe, i think my friend nicole here and arguably a lot of other people think they stood up and did the grown-up thing and went for a clean debt ceiling so the party could move on, the country could move o but politically also it was the best thing to do to move on to not have another, you know, ted cruz shutdown dragging down the republican re think? >> i know a lot of people feel that way. i think "wall street journal" surprised people when they came out favorably not only what speaker boehner and leader mcconnell and cornyn did. >> and tea party challenge.

>> you know, i think john cornyn's primary is about two weeks from now. i think you're going to see an overwhelming vote for john cornyn for a variety of reasons. listen. the republican conference, all 45 of us and the senate, were united in not wanting a clean debt ceiling. if you have to raise the debt ceiling, we like to get some sort of debt reduction measures attached to it like we did a couple of years ago with the budget control act and that actually saved money. it wasn't the most comfortable thing but we actually attached something to it that worked against the rising debt going forward. for whatever reason, the speaker ran a number of suggestions up the flag pole, wasn't able to get in. it was obvious we were going to have a clean debt ceiling sooner or later. i think the judgment of our leadership was let's get this behind us. we are not going to win this one so we sort of made a strategic

retreat and we are going to pivot to issues that unite us for this election like this imperial presidency, like obamacare and the very slow -- >> i think obamacare remains to be seen but we will see and we can disagree on that. senator robert wicker, thank you so much for coming in. we appreciate it. running out of time. two members of the soccer team, landon donovan and michael bradley are here and they will preview the upcoming season next on "morning joe." ♪ keep on moving one more day ♪ your way ♪

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just for joe, we've spent some money and we have gotten a truck all the way down in south africa and joining us now, landen donovan. >> no way! >> oh, my god. >> no way! >> look how cute he is. >> this is unbelievable. >> this is adorable. >> oh, my god! >> you are -- >> good morning. >> that's just not right. >> he looks exactly the same. >> did i vust say he's adorable? well, it's over because he's old now. here with us now from the los

angeles galaxy, landon donovan. i'm so sorry to hear about your age. 31. >> i had a lot more hair there. >> he he says i'm 31 and i'm old. >> i am old. >> that's in soccer years. it's like dog years, right? >> you're not helping me, pal. what does that make me, landon? >> you're beautiful. >> i'm 46. >> how is that? you look great. >> you are in an awkward position right now. so from there, i will tell you that you brought out my inner youth down at a bar in, i believe, lower manhattan when during the world cup against algeria you scored a goal. is that the way you say it? and i flipped a table. >> did you really? >> i did. >> why so violent? >> i don't know. we were so excited. it had cameras on it and it had all this food and drinks and oh, my gosh, everywhere. >> housewives of new jersey. >> we were all going so crazy, we didn't even notice we flipped

the table. >> that's beautiful. >> thank you for that day. it was the funnest thing i've ever seen. great to have you on the show. one of the questions we have in terms of major league soccer to the u.s., miami, to new york in 2015. how big could this get? >> well, i think it's on its way to getting big. the guy next to me here who has spent most of his career in europe and decided now in the prime of his career that he wants to be here and playing and so it's a beautiful thing. there's a lot of momentum behind our league. as joe will tell you -- unfortunately, he's not here. >> yeah. >> it's a lot of fun to be part of. >> it is fun to be part of. at 26 years old, being in his prime, thomas. >> which is great, and a jersey boy. >> and a jersey boy. >> coming back to the states. >> are you coming home? >> i'm coming home. couldn't be happier about it. >> michael when you were in europe playing, what's the difference between the culture that is futbal in europe and

what we know as soccer in america? why hasn't it kicked in high gear as it has overseas? >> that's just it. they have hundreds of years of tradition, of culture. it's engrained in the people there. and we're on our way. it takes a little bit of time, but what we're building now with major league soccer and with the national team, it's something special and it's going in the right direction. >> landon, is that what we need to see here in the states, getting more talent, like a michael to come home and build up the teams? >> bringing talented, good players now and then developing young players that want to play soccer in our country. obviously, we have a lot of great athletes who play a lot of different sports. we need to keep bringing them into soccer and eventually become a soccer nation that can compete with everyone. >> that's the key. programs, soccer you see only in certain communities and now they're putting them on city rooftops and inner city and it's giving kids a place to go, number one. and a sport they can become

