my daughter fell into a creek. i'm not popular. join us and save without settling on the largest most reliable network. this morning my question what do the president, rudy giuliani and i all have in common? plus the daughter of malcolm x on the anniversary of his death. and the fight over just who runs this place. but first, once again, the gop offense is all about framing defense. good morning, i'm melissa harris-perry. we begin with news. it's not exactly breaking news. but it is a phenomenon tens o of millions of us are experiencing this morning.

teeth-chattering, face-numbing bone-chilling cold. it's no joke. it's winter and it's supposed to be cold and snow is not uncommon in the northeast this time of year. but this? this relentless stretch of winter weather is something else. the air mass responsible for much of it arrived from siberia. we're talking really cold. we can try to embrace it like these red pandas at the zoo, but let's face it we're not equipped like they are. the bushy tails are used as wrap around blankets. these are natives of the himalayas. we humans are left to deal with the brutal cold in other ways like in kentucky where the harland city police department tried to arrest elsa from "frozen." and this character from freezing cold misery. both cases were attempts to make the situation a little more

bearable. it's our human nature. we're trying to find the silver lining because the reality is this series of winter storms has been merciless. meteorologists say this week ranks among the most intense arctic arctic outbreaks for the eastern u.s. at least 25 people have died in this latest cold snap. 18 of them in tennessee. at least 500 daily record lows have been broken over the last few days and more record lows are expected today. below average temperatures will continue in much of the midwest and northeast and the weather channel forecast shows more than a dozen locations in the northeast and mid-atlantic that could shatter record lows this morning. we'll have more on this dangerously cold winter weather later in the show so stay inside, turn on the tv. we have a lot to get to this morning. this week it was hard to distinguish the real headlines from the onions. when vice president joe biden made news for his behavior of

the swearing in of the new defense secretary ash carter. he wasn't diamond joe, the inappropriate uncle alter ego who makes frequent appearances, but he was exhibiting major boundary issues with the secretary's rife resting his hands on her shoulders and leaning in close, really close to whisper something in her ear. it was his daily collar headline. can't even defend his wife from joe biden. it may be a joke but this notion that by leaving his wife exposed the secretary has failed in one of his most basic duties of his position. it gives it the heart of american expectations for those we hold responsible for safeguarding national security. americans have long equated a national defense with a paternal great protector standing between us and whoever or whatever might

cause our nation harm. we have historically imagined the vulnerability of that threat as distinctly feminine. that narrative that was used during both world wars and u.s. military propaganda that sold recruits on the idea that their service abroad was needed to protect women and children back home. in american leadership it was embodied by president roosevelt who projected his believes about masculinity on to the national identity and foreign policy under his ideology of speak softly and carry a big stick. in fact some of his favorite manly man pursuits hunting and horse back riding and war making give him a lot in common with a devoted following from fans of american government who believe our current foreign policy approach really needs a shot of testosterone. vladimir putin's own fondness

for slaying wild beasts and invading other nations made him an attractive alternative last year for critics of president obama's approach to foreign policy. the same president obama who in matters of domestic policy has been accused by opponents of an aggressive overreach, but in all matters foreign is cast as a weak leader who emboldens our enemies with his inability to man up. a columnist distilled that critique down to a single question last april on "meet the press." >> let's face it. obama does have a manhood problem in the middle east. is he tough enough to stand up to assad or putin? >> with the improving economy leaving few easy domestic targets for republican presidential contenders, foreign policy is to be an ensuing

performance of masculinity we can expect candidates competing to answer that question. is he tough enough? what does that mean in an election where one of those hes is likely to be a she. hillary clinton may be entering the race bringing along all her secretary of state credentials. >> it's 3:00 a.m. and your children are safe asleep. who do you want answering the phone? >> i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. >> to make things even more interesting, she might be facing a republican opponent who is carrying his own baggage. a presidential legacy that includes a spectacular failure, a swaggering approach to foreign policy. in association with the former florida governor jeb bush is clearly aware of as this week he

tried to carve out a masculine identity distinct from his u brothers while also painting the current administration as weak kneed and incapable. >> i have doubts whether this administration believes american power is such a force. under this administration we are inconsistent and indecisive. we have lost the trust and confidence of our friends. we definitely no longer inspire fear in our enemies. >> joining me now is heather herlburg director of policy change at the new america foundation. jim arcadia, president of 4 4dpack.com. and christina, editor in chief of roll call. i'm going to start with christina. is this election going to be a tough enough foreign policy election in part? >> yeah, in some ways. i think it was in 2008 as well. think about the very first distinction between hillary

clinton and barack obama when they got on the stage in south carolina in 2007. who would set down and directly have conversations with our biggest enemies. barack obama says yes, i would. that became the biggest flash point in that campaign and it was hillary clinton who was saying barack obama wasn't tough enough. and then fast forward, she becomes his actual global ambassador to carry out his foreign policy. the conversation here is just so bizarre because it's not as if the leader of the united states you're going to have hand to hand combat with somebody. are you ever going to physically instill fear in someone? >> this actually came up. in this discourse aboutist skpis whether or not our president was as powerful and manly as the king of jordan, who was like hey, i'm going to get in a fighter jet. there was a way where initially that idea of being a veteran was a standard for running for the u.s. presidency in a post vietnam world that basically

after clinton it hasn't been true. i'm wondering if we're going to return to a moment where we see foreign policy as a kind of masculine swagger as opposed to an obama philosophy. >> it's about the mix between masculine and feminine. there are times we have to be tough and there are times we have to talk and use the soft power elements. this is everything from economic aid to ensuring that democratic institutions are built abroad. these are the elements of our national power that get short in our national debate. we have to understand as a country that we have to have an institutional fortitude in building these capacities over the long-term and as americans we don't have that patience all the time. >> but it's one thing to talk about what the actual policy is and talk about the strategy in the context of a campaign is. part of what i'm constantly surprised by is this sense that

americans still think republicans are better at foreign policy. they are stronger and tougher. >> you started to get to it a second ago chrks is hangover of the post vietnam era. this is an era for the baby boomers. bill clinton was attacked for going to russia. he was a russian covert spy that was sleeper agent. i was in his room the morning he found out about it. and i worked for john kerry. this is particularly go after democrats on. i'm not sure has the same resonance in generations after them. but rudy giuliani speaks for a different generation of the older, white, middle class guys who are used to seeing a president kind of swing the flag around and show how big it is. >> swing that flag and how big

