report. good morning. i am ari mellford filling in for chris jansing. we start with the latest reports from ukraine. today new street battles have resulted in at least 22 deaths according to the ap, and that has effectively ended a truce. now, the total death toll has reached at least 50 this week. and reporting from kiev, nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel says some of the injuries are from live ammunition. >> reporter: protesters have turned this hotel lobby into a field hospital. the injured are still streaming in. we've seen volunteers using bed sheets to try and treat the wounds, and some of the injuries at least appear to have come from live ammunition. the hotel lobby quickly turned into mayhem. no supplies have been stored here. the injured given care on the floor. >> ukrainian president viktor yanukovych and the opposition remain tangled in a bat wll the

country's loyalty should sit with russia or west. yanukovych argues, "the protesters crossed the limits when they called people to arms, and it's a blatant violation of the law, but i always thought the use of force was a wrong approach." but president obama focused on the government's record in condemning the violence yesterday during a state visit to mexico. >> we tohold the ukrainian government primarily responsible for making sure that it is dealing with peaceful protesters in an appropriate way. we'll be monitoring very carefully the situation, recognizing that along with our european partners and the international community there will be consequences if people step over the line. >> meantime, the european union is holding an emergency meeting today to consider sanctions against ukraine. abc's aym-- we're following wha this fight is about and why the

truce didn't hold. >> right now the fighting on the ground is really about control of the heart of kiev. there is a physical battle under way to try from the government's perspective to reclaim some of the major buildings that are in downtown kiev that have been overrun and have been used by protesters. in that ongoing battle we are getting word in the last few minutes that now the ukrainian interior ministry says 67 members of its police forces have actually been captured by the protesters. so it gives you the scale of this ongoing operation and confrontation between protesters and police. that collapsed in the wake of that truce yesterday. now, that truce was meant to try to bring the sides together to the negotiating table. it failed miserably because by this morning the fighting has once again resumed and seems to be escalating. >> ayman, when the president was asked about this, of course he was asked about it in the context of not only russia where president obama said he's not playing chess board politics here and he's focused on the situation inside ukraine and

also a comparison to syria and the middle east where we've seen these protests. but ukraine is very different from a lot of the other middle eastern countries. only 25% of the population is under 25, roughly, not as young. unemployment is not as high. and yet despite that we're still seeing this large uprising. >> reporter: well, yeah, it's absolutely all relative. you can't really look at the ukraine and compare it to situations in the middle east. ukraine is looking more towards western europe and comparing themselves to europe and other countries that came out of the soviet empire, if you will, with the collapse of the soviet republics back in the early '90s. and what they're looking at is other countries that have made the transition to democratic states that are not part of e.u., nato, and they want ukraine to move the that direction. but some inside ukraine still want closer ties, including the president, with russia, and think that's in their best interest. some of the principles are the same. a lot of people in kiev say they're dealing with corruption, an authoritarian government that

doesn't respect individual freedoms. so the themes of some of these issues are similar to other uprisings we've seen in the world. but the quality of life in ukraine very different than what we've seen in other parts. >> you mention that. the other overlapping theme being the incredible economic leverage that russia still has. nbc's ayman mohyeldin, thanks for reporting from london today. back at home, we are going to look over to something happening in the economy. president obama's praising the gap, a clothing retailer, which announced lit raise its minimum wage. now employees will see their pay jump to $9 this hour and to $10 an hour next year. president obama has of course been pushing companies to lead the way if congress won't. and he now said gap has made a, quote, decision that will benefit about 65,000 workers in the u.s., but only action from congress can make a difference nationwide. it is time to pass that bill and give america a raise, the president referring to minimum wage proposals. let's bring in bob herbert,

distinguished senior fellow and longtime former columnist at "the new york times," and we're also joined by politico's senior washington correspondent, anna palmer. welcome to you both. >> how are you, smart. >> doing well. i want to start with something that has really detonated the intensity in congress which we've been covering, the congressional budget office report on the minimum wage, the gap action being a choice by a private company. here's what we know from the cbo. their estimates say that basically 16.5 million workers would get a raise under the president's proposal. that would lift 900,000 people out of poverty projected. but it would also according to the cbo potentially lead to job losses. they get the range from very slight job losses to potentially a million over several years. >> right. you know this always happens when there are discussions over the minimum wage. there are scare stories about job losses. i think that congressional budget office report was misread. it did give an incredible range. no one really know what is will happen.

