the president is expected to lobby republican governors to support the medicaid expansion. right now, 19 states do not support expanding medicaid. those states, by the way, include texas and louisiana. we will keep an eye on these events and bring you the very latest from the white house as soon as the president starts speaking. on to other news. first, we have developing news, in fact, from the supreme court, which just over an hour ago declined to take up a key issue in the debate over gun rights. the court choosing not to answer the question for now of whether the right to bear arms extends to public places. now this move is a setback for gun rights advocates, including the nra, which was behind two high profile challenges to the state and federal gun laws. nbc justice correspondent pete williams joins us now. we know the court made a ruling in 2008 regarding the second amendment and guarantee to possess a gun at a home for self defense.

obviously, this is very different. >> it is. it raises the question of what about outside the house? these two cases that the court declined to hear, both brought by the nra, challenged a texas law that said anyone 18 to 21 couldn't get a permit to carry a gun outside the home and a federal law that said nobody under 21 can buy a gun from a licensed dealer. so the hope was the supreme court would take these cases and resolve a conflict among the lower courts about exactly what the second amendment right is outside the home. the lower courts have divided over this. some courts have upheld, some courts have struck down laws in the states that say to get a permit to carry a gun outside the home, you have to show some special need beyond just wanting it for self defense. so the hope of the nra and gun rights advocates is the courts would clarify that. the supreme court would clarify that by taking these cases, but the question is inevitably going to come back at some point, tamron. i guess the supreme court wants to wait and let the issue churn more in the lower courts.

>> you know, certainly is a churning issue. pete, you know that. it's interesting, these two laws that were looked at, the restrictions anyway, one of them a federal law barring the sale of handguns to customers under 21 and a texas law forbidding anyone under 21 to carry a handgun in public. this debate over people having handguns in public, extended, you know, from starbucks to university campuses, so this is intriguing, the decision made by the supreme court today, or the lack of movement by the supreme court. >> exactly right. and it was interesting in texas, because texas was actually defending its state law that barred 18 to 21 year olds from getting permits to carry guns. the current attorney general there, greg abbott, who's also running for governor, was defending against a lawsuit filed by the nra. just to clarify, under federal law, you can buy a rifle or shotgun once you turn 18, but you have to be 21 to buy a

handgun. the lower courts upheld that law and the law in texas as a reasonable restriction on the rights of gun owners. >> all right. pete, thank you very much. and we'll be discussing this more, obviously, as people want in some cases legislation on this or movement of the supreme court, and we seem to be at an impasse on both of those. thank you very much, pete, greatly appreciate it. developing now with a warrant out for the arrest of ukraine's deposed president, ominous reaction from russia. russian prime minister questioned the legitimacy of ukraine's new acting government. he also said he sees the turmoil in ukraine as a threat to both russian citizens and russian interests in ukraine, but so far, no direct comment from russian president vladimir putin. now ukraine's capital, a large crowd remains camped out. it's independence square,

standing vigil as a new government makes plans for the future. meantime, deposed president viktor yanukovych, seen in this surveillance video we have here fleeing the capital of kiev on friday is accused of mass crimes. details from richard engel, who is in kiev for us. >> tamron, the president of ukraine, viktor yanukovych, he is on the run. an arrest warrant has been issued for him by the interior minister, charging him with mass murder. his whereabouts remain unknown. he's being charged with mass murder because of what happened in this country over several hours on thursday morning, when police and security forces opened fire on demonstrators, killing more than 70 of them. now the question is, who fired the shots, who gave the orders? the initial narrative, what we saw here, was demonstrators who were armed with bats and molotov cocktails broke out of this

square and started to charge the police lines. the police were pulling back and they were firing. this we saw. new video, however, suggests there was also a far more deliberate part of this narrative that the police and security forces were also deliberately firing into the crowds, apparently with sniper teams. this video shows a large group of security forces armed with sniper rifles. they were maneuvering calmly, tactically, they were not retreating in self defense. they were communicating on their radios, getting authorization, receiving authorization, and firing on demonstrators. this video could prove significant, because it shows that the killings here were far more deliberate. tamron? >> all right, thank you, richard. let me bring in "time" magazine's international editor. bobby, we've been at this conversation many times regarding unrest from the arab spring, revolution in iran, and here we are in ukraine. so many people are focused now on what russia will do next.

