tv News Nation MSNBC December 31, 2014 8:00am-9:01am PST
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more now from nbc's katie tur. >> it's nighttime here in surabaya indonesia. day four of the search. it was another tough one for families as they pulled out even more debris and even more bodies from the water. this morning reports that sonar may have located the plane at the bottom of the sea. this man said at last we have news that the plane has been found. i hope the next process of evacuation can be done fast. as the first bodies arrive from the crash site of flight 8501 these two victims, a woman and a teenage body. seven bodies in total have been recovered, one in her flight attendant's uniform. all amid the debris in the java sea. and now the american ship the uss sampson is on location to provide assistance. but authorities say heavy tides and rain are slowing the effort. back on land officials are preparing for the arduous process of identification. collecting dna and other information from relatives to help pick out the dead.
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a makeshift morgue made of shipping containers sits empty. relatives pray and sing. we believe that our life and death are in god's hands, she says. we must prepare everything because we never know when we will die. as for those sonar images the ceo of airasia said they do not have sonar images at the moment of the fuselage. there is still officially a waiting word they have found the bulk of the plane. meanwhile, relatives say they're not giving up hope until the last second to find one of their loved ones still alive out there. ayman? >> let's go to washington, d.c. tom costello covers aviation for us there. tom, i want to ask airasia officials are saying it's not confirmed that the wreckage has been found but if it is on the seabed in waters between 100 to 165 feet deep how easy or difficult is it going to be for
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divers to reach that? >> i think it will be a challenge. i think you have hit the right word. divers. we're talking about divers being able to go down to the wreckage as 0 positived to an unmanned vehicle. a submerseible vehicle we saw for air france and the kind of vehicles we saw used in searching for malaysian airlines flight 370. it's a relatively shallow sea. 100 feet down is within the capability of the navies. it has the divers that technology, that expertise available. the australians would, as well so this is, you know in a terrible situation at least the good news is that it should be a retrievable wreck and they should be able to find those black boxes. >> tom, we know that bad weather has effected the search area today and indonesia officials have been saying that the wreckage is slowly drifting from the crash site. is that a problem at all? does it present a problem for this recovery process?
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>> yeah i think it just makes it extraordinarily difficult to recover the victims and any floating debris because, of course, you have high sea swells, you have high winds, and that is going to move this debris. keep in mind the plane went down early sunday morning indonesian time. we're now talking about what is it coming up on thursday or so right in that region. so it is entirely possible that debris has shifted. will continue to shift. however, the bulk of the wreckage is likely sitting on the floor of the ocean. that's unlikely to move. it's probably where it's sank. where it hit the water and sank. and once they have that pinpointed, therefore they know where to go-to-look for the black boxes and the chances are, ayman, that the majority of the victims are still inside the fuselage and sitting inside the plane at the bottom of the ocean. if that's the case they're not going to go anywhere based on
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what is happening above, of course, with the sea and the wind. >> we also know tom, that radar data has suggested that the plane made a steep climb before it crashed. what does that tell you about what might have happened? >> yeah. i have to say, you know, this is one of those unconfirmed e roanous reports that we do not have confirmed. it's not confirmed by my own reporting. my own reporting has the plane was last on the radar scope at 36,300 feet. there's other unnamed sources that are being quoted as saying it may have gone much higher and it may have gone in fact beyond the plane's capabilities. i would caution that we don't have that ourselves, and as we saw with malaysian airlines 370 there's a lot of reports out of the region that are unconfirmed and later proved to be erroneous and inaccurate. the radar data from that part of the world is not always complete