obsessed with at an early age. >> yeah. >> and it is grueling. it is the most grueling sport, i believe. >> we think so. >> i think so. and rough as well. so we have the impact of david beckham and stars like you. what are the options you're giving up when you turn to the states, for example? because, as you said, it's so deep seated in europe. it's part of the culture. you could be a star in europe forever. am i incorrect? >> you're giving up, at the moment, a chance to play in champions league. at the moment you're giving up a chance to stay for still the biggest clubs in the world. but to be back and part of what's going on here, to be back and, as you said, giving the kids in this country, in north america people to look up to, to give them the hope that -- and to allow them to dream that they can one day play professionally here and play at the highest level on the biggest stage, that's something special.

>> that sounds worth it to me. sounds so nice to have you both in the show. the new mls season kicks off march 8th. landon donovan, michael bradley, such a pleasure to have you. >> we miss you, joe. >> you love joe, right? his son, joey, is obsessed as well. they get up really early in the morning and go to bars in the city and watch you. >> these guys are crazy. e can m. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. oh, it's great. yeah. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. ♪ new at&t mobile share value plans for business. our best value plans ever. for example, you can get 10 gigs of data to share. and 5 lines would be $175 a month. plus you can add a line anytime for $15 a month. sharing's never been better for business. ♪ 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?

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i'm lucky to say my parents are still here with us. they're here tonight. here to see me.

mom and dad. jim and gloria fallon. thank you. i wish i could have gotten you better seats but, you know, it's a very hot show, dad. very hot show. this is important. this is fun. this is what we're all about. i remember being a kid and asking my parents could sigh stay up to watch johnny carson? it was a big deal to stay up late. they would let me watch the monologue and i would pretend that i wasn't there so they would let me go to the first bit. i just think there's a kid out there asking their parents to stay up and watch me. i hope i do well. i just want to do the best i can and take care of this show for a while. if you guys let me stick around long enough, maybe i'll get the hang of it. >> good morning. it's 8:00 on the east coast.

5:00 am on the west coast, as you take a live look at new york city. welcome back to "morning joe." back with us on set, we have nicolle wallace, thomas roberts, richard haas and in washington, sam stein. thomas you did a report on it and it's great. i can't wait to watch it. >> such a good star and such an authentic guy, as you point out. i think he totally means it. shoet was back in new york. character of the show in and of itsds with all the cameos from the top, joan rivers. the ban is lifted. joan rivers came back after carson had exiled her. so a lot of good stuff. lot of good energy flowing his way. >> so, we'll see much more of that. but first let's get to some of the news. it's been five years now since president obama signed his $800 billion stimulus plan to jump-start the economy. the white house celebrated the anniversary by going on the offensive, touting the plan's

successes, including 1.6 million jobs created or saved per year between 2009 and 2012. that they argue is thanks to stimulus spending. see now, joe's on location today. and i think he didn't come in because i think he had a special term for the stimulus. didn't he, wasn't it steaming -- >> steaming pile of garbage. >> right. we'll get to that. i don't think it was, but any how, nice of him. unemployment has dropped from 10% in october 2009 to 6.6% now and the report also pointed out the real-world impact of spending, including the improvement of 40,000 miles of road, 2,700 bridges and bringing high-speed internet to 20,000 community institutions, including schools. the bill passed in 2009 with only three republican votes across both chambers and the

party's soured opinion of the recovery act has not changed. mitch mcconnell penned an op-ed, calling the law a tragedy. isn't that going a little too far? his colleague, ted cruz, took to twitter to mock the job creation saying, quote, unfortunately they're all at the irs and nsa. come on, guys. and potential 2016 hopeful marco rubio said stimulus is proof that big government is not the answer. >> the notion was that if the government spent all this money that, by the way, was borrowed that somehow the economy would begin to grow and create jobs. of course, it clearly failed. underemployment is still too high. the number of people that have dropped out of the workforce is astounding. and our economy isn't growing fast enough. proof that massive government spending, particularly debt spending, is not the solution to our economic growth problems. >> richard haas, so there's probably a little bit correct on both sides here. is it a tragedy?