what is your concern? >> well, the concern is, this has been expressed in the square and in ukraine, is that russia may decide this is the moment it will do another georgia, and if you remember there, putin sent in tanks to secure a couple of small provinces that he's had were overwhelmingly russian and he was doing this to protect the russian-speaking locals. he could build a similar argument around the eastern part of ukraine, which is where the russian naval team. he wouldn't have to send in troops, troops are already there. that's the big fear and what we heard over the weekend, when susan rice sort of told that by saying a breakup of ukraine is in nobody's best interest, which is in diplomatic speak, a kind of warning. basically saying, back off. >> speaking of national security adviser susan rice, let me play what she said on "meet the

press," regarding whether putin sees this from a cold war perspective. here's what she said. >> that's a pretty dated perspective that doesn't reflect where the people of ukraine are coming from. this is not about the u.s. and russia. this is about whether the people of ukraine have the opportunity to fulfill their aspirations and be democratic and be part of europe, which they choose to be, but it's not necessary, nor in our interest, to return to a cold war construct, which is long out of date and doesn't reflect the realities of the 21st century. >> the realities of the 21st century are cloudy as it relates to ukraine and the e.u. and russia's involvement here for those in the states and perhaps don't see why this is of significance to us in this country, how do you explain that? >> well, it's unfortunate that susan rice used that particular language. it would seem it is the obama administration that is seeing this in the cold war construct. for russians, this goes way, way back into history, hundreds of

years before the cold war. for russia, it comes down to this, russia, without ukraine, is a country. russia with ukraine is an empire. what they teach russian bureaucrats or diplomats in school and russian politicians know this very well. for russia, the interests are huge. for the u.s., the interests are not very great, strategically speaking, not a whole lot. we want to be on the side of democracy, that's always true, and the european partners seem to think they have a certain amount of interest there, so we want to help our partners, but if the president has to make a direct case to the american public for why we should get involved in the ukraine, that's going to be a tall order. it is very hard to make that case. >> at the minute, you and i both know americans hear the words why we need to get involved, that sends a shutter, given what is the ongoing situation in afghanistan and iraq and other turbulence and violence that we've seen throughout, and the u.s. has to intervene in. with that said here, you now

have accusations against yanukovych of mass crimes. the other worst-case scenario is, of course, more violence and more loss of life, as we witnessed, leading up to the events this weekend. >> basically, whoever takes charge in ukraine, not entirely clear, parliament is in charge, speaker of parliament, whoever takes charge has got to reach out to the russians living in ukraine and reassure them that there will be no recriminations against them. they are going against yanukovych. he has a lot of popular support in that part of the country. they need to say we're going after this guy because we think he's a criminal and we're going to bring together charges against him, but we're not going after russian speakers as a whole, because if that is -- if russians in eastern ukraine feel that's what's happening, they will rise up. they will seek support from moscow and it will give putin an excuse to get involved. >> all right. thank you very much.

"time" magazine's bobby gosh, thank you. michael sams is working out for a spot in the nfl today, one day, of course, after jason collins became the first openly gay athlete to play the game in the nba. and also, did you hear this latest controversy? there's a proposal involving the "n" word and whether it should be a penalty during the game. we're going to talk about it with the great dave ziron, who never holds back. also ahead, tackling america's sun down laws. keith travels to where many believe blacks are not allowed after sundown. i know this sounds like some antiquated thing from the south, but are these rules still in place today in the north? and tomorrow, i'm pretty super excited about this, i will be answering your questions in a live google plus hangout right after the show, so you can start

sending me your questions, none of them about my personal life, to our website, newsnation.msnbc.com. use the #tamchat on twitter and find me @tamronhall. and depending how you ask, i might answer personals. we'll see. i don't want to think about the alternative. i don't even know how to answer that. i mean, no one knows how long their money is going to last. i try not to worry, but you worry. what happens when your paychecks stop? because everyone has retirement questions. ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. to get the real answers you need. start building your confident retirement today.

