york say a vote could come today on whether any criminal charges will be filed. now garner's death sparked outrage nationwide after this video shot by a bystander on july 17th showed the 43-year-old father of six being placed in a choke hold by one police officer as several others attempted to arrest him. officials initially approached garner under us is suspicion he was selling cigarettes outside a store. garner who suffered from asthma is heard gasping and telling the officers he could not breathe. the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide and the grand jury panel is focussing on nypd officer daniel pant tell me low who is seen on the video wrapping his arms around garner's neck. the officer remains on desk duty and garner's death sparked protests outside new york city. it comes as tensions are already high following the grand jury's decision not to indict darren

wilson in the ferguson case. tremaine lee joins me from staten island. what are we hearing regarding the possibility that this is, in fact, coming down today. >> so what we're hearing is the grand jury of the 23-person grand jury is meeting at the staten island courthouse not far behind me. they began at 10:00 and could have a decision as early as 2:00. now there is still no indication when the announcement will be made. already outside you see a line of reporters and line of police outside. and also, a handful of protesters and demonstrators who said they came out here to make sure there's justice for eric garner and police are held accountable and what they have say have been a string of abuses particularly at the hands of police aimed at black men. >> we work to have guests on with us eugene o'donnell, i think he's here. he's a professor at john jay chicago of criminal justice. he served 14 years as nypd

officer. thank you so much. you wrote a piece and some of the points you make under new york state law police officers can use force to affect arrest, prevent escape, and protect themselves and others from physical harm. you go on to say that new york law provides that citizens may not footbaphysically resist. how does relate to the video and what we saw and the information we know from the prosecutors thus far? >> it's clearly a tragedy. it's clearly a police screw up. the issue is whether it's a criminal matter that should be prosecuted and i think the law in this case tend to favor the police not only what we have seen in ferguson but here. police have the authorization to use force to make arrests and in this case, that appears to be what they were doing. and the video appears to show that mr. garner was not ak

ensing to that arrest. and what the police meant to do. it did they mean to put him in custody or malicious reasoning behind what they were doing. were they trying to hurt him? did they have a complete disregard for his safety or something that ended tragically without their meaning for it to end that way. >> when you say and the quote was a police screw up. is that in an artful way of saying involuntary manslaughter? here you have a man whose life is ended now, a father, as a result of what you were refer to as a screw up. >> yeah. well, obviously that's the issue for the grand jury whether it crosses the line. it's clearly going to be a police department disciplinary matter whether it rises to the let level of being a criminal matter whether it was a gross deviation for standard of care and whether the grand jury sees that the police officer -- the officer testified whether he was remorseful or not. whether it was what they meant to have happen that will be the

issue for the grand jury. >> another point you made you say officers are not compelled to testify in front of a grand jury and doing so is risky if indicted officer testimony can be used to ensuring criminal, civil. we know ferguson darren wilson testified before the grand jury. we don't know the details but you make the point they're not compelled to testify in this state. >> sure. it's a risk for them to testify. it has worked out well traditionally not because people identify with the police. as we saw in ferguson, these are legal decisions. whenever people think about the policy issues that eric garner being arrested for a few cents of revenue from cigarettes, which is absurd, but that's not a policy question. it's a legal question about whether officers can use force in making an arrest where somebody is not complying with their order. we shouldn't be naive about this. all you have to do is balance at the belt that the police officer

wears and you see the devices they carry coerce. >> the officer testified in front of the grand jury for about two hours. let me go back to tremaine lee. we saw protests early on for those who were calling for a grand jury to hear this case. what is the tone in new york and amongst those who have been watching the garner case. many of those who repeated the chant over "i can't breathe" which is what you hear on the tape. on the video with mr. garner. >> certainly. over the last few months i've talked with various civil rights groups, community organizations and advocates. at the heart of this is a policy issue. the mayor bill de blasio whisked in condemning the city's stop and frisk law. this is about the broken window policy. police target low level offenses

