thank you both for joining us tonight. sorry, we ran out of time. that is all for this evening. good evening chris. that was fascinating. >> it was something. >> well done. >> thanks for joining us this hour. this is a japanese cat. hello. he's a male cat. the variety of cat that he is i'm told is that he is a scottish fold cat. i don't know what that means. but he belongs to somebody in japan, not in scotland. his name is maru. he's the biggest freaking thing in the world on the internet. maru videos on youtube have been viewed more than 200 million times. maru the cat is not famous anywhere else in the world. he does not make talk show appearances or appear in movies. he's just online. but he is freaking huge online. he is the star of the show. also huge online if nowhere else is the prancer-size lady.

i thought this was an old thing. no. prancer-size, this video has only been up online since 2013, but it has been viewed more than 11 million times. prancer-size. it's big online. it is possible to be totally unknown in the wider world. it is possible to be a totally obscure figure elsewhere in life while also being a very big deal online. and one of those people who you might not recognize from anywhere else in the world who is capital f famous online is the lady who says monster energy drinks are a ploy of satan. >> look at your -- there's a gap right here in the letter m. it's never connected. so you go to hebrew. this is also the number six. short top, long tail. you could have here in hebrew,

666 on the can. but my interest is the word monster. what do you see in the o? there's a cross. what has christ got to do with an energy drink let alone the name monster. so i thought, well, maybe this is a christian company then. the fc at the bottom of the can, do you know what that stands for. that's the f word. why would they have a cross on the can. here's the message. anti-christ. 666 in hebrew and then the bible talks about the beast. in revelations and look at monster's ad. you cannot deny that that is a cross and what is witchcraft, when the cross goes upside down. bottom's up. and the devil laughs. something to think about. >> wow.

>> this is how clever satan is and how he gets into the christian home and a christian's life and it breaks god's heart. >> so the lady who claims -- no explains that monster energy drinks are the work of a very clever satan breaking god's heart. she is very famous online for that, for that video. that video has been viewed online more than 8 million times. it's popular enough that she even has kind of a nickname. she's known as the satanic monster energy drink lady. but satanic monster energy drink lady got famous not just online but in real life last month on the steps of the texas state capitol. muslim groups in texas host something called texas muslim capitol day. where hundreds of people from muslim communities across texas,

they come to the state capitol for a big civics day and they meet their state legislators. they promote civic engagement in their community. it's kind of a visibility thing and meet your government thing. this year on texas muslim capitol day as that group stood on the steps and held a press conference about their event and had a prayer and sang the national anthem. as that was happening this year, these nice folks were standing right across from them screaming at them. this one was particularly nice. i serve a risen savior. jesus christ. muhammad is dead. so those were the protestors across the street. and then in the middle of the texas muslims, again most of them school kids, while they're singing the national anthem, all of a sudden none other than the

satanic monster energy drink lady burst out of the anti-muslim protest tore crowd and grabbed the microphone at the event. >> i understand against islam and a false prophet muhammad. islam will never dominate the united states and by the grace of god it will not dominate texas. >> after she did that, the satanic monster energy drink lady rejoined the protestors across the street. she then led them in a chant of muhammad is dead. so that's our texas muslim capitol day went this year thanks to these nice folks. it wasn't just the satanic monster energy drink lady and the random other people on the street, they also had some company inside the texas state legislature. woman named molly white posted this on her facebook page that day.

today is texas muslim capitol day in austin. i should mention she misspelled capitol. most members are back in district. i did leave an israeli flag on the reception desk in my house to ask them to renounce islamic terrorist groups and announce allegiance to america and our laws. we'll see how long they stay in my office. so welcome to the state capitol, texas muslim school kids here to learn about civils. welcome to your state capitol. this is your state government working for you. that same state representative had previously written, quote, muslims cannot be trusted no matter how peaceful they appear. so it's the satanic monster energy drink lady and her fellow street protestors. it's also inside the building a republican state rep.

