stressed the importance of continuity. saudi arabia works very closely behind the scenes with u.s. counter terrorism officials, with u.s. intelligence. in particular if you look what happened in saudi arabia in the last 24 hours, you saw the king pass away, a new king passed a new crown prince named and a new deputy. we saw a whole new generation put in place, and it is particular the number three in line muhammad beknife is now head of counterterrorism in saudi arabia works closely with u.s. officials. td fact that he is seen at the forefront of fighting al qaeda has been elevated is a positive sign to many in washington. >> and safe to say, king abdullah was sometimes a troublesome ally critics call him an absolute monarch who

ruled an undemocratic kingdom. tell us about that. >> reporter: he was an absolute monarch and he did rule an undemocratic kingdom, and his successor will be the same saudi arabia is an absolute monarchy. there are some legislative authorities. they meet, there's a system in place where leaders of saudi arabia hold councils and meet with commoners and have their own systems for working out problems, but i don't think we're going to see any great changes in the way that saudi arabia operates its legal system, its justice system. saudi arabia is about continuity. the new king was the governor of readd, for 50 years. if he wanted to change things he probably would have done them already. what i think is most important is the idea of continuity. saudi arabia wants to maintain stability. they want to maintain the same policies that have worked for

them kept the family in power for nearly a century. so i think that's the key thing here, not to -- in fact saudi arabia was actively against rapid moves towards democratization. one of the big ironies here is that president obama in his statement said how close he was to king abdullah. king abdullah did not like president obama. in fact, a lot of people i know that are quite close to the late king abdullah said the king could not stand president obama because the president was supportive of the arab spring because the president did not support hosni mubarak, turned his back on hosni mubarak in egypt, so this close personal bond between the president and the late saudi leader i think is people being polite at time of national funeral. >> he said i always valued king

abdullah's perspective and enjoyed our warm friendship. thank you for that report. saudi arabia is the largest oil exporter and king abdullah's death is having big impact on oil prices. coming up we will look at that on the impact it could have on gas prices at home. we turn to developments in yemen. another key u.s. ally in the war on terror on base for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, after being under siege days from rebels, the country's president has resigned and the prime minister also quit. reuters reports the move appeared to catch even the rebels off guard, amid the deepening crisis the u.s. pulled some staff out of our embassy in yemen's capital. foreign correspondent ayman mohyeldin joins us here in studio. what's the latest on the situation here as far as who is in charge at this time? >> that situation remains ambiguous as you mentioned. the president has resigned but this is after several days of

mediations between himself and the government as well as the houthi rebels. they're a group if you will that represent a minority sect of the country that have been fight white gold the central government in sanaa in the last few years, but gained momentum demanding more rights and more of the political pie of the country, and so ultimately led to the on-going scrimmage that culminated with the houthi rebels taking control of the capital, now being able to shape the political outcome of negotiations. we understand the president did not accept some demands that rebels were making so as a result he said he is resigning, so right now it is a tumultuous situation without a clear sense of who is running the country. one thing is the vacuum and instability of a government is going to give an upper hand to militant groups in the country like al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. >> talk about the rebels and how

they view americans and the united states given there could be support from al qaeda. >> these are rebels that are slightly more aligned to iran they have had in the past support from the iranian government according to u.s. intelligence sources, they're hostile to u.s. interest not only to the u.s. but its close ally, israel. in the past because of the fact they are a shi'a minority have aligned closer to the government there in tehran. that's going to pose a problem for the new king in that country. this is a challenging time for yemen as divisions widen and push the country into further violence and instability. >> you can see because of that concern and staffers there at the u.s. capital pulled out, what more can you tell us about that situation at the u.s. embassy. >> the embassy and u.s. government hasn't ordered evacuation, the military is on stand by but there's no direct order from the pentagon to

evacuate u.s. officials and embassy staff there. the past several years, the embassy there has been at reduced to minimal staff and in the past 48 hours or so that continues to be the same in the sense that staffing personnel is at minimum. u.s. officials don't believe fighting is targeting the u.s. embassy or anywhere near the proximity of the facilities but nonetheless are watching that situation very closely. we know there are u.s. navy vessels in the vicinity off the coast of yemen that could help with any evacuation if an order is in fact given. >> another thing we're all watching closely in the japanese hostages and that 72 hour deadline that isis issued regarding the two hostages. they're holding that deadline passing. anything further? including pleas from families about their release. >> isis has given these type of deadlines, seen them come and go. unfortunately haven't seen them end peacefully what we have