>> no. it's neither a success nor a tragedy. it's half a loaf. it also can't -- >> all they could get, too. >> it can't be seen in isolation in some ways more significant policy of the federal reserve, to lower rates and be so active in the marketplace. but it's true that we have created jobs. on the other hand, u.s. employment levels are still below where they were five or six years ago. the percentage of working age americans who are working and while u.s. growth has rebounded somewhat -- some think this year will be around 3% -- we're still coming out of a recession more slowly than history suggests we should. there's ammunition here, if you will, for both sides, both for the administration to say things are better than they were and for the opposition, the republicans to say maybe, but things are not nearly as good as they should be. and, by the way, if things have improved it's not because of the stimulus. so each side, shockingly enough, glad you're sitting down, will find in this what they want.

>> a steaming pile of garbage, a tragedy or something else? realistically, not joking, that we were on the brink of what could have been an epic disaster, economic. >> the problem for the obama white house is that on the brink of an epic disaster he stood before both parties and said i won and this bill was his way or the highway. he pass this had bill with no republican -- >> three, right? >> with three republicans joining and at a moment when, as you said, we were on the brink. it set the tone for the rest of his presidency. it was a moment where he could have incorporated some republican policies and had something that now democrats are having to grin and bear it and campaign on something that none of them wants to campaign on. so the success of the stimulus is determined. and the failure of the stimulus is determined by the fact that democrats aren't very enthusiastic about it. if you look at the cumulative effect of what that bill and the way he passed it is done, i think you see all you need to

know about it in the way healthcare went down, which is on top of stimulus another partisan legislative process. and you've got all the democrats now really running for cover. >> i would argue healthcare was probably the most difficult lift of -- i mean, of this generation for a president. >> but the fact that the president -- >> i hear you. >> -- was so willing to do something with partisan arguments being made and the fact that he carries all the baggage alone, doesn't even have democrats standing with him either. >> that's loaded. >> true. >> sam stein, let's try to pick it apart emotionally, i have to say i think many americans may agree with nicole. in the argument by the republicans, at least, according to the new gallup poll. americans believe unemployment is the country's biggest problem. 23% say jobs should be the country's top priority. that replaces dissatisfaction with the government as the number one problem. other important issues are the

economy. healthcare, the federal deficit. overall just 22% of americans, sam, are satisfied with the way things are going. >> yeah. i mean, it's been a tough flog. not to get punchy too early in the morning but i would take umbrage with a couple of things nicole said there. it doesn't mean that it was a largely partisan bill. one-third of the stimulus was tax cuts, ended up being more than a third because they subsequently added more tax cuts later on and that was designed to get republican support. one of the reasons they didn't support the stimulus is because a lot of them had decided early on -- in fact, the first night of the administration, the inauguration, that they were going to oppose these things on a resolute basis and so there were no votes there and the president couldn't do much to get votes. one thing to richard's point. there's a third side to this debate. republicans might find things they don't like. democrats might find things they do like but tlhere's also a

progressive wing who didn't feel that it went far enough. christina romer felt you should do something closer to a trillion dollars not $800 billion to get out of this recession, this malaise. there is a third side to this debate which is not an insignificant side, which says we should have done more stimulus at the time and not backed away from it in 2010 and we might have been in a better situation if we were -- >> i think it was all he could get. richard? >> one of the other odd things about the stimulus which is not being talked about is how much the white house franchised it out to the congress. >> yeah. >> if there had been more of a white house designed bill with specific things designed to generate employment, rebuild infrastructure and so forth, but it wasn't. that, to me, is something that's still insplexplicable years lat. why would you essentially hand it over to the congressional will leadership and say, okay now, over to you.

>> good question. >> it simply didn't make sense then. five years later i think it was one of the strategic errors of this president. >> where we were as a country then, unified voice of electing president obama into office at that time and also taking back both houses of congress at that time. we saw the backlash come 2010 and how things reversed to be a more divided government. but when it comes to healthcare, the stimulus and trying those heavy lifts as mika has pointed out, we know that healthcare has been vetted continuously through the american people, through the supreme court. but when it comes to the stimulus, it is, i guess, still remains to be seen exactly how well it will do. only history will be able to -- zblie think it's hard to define. >> still just five years out. i guess a lot of people would look at this and say i wish it were better. >> or did it have -- perhaps maybe it had some sort of longer