it's also the newly elected lieutenant governor of the state of texas who was a republican state senator before he got elected this past november. his name is dan patrick. he made a habit of getting up and walking out of the senate state channeler whenever the player happened to be led by a muslim that day. so that's texas. which again is home to more than 400,000 american muslims. obviously though this is not a texas only thing. in certain parts of the american right, this is sort of the ambient temperament right now. >> should not be granted to build even one more mosque in the united states of america. not one. >> brian fisher from the american family association. that was him speaking in 2010. and i think it's relevant that that's him speaking there in 2010 because circa 2010, we used to think of the american family

association and their staff members saying things like mosques should not be allowed to be built in the united states of america. we used to think of that group and guys like that as a frin nl out there organization. even though that's who they are, the national republican party invited all of its members to go on an all expenses paid trip to israel hosted by the american family association. the rnc tried to distance itself specifically from brian fisher at the american family association, but the trip was led by another american family association guy who's named david lane. that's who actually took members of the rnc to israel at the invitation of the republican national committee. this is david lane. this is a column of his berating the pentagon for apologizing for the burning of ka rons. pentagon apologizes to the false god of islam.

that is who the republican party national chairman invited all the members of the republican national committee to go on an expenses paid trip with just a couple weeks ago. until the publicity around that trip got to him a little bit, i think. he himself was reported to be planning to go on that trip with the false god of islam guy. apparently he didn't go. at least we think he didn't go. they still won't answer our questions about him. but that's the tenor of really radical anti-muslim stuff in american conservative politics right now. and you know, you think of it as the fringe stuff. you think of it as the screaming stuff in the street. right? turns out it's off the hilarious youtube pages that get 8 million views. it's not just on youtube. it's not just unhinged street protests. it's inside state government and thanks to the current republican

party and the republican party chairman, this stuff has been brought right into the heart of the mainstream of american major party politics by the republican party chairman. partnering with this group. inviting all of the members of the rnc to go on this trip with this group that maintained in the past that it should be illegal to build a mosque in america henceforth. this group that maintains muslims actually have no freedom of religion in america. that any muslim should be forcibly converted to christianity because you should not be allowed to practice your religion as a muslim in america. that's what this group advocated for. if you are a muslim, you are not welcome in this country, america's not for you. republican party partnering with that group. today, at the white house it was day two of a three-day sum it on the subject of countering violent extremism. president obama published an op-ed today which starts with a

long, long, long litany of murders and terrorist attacks committed by what he called groups that promote a twisted interpretation of religion rejected by the overwhelming majority of the world's muslim. starts with a list including the attack on the u.s. embassy in benghazi and the boston marathon bombing and isis murdering egyptian christians and libya, isis and al qaeda inspired attacks. the pakistani taliban massacre of school kids. boko haram killing children dm nigeria. he starts with this long, long litany of essentially the threat. in remarks tonight at the white house at the summit, the president reiterated more of that list.

and he said in his remarks tonight bluntly, there will be a military component to this. there are savage cruelties going on that have to be stop. us just stopping them in their tracks with force. then the president went onto say this -- >> there's been a fair amount of debate in the press and among pundits about the words we use to describe and frame this challenge. so i want to be very clear about how i see it. al qaeda and isil and groups like it are desperate for legitimacy. they try to portray themselves as religious leaders. holy warriors in defense of islam. that's why isil presumes to declare itself the islamic state. and they propogate the notion that america and the west generally is at war with islam.

that's how they recruit. that's how they try to radicalize young people. we must never accept the premise that they put forward. because it is a lie. nor should we grant these terrorists the religious legitimacy they seek. they are not religious leaders. they're terrorists. [ applause ] and we are not at war with islam. we are at war with people who have perverted islam. if extremists are peddling the notion that western countries are hostile to muslims, we need to show that we welcome people of all faiths. that's the story extremists and terrorists don't want the world to know.