seen in situations like this where there has been a deadline it does unfortunately end with a negative news of killing of the hostages. we know the japanese government has ruled out negotiations with the terrorists, with isis but nonetheless that demand of $200 million ransom that has been requested by isis the japanese government said it will not make that payment, so right now it is a very difficult situation. we did hear from one of the mothers of the japanese hostages she gave a heart felt plea to the group and anyone trying to free her son who is held captive. you're right, that 72 hour deadline is rapidly approaching without any clear indication what will happen when it expires. >> we have heard pleas from so many families members before and know the outcome. ayman mohyeldin, thank you. now to a developing story, defense in the boston marathon trial wants the judge to take back recent characterization that calls the latest court filing improper. attorneys for dzhokhar tsarnaev

released portions of confidential juror questionnaires in the third request to move that trial out of boston. the judge said it was improper. now the defense is fighting to have that characterization redacted from court record. opening statements have been delayed because jury selection is taking longer than anticipated. we are also following the increasing security scrutiny surrounding deflate gate. moments from now, more players on super bowl bound new england patriots roster are expected to address the media, as pressure mounts saying they cheated with underinflated footballs, many not satisfied with what the coach, bill belichick and tom brady said in dual news conferences. one wrote even if they win the super bowl the patriots have lost. the boston globe front page at the center of the storm, no answers. and boston metro, deflate and

deny. denying wrongdoing brady couldn't explain why balls were below league standards and said flat out he is not a cheater. >> i didn't alter the ball in any way. i have a process i go through before every game where i go in and pick the balls that i want to -- the footballs i want to use for the game. i feel like i always played within the rules. i would never do anything to break the rules. i believe in fair play and i respect the league and you know, everything they're doing to create a very competitive playing field for all of the nfl teams. >> joining me live from foxboro, chris palone. chris, nice to see you. get us up to date as far as what we know about the nfl investigation? >> reporter: francis, the nfl has been tight lipped haven't said anything about the investigation this week other than to say they are investigating. all of the media fire storm was kicked off by an espn report

that came out monday saying the patriots used balls that were underinflated, 12 were underinflated, more than 2 psi under the limit. since then the nfl has been absolutely silent on the matter. now that the patriots coach bill belichick and quarterback tom brady said we don't know how this happened and we weren't involved in it they basically put their cards on the table, almost daring the nfl to prove that the patriots had something to do with deflating the balls. so at this point it is kind of a standoff as to what happened. the patriots know that the balls were checked in and underinflated at half time found to be out of compliance with nfl rules, but at this point they're saying we have no idea how that happened. >> all right. many people wondering as well. thank you for being with us for that report. chris pollown out of massachusetts. thank you. let's bring in editor cindy

boren. lots to cover here. >> oh, yeah. >> we have gotten word from general manager of the indianapolis colts, the team they played in the afc championship they're set to hold a news conference this afternoon. not clear if they're going to discuss deflate-gate. the question a lot of people are asking, after almost a week of this, why does this even matter especially given that score. some say they could have been holding a two liter coke bottle. why has this story dominated the headlines? >> it matters and doesn't matter. in the overall scheme, it matters greatly. you can't have teams altering the footballs on the sideline it matters because nfl is a multi million doll business and they hand the balls over to a ball boy employed by the team. it isn't a smart way to go about business but it is the way brady and peyton manning want it to be they petitioned in 2006 to allow them to have control of

balls in the game. clearly that needs to be addressed. it is a big deal because of course no one wants any hint of any sort of taint to the super bowl. it is the biggest game in the nfl calendar biggest tv event on the year. so no one wants to see any question of you know taint. but on the other hand, it doesn't matter. you're right, the patriots were going to win that game. the bottom line is the super bowl has the two best teams in the nfl in it. >> somebody said it may be calling bill belichick out, been the master of walking the line or crossing the line in breaking rules, this may be it. i want to ask about something you wrote after tom brady's press conference. you wrote this. the quarterback that watched his team go through spygate and now this feels there's no reason to question his credibility, even if his explanation sounds dub ee us. sounds like you weren't buying what he had to say about that. >> i don't think he told anyone anything. this is a guy who is minutely controlling, he is an artist

with the football all nfl quarterbacks are. they know what they want in a football. they want it you know aged to perfection for them. they know exactly what they're looking for. he is very picky when he picks out balls for the game and balls they set aside. all of a sudden to say gosh i don't know after that something just isn't right. it was sort of yesterday bill belichick throwing brady a little bit under the bus, and brady turning around and saying well you know. so now there's probably some equipment manager on a nice holiday in the south pacific the next month. >> the nfl is investigating. brady said he hasn't been in contact directly with the league, after a scandal ridden season, how bad is this for the league and in essence win or lose the super bowl the patriots' reputation as a whole, given their history. >> i think the patriots' reputation will be what it will be.