impact? it was roads, bridges, which also was necessary and some of the other things i mentioned earlier. >> they fill the potholes in this state i would be behind it. >> there you go. >> lord. >> see? >> barely make it out of new york. >> bought by the obama white house. >> my god! >> nicole, here is one for people in your corner. republicans may have backed down on the debt ceiling fight right now. the party sees a real opening to zero in on the issues they hope will decide the mid-term elections. among them, the botched rollout of obamacare. as today's "new york times" points out, without the last second brinksmanship of previous showdowns and shutdowns and all that stuff, democrats lose a chance to paint their opponents as obstructionists or worse. i guess we have short memories. is that it? i don't forget ted cruz shutting down the government and -- do you? i don't know. am i an -- >> neither do his supporters,

mika. >> did you ever hear the expression, the elephant ate peanut butter? you'll never forget it. >> i still don't get it. i don't think i want to. the article says leading members of the president's party are, quote, alarmed by what one center calls the grim reality of outside money pouring in to a united gop. republicans are putting big-ticket legislation on the back burner to, instead, focus on issues that have strong backing within the party. that means immigration and tax reform will likely be shelved for the rest of the year. looking to punch back with the help of a billionaire hedge fund that will spend $100 million on attack ads against lawmakers. to help terry mcauliffe get elected in virginia. one of the target this is november will be governor rick scott in florida. political organization could rival the network of charles and

david coke. wow! that's big. and you see other republicans getting lined up. i think it's our friend, scott walker, lowering property taxes and they have a surplus to work with after that very, i would say, contentious beginning for him with the unions. republicans are lining up not just for the mid terms, but 2016 as well, nicole. >> absolutely. and i think, you know, last week when john boehner sort of walked the political plank and passed the clean debt ceiling without the support of his caucus, i was on conservative radio last week and they were killing him. i said, listen, i think he deserves a medal of freedom. joe was skeptical, too. >> yeah. >> you've seen now four months ago -- or six months ago when the government shut down, everyone was jumping up and down, begging and pleading for a grown-up in the republican party. we now have plenty of grown-ups in the republican party who have done what may have been in the moment difficult. they resisted the passions of

the right wing of our party, they did the grown-up thing. i think it now is viewed not too much later, five, six days later as a very wise move in terms of allowing our party to stay focused on a contrast that this president and with the democratic party that unites all republicans. that's the wrong headedness of -- >> we'll have to have joe chime in. it is sort of, what you're saying at least, builds the point that this is a party that needs to win. and if you're focused on -- >> needs to be led by the grown-ups. >> to win you need to play offense. what nicole is saying is exactly right. if the issues were things what the republicans were doing to the government they would be on defense. whether you agree or not they can talk about the implementation of healthcare reform. republicans then are on the offensive. what boehner did was politically smart. >> sam, go ahead. >> i agree with all of that. if i was a republican, i would want to discuss nothing other

than obamacare and the way you do that is take off all the self inflicting wounds of the debt ceiling and the shutdowns and put them to the side and focus squarely on one thing. but i would like to go back. is it not crazy how many billionaires are deciding that they just want to throw hundreds of millions of dollars into this race? >> yeah. >> it's nuts. >> and raise the minimum wage. seriously. >> it could. >> unbelievable. that stimulus. >> this is also the supreme court. this is free speech. >> running political ads but it's not -- it's crazy. it's like if you have a billion dollars the trendy thing to do is start your own super pac, throw $100 million into some congressional races and tip the balance. i don't see how this is representing democracy. >> interesting. come on, thomas. tell us. we're going to shift gear. >> we're going to talk about fallon now. this was so much fun. >> i love him. >> this was historic. >> literally three stories above us now. >> we should go.