muslims succeeding and thriving in america. because when that truth is known, it exposes their propaganda as the lie that it is. it's also a story that every american must never forget. because it reminds us all that hatred and prejudice has no place in our country. it's not just counter productive. it doesn't just aid terrorists. it's wrong. it's contrary to who we are. >> president obama speaking at the white house late today. and that -- what he just explained, that used to be pretty standard american political rhetoric on this subject. not everybody speaks the way everybody else speaks, but that argument used to be pretty core to the way that american leaders talked about the subject. used to be what we expected to hear from any mainstream politician on this subject.

when he made that case today, honestly, sounded more like president george w. bush on the subject than anybody else that springs to mind. >> these acts and violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenants of the united states. the enemy of america is not our muslim friends. americans understand we fight not a religion. ours is not a campaign against the muslim faith. our war is against evil, not against islam. there are thousands of muslims who have proudly called themselves americans. and they they know what i know that the muslim faith is based upon peace and love and compassion.

the exact opposite of the teachings of the al qaeda organization which is based upon evil and hate and destruction. >> the way that george w. bush talked about islam and american muslims is the same argument that president obama was articulating today. it's the same way he has talked about it throughout his presidency. that used to be a consensus position basically for all mainstream american politics. but on the right right now, the national republican party is partnering with an organization that rails against the false god of islam and that muslim shouldn't be allowed to practice their faith in the united states. bobby general dal, the louisiana governor making a run for president and being taken seriously in some corners, he goes abroad and gives a speech that muslims have taken over huge swaths of europe and christians aren't allowed and whole portions of europe

anymore. it's nonsense, right? it was not that long ago that republican president conservative hero george w. bush was talking with eloquence about how we are not at war with islam and how the muslim faith is based on peace and love and compassion. and now the republican party television has declared what we have got here is a holy war. a war between religions. >> hi, i'm bill o'reilly. the holy war begins. that is the subject of this evening's talking points memo. >> screw it. it is a holy war. that's this week on republican party television. isis wants everybody to believe that there's a holy war in the world and they are one side and the west is the other side. that's what isis wants people to believe. that's what al qaeda wants people to believe too. it used to be american consensus

politics, at least american consensus mainstream politics to reject that narrative, to not let them define themselves as half of the fight in a clash of two equal civilizations with them as the muslim side and everybody else at the other side. there used to be a consensus that giving them that framing for what they're doing which they seek to december operately was not only repeating their big lie, it was idiotic. if this really is defined as a fight between muslims and the west, which is how they want to define it, not only the terrorist group's going to define it that way, but americans are going to define it that way? what kind of message is that to the billion muslims in the world if we're saying that is the fight, the two sides? how did the we are not at war with islam consensus fall apart on the american right?

and can it be rebuilt? and is it dangerous if it is falling apart? joining us now is linda, a national advocacy for american arabic communities. >> thank you for having me. >> let me ask big picture if you agree with the premise here that at least in mainstream u.s. politics there used to be a spoken consensus that there was no war between the united states or the west with islam. i feel like there was that consensus and it is now slipping. >> i think it's always been in the rhetoric but never been with the actions that go along with the words. while bush was saying on one hand we're in an unjust war, many of whom were muslims. people, they don't just look at words. we want to see the actions and do they align with the wortds that we see. with the republican party, it's kind of how you -- how you as a republican win elections.

the more anti-muslim you are, the more money you raise. that's been their m.o. for the past couple elections. >> do you think thinking about national security, home grown radicalism and all those sort of things, do you think it is actually dangerous for people to buy into that frame to say there is a holy war, to say that islam is the enemy? >> it's very dangerous for all of us as americans. violent extremism equals muslims in this country. it goes unsaid. while we're changing the words we're using, we're still focusing on muslims only. >> glen miller went into a jewish center and shot people. this domestic extremism needs to be dealt with in all its forms. right now we are on saysed and actually towing the line of congressman peter king. he was having five hearings in congress about radicalization in the american muslim community.