is your flag pin? it's interesting because jeb bush is in a different category. i want to listen for a moment. he's here's jeb bush, who is going to have to because his last name is bush account for the fact that his brother was president during a bad foreign poll policy time. let's listen for a moment. >> there were mistakes made in iraq, for sure. using the intelligence capability that everybody embraced about weapons of mass destruction was not accurate. my brother's administration through the surge, which was one of the most heroic act ofgs courage that any president has done because there was no support for this and it was hugely successful. >> so the language here mistakes were made intelligence capabilities and everybody embraced at the time. part of what i'm wondering when we think about the actual work of foreign policy and we think about the pollitics of it, how we can smush away some of the politics so we are making

decisions in our elections based on what is reasonable foreign policy. >> the reason these politics have been so hard to smush away is they are really coming from our sort of rat brains. it turns out frustratingly it's even bigger than post vietnam that we do at some primal level you still have 40% of americans and 32% of democrats saying men are better leaders on national security. we are primed in some way about the daddy party and the mommy party. and the way we can deal with that is for women candidates to be very aware that that's an issue and find their own way of saying, hey, i'm the pioneer woman with the gun at the door. >> when hillary did that when she became the annie oakly, it didn't work for her. >> here's the thing about

hillary clinton which is different. >> hold it. we're going to talk about more. news overnight with the brand new secretary of defense. that's when we come back. ♪ at kraft we start with eggs oil, and our own crafted vinegar. all expertly blended to make our mayo. so you can take whatever you're making from good to amazing. get inspired at kraftrecipes.com discover card. hey, i heard you guys can help me with frog protection? sure, we help with fraud protection. if there are unauthorized purchases on your discover card, you're never held responsible. you are saying "frog protection"? fraud. fro-g. frau-d. i think we're on the same page.

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because it's my hometown. it's a rewarding feeling. just days into his very first week in office new secretary of defense ash carter traveled overnight to afghanistan where he's meeting with u.s. troops and talking with afghan leaders about how to ensure lasting stability as those troops withdraw from the country. in a joint press conference, secretary carter said one possibility is to extend the

troop presence in afghanistan. >> our priority now is to make sure this progress sticks. that is why president obama is considering a number of options to reenforce our support for the president's security strategy, including possible changes to the time line for our draw down of u.s. troops. that could mean taking another look at timing and sequencing of base closures to ensure we have the right array of capabilities to support our afghan partners. >> so there's the secretary of defense, we're reminded that the obama administration is going on, but we're already gearing up for 2016. talk to me about the hillary clinton of it all here. >> i have a bit of a different take on hillary clinton. she had a different problem in 2008 than other people. her campaign was particularly worried about running her so she looked strong.

she's going to be the margaret thatcher in this race. americans already knew hillary clinton was tough. what they didn't knew what was what passions she had. it wasn't until the moment in new hampshire where she started to tear up that everybody said, there's a person inside of there we might connect with. that changed the trajectory of her campaign. nobody is tougher than hillary clinton and nobody is going to be. the question is what does she want to do for the country? >> i keep suggesting that i think there's going to be a woman on the republican ticket. and i'm wondering are there models. if the republican party is the daddy party, is there a model of women running in the republican party who do this defense thing differently? >> the first person i would point to is joni ernst, who struggled at the beginning of her campaign to attract women. by the end, pulled 50% of the female vote. talks about her military service. looks tough, but also very feminine. the clinton folks have been

worried that somehow looking tough makes you not look feminine. ernst is a big one. kelly ayotte who is a military wife. i don't love her positions on issues, but she sits on armed services. she does a great job. >> she's from a swing state. even if it's a smaller swing state. >> martha mcsally. . she won a contested house race and used her experience to really make it a local race about the air force jet. and this is exactly what she put down and the republican leaders point to her. this can be the future. it's a generational change more than it is a shift in who the types of people are. >> i want to pop back on this idea of how we use the military. a key insight that our foreign policy has been militarized. ebola outbreaks, second the military.

tsunami, send the military. i'm wondering if i'm sitting here trying to have a more complicated way of thinking about our foreign policy is but now the military is the one thing that can globe trot for the u.s.? >> think about how we got here. the cold war ended and it was all military all the time. the clinton administration came in and there was a peace dividend. they had the opportunity to draw down the budgets. then the military gets a blank check to do whatever we want. any time there's a crisis around the world, military or otherwise, just as you said, it's the globe trotting expertise. it's like it's the ups of united states foreign policy where you have a problem. the military has somehow, somewhere, everything you need to try to solve that problem. it's easy to call on. >> this is right. as a politician what you want to go after is somebody with credibility. so in all the other pieces of government, the american public

feels like they can't do anything. the military advertises. they spend millions of dollars advertising every day. >> i have to say i have all the feelings about the "american sniper" movie, but i keep wondering if the film and sort of what it's doing right now is in part contributing to where we're going to in 2016 around this idea of the sole man who will protect us all. more to come on this topic and also about the most monumental thing that happened all week. ♪ ♪ welcome to the most social car we've ever designed. ♪

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society in which they reside it feeds a cycle of fear and resentment and a sense of injustice upon which extremists pray. we need to bolster bridges of communication and trust. >> that was president obama speaking thursday at a white house conference on violent extremism in a speech that advanced his foreign policy doctrine of approaching radicalism. it felt like that's precisely the thing that comes into critique. if you keep engaging only in this military way, then you will keep sort of creating the under pinnings of the violence. >> if you talk to four star generals petraeus will say you can't kill radicalism. the military u is the smallest piece and the stuff obama is talking about is the bigger piece. our politics has gotten so detached from reality that you have had generals saying this stuff.

