deal versus reagan. that does it for us tonight. thanks for being with us tonight. we've got more on our exclusive from the rio grande valley coming up early next week on the show. we will see you again on monday. weekends with alex witt starts now. a warning. president obama tells russia to stay out of ukraine or else. the big question, who could the u.s. do. >> 911 where is your emergency. >> tale of the tape. 911 calls from the four days of gorge washington bridge gridlocks. who do they have on the investigation of chris christie? a frantic rescue caught on tape after an avalanche roars through a neighborhood. why it's incredible anyone came out alive. what the tax bill will be for the couple that found precious coins in their back yord.

good morning, everyone. welcome to weekends with alex witt. here's what's happening. we have developing news of president obama warning of consequences of military intervention inside ewe rain. he called on russia to exercise restraint after helicopters flew into crimea. it is a region in southern ukrai ukraine. here is what the president said in a late friday statement. >> days after the world came to russia after the olympic games, it would invite the nations around the world. indeed, the united states will stand with the international community in affirming there will be costs for military intervention in ukraine. >> meantime, gunmen described as russian troops to control key airports in crimea on friday. kristen welker is joining me to

talk about this. good morning to you. we hear the president might cancel plans to attend the upcoming g-8 in russia. what are you hearing on that? >> that's right. you heard president obama use the word costs in the statement. he was vague. you are right, u.s. officials say the u.s. and its allies are considering a possible boycott of the g-8 summit which will be hosted by russia, in sochi, the same place the olympics took place. this is days after officials here at the white house, this administration urging russia not to intervene in ukraine. the national security adviserer, secretary kerry, all worning russia it would be a grave mistake to intervene in ukraine when it appeared the diplomatic efforts were failing. president obama came out with a stern warning. here is more of what he had to say. >> throughout this crisis, we have been clear about one fundamental principal.

the ukrainian people deserve the opportunity to decide their own future. we urged an end to the violence and urge the ukrainians to stabilize their country for a broad based government and move to elections this spring. >> reporter: now, u.s. officials will continue to monitor the situation closely. i anticipate there will be a flurry of high level phone calls. vice president biden called the prime minister of ukraine yesterday, reiterated the fact the u.s. supports it government there, commended the government on the restraint it has shown so far. u.s. officials have been adamant about the fact this is not a return to cold war tensions between the united states and russia. alex, there is no doubt this is certainly adding to what is an increasingly tense relationship between the two nations. >> absolutely. thanks so much. see you again. the other big news story,

extreme weather hitting the country in the west in the form of rain. a flooding emergency is under way after an inch of rain fell an hour on friday. big problem are the rivers of mud that are about to get bigger. >> this is going to have two or three feet of mud in the backyard. >> the rocks and pebbles might come down like the malibu rock slide. i don't think you'll come down. i think it will be a lot of debris and water. >> well, there are three feet of water in some spots making it difficult for drivers, as you can imagine. the back ups on friday stretch for 20 miles. bitter cold and a powerful snowstorm starting in the west but heading east a. foot of snowfall is expected in many parts. heavy snow in montana destroyed a house and buried three people, though they were found alive. one officer said it's incredible we pulled three living bodies

out of there. in minnesota, 50 vehicles were involved in a big pile up on i-35 due to the conditions on the roads. when will it be the worst? dylan dreier is here with the forecast. >> good morning, alex. a lot going on on the west coast. by monday, we are talking the northeast affected by a big snowstorm. let's focus on the southwest where the rain is producing so many concerns with the mud slides, flooding and that amount of rain coming down. more rain than you have seen in the past couple days and they have seen all season in southern california. the storm itself looks like a hurricane. it had an eye to it yesterday. this is a powerful rain and wind storm. we had wind gusts in higher elevations in southern california, over 90 miles per hour yesterday. you can see the heavy rain south of san francisco will be in and out of the bands today and