and misdemeanor. in this case mr. garner was said to be selling loose cigarettes. there needs to be a policy shift. where the overpolicing of black communities doesn't end up like this. and so now advocates and protesters tell me they're planning for a major event the day after an announcement will be made. whether it's today, tomorrow, at some point this week. while there is still anger and frustration and waiting for justice, we have to remember eric garner's death sparked what was part of this large string of protests we've seen from a number of killings across the country that included eric garner, michael brown, john ferguson at the walmart in ohio. when we talk about touch the vein of this it's clearly ruptured. >> tremaine, thank you. eugene, thank you. to ferguson where authorities are considering whether to charge michael

brown's stepfather with inciting a riot. police say the investigation stems from this video taken moments after the grand jury's decision not to indict darren wilson. he's heard saying "burn this [ expletive ] down." he responded. he goes on to say. a spokings person said head is being looked at as part of a larger county and state investigation and to the event that unfolded the night of

november 24th including rioting, looting, and arson. i'm joined by usa today national reporter who has been covering the events in ferguson. thank you so much for joining us. as you well know, you look at social media, you have a great number of people that believe that michael brown's stepfather is being targeted. there are many people seen on the video. how are the police explaining at least their decision to look at him as a possible person to charge? >> how you said, they're saying they're looking at it as part of a larger investigation. they're saying they're looking at arson, robbery, and lewis. i tried to talk to them about what neens and what the charges might be. they're saying they don't want to say what he's being investigated for. that's from the st. louis county pd saying this morning saying that we're going give this all to the prosecuting attorney and that he's going to be able to decide what the charges are.

they're saying it's part of a larger investigation about what happened on that fatal monday night. because i have written a story about how someone lost their life. they want to figure out what happened and why it happened and part of that is looking into what lewis said but also part of that is looking what arson and robberies happened as well. >> right now there's a no time table given for the inquiry, but from what we do know is it that they are saying, you know, the shouting of those words caused the days of rioting and -- i shouldn't say rioting. most were peaceful protests but the protests that followed. what is the connection they're making? >> i think the potential connection i think they're still cautious of saying this is exactly what happened. i think the investigation, i think, is common sense to say if they're investigating a man who said burn this [ expletive ]

down they're looking into whether or not his words turned into action. whether or not people were listening to him and had his words in the back of their mind as they were burning down buildings. there's the idea there. i think that the governor and other people have said repeatedly this was the action of multiple criminals that were set out not just in listening to lewis but going for their own motives that there may have been selfish people. i think they're caution to say that he would be the reason why all this damage happened. we had dozens of buildings burned. it would be hard to say one person could do that. >> is there a worry we've had some days of calm at this point that the appearance of targeting mike brown's stepfather might set off another series of events. >> i think people are scared that -- if the man is really charged and we see a criminal investigation and criminal charges over someone who has said i'm sorry but, you know, i got really emotional because it's my stepson who was killed,

i think people would be really upset. will we see a return of violence? i don't want to speculate and say people will be violate. i think people are pushing. but there's a worry. there's definitely a worry that people are going to take this as you targeting a man who really needs to be helped and comforted by this community. especially, of course, as people are angry that the grand jury decision choice not to indict an officer. people would automatically say this officer would be getting away with killing a boy. that's what a lot of people have said. yet we have a man who is raw and emotional and he would-be criminalized. i think it would be common sense. i think a lot of people are very worried it would set off people and maybe possibly have more violence. >> thank you so much. developing now in cleveland, ohio, a funeral service is getting underway for tamir rice. the 12-year-old boy shot and killed by a rookie police officer earlier this month. surveillance video showed the officer shooting the boy who was

holding a toy gun just seconds after stopping his police car outside his city recreation center. police say rice reached for the gun moment before he was shot and that the officer did not know it was a toy. rice's death sparked anger and protests in the community. the police department is investigating the officer's use of deadly force and the prosecutor said it will be presented to a grand jury to decide whether any charges should be filed. the officer and his partner were placed on paid administrative leave. they've since returned to work but not on patrol. developing now the supreme court is hearing arguments in the case that could impact millions of women. this one involves a pregnant ups worker who asked for a moved assignment but ended up on unpaid leave. a live report is next. plus w bill cosby faces his first lawsuit over sexual abuse in nearly a decade. a new accuser says bill cosby molested her 40 years ago.

