ah, these small new york apartments... protect your belongings. let geico help you with renters insurance. breaking news at this hour, video in just a short time ago of the devastation left behind after a twister swept through parts of texas but right now there's more dangerous weather developing throughout the country. hey there, everyone, it's high noon in the west, 9:00 a.m. out in the west here in los angeles. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." a new line of turbulent weather is sweeping across the united states. from a blizzard warning to massive floods threatening texas and oklahoma. hundreds of structures damaged in dallas and some homes levelled. death toll stands at 11 with dozens more injured. a different scene out of new mexico and western texas where a

snowstorm accompanied with plunging temperatures is expecting to bring up to 16 inches of snow to the region. and then take a look at this from rowlett, texas. a large tornado moving through the area overnight. that's lit up by what you're seeing these numerous power flashes as power lines are destroyed. that's where we find our nbc charles hadlock. how bad is it out there? >> reporter: it's really bad, alex. the tornado that came through came through at night. so this is the first chance anyone has been able to see what actually happened. you see the aerial, how wide the path of destruction has been. some houses have been leveled, completely wiped away from their foundation. this is a house that's still standing but all the windows are blown out. you can see some of the toys the kids got perhaps in this neighborhood scattered in this yard. this is one of 11 tornadoes that struck texas overnight killing

11 people. a path of destruction near dallas as deadly tornadoes touched doin dallas terrorizing residents for hours. it appears at this point they probably came from the roadway from the highway, around 17 feet. >> reporter: eyewitnesss came upon a scene of devastation. >> it was terrifying. it was heartbreaking. you know, especially being the day after christmas. >> reporter: as the monster storm bore down on nearby rowlett by standers recorded warning sirens and enormous bangs. >> i've seen tornados before but never seen damage like this. >> reporter: homes and lives ripped apart in seconds. >> i can't believe this amount of damage was done in probably 30 seconds. but it felt like a lifetime. it did.

i'm sorry. >> reporter: building materials flu through the area piercing walls. suzanne came out to find a stranger's treasured memories stuck to her mail box and inside her truck. south of dallas more destruction in waxahachie. at least 40 homes were damaged in the surrounding area but no serious injuries reported. >> i thank god all of my makes are alive. >> reporter: the power of the storm was visible from above as planes passed over dallas. below a full groundstop was order at the dallas-ft. worth airport during one of thes abouty -- the busiest travel times of the year. nearly 25,000 people lost power. the city of dallas was spared the worst of the twister's destruction. >> new tornado warning in effect for ellis county. >> reporter: warnings may have saved many more lives but for those who came through the storm a long road to recovery lies

ahead. >> i have no doubt that everyone will pull together. it will take a lot of time and a lot of effort. >> reporter: alex, as you can see this is one of the toys someone got for christmas tossed here among the rubble. texas is getting it this weekend. we have a blizzard out to the west. 16 inches of snow expected with 60 mile-per-hour wind. tornadoes in north texas, a tornado watch in east texas, and we could get snow mixed with this rain later tonight. alex, back to you. >> you know what, charles, i know you have lived in the neighborhood there in that community for a long time. have you ever seen anything like this with tornadoes? >> reporter: we see a lot of rope tornadoes, skinny tornadoes that come and dip and tear up a neighborhood. but we haven't seen one a wedge tornado like this in a long time. especially one around the christmas time, hard time to have your house blown apart like

this. but this is part of that massive low pressure system that's churning its way up into the midwest. so we're not out of the woods here yet. oklahoma is going to be hit with an ice storm in the eastern and western sections of oklahoma, western sections. eastern sections will see a lot of heavy rain. they could get up to one inch of ice over trees and roadways over parts of the panhandle and into western oklahoma today. >> that you fenkfully with thos, a lot of heads up. let's bring in msnbc meteorologist. >> as charles was explaining it's a multi-faceted dynamic pattern. we have a tornado watch. now the threat has pushed further to the east into the houston area of texas. this is where we have a tornado watch until 4:00 p.m. cluing northwest louisiana.

southwest arkansas isolated tornadoes, damaging winds and hail with those downpours. looking on further for the entire day we still run the risk of severe weather as far east as gulfport, mississippi and new orleans and northward into shreveport. but look at this. incredible. we have ice right now. bit 31 degrees in oklahoma city. ice, freezing rain coming into that region and then very heavy snow just to the west and heavy rain to the east. tulsa getting a little bit of a wintry mix as well. this is dangerous across a good portion of oklahoma and texas. in fact travel not advised in some locations. other areas saw complete road closures this morning from eastern areas of east amarillo all the way to the new mexico border in texas. blizzard warning remains. we're getting snow drifts up to ten feet already reported. very dangerous wind. 60 miles per hour and wind chills that are below zero. so treacherous on a day we're seeing so much travel. we're also looking at snow. if you're driving or traveling through wisconsin, minnesota

you're going see substantial snow. for chicago not so much more of a sleet and wintry mix happening into monday. and here's what we can expect for northeast. interesting enough it's the first measurable significant snow of the season anticipated for albany which makes at any time latest in the season ever for albany. we're looking at the possibility of an inch or two maybe more for boston bust will change over to rain. no snow for new york. maybe sleet minsking in. this is substantial for northern new england. >> you're one busy lady today. other news now four. chicago police say a 55-year-old woman fatally shot by one or more officers was accidentally struck. 19-year-old woman and betty jones were killed when officers responded to a domestic disturbance call. investigators say the 19-year-old was allegedly attacking his father with a metal baseball bat.

jones who is a neighbor called 911 and was in that apartment waiting for the police. they say the officers were confronted by a combative individual upon their arrival resulting in an officer opening fire. while the victim's family say they are shocked. >> why did you shoot an innocent person? she had no weapon. you shouldn't have drawn your weapon period. >> the statement says the officer or officers involved will be placed on routine administrative duty for 30 days as a result of the shooting. here in california massive brush fire that's burned more than 1,200 acres is now 60% contained. more than 600 firefighters battled the fire which started friday night in ventura county. i want closed the 101 freeway which is a major route between southern and northern california. investigators say downed power lines were to blame. there wasn't much sun at this year's sun bowl but a lot of snow. this was in el paso, texas.

at times there was so much snow it was difficult for tv cameras to keep track of the football. in case you were wondering, washington state came out on top with a 20-14 victory over miami. >> donald trump supporters turn out for rallies but will they turn out for the iowa caucuses. hear how the presidential front-runner responded to that question this morning. today people are coming out to the nation's capital to support an important cause that can change the way you live for years to come. how can you help? by giving a little more,

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an update on the dangerous weather across the country. at least 11 people are dead after severe storms tore through the dallas area damaging homes, downing power lines and causing flash floods. thousands are still without power. search-and-rescue efforts are under way right now. let's go politics. we're a little more than a month away until the iowa caucus.