tonight as the storm makes the way on shore. watch through the weekend. it develops into a snowstorm for parts of the plains and eventually into the northeast. by 8:00 a.m., in parts of new england and new jersey and pennsylvania, it will briefly change over to an icy mix and back over to snow, which will be heavy at times on monday. here is a look at the snowfall totals over the next 48 hours. in the pink in iowa and northern missouri, six to 12 inches. this ends 8:00 a.m. monday morning where we have three to six inches and more snow is likely to accumulate throughout the daymond. temperatures today, really cold in kansas city, 22 degrees. warm through san antonio, 84 degrees. ten below in billings, montana. windchills are cold in the plains. one for a high on sunday as the snow starts to spread east. a wintry mix for a time late in the day in new york and in

boston, then all snow by the time we go throughout the daymond. alex? >> thanks for that. miguel, an early good morning to you. southern california really needed the rain, but this is too much, too fast. >> reporter: we are in an extreme drought, so we can use all the rain we can get. we need 15 to 20 inches to get back to normal. the storm is helping, but causing a fair share of problems. you know this region well, this is the l.a. river behind me. no water in this draught. there's a strong current. a good example of how much water has come and accumulated. up to an inch of rain every hour yesterday. it was a massive, powerful storm that ripped across the region. the second punch in a system that continues today. the rain stopped for this hour. we expect it to continue late this afternoon and all the way into the evening. possibly, into sunday.

as you know, it was a dicey situation here across los angeles yesterday in the foothills outside downtown in the city. they evacuated 1,000 homes because of the foothills, the possibility of mud slides into neighborhoods below. not everyone heeded the evacuation orders. the police are keeping folks out of that area saying the hill was unstable. there's water rescues up and down the state. delays on freeways, up to 20 mile back ups. roofs caved in on homes as well as businesses. it was a mess everywhere across the region yesterday. they were recovering today. the streets are open, cars moving. the ongoing rain will continue all the way through sunday, alex. >> i have to tell you, i was watching you and saw you on that driveway. you were hip deep in mud. i was like get out of there. okay, thank you so much. we'll see you again. let's go to politics and president obama outlining his

theme. the president spoke last night at the democratic summit at the white house. >> choice could not be clearer, opportunity for a few or opportunity for all. that's what this election is about. as democrats, we have a different idea of what the future looks like. an idea rooted in our conviction that our economy grows best not from the top down, but the middle up. that's what an opportunity agenda offers. >> from the archives, new details about president bill clinton's time in office. the aids were concerned about the health care overhaul effort led by first lady, hillary clinton. it proved unsuccessful. we'll have more at the half hour. more on the scandal with chris christie.

newly released 911 tapes show how bad the traffic situation was when they cut down access lanes to the gorge washington bridge. we have more. >> reporter: time for traffic in ft. lee. that's what a staffer from governor chris christie's office ordered and what ft. lee, new jersey got. school buses, emergency vehicles and thousands of drivers were caught in an intentionally created, intentionally politically motivated traffic nightmare. ft. lee officials released 28 hours of 911 and police radio tapes from the four days the lanes were closed. >> the traffic is a nightmare. the gw bridge is gridlocked. >> we are getting calls from irate motorists. >> the town is a total gridlock. >> no emergency vehicles will be able to get through. >> reporter: emergency workers struggled to get to a bus

accident. >> school bus and car accident eastbound just on the other side of the bridge. >> reporter: when the mayor of ft. lee complained, christie's now fired chief of staff texted, is it wrong i'm smiling? i feel bad for the kids, i guess. no one's life was in danger, but people in need of help had to wait. multiple members of governor christie's staff have been subpoenaed. nothing, so far, links back to the governor. christie says he was in the dark. his political future may depend on whether the voters believe him. new papers released reveal how hillary clinton nearly ended up on one of america's most popular sitcoms. and the stores that treat customers the worst. it's on the big three money headlines.