i don't think this is going to be as damning for them as spygate. might be some suspensions out of this. it is bad for the nfl now because it is dragging on this is going on and on. i understand they want to complete the investigation and get all of the facts in line but the longer this drags on it is just worse for the nfl. it is certainly not as bad as the domestic violence scandal, obviously, but it is bad. nobody wants this to go on when the teams start arriving sunday and monday in phoenix. another week of conversation about this? >> well especially the teams are coming down media day is a huge day, and you know it will be all about deflate-gate. >> i think so. >> appreciate your perspective. thanks for being with us. winter storm watches up in several states now. huge storm tore the northeast, and dumped record breaking snow in texas. what you can expect for the weekend up next.

disneyland measles outbreak keeps spreading as health officials issue a warning for anyone not vaccinated. stay away from the parks. we will have an update from california. also ahead. >> i am going to visit mitt romney. >> that feels like it is going to be awkward. >> not at all. >> two republican presidential hopefuls come face to face. how did it go down. we will talk about it in today's first read. join the conversation online. find the team on twitter @newsnation. ble cash card. it's a cash back win-win. with 1% when you buy and 1% as you pay. with two ways to earn on puchases, it makes a lot of other cards seem one-sided. major: ok fitness class! here's our new trainer ensure active heart health. crowd: yayyyy! heart: i'm going to focus on the heart. i minimize my sodium and fat... gotta keep it lean and mean. pear: uh-oh. heart: i maximize good stuff like my potassium... and phytosterols, which may help lower cholesterol. major: i'm feeling energized already.

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it may about the happiest place on earth. california health officials have a grim warning for disneyland visitors after a measles outbreak that began in anaheim and spread to at least six

states. asking anyone not vaccinated to consider staying out. halle jackson is in anaheim and joins me now. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, francis. within the last hour we heard a new call from the american academy of pediatrics asking parents, urging parents to get their children vaccinated if not already. let's talk about the warning from the california department of public health. health officials in california say if you have been immunized against measles, places like disneyland are absolutely safe. if not, or if your child is under a year old, too young to get the measles shot, you may want to think twice. for visitors the trip is about mickey not measles. >> we made sure she had her vaccine and everything. >> reporter: the outbreak that keeps spreading beyond the southern california theme park has some staying away. >> we were going to take our son who is only eight months old so hasn't been vaccinated yet. >> don't want to put our son in

any kind of jeopardy. >> we decided to wait until things calm down a bit. >> reporter: disney is offering free measles shots and immunity tests to all park employees, after five workers came down with the disease in california part of the outbreak now linked to arizona, along with colorado oregon utah washington and mexico. california public health officials emphasize it is not just disney airports malls and other parks or tourist attractions can be risky for people who are not vaccinated. the very contagious virus can survive two hours on surfaces or in the air, why doctors recommend getting immunized. >> the vaccine is safe. people are always concerned about that. it is clear you can protect your family and yourself from getting measles by getting vaccinated. >> experts say it is the best way to keep the happiest place on earth healthy. even some adults francis, who have been vaccinated are

concerned about catching measles. a lot of us born between 1957 and 1959 may have only had one measles shot not two. that's still very effective. experts say if you're worried about getting measles, check with your doctor about get ago booster shot. >> thank you very much. now millions on the east coast are bracing for a messy weekend. we are talking snow ice, rain as the storm moves up the coast from georgia to maine. two storms a nor'easter and clipper, could dump as much as ten inches in some areas and cause travel delays. raegan, this could be one of the biggest snowstorms this winter. >> reporter: oh, yeah francis. you want to get the snow shoes out and sleds if you're in new york city. go down fifth avenue go window shopping. along the new jersey turnpike and also on i-95 in wood bridge

