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 of yet

another crisis that the world seems to be able to do very little to change. evolved into something very different for today's top politicians. it's nonstop and it's happening in real time. good morning from washington. it's tuesday, february 18th, 2014. this is "the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. the president arrived in washington late last night. front and center on his agenda seems to be syria, current policy toward that civil war. the administration is privately signaling that it is taking another look at new options, including military, diplomatic and intelligence issues that are on the table. that were all set aside in favor of these talks last spring, but these talks have broken down. russia's role in the conflict. secretary of state john kerry blasted russia on his way to the middle east on monday.

>> russia needs to be a part of the solution and not be contributing so much more weapons and so much more aid that they are, in fact, enabling assad to double down, which is creating an enormous problem. >> kerry's criticism echoes a sharper tone from the president and white house advisers after russia signaled last week it would veto a draft u.n. security council resolution, which demands its civilians be allowed to leave areas in syria under siege. now they call on assad to allow humanitarian access. raise the prospect of new economic and military sanctions if the resolution's demands aren't met. >> russia is a hold out. they cannot say that they are concerned about the well-being of the syrian people when they are starving civilians and that it is not just the syrians that are responsible. the russians as well, if they are blocking this kind of resolution. >> so, you see what the

administration is doing right now. this tone marks yet another low point in the u.s./russia partnership, if you want to call it that, on syria, which has consistently eroded since last may when kerry flew to moscow and announced an international conference on ending the conflict. wall street journal is reporting that plans range from trying to equip the moderate rebels to even setting up no-fly zones which they had said was something at the time, back in last august and september, something that would never be on the table. paying salaries to some of the rebel forces and providing more transportation and intelligence. now the white house isn't commenting on any specific option under reconsideration. they don't want to participate in this drumbeat that somehow there's going to be something big, bold and new. they're actually trying to lower expectations and not put the president in the situation he was put in last september.

but both the president and secretary of state kerry and signaled that they know the current policies aren't working. >> it is important for the world to consider in these next days exactly what steps can now be taken in the face of this in intransingents. >> other advisers worry about the long-term consequences. as the atlantic steeps rights, syrian rebel forces are weak and fragmented and one of the problems of providing material support to the moderate free syrian army is keeping the

extremists who are also targeting bashar al assad's regime from hijacking the aid, the chances are uncomfortably high that those anti-aircraft missile also one day be turned against american or western targets. >> syria is a big reason our allies do not trust us and our adversaries do not fear us. the president violated lyndon johnson's maxim that you shouldn't tell a man to go to hell unless you're prepared to send him there. >> while there are no good option options to syria, in the days ahead as the president listens to his closest advisers, you have to do something, he will decide what the least bad option is. in response to every report that the white house is reconsidering, the response is something, hey, this is not extraordinary. it's something the president is always doing. translation, they want a nothing to see here response, so don't get caught up in a new drumbeat for military action.

meanwhile, another humanitarian crisis has been unfolding for years that the united states may have even less will to do anything about. and the details are horrifying. a new united nations report has chilling details about nazi-like atrocities being committed by the north korean regime. crimes against humanity which the u.n. says have no parallel in the contemporary world. this report, which includes evidence based on interviews. kim jong-un is accused of running a network of prison camps. quote, stermextermination, murd enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions. how long can the world effectively sit back and look the other way? >> there will be no excusing a

failure of action because we didn't know. we do know. >> in drawings, survivors of the camps illustrated the starvation, torture and public execution. for the u.n., atrocities which the commission say raise the specter of hitler and nazi germany. >> one of the witnesses in one of the camps told of how he -- his duties included gathering up the bodies of those who have died of starvation and putting them in a pot and burning them. >> the u.n. commission also warned china, korea's long-time protector, which is almost certain that it could be guilty of aiding and abet iting by returning defectors of north

korea back to face torture and execution. >> it is not in china's interest to have on its border a country which is so neglectful of the fundamental dignity of its own citizens. and that is effectively a totalitarian state that is a danger to itself and to its region. >> today, china blasted the report calling it unreasonable criticism. and then saying this. we believe that politicizing human rights issues is not conducive towards improving our country's human rights. although the commission's report has no legal standing it recommended that the international criminal court in the hague take up the case against north korea. ambassador to south korea, chris hill, dean of the university of denver. and "times" international editor bobby goesh.