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and not always provide a good picture. i think we can't draw any conclusions from that. we simply don't know if it's accurate. what we know is the plane had -- was 32,000 feet. requested to go to 38,000 feet because the storms in the area. it was clear to go to 34. the last known site according to the radar was at 36. how did it get from 34 to 36 which is well within the plane's capability? it could have caught an updraft. it could have been picked up by the currents of the weather. it could have been the pilots trying to take e vassive action. we don't know. if the plane had gone much beyond that in other words, as that reports suggests even higher, we simply don't have that. i would caution that it may not be accurate at all. >> tom costello helping us sift through that out there right now. a lot of information. thank you very much for clarifying that point. we'll be following it throughout the course of the next several days. to the other big developing
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story. dangerously cold weather for new year eve. 95% of the country is facing below normal temperatures today. it could be a top ten coldest new year's eve for several southern cities. overnight firefighters rescued more than 100 people trapped on snowy mountain roads in california. after a foot of snow. officials are watching the forecast closely in las vegas with a rare snowfall expected tonight into tomorrow. the glit city's new year's fire work show could be postponed if the winds are too high. joining me now is rafael miranda from wnbc. what can people expect tonight as they go out for new year's eve. they can expect bitter cold. we have a rare snow event in las vegas. they haven't seen snow since 2008. we're tracking rain and snow showers around the las vegas area. and we are expecting up to an inch of snow in some parts of
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the strip. the tourists there for warmer weather won't find it today. new year's eve you can see las vegas forecast 35 degrees. up to an inch of snow. up to an inch doesn't seem like a lot. out there that can cause significant travel problems. not used to any snow on the ground across the dessert southwest. and new year's day chilly with temperatures in the 30s. we could see a wide expanse the winter storm is covering. we have winter storm warnings through california and texas and oklahoma. winter weather advisory in effect for las vegas proper. you can see on the satellite radar picture rain extending from the san diego area back toward desert southwest and rain and snow of course in the higher elevations. besides the snow we're dealing with brutal windchills. take a look at portions of the intermountain west. 41 below zero. that is what it feels like now. we have windchills well below zero in the midwest. the cold continues. the blizzard conditions possible
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across the mountains of the southwest. it's quiet and cold in the northeast. later on tonight around midnight, expect to bundle up. you can see almost everyone there's no escaping the cold except for florida tonight. temperatures will be in the 60s and 70s. windchills here in the northeast and the teens and 20s. a cold way to welcome in 2015. >> a cold night to end out 2014. thank you very much for that weather update. it's 2015 in other parts of the world. new zealand was the first to ring in the new year at 6:00 a.m. eastern time. ♪ ♪ this was the scene this morning around 8:00 a.m. eastern in sydney australia, and just moments ago hong kong -- here in new york all eyes are on times square where police are out in full force trying to make sure
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tonight's festivities are safe for everyone. nbc's stefanie gosk joins me. will this year be different than last years given the tensions in new york? >> hey, ayman. the nypd hasn't made public any significant changes of the security set up. this year like all other years there's going to be an incredible presence on the ground. in addition to the thousands of extra police officers on hand you'll have counter terrorism units, bomb squads there will be rooftop patrols, and they're going to be running regular security checks along the streets here. the hotels the shops. they'll be doing those sweeps as people pile in here. a crowd of hundreds of thousands of expected. they'll be putting these pens that are barricaded off -- >> seems like we lost that connection there from times square with stefanie gosk. we'll be following that throughout the course of the day. congress is prepping up for their return from recess next
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week and lawmakers will face global crisis that have fallen off the radar. up next i'll talk live with texas congresswoman sheila jackson lee about what is on the agenda. a heartbreaking tragedy. a toddler accidentally shot and killed his mother during a holiday shopping trip. how police say it happened. plus flu season is here earlier and more aggressive than what we've seen with wide spread activity in more than half the country. why this season is so much more worse than others. it's one of the stories we're following around the "newsnation." join our conversation online.
