it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. jordan is stepping up its fight against isis but who else will step up to the plate? ♪ cycling right now, the jordanians are launching new air strikes against isis strongholds. good afternoon. i'm tower rayure. they're promising to wage a harsh war against these trufts. king abdullah paid tribute to that murdered air pilot today while war planes roared overhead in his honor. in syria, where officials tell nbc news that 20 jordanian f-16s launched air strikes against isis targets there. we just got an update via jordanian state tv. they vow to continue their efforts in retaliation for the

death of that pilot. it's a day of mourning but also a day of defiance for a key u.s. ally, which has been thrust into the middle of a worldwide crisis. here's the white house a short time ago on our part in all of this considering recent events. >> we're always looking for ways that we can deepen our relationship with jordan. and i can tell you that while the king was here on tuesday, there was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the united states and jordan. that would extend our security situation, or our security relationship, into 2017 and would guarantee the provision of security assistance on the order of about $400 billion a year. so it's a substantial commitment of military assistance. >> we start today with former active duty intelligence officer jessica mcfate, who spent 15 months on the ground in iraq and is now research director at the institute for the study of war. welcome back jessica. we are killing isis leaders. we are degrading their oil

money-making capacity. but they're not only holding their ground in iraq and syria, they are expending in syria. are they winning this war right now? >> well if we frame the answer to that question the way that isis would like to, they've stated that their goal at this time is to remain and expand. in that sense, yes, they're still able to do both. but if we reframe it more the way we're trying to as the united states to degrade and destroy isis, they have taken some very serious hits. they can't roll in with a ground force and take control of a major city in iraq and syria. they are still, however, trying to attack major cities across iraq and syria today. they have actually been driven out of some of the cities that they've previously controlled but they still have the ability to launch attacks and to move across terrain to reinforce themselves. there clearly is still work to be done. >> another thing, they've been very strong at recruiting people from all over the world, including here in the united states. one wh a video comes out like this we saw just a few days ago

of them burning and burying a man dead alive, it was so graphic, so detailed so hard to watch, what does that do to their efforts to motivate people? does it turn people off, or does that further encourage people to join? >> that was very clearly a message that was designed to warp and to disturb and to inspire fear. fear can be an extremely powerful motivator to cause people not to want to act or to incite not necessarily a perfectly coherent behavior. in that sense, i would say the message itself was actually something that was more directed at governments, but that it will not necessarily turn away people that were already attracted to the isis message. >> and jessica, we just heard josh earnest, the white house press secretary, say the united states is always looking for ways to deepen its relationship with jordan. we know jordan has promised it

will have an earth-shaking, quote/unquote, response to the isis video. what does that mean for the u.s. military in this case? should we be expecting some sort of involvement? >> well i would expect that jordan's commitment to the current coalition is only enhanced by the attitude that they're displaying at this time. i expect the u.s. attitude is going to be exactly the same and that the mission plan is going to continue in a very deliberate way and not be skewed tremendous tremendously by what isis is trying to do. >> in your studies on this you looked at their encroachments in various areas on the ground and how isis displaces populations. walk us through what it would be like in isis controlled area right now and from your knowledge when there are basically big developments in a conflict like this with jordan is that perceived by the people in the areas that isis controls? >> well i would expect that it is and i think it's a wonderful

point to raise that there are populations in the isis strongholds that the u.s. coalition has been very sensitive to monitor. so that if air strikes target isis in a more aggressive way, they're doing so with the expectation that they will need to take into consideration further civilian casualties. isis will absolutely try to increase the likelihood of civilian casualties and message to that effect in a way that would try to weaken or deter the coalition. i do not expect they will succeed. >> you raise a very interesting piece of that. internationally, we think of isis as highly resistant to any kind of international norms, human rights, et cetera. you seem to be suggesting there at least is some strategic calculation about what is perceived on the ground there. i mean, there's no democracy. what does it matter to isis how those people in those areas view them or their so-called government? >> well, it depends on the area.