in an effort to garner more support several candidates including donald trump are getting back on the campaign trail tomorrow traveling to new hampshire another key state. while donald trump continues to boost about his popularity one of his rivals isn't putting any stock into his poll numbers. >> what trump does is he complains about everything. look these attacks on women, the attacks on hillary not getting back to the stage on time, the attacks on hispanics and muslims, look we haven't start to vote yet, john. it's a good top of the story, trump is rising and everything. wait until we start voting and then we'll know. we're going to know where people are. >> meanwhile on the democrat side bernie sanders is down playing whether he thinks the dnc is giving his campaign a fair shot. >> we have had our differences of opinion with the dnc but at the end of the day, end of the day, the dnc, hillary clinton

and myself we want to defeat right-wing extremism in this country. we're trying to work out our differences of opinion. >> sanders comments come in the midst of inclosed tension between his campaign and the dnc after a staffer inappropriately gathered information from hillary clinton's campaign. good morning, caitlyn. the latest poll it shows donald trump with nearly a 20-point lead in new hampshire trailing behind him are ted cruz and marco rubio. what are strategists telling you about the fate of the gop establishment in that statement? >> that's going the key state. in iowa that ted cruz is the leader there. and so the question comes for the more, you know, mainstream republicans whether they can pull out a victory in new hampshire. new hampshire tends to favor the more establishment minded candidates but has had a couple of surprises in the past.

pat buchanan won there in '96. what the establishment, the more mainstream republicans now are concerned about losing that state to donald trump and that would help donald trump kind of move forward in the race. so you have marco rubio, chris christie, john kasich, jeb bush all competing in that key state of new hampshire. >> this morning donald trump gave an interview responding to the questions of whether his supporter will show up to vote. let's take a listen to that. >> i think they will. you know, you don't know. look, i have a very good bond and relationship to the people of iowa. i've done great with the tea party. i've done really, really great with the evangelicals. you see the numbers. ted and i are pretty close in terms of the polling but i think we'll have a lot of people to go out. i hope to win iowa. it's very easy for me to say if i come in second or third that would be wonderful. i don't want to say that. i want to win iowa and then i

want to win new hampshire where i have a very substantial lead. >> trump strategy is very unusual for a presidential candidate. he does not do tv ads or employ campaign pollsters. he relies on making headlines essentially. the is this the future of campaigning or is donald trump the only one that can pull off? >> we're starting to see this nationalization of politics. donald trump has been leading pretty much every where in the polls with that national campaign strategy and so if he's successful in a state like new hampshire, for example, that will, could bring into question, you know, the status of the retail campaigning and the town halls and on the ground kind of thing associated with politics. but you bring up iowa and that is going to be a very key state in terms of organizing. ted cruz is in position to do very well in a state like iowa but remember it's a caucus.

so getting people to come out, as they say in that cold night in february but also getting the home attend a caucus is very different in a primary. that's the key difference, the key test for donald trump whose campaign has been based on the idea of him talking about leading the polls, talks about being a winner. if he doesn't pull out a victory in iowa that will bring into question some of the elements of his campaign and so the question remains, you know, does he go to new hampshire and can he do well there? >> what is your take on trump's path to victory? at what point do you think it will become clear who the nominee will be for the gop? >> well, i think after new hampshire we'll have a real winnowing of the field. if they don't do well, chris christie, john kasich, jeb bush, if they don't do well in new

hampshire there's questions about their future. for donald trump, though, you know his main rival right now is ted cruz who is looking for a win in iowa but then really focusing his campaign on the southern states, that all vote in unison on march 1st, the so-called sec primary where there are many, many delegates at stake. so the calendar at this point is favoring ted cruz. >> all right. thanks so much for weighing in. coming up, who is not benefiting from the record low gas prices you are seeing at the pump? try the superior hold...

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u.s. aircraft returned safely. oil prices are continuing to fall. consumers are benefiting. prices at the gas pump dropped an average of $2 a gallon nationwide the lowest mark since 2009. let's bring in the founding director of the columbia center on global energy policy. and jason, tell me why prices are going down so dramatically? >> we've seen pretty weak demand growth. hasn't been helped by the warm weather we've been having in certainly the northeast. the world is awash in cheap oil right now. the u.s. supply of shale has held up much better than thought with the oil price. opec hasn't cut production. iran coming back in the market. a lot of oil. more supply than we need. we're producing more than we're consuming. inventories are filling. >> saudi arabia the world's

second largest oil producer after the u.s. has declined to cutback oil production. is this aimed at pricing expensive to produce shale oil mostly from this country and canada and get identity out of the market lays. >> in some sense the saudis didn't have much of a choice. if they cutback production the u.s. was growing at a million barrels per day per year. the u.s. would keep growing and offset a lot of the saudi production cut. and the saudis aren't going do it alone they will do it with other members of peck and none-opec countries. they are trying to slow down the growth of u.s. shale but more so non-u.s. supply like the arctic, ultradeepwater, oil sands and that's work. $300 billion in global capital investment cutback. >> i want to just be clear on your biography. you're a former senior adviser

with the obama administration. i want to ask about the nuclear ban with iran. what will that impact be? >> yeah. it's funny you mentioned that. when i was in the administration we were putting in place sanctions against iran and one of the concerns is how do you pull back so much iranian supply from the market and not cause oil prices to go up even more when they were $0120, $130 a barrel. now it's reverse, very low oil prices and iran is about to come back in the market. a lot of that is priced into the market. commodity markets are expecting something like half a million barrels of supply from iran when the sanctions are lifted probably sometime in the first quarter of next year. but if iran surprises to the upsiepd that will weigh heavily on prices. >> everyone is enjoying cheaper gas but the lower prices must be having a negative impact on regions that depend on oil revenue. we have the "new york times" with report about alaska now considering imposing an income

tax for the first time in 35 years because of the oil revenue dropping there. what other down sides are there to lower oil prices? >> you're right. major oil producers have been hit very hard by this price collapse. we put out a study at columbia's energy sector on the impact on venezuela which was seeing significant political and economic instability. saudi is about to announce a reform package. they were hit hard. what's different now is that the u.s. is the largest oil and gas producer. texas, north dakota, oklahoma, people in the industry, people who work in the sector there are going hit particularly hard. the risk of geopolitical instability is hard now. low oil prices kind of pull the rug out a bit from under investment in renewables and low carbon transportation technologies which is less attractive right now. >> it's 38 bucks a barrel now.

how low do you think it will go? >> if i was good at predicting the price of oil i would be working at the lower end of manhattan rather than the upper end. there's a lot of factors that could push it down further from here particularly if we reach limits in terms of storing oil. we're getting close. i don't think it will stay there. we'll see prices recover next year. big part is how quickly the u.s. and others can come back into the market when pries rise and how quickly demand grows around the world. what we'll see in terms of the chinese economy and how quickly policy measures dealing with clima climate. >> no crystal ball. thank you very much. today's number one starts at the gas pumps where you just heard motorists are benefiting from the falling oil prices. red areas on the map you see here from gasbuddy.com represent the highest gas prices in the country so folks right here in

california, also hawaii and alaska are paying the most. areas in green pay the least. missouri has the lowest state average at 1.70 a gallon. the high evident, california, 2.83. four, three, two, one -- happy new year! yeah. >> this is a rehearsal at mortuary. 1 million people will jam the streets to ring in 2016 on thursday night. the big apple top's national geographic list of top new year's eve celebration. las vegas comes in second. rio de janeiro rounds out the top three. new york seems to be obvious choice but wallet.com ranks new york as the 25th best. instead they rank orlando the best location in the nation to celebrate the new year. those are your number ones. n wo. huddling with their man after the game is nice too.