saying don't torture. it has no dent because we have created this bizarre political culture that reality doesn't touch. >> expert after expert will tell you if you go to some rural community in a country that might hate america and educate the women and get the women to contribute to the economy or make sure the girls stay in school, that tamps down violent extremism 25 years from now. >> here's the crucial link between domestic policy and foreign policy and values and interests. we're talking about equality and opportunity. those values should form key parts of our interests in foreign policy because when we spread those values, we should do it subtly and slowly and work for change as opposed to the barrel of working under a how wit ster. stability spreads and creates a

safer world. >> americans want a strong protector sitting in the oval office who will do what it takes, slay any dragon keep the country safe. >> president obama ran on i killed osama bin laden. yes, i'm going to talk to enemies, but then i killed osama bin laden. >> he has to keep doing that. sometimes he can lean a little more on the intellectual side and that makes people feel is he really tough enough? >> but i guess this is part of my point about my worry about the kind of renewal of masculinity discourse. to be intellectually tough is to be tough. to do this kind of work to plant the seeds with women, that is potentially even harder work than doing the work certainly. the work of the military is hard work. but this is a kind of foreign policy that we have to respect as tough. >> we're going through a cultural moment in the u.s. about what toughness is what

masculinity is how as we're a more diverse society, a more open society, how do people who have defined themselves in a certain place by what it means to be male how does that fit with us? those folks are really uncomfortable. >> in a cultural moment, this is a true fact you have said. why do i know this? because shonda rhimes is doing this on "scandal." you know olivia pope has been kidnapped by these people and this week it all came to ahead. should the president have sent people to war? here's what she had to say about it. >> when the true test came along, when i was taken because of you, you go to war? you sent thousands of innocent soldiers into harm's way, some of them to their death, for one person. >> i had to save you. >> you didn't save me!

i'm on my own! >> there's no question the woman is more powerful. and she was like don't go to war for one person. on the one hand it's an evening tv show but there is a cultural moment we're grappling with here. >> we may be grappling with it more in the coasts. when i go home to michigan they are a little more lines are a little more driven. i think somebody is -- this is where hillary clinton is right. if someone is banging o on your door, somebody has to figure out what's going on. >> you just run out and shoot them and don't talk first. particularly in michigan they should be clear about this. you might shoot the wrong person. you might shoot a woman standing on your front porch. thank you to the panel. we have so much to say today. if you're watching us, you know that obama loves america is trending all thanks to new york

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on wednesday night republican governor scott walker was supposed to be the headliner at a manhattan dinner. but a former new york city mayor and 2008 gop candidate rudy giuliani said i do not believe and i know this is a horrible thing to say, by do not believe the president loves america. he doesn't love you and he doesn't love me. he wasn't brought up the way you were brought up and i was brought up through love of this country. rudy giuliani was right. that was a horrible thing to say. and he got called on it. but rather than apologize or moderate his tone or back up off my president a little he decided not only to double down but to go in on the president's mama. to "the new york times" rudy giuliani explained, some people thought it was racist.

i thought that was a joke since he was brought up by a white mother, a white grandfather, went to white schools and most of this he learned from white people. and then to cnn, there's a real attempt to make it a racial criticism. it has nothing to do with race. he was brought up by a white mother and white grandparents. he's right. president obama's mother and grandparents were white. but it might be worth noting that a person born to an african parent could be enslaved until 1865. a supreme court established separate but equal in the case u of plessy, whose ancestry was only a fraction african. and until 1965 a person with those two parents would have been subject to segregation and public accommodation, schools, housing and employment. in other words, having a white mother is not an automatic shield of racial injustice, but

mr. giuliani's taunt of your mama don't love america gives us an excuse to learn more about the woman who bore our president and the lesson she is taught him about the nation. she was in the words of her biographer, a singular woman. joining me is the author janny scott. so nice to have you back to talk about his mother. you write about her as an anthropologist, did community organizing on behalf of the poor around the world. did she contribute to a jaundice eye for her son looking back on america? >> i would not say that. it's very hard to know how any parent influences their child. you can talk about the parent and the child but to make the link is difficult. but ann dunham lived half of her adult life abroad in ind near,

but she never denounced her citizenship. i think in many ways her experience abroad led her to an appreciation of what was in the united states. she had a very american childhood. her parents were from kansas she moved around the country and ended up in hawaii. from there became an anthropologist anthropologist, not a conscious decision to depart from the united states and lee it behind. i would be very surprised if that experience that he had with his mother in any way jaundiced him towards this country. >> in a far less communist country, you were in london after all. i just thought it would be useful to reflect on that. >> it's absolutely true. obviously, i will thank my parents until the day i die. i lived in london for four years as a 10 to 14-year-old, and that gave me the perspective and my interest in the international relations and politics. i remember my very first

political moment was when ronald reagan came to the united kingdom and had a state visit with margaret thatcher. i was captivated by the issue. also through those four years my parents took me around europe and i got to experience new cultures and experience new languages. it was wonderful. that's helped make me who i am today. >> i thought it might be worth listening. president obama talks about his parents a lot. i want to listen to him talk about his mother in 2008 before he was president and then i want to pop and listen to him talking about his father and the ways that they thought about the country. let's listen for a moment. >> i think about my mom, who raise mid-sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree. who turned to food stamps but was able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships. >> to hard work and perseverance, my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place, america, that

shone as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come before. >> in 2004 he's talking about his dad coming as a student from africa to a magical place, america, and his mom who endures a lot of difficulties but seems to come out on the other side saying this is a place where hard work pays off. >> in addition to that, all the things we talked about about laying diplomacy and understanding other cultures, that comes from understanding other places and it's what you were getting at. think about how many americans brag they have never been anywhere and don't even have passports. i'm married to someone born in singapore, raised in australia, lived in london when we met. he understands the world in a different way. he's seen many things and places and cultures. that's the thing about barack obama. he's able to have understanding of the places where he lived in indonesia, his family in africa. this is a different understanding of the world that helps you relate to other cultures and maybe expand your diplomatic interests.

that's the key to how we're supposed to run a strong foreign policy. >> so on the one hand i love the notion of experimental nature, but there's a cosmopolitanism beyond experience that's simply about saying having a critique of one's nation does not mean not loving it. >> when you're listening to rudy giuliani not to talk about him too much, but he is really a voice for a very particular segment of the united states that's really wrestling with what's happening in this country. >> this is not the america -- when we say america, we don't mean this. >> this is not the america they were raised in. barack obama is a living breathing example of what's happening to the country that they thought was going to exist. he's reacting to that. >> i want to dig in on that a little more. president obama on how his parents helped provide him the path for the oval office. >> these are my heroes.