good morning. this is akin to getting a report, say in 1942, for the world to know about the holocaust in ways that we claim that had we known then what we ended up knowing, we would have done something more about the situation in germany and what was going on. this is that moment for the world, is it not, ambassador? >> well, first of all, i think what michael kirby has detailed in his report are things that have been well known. what is different about this report, of course, is how ens k encyclopedic it's been. they want china to take the lead. as your setup piece suggests i'm not sure that the chinese want to go forward with this. it's going to be one of those

tough ones but i suspect this is the kind of thing that went on when secretary of state kerry visited beijing the other week. two things with north korea, this abominable machine that it is. you certainly don't want the north korean regime to have nuclear weapons. you have to deal with these extreme human rights issues. it's no easier than the situation in syria. >> well, it isn't. bobby goesh, you look at both of these issues. on the syria front the united states is saying, hey, russia, you have to get off the dime. on north korea, it's, hey, china, you're blocking any effort to sort of deal with this situation. this is not -- united states is normally in the, well, we're the united states. we have to do something. but is there really no something to be done? >> well, certainly with north korea, as ambassador hill pointed out, we've never really

had any cards to play there. the other thing about north korea is that they don't really need us. the only people they actually need actively are the chinese. and they've had a sort of blanket support from beijing for years and they've been able to play off of that. syria is a slightly different situation. we were in charge and had an opportunity to run that to the extent that such things can be run and we gave it up. what the administration is trying to do now, after all the debacle over red lines that were defined and then crossed and we did nothing about it, the administration is trying to regain some credibility. internationally, we don't have a lot of credibility on syria, because we haven't previously followed up our word with his any actions. so as you pointed out in your lead-up, administration's effort to keep saying nothing's happening here, that's where that's coming frchlt they'e ini. they're worried that we'll harm the rebels, set cruise missiles

in to take out assad's air force and then we fail to do that. that will be another knock on america's credibility. >> ambassador, can you pick up on that point? how bad is u.s. credibility right now because of that -- of those -- that ten-day period in september when the president said he was going to act and then pulled back and didn't? >> i think it was a case where ultimately the policy was probably right. i mean, i think we did more about weapons of mass destruction in syria than we would have, had we hit a couple of units by air, but -- so i think the end result was right. but i think you're correct that the ten-day period where we're on again, off again didn't do us any good. but i do want to emphasize, you know, we're not the only ones who bear responsibility for this mess in syria. certainly there's no one who has stepped up in the region. normally you would expect

egyptian diplomats to be very active. lo and behold, they've got their own problems. >> right. >> saudi arabia is very much on one side of the equation. turkey tried to weigh in. lo and behold, the arabs didn't really appreciate turks coming into their business anymore. it's been a dierth of real leadership as well. to say assad has to go -- i do think he has to go, but i don't think that would be the starting point. >> you think that was the initial mistake? not the red line but saying that as early as president obama said it? >> the idea that assad has to go, i do believe he has to go. when you say that at the outset on the mistaken impression that he, like other leaders, will be departing the scene in a matter of weeks, it ended up marginalizing us rather than marginalizing assad and they've been making us pay for that, the russians have, by doubling down

on assad. it has been a problem because we've been reduced by dealing with this disspirited and desperate syrian opposition rather than having the capacity to deal with all sides. whether you like it or not, this is going to be a political solution. they continue to fight for assad. this is not going to be something where someone marches into damascus and has a victory parade. >> i want to close back with north korea and get final thoughts from both of you. bobby, i know this is in china's court but should the -- is there reasonable pressure that the united states could put on china, maybe that threatens their business interest, economic interest or are those efforts just futile? >> no, i don't think pressing china on a public stage is going to work really. they've shown previously in a number of other issues that they don't respond well to that kind of pressure. it has to be much more subtle and reaching out to the chinese people, making them more aware of what goes on in north korea

and actually, interestingly, the united nations has begun that effort. they have -- on china's social media they're beginning to put the message out so that ordinary chinese, who are not always aware, have a better sense of this ultimately, china will have to decide that it's not in its best interest to have north korea as a satellite. and to the extent that we can nudge the chinese towards that conclusion, we should try. but wagging a finger at them on public -- in public forums is not the way to go. >> but ambassador, it's hard not to wag your finger when you look at a report like this. >> it's hard not to wag your finger, that is true. but i think it is much better to have reports like this that are credible reports, being done by the international community rather than the u.s., you know, using twitter or whatever else to wag our finger at people. i don't think it works with china. frankly, i don't think it works with anybody. and we ought to, you know, dial it down a little and step it up