she said she was a minor at the time. and a first for major league baseball. dale scott becomes the first active umpire to come out as gay. it is one of the stories we're following around the "newsnation." you can join our conversation as so many already had in the 13 minutes we've been on, you can join my te team @"newsnation." you can find me on facebook, twitter and instagram. interactive entertainment begins with the cloud. this is "titanfall," the first multi-player game built and run on microsoft azure. empowering gamers around the world to interact in ways they never thought possible. this cloud turns data into excitement. this is the microsoft cloud. this is the equivalent of the and this is one soda a day

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welcome back. developing now oral arguments just ended at the supreme court in a pregnancy discrimination case that could affect millions of women who continue to work well into their pregnancies. [ chanting ]

>> those are just some of the protesters who gathered outside the court this morning to support peggy young. peggy young is a former ups driver from virginia who wanted to a temporary assignment to avoid lifting heavy packages after she became pregnant in 2006. but ups refused to accommodate her and she was forced to take unpaid leave and also lose her benefits. >> they basically told me that go home. we don't have anything you can do until you're no longer pregnant because you're a liability. >> now the justices will decide whether the company's actions violated the federal pregnancy discrimination act passed by congress in 1978. msnbc national report eer was there for the argument. she joins us live with details. we heard the women there chanting "stand with peggy." this potentially affects millions of people. it's been tangled up in the legal system for some time now.

there that's correct. what does a employer have to do if a worker is pregnant and needs some accommodation. i just walked out of the hearing here. what was clear is the female justices feel very strongly about this case. this oral argument belonged to justice kagan who took a strong course of questioning against the ups' attorney. what she said if the pregnancy discrimination act is to mean anything, it can't mean that you treat pregnant workers like anybody else. so you to compare them to whether others similarly situated employees get accommodations. the question is, is it enough to say i'm not firing you because you're pregnant. do you have to accommodate them? >> ups said it will voluntarily offer pregnant women lightened duties starting in january. but the company contended it complied with the law in peggy young's case. she lost two previous court rulings in this case. a district court decided in february, 2011, that ups' decision not to accommodate her

was gender neutral here. as you make the point, the question before the supreme court is whether ups was required to accommodate because it gave temporary assignments to some workers including those who were injured on the job or who had a condition that was covered by the americans with disabilities act. it sounded if they're equating or comparing pregnancy to a disability. and that sounds like the great concern for many of the women there >>well, i mean, pregnancy is a temporary disability only in as much it may impact your physical act to work. it's not saying pregnancy a bad thing. the question is more should we be comparing it to someone who is similar in their inability to work. if you're injured over the weekend. just now in oral argument justice breyer, which is a worrying thing. justice breyer seemed concern if you set up and say a class of workers gets an koojs why not

pregnant women. where does it ends? is the employer required to do all kinds of accommodation because one person one day got a special, quote, unquote treatment. do we treat pregnant workers like other workers with similar limitations? over the years apparently employers reached different conclusions about the act's language. the act passed in 1976. it seems some have left it to be interpreted in many ways. we'll see how this plays out. certainly women should keep an eye on this. as we said millions could be affected by what the supreme court decides here. thank you very much. >> thank you. attorneys for condemned killer have filed last minute appeals with the state and federal courts to halt his execution and set for 6:00 p.m. local time in texas. they're arguing the 56-year-old scott is severely mentally ill and he was diagnosed as being so long before he shot and killed his estranged wife's parents at their home in 1992.

a dozen conservative leaders are among those in a politically diverse coalition fighting to stop the execution. they asked governor rick perry to commute it to life sentence behind bars. the supreme court banned the execution. but acting on a appeal the justices ruled mentally ill prisoners could be put to death if they have the understanding of why they're be punished. police are searching for the person in this surveillance video suspected of killing an american teacher and mom in abu d dhabi. people in california dealing with new round of storms. after record-setting rain triggered mudslides and plenty of accidents. we'll get you caught up on the treacherous conditions happening out west. or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know genies can be really literal?

