the president prepared to sign the just-passed tax cut compromise, the senate plans to work through the weekend on start, don't ask don't tell, and the dream act. can they get it all done? we have live team coverage. >> we should remember that this is not the beginning of the end. rather it is merely the end of the beginning. >> out of jail and promising to keep fighting. what wikileaks founder julian assange says he will do next. and -- >> i would love to have another dog in the future. >> that is the interview you saw right here on "news nation." since then outrage. why they're upset and why his taming makes you go, hmm. i'm richard lui in for tamron hall on this friday. "news nation" is following developing news on the tax cut bill. in just over an hour president obama is expected to sign into law the controversial tax cut compromise he made with republicans.

>> on this vote, the yays are 277. the nays are 148. the motion is adopted. >> and with that the house voted to pass the $800 billion bill late last night. although it's a victory for if president, it also is the breaking of a political campaign promise as well. let's go live to chuck todd in washington, d.c. we're waiting for the president to sign this. will he see this alliance with boehner and mcconnell again? >> reporter: we'll see. you'll see the i license more between the president and mitch mcconnell. that's what is interesting about today's bill signing. who is going to be there, and who is not going to be there? basically of the four big leaders on capitol hill, the only one that will be there is mitch mcconnell. republican senator leader. no john boehner. no nancy pelosi. no harry reid. this deal was cut between the

white house and mitch mcconnell. then it got signed off and passed everywhere else. so we'll see. there's going to be only a handful of republicans that do come to the bill signing. a lot more of the folks that attend this will be democrats. but at the end of the day cutting these deals, it is probably, he'll be working with boehner closely because boehner in many ways controls a lot of the legislative agenda by simply being speaker of the house. but the deals, the compromises, finding the 60 votes in the senate, mcconnell will be a major player here. >> when you think about this, will we see the democrats following the president? he charges ahead as he did in this situation again with this tax deal? >> reporter: i think in many cases they'll have no choice but to follow the president. the president is the one on the ballot in two years. he's the leader of the democratic party. you've seen them take a

backseat. you didn't see the leaders coming out and hitting back at the white house. they're realizing they have no choice but to take a backseat to them. and, you know, obviously the president can't keep pushing this. and can't keep pushing too much without risking some back lulas but he's going to continue to be the face of this going forward. >> chuck todd, thank you on that. also the so-called continuing resolution that frees up agency spending expires at midnight tomorrow night. last night senate democrats abandoned their efforts to pass the spending bill. take a listen. >> as the most junior members for those not understanding what just happened. did we just win? it seems that change has come to the senate with the death of this $1.1 trillion plan. >> kelly o'donnell is live in d.c. reid couldn't get the votes by going for a continued resolution. do republicans, do they want

that, though? >> well, here's the situation. the majority leader was not able to get enough votes for a spending bill that covers all of the government's departments. it's a massive bill. $1.1 trillion. he wasn't able to get the votes in part because republicans felt there was too much excessive spending. that's an argument they often have here. so reid had to abandon that in order to eventually vote in the next day or two on a short-term fix to keep the governments bills paid for a couple of months. it was a very difficult thing for reid to do because he believes strongly in a lot of the underlying programs that are in the bill. some of the earmarks that he believes are worthwhile programs. and one of the things that he makes a point of is a frustration that he doesn't want bureaucrats or the executive branch to have too much power on where money is directed for various things around the country. they don't want to see that power. but in this moment politically it made more sense for republicans, even some who wanted earmarks themselves to go

against this. it was a real political tug of war. reid came up on the short end. mcconnell was able to hold his team together, the republicans. >> all right, kelly o'donnell. thank you very much with the latest there on the hill. appreciate it. and just to review congress' to-do list, they got taxes out of the way. the spending bill has to wait. then there's the start treaty. some republicans are complaining about trying to cram in so much before christmas. democrats are saying this is not time to take ha holiday from doing business for the american people. >> as one general said, you know, we have 150,000 troops in harm's way over christmas. they are doing their job. the united states needs to do its job. >> kristin gillibrand is the junior democratic senator from new york. republicans here say there isn't enough time to debate and consider this nuclear arms