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my daughter fell into a creek. i'm not popular. join us and save without settling on the largest most reliable network. my parents shared not only an improbable love. they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. they would give me an african name believing in a tolerant america your name is no barrier to success. they imagined me going to the best schools in the land even though they weren't rich because in a generous america you don't have to be rich to achieve your potential. >> that was senator barack obama, so young, back in 2004 delivering the keynote address at the democratic national convention. i wanted to go back to '04

because it's the first time most of the nation meets the man who is going to become president obama. he puts his parents at the center of the narrative and saying in giving me this name they are suggesting that america is a good place. dreaming big dreams for me i wonder about he deploys them politically. we're irritated with rudy giuliani for having the words bout people's mama. but president obama has always asked us to think about his parents when we think about him. >> it's true. in the campaigns they have always been carefully packaged to serve a certain purpose. the notion of a new kind of america, an america that combined the old america of ann dunham's family with the new america of immigration and africans and of his father's family. but there are far more complicated story. she's always been a bit of a problem for him. she's this anthropologist who lives half her life in indonesia

and even now in the end of his second term rudy giuliani is bringing her up as a weapon against him. they are a volatile situation for him. >> i also feel like -- maybe this is me reading too much of my own self into it but my mother is a white woman who grew up out west in washington, grew up as a mormon girl. you're not a white woman who raises an african-american child who has a strong racial identity without confronting american inequality. there are a few people who could tell you more about race and inequal ta and what's wrong and good about america because to be a white mother of a black child is to confront that. so i feel like when you bring up ann dunham those are fighting words because we know what those women had to confront. >> it's more his grandparents in that influence. the conversations come from them and he went right at this during the campaign of how his

grandmother said things that would make him uncomfortable and his grandmother would guide him along and confront this place. in hawaii you're confronting a different sort of -- the native population there and then how that feels so distanced from the mainland. >> let's listen to him talk about his grandmother here for a moment. >> i think about my grandmother who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. she's the one who taught me about hard work. she's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that i could have a better life. she poured everything she had into me. >> what's really interesting, i have a suspicion that a part of the reason barack obama was able to get elected president was because there was so many families like yours, where all of a sudden there are these brown children sitting at the

table that these parents and grandparents who never had to face these issues in a personal way, but when a fight for the loved one at their table. they saw barack obama as sort of the growing up of these people and their families. so this level of integration that's happening at a familial level causes to ask questions about who we are that we never had to ask. >> not unlike marriage equality as in communities where people come out and realize that their cousin and brother and sister are in a community that is in a circumstance of inequality. they are like well for my people here we go. thank you to the panel. 50 years ago on this day, we lost malcolm x. in today's "new york times," his daughter says of today's movement he would bemoan the lack of sustained targeted activism. she joins me next. introducing the citi® double cash

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50 years ago today, the man called our living black manhood was asass nalt nated. malcolm x was 39 years old. in those brief years, he had actively transformed himself from a young hustler to a spokesman for the nation of islam to a serious man of faith and an independent gloeshl revolutionary. he spoke at universities around the world and debated. he addressed worshippers in mosques and crowds on street corners in har lem. but history may best remember him for these words. >> we want freedom by any means necessary. we want justice by in means necessary. we want equality by any means necessary. we don't feel that in 1964 living in a country that is supposedly based upon freedom

and supposedly the leader of the free world we don't think we should have to sit around and wait for some segregationist congressman and senators and a president from texas in washington, d.c. to make up their mind that our people are due now some degree of civil rights. no, we want it now, or we don't think anybody should have it. >> less than a year after that speak on this day in 1965 three gunmen rushed the stage in harlem where malcolm x was speaking and shot him 15 times. ozzie davis eulogized malcolm as our own black shining prince. malcolm's legacy is the subject of a new book a novel by his daughter who was only 3 years old at the time of his death. she join mess now. it must be a hard day. you were 3 years old. >> actually i was 2 1/2.

>> and your father was killed. that's very young. do you have memories, even visceral ones of him? >> i talk about it in one of my books. i just have flickering images. i remember this big, tall man. and these big beautiful pearly white teeth that would pierce through an enormously beautiful smile. >> i wonder in this moment you have this intense op-ed for "the new york times" for which you suggest that your father would have both support and critique for the current black lives matter. he'd agree that black lives matter, indeed, but also note that the uniform police officers who disagree are not likely to be persuaded by a hash tag. what are the things that he would offer as critique of the black lives matter movement? >> i think that he was a result

oriented person and this is what we get to recognize and appreciate in malcolm x today. so i think he would want to see what is our end goal and how have we resolved institutionalized racism? the injustice that continues even 50 years later. >> the idea of hands up is indicative of that very strategy of making a black body unprotected. >> that's right. we just have to have solutions. i think we all need to come to a roundtable v a discussion, plan organize, strategize, have some resolution. >> i thought a little bit about the legacy of your father in these past weeks as we have been talking about the legacy of martin luther king jr. in the context of the "selma" film. and so here you have a young

adult novel. it's written in your father's voice as young person. and i think, okay autobiography of malcolm x is one of the must reads and then we have manning's text that offers a different historical. what does this do for your father's legacy? >> first, i want to say that the young lady i wrote the book with is just amazing. she's just amazing. but what this book does it allows -- because it's historical historical fiction it allows the young read tore go on the journey with malcolm's trepidations just his conscience, his thoughts and malcolm coming to grips with his own self and understanding that

we all have a purpose in life. if anything, we want young people to understand that they have a purpose in life. that life isn't just about existing and accumulating a lot of wealth or material possessions. it's about giving something back. so we find that malcolm goes on to become this amazing dynamic human rights activist. >> he would have had this critique that you suggest that black lives matter what would he say about america talking about world islam? >> oh, my gosh, i couldn't tell you. i couldn't tell you right now, but i'm actually happy that president obama, he said that this isn't about islam when we have all these terrorists killings. it's about individuals who happen to be muslims. >> i so appreciate the book. i appreciate your presence here on what must be a tough anniversary. i have to tell you i met the doctor and it had such an impact

for those words. life is about some sort of purpose. you're supposed to be doing something. i appreciate hearing that from you on this day. >> i love you, admire you and so happy i could be here today. >> thank you. coming up next the new power struggle between the white house and the courts and millions of people caught in the middle. and a former nfl player is here to talk about his new campaign. there's more at the top of the hour. it's time to drop your pants for underwareness, a cause to support the over 65 million people who may need the trusted protection