in some areas, isis does care very much about the opinion of sunni tribes and will attempt to appeal to them in a way that actually does moderate their behavior. at other times, they will very simply put civilians in harm's way, displace them, as you mentioned, execute massacres. so in short, when it comes to holding an isis stronghold, i do not think that isis cares to preserve civilian life. they will attempt to message around that in order to reach the outside world for other strategies for recruitment. >> jessica, isis controls about a third of syria. why is bashar al assad okay with that? why is it that when he attacks them t attacks their buildings, he's waiting until all their soldiers and leaders have actually left those buildings? why is he okay with this cancer living in his country? >> well i see that assad wants two things in his campaign right

now. first, to be able to claim he controls all of syria by keeping military positions that are otherwise surrounded by other parties in eastern and northern iraq. but secondarily, also to beat the opposition. i think at times where he sees that isis may actually do more damage to the opposition assad will wait for that damage to occur and then continue on with their primary objective. >> yeah and so important. we need more players to step up to the plate in that region. jordan saying this is not the last you're going to see of us. they're obviously very angry, but they're also concerned we don't have their backs. what advice do you have to our leaders as they're trying to figure out the right way to move forward here? >> i actually think that partnership is going to simply grow stronger. we want exactly what jordan wants, for the region to be secure and for jordan to be secure and for isis to be removed to the point that it is degraded and ultimately

destroyed. i think our partnership will only get stronger from this point. >> all right. jessica mcfate, thank you so much for your time. up next what should be america's role as a key ally retaliates? we'll ask republican congressman charlie dents about his party's plan to fight isis. plus, u.s. weapons, ukraine's fight. secretary kerry is in the region offering kiev support. and the prequel that "breaking bad" fans are jonesing for. we got your first hit. see what i did there? "the cycle" rolls on. it's thursday, february 5th. [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, we know in the cyber world, threats are always evolving. at first we were protecting networks. then, we were protecting the transfer of data. and today it's evolved to infrastructure... ♪ ♪ ...finance... and military missions. we're constantly innovating to advance the front line in the cyber battle, wherever it takes us. that's the value

of performance. northrop grumman. 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. know that chasing performance can mean lower returns and fewer choices in retirement. know that proper allocation could help increase returns so you can enjoy that second home sooner. know the right financial planning can help you save for college and retirement. know where you stand with pnc total insight. a new investing and banking experience with personalized guidance and online tools. visit a branch, call or go online today.

welcome back. the murder of that jordanian pilot at the hands of isis has been a game changer for jordan. back here at home despite all the air strikes, republicans have been critical for some time at the president's strategy in fighting isis or as they say, lack thereof. what is their plan going forward? that takes us to the guest spot republican congressman from pennsylvania, charlie dent. >> thanks for having me on the show. >> take a listen to what one of your colleagues said yesterday on fox. >> if that's the case and if that's where his position is why would you expect anything to change? >> well i don't. that's a problem. he says i don't chase headlines, but i don't think he's chasing isis right now either. >> congressman, do you agree with him there? is the president not really chasing isis? >> well i think -- i don't know if the president is chasing isis or not, but what i do know is there seems to be a lack of clarity to the mission against

isis. the president would like congress to provide for an authorization for the use of military force. i think that's important, but it's incumbent upon the president to present to congress exactly what he would like us to do. what would be the goals and objectives. ic hei think he needs to be very clear with congress on those points. the president has said he has an authorization from 2001 and 2003, but he says he wants a new one. i'm fine with that. i think the president needs to provide that very clear strategic guidance to congress. then we'll pass a resolution. i differ a little from my friend adam kissinger. i have been very critical of funding the so-called free syrian army. i think this is a mistake to try to train them. i'm very skeptical that anything we do with that organization will be beneficial. their enemy is assad. >> so you would not be supportive of deploying troops on the ground? >> it would be very difficult

for me to deploy ground troops. having said that perhaps we can talk about some role for special forces and other trainers to help stand up forces from the middle east, whether they be kurdish peshmerga, the iraqi security forces or others who may engage isis on ground. i don't envision by my means a large american ground force there to fight isis. this is a sectarian war. it's a proxy war. and it's also ethnic. i think we have to keep that in mind. i don't know that we can resolve this situation militarily on our own. >> and congressman, you're certainly right that historically when a white house wants war powers they send down some language and the debate goes forward. this white house has not done that yet as the operations continue. i wonder if we could also get your views on what your colleague adam schiff has proposed to get detailed conversation going. he says yes, war powers against isil but make it targeted make it expire within three years,

and can be renewed if need be limit the ground troops to only -- excuse me limit any area of combat to syria and iraq, but limit ground troops to saying no new ones. what do you think of that proposal? >> i have a lot of respect for mr. schi if f -- mr. schiff as well. i would be hesitant for congress to place controls in that resolution. i would be a little skeptical about that placing time lines in number of troops and specific areas of operations. i think that might be a little bit too restrictive. now, having said that i believe that there are two campaigns here. there's one campaign in iraq. how do we defeat isis in iraq? i see a path forward there. not just militarily, but politically. you have a sunni political infrastructure within iraq that we can deal with to replace isis. syria is far more complex. i understand the military path forward, but i do not understand