purina dog chow light & healthy is a deliciously tender and crunchy kibble blend. with 20% fewer calories than purina dog chow. isn't it time you discovered the lighter side of dog chow. purina dog chow light & healthy.

this week we're looking at what could be an historic shift in the landscape of professional sports in america. last night, jason collins got a huge show of support as he made history by becoming the first openly gay athlete to play in the nba and the first in any of the four major sports leagues. collins took to the court to beat the lakers, just hours after he signed a ten-day contract with the brooklyn nets, and today eyes will be on michael sam as he works out at

the nfl combine, hoping to become the first openly gay player in the nfl. the former missouri defensive end and player of the year, s.e.c. player of the year, addressed the media this weekend for the first time since coming out. all of the questions he faced, sam wanted to make one thing clear, he is only concerned about winning. >> yeah, i wish you guys would say, hey, michael sam, how's football going, how's training going? i would love for you to ask me that question, but it is what it is. i just wish you would see me as michael sam the football player instead of michael sam the gay football player. >> dave zirin joins me now. dave, why can't you just see him as a player that has game and not just a gay player, what's going on? >> because this is history writ large in front of us. we look forward to the day that it is the case. as mike dantonio said, that's

just a fact. mike dantonio also said i understand why it's a story today. this is history in front of us and is inspiring, it should be inspiring, as adam silver said, sports has lagged behind the rest of society when it comes to this issue. >> well, listen, in reality, though, hollywood, for example, which is seen as a liberal bastian, when you talk about a actor, you hear people say, ellen, who is gay, i'll know having played sports my entire life, people like to think of people in sports as neanderthal, in hollywood, they still do the same thing. >> that's certainly true. it's part of popular culture. that's why when an athlete comes out, particularly in male sports, when they come out, it actually forces a lot of people to confront in themselves, do i define masculinity as straight masculinity, and that's

positive, because every poll and study shows that if you know someone who happens to be part of the lgbt community, you're less likely to be homophobic. >> we should not forget the changes in the military only happened two blips ago, as well, as we focus on sports and seeing it as somehow behind the rest of the culture. >> absolutely. the military has been somewhat ahead of sports, not just on this issue, but bullying and hazing, as well. i think there's a reason for that, sports, of course, is an athletic industrial complex. it's big business, and one of the things about it is like most big businesses, it's allergic to controversy. >> speaking of controversy, there's one that's popped up over the weekend, there's a new rules proposal. it comes at the suggestion of the fritz pollard alliance, a group that promotes diversity within the nfl, they are proposing that if a player uses any racial slur, particularly the "n" word and homophobic

slur, a player will be penalized 15 years -- 15 yards, excuse me, and a second infraction would likely result in an automatic ejection. where do you stand on this? i think i know. >> i think specifically they are talking about when this word is used between african-american players, so first of all, where i stand on this -- >> why is it only between african, i thought it was players in general. >> yeah, that's the rule, but that's why the fritz pollard institute is promoting it, they don't like the usage of it casually between african-american players, and i believe very strongly as a white person, it's not my place to police or talk about or judge how black people choose to talk to one another. i think this is one of those white people stand back moments, but i also believe because of that, we're creating a kind of problematic dynamic where overwhelmingly white referees are going to be policing speech between african-american players. >> we're going to get you back to talk about this, but i have to go to the white house, where

the president is addressing the nation's governors. thanks, dave. >> i'm glad to be able to come here and engage in a dialogue with all of you. i want to thank mary and john for their leadership at the nga. i want to thank my outstanding vice president, joe biden, who is very excited, i think, about the jobs initiative, jobs training initiative, and i think is going to be doing a great job on that. michelle and i had a wonderful time hosting you and i hope all the spouses enjoyed it. i know alex enjoyed it. you know, one good thing living here is you can make all the noise you want and nobody is going to complain, and i enjoyed watching some of you with your eyes on higher office size up the drapes. and each other. we don't have a lot of time