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let's go back to the developing news out of ukraine. the interior minister is accusing russia of an armed invasion as gunmen surround two major airports. bill is there in crimea with the latest for us. bill, what can you tell us? >> reporter: yes, crimea's crisis certainly deepened overnight. several thousand people carrying the russian flag and chanting pro-russian slogans. behind me, the ar plimt is armed and uniformed men. ukraine is arguing that several thousand russian troops landed

here and they are trying to seize a ukrainian military base. from russia's president putin, silence. from president obama, a warning. a military air base now in russian hands, troops manning the entrance. one of three airports now taken from ukrainian control. crimea's main airport is closed. armed pro-russian forces protecting it. russian troops arriving by the plane load. ukraine says ten russian planes arrived carrying men and ammunition in two 11 attack helicopters. ukraine's defense minister says 6,000 additional troops arrived here. all of this after president obama warned russia not to intervene in ukraine. >> the united states will stand with the international community affirming there will be costs for military intervention in

ukraine. >> reporter: in crimea's capitol, the coup gathers pace. they control the army, navy and air force here. any commander that disagrees says the new prime minister should leave. beyond crimea's borders and along the frontier with ukraine, russia continues the biggest military exercise since the fall of the soviet union. 150,000 men maneuvering as president putin is now, to show their strength to the world. the streets are calm. the vote here, to decide who should rule has been brought forward to the end of the month. within weeks, crimea, always pro-russian could be free of ukrainian rule for good. well ukraine says it won't give

into russian provocation and its troops are ready to respond. i think, truly, the idea or the possibility of a clash with russian troops is really pretty slim. this place is a kinder box right now. the focus of a battle of wills between east and west. >> can i ask you? it was reported when the troops came on the ground, they were wearing unmarked military uniforms. there is no question they are russian. what do you think is behind that ideology? >> reporter: well, we have been at two military bases this morning trying to find out exactly who the troops are. there are two things. the people that you can see behind me, probably can't see now are in unmarked military uniforms. they are professional soldiers, we don't think they are russian, but pro-russian. at the air bases, behind troops

like that are the actual russian troops. ukraine's defense minister says 6,000 arrived overnight. we have no proof of that. it's quite clear that up to a dozen russian transport planes did arrive. quite clearly, russian troops are here. russia says it's consistent with the agreement because the black sea fleet is based here, has been based here for 250 years. there is, on the one hand what russia says, oh, this is fine, it's entirely consistent with what we do and the reality of what's going on here. it's not an invasion, but i think it would be fair to say it is an intervention. >> it's good to clarify the unmarked military uniforms belong to those that are pro-russian, but not necessarily russian troops specifically. >> thank you. great reporting. here is a question for all of you. what should the u.s. do about the situation witha and

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...all day relief. hmm. [bell ring] "roll sound!" "action!" in the big money headlines, treat me right, wheeling and dealing and a gold reality. here to break it down, a usa today contributor. let's begin with a retail survey on customer service on the stores that might need to treat their customers better. >> retail satisfaction is up for three years but there were winners and losers. looking at the worst list, a lot of big retailers here, walmart, macy's and cvs. it might be right in one store, but not the network of thousands of stores. when you look at who won, nordstrom, customer service is a

differentiator. here jc penney. when you don't have a lot of people in the store, it's easier to provide good customer service, no lines at the dressing room, people think it's great, but they have the store to themselves. >> good point. how about wheeling and dealing? how is this good if you are in the market for buying new car? >> so much talk about the weather in earnings this week. turns out, over the last 60 days, nobody woke up and said let's go buy a new car and they didn't go in to repair theirs. they canceled appointments and kids are home from school. they didn't see the eye candy of the vehicles on the lot. inventory is the highest since 2009. watch for big incentives. the next headline, gold rush tax. what is that about? >> this is the biggest and vast discovery of coins in u.s. history. you almost can't make it up. two people went out, they were walking their dog, they see a

tin can in their yard, they dig. they find the gold coins worst $28,000 in the day, now, $10 million. it's created a tax issue. they could have to give almost half of that up to the federal and state government even if it's a capital gain. it's still going to be about 30%. we are going to call it a good problem to have. >> do they have to pay it this year? >> yes. yes. you found it. you can't wait. you know about it. they are not saying who they are. they don't want digging going on in their yard. again, i think most people, they take it. they are still looking at $5 million. >> you have a good point there, as always, thank you so much. >> sure. inside the detroit bankruptcy and why the fight over the cities might just be beginning. the only downer? my bargain brand towel made a mess of things. so goodbye so-called bargain brands,