but i can tell you that i've been hearing this all of my adult life. every time they have raised the minimum wage, nothing catastrophic has happened. that has never occurred. not only that, we tend to forget the minimum wage used to be worth -- it was higher bauds it used to be worth a lot more than it is now. it's been eroded by inflation because we have stopped -- we have not been raising the minimum wage as often as we used to. so there's plenty of room for the minimum wage to be raised in this country. >> it's a funny thing act the way we talk about it, right, because we talk about raising it and it's been steady, to your point in real dollars it's been declining because it's not indexed to inflation. the government does index to inflation. never did that with the minimum wage, something some people wanted. anna, i want to read a little grenade analogy from the new republic, which said the congressional budget office just threw a handle grenade into the debate over the minimum wage. this estimate involves no original researcher by the cbo. they did a survey of various economic research that already

exists and in picking an impact they basically took what their staffers thought was appropriate and weighted in some conservative economics in terms of the job loss piece. walk us through your view of the facts there and the politics where republicans think they've got an edge now. >> i think anytime these guys have a report, you have republicans praising them, if it's positive findings for them, then you have republicans, you know, demonizing them po sen potential potentially. it's kind of the politicization of the economy and this kind of economics. at the same point chashgs what this does do whether or not it's accurate, it gives republicans something to say, listen, this is job losses. you know, the real interesting thing will be how do senate democrats try to play this. do they just go forward with this or potentially say all right, we ehloer our ask but maybe you can come to some kind of a comp mice? >> that's something mitch mcconnell said in reacting it. they should be prepared to

explain why up to a million americans should be kept from having a job. how does that, bob, relate to what we see from companies like the gap? obviously they are not announcing a higher wage and a bunch of firings. they are saying, and i should mention, the gap, of course, is located -- headquartered out of san francisco where there is already over a $10 min mimum wa, but they have stores around the country. >> these companies will not go out of business if the minimum wage is modestly raised. i think the focus on potential job losses is a misplaced focus in any event. it seems to me in the first place i think minimum wage should be much higher than $10.10 an hour. it seems to me that if you can't afford to pay your workers a reasonable wage, you can't afford to be in business. how is a wage any different, for example, than your overhead, than your rent, than what you have to pay for supplies and that sort of thing? the idea that workers should subsidize the profits of corporations i think is just

silly. pay workers a reasonable wage. >> one of the things you're definitely going to see is this is going to play out over and over again. you had workers on strike in chicago. you have kind of this fight is going to be something we'll see go through the entire 2014 election. and so, you know, whether or not they're able to get something done in congress i'm very skeptical. but it's something that is going to be something that both republicans and democrats are going to be having to face on the campaign trail. >> briefly, anna, why don't republicans focus more on this as an issue of localism? they used to say let different states decide. now they seem to be saying no, this is just a bad idea at large. >> i think what you're saying is there's a senate controlled by democrats and a president who's trying to push through the executive actions and make a point which is political but also economic and so you have republicans kind of entrenching back on the other point where they say this isn't necessary to be done. >> i appreciate that. an nashgs i see you're working hard today. there aren't a lot of folks behind you. i don't know if we're in the

wrong part of politico or people just didn't come to work today? >> politico never stops. snilt's all mobile. >> exactly. >> anna and bob, thank you both. appreciate it. we have three of the american women who are in a position to medal in figure skating. chris jansing is breaking down the chances as they head into the long program today. ♪ [ laughs ] whoo! ♪ oh! nice! great! [ laughs ] a shot like that calls for a postgame celebration. [ male announcer ] share what you love with who you love.

kellogg's frosted flakes. they're gr-r-eat! did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ 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. but when we start worrying about tomorrow, we miss out on what matters today. ♪

at axa, we offer advice and help you break down your retirement goals into small, manageable steps. because when you plan for tomorrow, it helps you live for today. can we help you take a small step? for advice, retirement, and life insurance, connect with axa. for advice, retirement, and life insurance, through sunday, save up to $500 on beautyrest and posturepedic.e savings go on at sleep train. get a sealy queen set for just $399. even get 3 years interest-free financing on tempur-pedic. plus, free delivery, set-up, and removal of your old set. keep more presidents in your wallet. sleep train's presidents' day sale ends sunday. superior service, best selection, lowest price, guaranteed. ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

welcome back. democrats are hoping to pick up some seats in november but their list of defensive races has gone longer with more democrats deciding not to seek re-election. the congresswoman of california says he's leaving washington for a local race in san bernardino county. new jersey congressman rush holt, a physicist and you may remember five-time "jeopardy!" champion, says it's the right time for him to retire.