new jersey. department of transportation officials say they're monitoring the forecast like we all have they're going to finalize later today the plan they will have in place. we're also going to talk a little about new york city. 8.4 million live in the beautiful city of new york and the emergency management officials tell me right now they're on a conference call with the national weather service, basically looking at their plan and how they're going to do it. look at boston. boom. we have a tower cam to show you. boston may look hazy but right there they say they're monitoring it. boston is no stranger to all of the snow. a little south, we end up in philadelphia. philadelphia says emergency officials have been pretreating roads from last night to this morning and all throughout the day, and they said they're also having a meeting around 1:30 to decide what to do to make sure everybody is safe on the roadways. today is a good day to get in errands. if you can't get them today,

sunday clears up. >> you have to think about it we are due. amarillo got 12 inches more than we have in the northeast. we are kind of ready, kind of due. all right. thank you very much. oil prices are spiking in the wake of the death of the saudi arabia king. what does that mean for low gas prices at home? i will talk with an expert next. the tsa finds a record number of guns mostly loaded in carry on luggage. one of the stories we are following in the "newsnation." push your enterprise and you can move the world. ♪ ♪ but to get from the old way to the new you'll need the right it infrastructure. from a partner who knows how to make your enterprise more agile, borderless and secure. hp helps business move on all the possibilities of today. and stay ready for everything that is still to come.

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half of the nation's gas stations sell gas below $2 a gallon. joining me senior petroleum analyst. thank you for being with us. talking about the drop and the streak where gas prices dropped every day the last 120 days to the lowest level in six years. what's ahead after the death of king abdullah who had been driving prices down to 60% since last june. oil prices are surging today. >> yes, and to get out of this deflate-gate it looks like that's been around for gas prices for some time. shortly in the next week ago will go from deflate-gate to inflate gate. gas prices are expected to break the relationship off as oil prices have gone lower yesterday and today, while the price of wholesale gas inched forward. i think americans will see

gently higher prices in the days and weeks ahead. >> the saudi arabia new king says the oil policy probably won't change. >> that's right. in fact there's concerns it could become more aggressive. the saudis are seeing some success in what they're doing with the amount of jobs being sacrificed in the united states. we tallied up 30,000 jobs lost through various companies and oil production and drilling. it is not pretty at all. >> you were talking about that when it comes to oil company profits and the down side. talk about the other down sides for people like you and me cheap gas prices, we enjoy it but while predicted americans save $750 this year on gas, there's a down side especially when it comes to oil stocks have taken a hit. that means pocket may be good but portfolios and 401(k)s, not so much. >> absolutely. be careful what you wish for. the lower prices go to trigger some sort of recession in at

least north dakota and texas, and believe this when oil prices go too low, it is actually bad for motorists. eventually it will mean less production and less supply of oil and bigger slingshot back to territory where we were a few years ago. the lower prices go the more they're anticipated to slingshot back. >> how much higher are we talking about here? >> it all depends how low oil prices go. the more jobs that get flushed off line because of oil prices means higher prices in the next two to three years, it is too far to predict, but we could return to where we have been already. >> enjoy it while we have it. thank you for that insight this morning. three youtube celebrities meet president obama and things get a little awkward. >> i have green lip sticks one for your first wife -- >> first wife? >> i mean --

>> we will have more of that interview. one of the things we thought you should know. and 20,000 copies of the controversial "charlie hebdo" magazine are on sale in the united states. it is one of the stories we are following around the "newsnation." that's why we switched to charmin ultra mega roll. charmin ultra mega roll is 75% more absorbent so you can use less with every go. plus it even lasts longer than the leading thousand sheet brand. charmin ultra mega roll. curling up in bed with a favorite book is nice. but i think women would rather curl up with their favorite man. but here's the thing: about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. and remember, you only take it when you need it. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help