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with alex witt. we are going to the developing crisis in ukraine as masked gunmen are on the streets. they are refusing to identify themselves, wearing no insignia. they have set up roadblocks and seized government buildings. thousands of russian troops are arriving by air and sea as president obama warns russia any intervention will come at a cost. joining me now here in studio, loretta sanchez is a member of the armed services. we are glad you are here to talk about this. >> thank you. >> can you dif republican chat between the intervention and invasion? >> well, it remains to be seen. certainly, what we have heard is that the regional government president has asked, he has gone online saying he asked for the russians to be there. the fact that they are not wearing insignia, nobody really knows who they are, but they are patrolling the streets is sort

of contradicts, i have asked for the russians to come in to help. certainly, what i think putin is looking for is an effect from the ukrainian government and i don't think the ukrainian government is going to give him that. they would like some force or something so they can counter against that. i think the ukrainians are saying, listen, we are going to sit tight here and it's really about the international community coming together and saying, look, this is a sovereign country, why are you sending these troops in. >> to that end, listen to what the president had to say about this. he gave a rare discussion on this late friday night. >> we are now deeply concerned by reports of military movement taken by the russian federation inside ukraine. the united states will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for military intervention in ukraine. >> let's pick up with costs.

what, specifically could costs be? >> we have to get an international coalition together behind whatever we are going to do. if we go to the u.n., one of the permanent members who can veto everything is russia. that will be difficult. it's very probable that we will talk to nato allies, even though ukraine is not a member of nato, the reality is we have some people feeling very, i would say skiddish about this right now. poland and others, poland has been warning us for awhile about this intervention or this encroachment on ukraine maybe as we saw on georgia. intervention can come in a lot of ways. it certainly, i would prefer that diplomatic effort work first in order to bring down and deescalate the situation we have. we always have to remember that ukraine is a sovereign nation

and that intervention invasion, whatever you want to call it, it's not the right thing to do. >> the president, as we switch gears to afghanistan, the president, as you know, said we are going to work on the m.o. that we are going to pull all our troops out of afghanistan by 2014. this is a result of ham id karzai not signing an agreement on the table right now. where do you stand on the u.s. pulling out by 2014s end? >> i told president obama when he came in 5 1/2 years ago, this is your chance, get out of afghanistan as fast as you can. obviously, he didn't listen to me. when we got osama bin laden i said this is your chance, let's get out of there. the reality is quite frankly, everybody knows this, i'm on record for saying this, karzai is not a good ally for us to have. half the money we have sent to afghanistan is probably under

karzai's name in a swiss bank account someplace. this is not a player who has dealt well. he's not dealt well in the country, in my opinion. you know, now we see him sitting on his hands with respect to really an agreement that we need in order to keep any type of troops in there. >> you believe the risk to staying in afghanistan is greater than the risk to leaving? >> to the national -- national interest of the united states. >> yes. >> i think it's better for us to be out of there. there are other ways we can handle encroachment of camps again or something. to the afghan people, obviously, it probably means that if we pull out it goes back down into some sort of civil strife until they figure out what is going on. let's look at the record there. the fact of the matter is, we went in there, we beat al qaeda who had their camps. the taliban were, of course,