>> field trip. field trip. >> do you think they would let us in the audience? would jimmy have us? >> evening joe. >> yes. >> jimmy last night officially became the host of "the tonight show," a character in and of itself. will smith joined fallon as his first guest which included an evolution of hip hop dancing all the way to the carlton with the empire state building in the background youtube performed on the top of 30 rock as the sun was setting and performing an acoustic song with jimmy later on in the show. it may end up changing the face of late night tv. >> one of the most coveted jobs in comedy now belongs to jimmy fallon. >> to my buddy who said i would never be the host of "the tonight show," you owe me $100,

budd buddy. >> after just four years on late night, fallon takes over as "tonight show" host. the pressure of starring in the nation's longest running talk show. big shoes to fill for the snl alum. >> this program is going to go on forever. >> september 27th, 1954, nbc debuted "tonight" starring steve allen. allen was a true one-man band known as a musician, comedian, writer and pioneer of late night. >> many people say, well, what kind of a show is this going to be? and the thought occurred to me as i was walking out here, i really don't know. >> jack paar became the second host of "the tonight show," replacing allen in 1957. he is credited with developing the modern standard of late-night tv, incorporating monolog monologues, skits and interviews. >> here's johnny!

>> but it wasn't until johnny carson came along that america truly fell in love with late night. >> i cooked. i cleaned. i took in the in-seam on your fig leaf. >> why didn't you just get me a smaller fig leaf? >> they don't grow that small. >> carson and sidekick ed mcmahon became one of the best known. >> sis boom ba. >> explain the sound of a sheep when it explodes. >> it would broadcast from new york for ten years before moving to burbank in 1972. >> people watching i can only tell you that it has been an honor and a privilege to come into your homes all these years and entertain you. i bid you a very heartfelt good night. >> but in 199, the late night tv

legend stepped down, handing off to comedian jay leno. >> let me start with question number one. what the hell were you thinking? >> despite a decades long feud with david letterman, leno is going out on top, passing the reins to a new generation, back where it all began, new york city. >> i wouldn't be here if it weren't for the previous "tonight show" hosts so i want to say thank you to steve allen, jack paar, johnny carson, jay leno. >> really, really nice. >> what a history "the tonight show" has had and the amazing brand that jimmy gets to inherit and the fact that it's back in new york and the fact that everybody likes jimmy so much. >> when you look at the long history of hosts, you remember growing up, watching them.

>> exactly. >> now we're older than the h t host. >> now we're old, period. >> thank you for that, mika. >> just 39 years old. >> amazing. >> will be at this a long time. >> when you work in the white house, this is how you know what the country is focused on, what's on "the tonight show." >> sam, you can still watch, growing up with your parents. >> and i still do, every night. >> that's so cute. >> stay up, mom and dad. >> if you're really quiet you'll get through the first guest. protests break out in venezuela. american diplomats are caught up in the mix. why the government says they were expeled from the country. why republicans aren't simply trying to win in november but shape the party for years to come. bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill, make it stop. >> soon enough, mika. soon enough. some of us are still dealing with winter while others are

enjoying a nice break from our harsh winter. our latest snow event kicked through chicago, milwaukee picked up six inches, couple of inches last night around cleveland. winds are blowing, too. cold, blustery day around buffalo. snow is exiting. philadelphia, new york city. new york city an inch or two out of this. philadelph philadelphia, fishily reported three inches. central pennsylvania. that will be a slippery drive on the pennsylvania turnpike and still in the cleveland area. as we go further east, you notice that philadelphia is cleared out and new york city, the snow is just about over with for you. as we go to the north we are seeing a little bit of snow now break i breaking out toward the boston area. when we're all said and done, heaviest totals in maine, new hampshire, central mass. it will warm up significantly a little later today. by the way, that warmth, very impressive. 62 today and sunny in kansas city. enjoy it. new york city, we're covered in more white.

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okay. it is time now to take a look at the morning papers. from our parade of papers, "the washington post," violence continues in venezuela as prote protests grow.

the president expelled three u.s. diplomats, accusing them of conspiring with opposition forces. the state department says the accusations are baseless and false. thomas? >> atlanta journal constitution, a high-profile witness is implicate i implicating former head of human resources, accepting a plea deal. the former superintendent was aware of the cheating on standardized tests and ordered her to destroy evidence. this cheating scandal dates back to 2009. >> billings gazette. three passengers and two flight attendants hurt after united airlines hit severe turbulence yet t originated in denver and ran into trbl while landing in montana. witnesses say the plane dropped abruptly and without warning, causing several people to hit their heads. one person is still hospitalized. ""the wall street journal,"

