some fun ♪ the jimmy fallon first week train is about to continue but who does a better sane feld, jimmy or jerry? buying a cup of calf nated ambition is going up, but by how much? more flood shed between protesters and riot police. how the u.s. is trying to diplomatically stop the violence. this is "way too early." good morning. i'm thomas roberts. it is wednesday, february 19th. welcome to "way too early." the show that is one episode away from finishing season two of "house of cards." then i will rooet read your tweets. >> on a serious note, we start out with this revolution being televised in ukraine. live pictures, protesters

hurling molotov cribs. through the night, fires burned out of control as the death toll has climbed. now reported with 25 deaths. hundreds wounded and among the dead, police and protesters alike crashing over the future of the former soviet state. earlier in the day, protesters tried to march on parliament. police fired back with rubber bullets. some witnesses say it was live ammunition. demonstrators set massive fires as police and riot gear tried to break their occupation of independence square. the you crain president condemned those riots saying he has resisted force. he accused protesters of using tactics compared to anti-terror campaigns. they were asked to pull back government forces and condemning violence on both sides. we bring in jim maceda. jim, there are reports that the opposition are going to meet with the president today. what have you heard about the

reason for that optimism? these violent clashes, it has captivated the world. r >> reporter: hi, thomas. it is difficult to see how many more talks might come about after this morning. the scene you described. after one 11th hour meeting with the opposition leaders and the russian president, he, the russian president, i should say, the pro russian president, victor yanokovich spoke on tv after leading with the two opposition leaders warning them that they had to publicly disassociate themselves from radicals among the protesters who, as you said, earlier, had crossed the line by firing live rounds and killing at least nine policemen by gunshot. so the yon owe covich said either they denounce them or they will be seen themselves as supporting them and treated accordingly. also, thomas, it seems pretty

clear that to get that latest trench of $2 billion from president vladimir putin yesterday, he had to promise putin, at least that's the theory, that the ukrainian leader would crack down hard on the protesters, which he did. given what followed on the square, all these calls we are hearing from the u.s. and e.u., to return to the negotiating table are sounding very hollow. there is no indication today's meeting will be any better than overnight. >> i know there is a diplomatic power struggle between the u.s. and russia. jim maceda. appreciate it. in just a few hours, the man leading thousands of anti-government protesters in venezuela will appear in court. leopold lopez turned himself in yesterday. he said he is willing to spend years in prison if it leads to venezuela changing its socialist

policy. demonstrators say he is to be blamed for four people being killed. venezuela claims the opposition is being helped but the u.s. the white house calls that accusation, quote, baseless. a democratic plan to raise the minimum wage is under fire after a new report by the congressional budget office which is to increase the federal minimum wage by $1 every year until did reaches $10.10. wages would be adjusted on a yearly basis. the minimum wage is set at $7.75. that is significantly lower than in that. raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would reduce total employment by about 500,000 workers. the next line says actual losses could be smaller or larger ranging from a slight reduction to 1 million workers. on the positive side, this

report states that 16.5 million workers would see their hourly wage rise. 19% would go to families below the poverty line. some 900,000 americans could be lifted above the poverty threshold because of an increased. it would also impact tipped workers who would see their hourly wages increase from $2.13 an hour to $4.90 an hour over the same period of time. their wages would then jump by 95 cents each year until it was 70% of the minimum wage, which the cbo estimates would happen in the year 2019. republicans are already using the efforts to call the minimum wage hike a job killer. a top white house economic adviser is refuting the claims. i think a lot of economists who have looked at the literature would summarize it differently than the cbo has done here. president obama is pushing forward on an effort to make big trucks more fuel-efficient and cut down on greenhouse gases.