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announced it will expand the regional driver's side air bag recall nationwide. it comes one day after japanese air bag maker takata will not expand the recall along high humidity areas. the air bags in question can expand with too much force and shoot out shrapnel. the defect has been linked to at least five deaths. in california people are waking up to more rain than they've seen in a long time. another day of heavy precipitation in a state that needed it but can't handle three days of it. flash flooding and mudslides already a huge problem and a scene from los angeles to the bay area could get even worse. among the biggest fears what the rain is doing to the mountains that risk massive destruction of lane slides is real. jacob rascon is in california where crews are doing what they

can to stop the damage. what is the latest there? >> tamron, hi. they've done this before. they know where the mud flows. they have miles of concrete barriers and, of course, sandbags and the city here the city gave away 18,000 sandbags in the last couple of days. in southern california, they're learning when they get the big wild fires like this, and the big rainfalls the potential for mud is so high it's happened before. they've lost homes before. so those in the foothill community near where it burned recently many have left their homes. you see the concrete barriers in front of their homes. and though it's not raining now it comes and goes in waves. we had a wave on sunday. we had a big wave yesterday. the biggest storm to hit southern california this year 8.5 inches in one area in the san bernardino mountains. any moment the fear is the mud could come or it could take day,

months, or even longer to slide. >> all right jacob rascon, thank you very much for the update. bill cosby is facing a new civil lawsuit. a woman accusing him of sexually abusing her at the playboy mansion when she was just a minor. the latest on the new legal battle for bill cosby. also, ahead plibs a the gas pumps. why our first read team said falling gas prices could shake up american politics. that's the headline we'll dig behind it. and this. have you heard about this "eaten alive." wall loied by the most powerful snake on earth. he's going to join us live to explain why he did it and what we can learn from this.

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welcome back. gas prices continue to plunge across the country, and that news could shake up american politics. now the average price of gas nationwide is $2.70 a gallon. that is down $3.27 cents from this time last year. experts say the trend is almost certain to continue dropping below $2 a gallon in many places. oil prices also fallen 34%. a five-year low, by the way. these prices have the potential of moving the political needle in the coming months and beyond. joining me now is mark mur ray. my first question, if gas prices have the ability to move the political needle, did they have an impact in the midterms? gas was hovering very low. maybe not to this dollar but low. >> there's so much economic data that democrats thought was

heading in their direction going into the midterms. you can look at the gdp, the monthly job gains, the unemployment rates. a lot of statistics are things that americans can't feel all that much. if these lower gas prices are sustained, and we're talking not just over the next weeks but months, that is something that americans can feel. when you and are pumping gas into our car and see it only takes $35 to fill up tank instead of 50. that's $15 in your pocket and it does end up shaping perceptions. it matters if this is a long-term and sustainable thing rather than a short term deal. >> it's very interesting. people should go on and read first read today. i think it's a compelling conversation. i want to follow on chuck hagel's possible replacement ashton carter, of course, is the name floated around. nbc has some information. >> it seems to be the frontrunner for the position. ashton carter served in the number two position at the pentagon in the first part of

president obama's presidency. it's not a done deal. my colleague chris jansing reported that it seems likely that carter will be the pick but not a sure thing. my other colleague andrea mitchell has been reporting that carter is the frontrunner here. >> all right, mark murray. thank you very much. people should check out the first read to read more about the gas price situation could affect american politics. good read there. meanwhile, bill cosby is facing a new lawsuit this morning. it was follow file -- filed by a 55-year-old woman who claims that the comedian assaulted her 40 years ago. she said she was 15 at the time. nbc news national correspondent kate snow is here with the details. i saw you earlier on the "today" show along with lisa bloum. it's another legal problem. >> it is. for weeks we've been talking about one allegation after the next. allegations that cosby's attorneys refuted.