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20,000 copies of french magazine "charlie hebdo" going on sale in the u.s. and canada today. that tops our look at stories around the "newsnation." it took one minute for a

chicago news stand to sell out of six copies of that magazine this morning. the news stand took reservations for 200 more copies arriving next week. newsstands in new york and los angeles are also selling copies today. 7 million copies of the magazine have been printed for distribution worldwide, just 20,000 made available in the u.s. and canada. tsa officials discovered a record number of guns in travelers' carry on bags last year. according to a new report officers found more than 2200 firearms were on travelers, trying to board planes and most of the guns were loaded. that number is up 22% from the year before. and a rate of about six firearms a day. and a massive fire at an apartment complex in new jersey has been determined to be accidental. maintenance workers making plumbing repairs accidentally sparked that blaze with a blow torch. the five alarm fire consumed the complex, forcing hundreds to

evacuate. took more than 15 hours for fire crews to contain that blaze. in the wake of the measles outbreak at disneyland should people not vaccinated stay away from the park? it is today's gut check. and how one couple turned regular popcorn into a business. and be sure to like "newsnation" on facebook at facebook.com/newsnation. boy: once upon a time, there was a nice house that lived with a family. one day, it started to rain. the house tried to keep out all the

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the highest u.s. delegation to cuba wrapped up the first round of historic talks with cuban officials in havana. the head of the u.s. delegation robert a jacobson says prog he is is made but there are some issues of concern. >> we also address continuing areas of deep disagreement between the united states and cuba. this includes our concern about

progress in the areas of freedom of expression and human rights. >> this morning, the head of the u.s. delegation, assistant secretary of state jacobson met with seven cuban dissidents. ayman, what do we know about the cuban dissidents? >> a number are well known people here in havana, expressing disagreement with the cuban government something the cuban government won't take well to, the fact that she met with them it is something the united states has done in the past here. one of the interesting issues that jacobson raised in the press conference which is still going on now is the issue of telecommunications, whether or not u.s. communications and technology here will be allowed here on the island of cuba. the cuban government has resisted that in the past. the u.s. side wants it for business reasons and for political reasons. they want freedom of information in cuba which is something that

a lot of cubans don't have access to francis. >> and that's in addition to her concerns saying they have to overcome 50 years of a relationship not built on confidence and trust. given this what is the most immediate goal as far as the two governments here and where are we as far as talks and possibilities for embassies? >> reporter: we don't have announcement of dates for an embassy to open. that would be a sign of real progress. haven't seen it yet. we will keep our eyes out. the other thing to know which is interesting, the role that the catholic church is playing as mediator. we saw an article online on the official magazine of the archdiocese which encourages talks, said people on both sides, cubans in the u.s. and in cuba need to get past the sense of mistrust and really work together to make talks a success. with the catholic church mediating here they're sort of playing the middleman, allowing

the two sides who haven't talked to each other for so long to get together this weekend in cuba. >> thank you for that report. a lot going on this morning. here is something we thought you should know. president obama sat down with the three most popular youtube stars while at the white house in an effort to bring his state of the union address to a younger audience. combined the youtube stars have 14 million followers. the white house streamed the interviews live. topics cover the gamut from drones to police brutality to cyber bullying. of all of them this is getting the most buzz. >> my momma said whenever you go to somebody's house, you have to give them something, don't come empty handed. so i have green lipsticks, one for your first wife. >> my first wife? do you know something i don't? >> oh! oh for the first lady and the first children. >> oh, i'm teasing. >> i'm just going to put these

here. >> let me just take a look at these. they are very -- it is impressive stuff. i am going to see how it looks, i am going to ask michelle to try it on maybe tonight. >> okay! thank you! >> that is why they're huge youtube stars. of course, no interview, especially on the internet would be complete without a selfie. that's something we thought you should know. time for "newsnation" gut check. we told you earlier about california health officials warning people to consider not visiting disneyland and other public places if not vaccinated. the park in anaheim is linked to recent measles outbreaks that spread to at least six states. 42 case are directly lirnged to disneyland. while it is considered one of the most infectious cases and was eradicated cases have jumped. anti-vaccination has emerged in north america, in fears that

vaccine causes autism despite studies which contradicted those concerns. the health department says new series of cases underscores need for vaccination against the illness. so far, the park not directly commented on the health warning. >> what does your gut tell you, do you think unvaccinated people should stay away from disneyland? go to newsnation.msnbc to vote. yesterday's gut check, we asked you if the football deplating allegations against the patriots are true should coach belichick be suspended from the super bowl. 70% said yes. 30% said no. linda writes on facebook absolutely, his team had an unfair and illegal advantage. and rick says the seahawks are going to wind regardless that should be punishment enough. time now for our born in the usa, popular series highlighting american business success stories. today we're talking popcorn.