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at 30 past the hour welcome backto weekends with alex witt. >> alex the tornado watch is for eastern parts of texas including houston as well as northwest louisiana, the parishes there, shreveport and texarkana, athlete for isolated tornadoes with damaging winds and the storm prediction center in norman, oklahoma put out an outlook where we can expect to see severe weather. there's a slight risk for jackson and gulfport and new orleans, risk for strong storms. give the heads up there. what a dynamic weather pattern. blizzard conditions off further to the west into texas and even some heavy snow coming in to oklahoma. right smack in the center of the rain and snow is the ice. ice coming down, 31 degrees in oklahoma city. freezing rain right now. this will likely lead to power

outages. we have thousands of power outages in the region due to the weather. we'll see more. heavy rain with potential for lots of flooding not just texas but for a widespread area. with this entire storm have a heads up. even if it's not raining or snowing where you are the winds will pick up. this could be very damaging. up to 60 miles per hour and where the snow has been falling boy that has just been tremendous. here's a look at the flood threat. we can still see heavy rain expected into arkansas all the way up through areas into missouri and the widespread area impacted by this flood is just incredible. one of the places we had our eyes on all weekend is st. louis, two to six inches of rain already and through monday several more inches. that's why this will be a widespread dangerous flooding event for so much of the country dealing with extreme weather. so many advisories. i mentioned the 60 mile-per-hour winds and where the snow has been falling this is creating a blizzard situation happening right now in eastern new mexico, snow drifts up to eight feet. there's an ice storm warning.

extreme weather with us now at least for the next few days. i think it will get quieter towards the end of this year beginning of next. >> thank you so much. developing now, austrian law enforcement officials are warning of a possible new terror attack this holiday week. vienna police have increased security after receiving a warning from a quota friendly intelligence service that european capitals could face an attack between now and new year's. let's bring in former assistant director of new york's fbi office. let's get right to this. the vienna police said there's no specific threat. so do you think they were right to raise an alert? >> alex, i think they can hardly afford not to raise an alert when there's no specific threat but there's a threat they need to do something about it. and in lots of times as we saw in san bernardino things, prior to the san bernardino terrorist act months before they were

planning to do something else on a terrorist mode. but they didn't do it because there had been some arrests. so that stopped them from doing what they were going to do. in this particular case where there's no specific incident they need to -- they need to put more forces out there and that could very well stop something untoward from happening. >> bill, do you think since paris and san bernardino, do you think authorities both in this country and overseas are more likely to inform the public of any threats, whatever the level? >> i think they probably are. you know, it's not just to cover their own self, it's in order to really make the citizens safer as they can and also to seek the help of the citizens, alex. that's an extremely important. so if citizens feel that there's a heightened threat they will be more observant and much more likely to bring whatever they see to the attention of the proper security forces. >> see something, say something

it's part of our dna. bill security has been beefed up here this holiday season. you got theme parks with metal detectors just guesting in to the parks. tsa tightened the airport screening options. are these precautions now becoming just the reality of every day life in this country? >> it sure is. subsequent to 9/11 as things drastically increased in our own nation i want to say based on everything that happens now you'll find more and more deterrence put in place to keep it from happening again. it's difficult. it's not the most comfortable feeling in the world. but i think it's absolutely necessary. and it's going become a thing of the future. like everything else, when something happens we increase the protection. as you well know nothing has decreased seriously since 9/11. >> it seems like it's the new norm. there are some new figures i want to share this from the government on terror crimes here in the u.s.

the justice department says at least 60 people were charged with terrorism related crimes this year and that sets a record. in fact the doj official says a common connection in almost every case is somehow tied to social media. how difficult is it for authorities to counter the use of social media by extremist groups. >> they are getting their teeth sunk into it fairly well. as you recall, they recovered some material, flash drives and like that. after san bernardino, same thing. what they look for in these particular cases in years gone by we looked at nexus between telephone calls. that's not how we communicate or at least how the terrorists communicate. they communicate through social media. what they do is they look at what social media contacts have these recovered hard drives, thumb drives, have in common. and then they take a couple of steps backwards to look at who

else has visited these sites. sometimes in order to move forward we need to take a step back wards and that's what's happening now and now they are figures out who has been on these websites and what other websites social media sites they can establish from they recover already. >> bill, i want to pick up on what you said. you said this is being done after the fact. and, yes, every little bit helps. trying to get ahead of things and getting on social media and figures out connections and concerns, that's a challenge. >> it is a challenge but i think that probably based on some of the information that we've recovered already, alex that's what led them to maybe raising the alert in vienna and various capitals within europe so it led to the incident of job bring we stopped in italy. those kinds of things. we do take a step back and start analyzing and then move forward to see where they are right now and maybe predict where they are going to be in the future. >> okay, bill, thanks so much

for your time. i appreciate it. >> new questions about donald trump's ground game in iowa and whether it could come back to haunt him. only nicorette mini has a patented fast-dissolving formula. it starts to relieve sudden cravings fast. i never know when i'll need relief. that's why i only choose nicorette mini. want bladder leak underwear that try always discreet underwear and wiggle, giggle, swerve and curve. with soft dual leak guard barriers and a discreet fit that hugs your curves. so bladder leaks can feel like no big deal. get your free pair and valuable coupons at always discreet.com

>> developing now stivers are surveying the damage after a tornado hit dallas. 11 people were killed in the storms. 600 structures were damaged. majority of which were single family homes. the tornado's path was two square miles. let's go now to politics. candidates back on the road tomorrow hoping to gain support ahead of the iowa caucus on february 1st. joining me with a look ahead, former vermont governor howard dean and political strategist. governor dean hillary clinton the presumed democratic front-runner. she's your girl certainly. she still cannot get ahead in new hampshire. bernie sanders is leading by double digits. why is that?

how important is that? will that be all for bernie sanders? >> i don't think it will be all for bernie sanders. he's a strong candidate and he represents a really important wing of the democratic party which is the progressive wing which i mostly remember him, i think. so, you know, this will be a tough race and nobody should take anything for granted. hillary is working as hard as she can. i think she will win iowa and do her best in new hampshire. this race is not going to be over in two or three primaries. >> susan, what about the donald trump questions. big one this week. does he have enough ground game in iowa to actually get people out the caucus. in your experience, susan, is there necessarily a direct correlation between a candidate's ground operation and his success at the polls there? >> there typically is. i would say under any other circumstances if you had the ground game that donald trump had today he would lose. that being said because he's an untraditional candidate. it still doesn't seem that he

has the ability to get people to caucus. when i hear that they are still looking how to train new voters because that's what they are relying on in iowa, that's problematic for that team. anything can happen with donald trump but right now ted cruz definitely has the advantage. >> would you say all of these rally, the popularity of donald trump, people coming out in droves, buying the hats is that an entertainment factor? >> in part. people are going to the rallies. what people are not used to in iowa is having candidates talk at them which donald trump is doing. they like to speak with their candidates. it's a retail campaigning state. that's also goes to the point about organization and ground troops and being able to caucus. >> governor, hillary clinton has won a lot more endorsements than bernie sanders so far but still missing a few that could be key. what do you make of that. why aren't top democrats backing