today, so i want to be very brief, go straight to q&a and discussion. we're at a moment when our economy is growing, our businesses have created 8.5 million jobs over the past four years, but, as i've said several times, the trends that have battered the middle class for a couple of decades now are still there. and still have to be addressed. those are the top are doing very well. ordinary families, still feeling squeezed. too many americans are working harder than ever, and just barely getting by and reversing those trends are going to require us to work together around what i'm calling an opportunity agenda based on four things. number one, more good jobs that pay good wages. number two, training more americans to be able to take the jobs that are out there right now and the jobs that are created. number three, guaranteeing access to a world-class education for every american

child all across our 50 states and our territories. and making sure that hard work pays off with wages that you can live on, savings that you can retire on, health insurance that you can count on. and all of this is going to take some action. so far, just in the past few weeks, i've acted to lift the wages of workers who work for federal contractors to pay and make sure their employees are getting paid at least $10.10 an hour. we've ordered an across the board reform of our job training programs, much of it aligned with some of the work that mary's done during her tenure as head of the nga. we directed our treasury to create a new way for americans to start saving for retirement. we've been able to rally america's business leaders to help more of the long-term unemployed find work and to help us make sure that all of our

kids have access to high speed internet and high-tech learning tools in the classroom. the point is, this has to be a year of action, and i'm eager to work with congress wherever i can. my hope is, that despite this being an election year, there will be occasions where both parties determine that it makes sense to actually get some things done in this town, but wherever i can work on my own to expand opportunity for more americans, i'm going to do that, and i am absolutely convinced that the time is right to partner with the states and governors of all across the country on these agendas, because i know that you guys are doing some terrific work in your own states. there may not be much of an appetite in congress for doing big jobs bills, but we can still grow select usa. secretary's team has put together a terrific formula

where we're attracting investors from all around the world to see america as a outstanding place to invest, and i mentioned this in the state of the union, for the first time last year, what we're seeing is that world investors now see america as the number one place to do business rather than china. and it's a sign of a lot of things converging, both on the energy front, worker productivity, our innovation, our research, ease of doing business, and a lot of that work is as a consequence of steps we've taken, not just at the federal level, but also the state level, so we've got to take advantage of that. secretary has been helping a belgium company in stillwater, oklahoma, helping an austrian company create jobs in cartersville, georgia. so we can do more of this, and we'd really want to engage with you over the next several months to find ways that we can help market america and your states

to businesses all around the world and bring jobs back. since i called on congress to raise the minimum wage last year, six states have gone ahead and done it on their own. last month, i asked more business leaders to raise their workers' wages. last week, gap said it would lift wages for about 65,000 of its employees. several of you are trying to boost wages for your workers. i'm going to do everything i can to support those efforts. while congress decides what it's going to do on making high quality pre-k available to more kids, there is bipartisan work being done among the folks in this room. you've got governors like robert bentley and jack marquel, suzanna martinez, deval patrick, all expanding funding or dedicating funds to make that happen in their states, and we want to partner with you. this year i'll pull together a coalition of philanthropists,

elected officials, and business leaders all excited and interests in working with you to access the high quality pre-k they need. and while congress talks about repealing the affordable care act or doing this or doing that to it, places like california and kentucky are going gang busters enrolling more americans in quality affordable health care plans. you got republican governors here, i won't name them in front of the press, because i don't want to get you all in trouble, who have chosen to cover people through new options under medicaid, and as a result, millions of people are going to get help. states that don't expand medicaid are going to be leaving up to 5.4 million americans uninsured, and that doesn't have to happen. work with us to get this done. we can provide a lot of flexibility. folks like mike bieby in arkansas have done a lot of work designing programs right for

their states, but also providing access of care to people who need it. i think kathleen sebelius, a former governor herself, has proven to work with all of you to find ways to get that done. on the west coast, you've got governors brown, insly, who are working together to combat the effects of climate change on their states. we've set up a task force of governors and mayors and tribal leaders to help communities prepare for what we anticipate are going to be intensifying impacts of climate change, and we're setting up climate hubs in seven states across the country to help farmers and ranchers adapt their operations to a changing environment. in the budget that i'll send to congress next week, i'm going to propose fundamentally reforming the way federal governments fund wildfire suppression and prevention to make it more secure, an idea supported by both democrats and republicans. finally, i want to thank those of you who have worked with michelle and jill biden on their