the political path forward. there's not a sunni political infrastructure in place in syria to replace isis. i think that is really what we have to work on as we discuss this war resolution. >> congressman, i think i'm hearing from you that you have some differences with your colleagues on this one. you sort of famously noted some republican party lack of direction or in fighting. i'll read the quote back. week one he a speaker election that did not go as well as a lot of us would have liked. week two, we got into a big fight over deporting children, something a lot of us didn't want to have a discussion about. week three, we're now talking about rape and incest and reportable rapes and incest for minors. i just can't wait for week four. congressman, talking to you now about the approach to isis it sounds like there are more differences here. what's your sense of where the house conference is going to be on this? is there any hope for unity here? >> on isis? well, first, i hope you like that quote. i was kind of proud of it myself. >> i read it as well last week. it was read a lot on the show.

very well said. >> but with respect to isis i'm sure -- look both republicans in congress and democrats in congress i believe, are somewhat divided on the issue. the question will become for both republicans and democrats, how much operational control will we try to place on the commander in chief? i think the democrats are probably going to be more likely to want to impose greater controls, and the republicans might be more open to a broader resolution. that's my sense now. but there are divisions clearly on both sides of the aisle on this issue. that's why the president really needs to stand up and tell us what he wants. i think it's important that we hear from him. >> congressman, one of the

things you're known for is the enemy expay treuation act, which would allow us to take away the citizenship of folks we deem enemies of the state. i find it really interesting, even though it seems when we think about the case of anwar al alaw key, we do whatever we want without letting citizenship get in the way. would this extend to domestic enemies? could this very easily be something that the wrong administration would abuse? are you really comfortable with giving government the power to take away people's citizenship without them having been convicted of a crime? >> we're really talking about people who would take up arms with a foreign terrorist organization. i understand those are serious groups too. we're talking about individual americans who are actively joining up with a foreign terrorist organization. during the second world war i, we had people in our country who

fought with the nazis during the war. that was considered an expay treuating act, a voluntarying relinquishment of one's citizenship. the same should be applied to one who joins isis, al qaeda, or an affiliated group. remember, there are over 3,000 european citizen wos are now signed up with isis. there are over 150 americans who have signed up with isis or other radical groups in that part of the world. i introduced this bill along with joe lieberman and scott brown and jason altmeier several years ago in response to anwar al awlaki an american-born cleric, leading al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. it was in the press that he was targeted to be killed. he was eventually killed but i thought, if we can kill an american citizen overseas who's a bad guy, and i had no problem with droning him, but the issue became to me if we can kill an american citizen, we should at

least figure out a way to deal with his citizenship status. i want to make sure that anybody who would have their citizenship voluntarily relinquished would have an opportunity to appeal that decision. so there's an appeal process in place that simply adds to the precedent of the second world war and how we dealt with others who joined foreign armies. >> congressman, thank you for being with us and for your willingness to speak out. it is refreshing. thank you. >> thanks so much. great to be with you on the show. straight ahead, we're following new violence overseas fighting flares up in eastern ukraine. and world leaders converge on kiev renewing calls on russia for peace. but the u.s. is also deciding whether to send arms. and a man who knows russia's president all too well because putin considers him an enemy. his story is gripping and he will share it with us next. startup-ny. it's working for new york state. already 55 companies are investing over $98 million dollars and creating over 2100 jobs. from long island to all across upstate new york,

more businesses are coming to new york. they are paying no property taxes no corporate taxes no sales taxes. and with over 300 locations, and 3.7 million square feet available, there's a place that's right for your business. see if startup-ny can work for you. go to startup.ny.gov. jack's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today, his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before your begin an aspirin regimen. you park your car. as you walk away crunch! a garbage truck backs into it. so,you call your insurance company, looking for a little support. what you get is a game of a thousand questions. was it raining? were your flashers on? was there a dog with you? by the time you hang up you're convinced the accident was your fault. then you remember; you weren't even in the car. at liberty mutual we make filing a claim as stress-free as possible. see car insurance in a whole

new light. liberty mutual insurance i may be a pizza maker, but i know a few things about dessert. like chocolate, and more chocolate. introducing papa john's new double chocolate chip brownie. delicious...decadent. served warm, for just $6. better ingredients. better brownie. papa john's. the exhilaration of a new engine. painstakingly engineered without compromise. to be more powerful... and, miraculously, unleash 46 mpg highway. an extravagance reserved for the privileged few. until now. hey josh! new jetta? yeah. introducing lots of new. the new volkswagen jetta tdi clean diesel. isn't it time for german engineering?