her yet? >> well, this is a three way race, right? people are going to be, have different opinions in the democratic party. we're a pretty big tent. i think this notion that hillary will get a coronation i don't know where that's coming from. she doesn't think that. you have attorney every vote and she's earn a load of them and a lot of endorsements. the voters get the final choice and that's what they will do. >> do you see a way that hillary clinton does not become the democratic nominee? >> look, i think hillary will win. i think she will be the next president. there are tons of ways, anything can happen in an election. i know republicans don't like to hear this, donald trump could be the next president and i'm not kidding. i do think susan is exactly right. i think cruz will win the iowa primaries because he has a built in organization. the religious right is an organization that's terrific on

the republican side. they will get their people out. donald trump still the favorite to win their nomination but not in iowa. >> i got to tell you you're not the first person to say that. more people more and more said donald trump could get the gop nomination for right. let's talk marco rubio. he's slipping in most polls this week. political odd makers say he may emerge as a leader later. do you agree with that? >> depends on what happens in new hampshire probably. he has to show at least a number three standing to really go forward strong. i know his campaign is built for the marathon and not the sprint. but new hampshire could be a place where he can surprise a lot of people because of the independent voters allowed to participate in primaries. don't forget about 40% of new hampshire voters are independents and can vote in either the democrat or republican primaries. i wouldn't be surprised to see the rubio campaign really going after the independent voters because he's the only candidate

that's winning independent voters against hillary clinton. >> governor, the sanders campaign is still slinging allegations at the dnc about that voter data breach. do you think that will hurt the senator? >> do i think it will hurt bernie? >> yeah. >> they should shut up about that. the dnc did not do exact italy right thing but what the bernie campaign, sanders campaign did was probably criminal. bernie sanders is an honest guy, i've known him for a long time and he fired people or suspended those. they breached clinton's data probably by accident then helped themselves 25 times. this should go away. both side should shut up about this. the dnc should shut up. you can't cut somebody's data base off. sanders campaign should shut up. they have a lot of stake at this. nobody wants an in depth analysis of what went on here. >> i want to ask both of you this and looking at a political article which did an assessment

on the president. policy wise 2015 was very successful year for him. first of aldo you agree. secondly what does that mean for the people who want to replace him in 2016. howard, i'll let you go first. >> look, i think barack obama -- we don't know how people are going to look at this presidency 15 years from now. my guess is he gets a lot of high marks on foreign policy unless the iron dean deal goes . other areas he'll get huge high marks is climate change and the environment. we'll see. you can't really tell. did he have a goodyear this past year? of course he definitely did. i really don't think you can judge presidents until eight or ten or 15 or 20 years until after they left office. >> i agree with the governor on the long term he'll be judged differently in ten years. however if you do the immediate he's had a horrible year because he's leaving this year with people of the united states feeling unsafe and that he cannot protect them. and that is the biggest problem

for this president and on the democratic side going towards 2016. >> all right you guys. good to see you both. thank you very much. happy new year. erin brockovich joins me next to talk about that rather a gas leak which is causing problems in a los angeles suburb. get fast-acting, long-lasting relief from heartburn with it neutralizes stomach acid and is the only product that forms a protective barrier that helps keep stomach acid in the stomach where it belongs. for fast-acting, long-lasting relief. try gaviscon®. for fast-acting, long-lasting relief.

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a los angeles suburb is now taking legal action after living with a potential environmental disaster for months. residents of porter ranch, california have been facing health problems, relocations and school shutdowns since a nearby underground natural gas storage facility sprung a leak on october 23rd. the leak sent large amounts of methane gas and guess additives into the air. the gas company tells "l.a. times" it's working to seal the leak but what process could take months. residents and activists filed a lawsuit alleging negligence.

some have taken to the streets in protest. >> my throat is irritated. >> i cough out of control. >> you can see my eyes watering. >> we have family here in north ridge. everybody smells this. >> in a letter to the community wednesday, the president of the gas company wrote we apologize and we're working as quickly and safely as possible to stop the flow of natural gas from the leak. for those experiencing health symptoms due to the odorant we are continuing to offer home solutions that will help to reduce the smell indoors. the company created a website dedicated to the leak and outlined steps it's taking to help residents relocation services, air purification services. let's bring in broke. she's working with the law firm that filed the suit. with a welcome to you, this is surely in your wheelhouse.

let's talk about what you found and why you got involved because you did write a first person account for msnbc.com. >> i got involved. any time there's a disaster like this i tend to get flooded with emails. i had come home from a trip and had a lot of people from porter ranch reaching out to me. i'm their neighbor. i felt very clearly compelled to get over there and find out what was is going on. you hear a different perspective of what people are experiencing and what they are going through very real. every time i've gotten up there i got sick. >> what do you mean by sick? >> it's the strangest sensation. first you get this kind of funny feeling. even if you can't smell it you feel it. it feels like the air is being sucked out of your throat. your chest gets heavy. your eyes water. i know they are experiencing a lot of nose bleeds and start coughing and the headache is

really strange. almost like a vice that hits you here and behind your head. so what they are experiencing is real. you know this is something that's been happening with them since october 23rd, so southern cal gas says there's reports indicating that leak was happening prior to that just got reported then. they have been having to go through this now for months and many months to come. >> did you go see a doctor. >> i did. i'm on my second round of steroids. it's concerning for me. now i have a sulphur allergy, many people do, southern cal gas own reports are showing they are finding high levels of hydro carbons a s and sulfides. >> to that point you heard what the president of the company said in his letter which was dated december 23rd, the company has been posting updates on a website. the most recent was christmas

eve. i want to go over those again because the company is offering relocation services for residents, air purification systems, updated air sampling results. does that, the fact that they are doing that, does that potentially negate the need for a lawsuit? >> well, you know there's going lawsuit in a situation like this. i mean there's definitely lack of transparency, obvious deception going on. this is the second largest natural gas reserves in the united states and we're building communities on top of it. i don't know what you think when you mismanage your site what will happen. they do have their own sites and they are not reasonable in their testing. they are uninformative. they don't let people know where they are testing. their own test results are persistent high levels. where they are coming with the

contradictive message it can't harm you when they are finding these contaminants. this is not me or one person or five. it's scores. it's children. that are coming down with these health effects. >> schools have been closed. they don't want to expose kids to problems. but if there's not a problem from the so cal gas perspective why are they providing relocation services. >> we feel there should be a state of emergency and evacuation order. you have seen the pictures. this is a very large gas leak. >> talk about the volcano. >> i was giving an analogy when this first began. look at that. it's like a volcano. you see that gas rolling off. just think of it as lava flow. but this is gas. so the air is predominantly from the north. it's swooping down into this

community. they are being gassed every day. >> what should the state be doing about this? should they try to relocate storage facility? >> i will tell you the community absolutely doesn't want that storage facility there. they want reassurances when they come back that it's safe. you know, the firm i work with did a very good job in filing on their complaint on what kind of steps and relief will be put in place for these people when they do get to come home and this facility is very big, it very dangerous, this cannot happen again and steps have to be taken. we believe that the state should call a state of emergency. you know, listen, these people, we had families there at christmas that can't get moved and the process is moving too slow. i know that the city attorney just went in last week and got a court order in about 48 hour period, they have to find relocations for these families and they are literally sitting

stuck ducks. there should be a state of emergency if you ask me. >> but is it fair to say that they are not ignoring the residents? i mean we've put out some evidence that they are trying to communicate and do what they can. >> well, i would definitely think they are going to tell you that when you're down on the ground you don't see that. there's huge frustration with the people. you know, they call southern cal you are 275 in the queue. >> to be moved. >> to be moved. you don't tell anybody where you're testing. you aren't being honest with this community because you are finding these hydro carbons. so you need to be out there with them. and frankly it's a lot of lip service. it's moving too slow. it's a huge environmental disaster. ate bp oil spill on land. these people need help. the agency should be stepping in. everyone should be moving quicker than they are. once again lack of transparency