democrats need a net gain of 17 seats this november to win back the majority in the house, and they're now defending 12 seats with retiring incumbents while 21 income benches are also retiring. let's get right to it with a man who thinks a lot about democrats winning back the house. congressman steve israel of new york, chair of the democratic congressional campaign committee. how are you, congressman? >> thanks for having me on. great to be with you. >> thanks for being here. you are the chairman. you are in charge of this stuff. give us your lay of the land first and any response to the idea that you have a few more seats to defend. >> actually, my response is that it's the republicans who are troubled because of the departure of republicans in competitive districts. when you really look at the math, there's the myth and there's the math. here's the math. 11 republican districts are now in play because of republican incumbent departures. three democratic districts are in play because of democratic incumbent departures. i'd rather them have 11 and us have 3. i'll take that any day. so our battlefield is expanding,

the republican battlefield is on defense more, and why? because if you are a moderate republican in a moderate district, you can't take it any more. the republican caucus has already said to you, leave, exit, there's the door. we don't want you. and that's why they're deparring in this exodus. >> yeah. well, you're good at counting. you're counting those seats. you've also been counting the fund-raising numbers. we want to put those on the board. $15.2 million fund-raising advantage over the nrcc, your counterpart there in the last year, and the recent numbers have been good. what do you attribute that to on the one hand and on the other does it undermine some of the democratic complaint we've heard that while there's so much money from super pacs and the coke brothers that were being outspent, doesn't seem like you're being outspent. >> actually, we're shattering all records. attribute it to people are with us. they understand we have their backs, we have the right priorities, that we want to informsst in the economy, ifr,

education, while republicans have been so reckless and so irresponsible in this war on women, passing bills to further erode women's rights to choose, subsidizing special interests. so our supporters are fired up. they are with us. and in particular our grassroots. our grassroots, they are so animated right now. they understand that it's just 17 seats is the difference between what we have now and what we can have. >> let me ask you about in your view in these race where is people are more focused on and a lot of these districts their own lives than tracking every piece of minutia coming out of washington. if they're getting the general message that what john boehner has been claiming is they do want to be active, they will work with the president onld on issue where is they can, he talked about immigration and said he's open and made hires to that effect, but then folks have criticized him for saying, well, no, anytime there's a hard vote or a hard step to take, you don't take it, you back down. but is he getting credit, do you think, just for the rhetoric of

cooperation without the action? >> well, most people know that rhetoric does not pass an immigration bill. rhetoric does not increase the minimum wage. john boehner talks a good game, but at the end of the day he has not produced, not once has he produced. he promised an immigration bill. now he's saying no immigration bill. he says that he wants to help increase jobs, he's against increasing the minimum wage and will not pass an infrastructure bill. >> and yet let me take a look at this historically. you are not just in a sort of neutral fight or an even tide period. you know as well as anyone who follows politics how difficult the last midterm of the two-term president can be. in fact, "the washington post" looked at this and said political forecasting and historical trends suggest democrats will lose ground in the post world war ii era, the party of the president in his sixth-year averages a loss of 29 house seats. obviously anything near that number would be detrimental for you. >> there's no question it's a tough environment in a midterm

election exempt for one new bit of history. republican job approval in congress is at 13%. we've never seen that before. it is a historically low level. so people understand that in nine months they can -- they will have a choice between these republicans who shut down the government and who continue to wage war on women, and who will not increase the minimum wage or democrats who have their backs. >> yeah. you mentioned the minimum wage. obviously the cbo report's got an lot of attention for both its analysis and its political implications. i want to read to you what senator cornyn said. he said the nonpartisan cbo confirmed yet again what we know to be true of government overreach in the marketplace, would slash jobs, raise the minimum wage, and harm an already fragile workplace. some companies like the gam are going further, whether it's in direct response to democratic agenda or their own business decisions. what do you say to someone like senator cornyn who feels that the cbo has his back on this

issue? >> god bless john cornyn. he only reads to the right. he doesn't look at the whole page. the cbo report said 30 million americans get a raise. $33 billion pumped into the economy. i represent long island. that means that you get a little more in your paycheck, get to buy a couple extra slices of pizza, which means the pizza person can hire a few more people. three economists, six opinions, there's common sense here and the report did talk about all of the significant benefits of increasing the minimum wage and so we have to take it in its totality. not cherry-pick. not things that just work for us. >> i have mixed feelings because it puts a lot of numbers out there that let everyone think about the policies and that's probably good for our debate. on the other hand, sometimes we talk about it like it's primary research when as you know the cbo is a book review of what other economist have done. so you have to figure out what the underlying prems are. congressman, thanks for your time today. >> thanks for having me on. >> in less than an hour, new