hey matt, what's up? i'm just looking over the company bills. is that what we pay for internet? yup. dsl is about 90 bucks a month. that's funny, for that price with comcast business, i think you get like 50 megabits. wow, that's fast. personally, i prefer a slow internet. there is something about the sweet meditative glow of a loading website. don't listen to the naysayer. switch to comcast business today and get 50 megabits per second for $89.95. comcast business. built for business. and cycling now, a new diplomatic push is under way to

end renewed fighting in eastern ukraine. right now secretary of state john kerry is en route to munich for talks with european allies about the crisis. it comes after a full day of meet wgs kiev's top leaders in ukraine in which kerry pledged support for the embattled government and an additional $16 million in aid. he also blasted russia for fueling the conflict. >> russia's impunity, seemingly, has acted to cross that border at will with weapons, with personnel, with the instruments of death. >> the obama administration is weighing whether to send arms to kiev to help it fight pro-russian separatists, but a top nato general warns that could provoke a more strident response from moscow. meantime, a report today says russian president vladimir putin may have asperger's syndrome, a decision that affects decision making. a study from a pentagon think tank was obtained by "usa today"

through a request. researchers say they can't exactly prove it without a brain scan but perhaps there's no one better who understands the ramifications than putin's decisions more than our next guest. bill brouder has been on a personal mission for justice ever since his lawyer was jailed tortured for months and killed at the hands of putin's regime for publicly calling out their corruption. putin has publicly denied those charges and has tried to extradite browder back to russia three times for who knows what kind of justice. congress recently passed a law sanctioning those responsible for his lawyer's death. now browder is seeking to extend that law globally. he recounts his story in a new book "red notice: a true story of high-finance murder and one man's fight for justice." he joins us onset. thank you so much. we were looking through this book before. it's gripping like a crime novel, but it's your real-life story. one of the things you talk about -- i mean, you talk about a lot of things here.

moving to russia investing, making millions of dollars, exposing corruption. but you talk about your lawyer, sergei magnitsky, who was tortured and killed. you mentioned he was the bravest man you've ever known. tell us about sergei and his story. >> well sergei was a simple tax lawyer working for me and i fell foul of the putin regime when i started to invest in russian companies and complain about the corruption of those companies. so i was kicked out of the country. my offices were raided. sergei was my lawyer. he started to investigate why the police were raiding my offices. he discovered that they raided my offices to seize documents that were then used in a $230 million tax rebate fraud where the officials were stealing the taxes that we had paid to the russian government. so they weren't stealing my money, because we had already taken the money out. they were stealing their own money. the sharks were feeding on their own blood. sergei discovered this, and he was a patriot. he was a good, honest russian

citizen. >> and he was just 35 years old. >> young man, smart man. idealistic man. he said to himself, this shouldn't be happening. our president shouldn't want our $230 million of our own tax money stolen. he said, i'm going to testify against these people. he testified against them. the same guys who he testified against came to his home on the morning of november 2008 arrested him, put him in pretrial detention, and began to torture him to get him to withdraw his testimony. they wanted him to sign a confession, a false confession saying he stole the $230 million and did so at my instruction. and sergei -- i don't think any of us would know how he would behave being tortured in a russian prison. but when he was put to the test and asked to sacrifice his integrity to relieve the pain he chose his integrity. he said it would be more poisonous for him to sacrifice his integrity. and the torture got worse and worse and worse. he eventually lost 40 pounds became very sick needed medical

attention for pancreatitis and gallstones. they refused his medical attention. four months of untreated pancreatitis. he wrote 20 different requests for medical attention. all of his requests were ignored or in some cases rejected. they said no we won't give you medical attention. on the night of november 16th 2009, he went into critical condition. on that night, they then put him to a prison that had a medical facility. when he arrived at that prison instead of going to the emergency room, they put him in an isolation cell they chained him to a bed, and eight riot guards with rubber batons beat him until he died. he was 37 years old. he left a wife and two children. >> that is a tragic story. we're so sorry about that happening, and it sort of leads to the next question. is putin like a mafia don? >> putin is a criminal running a criminal organization and he has all the powers of a sovereign state. i can say this with full knowledge because i've been at war with putin for the last