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hey there everyone welcome to "weekends with alex witt." here's what's happening right now. we have this breaking news as new mexico is dealing with a snowstorm that is crippling parts of the state and creat ad similar scene in western texas. driving conditions there are turning dangerous. between five to 16 inches of snow is in the forecast for a storm that's being called a historic blizzard. also we're getting a look at the devastation in northern texas after deadly tornadoes swept near dallas overnight. damaging hundreds of structures and keeping thousands without power right now. at least 15 people have died.

dozens more are injured. all of this as massive floods continue to threaten parts of texas, oklahoma and missouri. msnbc meteorologist is following the weather pattern. charles hadlock standing by for us in rowlett, texas. let's go to you charles first. do we know how many twisters hit that area? >> reporter: national weather service sent out a team beginning at 8:00 today. on radar last night they counted 11 tornadoes. of course that was in an area across about five different counties. the largest tornado appears to be the one that came right through here, alex. this is the stiff rowlett, garland is just to the west. rockwall is just to the east. they estimate that the winds here were between 135 and 165 miles per hour. that's an ef-3 tornado on the enhanced fujita scale.

you can see down this street a lot of destruction. trees are down. cars are piled up. roofs are off the tops of houses. it's total devastation at the end of this street and also to the block just to the north of us, the houses are flattened there. the authorities won't let us into that area. suffice to it say the clean up there is going slowly because of all the rain here. it has been raining since midnight, since this storm came through, actually and the temperatures have dropped adding insult to injury. it was about 75 degrees when the storm came through. the temperatures have plummeted down to the 40s. the wind is howling. making clean up very, very difficult. now we spoke to some people who survived the storm last night. here's what they told us about how it sounded and what it felt like. >> we lost a lot of roof. over on this side you can see holes in our house. it's crazy. this is all neighbors stuff much these 2 x 4s flew like bullets.

it flew through a garage and landed in the wall like if anyone had been out there they wouldn't have made it. it was very scary. only lasted like maybe two minutes. shortest tornado ever. but it tore through. >> i was in my room playing on my game, and i heard get in here. i got into my bathroom and then my ears started ringing and i was scared. >> reporter: tornadoes are dangerous any time of the day but especially at night when you can't see them. that's what happened to about five motorists who were killed on interstate 30. the storm came through during the night. motorists didn't see it coming and they were swept off the highway, actually over an overpass and smashed down to the pavement below. five people died there in different vehicles. they never saw what happened. they never saw what was coming because the city was dark, and the storm it self was wrapped in

rain. they just didn't see it, alex. we're not out of the wood yet. as you mentioned there's a blizzard just to the west of us in west texas dropping about 16 inches of snow that's expected with howling winds of 60 miles per hour and to our east is a tornado watch. so texas is not out of the woods yet not by a long shot. alex. >> i was going to say not by a long shot. charles hadlock thank you so much. let's go right to our meteorologist. which part of the country is getting hit the hardest or does it depend on which facet of mother nature you're talking about. >> i want to show you this on a national scale. we have more than half of the country under some sort of extreme weather advisory all the way from california up to new england. so a dangerous day for so many. one of the busiest travel days of the year. right now we have the threat for tornadoes little further east of where we've been reporting in to texarkana, lubbock and houston. this is a tornado watch through 4:00. one tornado warning doppler

indicated in southern oklahoma. i'm monitoring this now to let you know this could erupt later on today and not just for the area under the watch. notice we have a wide area where we could see severe weather. this extends in to louisiana. keep an eye on the sky and keep your noaa weather radio turned on. don't go out if there's a warning issued for your area. ice in between they've rain and snow smack in the center is ice. it worked its way through oklahoma city working through still water. heavy snow is coming in from the blizzard we're seeing heavy snow into oklahoma and also a lot of rain. this is a really dangerous situation we've had a lot of reports, nationally flash flooding into missouri. you can still see heavy rain expected and lots of rain into eastern oklahoma. oklahoma and texas really hard hit. the ice storm warning persists further off towards oklahoma and the blizzard warning as well, eastern new mexico snow drifts

as high as eight feet. so still plenty more snow to come through, several more inches up to higher amounts. we had blowing and drifting snow. winds gusted to 60 miles per hour. that will create white out conditions. you can't travel when it's like that. if you are traveling and millions of you are we're looking at more snow over the next 48 hours from minneapolis to la crosse and green bay and milwaukee. chicago you'll get a little bit of sleet mixing in possibly with snow but more of a rain event. not so great to be out there walking or driving. omaha, lincoln more substantial snow. where we have yet to see snow is new england. this is your chance. monday into tuesday first measurable snow of the season even boston getting in on the action, see a little bit of snow before it mixes to rain. not a big snow event. look what's happening to vermont, new hampshire and even into upstate new york. albany has not seen any snow so far this season. it is late. late in december and late in the year. if they get it tomorrow it's the

first time the latest it ever happened ever. so that's interesting to note. we're watching for the dangerous conditions there. really cold air coming in further off to the west. still unseasonably warm in the southeast and temperatures soaring up in new york to 61. do not get used to it. we'll get much colder by time we get to monday down to 41. so alex big changes in the forecast across the country. >> yeah. yes, indeed. thank you so much. we're watching a developing story out of europe. security officials there are warning of the possibility of new terror attacks. police of the austrian capital of vienna are stepping up security after several european capitals were warned of a possible attack between christmas and new year's day. we're monitoring the situation from london. kelly welcome to you. what are the details we know about this threat? >> reporter: vienna police are the only ones who are talking about this. they said the tip came from a friendly intelligence service warning about a possible gun or

bomb attack in a european capital sometime between christmas and new year's. police in austria said they found no evidence of a plot but have increased security at big events and crowded places as a precaution. interestingly a police spokesman in vienna said they received several names of several possible attackers but they were checked and there are no concrete hints they said that these people are in austria or in europe or and i quote, if they are real people. so a very vague tip, alex. but, of course, six weeks after the atax in paris all european capitals are still on alert. >> kelly, another aspect i want to ask you about, i know you're familiar with this audio message which is recorded lie the leader of isis. he taunts the united states for not sending troops to fight in syria and iraq. what else is in that message? >> reporter: well it's about 24 minutes long and as is typical with the baghdadi audio message