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from top investment strategists to help set your mind at ease. know that planning for retirement can be the least of your worries. with the guidance of a pnc investments financial advisor, know you can get help staying on track for the future you've always wanted. welcome back. i'm melissa harris-perry. here's a head line for you. it's cold. tens of millions of you are waking up staring at your phone's weather app in disbelief. minus 5 in johns town new york. this recent slew of winter storms has delivered a double-edged sword. first, the good sledding like my little girl here. many of us have grabbed our snow

gear and headed outside for some fun. she's like what in the world? north carolina rarely sees much snow, especially the kind that sticks. so we made the most of it. nbc news wanted in on the fun too pushing #itssocold. they asked for your stories and the results were ice cold. check out this snowman. can we catch a ride too? this woman found her iced coffee had been frozen solid and how about them playing a game of where's waldo? that's the good. what about the bad? the winter storms have pummelled some areas one right after the other. places like boston are still struggled to dig out. the dangerous conditions with being blamed for the deaths of 25 people, 18 of them died in tennessee. more than half were due to hypothermia. the others were car accidents on

icy roads. parts of the south are bracing for more ice and freezing rain. and it is not over yet. another winter storm is incoming and expected to be widespread impacting parts of the south, northeast and even midwest. stay with us we'll have more on this record-shattering weather later in the hour. but right now, we turn to the latest challenge to president obama's action on immigration. the ongoing battle over immigration reform has raised an important question that has little to do with actual immigration policy. just who runs this country? is it congress? the president? some judge at the border city? what happens when those folks disagree? in this case, immigration one chamber of commerce passed an immigration reform bill that would create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. that was in june of 2013. the other chamber not so much. so the president acted on his

own after warning congress repeatedly he would do so. >> i'd prefer and still prefer to see it done through congress. i intend to take action because it's the right thing to do for the country. >> if house republicans are really concerned about me. taking too many executive actions, the best solution to that is passing bills. >> last november the president announced executive actions that would allow up to more than 4 million undocumented immigrants to stay in this country without the fear of deportation. the new rules would apply mostly to the parents of u.s. citizens as well as more immigrants who came to this country as children known as dreamers. it's an important and big change, one that would affect a third or more of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants who live in the u.s. the one that the president

performed this act unilaterally. that left many in congress in an uproar saying the president was trampling on the separation of powers. the opponents in congress are trying to exert their constitutional power. lawmakers are attempting to dismantle the president's executive orders with amendments to a $40 billion piece of legislation to fund the homeland security. they are filibustering until republicans take out the writers and republicans are blaming democrats for the delay. a bill for funding the department of homeland security is going to expire in a week. but according to republicans this fight over immigration reform isn't really about immigration reform. >> this is not about actually the issue of immigration. what it is is it's about the president acting lawlessly. >> we're going to bring legislation to reestablish the rule of law, make it clear that it's the congress, not the white house, who writes immigration

laws. >> this issue is not about immigration. the issue in this lawsuit is about abuse of executive power. >> if you're with us in the first hour, you remember the republicans say he's too weak and now he's too strong. the republicans scored a victory when the third branch of government weighed in. on monday a federal judge in texas blocked the president's executive actions putting the program on hold just before immigration officials were going to start accepting applications. the judge said that the president and department of homeland security had stepped far out of bounds. he wrote, the dhs secretary is not just rewriting the laws, he's creating them from scratch. the white house is waegs no time trying to undo this and will ask the fifth circuit court of appeals to block the judge's ruling. joining me is adam cox, professor of law. caesar vargez a contributor for the hill. jamal simmons is back.

and thank you all for being here. adam walk me through the judge's decision. what's he claiming that the president did wrong? >> the most important thing to recognize about the decision is the difference between what the court did and what he said. so what the court did is legally small and technical. he didn't say that the president's program oversteps his executive authority. all he actually said was that the administration is supposed to go out and get public comments before they actually initiate this program. that's the holding. but what he said was much broader because the opinion is laced with rhetoric suggesting that he does think that the president you serped his authority. >> walk me through before we move on. the other thing i found fascinating is they shopped around for this particular judge. i guess being not a lawyer i didn't know this was a thing one could do.

>> in a case like this when off large number of states suing the federal government, they have their pick. they can go out and pick a judge who is going to be sympathetic to their case. that's precisely what happened here and it's no different in the lower court litigation about the affordable care act. there are striking parallels between both contexts where partisan politics gets converted into a crisis in the lower courts and they can generate an opinion that drives the political debate and changes the narrative. >> on the one hand we had the republicans say thgs not about immigration. this is about the president who is so weak. this is about this imperial president, an overstepping, a constitutional crisis. but the effect is in fact, on immigrant families. >> for me i told about how excited my mom was that she was going to be able to qualify. it was very sad actually telling them the day of the decision

that she had to wait. my sister had to wait. so many other immigrants had had to wait to be with their families. for us it was about making sure they knew this is all about immigration. republicans are using the courts to fight this political battle on immigration reform. the fact this 11 presidents have taken similar action and it's about the constitutional crisis. so for us we're going to make sure that our communities are protected and reality is that for us it's great to see my mother, my sister and so many immigrants out there that they are resilient and ready. this is something temporary and we're going to continue to fight and apply. >> this leaves me with a bit of a question. i want to think of myself as a political scientist who cares about a set of principles and how things get done in addition to the outcomes. but i do find myselves in a reality where progressives will cheer the court when it basically upholds aca, but hate

the court with the voting rights amendment who will say we really want to make sure that these lower court judges don't do something unless it's marriage equality in alabama and then we're thrilled. is there a way to separate out our politics and whether or not we think it's a good decision base ond what we want for a policy from what is good practice for a constitutional democracy. >> i'm so glad you brought up the aca because that is one element of this practice that has been in place. there's an overlap of 21 states between the 27 that sued around aca and the 26 that sued around the executive action. >> i wonder what that overlap is. could it be republican governors? >> but this 26-state lawsuit also includes five states that have the whitest population in our country. including maine. what does maine really even care about what's happening around immigration since such a small

portion of their population is immigrant? and to some extent i think there is a general concern that we do need to have as liberals about where immigration and issues of people of color fit into our broader agenda. like how can we create better bridges around the immigrants rights movement the gay rights movement and other social justice issues. where do we create greater consensus around what we need to do about black lives matter and all lives matter and discrimination matters. >> i'm surprised at how much support there is. . when i look at this, i see that when we do this immigration poll, december of 2014 from pugh research, 70% allowing undocumented immigrants. but only 46% support executive action. if i'm a republican no wonder i say this isn't about immigration.