eight years and the last five years after they killed sergei magnitsky in the most intimate way. putin has been involved in a cover-up of a murderer. so sergei magnitsky was murdered. we know he was murdered because we have all the evidence. they didn't even bother to cover up the properly. we have all the evidence of what happened to him. he wrote 450 complaints while he was in jail which we have copies of which show all the torture. they even have their own protocols, their own documents authorizing the beating on the last night of his life. so we know he was murdered. in spite of that putin has come out publicly and said sergei magnitsky died of natural causes. they said he never discovered a crime. he said in a press conference it's bill browder is the crook. >> and this is normal for him? >> this kind of stuff happens day in and day out. the sergei magnitsky story and my story is a canary in the coal mine for what happened five years later in ukraine. they started killing people

invading countries, stealing stuff. then they lie publicly. >> after sergei died, now you're even more passionate to fight against this. putin is your enemy. i mean, are you scared for your life every day when you wake up in the morning, when you go outside? are you concerned for your safety? >> well there's two different -- so am i at risk? yes. they've threatened me with death. they've threatened me with extradition. they've threatened me with illegal rendition. they've done everything possible. do i live my life scared? no, i don't wake up in the morning sliverhivering with fear because you can't live your life that way. i wake up in the morning indignant about what they've done and with a passion to make sure that they finally see justice. >> bill, extraordinary book. best of luck to you, sir. thank you so much for your time. before we go to break, "nbc nightly news" anchor brian williams apologized last night for what he now says was his recent inaccurate account of events during the invasion of iraq back in 2003. williams said his helicopter was hit by rpg fire but in making

his apology, he said he was in a following aircraft. [ hoof beats ] i wish... please, please, please, please, please. [ male announcer ] the wish we wish above all...is health. so we quit selling cigarettes in our cvs pharmacies. expanded minuteclinic for walk-in medical care. and created programs that encourage people to take their medications regularly. introducing cvs health. a new purpose. a new promise... to help all those wishes come true. cvs health. because health is everything.

you total your brand new car. nobody's hurt,but there will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it. what are you supposed to do, drive three-quarters of a car? now if you had a liberty mutual new car replacement, you'd get your whole car back. i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels. smart. new car replacement is just one of the features that come standard with a base liberty mutual policy. and for drivers with accident forgivness,rates won't go up due to

your first accident. learn more by calling switch to liberty mutual and you can save up to $423. for a free quote today,call liberty mutual insurance at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. can this decadent, fruit topped pastry... ...with indulgent streusel crumble, be from... fiber one. fiber one streusel.

you still feel you made exactly the right call. >> well no this is the way i like at it. i made the call that comes out of the process of the preparation and the practice. i think that we're going to do exactly the right thing or we won't call the play. we won't go with the concept. we won't ask our guys to execute it so i never make a call thinking it's going to go bad. >> so this was properly planned, it just didn't turn out well. >> we knew we were going to throw the ball one time in the sequence somewhere. we did, and it didn't turn out right. >> that was "today's" matt lauer asking the questions fans have been thinking. pete carroll's decision to pass and not run at the end of the game. still the talk of the town. we like to call on our friend steve kornacki to explain the inexplicable, usually on politic

politics politics, sometimes the weather. today it is still pete carroll's call. explain. >> first of all, full disclosure, i'm a pats fan. i love the way the decision worked out. i'm thrilled with that. now i'm going to do something i've never done before. i'm going to defend pete carroll. i think this is actually a very defensible decision he made. we want to show you why. just to remind you, again, basically here's lynch. the running back they say should have had the ball. here's the quarterback, russel wilson. this is what ended up happening. you have lockett who runs the slat intercepted, patriots win. let's look at some of the numbers, why i think this is a defensible decision on pete carroll's part. take a look at this. five times in the 2014 season in playoffs, five times, the seahawks were at the 1 yard line and handed the ball off to marshawn lynch. in other words they did exactly what everyone said they should have done. how many times did he get in the end zone? one. two other times he ran for a loss, and two other times besides that no gain.