joining forces initiative to support our military families. at your meeting here two years ago, they asked for your help to make it easier for service members and their spouses to carry licenses for professions like teaching or nursing from state-to-state, rather than having to get a new one every time they were reassigned. at the time, only 12 states had acted to make this easier for spouses, only nine had acted to make it easier for service members. today, 42 states have passed legislation to help spouses, 45 states have made it easier for service members. we got a few states remaining. let's get it done for everybody, because it's the right thing to do for those men and women who are working every day to make sure we stay free and secure. the point is, even when there's a little appetite in congress to move on some of these priorities, at the state level, you guys are governed by practical considerations.

you want to do right by your people, and you see how good policy impacts your citizens and you see how bad policy impacts your citizens, and that means that there's less room for posturing and politics and more room for getting stuff done. we want to work with you. and i'm committed to making sure that every single member of my cabinet, every single person in the white house, every single member of my team, will be responsive to you. we won't agree on every single issue every single time, but i guarantee you we will work as hard as we can to make sure you succeed, because when you succeed, the people in your state succeed and america succeeds, and that's our goal. so thank you very much, and i look forward to having a great discussion. all right? thank you, everybody. [ applause ] >> president obama putting a little bit of pressure on some republican governors to work with him on his agenda, which includes, of course, raising the minimum wage and expanding medicaid. let me bring in nbc news senior

political editor mark murray. mark, let's lay down the law or explain here how significant is the relationship between the president and some of these republican governors who are holding out, especially as it relates to expanding medicaid? >> well, we've actually seen some republican governors expand medicaid in their states. some notable examples, jan brewer, as well as ohio governor john kasich. yes, you can be a republican, yes, you can pretty much disagree with me on most parts of my policy, but if you expand medicaid, you give health insurance coverage and benefits to a lot of people in your state at very, very little cost with the federal government picking up most of the tab going into the future years. and, of course, the majority and the overwhelming number of states who have not expanded medicaid are states with republican governors, and there is a thought as the years go by, that once president obama's out of the white house, if the politics of health care aren't as politically charged as now, a

lot of states that are red states will eventually expand medicaid. >> you're looking at states like texas and louisiana, mark, states, our home state of texas, for example, where many and the data would show, overwhelmingly benefit from an expansion of medicaid. >> oh, absolutely. those are the states with some of the biggest people uninsured right now in the country and the argument republicans end up making, in the long run this is going to be a big cost on our states, even though the federal government is going to pick up 100% of the tab in the short-term, where the federal government picks up 90% of the tab in the long-term, but republicans say putting up the 10% is very expensive for us, but as you point out, states like texas, mississippi, and others, a lot of health care experts end up saying the more people who have health insurance reduces the cost in the long run for all these states. people don't have to go to emergency rooms for care, that's the argument supporters are using for the medicaid expansion.

>> a lot more to discuss, and we'll do that for you every day when we see you, mark. coming up on "news nation," america's longest serving congressman, michigan democrat john dingell says he is ready to retire. it is just one of the things we thought you should know. and, here's a look at what's happening today, february 24th, this afternoon at the white house, the president will meet with governors of western states in the situation room. the president is expected to discuss the severe drought and the new risk of wildfires. this evening, the first lady celebrates black history by delivering remarks at a screening of the film version of the trip to the bountiful that she is hosting in d.c. and the vice president travels to new york city to appear on the premiere episode of "late night with seth meyers."

are you flo? yes. is this the thing you gave my husband? well, yeah, yes. the "name your price" tool. you tell us the price you want to pay, and we give you a range of options to choose from. careful, though -- that kind of power can go to your head. that explains a lot. yo, buddy! i got this. gimme one, gimme one, gimme one! the power of the "name your price" tool. only from progressive. ♪ 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.