large majority of new york state voters are in favor of legalizing medical marijuana. quinnipiac poll shows 57% favor legalizing small amounts of pot for personal use. it's only one of the northeastern states without an active medical marijuana program. a study out of the university of chicago says loneliness can increase the chance of dying early by 19%. >> wow! >> scientists say feeling lonely can alter sleep partners, raise blood pressure and increase depression. >> i think i'm co-dependent enough to live a long time then. >> are you like a koala bear? >> i'm co-dependent, extremely. >> see, i feel like i would live a little longer if i were alone a little more often. >> really? >> i think the study is flawed and they should have done it along gender lines. >> it depends. >> just like one night every

three weeks, just alone. >> you need more than one night, nicole. you need like three day. >> loneliness sounds awesome sometimes. >> wow! >> even though it does shave time off your life overall? >> the dog, the baby. so many hearts beating. >> i have two words for you. empty nesting. >> so far away for me. so far away. >> i totally understand that study, though. very seriously. >> on a serious note, of course. you have the morning playbook, mike. let's talk about mega donors and not iphones unless you have a bad story about lots of money that you had to spend unexpectedly. new big spending who are trying to do more than just win elections. they're trying to shape the republican party. who are these people? >> mika, they're led by paul singer, hedge fund billionaire who we've seen on the show talking about immigration reform, gay rights, the state of israel are his top three issues.

in playbook today, i call this group the new cokes. this is sort of a moderate version of the koch brothers. away from state parties and even national political parties and to these big donors. so, a big part of the republican power now is based in new york city. paul singer is unveiling in politico a new group called the american opportunity alliance. and this is a group that brings together some of the richest donors in the republican party to try to push the party toward a more moderate position on these issues that they care most about. they already are raising money for some of the top senate candidates, having a big event in colorado coming up next week and speaker boehner is going to be there, a sign of how that center of gravity in the party is changing. >> this is disintermediation.

parties are losing their role and all sort of eternal sources replacing them. the power is going to be building consensus, if you will, in this expanded marketplace of ideas and money. this is a sign of not just the times but the future. >> okay. here we go. nicole, thoughts? >> i'm not a fan. when you work on a presidential campaign you want to maintain control over the message as much as you can. nobody knows where the money is coming from. >> that's right. >> grassroots, transparent support of a campaign i wouldn't have any clue how to wage a presidential campaign in this climate. the world has changed so dramatically since 2004 and 2008 when i was intimately involved in presidential campaigns. i find this disorienting. i don't have any problem with this specific group but just the complete reversal of where campaigns are funded, where the message that's going to go to voters -- because when you're at home watching tv it's not always abundantly clear where the message is coming from. this is just a barrage of ads.

>> what do you think about citizens united then? >> i was involved in campaigns before all this money flooded. on both sides. when i was working in 2004 on the presidential campaign, george szaros was the biggest outside funder on the democratic side and it had a devastating effect. but i don't think the kerry campaign appreciated all their messages. no presidential campaign wants all the money to be outside of their control. that's what these efforts do. >> politico's mike allen, thank you. still ahead our conversation with author kevin russe, whose new book goes into the run away world of wall street, where 9:00 to 5:00 often means 9:00 am to 5:00 am the next morning. we'll be back. when you order the works you want everything. an expert ford technician knows your car's health depends on your car's health depends on a full, complete checkup. the works.

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welcome back. live shot of the nation's capital as the sun comes up. a comprehensive report by the united nation sincere issuing a call to action. yesterday, a u.n. panel said that kim jong-un and north korean leadership could face charges for atrocities now being

compared to those under adolf hitler. andrea mitchell reports. >> reporter: a birthday tribute sunday. even as the u.n. accuses the kim dynasty of nazi-like atrocities, horrors going back decades. exterminatation, murder, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions. >> there will be no excusing because we didn't know. we do know. >> illustration, torture, public execution of hundreds of thousands. a prisoner at camp 15 said a fellow prisoner trying to escape was dragged back to the camp behind a truck, then executed for all to see. imprisoned for 28 years, she drew pictures after she got out. she said guards would spit in their mouths. if they gagged, they would be

beaten. former guards told human rights watch many people lost their minds. children starved. families foraged for snakes or mice to feed their children. when women prisoners gave birth most often guards forced the mother or third person to kill the baby by drowning it in water or suffocating it by holding a cloth or other item or putting the baby face down so it could not breathe. >> this is the most comprehensive documentation we've seen of the unimaginable cruelties of the north korean prison camp system. >> reporter: a north korean army general who defected said today's report could bring hope to the north korean people. but will they ever learn of it? >> i don't think there's ever any regime in history that's hermetically sealed the country like north korea. what's driving today's markets after everybody gets back to work after the

presidents' holiday? spokesperson: we decided to settle this. 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. consumers already did that.