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afghanistan. one week after the president declared the end of u.s. combat operations in that country. a statement put out by speaker boehner's office reads, quote, as we've seen in iraq with the rise of isil arbitrary political deadlines on war are rarely observed or honored by our terrorist enemies. has president obama not learned from his mistakes in iraq? joining me now is texas congresswoman sheila jackson-lee. a senior member of the security homeland committee and cochair of the congressional afghanistan caucus. happy new year. i want to start off by getting your reaction to speaker boehner boehner's comments. many point to what has happened in iraq after the withdrawal of american troops. the rise in violence the emergence of isis and say the same could happen in afghanistan. what do you think america has learned from the iraq experience and how will afghanistan be any different? >> as i do that, let me offer my think sympathy to the families the
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airasia tragedy and express my sympathy for their loss. i wish our speaker would see the good of what has been accomplished in afghanistan albeit we were distracted by moving to iraq in the middle of the afghan war. i think the president has made a thoughtful decision. first, we must honor the more than 2 2200 men and women who died in the united states military and total of 3500 around the war. it made it the longest war we've known in our history here in the united states and it is time for a resolution to come. the resolution is an important thoughtful one. we're leaving behind close to 11,000 troops. 11,000 are united states advisers and others working with the new afghan military. we're leaving behind a leader of
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afghanistan who tried to bring people together and asked for a presence to remain. isis is a continuing franchise threat. meaning that it moves from place to place where there is -- also of course, the taliban is present. we know there are conflicting challenges to the peace of afghanistan. but a continued presence of nato troops and nato allies will not be the answer. i think speaker boehner is wrong. i do think we have to be a cautiously optimistic but we have to be vigilant and ready to be able to prop up the afghan military in many different ways other than a massive force that we had over the decade plus of had 142,000 to 180,000 troops. we must find a way for afghanistan to stand strongly
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for the peace and tranquility of their people. >> let's talk about the 114th congress, which convenes next week for the first time. what do you think should be at the top of the agenda this coming year and do you think congress can do a better job of coming together in a bipartisan way than what we have seen recently? >> you know, i hope so. without undermining our values. we know people come and represent their constituencies. there will be voices that have to be raise on behalf of our constituencies. for one, there are going to be many of us in the progressive caucus and many other caucuses that are not going to tolerate heinous cuts to food stamps and education and the environment. but i do think there are matters we should come together on. we need to pass a reauthorization of the voting rights bill. right now in the 50th year of the 1965 voting rights act. we need to do comprehensive immigration reform rather than throwing stones at the legal
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executive order, and we really need to look at the criminal justice system on both sides. law enforcement and those who have become victims in tragedies we have accounted and known over these past months. we need to come around the table and recognize that we're not enemies but we're friends and americans that can do things in the right way. that's what the leadership in the house and senate now republicans they should look to represent america and america is a very diverse nation. >> congresswoman very quickly i want to get your reaction to one the controversies hitting the new republican led congressman. steve scalise has come under fire for speaking to a white supremacist group nearly 12 years ago. what is your reaction? >> enormously disappointing. it was not 50 years ago. it was 12 years ago, and every member knows what david duke stands for. any organization that was affiliated at that time with david duke is obviously the ku
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klux klan. we know what the ku clux clan stands for the hate of killing of jews african-americans, catholics. i'm enormously disappointed and i believe it is important for further statements to come from the whip. he's the majority whip. he's the whip of all the nation even as he's leadership of the united states congress. why doesn't he take the leadership of reauthorizing the voting rights act working in a bipartisan manner of moving forward on criminal justice reform, or even working to pass immigration reform? i think it's got to be more than words. it's got to be action. and i think the republican leadership, the republicans in the house and the senate have a huge mountain to climb because it was not in the dark ages he made the speech. it was a few years ago when everybody has known and lived through the damaging actions of the ku klux klan. >> congresswoman sheila jackson lee, thank you very much for joining us this morning. happy new year to you and yours. up next a family's tragedy.