in traditional diplomatic channels. i think it looks terrible right now for the u.s. and russia to be completely at odds over syria. and i don't think we should really put ourselves in that position with china over north korea. china, there are many signs the chinese are fed up with the north koreans even before dennis rodman showed up on the scene. >> fair enough with that, with our dennis rodman hit there. i'll leave it there. ambassador chris hill, i appreciate your wisdom on all of these issues and bobby ghosh, always a pleasure. thank you, sir. digging for dirt. it's a mainstay of political campaigns and has been that way, frankly, for centuries. how super pacs have changed game of opposition research. now it's about trolling the campaign trail on a daily basis. first a look ahead at today's politics planner. the president heads out to maryland today, public event, fuel standard and check out what's going on at northwestern

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in today's deep dive we're looking at what's going on in the world with opposition research. it wouldn't be a political race without some skeletons in the clos sbet someone to pull them out into light. but the public sense of modern opposition research really formed in the nixon era. now it's changing again. opposition research meant finding out everything you can about his opponent and picking a few things and spending the rest of your time trying to make those few things stick. michael dukakis was sunk when a

pro-bush pac ran the willie horton ad. john kerry was caught in his own verbal flip flop when he told a crowd he voted for the '87 iraq bill before he voted against it. but research has become a bigger and bigger player. nothing goes unused anymore. everything that gets picked up is put out either to feed social media or drive the news conversation into the next cycle. what candidates have said and done in the past and more about creating new moment business simply following politicians around until you catch them in an unguarded moment. essentially trolling them in real life. a moment that marked the dawn of this new age of tracking when then senator george allen pointed out an opposition tracker during his 2006 campaign at a campaign stop in western virginia. >> this fellow over here with the yellow shirt, whatever his

name is, he's with my opponent. he's following us around everywhere. and it's just great. we're going to places all over virginia. >> it wound up sticking to allen throughout the rest of his campaign and he subsequently lost his seat to democrat jim webb. video tracking, set off a broader effort against operatives across the aisle. super pacs have taken over much of the opposition research efforts, capitalizing on their autonomy and freedom to focus solely on their opponents. one of its trackers heard todd aiken use legitimate rape during a local interview. the clip was pushed to reporters within an hour, made national news and essentially destroyed his candidacy. american bridge has more than doubled the number of full-time trackers with a staff in over three dozen states, the goal to

make sure no remark gets missed. >> you feel like i do. you're scared. middle-class. >> strength in character to resist a world where -- >> we have only 20% of black children being raised in two parent monogamous marriages. it wasn't slavery that did that. it was government that did that. >> american bridge didn't have a counterpart on the other side. that's no longer the case. a year ago, operatives from the romney campaign and rnc launch aid super pac called america rising with nearly three dozen full and part-time trackers on their team working in 20 states with plans to expand ten more. america rising may have an advantage in being able to limit the scope of its effort, at least for now. the democratic effort is watching congressional

candidates as well as collecting information on eight potential ly candidates, america rising has one. former rnc operative tim miller, now co-founder and executor of america rising. look, both of you had history in doing opposition research back when the political parties controlled it. now it's this. what is it about a super pac? tim, i'll start with you. what is it about having total autonomy, not being in the rnc building or in brad's case the dnc building doing this? what is the advantage of being your own entity? >> the growth and opportunity project after the last election and tried to determine what the party at large could do this cycle to do a better job of competing with the democrats and

beating the democrats. to his credit one thing we identified is that there are certain functions that it makes sense to have groups on the outside of the parties because of campaign finance rules. there are certain things that, of course, will happen inside the rnc but still you could have specialist organizations whether it's data, voter data or data that comes from opposition research and have an organization on the outside that's focused entirely on that that can complement what's happening on the campaigns and the parties and the super pacs and can work with all the groups. >> so answer the same question. what's the -- let's do it this way. what's the disadvantage of being on the outside? >> first of all, i agree with tim. the advantage of being on the outside is certainly that you have that singular focus. inside the party, you know, they have a number of responsibilities. they have to do communications every day. not just think about what happens down the road. they have to do voter

protection, voter file. they have to figure out turnout. they have to organize -- >> so what's the disadvantage? >> the disadvantage is one in that when you get close to an election you can't coordinate with the parties. one, you don't know spal what the thinking of the party is or exactly what the thinking of the candidate is. you have to do either your group or sister groups have to do their polling. you obviously have already done the opposition research. >> the unintended consequence of what you guys are doing. the more trackers now that there are, the less unguarded moments that there are going to be with politicians and maybe the less that we actually learn from them. the human reaction is going to be politicians are now afraid of their own shadow because of you guys. >> in a modern era where all it takes is we've got a war room, not just people out in the field but in washington who are watching twitter, facebook. all it takes is somebody sitting