he is ordered his administration to develop new standards by march, 2016. he made this announcement yesterday. heavy duty trucks account for carbon pollution from the transportation industry. president obama did not specify how much the standards could cut emissions by but he said the changes would help the nation across the board. improving gas mileage for these trucks are gonna drive down our oil imports even further and reduces carbon pollution even more, cuts down on businesses fuel costs, which should pay off in lower prices for consumers. so it is not just a win/win. it is a win/win/win, three wins. >> auto manufacturers, some claim the new regulations will be a loss for consumers. they claim the cost could rise and that vehicle safety may also be impacted two former aides to governor chris christie are declining to turn over records requested in the a probe of the george

washington bridge scandal. bridget anne kelly and bill stepien have refused subpoenas calling for documents. this sets up a likely battle to see if the lawyer for the special investigation can compel them to hand it over. kelly famously e-mailed, time for some traffic problems in fort lee ahead of days of lane closures and cripples traffic that set off this investigation. >> we turn our attention to business. investigators are keeping an eye on those minutes. yesterday, the nasdaq rose for an eighth session. it's longest winning streak that we have seen since the summer. cnbc's steve sedgwick is live in london. good morning. >> reporter: let's tie that story together about watching the fed for when they are going to be tightens further and perhaps even hiking it. let's tie to that debt in the united states. household debt is back up to the levels we haven't seen. household debt in the united states between october and december, jumped $241 billion.

it is now at 11.5 trillion u.s. dollars. that's the public debt. a mean $17 trillion. it is really going up. it is mortgage debt, cars, education. and broader home debts that is leading the way. elsewhere, coffee prices, they are rallying. we saw a big ten% jump in coffee prices yesterday. the big concern is brazil. they had the hottest january on record. they have had meager rainfall as well. that's going to be hitting production. what's happening now is some of the financial speculators, the hedge funds are buying coffee futures, not thinking we are going to get more of the same elsewhere. they are in columbia. questions over coffee in brazil. steve, i want you to fill us in on about this new study, divorce rates pointing to the fact that the economy is improving. >> it's amazing. what happens here is that during hard times, people stay together. they save their money. they think about the family, their businesses when.

economic conditions improve, according to the statistics, it looks like the divorce rate is picking up. that has all kinds of effects on the economy. very interestingly, between 1940 and 1981, the divorce in the states doubled. we saw it tailing off by a third and now it is picking up again. one interesting area where this is having effect is on house boating. if you split a family, you need two homes instead of one and this is leading to a big boom in construction. so the rate is back up to many so of the levels we haven't seen since pre-crisis. >> the side effect of the economy coming back, economic freedom meaning people wanting to be together less. a nike designer says the company is working on a pair of laces that actually tie themselves. this is an idea that's been around for more than 20 years. remember this? >> power laces, all right.

>> this was a pretty cool concept, right? back to the future? >> now, we want to know some of the other jetson style designs you are looking forward to. tweet us that and we'll put it on the air. what do you think? laces that tie for themselves? you like? tech advance or lazy? >> lazy. >> these are hard-working men behind the cameras. this he love tying their shoes lolo jones, how the former summer olympian is adapting to her new sport, the bobsled. donald, those are slip-ons? those are slip-ons, donald? kate upton is not on the cover of this year's swimsuit edition. she is flying high, nonetheless. wait until you see this. more of her zero gravity photo shoot and how double stick tape is a real lifesaver. that and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right

back. i want to say to each of you simply and directly i am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior i engaged in. is this the bacon and cheese diet? this is the creamy chicken corn chowder. i mean, look at it. so indulgent. did i tell you i am on the... [ both ] chicken pot pie diet! me too! [ male announcer ] so indulgent,

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the non-habit forming sleep aid from the makers of nyquil®. yeah? then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...safe driving bonus check? every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. silence. are you in good hands? good morning. we are up in the mountains. we are watching snowboarding and russia is coming in right now. it is crazy over here. the bands are going wild. pretty crazy. i'm here having a great time. it is, the sun is out. it is gorgeous. that's it. we miss ya. >> our stage manager, jen, reporting from sochi. looking good.

time for some sports lolo jones isn't the only summer olympian turned bobsledder. we should be paying attention to this fact. if you ask one former olympic bobsledder, he will tell you she was the wrong choice to begin with. we have chuck berkley coming under fire after jones and teammate jasmine fend later ended up at the halfway point. lauren williams along with elena myers heads to today's bobsled finals in first place. another thing that sets williams apart from jones, she has actually won a pair of olympic medals, silver in the 100 meters and 2004, gold. the u.s. continues to perform on the half-pipe. american, david wise won gold and overcame a not so high flying competition. posting the high psychological that held up ultimately for the victory. skiing with inspiration in his pocket, wise carried a heart-shaped rock that he has along from his wife.