and the obama administration is doing countering extremism. when it comes to muslims, it's kind of a gray area. i kind of ask myself, oh, wait, democrats, republicans, you just don't know anymore. >> in the fight right now over how best to combat isis overseas, as that's being debated in -- one of the things interesting today was the president was talking about, yeah, this is a military fight, but it's also all these other different types of fights. america has to use our soft power abroad, beyond just what we're doing militarily. do you feel like that discussion is constructive or that that is also basically isn't taking account of how we've been acting? >> if we want to show the rest of the world how wonderful we are, we need to start here at home. partnering with muslim

communities, our government operates massive surveillance program, unwarranted surveillance in muslim communities. some people don't have freedom of religion. we come to the u.s., 22 states with anti-shiite bills. we're fighting zoning boards across the country. our kids are hearing this rhetoric. we have mosques being vandalized. leaders saying holy wars and these people want to take over america. it doesn't, for me, reflect what we do stand for as a country and these -- the minority in the country who are the loudest voices are reflecting what we are. i'm an american and i'm a muslim. should i cut myself in half? what side am i on. i'm born in brooklyn and no one can take that away from me. it's just a really hard conversation to have with young

people, especially young muslims who don't know what side they're supposed to be on. i'm on the side of justice. that's the only side i'm on. >> you can't split yourself and you shouldn't have to. there's a big difference in talking values and living them. i think what's happening right now is spooky. the way it's bubbling up right now, i'm spooked by. and thank you for coming in. >> thank you for having me. >> national advocacy director. all right. there's lots more ahead including the second oil fire explosion disaster this week and it's only wednesday. also, the latest from presidential hopeful jeb bush. it's a big show. stay with us. you wouldn't do half of your daily routine. so why treat your mouth any differently. brushing alone does less than half the job leaving behind millions of germs. complete the job with listerine®.

kill up to 99 percent of germs. and prevent plaque, early gum disease and bad breath. complete the job with listerine®. power to your mouth™. also try listerine® floss. its advanced technology removes more plaque. i understand. this is the scene right now in prescott, arizona where they have gathered for a memorial for kayla mueller. she was held as an isis hostage

for almost a year and a half after being kidnapped in syria. her death was confirmed by the white house last week. local churches and community groups in her hometown organized tonight's event to honor her life and her work as an international aid worker. they're lighting up the town's courthouse square with candles in her memory. have a look.

9:00 this morning in a suburb of l.a. called torrance california, people started noticing a weird substance settling on to their cars. this photo shows a windshield

covers in gunk. it's actually ash. no, this was not a creepy elaborate ash wednesday stunt. it was from an exxonmobil refinery in torrance that went up in flames today. there was an explosion inside that refinery that setoff a three-alarm fire. it took place inside a unit of that plant that refines oil into gasoline. look at that thing there. that specific unit did reportedly suffer some kind of mechanical issue on monday this week which caused it to be temporarily shut down. there's no indication as to whether that issue caused this fire ball explosion and the ripping apart of the unit today. that explosion and the fire caused injuries to four contractors working at the refinery. they were sent to a local hospital for treatment. it also forced everyone at 14 schools in the area to shelter

in place for hours. >> people told local reporters their houses shook so hard they thought it was an earthquake. this was the aftermath of the explosion at the refinery itself. look at that. just thick layer of ash covering everything. and the whole thing just mangled. local officials say they're continually testing the air quality in the air tonight. so far, not detecting any harmful emissions. that was torrance, california today. happened about 9:30 this morning. >> meanwhile, west virginia residents today are still dealing with the aftermath of this, a massive train derailment and crude oil explosion that happened 30 miles outside of the state capital of charleston. it was hauling from north dakota to a transportation hub in virginia when for some still unknown reason that train derailed and 20 of those tanker cars ignited.