this latest allegation is now the first civil lawsuit to be filed against cosby since one was settle out of court in 2006. the new suit accuses cosby of, quote, childhood sexual abuse. >> yes, i saw what you saw. don't be worried about it. >> it was 1974, and bill was starring in movies. the woman filing suit said she was 15 with her 16-year-old friend when they saw a film set in a park near pasadena. they walked over to see what was going on they were approached by cosby who invited them to sit in a chair. court papers say judy huff now 55 said cosby asked how would they were and invited them to his tennis club are where he served them multiple drinks and brought them to the playboy mansions. later the suit allegations huff emerged from a bathroom and found cosby sitting on a bed, quote, he asked her to sit besides him. he proceeded to sexually molest

her. >> this sant criminal case. this is a civil case where it's all about money. she's seeking expense or it damages. >> an attorney for cosby had no comment about the new lawsuit. cosby has never been charged with any crime and in the past his attorney said other allegations were cosby were unsubstantia unsubstantiated. adding it makes no sense that the women who came forward for the first time ever -- huff said in the court filing that the incident 40 years ago had such a tender age caused psychological damage and significant problems throughout her life. cosby, he says, abused his position of trust. >> as for why she's only now filing the lawsuit, the lawsuit suggests that huff did not recognize the connection between her injuries and the sexual abuse until only recently. >> that statement, kate, is significant as far as the statute of limitations.

>> right. the way the law works in california, as i understand it. if you were a victim of child sexual assault you have to -- once you recognize that say you remember it years later, you have three years from the point you connect the dots and remember the abuse you have three years to file. she's arguing that she only recently recognized this so they can meet the statute of limitations. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. right now the fda is reconsidering the ban on blood donations from gay men during a second day of hearings. new reports say the feds are, quote, weary of lifting this controversial ban. up next i'll talk live with the crow and president of the gay rights group g.l.a.d. and this. >> it's amazing. why is this the best christmas ever? >> yes. >> houston, texas began andré johnson treats kids in need to a special holiday tradition. something to make you smile today, i hope! it's one of the stories we're following around the "newsnation." how much money do you have in your pocket right now?

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welcome back. a major league umpire has become the first openly gay game official of any major professional sport. dale scott an mlb ump for the past 29 years acknowledged he's gay by submitting a photograph of himself and his long time photograph of himself and his partner. he called games during three world series and never hid his sexuality but he choice to come out now because it's the right thing to do. major league baseball, unlike the nba, or nfl currently doesn't have an openly gay player. it considers overturning a 30-year-old rule that bans gay men from giving blood donations. this ban dates back to 1983. that year the fda opposed a policy that barred blood donations from any man who had

sex with another man after 1976 when the epidemic started. many medical groups including american medical association said the policy is outdated and no longer supported by science. giving advances in testing and gay activists say the ban is discrimination and perpetuates negative stereo types. last month a separate panel of experts convened and voted overwhelmingly in favor of doing away with the ban. the panel recommended moving to a one-year deferral period which would bar male donors who had sex with men in the previous 12 months. the fda panel meeting now is, quote, weary of lifting the ban. joining me now is sara candidate ellis thank you for joining us. most people didn't know the ban existed. i have to say, i think in the '80s and '90s when the aids epidemic was the headline on the evening news, i think people

were aware, but now this ban that is not often discussed is being challenged. >> it's time it should be challenge fpd should have been challenged a long time ago. ic what we need to look at is people's behavior not who they are. we're looking at a whole group of people gay men and bisexual men who are being kept out of donating blood. for no good reason. we have proper screeners in place to test for these types of things. >> the fda in the past defended the ban that men who have sex with other men account for more than half of the new hiv cases in the country. that science and technology allows do you properly test blood and keep the blood supply safe. >> yes. correct. those screeners are in place. i also think what we're looking at is we have, you know, hundreds and millions or a million men, at least, who are