there's 70% support for it. this is about the bad president. >> this is what gets them in trouble and why they can't win the white house. >> to the end i love it. >> they don't listen to the 24% of people. so in fact what you have is a country that's already ready to make this decision. here's the thing. what we're talking about is we're talking about latin american immigration. i grew up in michigan. the place is overrun with canadians. nobody is worried about the waitresses in the nightclubs who are overstaying. those aren't the issues. people are talking about the fact they are concerned about hispanics in the country. that's what we have to sort of grapple with. there's a racial element to this that republicans don't want to have to deal with. >> fascinating. i love you win the nerd award for calling the difference between the 70 and 46% the delta. up next, president obama is

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26 states sued the obama administration from the executive order on immigration. they claim the executive orders will hurt the states financially. for one, by flooding their dmvs with new applicants for driver's licenses. the attorneys general of another 12 states and the district of columbia shot back with their own brief in the case arguing that the executive actions will benefit their states plenty. the leader of that effort is attorney general bob ferguson, who joins us live from seattle. how does your state benefit from executive action? >> thank you for having me on your show.

there's multiple ways in which washington state and other states benefit. first and foremost in my state alone, there's 100,000 individual who is stand to benefit from the president's actions. i'm their lawyer and it's important they have a chance to come out of the shadows and earn the wages they are entitled to. the types of jobs they can work for not under the table as well. it's important on a human level. >> we were looking at the data post doca that 79% of the dreamers are actually earning more in better jobs which means paying more taxes to their states and also that 41% of them returned to college after drop ing out. so yes, there's a human side, but it also feels like that's a social and economic piece. >> absolutely. we laid that out in the brief that we put before the court was that economic benefit that you're referring to.

in texas, for example in the next five years if the president's actions are allowed to go forward the state of texas will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in additional tax revenues in the same way my state will as well. we thought it was important for the judge to hear those benefits from that standpoint as well. >> it's interesting when you invoke texas because former texas a.g. had something different to say back in december on "meet the press." let's listen to him. >> if this abuse is not stopped it will erode the constitution that has attracted so many people to this country for generations. >> do you believe that this will erode the constitution? >> no, quite the opposite. i think the action taken by the pot is fully consistent with our constitution and fully consistent with having folks who have come to our country get them the legal status that will bring them in to get the jos

jobs, wages and fully contribute back to our society. that's what's critical here. i think the governor has it wrong. when he was attorney general, he was asked to describe his job. he said i get up in the morning gorks to work sue the obama administration and go home. this was the most recent of those actions. i'll leave it to your viewers to determine the motives. >> hold one minute. i want to come out to you because that idea we heard him say early on i'm their lawyer. then we compare that to mr. abbott saying i sue the obama administration. is there a way to make this about immigration? about people? but also about the law in this sense? this is the job. >> for us it's bringing it back to the story. the attorney general really said it precisely. this is about the families, about the people working, the people paying taxes. on april 15 i have to pay taxes. i get excited to pay taxes because it's me contributing to the country. i'm an american. i'm undocumented now, but for

me, i came here when i was 5 years old. this is my home. i want to make sure this constitution continues to provide freedom and liberty to generations to come. so texas definitely got it wrong. but we know the nation is way u ahead of what texas is. >> so adam, algebra and the law are different. help us to understand how 26 attorneys general is on one side. is there not just a legal answer here? >> well, unfortunately, as we have been discussing, the legal arguments have been used so much in the service of politics that that explains the divide among the attorneys general. it's red states versus blue states. the law is clear here. the law makes clear that because the government is as immigrants know not actually providing legal status. it's huge practical benefits for immigrants who can come out of

the shadows, and this is what some folks are afraid of, these actions could be reversed. given that fact, it was just wrong of the district court to say what the president did was confer legal benefit on 4 million immigrants. >> before we take our break, is there one piece of the ruling that makes you more optimist. ic or pessimistic about what's to happen next? >> there's nothing about the ruling that surprised me. your guests talked about this judge being selected by the plaintiffs. i agree with that. to be perfectly honest i'm not surprised by the ruling. it will be decided by the supreme court before we're done. >> thank you to attorney general bob ferguson in seattle, washington, this morning. up next just who is skbk who is not. i'm bringing the rest of the table back in. ♪ at kraft we start with

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the united states immigration policy has long made judgments about what kind of people we allow in and which we turn away. it's not all your tired and poor and wretched, president obama frequently points out that he only wants to help those that are worthy immigrants. >> we're going to keep focusing enforcement resources on actual threats to our security. felons not families criminals, not children gang members, not a mom who is working hard to provide for her kids u. >> so i get the politics of it, i really do. for those of us that have criminals in our family i don't know that distinction between families and felons just initially struck me as, whoa, now you have to be better as an immigrant than an american has to be by simply being born here.

>> knowing inging obscure facts that you have to know to pass the citizenship test. >> not that i wouldn't be happy for american citizens to also know those things. >> you're right on target. the president is using rhetoric but it perpetuates certain images that he's walked a really fine line for a very long time. i think it's important also for us to remember who is welcome changes over time. once we really welcome low wage labor and all of a sudden it was like shut it down and we needed high skilled labor and 1965 opened up the doors. now we're upset about who is here. there's a moving target about who is welcome and who is not. it's really dangerous to play that rhetorical line to perpetuate the imagery that we're already problemtizing. >> it's not the canadian nurses

overrunning the detroit hospitals because there is a rationalized aspect. >> it's helpful to pull back and get historical perspective. i was struck by a column in "the new york times" about george washington's slave catcher and an african-american woman who had gone up north to new hampshire to get away from him. the similarities of the struggle of the escapes africans brought here to work and left and they started families and had communities, but they were always living in the shadow of being shut down by folks -- >> i love that you quoted that. i just met her on thursday night at the university of delaware and was asking her about the fact that this woman married a free man of color, but it did not protect her as a matter of status and it was like being an undocumented. >> here's a founding father who we all look at as this great american, but he's shrouded by

this dark legacy. the question is in our era, are we going. to be shrouded by the legacy of how we treated undocumented people in our country and not welcoming them in and giving them a chance to live their lives. >> i'm so happy you brought that up. that said i want to look at the new daca requirements. you talked a little about it. how does it feel to pay taxes? an exciting thing of thinking as yourself as an american. obtain the general ged, have not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. i get it i do but i also feel like but given that we know how likely those kinds of policings are in precisely these vulnerable communities, it continues to feel like we're setting up a kind of multitier system of who gets to be here. >> it's such simplistic