putting a noose on their people there. we went after the taliban. then we came back and said the only way to get out is to have the taliban take care of the regional areas. taliban didn't like the opium. they eradicated it. highest record amount of opium being grown in afghanistan. you look at it and it's not a good story. i mean lots of people say young women are being educated. the answer is yes,itis always a good thing in my opinion. the reality is afghanistan is just a very difficult situation to be in. >> before we run out of time, i want to have you look inward to your state relative to obamacare, with regard to the latino population being properly covered. i know it's up to 30% now, it's increased up to that. a question of whether or not there's a problem with bilingual information. was that a problem? >> you lived in los angeles. you understand how important

this is. i look at my district, 30, 36% of the people had no insurance. a lot of them were going to qualify for medical which is almost free and subsidized well in california. kaiser, blue cross. it's a good thing. here is the problem. you know, lack of -- first of all, latinos don't have access to computers a lot of times. they go to the library. 30 minutes is not enough to do the whole process, even if you know what you are doing, it takes 90 minutes. the problem has been it's very internet based. the problem has been even the internet didn't have spanish translation or good spanish translation. >> they have been trying to improve that. >> they have improved a lot of it, that's why the numbers are coming up. what they have committed to and what i have committed to in orange county is for the next 32 days that are left, we are doing

individual sign ups. we have people there. we are pushing people to events et cetera and we have bilingual. you can sign up there and help you get it done. the personal touch is what will get them signed up. >> good. those in your district in the santa ana region are lucky. thank you very much congresswoman sanchez. nice to see you. let's go to detroit where a battle is brewing over the debt stricken city's prized art collection. major creditors are saying the collection valued at $870 million should be considered salable to the assets to pay off the billions that detroit owes. business reporter of the detroit free press is joining me. he's been covering all the latest turns with this one. welcome to you. let's look at this twist. the idea that detroit is going to have no choice but to sell off parts of the art collection or get sued by creditors.

is that a right summery? can you explain that? >> yeah, the detroit institute of arts is very unusual because it's owned by the city of detroit. the city purchased much of the art in the 1920s and 1930s and so those -- that artwork is still an asset of the city today. the question is, will the creditors get their hands on the art and force the city to sell it off? the city wants to do a deal in which the state of michigan, a group of non-profit foundations raise $800 million to reduce potential pension cuts and allow the museum to spin off. that would preserve the museum. a lot of creditors are expected to fight that deal. >> the auction house appraised all of this. a lot of the art is as much as $867 million. that was a small portion of the thousands of works of arts available. any talk, nathan, if they were sold, the art could remain there

for public viewing? >> you know, there has been some discussion about creative ways in which the artwork could be monotized. i think if the creditors force a sell off, you would see the artwork leave detroit. now, the question is, will the bankruptcy judge over seeing this allow it? the judge does not have to force the city to sell assets, but they must show they are doing a fair and equitable plan that would treat creditors fairly and restore good services to the city. that's what the bankruptcy is about, restoring detroit's services such as fighting crime and removing blight. >> here is the pension cuts. the city manager proposed cuts 34% to the general retirees and 10% to the police and fire. is that enough?

some are saying these cuts are too deep. >> it's weird. the bondholders are saying it's not deep enough. the pensioners are saying too steep. all the creditors are negotiating deals and mediation right now. the cuts could come down. if they don't agree to the deal in which the dia is preserved, the cuts could be higher than expected. we are in the late stages of the mediation game before it goes to trial. >> okay. nathan of the detroit free press, thanks for weighing in. i appreciate that. >> thanks. in office politics, joy reid explains what's in a name in a moment. first, we begin with business that is would cite business reliefs to gays and lesbians. >> we are not that long from the time when if you substituted african-american, substituted black, latino into that same

legislation, i thought we declared all that to be unconstitutional, illegal. a lot of people are having a hard time dealing with change, so, i think forcing people to confront the fact that that is bigotry is important but i think we need to realize, not everybody reached this point. look how fast the lgbt movement moved. there are people still left behind that don't get the change. they are still adjusting to it and they have to adjust to it. the culture wars are over. i think a lot of people haven't figured that out yet. >> you have a few shows under your belt. what might people expect to happen? >> we are trying to do a lot of things. one of the challenges we have given ourselves is to have a two-way conversation with the audience. it's not that easy to do. there's the traditional mean of tv and cable news. then you have another world out there, the social media world. you have to incorporate that. we are trying to find ways to do that in a way that is organic, not just asking a question and