in ma nag mouse relationship. >> when you look at, as you point out science and advancement in technology, government figures show that men who had sex with other men represent about 2% of u.s. population yet account for 62% of all new hiv infections in the country. when you hear that number and if you are part of the group trying to convince the fda that this is discrimination and this is a ban whose time has come and gone. how do you combat -- but how do you look at the numbers and reassure the public that the blood supply remains safe? >> i think it's about science and technology. we have the proper screeners. and the fda working with the fda we have those in place. we can base it on science and not on previous stereotypes. >> the blood supply if the ban is lifted, according to the williams institute lifting the ban would increase the annual u

blood supply by up to 615,000 pints of blood this year. they estimate 360,000 men would come forward to give blood. yes, this is about the blood supply in donations but to your point, it's also about not alien ating a group of people. >> right. this is about keeping old stereo types in place. we don't want to do that. we're trying to move forward as a nation, i think that the fda has a moment here where they can do that and help us move forward. >> how confident are you that the ban will be lifted? >> i'm hopeful. hopeful. >> okay. we know in 1990 the fda refused to accept blood from haitian donors on it was likely to contain hiv. the fda lifted that ban less than a year later. >> they do. and they're seeing a lot of pressure from advocacy groups. >> universities. >> ama and the red cross. a groups are saying it's

outdated. >> we'll follow it. thank you so much. and american teacher who police say was stabbed to death in a public restroom in abu dahdi. the suspect work through the upscale mall. so far the u.s. embassy and police have not released the identity of the victim. we know the victim was a 37-year-old mother of two police say got into a fight with her attacker inside the mall restroom. the suspect is at large and police don't even know if they're looking for a man or a woman. in detroit city officials are hoping a four-year $200 million upgrade to the ageing power grid will help keep the lights on in the motor city. the upgrade was in the works. after yesterday's wide spread blackouts a lot is riding on the work there. and 160-megayacht called the

rock star got slammed when a piece of the drawbridge it was passing under collapsed. no one aboard the yacht was hurt. traffic was snarled while the tugboat came to rescue it. the yacht is owned by rock star, the energy drink company, and in case you want to buy it -- because i hear it's for sale. i'm not kidding. the asking price is $21 million. something i think i you will care about. a houston, texas offering a shopping spree that become the annual tradition. johnson wears the number 80 give kids 80 seconds to cram toys into their carts. every year he's surprised by how much damage they can do in a few minutes. he's happy to pay the tab. this year's receipt $16,000. kudos to him.

chicago becoming the next city to increase minimum wage. it's one of the stories we're following today. plus, strange but true. eaten by an anaconda. i'm talking with the man behind the daring, dangerous stunt. why did he decide to do this. is it science? or is it just so we can scream while watching the show. we'll ask him. i have a cold with terrible chest congestion. better take something.

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welcome back. time now for the "newsnation" gut check. at the top of the show, authorities in st. louis are considering whether to charge michael brown's stepfather with attempting to incite a riot. stems from this video taken the night of the grand jury's decision not to indict darren wilson. the hours following turned chaotic with several fires

rioting and looting. some of the fires are being investigated as arson. he is not being singled out but is part of a large state and county investigation surrounding what happened the night of november 24th. he has apologized for what he said in a statement. in part, but he went on to say to place blame solely on me for the conditions of our community goes way too far and is as wrong as the decision itself. he says he was emotional after the decision given by the grand jury. so what does your gut tell you? do you think michael brown's stepfather is being unfairly investigated? go to newsnation.msnbc to cast a vote. we told you about president obama's proposal for law enforcement in wake of the ferguson verdict. he's asking for $263 million over three years for additional training of police officers and other resources, including up to 50,000 body cameras for police officers across this country.

we asked you if we thought the president's plan to combat distrust between police and minority communities will help. well, listen to this one, you were pretty split on it. 52% said, yes, and a close 48% said no. so, moving on to something very different. what would possess anyone to seek out the biggest most powerful snake on the planet, then tempt it to swallow you whole. it's a strange question i'm reading from this teleprompter, but i'll ask my next guest. he's a conservationist intending to become prey for the anaconda. and sure enough, he and his team found a 20-foot 400 pound monster large enough to swallow him head first, and it was captured for, my favorite channel discovery channel. take a look.