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because everyone has retirement questions. ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. to get the real answers you need. start building your confident retirement today. kelly, fill us in on -- we're all sick of it, the snow, but it really does have an impact on the economy. >> i know. we're sick of it, too, thomas. the longer we have snow like this, it's unusual for this time of year in the northeast and other parts of the country, the longer that means uncertainty about the economy. markets have come off their best week yet of 2014 yet. we'll have to wait a couple of months to see what the trend in the economy really is. while they sort this all out,

people will be watching a couple of companies listing here to go public. one of them includes the maker of candy crush. now, anyone who has looked around on the subway or played the game with friends knows about the candy crush craze. i haven't personally played it. it turns out it's an almost $2 billion business that generated half a billion dollars in profit last year. that absolutely will be one that people watch. >> my in-laws are addicted to candy crush. they love it. let's talk about what has a lot of tongues wagging on the west coast. san francisco put out a possible deal between apple and tesla motors. just the idea has gotten people salivating over that type of future proofing two very interesting brands coming together. >> tesla shares are moving up 3% to 5%, back over $200. they're trading at lofty levels

to be sure. tim cook, the ceo of apple told "the wall street journal" a couple of weeks ago when google was buying all these companies, he says we have no problem spending ten figures for the company. there will be new categories as well. it starts you thinking about what those new products or big deals could be. yes, it could be tesla. their m & a chief talked to the company last year. also in this piece, and obviously more generally, people have talked about apple going into medical devices. they have a sound engineer, working on sound technology to try to prevent heart attacks. whether it's medical devices or tesla, you could potentially see apple making consumer product well beyond its core iphone market at this point. >> that's a big one. cnbc's kelly evans. great to see you. thank you so much. >> great to see you. author kevin roose shadowed recruits for years on wall street. things he saw there could have

jeopardized very public and lucrative careers. what he has to say, joining us next on "morning joe." we know we're not the center of your life, but we'll do our best to help you connect to what is.

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this glorious afternoon? >> two absolute martinis. straight up. and then precisely in 7:30 minutes after that, you'll bring us two more and then two more after that every five minutes until one of us passes out. >> excellent strategy, sir. >> i'm good with water for now, though. thank you. >> it's his first day on wall street. give him time. >> all righty then. oscar nominated film "the wolf of wall street" depicts the wildlife of traders in the 1990s before the bubble burst. what was it like after the economic crash? here with us now, new york magazine writer kevin roose, who spent years shadowing entry level workers at america's top investment firms and is back with the book "young money:crash recruits." we've selected kevin's book as our new mojo pick.

nicole is halfway through. >> it is so good. >> you're like our nerd, "morning joe" book nerd. >> it reads like a novel. >> thank you. >> reads like an hbo series in the making, which i can only hope and pray it is. what i am so still rattled by is the indoctrinization of these young bankers who go from being college kids who, in healthy doses, want to save the world. but, ooh, i have to pay back my loans. and in the end the money sucks them in. >> goldman sachs, jp morgan, who all entered after the financial crisis. so in 2009, 2010. and, you know, wall street attracts a ton of people still. at a lot of top college it's the number one destination for top graduates. so i was fascinated. who are these people and who wants to work on wall street even after everyone --