rhetoric. the reality that some states like arizona, one of the most anti-immigrant sheriffs who uses the law to target felons. he charges them with felonies for just working with a fake identification. so now this woman who was working to pay for school, to pay for her family is now charged as a felon and convicted as a felon. >> even though it's a status offense. it's not a crime likely to harm another person. >> that's why it's so important the retic, the politics and when we go back to the stories. we're talking about a mother who was recently deported for that. so i think the president has a tough job, but at the same time, it's about making sure we're not simplistic u to say families or felons, because our immigration is so messy we need to clarify and clean it. the president took this action to elevate as many people out of the shadows, but making sure that we implement and give opportunity not just for the

dreamers but for the law students. for all workers, the parents who couldn't go to school. >> i guess part of what i'm wondering here is part of what happens is because immigration is under the department of homeland security this is that kind of post 9/11 moment where we begin to see every foreigner as a threat on our shores. >> what the president is doing is he's dealing with the politics of this. the politics is if we try to save everybody, we could lose the opportunity to save a lot. so he's going for what he can do at this particular moment and it's politics. >> i wonder if there's a state by state strategy given there is so much pushback. one of the things progressives had to do is take it out of the president's hands, not because they don't think it's good at it, because it causes so much push. back. >> since 2006 there's been an increase in the number of bills in order to address integration. states can't technically do

anything, but they can do a wide range of things. they can allow undocumented immigrants to get driver's license. they can provide in-state tuition. we're concerned about seeing more voices like ours in-state legislatures to push for that agenda because this was a very conservative action on the part of the president. and even when we have immigration for all. when we fix the system, there's a huge range to happen. so that everyone can feel like they can access what is available to them in america. >> thank you to the panel. a quick programming note. something you absolutely will not want to miss. this wednesday night at 8:00 p.m., msnbc will present an exclusive town hall with president obama on the issue of

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on thursday president obama made a monumental announcement when he launched an initiative called every kid in a park. the program will allow all fourth graders and family os to visit national parks free of charge for a full year. additionally three new national monuments will be created including the national monument which the president dedicated thursday afternoon while visiting chicago's historic district. president obama spoke about the town's origins and the men who worked on his trains. >> this site is at the heart of what would become america's labor movement. and as a consequence at the heart of what would become america's middle class. >> at the heart of the labor movement and the country's middle class were the pullman

porters, the men who left the south to work on company trains serving passengers in first class sleeping cars between the 1860s and 1960s. the porters work became a movement. they joined together as the brotherhood of sleeping carporters and became the first african-american labor union. the porters were also an integral part of the civil rights movement. >> it was those pullman porters who gave the base by which they could convince president truman to desegregate the armed forces. it was those porters who helped lead the montgomery bus boycott, who were the central organizers of the march on washington. >> and now those porters deservedly so, will be honored in chicago's first national park, a testament to their it

legacy, their leadership and their labor. up next pushed out, overpoliced and underprotected. a new report on the lives of black girls. there's confidence. then there's trusting your vehicle maintenance to ford service confidence. our expertise, technology, and high quality parts mean your peace of mind. now you can get the works, a multi-point inspection with a synthetic blend oil change tire rotation, brake inspection and more. $29.95 or less. 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 future of the market is never clear. but at t. rowe price we can help guide your retirement savings. our experience is one reason 100% of our retirement funds beat their 10-year lipper averages.

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consider these recent head lines. a 6-year-old girl handcuffed for throwing a temper tantrum inside a classroom in georgia. in michigan a high school honor student suspended for carrying a pocket knife. and in henry county georgia. a 12-year-old nearly expelled for writing on a locker room wall. these are the harsh punishments delivered to student who is are black girls and their stories are not uncommon. 12% of black girls are suspended from school versus 2% of white girls girls. although black boys are more likely to be punished in school, black girls are more likely to be suspended. a new study highlights these discrepancies and implications.

black girls matter: pushed out overpoliced and underprotected. crenshaw is a professor of law at columbia and founder of the african-american policy forum. it's so nice to have you here. we were just talking about how the report on the one hand is beautiful but also very troubling. i'm wondering, are there any particular findings that were surprising for you? >> well melissa, we knew there were disproportionality in terms of suspension and expulsion that african-american students suffered from overall. the disparity between girls, we looked in new york city and found that black girls were ten times more likely to be suspended or subject to discipline than white girls and in boston service 11 times. that's consistent overall, but let's recognize that the disproportionality between girls is greater than between boys.

so to the extent this a racial problem or a problem of racial discrimination, girls should be front and center in this conversation because they are experiencing high rates of racial disproportionality. >> so what do you say to someone who says well maybe the girls are just badder and just deserve to be punished? >> that was one of the things we had to consider. it was why we decided to looking at data to actually sit down and talk to young women who had been pushed out of school to get some of their stories. they told us precisely these kind of stereotypes. we are perceived to be loud aggressive, unlady like. teachers aren't invested in us. that's consistent with some of the research that suggests that black girls tend to be viewed as unlady like and some teachers black as well as nonblock see their role as trying to shape their behavior into more appropriate behaviors for women and girls. so in that way, they are facing both gender kind of norming,

which comes from a gender project and racial stereotypes because blackness is associated with aggressiveness. so it's an intersectional problem they are facing. >> i want to take a listen to the attorney general of the united states talking about this issue, not specifically around girls, but around the racial disparity and the effects that it has on longer term. let's take a listen. >> we will continue to work with allies like the department of education and others throughout the federal government and beyond to confront the school to prison pipeline and those zero tolerance school discipline policies that really do not promote public safety and that transform too many institutions from doorways of opportunity into gateways to the criminal justice system. a minor school disciplinary offense should put a student in the principal's office and not a police precinct. >> so is that what's happening?