in front of fans waving popsicle stick posters of his 2-year-old daughter at home back in the states, he certainly has a nice present to bring back for her, gold. leave the skis strapped on because we are going to head over to the slope. slovenia skier, tina maze won gold yesterday. her second goal medal. the first from the women's down hill. mikaela shiffrin finished fifth in her olympic debut. missing a medal by just .23 seconds. now, add that rifle on skis and an ultraclose finish in the men's 15 kilometer biathlon after the leader celebrated a bit too early. it left it to a photo finish to give the win to the norwegian whose ski just edged to victory. the u.s. is tied in the final medal count with the netherlands. both countries have 20. russia, 19. germany, leads everyone in the

gold medal count with 8. what's on tap for today? >> you can catch the men's alpine skiing and snowboarding, women's bobsledding and figure skating will be featured in prime time coverage tonight. if you were ever planning on attending a sporting event on valentine's day. you better be prepared for the kiss cam. these siblings were at the minnesota hockey game. >> the guy, totally prepared, pulse out a sign to let everyone know why he is not laying a wet one on his sister. >> nice. >> which is gross. anyway, we're going to move on to meteorologist, bill karins. >> when i go, i say, i'm with great grandpa. >> barnicle is back. >> welcome back, mikey. >> you look great, mike barnicle. >> he had to dig out from that blizzard he had up there. >> i hurt my can ba. >> he was out there shoveling. >> i think he was on a

boondoggle somewhere else i have to show you this video. this lady was trying to get across the train tracks. car got stuck in the slushy snow. she actually was okay. took a shot right to the front driver's side. thankfully, a couple inches there probably saved her life. let's talk about with the snow out there across the country. about 34% of the country is covered with snow. most of that is from the great lakes, ohio valley and the northeast. a lot of the west, as we've been saying, doesn't have a lot of snow. now, a little bit of melt. 34, chicago, one of the warmest mornings we have seen in a long time. 36 in new york feels kind of mild. today, a taste of spring across the country. yes, there will be some rain in the northeast in the mid-atlantic. we need it to clean things up. 58 in d.c. today. finally, that's starting to feel nice. almost all the snow in d.c. is gone. they are starting to melt quickly. >> we like the thaw. we like the thaw. coming up at the top of the hour on "morning joe," the new analysis of what would happen if

the federal government were to raise the minimum wage. the cbo saying half a mill jobs are at stake. when we come back here, we are going to huddle around the water cooler. we welcome louis back and jimmy does his best imitation of jerry. what disjerry think? ♪ turn around ♪ every now and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ ♪ and there's nothing good around ♪ ♪ turn around, barry ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ [ female announcer ] fiber one. ♪ ♪ where you think you're gonna go ♪ ♪ when your time's all gone? [ male announcer ] live a full life. the new lexus ct hybrid with an epa estimated 42 mpg. the further you go, the more interesting it gets.

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so at the top of the show, we talked about the possible effects of the minimum wage hike. if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends. as of 2012, idaho has the highest percentage of minimum wage workers in the u.s. at 7.7%. alaska has the lowest at 1%. let's head to the cooler. we welcome louis back from a trip down south. let's go to jimmy fallon where he welcomed his first comedian. it may be someone you heard of, the one, the only jerry seinfeld. fallon does a pretty spot imitation of the sitcom star. >> when i got late night, you gave me some great advice. you said this job is a pope job. you work until you die. you choose whether you want to quit. it is a pope job. it is a pope job. >> it is. >> it is a pope job. >> i think you do the best impression of me. you really do. >> i don't think i go up that high. >> you don't but you come up

with it. >> you are doing me from the '80s. >> you rise to the occasion when i talk to you and i am you. you start doing that. you start raising your voice higher when i do you. >> okay. >> okay. >> that's a pretty nice compliment from seinfeld, the best impression. >> now, tonight, jimmy will welcome bradley cooper and tim mccraw. on thursday, michelle obama and will ferrell. a pretty good booking lineup. more than 9 million viewers tuned in at the premier on monday night. have you ever wondered what it looks like when someone intentionally destroys a $1 million piece of art? >> don't. >> oh! >> that is maximo commonero. he is apologizing for smashing art from an artist. he told the arresting officer he