in one of these private meetings with a candidate to put something out on twitter about what they said. that can be just as damaging. i don't have nostalgia for the old days where mary landrieu could go to louisiana and tell the rotary club one thing and then come to d.c. and -- >> that, i'm totally with you but i'm wondering, will they end up not saying anything to anybody? i guess you get to a point where -- i'm with you there. where they've got to say in iowa, they could say they were for ethanol subsidies. in new hampshire, gee, we don't like subsidies. >> what todd aiken said and he said on a television program. he didn't say, you know -- he didn't say it in -- >> with a hidden video, tracker video. >> it wasn't a tracker video. these politicians see cameras all the time. many times -- for example, our trackers -- i think true of

tim's. they don't approach the candidates or ask questions. they literally just record what they're doing. it's not one of these moments where they're trying to get them to do something. they're just another camera in the crowd at an event. >> your group has done something that others hadn't. you're going to capitol hill. >> uh-huh. >> so there isn't a restriction there, but it does seem to be -- >> i never really understood the sensitivity. it seemed to me like if there was a place where the candidate should expect, it should be the capitol. i think our camera is just the same as msnbc. you have kasie hunt over there working on the hill. if they're going to do a gaggle, an interview, our camera will be there, too, to get it on tape in case it's not use bid you guys. >> opposition research used to be you gather everything and you said, all right, what can be a big story and what's a small

story? now you guys throw it all out there. do you get to the point where saturation make it is less impactful? >> we don't throw it all out there. >> you don't think -- there's stuff that goes unused, even on twitter? >> there's certainly stuff we get in tracking footage or media monitor or have gotten research on that we hold back. a bunch of sister operation who run ads. >> my point is it eventually goes somewhere? >> yes. it doesn't go out right away. >> we're trying to target that stuff. certain pieces of opposition research that might only matter to a small community online. it wouldn't make sense to spend money putting something on tv that's only going to impact a neighborhood. in that sense, they're going hyper local. >> you guys are the reason why politics stinks. what do you say to that? after being a little over the

top here. you guys are part othe problem. washington doesn't work. the two parties don't get along. all you guys are trying to do is destroy others with finding gotcha moments. >> our existence isn't to find gotcha moments but full situational awareness. hold the candidates responsible for what they're saying. mary landrieu example. we're not digging through her trash. what we're doing is making sure that what she says in louisiana is the same as what she says to donors. there's a big wedge there. >> do you ever feel guilty? >> not at all. our entire premise is to hold people accountable. >> too much agreement. >> i understand that, but this was about tactics. i didn't even get to the whole for-profit aspect of what you're up to. that's for another time. thank you both. much more ahead on tdr. first, today's trivia question, which u.s. city has bid the most

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coming up, from russia with tension. i'll speak with former senator dick luger, who told us that the olympics could be the breakthrough for u.s./russian relationships.

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and now an upat a time out of russia. two members of the punk band pussy riot have been released. founding band members were taken into custody outside sochi this morning. they say they're accused of

theft. the charges were dropped. they've become international figures when they were jailed in russia last year for staging protests and openly criticizing president putin. the women say they came to sochi to protest at the games themselves. let's check in with sochi. nbc correspondent kevin tibbles joins me from there now. let's start with -- obviously there's a little bit of -- this second week of the games, do you sense that security is no longer the first thing people think about that suddenly the games truly are the star and all of the concerns pregames have faded into the background? >> reporter: well, i think, chuck, i couldn't have put it any better myself, actually. i think that the games have taken over at center stage. but, you know, the fact that the hockey, for example, which is going on right now with russia, the home team, playing for a spot in the quarter finals, the

fact that yulia lipnitskaya, the young skater -- thousands are streaming into this park every night. that said, the american tourists aren't here in the numbers that many thought. other international tourists may not be. colorado have numbers on them. the bottom line is, you're absolutely right. that the games are front and center. i'm not suggesting in any way that there is a lack of security here as a result of that. we are still being checked. there are reports that people are perhaps getting through into hotels and such. but i certainly can report to you i haven't seen any of that. i was patted town this morning. the cars are checked. the car doesn't get into the hotel without being checked. there you have it from here. >> kevin tibbles, the latest in sochi. >> reporter: thanks, chuck.