that fire began on monday. it was still burning today, three days into this disaster. more than a hundred people still evacuated from their homes tonight. finally at least the local water came back on. residents are still being advised to boil their water before they use it. given the size of this oil train disaster in west virginia, given the size of the explosions and the fact that 20 of those cars exploded one after the other and it happened not out in the boonies, it is something of a miracle that there were not more people hurt. that said, there was one home burned in the blast. completely destroyed. the local nbc affiliate spoke to the man whose home that was. get this. he was home at the time of the accident when that oil train blew up and took his house with

it. listen to this. >> i made it about 10 feet. i heard the house caving in behind me. so i ran out of the house in my sock feet in the snow. the house was engulfed in flames. >> his daughter and grandchildren had been staying in his home and had just left the day before the accident. his wife was in the hospital for open heart surgery. he says had they all been home, they'd have certainly been killed. >> i wouldn't have left any of them in there. i would not run out of that house without them and she couldn't have made it. >> he made it out of the house as it was caving in behind him. he himself was later treated and released from a local hospital. doctor will met in west virginia still under investigation tonight as is the refinery explosion today in california. just one more day of trouble. it's only wednesday this week. watch this space.

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did you hear about the one with the two guys in the soviet union and the american president? >> tell me about the two fellas in the soviet union and one of them says, have we really achieve the full communism. the other one said, hell, no, things are going to get a lot worse. >> it's particularly helpful if your line of work is politics. that is being tested right now.

and that's ahead. please stay with us. ♪ nineteen years ago, we thought "wow, how is there no way to tell the good from the bad?" so we gave people the power of the review. and now angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. you can easily buy and schedule services from top-rated providers. conveniently stay up to date on progress. and effortlessly turn your photos into finished projects with our angie's list app. visit angieslist.com today. ♪

on june 16th, 1960 talk show

host jack par hosted a young senator on his show, a man named john kennedy. it went very, very well. that was basically the first time a presidential candidate had tried to leverage late night tv to boost his rating. by 1968, there was nixon doing it too. having learned his lesson from kennedy. there was nixon in 1968. there was ronald reagan in 1975 talking budget cuts with johnny carson. there was bill clinton running for president in 1992 playing the sax and wearing sunglasses on the arsenio hall show. there's george bush doing the top len list on david letterman. >> number seven, make sure the white house library has lots of books with big print and pictures.

>> became a regular part of presidential campaigning. if you were seriously running, you had to show up on a late night show, laugh at yourself, whatever. then starting in 2009, new president barack obama became the first ever not just candidate but sitting president to be interviewed on a late night talk show. that is a practice he has continued throughout his presidency. he went on the tonight show with jay leno then david letterman, jimmy fallon. but now, nothing against the late shows. i think they're pretty great right now. but now high-end popular humanizing comedy opportunities for politicians, they are no longer defined by just the reach of network television. now if you're trying to get pass the press core to an audience that isn't trying to pay attention to politics, now the presidential comedy opportunities are much further flung. when the first obamacare signup

deadlines were approaching, he turned to help from the interview machine. >> what is it like to be the last black president? >> seriously? what's it like to be the last time you ever talk to a president? >> it must stink though you can't run three times. >> i actually think it's a good idea. if i ran a third time, it would sort of being like doing a third hangover movie. didn't work out very well, did it? >> you said if you had a son, you wouldn't let him play football. what if he was a nerd like you? >> do you think a woman like michelle would mary a nerd? why don't you ask her? >> could i? >> no, i wouldn't let her near you. >> yes, that was president obama talking trash with a famous comedian.

and the white house actually credits that between two terns comedy video with bumping up traffic on the affordable care website by 40% alone. since it worked so well the last time this month with another obamacare signup deadline approaching, the white house decided to do the same kind of thing again. this time they decided to do it with buzzfeed. ♪ >> thanks, obama. ♪ >> it's pretty good. >> that's pretty good.