jersey governor chris christie will go face to face with new jersey voters. the governor wants to talk about distributing sandy relief funds, but we think it's possible the lane closure scandal could come up on today's agenda. we'll ask our strategists about that. instead of mailing everyone my vacation photos, i'm saving a ton of time by posting them to my wall. oh, i like that one. it's so quick! it's just like my car insurance. i saved 15% in just 15 minutes. i saved more than that in half the time. i unfriend you. that's not how it works. that's not how any of this works. [ male announcer ] 15 minutes for a quote isn't how it works anymore. with esurance, 7 1/2 minutes could save you on car insurance. welcome to the modern world. esurance. backed by allstate. click or call. welcome to the modern world. 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 for $189 a month. visit vwdealer.com today. honestly? i wanted a smartphone that shoots great video. so i got the new nokia lumia icon. it's got 1080p video, three times zoom, and a twenty-megapixel sensor. it's got the brightest display, so i can see what i'm shooting -- even outdoors, and 4 mics that capture incredible sound. plus, it has apps like vine -- and free cloud storage. my new lumia icon is so great, even our wipeouts look amazing. ♪ honestly, i want to see you be brave ♪ ♪ a 401(k) is the most sound way to go. let's talk asset allocation. sure. you seem knowledgeable, professional. would you trust me as your financial advisor? i would. i would indeed. well, let's be clear here. i'm actually a dj. [ dance music plays ] [laughs] no way!

i have no financial experience at all. that really is you? if they're not a cfp pro, you just don't know. find a certified financial planner professional who's thoroughly vetted at letsmakeaplan.org. cfp -- work with the highest standard. if ...hey breathing's hard... know the feeling? copd includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that helps open my obstructed airways for a full 24 hours. spiriva helps me breathe easier. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help 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. today in sochi, a battle for gold in hockey and figure skating. let's go right to it in sochi with msnbc's chris jansing. chris, tonight is the gold medal event for women's figure skating. how do the americans stand going into this final performance? >> reporter: they're still in the hunt, ari. that's the big news. i'll tell you, they didn't disappoint with the short program last night. yuna kim, who was expected to be in the lead, the defending champion from south korea, skated beautifully, but then everything went kind of haywire.

let me tell you where the americans stand. gracie gold, who had to fight for several of her landings, this is something she's learned from her new coach, the legendary frank carroll, and she said she was not going to be denied landing those jumps, she's in fourth. she is in the hunt far medal. and so is ashley wagner. she is a scrapper, a fighter. she has indicated that from sixth place the only way she can get on that podium is to try something crazy. now, what's crazy in figure skating? a jump or combination of jumps you have not done in international competition before. for her that would likely be the triple axel, kind of an all or nothing, i'm going to go for it. we'll see if she does it tonight. i think, ari, this is going to be one of those extraordinary memorable competitions, unlike the men who were falling one after another, most of the women not only managed to stay on their feet but skated some pretty amazing programs last night. we'll see what happens tonight. >> yeah. you could see that last night, particularly when there was that

one fall on the triple axel. you see how difficult it is if you're just a normal viewer. also, of course, a big night for team usa women's hockey taking on rival canada for the gold. >> reporter: this isn't just a rivalry. i don't even know what the word is to describe the competitive spirit between the two of these teams. they don't like each other. let's start with that. there have only been four previous gold medals given out in women's hockey. usa won the first one, canada has won the next three, particularly a very heartbreaking loss for the americans four years ago in vancouver. and they have made it very clear that they're out for revenge. half of these players are actually in vancouver pop those who weren't on the team in vancouver have been talked to, told about it. this is a team that wants to win. this is going to be a very aggressive game tonight. and i think there is a lot at stake here between the usa and canada, ari. >> i think people are definitely pumped up for that. it was also the first time two u.s. women's bobsleds have

medaled at the olympics. you spoke with them, right? >> reporter: yeah. it was amazing too. the americans were in a position to get the gold medal. they ended up with silver and bronze. but if they were disappointed i can tell you when i spoke to them you would never know it. here's a little bit of that conversation. >> it sounds cliche but there's no words to describe it. you ear just overwhelmed with emotion and energy and kind of like tunnel vision as you go through and getting on that sled and everyone's cheering. >> she sounds almost like she's going to cry. >> i think it's one of those moments that you do have to cry because you realize how many people are behind us. >> reporter: and a lot of them had family members there. you said as you go across the finish line you see your time and look up in the stands and see family and friends and you know how much they've sacrificed. so that's amazing. a lot of people don't know although you get flowers the night of your competition, you don't get the medals until the medal ceremony the next night. that's actually either getting under way or about to get under