getting an answer a day. trying to use social media from one of the things it's best at, crowd sourcing information. >> did you ever invision when you went to college, you went to harvard, that you would land doing this? >> my first paid writing opinion assignment i got from salon, i kept the check for as long as i could afford it. you need the money. i'm going to hold on to this $100 and frame it. that didn't last long. i eventually cashed it. it was great. i embarked on that writing career. when we moved to florida, after my first child, i decided to move into the direction of tv. >> you also have the reid report. it's a political blog. where did that come from? >> i did it for me. there were stories i was curious about. political things were happening in florida i found interesting. so, i launched it. it took off. there weren't a lot of women,

particularly women of color writing in that way. it sort of caught on. i was one of a few people doing it. >> it has been said between us and on the air we have been separated at birth. i'm going to say, i have that dress. >> every time i look to wear it, i think i wonder if my sister alex has this on. >> i know. >> this is no joke, i have an alternative dress in this bag in case you wore it. >> oh, my gosh. that's funny. last question, you are joy reid to the world. you are joy ann to me. >> it's interesting. i always have been joy throughout my life. i have always been joy even though my name is joy an. when i came here, i was introduced to all of you. i was on with you introduced as joy ann. you have been adopted into the you are now part of the family, alex. that's what it is. >> i love it. i love being part of her family.

more of the conversation at noon. joy will share more from 200 years of u.s. history. the clinton's declassified. the nugget that might leave you scratching your head with the advice hillary got in the '90s. i'm nathan and i quit smoking with chantix. when my son was born, i remember, you know, picking him up and holding him against me. it wasn't just about me anymore. i had to quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. chantix didn't have nicotine in it, and that was important to me. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had

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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. ♪ what does an apron have to do with car insurance? an apron is hard work. an apron is pride in what you do. an apron is not quitting until you've made something

a little better. what does an apron have to do with car insurance? for us, everything. >> anything happen on the bridge? >> i'll give them a call. i think it's sun glare. >> 10-4. >> how long you been here. >> they have a new pattern. they're testing a new pattern. traffic from off the washington. it's doub to one lane now and sun glare, also. >> 10-4. >> that's just one of the 911 calls made during traffic on the gorge washington bridge. the police department released more than 20 hours of calls on friday, revealing frustrated drivers, police and emergency

personnel. let me bring in washington bureau chief lynn sweet and ed o'keefe. good morning. great to see you. >> good morning, alex. >> i know you have covered this one. no one expected the 911 calls to change the narrative for chris christie, no smoking gun to suggest he knew about the closing. what do they tell us? >> the gravity of the situation. some of the tapes dealing with the need for ambulances and emergencies. it makes it harder to understand why the governor just didn't know about this grave situation. >> ed, when you hear all the calls, 20 hours worth that were released, do you think it raises concerns in the christie administration are can they dismiss it as just another passing event in the story? >> what i think it does more than anything, we have seen reams of foul mouthed e-mails that make for great newspaper stories. now that you have audio to go with the images, it makes it a

better television story. for the christie administration, illustrates the problem more, especially for people in the tri-state area that are sensitive to the story. the gorge washington is one of the main thoroughfares in new york. it's part of the economy. now you have audio of people that were affected by this or concerned enough to pick up the phone and call 911, i think illustrates the gravity of the situation and will only make it worse. it's hard for the christie administration to dismiss the real calls that an ambulance wasn't getting to their house. >> switching gears. ed, the national archive released previously confidential documents from the clinton administration. what is the biggest nugget to come out of the papers? >> there was a fascinating memo that came from early july, 1999.