treaty, senator. is there enough time? eafr chairman kerry has been more than gracious with the time. >> also one of the considerations here for the supporters, they say by putting this off, this gives a signal of indecisiveness to russia and to iran as well. >> this is an agreement that will actually put in place the ability to lock down loose nuclear weapons. one of the biggest recommendations of the 9/11 commission was to lock down loose nuke miss the former soviet union. to make sure it couldn't be set off in new york, in new york city, for example. so this treaty starts on a path where we can negotiate about nuclear arms, about missile defense, about all the issues that people care about. it lays out the platform. that's why it's so essential. the funding goes towards national security. that's why we need to put

partisan politics aside and move forward. >> on the other side the critics are saying we need to address the battlefield nuclear weapons which russia has an advantage over the united states at this time. push this off, let's debate this, let's understand the issue longer. >> a lot of people understand this issue already. we don't need further debate to fully understand the issue. this issue has been worked on by secretary clinton over the last year. she's made extraordinary strides with russia to reach agreement on these issues, and its been through every committee of jurisdiction through multiple hearings. we understand what's in the treaty. it's the right direction to ensure we lock down loose nuclear materials and keep america safe. >> let's talk about the 9/11 bill. that was pushed off to help first responders. it did not do well earlier in a vote. do you think now that this tax deal has been signed that it will pass? >> i am very hopeful this that will pass. the 9/11 health bill is about doing right by the men and women who were our heros at 9/11.

these are the men and women who ran up the towers when people were running down. they were the men and women there to find survivors. to find remains. to do the cleanup. and because so many terrible toxins were released when the towers fell. a lot of these men and women are dying of lung diseases, of cancers, of horrific health conditions. also the families that live at ground zero. some of these children are suffering from lung ailments and asthma. we have to standby these families and our heros and make sure we pass health care for them. >> you're ready for a long weekend. thank you for stopping by. >> i am. >> you've been working hard. appreciate your time. >> two other items on the senate agenda. the dream act, which grants citizenship to children of illegal immigrants and the stand-h stand-alone repeal of don't ask, don't tell. senator majority leader harry reid saying the senate will work tomorrow morning and could be done for the year tomorrow

night. out on bail and vowing to continue work, julian assange is taking refuge at a ravish estate outside london. he's now planning his legal defense in sweden where he's accused of sex crimes. he addressed the allegations this morning on nbc's today show. >> according to google, if you look on the internet, my name is mentioned in one pence of the mention of the word rape all the way back to pages. so this has been a very successful smear campaign so far. but i think its days are numbered, and people are starting to wonder is what is claimed really true, and if it is true, where is the evidence? why has no evidence been provided even to me and my defense attorneys. it is the case that i or any other person should have to fly

off to foreign states without any evidence whatsoever. that is limplly not acceptable to me, and it should not be acceptable to any person. >> u.s. investigators are trying to determine if assange or someone else at wikileaks provided him with the software he used to obtain classified data. jenny wivell has been live all over this story for us. very clear conviction he has. and it appears that he's driven to clear his name. is that even possible based on what he was mentioning that he found on the sberntd? >> well, he says that he's extremely defiant. we heard him say this renewed his strength and convictions he does feel that he's the victim of a campaign against him. in terms of what we're expected to see in court over the next few weeks and months, he's not

expected to be back in court until february. we are going to see many more of the cables being released. he made that clear in the interviews earlier today. and if we look at the conditions in terms of where he's staying at the moment, it may be a mansion, but he has to stay there between the hours of 10:00 and 2:00 in the nighttime. he has to report to police and wear an electronic tag. he is free to do as he pleases, but he will be spending quite a lot of his time on wikileaks. he talked earlier today, joked really, saying he has a pretty good broad band connection, richard. >> so he will not be disconnected at all. jenny wivell in london, thanks. after years of delays, the effort to repeal hits a milestone. we have an update on the construction, plus, more than two dozen senators put hundreds of earmarks in a trillion-dollar

bill to refund the government. but didn't they just vote to ban the so-called pork projects? and michael vick has tongues wagging again after telling nbc that he wants to own a dog. ♪