way behind me. one more note about women's bobsled, ari. lolo jones, who there was some controversy about her coming in late in the game to be a pusher for usa sled number three, they came in 11th. but silver and bronze for team usa and bobsled. >> yeah, and just briefly, i know you've been tweeting some of the photos and the reaction from the russians. how are they dealing with some of their team's losses? >> reporter: yeah. men's hockey, i mean, we talked about this a few days ago. this was really how they stake these games. these games are going to be successful by winning gold. they didn't even make it into the medal round. and we've heard from some of the various team members. one of my favorite, and i felt terribly for him, the goalie said, i've got empty inside pap lot of people have been talking act what the coach had to say, basically suggesting that he is going to be eaten alive as a result of this loss and that he wants to be -- i mean, they are devastated by this loss. however, i think there has been

a lot of national pride about the way these games have gone so far. they feel like they've been successful and we are just a few days away from the closing ceremony on sunday. ari? >> indeed. msnbc's chris jansing, thank you as always for your reporting. >> reporter: sure. now i want to tell you a thing you might want to read today. it is from "the economist, "a report on new research that finds an economic benefit to regulations to combat climate change. researchers compared labor market results in counties that had cut air pollution under a 1970 law to counties that didn't. people in the counties with the regulations made about $4,000 more in income after you control for other variables. interesting piece of the economic puzzle. that is up on our facebook page. you can let us know what you think. head to facebook/jansing. ♪

[ cellphones beeping ] ♪ [ cellphone rings ] hello? [ male announcer ] over 12,000 financial advisors. good, good. good. over $700 billion dollars in assets under care. let me just put this away. [ male announcer ] how did edward jones get so big? could you teach our kids that trick? [ male announcer ] by not acting that way. ok, last quarter... [ male announcer ] it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪ i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. througet a sealy queen set $500 on befor just $399.osturepedic. even get 3 years interest-free financing on tempur-pedic. but hurry, sleep train's presidents' day sale ends sunday.

(knochello? hey, i notice your car is not in the driveway. yeah. it's in the shop. it's going to cost me an arm and a leg. that's hilarious. sorry. you shoulda taken it to midas. get some of that midas touch. they tell you what stuff needs fixing, and what stuff can wait. next time i'm going to midas. high-five! arg! i did not see that coming. trust the midas touch. for brakes, tires, oil, everything. (whistling) welcome back. in less than 30 minutes new jersey governor chris christie will hold his first town hall

since apologizing for the lane closures. this could be a chance for him to take open questions from the public. the governor's event is at a vfw post on the jersey shore. he'll tell residents about his plan to bring more hurricane sandy relief funds to the state. christie's aides have been trying to refocus the start of his second term on storm recovery and local development, not the bridge controversies. "the washington post" reports today's event is more downbeat and formal. they shelved some introductory videos and potential use of catchy banners wall the mind-set of setting a more serious and unpolitical tone. let's think about the tone. let me bring in a contributor to thegrio.com and a republican strategist, john feary. what is your goal when you have a political event like this and bottom line for those who have been following the bridge controversy, is the idea here politically you hold the event but that issue doesn't or barely comes up? >> i think this is actually a nonpolitical event. i think that's what chris christie is trying to do. he's trying to get back to work.

he was at his best when he was helping people recover from sandy, and i think he's trying to remind people why he was an effective governor. not about the bridge closures but helping people in their daily lives and getting constituents to ta ask him questions about meat and potato issues is a smart strategy by his team. >> we'd be remiss if we didn't note some of the allegations, which are still being investigated, also relate directly to the use of those funds. but you don't think the way they're doing this event that's going to come up as a priority from public questions. >> well, for the people who live in that area, they've seen the recovery happen, and they care about jobs, care about their security, care about their daily lives and that's what they're going to ask chris christie about. i think it's smart for him to win that argument. >> i want to play for you something from david sampson. it is new. seems like on the one hand a lot of this story is well-known, but there are new developments as it continues and partly because not everyone has come out and explained themselves or