>> seconds left in the game. down by one. he gets it. ♪ >> mr. president? >> can i live? >> that video has been watched nearly 50 million times on facebook alone. 50 million. for a point of reference, that's 18 million more viewers than the president had for his most recent state of the union address. once again, the goal was to let those 50 million people know while they were watching this ridiculous funny video of the president, to let them know a substantive thing. that a deadline was coming up to sign up for health coverage. >> the deadline for signing up for health insurance is february -- feb. >> like every other wednesday --

wen -- >> february 15th. >> and it was february 15th. yes, there are people out there who believe these goofy videos are not presidential. we all have our own ideas of what presidential is. but the thing to know about these comedy video stunts, whatever you think of it, is that at a very functional level, they work. they get more viewership and therefore more attention than they could get by any other means, including the state of the freaking union address several times over. if you are trying to get your message across to a younger audience, in terms of guaranteedy balls, you are better off putting something out on social media people want to watch than almost anything else you want to do. certainly better than with a press conference or speech on tv.

now it is not just president obama that is using this tactic, it is the first lady as well. >> so we're going to start with the stairways. you ready to do this? >> i was born -- ♪ >> turnip for what. >> you can take it from me, eating the right foods can help make you a better athlete. >> oh! >> michelle obama has arguably been better at using social media than her husband, the president.

now, this week, though, michelle obama has done one that has aggravated all her usually critics. but it has got a ton of people to watch, all for a very specific cause. and there is the very funny video about that, but there's also the question about how much this thing really does help the cause in question. tonight, we have somebody here who knows and that's next. stay with us.

which is better? aria na grande? >> eating a carrot. >> yes, correct. next question. gwyeneth paltrow makes a fantastic soup. does that matter? >> no. >> yes, it does. she had a website. >> the corn. >> no, martin short. he's a genius. >> he is funny. >> he is funny. even she likes him. >> i like corn. >> corn is delicious. >> canada. >> what? >> i think he's from canada. >> he is. what does that have to do with anything in. >> i don't know. >> latest attempt to use online social media in this case to get

america to eat better. things like that, which this white house is very good at, they get a ton of views because they're very funny and unusual to see somebody like the first lady of the united states in that kind of environment. do they work, though, at changing people's minds? joining us now for the interview tonight is somebody who has been aggressively involved in the push to get us to eat better as a country, chef, food activist and the brand new nsnbc food correspondent and host of the new online show stirring the pot. great to see you. >> likewise. >> has it made a difference in your activism world that michelle obama has taken on these things as her issue? >> yeah. obviously yeah. she's done such a great job. both the president and first lady. they realize you need to broaden your audience.

it's great going on the late-night shows but how do you use video? we've come such a long way from "video killed the radio star" on mtv to now millions and millions of people watching online. millennials who are actually coming to the dinner table and talking about these various videos that they saw and discussing them with their parents. so in a way it's almost like the gateway drug toward getting -- infusing politics and policy into the conversation. but you're actually starting from the ground up and from the, again, millennials up to the adults. >> around food issues obviously some of it is policy and therefore hard politics. a lot of it is raising awareness and is getting people to think about it in a -- basically a raised consciousness sort of way. with all the different things you do. obviously, restaurant king and the "top chef" stuff and all the other forms of activism. in forms of business that you do. what do you feel like is most effective at getting the messages across to regular people? >> sure. i think you need to break down

complex problems and give them to people so they can easily digest. for instance, we're looking at fruits and vegetables. michelle obama's done a great job to try to encourage people to eat fruits and vegetables. but how do we create a different incentive to get people to eat fruits and vegetables? we know fruits and vegetables are typically more expensive than processed foods. so how do you get people who are trying to eat better but don't have the money to do that, how can we get them to afford fruits can and vegetables or create an incentive to do that? that has to go to policy. if you look at subsidies, 24, 25 billion dollars worth of subsidies, 85% of that goes to commodity crops. 15% goes to meat and dairy. 1% goes to specialty crops or what we know as fruits and vegetables. so there has to be an underlying and a corresponding policy change to actually make those more affordable. >> so you have to affect both the supply and demand. you have to make people want them and also make it reasonable that they can try to get them. >> people want them. i think michelle obama's doing a great job to get more people to want them and understand the importance of why fruits and