rob and renee israel used to make their own special blend of popcorn in their tiny kitchen in manhattan. one day they decided they had enough of their stressful careers, what do they do? packed up and moved to colorado to pop popcorn full-time. they sold it at the mall kiosk in boulder and launched doc popcorn and became a franchise in 2009. today with flavors like hopping jalapeno and apple crisp, doc popcorn is the largest in the world with 95 locations in the united states, japan, mexico and puerto rico. joining me now are co-founders, rob and renee. thank you for the popcorn you're sharing with us here in new york with our whole crew. i want to ask you, you took a huge risk to start a business in colorado. what made you so sure that you

could succeed here with popcorn. there's so many other popcorns in the market. what makes yours so special? >> well thank you so much for having us. we're so excited to be here. it's a great question and intro, we thought we could do it differently from the get-go and experimented for two years in that little new york kitchen and just dating at the time by the way. and moved out to colorado to really do it differently using wholesome better ingredients, really paying attention to the aroma factor and how important that is. then renee is an awesome brander. putting this beautiful brand around this package of beautiful popcorn and awesome popcorn and finding amazing proprietiers to bring it to the world and create smiles with it. it's really a combination of multiple tiers. like every entrepreneur, it's unsure. we experiment and try and we call it francis, 11 years to an

overnight success. we didn't just snap our fingers. >> sure. >> a lot of work and discovery. >> let's write that down. as far as not being an overnight thing. we're talking about $140,000 in revenue in 2009 to $7.2 million in 2012. that's a whole lot of popcorn. besides the secret ingredient and tweaking recipes, what's the secret to the growth? >> it really is a lot of franchising. finding fantastic like minded proprietiers like us who wanted to go out and create smiles with this amazing product. the world is changing and very interested in kind of better for you fresher snack. that was a big part of it too. the timing was great for that. >> i think we also launched at a time where there was a lot of folks out of work, 2008 in particular. in fact, the international franchise association just released its economic outlook

report and it talks about how franchising is creating jobs and that area is growing faster than almost any part of the economy for the fifth year in a row. that was really helpful. >> you guys were commenting on that earlier in the show about the oil industry and exchanges. franchising, we're going to pick that pace up for you, especially in popcorn. >> it helped out too, another turning point for you when dippin dots bought doc popcorn. how has that opened things up? >> fisher enterprises is a great group to be working with. they built an amazing platform for franchising. they bought chrome's bake shop in new york. say hi. we're working with an amazing team of officials and we're adding additional brands to our existing products. you can go to some of our -- some of the doc popcorn folks are doing dippin dots and they will be doing doc popcorn and

maybe bringing in chrome cup cake opportunities as well. >> it opens up a lot of opportunities in these high traffic venues which is where doc popcorn thrives and dippin dots as well. they have 16,000 points of presence around the world and we have nearly 100. so it's a great opportunity. >> we're both smile creation companies. both are charters when kirk started dippin dots it was about creating smiles. like minded brands. >> before you go somebody at home saying i want to be like rob and renee, but i can't give everything up and go and make popcorn or ice cream or anything else. what do you tell people about following the dream and taking that risk too, especially this day and age? >> there are no guarantees fran chis we really think that franchising and doc popcorn and dippin dots is a fantastic vehicle to control your destiny. it's a wonderful opportunity. no guarantees but you can be creating smiles and really

controlling your destiny with awesome products -- >> trust me we got it right here. >> we think it's a great way to go. we hope you are munching happily there. >> with the super bowl yeah coming up and valentine's day. tell folks, go visit one of our locations and go grab a big tin for your party coming up. >> nothing like popcorn to change your destiny and spark a romance too. >> thanks so much we appreciate it. >> thanks. >> enjoy. >> take care. >> and that's how we'll end things here on this edition of "news nation." i'm francis rivera in for tamron hall. up next "andrea mitchell reports" live from havana. first interview with roberta jacobson.

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as the u.s. and cuba conclude their first round of talks, exclusively here a live interview coming up with josephine na vidal and her american counterpart for her first interview since arriving in havana. roberta jacobson. >> you met today, break fast with dissidents. how did they do? what did they tell you about their challenges in cuba? >> first of all, thank you, andrea it's delightful to be with you. this morning's breakfast was wonderful. some of these leaders of civil society i had met with before. not for quite a while, some i had not met before. it was incredibly important for me to hear from them about their struggles and whether they agreed or disagreed with the u.s. policy. it was a diversity. >> shifting sands, saudi king abdullah, the leader of a key u.s.