testified. take a listen to david sampson. >> i cannot [ inaudible ] mischaracterized by the actions of a few individuals when the day to day work of so many, including of this board, is so important. on behalf of board of commissioners we are deeply sorry for inconvenienced caused to our travelers. >> i think when you decode that, zerlina, what you find is the biggest problem politically for the corpus christi administration is the defense isn't "i didn't do it." the defense is "somebody else did it." >> the buck should stop with chris christie and i think he's going to a friendly audience on purpose today mostly because he doesn't want to answer the tough questions and he hasn't all along. you know, this is a largely a distraction they created, a self-inflicted wound, death by a thousand cults, and until we get all of the information, it's going to be drip, drip, drip and

it's not looking good for him. i don't think he's going to get through this town hall today without answering some tough questions. >> the one thing you could say is depending on the kind of questions that come up you may get some credit for taking questions. john, he was able in his press conference to answer a lot of questions but the problem ultimately for some people was the content. i want to point out that recently his internal investigation from the christie administration is trying to get an interview with bridget kelly, of course, who was, you know, removed. and over the bridge closures. yet take a listen to what christie said about whether he wanted to speak to her originally from that original press conference. >> i have not had any conversation with bridget kelly since the e-mail came out. and so she was not given the opportunity to explain to me why she lied because it was so obvious that she had. and i'm quite frankly not interested in the explanation at the moment. >> so he said he wasn't interested, of course, but today

his investigators are spending $650 an hour on lawyers trying to get her to do an interview that he could have done for free back then. >> listen, i think what you saw in that press conference was an angry chris christie. now, he wouldn't have been angry if he was trying to lie. i think he was angry at bridget kelly and the whole situation. i think zerlina is right, there will be a drip-drip and that will be part of the process. i disagree, though, he took a lot of tough questions at the initial conference and he'll take some tough questions here. the overwhelming story from the town hall is that the people of new jersey are going to ask him act what he's doing for them now. and i think that he needs to get back to that narrative where he's most effective, it will be a winning town hall for them. >> i just don't think he's going to get through this without answering the tough questions. i don't actually think he answered all of the tough questions at that first press conference, even though it was very long. many of the questions were left unanswered. he didn't answer why he didn't ask bridget kelly any questions before he fired her.

that's an obvious question. why should my parents as new jersey taxpayers be pay dlrg 650 an hour for him to find out what he could have found out for free weeks ago? >> john, final word? >> listen, i think if chris christie's got a lot of questions that need to be answered, but i think that this town hall meeting is a good way for him to reintroduce himself and try to get away from the scandal at hand. >> yeah. we will keep an eye on it, obviously. the governor's aides wanting to use it to move on. we'll see with the way the questions come in and who gets to ask the questions, which is the big key. zerlina maxwell and john feehery, thank you both. we are going to turn to check our news feed this morning. for the second time in three weeks the homeland security department is warning airlines about a potential threat. officials say terrorists could try to hide explosives in their shoes, specifically targeting flights that are coming in overseas into the u.s. the plot is of course similar to the one that was almost carried out by richard reid, who was someone who tried to set off a shoe bomb on a paris to miami flight in 2001.

earlier this month homeland security warnled about sploichs hidden in toothpaste tubes as well. in other news, the late actor philip seymour hoffman had an inusual request in his will for his son. according to "the new york post," he wanted cooper to grow up in new york, chicago, or san francisco. hoffman's will states so this is so he would be exposed to the all chur, art, and architectura. it was written before his other children were born. the bulk of his state goes to his longtime girlfriend. and cleared of charges in a hacking trial. brooks still faces four other charges including conspiracy to hack phones and obstructing the police. finally, powerball fever has swept northern california. one winning lottery ticket worth

$425 million was sold at a chevron gas station near silicon very well lee. the cash payout is $242 million. wow, that is the sixth largest jackpot in u.s. history. no word on who that lucky winner is. there's big news and a big buy in silicon valley. facebook just completed one of the largest tech acquisitions in over ten years. c nnbc cnbc'sry thompson -- mary thompson is here. tell us what's going on with the ceo. >> let's first of all talk about what's up, a global messaging service used by 450 million around the globe adding klines of 1 million a day. why is it so popular? it's cheap. you can use it for a year for free then pay only 99 cents a year after that. you can send unlimited text messages to people around the world. $19 billion is a hefty price for a firm that employs only 55 people and only made $20 million last year, but mark zuckerberg,

the ceo of facebook, says making money on this deal isn't his main concern right now. with a long-term goal of connecting billions of people, buying what's up is part of the plan. it brings under facebook users the same umbrella so 1.2 billion who use facebook, then add the 450 that use what's up. what's up was founded in 2009 by two people formerly of yahoo! hoo but 37-year-old kuehne will be on facebook's board once the deal is finalized. it's a rags to riches story. he was born in a small village in the ukraine, grew up in a house with no hot water where his parents were concerned that the phone was tapped. he left the country and came to the united states with his mother. they settled in mountain view, california, when he was about 16. she baby sat to make money. he swept floors at a grocery store. now he is a billionaire. ari? >> yeah. be interesting to get his views on what's going on in the ukraine now. obviously he's come a very long