smashed the artwork in protest on behalf of local artists that felt they were slightered in favor of international artists. i am keeping him away from my grandma's urn. just when you thought "sports illustrated" was running out of ways to keep their illustration fresh. there is this. ♪ >> you got it, honey. you got it. >> right there. that's it, that's it. >> keep that face pretty, sweetie. >> i wish they would have kept that video camera a little more still. that is two-time cover girl, kate upton, in the midst of a zero gravity photo shoot. talk about a true professional showing poise and grace under adverse conditions. there you are, thomas. speaking of professionals. there. >> now, you are showing poise and grace but you have a lot

more clothes on. >> my double stick tape was really working well that day. >> it was a lot of fun. >> the latest edition is on newsstand. this year's cover girls. that's a pretty nice photo. >> where are the swimsuits? >> i don't know what you call those but i like them. >> one complaint here i hear all of the time is that there are not enough places for people to find true love. vh-1 is out to solve that problem problem. they will air a new series called naked dating. it is from the same company that brought us reality classics like extreme makeover, the moment of truth and are you the one. it will follow a man and a woman as they choose between possible companions. the twist, they will all be naked. now, vh-1 disappointingly says, they plan to embrace the provocative hook but when you go deeper, it is all about

something that we can all relate to, the search for true love but unfortunately, the series will be edited according to fcc news, network standards. so i don't think we are going to be seeing a lot. >> all i have to say is for people to look up vh-1's flavor, when he was looking for love, just look up something and you will see what their standards are. anyway, louis, good to have you back. >> nike pushing for a self-tying shoe. "morning joe" just moments away. my d but it looks like maybe we should ask your doctor about pradaxa. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate)... ...was proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke. and unlike warfarin, with no regular blood tests

or dietary restrictions. hey thanks for calling my doctor. sure. pradaxa is not for people with artificial heart valves. don't stop taking pradaxa without talking to your doctor. stopping increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you need to stop pradaxa before surgery or a medical or dental procedure. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding or have had a heart valve replaced. seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition or stomach ulcer, take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners... ...or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctors about all medicines you take. pradaxa side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you or someone you love has afib not caused by a heart valve problem... ...ask your doctor about reducing the risk of stroke with pradaxa. try zyrtec-d® to powerfully clear your blocked nose and relieve your other allergy symptoms...

so you can breathe easier all day. zyrtec-d®. find it at the pharmacy counter. zyrtec-d®. (meowright on cue. it's more than just a meal, it's meow mix mealtime. with wholesome ingredients and irresistible taste, it's the only one cats ask for by name. you're not doing anything as fast as you used to, which is funny, 'cause i still do it better than her. you know, i don't think i was meant to sweep. it's a little frustrating. look. [ zach ] i can't help out as much as i used to. do you need help? [ doorbell rings ] let's open it up. it's a swiffer sweeper. swiffer dusters. it can extend so i don't have to get on the step stool. i don't know how it stays on there. it's like a dirt magnet -- just like my kids. [ afi ] this is a danger zone. that is crazy. ah haha! [ zach ] yeah. no, this definitely beats hanging out on a step ladder. good jump, baby. i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe

[ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. we want to send our love to melissa harris perry and her colleague, james, for welcoming her new baby into the world. we asked you about nike and the self-tying shoe. >> a lot of people said they can

keep the shoes would i want the hubber board. >> a romantic tube from my apartment to my office. >> you mean like from the old bank tellers. >> those. those have gone by the wayside. it would be nice. >> and jenna had a good one, joan jettson's instant hair and makeup. >> joan jettson had a fabulous look. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ i'm free free falling >> i'm not going to pass judgment on this. all i'll say it's an interesting video. a father in iowa picking his kids up from school, it has been cold in iowa this week and a patch of ice on the sidewalk, so this guy did what any responsible parent would do. . he remained seated in his car and shot video of it for a while. and the kids came by, one by one, even --