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for christmas. in a statement to nbc news walmart told the shooting a sad incident and said they're working with the sheriff's department to investigate what happened. relative s relatives a shining star who was taken from them much too soon. >> just after christmas. right before the new year. it's tragic. tragic accident. >> compounding the tragedy family members say the three young nieces who were with rutledge at the time of the incident witnessed the entire thing were younger than 11 years old. ayman? >> john yang live for us from chicago with the tragic story. thank you. up next reaction to the u.n.'s rejection of a palestinian resolution calling for state
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hood. hood hood. a notion voted in favor of the resolution but the u.s. voted against it. what happened now. also, ahead from the capital to cannabis. what former u.s. senator will run a marijuana company. it's one of the things we thought you should know. ring ring! progresso! i can't believe i'm eating bacon and rich creamy cheese before my sister's wedding well it's only 100 calories, so you'll be ready for that dress uh-huh... you don't love the dress? i love my sister... 40 flavors. 100 calories or less.
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ok... meantime the first two bodies have arrived from the crash site for identification. officials say they're those of a woman and a teenage boy. a total of seven bodies have been now been recovered. louisiana congressman steve scalise publicly apologized for a speech he made in front of a white sprem sigs group 2012 years ago.
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he said quote it was a mistake i regret and i oppose the religious views groups like this one hold. house gop leaders are coming to the defense of the majority whip as they try to contain the political fall out. kevin mccarthy issued statements in support of the congressman. but that has called for the gop's number three to step down from the leadership post. joining me live now nbc news political editor carrie danthis, n. they're calling on steve scalise to resign. this is not the way house republicans wanted to start the new year. >> absolutely not. you know republicans had a pretty good end to the year. they had historic gains in those 2014 mid term elections. the house majority will go in with the largest margety tymajority they've had since 1929. they managed to get a budget deal before they recessed.
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they're coming into the new year instead of the biggest majority we're going to get things done and governor. they have the shadow of the scandal over them. house speaker did one away with other possible cloud michael grimm who plead guilty to a felony count of tax evasion. he pledged to stay in congress. he's announced he's going to be stepping down. that's one headache resolved. this is going to take up a lot of oxygen going into the new year for the republican majority. >> i want to throw up a statement that was said by speaker boehner. i know steve to be a man of high integrity and good character. he has my full confidence as our whip and he'll continue to do great and important work for all americans. now politico reports that scalise has been making other calls to explain the issue and maintain support, but how could this story affect his standings within the rank and file of the republican party? >> well, the statement from john boehner was not a wishy washy one. it was strong. he's a man of high integrity.
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i think it's a signal from house leadership they feel confident this is the end of the story. now i think the thing to watch for any further revelations come forward about things steve has said or supported in the past that could change the game here. right now the house republicans have really circled the wagon. you have seen a lot of statements from support from rank and file and from leadership. the number two republican house kevin mccarthy put out a statement that was very supportive of scalise. i think looking into the new year you may see some more conservative activist ss blaming this on speaker boehner. if there aren't further revelations that come to light, he seems to be in a pretty good position. >> do you think the story, because it touches on the issue of race in the country. will it set back the gop's effort to broaden this deal? >> well, it is never a good thing to have democrats being