>> security, the games being the star as everybody hoped it would be. drawing attention when russia hosts the g-8 summit in june there. as the host country russia does get to set the agenda. according to their official website, president putin wants to talk about fighting drugs and stopping terrorism. what's going on in ukraine and syria could grab the spotlight. i want you to respond to an idea that dr. brzezinski said on my show yesterday. he said take syria, iran, the ukraine. these are three problems we have with russia. put them together and basically go deal bilateral -- almost go back to the cold war era of diplomatic dealings with russia and say we've got these sticking points. how are we going to resolve

them? what do you say to that? >> it's a very good piece of advice. having said that for the moment, even while the games are going on and bringing very favorable attention, russia has decided to give the additional $3 million to ukraine just to keep the europeans out of there. >> right. >> the russians have affirmed they're going to help out assad in syria. >> send more weapons. >> right. >> and iranians, we're told by ayatollah khomeini that they're not going to go anywhere even if we talk for a year. >> apparently we are going to talk for a year. >> i think we're at a point essentially in which probably diplomacy is an important thing, because essentially nothing is going to change in this particular picture without russians deciding that it's in their best interest. why would they decide that?

because they've got economic problems that are very severe. hiding behind sochi and 51 billion is the fact that their reserves are coming down very fast. fracking in our country has made a huge difference in their diplomatic situation. they know that. these are the basic things we ought to be talking about. >> you heard ambassador chris hill earlier on in the show. he was really critical of saber rattling in general. he was saying we have to stop this in public. it's happening too much. right now it does seem that the administration has decided on syria, as it tries to contemplate its own policy change here that, you know what? let's make the russians -- let's guilt them publicly. what do you say to that strategy? >> i don't think it's very useful. simply because the russians want assad to stay. >> they don't respond to this? >> and they want the iranian regime to stay. in other words if you were vladimir putin, you don't go in

for people who are for overthrowing regimes. they are more trustful of the shiites for a variety of reasons. they're going to stay on that posture unless there's a cost they perceive or opportunities they perceive. we have to be more diplomatic in our approach for not only the g-8 but interim -- >> so be imaginative. throw something out there. what would you be advising? >> i think we need to be talking to them, really, about their economy, about the fact that vladimir putin's great vulnerability is the fact that reserves go down, the russians are not vulnerable as yet but they're heading toward that point. he has made an extravagant investment, which has benefited many of his cronies, but also brought great praise to russia with the sochi situation in the hope that somehow this might

bring favorable -- when med mededev -- he smiled and said that's a very difficult question. >> let me ask you this. the sochi games, you thought, could be an opening potentially for u.s./russians relationships a bit, that the games were so important to putin that whatever it took to make the games go well, he could be ameanabeamena other -- now that the games have gone on, do you feel that they have helped putin or hurt him on the world stage? and, second, do you think that he will feel more empowered after these games are over? >> i think he has been helped on the world stage. people have been transformed by watching all of this. and they like it. on the other hand, putin also

has had to make some concessions domestically. we talked about the pussy riot and so forth. a lot of other people have been freed. putin has taken not a mild stance with regard to protesters around the kremlin, but nevertheless not the same degree of crackdown as we see in other countries. in other words it's a very sophisticated way of trying to loosen up and understand that his longevity, given vulnerabilities that he has on the economy and elsewhere, are going to require a great deal more cooperation of his own people. >> the republican primary season begins. a lot of colleagues will be facing primary challenges like you faced. what's your advice to pat cornyn, mitch mcconnell, what would you be saying to them, how to handle these? >> i would talk about jobs, constructive things that can occur in our economy. i would talk -- in other words, about affirmative programs that

republicans might bring about if they had a majority in the congress. i think this is what the american people really want to hear. and at least -- >> you would be ducking the tea party fights? >> i would. i don't see any particular reason to -- >> you wouldn't be engaging these opponents? >> no. you may have to in order for survival in some cases. but you're asking me for a good campaign situation, very affirmative. >> former senator dick luger, thoughts on russia. thank you. appreciate it. data bank is here. a little jimmy fallon love. white house soup of the day, sweet potato. we'll be right back. it's time for the "your business" entrepreneur of the week. creating north carolina based stitch golf, he wanted to source his supplies locally. he found them by going door to door throughout the state, finding the perfect partners and helping the local small business