[ coughs ] i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. hmm? [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. thanks for the tip. [ male announcer ] no problem. oh...and hair products. aisle 9. [ inhales deeply ] oh what a relief it is. ♪ so, are there still places in the united states where being

black can get you run out of town or worse? that's what filmmaker keith boshant set to find out, places that historically prevented black people from visiting after sundown. segregation laws, harassment, even violation, white residents of these so-called sundown towns used as many means possible to keep african-americans and other minority groups out, in some cases, threatening signs for posted. he decided to investigate, do sundown towns still exist today? >> i find myself in martinsville, indiana, which has a long history of being a sundown town. i can tell you, when we came into this town, i really felt an eerie feeling about this place, it came over me and makes me feel like i'm not wanted. >> joining me now, keith, executive producer and host of

investigation discovery's "the injustice files." we both work at i.d. and you told me you were working on this. i told you growing up in texas, running track, go to these small towns to compete and there was always a story of some town that allegedly did not like blacks in and people would say, oh, the last black family that lived here were run out back in the '40s, but the towns you looked into are not just in the south. >> yes. everyone in the whole sundown town phenomena, the first thing you think about, this only happens in the southern states, the south, it's a southern thing, and unfortunately, it's not. sundown towns are actually a larger phenomenon, and that's something that was so shocking to me when i first came across the works of dr. james lauren, who is the foremost authority on sundown towns in america, and we talked about this project i wanted to produce, and he kept

reiterating, keith, you have to understand this is not a southern phenomenon, it's a northern phenomenon, which makes sense. >> why does that make sense? that's counter to what people, certainly, would think. >> during the slavery days or past slavery, because we're talking right after, of course, reconstruction, when these towns became very popular. in the southern states, you needed your workers there day in, day out, sun up, to sundown, but when you talk about going to the northern states and the northern communities, you only needed your domestic workers for a certain period of time a day to do the daily chores and after they finished, they had to leave the community. >> the question is, whether or not these rules are still in place. we know that legally they cannot, but that does not mean there aren't some communities where folks try to enforce this unwritten rule. >> well, the 1968 civil rights housing rights act prevented this to continue, to go on,

although a lot of these towns, and i have to say, had officially supported this ideology. they actually had official policy to not allow certain ethnic groups to be in their community. >> and this is a good point, doesn't apply just to blacks, african-americans. >> absolutely not. jewish brothers and sisters were not allowed to go into these towns after dark, as well as native americans, asians, and latinos. so when you hear about this, i was completely blown away, because my objective was to team up with dr. lauren and go on this great american road trip to rule it out, because i didn't want to believe -- >> it still exists, right. >> -- in 2014, but we're still dealing with these issues. . it's an incredible series you're working on, incredible report, i should say. it is enlightening, i've seen many clips and will watch the

premiere tonight at 8:00/7:00 central on investigation discovery. keith is also on twitter. thank you very much. >> thank you. all right. up next, i'll talk with the cast of "sister wives." their first live interview since their victory in court. a federal judge ruled utah's law prohibiting cohabitation is unconstitutional. last night i hosted their reunion show. i find the browns to be compelling and very interesting. we're going to get their reactions to that big court decision and some of the reaction to our show.

my sinuses are acting up and i've got this runny nose. i better take something. truth is, sudafed pe pressure and pain won't treat all of your symptoms. really? alka seltzer plus severe sinus fights your tough sinus symptoms plus your runny nose. oh what a relief it is new details into a deadly carbon monoxide leak tops our stories around the news nation this morning. a faulty water heater is being blamed for that leak at a restaurant near new york city

saturday. one person was killed. 29 others had to be hospitalized, including several officers and emergency response workers. the restaurant's manager was found dead in the basement. the company has been issued a citation for defective equipment. take a look at this, unbelieve, small plane the moment a bird slammed into the windshield. that's the pilot. he was flying near fort myers, florida, when the windshield exploded. he said thanks to a steady hand and training he was able to land, though he had minor cuts to the head. utah's attorney general will soon file an appeal to a federal judge's decision striking down key parts to polygamy laws, a fight that's landed one tv family right in the middle of it all. the judge's ruling last december was a victory for cody brown and his four wives that star in the