[ male announcer ] you know her. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday.

michael vick told nbc's mara schiavocampo he wanted a dog. >> michael vick says he's ready to own a dog again. >> he was banned from owning a dog as part of his sentencing that sent him to prison for 18 months. he's having the best season of his entire career. he's been doing a lot of work with the humane society.

he knows that a lot of people would not agree with this statement. >> he recently made a statement saying he would like to get a dog some day. >> he should win a super bowl first. context. he's not allowed to own a dog until may ofç 2012. i spoem ke to him at a humane society event. his kids are asking for dogs. he loves animals. he would like to own one again one day. some people are saying he want ad dog for christmas.

that's ridiculous. >> he's an honest guy. just says what he's thinking. >> and you don't get the sense he was working off talking points. he was extremely open. and i think that's what got him into a little bit of trouble, if you can consider it trouble. he was sons about his feelings of owning another down. that's what people have tapped into now. >> he's doing an amazing job of the comeback, when it comes to the football career. >> i don't think it was calculated. he was just trying to be open and honest. when i asked him who the new mike vick is, he says he's open and honest. he carries himself in a more humble way. i think he was answering the question without calculating what the potential sponsz from the public may be. >> he's doing quite well. right now for the season with the eagles. is that part of the reason he's feeling very confident about how well he's done so far?

do you get that sense when you spoke with him? >> no, i didn't. if you look at video and interviews with michael vick before this happened, he comes across as over confident, arrogant. if you look at him now, he seems to be much more humble. so i don't know that that was something that factored in here. again, i think he was answering the question. in terms of how well he's doing on the field and how that factors into this, it does lead to riz redemption. when he wins, when the eagles do well and he performs the way he's been performing on the field, it makes sports fans feel good. a lot of people are rooting for him on the field. because of that they may be rooting for him off the field. >> he is certainly a figure in pop culture as well as the sports arena. >> what makes him newsworthy is the come back. if he came into this and was not doing well or wasç not signed the nfl, he wouldn't be a story. this is one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history.

he took a break of two years act about because he had to go to prison. now he's a leading contender for league mvp. the comeback makes the story remarkable. to see more of mara's interview, log on. a murder mystery half a world away. >> she was like show me. and i was just screaming and i remember falling to my knees. >> a u.s. businessman living in thailand is gunned down in his own home. chris hansen will join me with a preview of tonight's story. then new developments surrounding ber nay madoff's massive ripoff. how investors could get billions back. and an iowa home snowed in. this is inside. this is not outside. a couple went out of town and a snowstorm moved in, dumping what looks like a couple of feet of snow.

amazing pictures, amazing response from the owners. we'll talk live. then this sunday on "meet the press" david gregory's interview with joe biden. if it's sunday, it's meet the press.

if you live for performance, upgrade to castrol edge advanced synthetic oil. with eight times better wear protection than mobil 1. castrol edge. it's more than just oil. it's liquid engineering. the same old way... consider this: things just got beautifully simple. introducing the duracell mygrid™. simple and smart. it's mygrid™. from duracell. trusted everywhere. think you can only charge one thing at a time...? consider this: drop & go charging for up to 4 devices at once...

the duracell mygrid™. simple and smart. it's mygrid™. from duracell. trusted everywhere. but i wasn't winning any ribbons managing my diabetes. it was so complicated. there was a lot of information out there. but it was frustrating trying to get the answers i needed. then my company partnered with unitedhealthcare. they provided onsite screenings, healthy cooking tips. that's a recipe i'm keeping. ( announcer ) turning complex data into easy tools. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. if anything, i thought i'd get hit by a bus, but not a heart. all of a sudden, it's like an earthquake going off in your body. my doctor put me on an aspirin regimen to help protect my life. [ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone. so be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. to my friends, i say, you know, check with your doctor, 'cause it can happen to anybody. [ male announcer ] be ready if a heart attack strikes.