vegetables, whole grains are important. we grew up with the food pyramid. remember the food pyramid? now it's a food plate. half of that plate has fruits, vegetables, and hole grains on it. yet our underlying policies are not supporting that plate. and so again, i think this is a way -- we've got to break these complex problems down and give them in bits and pieces o'so people can digest it, understand it, and then go from there. there's a lot of food issues that are sort of food stories but we don't look at them as food stories. for instance, look at the deepwater horizons bill and the tons of oil that was put into the gulf. that's a food story. that affects the food chain. that affects the fisheries there. that affects people's livelihoods that rely on the fisheries. when you look at the overuse of pesticides and herbicides and leaching into the water system and getting into the water system and creating a dead zone in the gulf, another food story. then there's the light side of it, super bowl comes around and it's about the game and commercials but also about food. then you take hunger issues that

are sometimes complex and 40u do you break them down so people understand it? and i think that's what our country -- they're ready for. we've seen the stand and stir shows. we have a whole network dedicated to food. we have reality shows that i've been part of. we have the travel shows that we see. and i think people are ready for that next conversation around food. people want to know what's in their food. they want to understand food safety. they want to understand social economic issues around food. they definitely want to understand and fix hunger problems. so these are all food stories and they need to be told. >> and the connection between our individual decisions about this stuff which we're all very in touch with and the larger -- the world at large in policy stuff i think is a connection you've been making better than almost anybody. we're so happy you're here. tom colicchio is the brand new msnbc food correspondent, a phrase i've never said before. host of the online show "stirring the pot," which is going to be airing on chef to tom. it's really an honor you're going to be joining us here. we're all very excited. tom colicchio.

msnbc. do you believe it? i know. we'll be right back. ou're underwater? try zyrtec-d® to powerfully clear your blocked nose and relieve your other allergy symptoms... so you can breathe easier all day. zyrtec-d®. find it at the pharmacy counter. there's been a lot of attention this week to the southeast getting thumped with snow and ice, a region of the country that's not used to it. a lot of the country in the last few weeks about boston getting absolutely buried in snow. but there's one other place in america that is so buried right now it is actually making them have a problem that couldn't conceivably have anything to do with winter if this winter weren't this big. such a weird story. that's next. stay with us.

doug, we have the results, but first, we have a very special guest. come on out, flo! [house band playing] you have anything to say to flo? nah, i'll just let the results do the talking. [crowd booing] well, he can do that. we show our progressive direct rate and the rates of our competitors even if progressive isn't the lowest. it looks like progressive is not the lowest!

ohhhh! when we return we'll find out whether doug is the father. wait, what? there's so much snow on the ground in some parts of the country right now, particularly new england, that we are running out of ways to describe it. here is a brand new idea to wrap your head around. an idea you have never had before. the city of portland, maine has been dumping all its plowed snow at a spot near the airport near the approach to one of the airport runways. but now that snow mountain they have built is so high that portland just figured out that they are about to violate faa regulations. >> it can send a signal that there is some sort of structure there, and it could affect their instrumentation as they land and possibly even take off as well. >> they built their snow mountain so high in portland,

maine this winter that it is now interfering with airplanes. the search for a metaphor for this winter is hereby over. portland wins. thanks for starting your day with us everyone. right now on "first look," the siberian express is blanketing over 21 million americans and reaching down to miami, florida. the details and when we'll get some relief. plus if you think you know how to drive in these conditions, think again. new hope in the fight against breast cancer. details on a refinery explosion that rocked southern california. and the pizza with almost four feet of bacon. good morning, everybody. it could be a cold breakfast for a lot of you. it's dangerously cold out there.