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able to say about your party one of the most -- it's a third house ranking republican. one is how people in their that's not certainly something wants want to see in headlines. you have to remember it's a party that has been very open about how they want to reach out beyond white voters. they only received 17 percent of the vote in the last 2012 presidential election. they know they need to reach out to other voters. they may have been losing ground with hispanics over the issue of immigration. so clearly a headline like this does no favors. republican leaders want the story to go away as fast as possible. >> thank you very much, carrie. a major development now at the u.n. trying to achieve mideast peace. late yesterday the united nations security council rejected a palestinian resolution calling for an israeli withdrawal from the occupied west bank. and the establishment of a palestinian state by late 2017. the resolution needed nine votes
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for approval. there were eight votes in favor. including france russia and china plus five among them britain. the u.s. and australia voted no. >> we voted against the resolution not because we are comfortable with the status quo. we voted against it because we know what everyone here knows as well. peace will come from hard choices and surprises that must be made at the negotiating table. >> joining me live now senior fellow at the center for american progress where he focuses on the u.s. policy toward the middle east. brian, the resolution had no chance of being approved because the u.s. said it would have vetoed or exercised the veto power in the security council. but the palestinians insisted on putting the vote before the end of the year. what did they hope to accomplish? >> i think the palestinian president is very desperate at this point. he has not been able to succeed
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in seeing major gains from negotiations which collapsed earlier this spring. and his political space is weakened within his own party. he's got the challenge from hamas in the gaza strip that criticized the move and wants the palestinians to do even more forceful measures through the u.n. so i think he was trying to get some sort of propaganda victory, but i fear it ends up making him seem weaker in this context. it mystifies people they went to this vote at this time with some of the new members coming on. the nonpermanent members next year which may have been more supportive like malaysian. >> u.s. ambassador samantha power had a message for israel on the issue. let me play what she had to say. >> we will continue to oppose action by both sides that we view as detrimental to the cause of peace. whether the actions come in the form of settlement activity or in balance draft resolution in the council. >> the resolution had the support of the 22 arab countries. why would the u.s. reject the
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resolution calling for a comprehensive peace deal to end occupation and for a free palestinian state. a stated objective of u.s. foreign policy to have a two-state pollutionsolution. >> as a practical matter the united states as well as israel believe an negotiated settlement is the way to go. resolutions like these don't end gender trust and send a message to the israelis. the pragmatic sense that the israelis would not respond favorably to this. it's not the best avenue. so i think this is a main reason. i think the question is what are they doing next? i think the situation as you know well in gaza is tenuous. the security situation at any point could actually tip over to another dangerous scenario like we saw this summer. >> the palestinian observer thanked delegates that voted for the resolution noting that lawmakers and number of countries called for a recognition of a palestinian state. he added that the palestinian leadership, quote, must now
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consider the next steps. the palestinians have threatened to join the international criminal corps. as they could use as a form to push war crimes against israel. do you expect that will happen? you were alluding to that about the next response about the next possible force of action. >> it could be. reportedly the palestinian leadership is meeting this evening to discuss the next step. but again i think they should think through what are the likely reactions to going down the icc route or going that way as opposed to seeing for we can get back to the negotiation table. because if they go down that path, there could be backlash in the form of cutoff of assistance to the palestinian authority. as we know the pam authority is extremely weak and heavily dependent end on foreign aid including aid from the united states. >> certainly it's going to be complicated by the upcoming israeli elections in march. thank you very much for that. up next we'll look back at this year's long list of political scandals from the kissing congressman to convicted
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felonies to the toronto mayor. i'll talk live with a reporter who calls 2014 quote, a delictoly good year for sleaze. how cars became buried in an avalanche of salt in chicago. [coughing] dave, i'm sorry to interrupt... i gotta take a sick day tomorrow. dads don't take sick days, dads take nyquil. the nighttime, sniffling sneezing, coughing aching, fever, best sleep with a cold medicine.