a call to arms and a morale booster for isis fighters and for muslims who are sympathic to the isis cause. this man who claims to be baghdadi also claims the russian air strikes are failing. he says the saudi coalition won't work. called on all muslims, called all muslims to jihad. threatened the eu, the european union, u.s., russia, their allies. interesting to note no mention of the paris attacks or the downing of that russian passenger jet over the sinai and we should mention nbc news can't independently verify the authenticity of the message but our partners over at flash point says it appears to be real. . >> that's what you were saying you don't know when it was recorded. let's put it that way. okay. thank you so much from london. i appreciate that. we're following some developing news out of chicago where the families of a 19-year-old man and a 55-year-old mother of five

are demanding answers after they were shot and killed by police responding to a domestic disturbance call. the shooting happened around 4:00 a.m. yesterday morning when the young man's father called to say that his son was behaving oddly and carrying around a metal bat. when police arrived his first floor tenant betty jones opened the door. it is unclear what led to mrs. jones being shot but a spokesperson for the police department says the tenant was accidentally shot when police officers were confronted by a combative subject resulting in the discharge, of the officer's weapon. moments ago relatives of mrs. jones and the mother of the boy spoke to reporters outside of the home where that shooting took place. >> what happened to tasers? several times my son was shot once in the buttocks. that showed he was turning away. he was turning away. but i got to turn today for him and i have to thereabout.

>> while i'm tempted to feel hate for all chicago police officers right now, i know this is a time where a difficult time we got to get past in our city. we have to show the police officers and family a lot of compassion. this is not the time for hatred in our city or the time for violence. >> well reporter emily flores has more. >> reporter: gun shots erupted at a west garfield park apartments in the early overnight hours. by sunrise chicago police confirmed the worst case scenario for two families. >> they topped door and shot my mama. >> reporter: police opened fire and shot and killed two people. victims were i.d.'d as betty jones and a 19-year-old boy. >> what happened here today very tragic and should never happen. not in a civilized society.

>> reporter: cook county commissioner is asking for answers how a domestic disturbance call led to police shooting two people. >> upon their arrival they were confronted by a combative individual. resulting in an officer firing shots. >> reporter: witnesses saw the boy who family says suffers from mental illness, holding up a baseball bat. jones who lived in the same building on the 4700 block of west erie was hit accidentally and tragically killed. >> why did you shoot an innocent person. she had no weapon. >> reporter: her mother says her only son was home from northern illinois university on christmas break. she said he was an honors engineering student who despite challenges was never violent snoofrpry young black child is not a thug. some of them want something. my son wanted something. he wanted something. he was going somewhere. >> reporter: two lives lost as a

community grows angrier. >> incidents like this continue to erode the trust, the confidence the community has in police. this should not be. >> that was reporter emily flores from wmag station. police officers were placed on administrative duties for 30 days as part of a major policy. it replaces the previous policy that allow officers to come off active duty after three days. the "wall street journal" says hillary clinton is about to unleash her so-called secret weapon on the campaign trail but why does she need it and how could it help her? that's next. today to run the race for retirement. so we asked them... are you completely prepared for retirement? okay, mostly prepared? could you save 1% more of your income? it doesn't sound like much, but saving an additional 1% now, could make a big difference over time.

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campaign trail tomorrow hitting the key states of new hampshire and iowa and it comes just a little over a month before the iowa caucuses, the nation's first gauge at who the nominees may be. joining me now, the political reporter for reuters and the political beast. donald trump who as you know has been lashing out at hillary clinton over twitter in the past few comments she's made, let's take a listen to what he said this morning. >> she's mentioned sexism. i used her exact words. i don't know if you saw the following tweet. i turned her exact words against her from that standpoint and she has to be careful. she has to be fair. we all have to fight fairly and have to fight, you know, for the good of the country, for the good of the people, for the good of everybody. we have to fight fairly. she's playing the women's card. >> first of all, does he fight fairly. the real question is with this

coming on the heels of a report that bill clinton will be more active on the campaign trail starting next month is this donald trump's attempt to target who he thinks will be the democratic nominee? >> oh, sure. we all expect that hillary clinton is going to be the democratic nominee. but he has taken on his opponents one by one by one and taken many of them down especially in the republican party, now he's turning his attention to her thinking that maybe he's going to be the nominee and he has to start weakening her now. this is an attempt by donald trump to show just how serious he is that he think he's going to be the nominee. >> just yesterday he tweeted will do far more for women than hillary and i will keep our country safe. something which she will not be able to do, no strength/stamina. betsy isn't this the same type of rhetoric that cost republicans the election back in 2012. even if donald trump doesn't hurt his label isn't he hurting party chances? >> without a doubt. this is just the cherry on top

of six months of donald trump using rhetoric that makes other republican party leaders tremble in their boots and justifiably so. throughout the course of this election he's gone after every marginalized group in this country. the fact that now he's suggesting hillary clinton is too physically weak, too physically ill to be president is bad and a problem for republicans without a doubt. at the same time he's used this rhetoric against his fellow republicans. he says jeb bush is low energy. he says ben carson can't keep his eyes open. it's not just hillary. pretty much it's a free for all when it comes to him using this kind of language. >> so let's talk about this morning when donald trump also responded to questions over whether his supporters will show up to vote. take a listen to that. >> i think they will but, you know, you don't know. look, i have a very good bond

and relationship to the people of iowa. i've done great with the tea party up there. really, really great with the van fwel cals. and, you know, you see the numbers. ted and i are pretty close in term of the polling but i think we'll have a lot of people to go out. i hope to win iowa. it would be easy for me to say oh, well if i come in a second or third. i don't want to say that. i want to win iowa and then win new hampshire where i have a very substantial lead. >> can he turn out the vote there? i remember reading an article about a week ago where it says he only has 15 staffers in iowa. >> alex, i actually think that's plenty at this point. he has plenty of volunteers. he has an excellent organizer running his iowa campaign. and i think this is a lot of wishful thinking from restrategists particular s -- strategies who think people will not come out. if you look at these polls his support is not actually soft.

it is quite strong. i think there's an excellent chance he could win iowa and if he done win iowa and ted cruz wins iowa at this point he's poised to play second in iowa and certainly poised to win new hampshire at this point. i think it's time people realize that he's in a great position to potentially win. >> yeah. well i think people are realizing it. betsy you reported on the implication of lindsey graham's departure from the race. how does it change particularly in states like iowa and new hampshire. who could mostly benefit? >> we're looking at two guys who swept up some support. one is john kasich. kasich won endorsements from two senators within a half hour. so he capitalized very quickly. then jeb bush also picked up a significant donor in south carolina, david wilkens who was his brother's ambassador to canada. both of those establishment guys low in the polls have at least gotten a boost in terms of

support since lindsey graham dropped out. he's very well-respected in south carolina, popular even though south carolinians didn't want him to be president. so the interesting question is does senator graham pick one candidate to get behind or keep his powder dry, wait and see and see how new hampshire shapes up. >> chris christie has a three day swing through iowa. could this be his chance? >> i do. the governor of iowa has long been a big fan much chris christie. i think this is something that marco rubio needs to watch very carefully because chris christie has been attacking marco rubio for being an absent yeee senato among other things. chris christie is poised to make a run in iowa. if he can come up in the polls there and place third behind ted cruz and donald trump and repeat that kind of performance in new

hampshire he could be the choice for establishments republicans going forward into south carolina and on and i know that marco rubio's campaign has been worried about chris christie for years and at this point he's really showing some fire. >> okay. the betsy, about hillary clinton's campaign, former president bill clinton becoming more active on the campaign trail. how do republican candidates view him and are there things there they could exploit? >> i think it certainly is possible they can go after president clinton. of course donald trump is the number one guy going after him and criticizing him for indiscretions. other republican candidates will be a little more careful when it comes to bringing up those topics. trump obviously has no reservations about it. that said i think bernie sanders could also potentially target hillary over the fact that bill clinton is campaigning with her and only because bill clinton can represent the kind of old-fashioned southern democrat, more centrist that bernie

sanders supporters absolutely loathe. they want an opposite bill clinton. it could excite bernie sanders base. >> that's a wrap. good so tee yto see you both. >> "star wars" makes more history making money. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪ and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet?