tlc show "sister wives." a judge found a provision in the law violates the freedom of religion guaranteed by the first amendment. the ruling decriminalizes polygamy, but bigamy is still illegal. the family sued the state in 2011 after a county prosecutor threatened to charge them under the state's bigamy law. the family's now hoping if the judge's ruling stands, it will enable other plural families to live openly without the fear of being prosecuted. cody brown joins me live along with his wives, mary, janelle, christine, and robin. good to see you all. >> thank you. >> in case you missed it last night, i hosted a reunion show with you and the family. i thought you, by the way, ladies, looked amazing on the special. cody, you faired well, too, but most importantly is this huge victory for you. i know that janelle, you said it

was humbling and you talked to the kids about it, you have 17 children, but this was a victory that was born in a sense from fear. you thought your family would be prosecuted. >> right. right. we left utah and moved to nevada because of this cohabitation law and the threats that we were receiving from the county prosecutor, and we weren't going to stay there and find ourselves in jail or having a fight that we couldn't win. >> have our family ripped apart, basically. >> yes, have us separated from one another, have our family taken apart, so we moved to nevada where we felt more safe from these threats and then eventually we sued to have our rights. >> christine, this was a real fear for people who think, oh, well they were imagining or some kind of ploy for the show. this was a real fear. this was actually a threat from prosecutors there. >> you know what, it was a real threat, honestly. there was a time our daughters were walking home from school

and they called us panicked. they were like, there's a policeman on the street, and that was, like, huge warning signals to me. our kids should not be afraid of police. they are there to protect us, so it put this extra layer in there, but even more so, historically, families have been ripped apart by threats like this. my grandfather was threatened. >> he was put in jail. >> he was put in jail before, then he came out and they were threatening to put him in jail again. once his family heard news of it late at night, they all separated and went to different states, they never communicated with the sister wives, where they even were. they lost contact with their own family members, brothers and sisters, for years and years and never moved back together again. >> mary, this is significant because you and cody share a daughter, mariah, who's an amazing young lady, she's off at school and expressed interest in one day after she finishes her schooling that she perhaps will be a sister wife, and this was important to you because she is back in utah, mary.

>> she is. she's back in utah enjoying school, not having any plans to get married any time soon. i think she's very wise. but, you know, she does want to eventually join a plural family. and, you know, so it will be interesting to see how her path goes. >> and, robin, you also spoke passionately about this, for people who don't understand the relationship with the sister wives, or what it means for your families. i was curious the reaction to the show this time around. i think people have passed this, oh, ah, and they are more respectful, i believe, in some ways about your religion and what this means, and this is not just, you know, cody exploiting four women here. >> oh, yeah, absolutely not. the great thing, i mean, and we've said this so many times, we, you know, the four of us wives chose to be in this family. no one forced us.

there was no child brides here. it was all about just being able to choose our family, and that's basically what we want to be able to do. we just want to be able to choose our family without fair prosecution, without fear of looking over our shoulder, fear of losing our jobs, or discrimination. that's basically what we want, not only for our family, but so many families in utah that are living in hiding basically. and not owning who they are. >> real quick, janelle, i know for example logan and hunter, the two oldest boys have said they are not interested in being part of a plural marriage, but two of the older daughters, i believe, at this point have expressed. what do you make of that dynamic, you have the boys who say probably not, but the girls who say they want to be sister wives? >> you know, we've always encouraged our children to find their own path. we encourage them to have a personal relationship with god and figure out what he wants for them, but you know, interestingly enough, in more cases than not, it is a woman

who brings her husband, when they come in from outside of the community, it is a woman who will bring her family and her husband into the lifestyle. >> i think hunter and logan look at how hard cody has to work and they are like, oh, don't want to do that. >> honey do lists get long, but quickly, your original goal for the show and your wives was that others would be able to come out of the shadows and not live in fear. do you believe that mission has been accomplished? >> not yet, no. we are with the appeal coming, i think the families are still afraid to be public and be open. now, some have. some have turned to, in a sense, come out. we've got friends that are going to have a show starting in two weeks that have come out. i think they are very brave for doing this, and i think it's very important that other families be more willing to be transparent. >> but the legal battles continue, we know that. cody, thank you very much. mary, janelle, christine, robin,