he had a 20% success rate from that position. so the idea this is a sure thing to give it to marshawn lynch, it was not a sure thing in 2014 for the seahawks. now look at this. 108 times in the 2014 season in playoffs, 108 times this year in the nfl, did a team have the ball on the 1 yard line and call a pass play before sunday night. of those 108 times, how many times did it end in an interception? zero. so statistically, this is not a bad call if you talk about you're going to have a couple shots at the end zone here a chance to maybe -- they're expecting the run, you catch them by surprise with the quick slant pass. if that doesn't work you can run again on third down. you have a couple options here. >> steve, steve. >> toure is spoiling over here. >> steve, that was a nice bhitit of fun with numbers, but espn reminds us over the last fif years, teams on the 1 have run 71% of the time for good reason. they scored 54% of the time and

turns the ball over more often. when you pass only three things can happen and two of them are bad. running is obviously the safer choice. it's more likely to score. and you got marshawn lynch, man. come on. >> again, did you see the numbers we put up? 20%. >> three of those were in one game, steve. >> 80% of the time he got the ball in that spot he did not get in the end zone. you're saying 54% and 49% and that's a huge difference? here's the other thing you have to think about. you're talking about one play. i'm saying and keep in mind here you have three plays if you're the seahawks. you're going to have the second-down play. you're going to have the timeout. if you don't get in the end zone, you have a pass play. if that doesn't work then you have another running play. you got to factor that in too. it's not just about what's going to happen on one play. if you're the coach, you're thinking one, two, three plays

ahead. this is not a one-time decision we're talking about. >> i got a statistic for you, steve kornacki. when you're on this show as a guest or a host or a co-host, we like it 100% of the time. >> oh thank you. >> thank you for being here. >> nice segue. >> thank you abby. >> i was lost there. >> speaking of segues nowhere are there more bum calls being made than washington, d.c. not seattle. to chronicle that we have dana millbank our washington post chronicler of all things serious and funny. dana we're going to have a little fun in this part of the show. you can tell it'll be fun because i just said it'll be fun. >> it better be fun. >> what's more fun than that? give me a bum call from the nation's capital. >> well first, i'm not sure what percentage of the time you enjoy having me on the show. >> it's not 100. i'll tell you that big boy. >> you know what, dana? i like it 100% of the time. you're always welcome back. >> there we go. all right. so i think the pete carroll award for the last six months or so would go to president obama

for saying my policies are on the ballot. not only was it wrong, his policies weren't on the ballot but first of all it hurt him in the election. now every day we're hearing the republicans say, we're going to passkey stone, because he said his policies are on the ballot and he lost. we're going to have abortion legislation because of that. we're going to, you know invite netanyahu to speak to congress. >> there are a lot of stupid things that have been said a lot of disrespectful things that have been said including romney's 47% comment. but recently there was a play that caused many of us to scratch our heads and wonder how we're handling our diplomacy here in the united states. that is speaker boehner inviting netanyahu out here next month to speak to congress really going around the white house at a time that it probably could not be more important. such a sensitive time an important relationship. i worry, dana this is going to have a real long-term impact on our foreign policy. >> yeah i mean it actually would be easier for us to come out today and say what have been the good play calls in recent

weeks? there are so many to go around. so here's one. the ostensibly -- the reason john boehner did this was to strengthen israel and weaken the nuclear talks with iran. it seems to have had exactly the opposite effect by splitting the american jewish community and emboldening democrats to pull back from new sanctions legislation. if that was the goal then foreign minister boehner did exactly the opposite of his intent. >> all right dana. here's another one everyone is talking about this week. i have a bit of a contrarian point of view. an up-and-comer congressman decorated his office in the form of "downton abbey." "the washington post" learned that tried to write a story about it t and the office freaked out. everyone said, boy, that press secretary did a terrible job. why wouldn't they let the reporter in? having been a capitol hill press secretary myself many many years ago, i know when these kinds of things happen it's usually the boss freaking out.

then it's the aide that takes the fall for it because the aide is just listening to the boss. we just learned the aide apparently has just resigned. i think the aide took a bum rap on this one. what do you think? >> well, you never know whether it was the congressman or the aide. it's hard to imagine that it wasn't the congressman's idea to have his office look like early 20th century england. but when you start getting attention like this, when it rains, it pours. now the congressman is in more trouble because we find out today another of his aides has been putting these racist comments up on social media. so it starts with "downton abbey," then you have yourself in a whole drama. >> steve kornacki would tell you when it rains, it pours 67% of the time. >> give or take. >> how would you decorate our office? >> i would give it the theme from "the wire." >> good choice. >> what does that even mean? >> think about it. think about it. >> thank you, dana.