>> and paul joins me here live to talk about it. it's so good to see you. >> good to see you, too. >> i have to tell you, my floor director mike who doesn't pay attention to anything i do ever, he just stopped and could not stop watching that screen. he watches the dallas cowboys and this show with you. that's it. what is going on there? >> that is me being constricted by a 20-foot anaconda as you said. >> yeah. >> and in the throes of really getting crushed by that snake. >> okay. let's start with why. >> okay. the reason for why. i actually work in the amazon, i work studying anacondas and trying to protect habitat there. and, of course, this is a system that provides a fifth of our planet's oxygen. it's a crucial system on a global level.

now, researchers and activists have been trying to protect the rain forests for decades. and i've been there watching this habitat decrease and decrease. and we wanted to do something that would really shock people. something we could grab people's attention with. now, i'm familiar with anacondas. i've studied them for a while. and this idea came about as a way to get people's attention. and through the show, we're studying anacondas. we're doing a massive fundraiser to protect the rain forest. this is really a way to get people excited about this eco system and really to tell people what's going on there. you can't protect it if -- >> you're luring us in by being swallowed by an anaconda while you're going down. you're going to be like, hey, amazon. protect the rain forest. >> everybody thought this. i was actually looking at a patch of forest that had been burnt to the ground. >> this is like a spiritual. >> i imagine you want something so beautiful and so essential to all of us. and you're thinking this will be

gone if i don't do something drastic. the part of people trying to do something here. >> that's the thing, in the next 50 years, it's going to determine whether a lot of these species that we hold dear like elephants and tigers and a lot of the important ecosystems that keep us alive are going to survi survive. >> how do you train for this? how do you start out? what are you -- >> you start small. >> you start small. >> oh, my god. i can't believe i asked that. you start small, you work your way up to the anaconda. are you terrified? >> no, i mean for me, i love the species. i'm fascinated by -- >> but were you afraid? >> i wasn't afraid. we took a lot of care to make sure the suit was strong. >> and that the anaconda was not hurt. >> absolutely. they swallow prey like crocodiles have spikes and claws and teeth. >> i saw something on the internet once where the snake tried to eat a little alligator and the snake like ruptured. >> yep. the burmese python.

>> weren't you worried you could damage the anaconda? >> again, a burmese -- an alligator would have claws on it that would scratch the inside of the snake. it could have eaten while it was still alive. we don't know what happened. this suit, we took a lot of care to make sure the suit was smooth, experts on hand. showing people the power of these snakes and with the mission of protecting the habitat. >> all right. i'm rooting for you. and, of course, i think it's amazing work you've done as a conservationist and not a daredevil. and we share a friend. all right. well, you know what, you can watch eaten alive this sunday at 9:00 p.m. eastern time, 8:00 central on discovery channel. i will be watching and see what happens. that does it for this edition of "newsnation." up next, andrea mitchell reports. it's time for your business entrepreneur of the week. gabriel wanted funding for wash cycle laundry. his bike laundry pick-up and

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and a mother of twins is stabbed to death in abu dhabi. now the hunt is on for her killer captured on security video. pregnant pause, the case of a former u.p.s. worker who claims illegal discrimination during her pregnancy. >> they basically told me, go home, we don't have anything you can do until you're no longer pregnant because you're a liability. immigration jam. president obama tries to jumpstart congressional action today while brian williams slow jams the issue with jimmy fallon and the roots. >> the president has defended his decision arguing that he would've preferred to have congress pass a permanent immigration bill which he said he would gladly sign, but instead, they have yet to take action. so the president felt he had to do it himself. >> mmm mmm mmm. take it from my man breezy wheezy.