and 17 kids, thank you all very much. it was a great pleasure. i'll see you soon in vegas, i'm sure. >> thank you, tamron. >> all right, we'll be right back. uhhh. no, that can't happen. that's the thing, you don't know how long it has to last. everyone has retirement questions. so ameriprise created the exclusive.. confident retirement approach. now you and your ameripise advisor can get the real answers you need. well, knowing gives you confidence. start building your confident retirement today.

before we go, i wanted to share with you some news about new role at the "today" show, in addition to "news nation" at 11:00 eastern time on msnbc, i'm now also co-hosting the 9:00 a.m. hour with al, willie and natalie. here's a look at how i got here, including some of the things that maybe you don't know about me. >> i was born in luling, texas, my mom says i was the only kid born in luling that day. the town is so tiny, that wonts surprise me. i grew up in a big family, aunt and uncles and cousin, my mom and grandfather, these people were always around me, always encouraging me. >> she was just -- always sweet.

>> i love learning and talking to other people. so those things that i naturally enjoy just snap into place in my career. >> i worked as a reporter for four years in dallas ft. worth. >> i was on the phone calling my siblings and friends. look, there she is. that was just a happy moment. >> from there, i ended up in chicago. >> welcome back. the time -- >> in a four-hour morning show, it was everything that i thought morning tv and could and would be. you do become a part of the family. >> we want to welcome my knew colleague, tamron hall. >> a year before i started to work for msnbc i brought my mom to new york and outside of ro rockefeller center, my mom said next year you'll be working here. i said, yeah, right, mom. my best friend sonia snapped a picture of me and my mom outside

rockefeller center. >> i had a feeling that tamron would be there. i spoke it into existence and it happened. >> one year to that day i was in the office and president of nbc for my first interviewed turn e my job. >> super proud of her. >> let's get a check on this morning's other top stories from tamron hall at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone at home. >> i went in my first morning and i was filling in news reader. it was the most intimidating thing you could imagine and solely because you know how important the "today" show is to people, to viewers. >> all of the fun. >> i feel when i approach life i look at it like my nieces and nephew, wide eyed, open, love to laugh. >> very caring and whatever we need she's there. we love her to death. >> tamron is trust worthy.

she's honest -- >> she's definitely the best friend that you want to call and say, hey, you want so share this news with her. >> i'm excited and nervous. the sitcom character who keeps popping up behind the sofa and now i'm on the sofa. >> i'm so proud of her. >> congratulations aunt tamron we love you. >> thank you very much, isaiah, mya and lay la and my mom. i'm tamron hall. tomorrow i will be answering your questions, we'll be face to face. i'll be able to see you and you'll be able to see me. you can start sending in questions now, go to the website and use the hash tag tamchat on twitter. i'll be able to see and put names with faces. up next, "andrea mitchell

reports" and of course at its new time, noon eastern time, filling in for andrea, kristen welker, another friend of mine is in for andrea. see you tomorrow at 11:00. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum.

this is what membership is. this is what membership does. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. [ chainsaw whirring ] humans -- sometimes life trips us up. sometimes we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance. save up to 10% just for combining

your auto and home insurance. call liberty mutual insurance at... [ thump ] to speak with an insurance expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy. personalized coverage and savings. all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. call... and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

right now, power play, today in ukraine as a warrant is issued for the expresident on the run. criticizing the west for recognizing new government as ukraine looks to a new future, can the country survive the political upheaval throughout the country? >> the president is very forceful in his dealings with putin, but it's not necessary nor is it in our interest to return to a cold war construct, which is long out of date and doesn't reflect the realities of the 21st century. >> takedown. how did u.s. and mexican authorities capture the world's most wanted drug kingpin. the stunning details