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and zero first months payment on a new jetta and other select models. welcome back to "weekends with alex witt" as we hit 30 past the hour. we're getting new video of the damage in north texas have deadly tornadoes ripped through that area overnight. homes torn apart, roofs blown away. heavy snow moving down new mexico and western texas is creating some dangerous driving conditions. officials had to shut down a stretch of interstate 40 and literally turn people away. amarillo, texas is dealing with sustained winds of 35 miles per hour with gusts up to 45. before we get our meteorologist let's get to the weather channel's gary cooper where heavy rain is coming down in arkansas. gary what is it like out there other than a mess? >> reporter: very wet and very cold mess. now it's been like this for the better part of 12 hours. i want to show you just how hard

this rain has been falling. if we can zoom in on this puddle. frankly it's been like this for, again, 12 hours straight with the rain not letting up one bit and again storm shows no signs of letting up any time soon here in fayetteville, arkansas. we've been hearing reports of high water rescues north of here in springfield, missouri. we talked to a police officer about 30 minutes ago. he said late last night in fayetteville he had to rescue ten folks. we heard multiple reports of flash flooding in northeast arkansas and northeast oklahoma and parts of missouri. the situation is obviously very dangerous. one thing worth noting locals are concerned where the water will go once the rain stops falling. in the ozarks and all the water has to go some place and i want goes the arkansas river. so little rock and pine bluff will see the arkansas river rise and that could soon be a problem within a day or two once this storm passes through.

again the situation here in northwest arkansas very wet, very cold and very dangerous. >> yeah. gary, quick question. you mentioned the cold. any chance it will turn into sleet or ice which would complicate things and make things more dangerous or will it just stay rain? >> reporter: in this part of the country predominantly rain. it could change as this storm as been somewhat unpredictable. again the forecast calls for mostly rain and a lot of it in this part of arkansas. >> we thank you for standing out in the middle for us gary cooper. hope you can take cover. now let's go to msnbc meteorologist who has the latest on that. you saw that mess out there. good grief the flooding? >> this is just the beginning. we're looking at a widespread flood threat and it's not just for arkansas but into oklahoma as well. look at this. we have a tornado watch that continues for east texas, northwest louisiana and into southwest arkansas. this means tornadoes are

possible as well as damaging wind and strong hail. severe weather we're watching out for. into mississippi and louisiana as well these are all parts of an area that we're keeping close watch on for severe development. right now we had policemen of freezing rain working its way through central oklahoma. still seeing pockets of it in and around the oklahoma city area where temperatures have teether ee ee eed -- teetered n freezing mark. we're still looking at the continuation through tonight of the white out conditions and the wind chills are dropping down to negative 7 to negative 13 tonight. you're looking at pictures of blowing and drifting snow. when winds are so fierce like what you're seeing this is why we're seeing snow drifts pile up. they push that snow on top of each other.

reports of eight feet snow drifts. the ice storm warning persists for oklahoma. oklahoma and texas getting hit with the wintry weather. we're still looking at substantial snow. this will wrap up tonight but take a while to recover. over the next 48 hours we're looking at more snow in parts of the midwest. chicago, you're not looking at a lot in terms of wintry accumulation. tomorrow there's a lake shore advisory for windsor we're likely to see strong winds near lake michigan along the shore line. how about new england? ready for snow? we're looking at the first measurable snow for southern new england and northern new england. albany you haven't seen any snow so far this season. latest one this season something you have to plow or shovel and boston will likely see a little bit of snow not a lot before it turns to all rain. so much happening across the country. >> thank you so much. let's head to rowlett, texas, charles hadlock has been talking to some residents who lost their

home during this holiday season. what a tragedy, charles. >> reporter: i want really is. this is a mess here, alex. it's raining. been raining ever since the tornado came through. the national weather service has managed to get out in this weather and try to do some surveying to figure out how many tornadoes hate and how much damage there is. they estimate there were 11 tornadoes overnight. the tornado that hit rowlett where we are was an ef-3 with winds between 165 and 200 miles per hour. also an ef-4 tornado that hit garland that's where eight people died overnight. five of those in cars as they were traveling down interstate 35. now there was plenty of warning for people here. the broadcasters were on the air talking about the storms. weather apps on phones were going off and sirens were going off. people that lived in this house they are renters, their landlord called just about a minute

before the storm hit and told them to get out of the house which they did. good thing. because their house has been obliterated. the roof is blown off. all windows blown in. other people told us how they survived the storm. here's what they had to say. >> just when i was looking for a mattress sounded like a freight train like they say. i backed off in there, huddled over them. felt like a good while but i'm sure it wasn't too long. and i woke up. got out there was. couple of leaves thinking oh, another texas storm window down until i started walking around and looked no power, no sounds, silent. still warm. it was crazy. but glad we all survived. >> our neighbor had called us and said take shelter now. we were in our house. and we just heard a tornado. we hunkered down in both our bathrooms.

>> reporter: be alex they say this rain could turn to snow by tomorrow. back to you. >> like they need that, insult to injury. okay, charles hadlock thank you from texas. let's go politics. donald trump took to the air waves again this morning this time to defend his latest comments about hillary clinton. >> ladies and gentlemen -- >> she's playing the women's card and it's like give me a break. i had so many women come up to me and say you got to keep her out. she's just terrible. she's playing that women's card left and right and women are more upset about it than anybody else including most men. >> he's going to hit the campaign trail tomorrow with stops planned in the key early voting states of new hampshire and iowa. in all the headlines about the 2016 candidates it's easy to lose sight of the other major component of the upcoming election that being the voters. but a new book devils into the psyche of the american voter. joining me now, author of the

forthcoming book "political animals how our stone age brain gets in the way of smart politics." very catchy title. thank you for joining me. you talk about four major failures that we're all guilty of as voters. what are they and how do they come to play in the 2016 race? >> let's talk about the first one ideal which is the apathy of the american voter. in 201440% of the eligible voters voted. in hunter gathering groups there's no sign that human beings are apathetic. everybody is gossiping who is in power, who is in charge, who has high status, who has low status. why do we have apathy in our advanced democracy with centuries of democracy, democratic history behind us? what's going on here? the human brain is made for small groups between 100 and 150 people.