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. the so far a nasty flu season out there. that tops our look at stories around the "newsnation" today. the centers for disease control declared a flu epidemic this week due to the large number in severity of cases that required hospitalzation this season appears worse because the predominant strain the h 3 n 1 has more symptoms and not covered by the current vaccine. several brand new cars were destroyed after being buried in salt. a wall collapsed at the morton salt warehouse yesterday causing
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the salt to come pouring out covering 11 dealers at the accura dealership. the controversy surrounding congressman steve scalise and michael grimm are just the latest in what has been a long list of political scandal in 2014. patricia murphy compiled a catalog of bad behavior from cocaine to tax chief to bribe taking. this year's culprits range from the illegal to the incompetent and even the tragic. patricia murphy joins me now. happy new year. let's start once considered a rising star in politics. bob mcdonnell. >> the governor of virginia. he campaigned as a christian family man. he was really a well respected by the virginia business community as by christian conservatives. it made him a natural guest for
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anybody to have a national political career. this year though bob mcdonnell went on trial with his wife ma maureen. they were convicted on counts of corruption. almost as bad as the sentences they're probably about to get. really the whole trial exposed just a terrible break down in their family. they were blaming each other for everything that went wrong. they both took hundreds of thousands of gifts, loans, bribes from a veteran salesmen. just a very ugly personal episode and ended career of one of the go gop's rising star. >> another scandal congressman tray raid l of florida. >> nicknamed the cocaine congressman. you think your career would be over by then. he thought he wasn't going to be finished. he bought three grams of cocaine a short distance from the
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capitol. he bought it from an undercover fbi agent. that was the beginning of the end. he was convicted on cocaine possession. he said he wasn't going to resign. a conversation with john boehner and republicans in his district changed that. he's back home no. no longer in congress. he's back on twitter. i want people to know they don't have to go far to find what radel is up to. >> this hurt the democrats. that is senator john walsh. >> john walsh was the lieutenant governor of montana. he was appointed to fill the seat of max baa kus. he would be the incumbent senator, easier for raising money and touting everything he's been able to do in the senate. a few months in the new york times reported he had plagiarized pieces from the army war college.
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he initially said he didn't do anything wrong. he then later told the ap he had been suffering from ptsd while he was writing the thesis. he didn't resign but he did say he wouldn't run for senator. it didn't give democrats enough time to run against the republican who was a strong candidate and the democrats lost that race. the republican will be sworn in. >> the next doesn't involve american politicians. but it gets an honorable mention. toronto's mayor rob ford. >> what else can you say? rob ford. the mayor of toronto for two terms. he was accused of taking crack cocaine. he denies that. a video cape out-- came out smoking cocake. his excuse he was drunk. that's not going to help your political career too much. but he served out his term. he's actually been re-elected to be a toronto city councilmen. so he will remain in the public spotlight. he's not an american but
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american media loved this story. that's why he was on our list. >> incredible year of scandal. thank you very much for that. from the year in scandal to the year in science. up next 2014's spectacular achievements in space including landing on a moving comet and potential signs of life on mars. plus you may be surprised by one of the people queen elizabeth is nighting. one of the things we thought you should know. first, behind the scenes look at life with the first family over the past year. chief official white house photographer and his team released these pictures capturing moments away from the spotlight. as we go to break, here is a look at the pictures many have never seen before. the schelp then the spill. now the scrub and the second guess. finally, the rewash. or you can make it easy
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have you heard of the new dialing procedure for for the 415 and 628 area codes? no what is it? starting february 21, 2015 if you have a 415 or 628 number you'll need to dial... 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. okay, but what if i have a 415 number, and i'm calling a 415 number? you'll still need to dial... 1 plus the area code plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out!
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there's a lot going on this morning. here are some of the things we thought you should know. former president george h.w. bush is resting breath. at age 90 he is the nation's oldest living president. former democratic senator of alaska has a new job, new ceo of a company that produces marijuana, both for recreational and medical use. he served two terms in the senate from 1969 to 1981. among those awarded knighthood yesterday by queen elizabeth, the so-called father of viagra british scientist dr. simon campbell oversaw a research on viagra while working for the company pfizer. those are the things we thought you should know. on this final day of 2014 we turn to some of the year's stunning achievements in science, spectacular pictures sent back recently from the mars
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rover and photo from deep space that may show how planets are formed. from physics and space science, hakeem holashay. >> now the mars rover has seen an elevated methane signal from mars and it can be produce bid natural processes but also by life. it's inclusonclusive but very strong inspiration that there may be life there. >> doing it35,000 miles an hour.