>> who are they? >> who are they? >> yeah. >> 22-year-olds who come out of college and decide to work on wall street for various reasons. some of them need money. >> you put it in three categories, though, the ones that are so successful. the gunners, who came from families where kids hadn't gone to college. they thrive because it's so appealing, the idea of advancing for their whole family, their socioeconomic class. you have legacies. that was interesting to me, too. it isn't just anyone that cuts it, right? >> this was surprising to me. i expected all these people would have come to wall street for the money. right? we assume that's why everyone goes to wall street. when i asked them why they had done this, a lot more of them said because i needed a job or because it was structure d. banks are very good at recruiting at colleges. they come on your campus and say apply for a job. we'll make it very easy for you. you'll have something locked up. it's only a two-year commitment. you're not signing away the rest of your life. all you have to do is do this

for two years and you can go do whatever else you want. in the wake of the crisis when unemployment was really high, it was hard to get a job. these are very appealing offers to some people. >> ken, what do you see about the changes that people go through, the young men and women that are coming in, the metamorphasis? >> the side effects of a banker's life. >> for young people it's nothing like the wolf of wall street. it's not cocaine and, you know, fast cars. these guys work incredibly long hours. 100 hours a week sometimes. one of them told me there's a banker 9:00 to 5:00, which is working from 9:00 am until 5:00 am the next day. 20 hours in a row. and that's not uncommon for them. so they're really put through the ringer. and i think in the end, you know, that changes them. that structure, that process. and the things that they're being taught all around them by older bankers and people in their classes. >> is it still a boys club, old

boys club or are there women that are making inroads? >> of the eight, two were women that i followed. that's a little underrepresentative. at the young levels, it is actually pretty diverse. what happens, though, is that as you rise up the ranks, as you go to the managing directors, partners and executives, it starts to look a lot more male and a lot whitewhiter. and i think that's something that they'll have to contend with. >> you write there are no black hispanic and many of the institutions are still porcelain white. >> it's true. i think what was sort of sad is to see these young bankers come in and be very idealistic. they really do -- you know, they really do think that they're going to help make the world a better case. over the two years -- it's sort of like joining a religion. they teach you what to wear, how to act, how to talk and the values that are important for you to share. it sort of changes them. >> so to nicole's point, you

snuck into the kapa beta phi. and what did you find? >> it remains one of the most bizarre things i've ever seen. this is a secret society of wall street executives that meets once a year to induct -- >> is this where the wolf of wall street's scenes actually come to -- >> if martin scorsese had gotten this from a writer, he would have said this is too ludicrous. >> these are photos you took. >> these are photos. >> what's going on there? >> for every class of inductees they have to dress up in drag. these are some of the most powerful executives on wall street. they do skits, perform comedy acts. a lot of them are mocking things like the 99%, mocking the bailouts, making sexist, homophobic jokes about various celebrities. i had snuck in, you know, and

just sat there and watch this whole thing. at the end of it, i had to sort of out myself and it was chaos. i mean, i really thought i might have left there on a stretcher. >> why, what happened? you outed yourself? you said i am kevin roose? >> someone saw me take a picture with my phone. >> yeah? >> and he was at my table with me and he said, who are you? and as a reporter and i was working at "the new york times" at the time. their code of ethics says when someone asks you who you are, you have to tell them who you are. >> right. >> so i said i'm a reporter. and everyone freaked -- it was like a bomb had gone off. no one in 80 years of this fraternity's existence has ever -- >> how did you get in? >> i thought it would be a lot harder. i rented a tux. it was a black tie affair. where high school kids get their prom tuxes. horrendous tuxedo and i walked right in. it was amazing. i was at least 20 years younger than most of the people there. and, you know, i can't explain

it other than to say they must have thought i was a waiter or something. >> incredible, what goes sbon you expect this at a much less mature level. >> it's a bunch of ceos that behave like college frat boy. >> "young money." kevin roose, thank you so much. great to have you back on the show. up next, what, if anything, did we learn today? , 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 you want everything.orks an expert ford technician knows your car's health depends on a full, complete checkup. the works. because when it comes to feeling safe behind the wheel, going the distance and saving at the pump you want it all. get our multi-point inspection with a a synthetic blend oil change,

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time now to talk about what we learned today. i tried to do this at the desk so you wouldn't see me in jeans and boots. >> i love that you're in jeans and boots. >> if it's way too early, what time is it? it's time for "morning joe." now it's time for "the daily rundown with chuck todd" who books my dad. chuck? >> i did. and he was fantastic, as always yesterday. meanwhile, another day and syria's president is still in power. president obama's team is making it increasingly clear that they're ready to change tactics. and right now they want to take a tougher tone on russia's role in resolving the conflict. >> new report on north korea paints a horrific picture