we're living in a mass society filled with millions of people. so, of course we wind up being apathetic about millions of people. we only care about the people around us. so our brain the way it's configured doesn't work for democracy. at least not naturally. in other words, you can't rely on your own instinct to give the right guidance in politics. >> this is interesting the second failure misreading our leaders. this in reference to hillary clinton how former defense secretary robert gates admits he was shocked by the difference between her public and private images. is she getting misread again now? >> well all of us think that we can just watch people on television and in an instant we can size them up and get really good feel for them pup see candidates debate and exposed to people for an hour and think i really know this guy or this woman. in fact we don't. our hunter gatherer brain basically says to us, you can

rely on your instinctive reaction but hunter gatherers had a lot more to go on. they had the reputation of people they were dealing with. they were working with their leaders. they were wlifg their leaders. they knew their leaders. on top of that when they had an instant reaction they could count on that instant reaction being good. we can't. that works against hillary clinton certainly. bob gates had this wonderful section in his memoir where he says until i became secretary of defense and worked with hillary clinton i thought she was horrible. i based all of my understanding who she was based on little snippets and what i read in the newspaper. then he actually worked with her. oh, she's actually pretty good and solid. that's the difference between really knowing somebody because you know them. >> yeah. president obama, it is hard to predict what his legacy might be in the moment. is there some conventional wisdom among historians what might endure

>> a couple of years ago -- i run this website called the historynewsnetwork which is historians writing about current events. two years ago we surveyed our historians to find out where they placed obama. they gave him b minus. maybe now a little bit higher. he had a couple of deals. he had a very good last 12 months. it's very difficult to make an assessment of obama of where he'll stand because we don't know for instance how will the iran deal will work out or the climate deal with china will work out. how will this world nations conference on climate change in paris how will that work out. even obamacare we don't know how it will work out. >> which means we have to have you back as we get answers to those questions. "the force awakens" is smashing box office records but does it qualify as one of the year's top films the a critic's ranking next.

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of 2015 including bridge of spies, steven spielberg cold war barack obama that brought him $130 million since its release in october. here it is. >> russians want their man back before he cracks. they want you to negotiate the swap. >> i'm an insurance lawyer. i'm not sure i want to pick that up. >> are you good at what you do? >> this will be a first for the both of us. >> you should be careful. >> i'm talking to you about the security of your country. >> why aren't we hanging him? >> here to go over this year's top movies, movie critic. good to have you here. why do you put bridge of spies at the top. i love it. >> i really think this steven spielberg is one of the greatest if not the greatest director of all time. he had such success. i just thought this movie was so well crafted, so interesting and subtle and i thought it's o

evoctive of the movies of the '50s and '60s. tom thanks character was this stoic, interesting her jobs heroic guy but underplayed by tom thanks and spielberg did a great job of it. i walked out of the movie and thought wow. >> great analogy if you say to kill a mockingbird. "star wars" is it living up to the hype in terms of quality film. let's not talk about the box office. >> tremendous pressure for j.j. abrams to walk into this franchise that george lucas created. i don't think the last three films in the franchise were that great and what j.j. came in and did with this with the help of lawrence was to reignite the reasons why we loved it in the first place. i was like a 10-year-old kid watching this movie and i didn't

expect to it being a great but it really is great. >> i agree. romantic films you list brooklyn at the top of yo "brooklyn" which i love too. >> it's a near perfect movie and it's an interesting movie about an immigrant from ireland. we hear so much about immigration on msnbc and other networks and i think this puts a human face on it, and i thought she was exquisite in that role. i loved every minute of it. it's a small movie but a little gem. >> "room" is another one about this young woman raising her son in captivity. that's a heartbreaker. >> oh, my gosh. the most emotional experience i have had in a theater in a long, long time, and extraordinary but it's almost like a fable. it sounds like i can't sit through this, she's being held captive with her 5-year-old son, but it has so much more to it. beautiful performance by bree larson and this young 9-year-old, jacob tremly. just an extraordinary

performance. >> another perfect movie "spotlight." that's taken home a number of awards already on the smaller scale but what are your thoughts on that one? >> "spotlight" about the prek d prescandal in the archdiocese is about the art and craft of investigative journalism which i think newspapers have lost their way on in recent years. the media has gone in other directions. this is a call back to that kind of great investigative journalism and this group in boston at the boston globe that won the pulitzer prize. it is the best film about journalism since "all the president's men" and i think you will hear about this all through awards season. >> "the big short" i saw it yesterday, i loved it. before i let you go, "danish girl" is picking up steam. >> i just recently talked to eddie redmayne. he won the oscar last year. he could win again. but the movie is a great love story. obviously it has the transgender

elements going for it but it's a real good love story i think people are identifying with and we'll see what happens with it. it's slowly moving around the country now and not a lot of people have seen it yet. >> how about is there a lock on best adapted screen play for steve jobs? >> for me aaron sosrkin is a go. truly the writer is star in "steve jobs" and i think if anything is sort of a lock, we're going to hear a lot about aaron sorkin's script. >> i'm sure we will. pete hammond, good to see you. enjoy the movies, thanks. >> thanks. >> having a ball on new year's eve in times square? that's next.

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approximately 1 million people will gather right there in times square to watch the ball descend to mark new year's eve. this year's waterford clibs cry ball is just about ready to be hoisted. let's bring in tom brennan, master artist for waterford. what is knew about this year's ball?

>> hey, alex. how are you this evening? >> i'm well, thank you. i hope you are, too. you must be excited. this is a big deal for you guys. >> it's such an honor for me to like hail -- i was born in waterford city ireland so to be here representing this great global iconic company that is waterford crystal on the world's stage such an honor, such a pleasure. and do you know what? it is so much fun, too. >> i bet it is. my director murray is pulling back and showing me a little bit of some samples of the beautiful waterford crystal but what's different about this year? >> each year what waterford does is waterford crystal, we celebrate the greatest gifts within us all. and this year is all about the gift of wonder. it's like humankind's desire to understand the unexplored, the unexpected, and looking forward with wonder and with optimism for the year ahead, of course, that 2016. >> well, it is going to be an extraordinary celebration. any concerns about warm weather? does that affect you guys at all? >> no, never, because this is crystal. this is full lead waterford

crystal able to withstand anything that nature and god himself decides to throw at us. >> tom brennan, thank you so much for joining us. enjoy new year's eve and a happy one to all of you. that's a wrap of the show from l.a. see you next weekend. with their the game is nice too. the thing is, about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension. your blood pressure could drop to an unsafe level. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. ask your doctor about viagra. available in single packs.

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this sunday, donald trump is still leaping ahead and nothing he says seems to slow him down. >> i know where she went. it's disgusting. i don't want to talk about it. >> will 2016 be the year the political establishment of both parties gets toppled? i'll be joined by bernie sanders, another outsider who has upset the old political order. also, the commander-in-chief test. with america facing challenges on a scale not seen since 9/11, which candidate is best qualified to keep us safe at home and abroad. and film director spike lee on america's gun culture. >> why are we okay with that 88 americans die every day from gun violence? why are we okay with that?