way. i want to look at mergers, the nation's largest jewelry chain buying a competitor. >> cigna jewelers buys stshgs ale's. it gives signet 16% of the u.s. jewelry market. this according to ibs. the deal is likely to lead to a number of store closings because midlevel jewelers continue to deal with weak demand that's dropped off since the recession. but again give signet greater access to the demand that is out there. back to you bp. >> all right. mary thompson, thanks for that report. we are going to look now at our daily list. we have a fun one thanks to buzz feed, which takes a look at college courses you won't believe actually exist. parents around the country are wondering where their money is going. at uc, santa barbara, you can take a course in the history of surfing. sounds pretty fun. oberlin college has an american studies course called how to win a beauty pageant. hopefully there's some deconstruction there.

bart college in upstate new york has a class called milk and its contents. see, that's a play on woords. maybe they should chat with student who is take penn state's food science course, how to make ice cream. and penn state's creamery is pretty well known. finally, my alma mater, cornell, phys 1657 is tree climbing. if you don't believe us, there's a link to the full list at jansing.msnbc.com. [ female announcer ] who are we? we are the thinkers. the job jugglers.

the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. and we're here to help start yours. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪

time for another edition of the reputation report, a weekly look at who's hot and who's not on social media. jimmy fallon took the helm of "the tonight show" franchise this week and more than 11 million tuned in for the premiere. another 7 million came back the next day. that gave the show its best tuesday night audience in 13

years. >> kate upton is getting a lot of attention over a "sports illustrated" photo shoot that she did at the edge of space in zero gravity. it is -- oh, man. it is pretty racy. but, you know, look, it's a bit late. kids are in bed. i think we can show it. right here's the picture of her in space. oh, la, la. you. yow. >> and here with an exclusive analysis is howard bragman, vice chairman of reputation.com and chairman of 15 minutes public relations. how are you? >> good morning. i'm great here. >> good morning. let's start with the jimmy fallon clip there. he's done his history of hop with will smith the first night, parade of celebrities people loved and he's gotten rave reviews. how is he doing on social media? >> he's not just winning the ratings battle, he's winning the social media battle. he's trending about 3-1 positive. what makes that so significant is jay leno was pretty beloved.

people traditionally don't like change. i give him a lot of credit for really nodding to the people who sat in that chair before him. he really understands the history, the set, the show has the feel of a classic. if he keeps going like this, he's going to be one of the classics in a few years. he's doing great so far. >> yeah. you mentioned that and of course you say people don't like change. the internet likes change. we see a lot of buzz around things that are new or expected. i think you're right on when you watch these first few night, you get the feeling of someone paying tribute to a legacy and weaving many in some of the new fun stuff, we opened with him of course joking about the "sports illustrated" edition, big news for a lot of people. we also on the show had former cover model petra on monday. take a look at a clip. when we were talking before the break we were looking at the big cover. you didn't like the ribbon? >> i was curious why is it there, and -- >> modesty.

she was curious why it was there. of course people can find all of it on "sports illustrated".com and she was talking act a contest they're holding there. what is the internet take on photos that a lot of people like? >> you know, guys are really liking this cover. and this issue. it's kind of shocking. but for 50 years "sports illustrated's" been taking the time between the super bowl and the final four in march, kind of a quiet time in sports, and saying, we're going to show them the most beautiful women in the world. men are liking it at a rate of over 5-1. women not quite as much. when you put the ethical filter on, you know, it's some of the traditional things you would see. since "sports illustrated" trends about 70% male, they're happy, they're smiling all the way to the bank, and it is -- i don't care how you feel about it, it's a beautiful cover, beautiful photography, beautiful women. a lot of classics like tyra banks, kate upton, and petra as you showed. >> yeah, and they definitely did

their own salutes to a lot of their classic figures as well as some of the new ones. it's interesting you mentioned the gender divide. there are certainly many images of beautiful women that don't have that same divide, that don't have the criticism as you're finding from women online, partly because of the issues around objectify case. but if we're talking about sports and "sports illustrated," we can talk about real sports, too, howard. the winter games in sochi r wrapping up. how is that playing? >> if you remember a few weeks ago before the beginning of the olympics it was trending about 2-1 negative. now it's 2-1 positive, which is great numbers. good news for nbc and people love the olympics, we're not talking about terrorism, we're not talking about problems in the hotel rooms in sochi. we're talking about great stories of great athletes. the american hockey team, bode miller's dramatic story. these are the kind of things that are trending. ari, there is one interesting part of this. there's been a discussion since this is time delayed, most of the things happen and they