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if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. does breathing with copd weigh you down? don't wait to ask your doctor about spiriva. starts with freshly-made pasta, and 100% real cheddar cheese. but what makes stouffer's mac n' cheese best of all. that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. made with care for you or your family. >> time for your tuesday data banks, number that is might just help tide you over till spring. 10, number of states facing winter weather warnings again this morning. new hampshire and maine could get half a foot of new snow.

in most places it will just be enough to mess up your commute and make the dirty snow look clean again. next number, 30, that's the number of days since iran agreer nuclear activity. today, iran and the six world powers have begun talks to build on that step and secure a long-term agreement. wendy sherman said monday right now things are on track. >> so far, everyone of both iran and all of the rest of us who provided some very limited targets sanctions relief have kept their commitments. >> we'll see, talks could take up to a year. next up, at least two, that's the number of years and how long folks in california will have to wait for an initiative that would legalize pot to be put on the state ballot. a group that pushed marijuana legalization in colorado and washington decided to delay going after 2014 after determining they need more time to raise money and reach out to elected officials. translation, they want to put

the recreational use pot initiative on a presidential year, folks. finally, one, show number one for the tonight show's new host, jimmy fallon, who debuted last night with guests u2 and will smith in his first tonight show monologue. here's a quick taste. >> the u.s. men's hockey team beat russia on saturday in a very dramatic shootout. that was exciting. that was great. the american team said they are thrilled with the win, while the russian team is missing. pleasu we take them to different type of shootout. >> the show also featured a laundry list of cameos from the likes of bob de niro, you know, they are all friends. mayor giuliani, lady gaga, mike tyson, and steven colbert. trivia time, it's been the city of detroit who has been unsuccessful to host the

olympics now seven times between 1944 and 1972. they are the only city to bid that many times and never succeed. congratulations to today's winner, oliver character. we'll be right back. is character really your name? really? [ shirley ] edward jones. this is shirley speaking. how may i help you? oh hey, neill, how are you? how was the trip? [ male announcer ] with nearly 7 million investors... [ shirley ] he's right here. hold on one sec. [ male announcer ] ...you'd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. kevin, neill holley's on line one. ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪ ♪ 800,000 hours of supercomputing time, 3 million lines of code, 40,000 sets of eyes, or a million sleepless nights. whether it's building the world's most advanced satellite, the space station, or the next leap in unmanned systems.

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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 ♪ time for my tuesday takeaway. moments from now, the national labor relations board will begin hearings on an unusual bid. it's by northwestern university football players and their attempt to unionize. last week the players and university agreed the key question in the case is whether or not college athletes are, in fact, employees. here's what's going on. quick reminder, the school's outgoing quarterback and the president of the college athletes players' association say they are paid through scholarships and stiepenned checks and the responsibilities are similar to workers.

they bring in billions of dollars in revenue, but they don't have the same rights as employees and there's certain things they have to do to keep their scholarship. however, the university disagrees and said this after the initial hearing, quote, we do not regard and have never regarded our football program as a commercial enterprise. that's probably true, but here are the facts. many argue collegiate sports do represent commercial activities, they broadcast collegiate games on national tv, they sell those rights. in fact, the big ten conference football program, which northwestern belongs to, had an overall profit of $8.4 million at the end of last year. the bid to form a union is being closely watched. if they succeed, the expectation is other teams will follow suit quickly, but the attempt they may end being unsuccessful, but that doesn't mean the landscape of college football isn't going to change, because the response by the ncaa is going to be,

what, to start sharing some of these problems in some equitable way. that's it for this edition of "the daily rundown." msnbc's going to be airing the olympics tomorrow at 9:00, so i'll see you back here on thursday. up next is chris jansing. bye-bye. huh...fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. mmmhmmm...everybody knows that. well, did you know that old macdonald was a really bad speller? your word is...cow. cow. cow. c...o...w... ...e...i...e...i...o. [buzzer] dangnabbit. geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know. ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ female announcer ] covergirl janelle monae.

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if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira , your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever,

fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your doctor if humira can work for you. this is humira at work. next hour, the president will go around congress to get something done again. he's announcing new rules to reduce pollution. dozens arrested outside the white house protesting president obama's deportation policies. could the president take another executive action to keep more people here? and a major primary election starts today. early voting in the texas primary, where one official says turnout might even hit presidential campaign levels. are eyes are on the battle to replace governor rick perry. greg abbott and the youtube sensation wendy davis. good morning, i'm ari melber in for chris jansing and we