donate $5 to womenheart at iamproheart.com, and we'll send you this bayer aspirin pill tote. friends, family and the fbi believe someone could be getting away with the perfect crime. this is a closer look at the story. the mystery deepens here. the case also involves an alleged hit man and an exff fiance. >> inspite of confessions for the accused hit man and the man hired to do the killing and evidence tying them to the victim's ex-fiance, all the suspects remain free. it was the early morning hours of september 8, 2006. in a small rhode island town, john's sister got a phone call

from her brother's fiancee in connecticut. >> she was like, your brother's dead. i was just screaming and i remember falling to my knees. >> half way around the world in a land of gentle breezes, it was a warm humid night. at his home in thailand. the 43-year-old was standing in the kitchen and talking on his cell phone. someone walked up the front path and went through the side garden. >> he walked behind the house, looked into the kitchen door. saw john standing there on his cell phone without a shirt on. #. >> special agent james lawton of the fbi. >> he gave the weapon in the back. he fired. the round hit him in the back. he fell to the floor.

>> the thai police moved quickly to investigate. they searched for clues and motives. at first nothing seemed to make sense. according to his attorney, there was reason to believe john's business dealings in thailand may iqve something to do with his murder. >> what was his reputation here? >> people try to run away from him. >> people run away from him? why? because he was a bad businessman? >> yes. >> he made enmys. lots of enemies. >> tonight we'll take you with us as we track down some of the people involved in this case. >> and you were telling me as you were tracking down the people involved in the case, there was situations where you had to cross borders in that area. >> well, we were on the heels of the assistant who is alleged to have set up the hit. he goes over the macon river

into lohse. we continued conversation via e-mail. and we were able to get information out of of that one. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, richard. >> watch dateline on friday. trouble in paradise tonight at 10:00 eastern on nbc. he want to be chicago's next mayor. but there's a question over rahm emanuel's name can appear on the ballot. the battle over rahm's residency and the house at the center of a fight. plus, teachers tie a 4-year-old's hands together with duct tape. why they think it was justified in today's gut check. and today dylan wraps up his steel on wheels tour with a live show from st. louis on board a river boat sailing down the mississippi. he'll talk about how he can adapt to solve the challenges we face today. that's at 4:00 p.m. eastern here on msnbc. unless taken with food.

he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. citracal. maybe it's because their department store makeup is so expensive. simply ageless with olay regenerist serum costs less and it won't glob up in lines and wrinkles. you'll look amazing and happy too. simply ageless, from olay and easy breezy beautiful covergirl.

rahm emanuel should find out if he can run for chicago. the chilling surprise one iowa couple came home to, burr. plus getting rid of the earmarks. the government funding bill was put on hold because of those things. which senators put in for the most pork. >> this may be a central moment in the recent history of the united states senate. for the first time since i've been here, we stood up and said enough. stop. >> it was a dramatic moment in the senate as democrats were forced to abandon their effort to approve a $1.2 trillion funding bill for the government. republicans have bailed against the inclusion of thousands of tax-payer funded cut projects known as earmarks. we called pork. which many lawmakers promised to end. despite those promises, there were over 6,000 earmarks in the

bill from both democrats and republicans, including many totally $8 billion. $349,000 for swine waste management in california. 2340 230,000 for noxious weed management in nevada. and 14,000 for peanut research in alabama. >> members increasingly felt concerned about the way we do business. >> i'm a little confused about some of the righteous indignation coming from the republican side of the aisle. guess who has earmarks in there? the minority leader. >> and really both sides did. joining me now, political reporter çdominico. 38 earmarks. that totalled zlr 85 million. if you can put this all in context for us, just the sheer

numbers and magnitude. >> right. that's a lot of money. $8 million in earmarks as you mentioned in there. rallying against the practice. i'm going to vote against it. but if you're going to get yours, i'm going to get mine. that's what we've been seeing. the message was a huge one on spending. on deficits and earmarks. john mccain is a champion of earmarks in the '08 campaign. it's a delicate line that republicans have to walk. she's on firm footing and doesn't want to see that ground. >> i just want to show how fat that line is. this top ten request for earmarks on the list that came from tax breaks for common sense. we could go on and on. but look at these numbers. hundreds of millions of dollars