appear nine, ten hours later in the u.s., people are wondering whether social media helps or hurts. nbc's saying it helps. people can see the results ahead of time, then they want to see how it unfolds on tv, hour it plays. the numbers are good. advertisers are happy. we're talking 20 million to 25 million people a night. >> look, that was always a question how does it work when you pretape something and then play it later. a lot of people don't realize, howard, you and i taped this interview a year ago. >> two years ago actually. >> right. you look great. >> you know, i'm trying to hold it together, ari. that's all we can do here. >> howard bragman, thank you as always. we'll turn to another corner of the web, today's "tweet of the day" comes from kate hansen, who tweeted out this video and wrote, "wolf in my home, sash sochi problems, #sochifail. "you can check it out. more than likely to be a large husky type dog, one of many

stray dogs roaming around the olympic village. 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. ♪ yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! ♪ we are one, under the sun ♪ under the sun... [ female announcer ] fiber and protein. together as one. introducing new fiber one protein cereal. [ female announcer ] fiber and protein. together as one.

could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.s everybody knows that. well, did you know that when a tree falls in the forest and no one's around, it does make a sound? ohhh...ugh. geico. little help here. i need>>that's my geico digital insurance id card - gots all my pertinents on it and such. works for me. turn to the camera. >>ah, actually i think my eyes might ha... next! digital insurance id cards. just a tap away on the geico app.

you are looking at live images here of a town hall assembled, a packed crowd for chris christie, the governor speaking at a town hall at a vfw on the jersey shore. he will be addressing the public and taking questions as we've been reporting and msnbc will have live coverage throughout the day and when the governor takes the stage. now we are going to turn to politics, where speaker of the house john boehner just bought himself a florida condo. politico reports he bought the place in marco island, which is a vaation town in southwest florida. the building is described as overlooking the sugar white shores of the gulf of mexico offering spectacular gulf and island views from gracious terraces. almost reads like a real estate listing. former president george w. bush says he doesn't miss much about being president. i don't know about that, but he says he does miss the people and he really misses air force one.

who wouldn't. he joked in eight years they never lost his baggage. lol. w. also said he misses saluting the veterans. and the democratic candidate for texas governor wendy davis has found a new source for campaign cash, ted nugent. the campaign is hoping his comments could support voters to support davis. that wraps up this hour of jansing & company. i am ari melber in for chris jansing. the one, the only, craig melvin is up next. 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. ♪ 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. at boeing, one thing never changes. our passion to make it real. ♪

how did edward jones get so big? let me just put this away. ♪ could you teach our kids that trick? [ male announcer ] by not acting that way. it's how edward jones

makes sense of investing. the kremlin says russian president vladimir putin is now sending an envoy to kiev to help with negotiations between the government and the opposition this morning.

that short truce between police and protesters, it collapsed just hours after it was announced. protesters now saying as many as 70 of their own have been killed. just today. the european union is holding an emergency meeting today and could approve sanctions against ukraine while president obama is threatening consequences if, quote, people step over the line. a live look there at the capital. almost 6:00 there. good evening, everyone. good morning, rather, everyone. i'm craig melvin. we'll get an update on ukraine in just a few moments. first, though, we are watching a live picture out of new jersey, a packed town hall meeting there. that's where members of the public are getting ready to question a governor chris christie. this is his first town hall since the bridge scandal broke. here are the latest developments on the bridge scandal. a republican on the legislative committee investigating the scandal made himself be questioned.

this is a bit complicated. follow meer, here. the bergen record reports that david wildstein, the former port authority top official redacted states and entered kevin to toole's name from a text message to another former aide, bill maroney. the text came right after ba row knee testified in front of the assembly transportation committee that the lane closures were part of traffic study. the paper reports that the text said, "o'toole's statement ready." that's in reference to a statement to toole released attacking democrats and questioning the need for ft. lee's dedicated lanes to the george washington bridge. msnbc has reached out to senator to toole. we have not heard back just yet. he has also not responded to the newspaper's request for comment. meanwhile, the investigative panel is asking a judge to force two former christie aides to turn over documents about the lane closures. bridget kelly and bill stepien are refusing to