they are being put in a police precinct? >> sometimes the precinct is in the school. people don't realize that police are now in the school. when you have police in the school it's like if your police officer, the things that happen between students look like a criminal justice problem. so we have seen some of the consequences of that. one of the things we don't realize is how girls are particularly positioned. we talked to one girl who had had gotten arrested for a fight, put on probation so every time she came to school late she got a ticket. when the ticket accrued, she ended up being arrested and e eventually wound up in solitary confinement. so we're talking literally about the school to prison pipeline. it's not a metaphor. it's real. >> there's so much more in this report that at the core it is this idea that black girls matter too. we can't just assume there are girls programs and race programs. we have to look specifically at

that intersection. thank you for this report and for helping to get this information out there. before we take a break, i want to get an update on the record-shattering cold that's creating dangerous conditions. at least 25 deaths are blamed on this latest arctic blast and another widespread round of ice, snow and freezing rain is on the way. join ing joining me from ohio is mr. sanders. it's snowing on you right now. my goodness. >> reporter: yeah, it's been coming down since early this morning. we have about an inch on the ground and it's possible we could see up to six, maybe nine inches all the way over from this area u towards cincinnati. the good news is that temperatures are up. 23 degrees, still cold, but the temperatures are up. it was negative 12 yesterday

before you factor eded in the windchill. there are some folk who is are finding a little bit of upside to all of this and those are the ice sculpture folks that have gathered here for the international competition. this is nep tune or frozen nep tune. some people are saying this is great because the temperatures are up. i'm thinking 23 degrees, not so great and really kind of put a punctuation on the end of that it's not going to get above freezing until next month. they are in for a little chill here for the coming days and beyond. >> man, am i ready for spring. kerry sanders in ohio doing the hard work while the rest of us are warm and toasty here in 30 rock. enjoy the ice sculptures. >> reporter: i will and there's a sand sculpture contest in mexico. i think i'll go there next. still to come this morning, the hit show "empire" is playing

to a particular stereotype about the african-american community. a friend of this show former nfl player davis is working to change all that. if you take multiple medications, a dry mouth can be a common side effect. that's why there's biotene. it comes in oral rinse spray or gel so there's moisturizing relief for everyone. biotene, for people who suffer from a dry mouth. earning unlimited cash back on purchases. that's a win. but imagine earning it twice. introducing the citi® double cash card. it lets you earn cash back twice,

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the hit new show on fox keeps getting bigger. drawing in 12.5 million viewers wednesday coming in a close second to the highest rated drama on tv. amc's "the walking dead." it's filled with glamour, music and cash but the heart of the story is the hip hop mogul pitting his sons against each other, one of whom he rejects because he's gay. the story line and the reaction is generated head lines focusing on how show creator homophobia in the black community. but a new campaign is challenging the notion that african-americans are more resistant to same-sex relationships than other groups.

"this is love" is a multimedia campaign accepting lgbtq acceptance and it is culminating in a town hall discussion tomorrow in washington, d.c. the event will feature jason collins, son of magic johnson, e.j. johnson, and michael denzel smith and many more. joining me now, one of the people behind the campaign "this is love," former nfl player, wade davis. talk to me a little bit about this campaign as a way to push back against this powerful stereotype that black folks are more homophobic than others. >> there's a pervasive narrative that we don't love each other. it was shocking to me that people only focused on terence's relationship with jabal or his

brothers. 75% of the his family structure loves and embraces him. and we said we have to control the actual narrative. there's an african proverb that says, until the lion has a historian, the hunter will always be a hero. we don't have a historian. so my goal with myself and darnell is to say, how can we change the narrative and add to it. and this campaign has been blessed by so many different people. >> when you talk about narratives, this is literally people telling their stories. and instead of these being the stories of "i came out and was rejected and abused," these are stories of "i came out and my family loves me." tell me what this is about. >> this young girl who is a

lesbian ran away from home because her mother will not accept her. i saw her six months later and i said how are you? and she said i'm good my mother knew i was a lesbian and she loves me. what everyone is writing about is true. >> this is so interesting, this idea that that is in part is what is at stake for lgbtq youth of color in color, if we keep perpetuating that you will be rejected, you may be more likely to closet or shield yourself than, you are more likely to find a family that does love and support and find a pathway with you. >> and also the lgbt community in general is rather racist, if i may. if you have black kids who leave their black family and can't find family in the lgbt

community, where do they go? there is someone in our community that will love you and embrace you. and even in the empire show, you can see lucious is growing there. it may not happen overnight, but it's a process. >> we were just called to kimberly crenshaw about the ways in which black girls are overpoliced, how they're pushed out. i also wonder if there are notions about masculinity, notions about femininity and particularly high stakes for black folks about being a real man or being a real woman. it sounds silly but how is it that love helps you to navigate those rigid notions about what is the right way to be? >> i always say that love erases that space between you and me. if we can show each other love and know that vulnerability is a strength that showing someone in your intercommunity is

actually a space of love and kinship, we can move past these sexist notions of masculinity and femininity. >> tell me what's happening tomorrow. >> we have a panel, a town hall of young people there who are not just going to be talked to by our special guests but can talk with. we want it to be a conversation an actual sharing where people can say, my family my community, people who look like me actually really do love me. >> it's nice. february is that intersection between the month where we celebrate love. >> right. >> on valentine's day. it's also black history month. but sometimes as we're doing our black history thing, we'll fail to talk about the heroes and sheroes in our community. any stories of queer folks who have made a difference --

>> james baldwin. i want to celebrate our current ones like you. it is such a pleasure to have you be such an ally to me and to everyone else doing this work and celebrating us in such a public way. >> thank you. to my niece, chris, who i know is a young lesbian african-american living in chicago right now, is navigating her space. and i see her doing it. she should know we all love you deeply, chris. don't forget to check out's wade davis' campaign. that's our show for today. thanks to you at home for watching. i'll see you at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. and omg! tomorrow's show will be on fleak. we have a table of millennials. these young people have agreed to look up from their devices just long enough to join us on set. and let us know whether or not they plan to change everything or not.

so grab your bae and tune in sunday morning. now time for a preview with "weekends with alex witt." lol, alex do you have any idea what i just say? >> the only reason i know what bae is is i met with friends last weekend and we were talking about the lingo of our kids. >> my millennials wrote that so i'll figure it out tomorrow. >> you sold it well. thank you, melissa. right now, imagine getting threatening messages from an parent isis simpt izerympathizer on facebook. the gulf coast oil spill, five years later, was the clean-up a real success? ed schultz just visited there and will tell me what he found. and how the maker of your iphone may be getting into the car business. can apple really compete with other automakers? i'll be right back. your pocket right now? i have $40

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a new plan in afghanistan, a surprise vitt by the secretary of defense could change the time line on when u.s. troops get to leave. after the bitter cold and snow, now fears of flooding in some parts of the country. strange twists. the unusual new details from police on that apparent act of road rage that left one woman dead in las vegas. and warm thoughts here in the bitter cold in number ones. a new ranking of the best beaches in america.