numbering in requests up to 281 from senator cochran from mississippi. these are big. >> yeah, huge numbers. but this practice has gone on for a long time. we've seen a bigger focus on process than we've ever seen before in american politics. we have 24/7 coverage of these things. nobody ever talked about deem and pass. now everyone has become well schooled. people want to bring home the bacon so it can help them in the next election. >> we'll see what happens with the continuing resolution out there right now. thank you for stopping by. have a great weekend. >> you, too. >> a new poll shows he's the leading candidate for governor. the question remains if obama's former white house chief of staff rahm emanuel is able to run for mayor. emanuel tried to convince the city's board of elections at a three-day hearing thatç wrappe

up late yesterday. the board's decision could come thursday. he's waiting for that. a writer with the examiner.com. the issue the intent of being a resident in chicago. so it wrapped up yesterday. where do we stand? >> well, the city law is fuzzy on what residency means. and rahm emanuel's lawyers say he rented out his home, but he always men to come back and live here. they pointed to prized possessions he left in his home. his wife's wedding dress. photo albums and that thing. and the renter said i don't know anything about that. did he intend to come back? the people at the board of elections seem to say if you maintain a residence in chicago and vote absentee.

he's been living in washington, d.c. nor the last couple of years. >> and renting there. does it come down to the house, nick? are there other burden of proofs that will allow him to show residency in chicago? >> well, there was a fax form he filled out in illinois in which he says his accountant put part-time resident and he amended it. he said i always considered myself a full-time resident. but a lot o it comes to what he intended to do in terms of the house seat. he said i told my realtor i wanted to maintain owner ship of the house. i was in service to my country. there's an exception for residency for people serving their country. the opposing side says that was put in during world war ii for servicemen.

thee seem to have a loose standard. as long as they may tan a residence, their residents for the purpose of the law. >> this story startç twd the tenant in his home that he owns and not wanting to move out and run for mayor in the beginning. will this affect that decision as we look forward to next thursday? >> i don't know if they have much to do with that. there was testimony that he wanted a $100,000 payment from rahm emanuel so that he could move back into the same house. and obviously emanuel refused that. he's been living in an apartment. but this has been an interesting part of the story. with no political background at all he suddenly jumped to the mayor's race briefly. he dropped out shortly thereafter. >> writer for the examiner.com. the trustee recovering money if victims of bernie madoff has

reached a huge settlement with the estate of a florida philanthropist. he drowned after suffering a heart attack in his pool last year. and now a special announcement by unicef and lawrence o'donnell. together they are joining to raise funds for school children in the african nation. k.i.n.d. stands for kids in neeneed of desks. why did you pick this project? you have so many opportunities around the world. >> it was a friend of mine just came back from malawi talking about visiting schools there. she told me they all needed desks and chairs badly. they're all on the floor.

they can't' the teacher. it's painful after a while. teachers don't have chairs and desks. they're standing for seven hours a day. it sounded so elemental to me. can't i help them get desks and chairs? it turns out it'sç very diffict to do. i went to mau wee for a week. i luckily found a manufacturer, a guy in the capitol still that could make these desks that i managed to deliver. >> we have one here. >> we have one shipped back here. i have 30 of those made in 48 hours. outfitted one full classroom. now that's designed for two students, and unicef in their partnership with us wants to supply them to schools so only two students have to sit there. they get their own compartments within the desks. but in truth the schools are so overcrowded that the one i delivered to, three kids easily fit that desk. and that's the delivery that we

made that we're looking at right now. the kids were thrilled beyond description. they had never seen desks. >> this is their reaction to you arriving with desks. >> yes, that's it. the teachers had never seen a classroom with chairs or desks in it. in five minutes kids attacked the trucks, uncloeded the desks themselves. they transformed their own classroom. >> we take it for granted. having those desks means they have a place to put their study materials. it means they have a place to write. >> yes. yes. they take their tests sitting on the floor. reading and writing sitting on the floor. this is $48 a desk. this money goes straight through to the desks. there's nothing between your $48 and those desks getting delivered to those schools. for people who have everything, if it's christmas shopping time,

you can't think of what to do, buy one of these desks. the recipient will get an e-mail from unicef saying a desk has been purchased in your name. you change the lives of the worker who is make them. their families. their hungry families. you want to do something with them that helps the economy there.ç and what you do is unlimited. the next nelson mandela may be sitting in the back of the classroom unable to see a teacher. unable to make eye contact, and maybe is an unreachable student now. you change that student's physical environment and maybe that student becomes reachable. >> as simple as a desk. and how do we get involved? >> you go to our website. lastworddesk.msnbc.com. you can also call