>> pleasure. >> segue here. not sure if you're a ryan reynolds fan but i am. the star of "green lantern" and "the proposal" is always able to draw me into any role he plays. we had a great time when i had a chance to sit down with him this week to talk about his newest role in "the voices." you can check out my full one-on-one with ryan on our website msnbc.com/thecycle. up next before there was walter white, there was saul. a sneak preview of amc's hotly anticipated "breaking bad" prequel. that's next.

take a closer look at your fidelity green line and you'll see just how much it has to offer, especially if you're thinking of moving an old 401(k) to a fidelity ira. it gives you a wide range of investment options... and the free help you need to make sure your investments fit your goals -- and what you're really investing for. tap into the full power of your fidelity green line. call today and we'll make it easy to move that old 401(k) to a fidelity rollover ira.

when we stopped selling the cheeseburger pizza boy did i hear about it. @biggbill7 writes: are you kidding me? no more cheeseburgers on a pizza? are you kidding me? they're back big bill. with bacon. are you kidding me?! introducing the new bacon cheeseburger pizza. get a large for $12. and add our new double chocolate chip brownie for only $6 more. better ingredients. better pizza. papa john's. it's good. [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, we've always been at the forefront of advanced electronics. providing technology to get more detail... ♪ ♪ detect hidden threats... ♪ ♪ see the whole picture...

♪ ♪ process critical information and put it in the hands of our defenders. reaching constantly evolving threats before they reach us. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. at ally bank no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like shopping hungry equals overshopping. startup-ny. it's working for new york state. already 55 companies are investing over $98 million dollars and creating over 2100 jobs. from long island to all across upstate new york, more businesses are coming to new york. they are paying no property taxes no corporate taxes no sales taxes. and with over 300 locations, and 3.7 million square feet available, there's a place that's right for your business. see if startup-ny can work for you. go to startup.ny.gov.

"breaking bad" was one of the best shows in tv history, a show so rich with characters that many of them could have been the focus of their own show. now i'll forever wonder how gus became gus, but the story of how walter white's shady but funny lawyer saul goodman will be in "better call saul." a time when he was a struggling but performative lawyered call eded called jimmy. >> you have meddled with the primal forces of nature mr. hammond, and i won't have it! >> do you want me to call security? >> it's okay. we got it. >> how does he grow into a man who puts the criminal in criminal attorney? the journey begins this sunday

in a two-night premiere event on amc at 10:00, 9:00 central. the executive producer joins us now. congratulations, peter. i sat at home last night and watched three episodes. it's a dark funny, gripping really interesting show. "breaking bad" fans will be happy. so congratulations to you and vince. tell the folks who is saul goodman? >> he's the guy we end up with. by the way, it's great to hear. i'm so glad you've watch the the episodes and like them. saul goodman is the guy we end up with. saul goodman is the guy from "breaking bad." he's the slippery fast-talking criminal lawyer when you need a criminal lawyer, you don't want a criminal lawyer, you want a criminal lawyer, with the emphasis on criminal. and he's the guy who we started out with when we thought about doing this spinoff. but as we started talking about it, as we started thinking about this character and the way that

bob odenkirk has played him, we realized there was a great story to be told about how he got to be the guy he is how he became saul goodman, and as you mentioned, we start off with jimmy mcgill. >> and spinoffs are very unpredictable. anyone who loved "cheers" wasn't expecting "frasier." that turned out to be its own fun seattle-vibe show. tell us though what should "breaking bad" fans expect here in mood and tone, when as we've said, you're going back in time with the prequel and seems potentially much lighter than the dark themes of "breaking inging bad." >> well, it is lighter. in walter white, we had a character who was given a terminal diagnosis in the first episode. this show is about jimmy mcgill, and he is a very different character from walter white. he is somebody who bounces back somebody who thinks on his feet

someone who can turn on a dime. and he doesn't have that dark cloud that walter white did. however, i will say we find him just as fascinating as walter white. and he takes us to places that we never expected. as for the tone of the show as you can see, it zigzags. there are parts of it which are out-and-out funny, but there's also, you know a significant amount of drama. in fact, there's one episode i'm thinking of right now that's as dark and dramatic as pretty much anything we did on "breaking bad." so it's a mixed bag. it zigzags. and when you tune in you're not going to know exactly what you're going to get. >> and peter, you hinted at before a little about how you kind of conceived of the idea of having saul be the character for this next sort of prequel or spinoff, whatever you want to call it. was there kind of an aha moment when you were making "breaking bad" or thereafter when you started thinking to yourself we

could maybe do something based on this character? >> well i would say not just an aha moment but a ha-hamoment. almost as soon as saul goodman appeared on "breaking bad," we started joking about the idea of a saul goodman spinoff.