a long-time clinton political aide writing this memo literally the night before mrs. clinton made it official she was going to run for senate. i remember that well. it was fascinating. here is a professional political consultant telling the first lady of the united states that's been on the national stage for years how to behave like a politician, act real, answer the question, but don't be too revealing. be prepared to answer questions like have you ever done drugs. figure out a way to talk about new york issues in a not too dismissive manner. make it clear you care about this stuff. it's fascinating to believe a woman who is a skilled politician need thad advice or felt the need to get it in a performance setting. it's been her trajectory ever since. >> don't be defensive.

don't raise your voice, that was another one. my husband did x. stay away from that. talk about you and what you have done. be real. that is an interesting it awe was just the first batch. what more do you think may be revealed? >> well, i think you have anything from substance to just style, which ed talked about. and for somebody who is perhaps running for president, it is these papers are yes, they shed light but it's a major distraction. now the advice isn't startling, what be yourself, talk about yourself. and i am surprised that she needed that kind of really beginners advice. you would tell that to somebody who hadn't done much publicity or been in the public eye before. but within those papers that we

haven't seen, i bet there are stories about policies that you could say see, she said that then and she said that in '07 and at 08 when she campaigned. it's those that will be supposed inconsistencie inconsistencies. of course she will cast them about of course people evolve, circumstances change. it's just distractions. >> can i ask you quickly about the home improvement suggestion that she approve on tim allen's sitcom? >> they looking for way to soft, her image, they were looking to put her on "home improvement", to have her meet with some liberal thinkers in new york to didn't work for the "the new york times" all designed to personify her more. >> "home improvement".

okay. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> what will happen if the u.s. removes all of its troops from afghanistan by the end of the year? is breakfast... with benefits. start your day with a delicious new crunch. healthy never tasted so good. hi, are we still on for with tomorrow?us new crunch. tomorrow. quick look at the weather. nice day, beautiful tomorrow. tomorrow is full of promise.

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america's longest war may be coming to an end sooner than expected. the president ord ed the pentagon to draw up plans for a complete withdrawal from afghanistan by the end of the year. joining me now, jack jacobs. can i ask you this. is this posturing or does the u.s. really want to do this? >> i think we really want to do it but we shouldn't discount the fact that our politicians have a policy to think before they think, drawing lines in the sand we never tend to reinforce. so some of this is posturing but by the end of the day if we can't reach an arrangement with karzai, we're leaving. we are going to do that. we have areas surrounding afghanistan we can do some operations but i think the intention is to get out. >> a reporter wrote yesterday that u.s. officials told her

that al qaeda is planning a comeback in afghanistan. some of that is politically motivated. how concerned are you that that is a reality. >> i think it is a reality. don't forget we've been trying to talk to the taliban for some time and on and off have had some discussions on the prefry. so has karzai. at the end of the day, karzai is really the president of kabul and nut much else. when we leave, which we're doing in any case, the outlying provinces are going to be in trouble. it's going to be a mess. it's fractured country and it's going to be a mess. >> where do you come down on this? >> i'm a long standing military guy. either do it completely or you don't do it. it would require 200,000 troops over a long period of time to secure that area long enough for

us to train the afgan army. we're not doing that. so better off out than in if we're not going to do it properly. that is a wrap up of this hour of "weekends with alex witt." straight ahead, we've got "up with steve kornacki." so i'm living in a world of tiny sweaters and dolphins and weird greasy mystery stains. i'm gonna get you. but this new tide ultra stain release has a crazy amount of cleaning power and a pre-treat zap! cap that helps me get out pretty much any stain. can i help? aww. just kidding. she got me. [ female announcer ] now with new tide ultra stain release you can help remove 99% of everyday stains. [ female announcer ] now with new tide ultra stain release (voseeker of the sublime.ro. you can separate runway ridiculousness... from fashion that flies off the shelves. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go.

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she didn't stop with her veto pen this week. it has been three days now since arizona gof vetoed a controversial bill that would have provided legal protections to individuals and businesses who exercise their religious believes by refusing services to gay people. the state is still feeling the fallout from the immigration law that was passed back in 2010. and when they