1-800-for-kids. kids in need of desks. very easy website. i've already been buying desks as gifts for christmas presents for people. it's really easy to do. it takes a couple of minutes. there's nothing better you can do. send $24. it will get one seat. it's better than the money you'll spend on a movie ticket. >> and three kids per desk because again, these desks are quite large. >> and there's unlimited need. unlimited need. we want to start in malawi. the continent of africa will need this for years to come. >> thank you so much. >> thank you very much. >> you can watch the last word monday through thursday at 10:00 p.m. eastern time right here on msnbc. the search for a missing las vegas dancer tops our story at news around the nation. she went missing after leaving her apartment. she's a dancer for a fantasy

show. las vegas police say they don't have many clues at the moment. her family is saying her cell phone is turned off and her facebook account has not been active. the area where a dangerous home full of explosives once stood is officially cleaned up. last week officials set fire to the home in escondido, california. the home was packed full of bomb making materials. officials said it was too dangerous to leave it standing. then construction for the centerpiece at ground zero is half way done. the freedom tower reached the 52nd story. this tower is expected to stand at 104 stories. r will be a symbolic 1776 feet tall. mtv news is announcing the man and woman of the year. who gets the honors? straight ahead in the scoop. but first there's a lot going on today. here's some things we thought you should know about. nooij ya has dropped bribery

charges against former u.s. vice president dick cheney and his former company. they are agreeing to pay a fine to settle the charges. nigeria had accused the company and others of bribing officials between 1995 and 2004 to win a billion dollar liquefied gas plant contract. a federal judge in florida is hearing from 20 states who want president obama's health care law thrown out. the states say the requirement that all americans must buy insurance is unconstitutional. and president obama made surprise visits to kids at long branch, elementary school in arlington, virginia, today. he read parts of his book, of thee i sing an. [ male announcer ] this is steven, a busy man.

his day starts with his arthritis pain. that's breakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time for two more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills. and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. >> man: diving to 4,000 meters. >> boy: go down, down, down. down. straight. go straight. no, to the right. to the right. >> go to the right, go to the right. >> whoa! >> whoa! >> what is that? >> man: well, that's a, uh... i don't know. >> whoa. >> can we call him blinky? >> woman: expert teaching. deeper learning. together, we are the human network. cisco.

this is steve andç betty's home in iowa.

this is inside their house. they went out of town, and when a family member checked on the house, here's what they found. a lot of snow. on the walls. snow piled up inside the hallways, the kitchen, closets and cabinets. we had to call you on this one. you're on the phone now. i am seeing snow. there's somebody standing in this picture. what did it look like? this is crazy. >> caller: well yes. the person in the picture is my sister-in-law. she and my brother-in-law had it all cleaned up before we came home. >> and this apd because the door was open? that's what we were hearing? >> caller: the door blew open somehow. it was whorrendous winds. that is a danger. you have lots of snow. but inside the house you must have been shocked. >> caller: we were. we didn't see the pictures until a couple days later. and we were surprised, even though we had heart about it. >> was it just the front door

that blew open? you must have had some or the blow through the house? >> caller: it was a back hallway dpoor and it's directly down the hall, the garage door would have been open. and we had left the garage door to the outside just a crack for the dog to get in and out, so i suppose there was some suction there of some kind. >> you got any kids? >> caller: yes. >> they must love seeing this. >> caller: we didn't see the snow. we just saw the pictures of it. so what happened is your brother got rid of the snow? >> caller: yes, he and his wife scooped it all up before we got home. we were standed from the blizzard trying to get home to help clean up. >> you owe them lots of dinners. >> caller: we sure do. >> what sort of damage -- it looks like you will have to replace the flooring. >> caller: we will have to replace theç flooring.