however, having said that the whole world of breaking bad is open to us. we can bring back characters who died on "breaking bad." characters who i love. the one i love to mention is played by jonathan banks. always one of my favorites. we loved seeing more of mike.

one last question for you, peter, if you were in trouble would you call jimmy mcgill? >> i would. i think he may be ethically questionable but he gives the case everything he's got. and if he's committed to getting a good result for you. i think he's the man to call. >> oh right. the executive producer is peter gould. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> all right. we'll have more right after this.

winter is hard on your face. the start of sneeze season. and the wind-blown watery eyes. that's why puffs plus lotion is gentle on sensitive skin. so you can always put your best face forward. a face in need deserves puffs indeed. and try puffs softpack today. [ female announcer ] we help make secure financial tomorrows a reality for over 19 million people. [ mom ] with life insurance, we're not just insuring our lives... we're helping protect his. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. transamerica. transform tomorrow. it's just you and your honey. the setting is perfect. but then erectile dysfunction happens again. you know what? plenty of guys have this issue not just getting an erection but keeping it. well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. 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 for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. ask your doctor if... ...viagra is right for you. 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.

the daily show has taken on one of the most important and controversial issues of our time. dating across party lines. here's how that went down. >> i'm a conservative republican. she's a liberal democrat. >> i think republicans are too judgmental. >> i don't really listen to democrats when they speak. they're just the most judgmental. >> they are very open minded about who they date within their own party. >> my ideal mate would be a tree huger. >> my ideal mate should have three guns. >> accepting gay people. >> doesn't complain about minimum wage. >> an escalade or a hummer. >> he would have like more than one black friend hopefully. >> the conclusion don't do it. crossing party lines for love cannot be done. democrats and republicans are so far apart today, it's almost like dating a different species. and they make a good point.

why would anyone choose to be that tolerant? not to mention, what do you do for date night? one would want to go see selma with a group of activists, and the other would want to see youtube videos. relationships are hard enough when you agree with everything. but here's the thing. not all of us live in a world of extreme ls. it is e maybe it is possible for love to cross party lines. time wrote a piece about this very thing. and they reminded us not all lab liberals are nonshowering socks with sandals wussy granola types. but when you hear republican and democrat we immediately judge the situation. how often do we stereo type someone immediately based on race, religion or political ideology? and then we assume we somehow know that person. i hate being asked if i'm

republican or democrat because depending on how i answer the question i'm seen through the lens. that's sad because i'm so much more complicated than that. life is not so black and white. where we fall on the political spectrum is the the choice we make over time. it's not like we pop out of birth with deep thoughts on government. even though it feels like you have to be either liberal or conservative, today you don't have to choose between the far right and far left. many people fall somewhere in the middle. and often times their views change from time to time, depending on the specific issue. look at millennials. they don't want to be associated with either party. maybe this is just what the country needs. more mixed political relationships. imagine if half the lawmaker lgs on the hill went home to someone on the other side of the aisle. someone who challenges them. is that such a crazy idea?

i got a number of friends who married vegans to raise one of them. . it's not always easy. you may have to compromise more than other couples. being different also makes life more interesting. how boring is it to live in your own cul-de-sac where everyone is the same? the next time you want to ask someone on a date but worry about politics i dare you to take the plunge. you could find the the love of your life. maybe politics will be where it belongs. that does it for "the cycle." as the whole world condemns isis isis releases another video. it's thursday february 5th and this is now. >> the brutal vicious death cult. cult. >> this brutal death of a pilot is a turning moment. >> jordan started to take revenge.

>> all isis has done is put the king in a better position to use his power. >> jordanian war planes have become bombing isis targets. >> there's a lot of symbolism in the air strikes today. >> this is definitely a show of strength against isis. >> it can't just be a military response. it's got to be regional. >> this will have tremendous impact in the region. >> there's no question there's massive revolting. >> voices throughout the arab world says this is not islam. >> this is a group of murderous thugs. >> the name of religion carries out unspeakable acts. two days after isis released a video showing a jordanian pilot being burned alive, jordan is stepping up in the fight against isis. u.s. officials tell nbc news as many as 20 jordanian f-16s launched air strikes in syria today. jordan's vow for revenge and, quote, relentless war against isis comes as much