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>> that is incredible just the idea of intercepting the comet and meeting it as it travels through the solar system that was a remarkable achievement. going in orbit and studying the comet and then landing on the comet was spectacular. it had the whole world enthralled. i was sitting here watching it myself. >> you also highlight a discovery by the spacecraft exploring saturn. what was the significance of that? >> well what happened there's a small moon and this moon has these cracks in it. and under these cracks is a lake an underworld sea. and these plumes of water are shooting out. and so now here is another possible location in our solar system that may harbor life. >> now this is quite a powerful image. i want you to talk to us a little bit about it. spectacular image by the telescope. >> we have ideas how planets form. they're based in science and
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very rigorous. until you actually see it yourself, you don't really know that that is what actually happened. so this idea that we have of planet formation is that this giant cloud forms a disk and as the planets form they'll begin to gravitationally sweep out regions that look like little circles around the star clearing out that area in a process known as acretion. we see here in very clear detail the process of planet formation for the very first time in this sharp detail. >> you described this year as inspiring. when do you connect the dots of all these small accomplishments, what is the big picture of human exploration in space that we can take from all of these? >> we are learning about our place in the universe for the very first time. we can see new planets forming, places where there may be life. this inspires us to continue forward, right? humans will ultimately have to
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leave the planet. hopefully, this will result in continued and increasing investment in this area of our national and private endeavors. >> let me ask you very quickly. we're talking about 2014. looking ahead into 2015 what do you expect? what are some of the big things we can see in 2015 in both scientific world and further space exploration? >> well i'm really excited by three things. number one, new horizon spacecraft is going to approach pluto. we're going to get close-up views of pluto and its moons. the second thing is that the rosetta spacecraft is orbitting the comet. as it approaches the sun it's going to turn on and form a tail. we'll watch that upclose. finally, the privatization of space. nasa, at the end of the year gave two contracts to companies for mining asteroids. and so now we're about to step out, not just with the national programs from governments like the u.s. and nasa but now
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private companies are taking it to the next level. >> lot of exciting developments in the space world. we'll be following that closely in 2015. thank you very much, hakeem on that insight. >> thank you. >> we want to tell but a special tamron hall is hosting on own tomorrow night. tamron looks back at historic moments on the oprah winfrey show that covered race relations and civil rights. >> 25-year run smack dab was the trial of the century, o.j. simpson's murder trial, a defining moment in our culture that spoke volumes about where we stood as a nation when it came to race. the lights were on. cameras were rolling, right here in this studio as the verdict came down live. >> it is shortly before noon chicago time. and history is in the making. by the time you all see this you will already know the o.j. verdict, but we, just like the rest of the country, are waiting to hear it live for the very first time. >> the special "race on the
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oprah winfrey show with tamron hall" airs tomorrow january 1st at 10:00 pm eastern on own. that does it for this edition of news nation. i'm ayman mulhuydin in for tamron hall. opening her hand crafted clothing line on etsy five years ago. she used the marketing power of the site to expand into retail and become a finalist in martha stewart's american made awards. for more watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. >> brought to you by american express open. visit open forum.com for ideas to help you grow your business. 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.
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right now on "andrea mitchell reports," happy new year. it's already 2015 on the other side of the globe. thailand is counting down the minutes following massive celebrations in china. what to expect here in the u.s. with a full weather forecast and preview from times square. recovery mission, bad weather complicates the efforts and sends debris drifting with conditions not expected to improve any time soon. >> the weather, unfortunately, is not looking good for the next two or three days. and that is -- that is slowing
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us down. but they did inform me that the ships are looking to operate 24 hours, which are encouraging and they're moving all the assets to the two spots, which they think the air traffic could be. and mistake. top republican in congress acknowledges speaking to a white supremacist event and issues an apology. how will this episode affect the gop brand? >> it can be particularly damaging to the party and the party's efforts to show that it is truly more inclusive and truly reaching out. and good day. i'm kristen welker in for andrea mitchell. happy new year's eve. thank you so much for joining us on this holiday. we are less than 12 hours
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