it was a almolaminant. thankful we didn't have frozen pipes that burst and didn't soak through to the basement. >> this will be a christmas for you to remember. >> caller: no doubt. >> thanks for stopping by. we wish you the best as you try to get everything in its place. >> caller: okay, thank you. kanye west and lady gaga have something in common. you may be interested in a sequel to shakespeare in love. courtney hazlett has the day off. let's start with what's happening many entertainment. >> kanye west and lady gaga are the man and woman of the year. >> who voted them on? >> basically all the mtv fans. justin bieber was up there. katy perry was up there. >> so kanye, despite being controversial sometimes, you know, still getting some love.

>> he's perfect for mtv. you think in '09 is when he stormed the stage. a year later at the mtv awards, redemption. whether you like him or not, he had a great album this year. it's on a lot of top ten lists. and his tweets are priceless. >> shakespeare in love. a movie a lot of people have watched. swingers. i watched that. we didn't see sequels to those, but we might. >> they announced they're doing a partnership with miramax. possibly swingers. >> is this just a money play? they have so much success. >> exactly. with their own company vi put up vicky christina barcelona and inglorious bastards. >> the weekend box office numbers. i'm a huge fan of tron.

when you were 2 years old, i was a big fan. >> i was 1. >> thank you. i appreciate that. >> just joking with you. >> but doing çwell, right? >> es expected to bring in $60 million. that's because of fan boys like you. people that saw it said it's okay. it has a built-in fan base. it doesn't matter what we say. >> a 1-year-old watching tron. i appreciate that. have a great weekend. >> she's much older now. in today's gut check a teacher duct tapes a 4-year-old's hands together. why the school says it needed to be done. "news nation" is back in three.

a chicago man greeted with a shock excite. the boy's hands and wrists are duct taped together. the school says the child was bound because of a disciplinary problem. the 4-year-old is a student here

at chicago's chinese christian school. a former police officer said he was stunned by the sights of his son's restraints. the school relaced a statement saying why the child was duct taped. he repeatedly struck two staff members and acted of control. our vice principal loosely taped his sleeves together to restrain his hands. go to newsnation.msnbc.com to vote on that.ç take a look at what the "news nation" is saying about yesterday's gut check. should a hair style dictate where someone is allowed to play a sport. 42% of you said yes. 58% of you said no. that does it for this edition of "news nation." tamron hall is back next week. watch "news nation" weekdays here on msnbc. my colleague thomas roberts picks things up after the break. the pringles superstack can makes everything pop!

♪ ♪ whoa-oh-oh-oh ♪ yeah, yeah ♪ hey, hey [ male announcer ] the choice is yours... 100 of these or 100 pringles. same cost but a lot more fun. everything pops with the pringles superstack can! ♪ if anything, i thought i'd get hit by a bus, but not a heart. all of a sudden, it's like an earthquake going off in your body. my doctor put me on an aspirin regimen to help protect my life. [ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone. so be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. to my friends, i say, you know, check with your doctor, 'cause it can happen to anybody. [ male announcer ] be ready if a heart attack strikes. donate $5 to womenheart at iamproheart.com, and we'll send you this bayer aspirin pill tote.

hi, everybody. great to have you with me. i'm thomas roberts. we have a fast-moving hour coming up. it all comes down to one statistic. 15 million americans are currently unemployed. it is a big number. the biggest in 25 years. making jobs priority number one for the white house and getting people back to work. parking lig president obama is slated to sign the controversial tax bill. as soon as the president starts talking, we take you there live. we have this covered from all the angles. but the most important, what does this really mean for you? what does it mean for your wallet? and how will this help you or the people you know get back to work? now throughout this show you're going to see this scroll. this is a list of all the things that this one bill includes.ç we're going to keep it going for you. a lot of the economic numbers to talk about out there today. there's consumer spending. there are interest rates, and there's