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compare himself to? apple is at the top of one important list but for what and there are others on that list, too. hello, everyone. it's 9:00 a.m. out west. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." the very latest headlines from the philippines, we've learn more than 1200 people are dead. they were killed when the biggest storm ever recorded typhoon high yen slammed into the nation. the death toll could have been higher but early warnings entmillions to shelters days before the storm hit. when they'll be able to go home remains to be seen. now evacuations are under way in vietnam where the storm is expected to hit sometime tomorrow. correspondent angus walker has the latest now from the philippines. >> they're beginning to survey the damage in the philippines after one of the strongest storms ever recorded swept across this island nation. the winds of typhoon hey yen

came ashore clocked at 125 miles per hour with gusts over 230. equal to a category 5 hurricane. few buildings are built to withstand such an onslaught. power down, streets flooded, homes leveled. even 24 hours later, officials are still trying to get a handle on the extent of the destruction. >> do you think there are villages along the coast which have been completely destroyed? >> yes, i think so. hopefully nobody died there. >> people were warned of the coming storm and many made it to shelters. but some were caught at sea. the crew of this barge was pulled from the rolling waves. the scene from space will give you some idea of hey yen's size. the philippines have seen more than 20 typhoons this year, but it's hard for anyone to recall a

storm anything like this. >> angus walker, thank you. now to geneva where iran and six world powers are locked in negotiations for a historic nuclear agreement. this as russia's foreign minister arrived to participate in the intense discussions right now. secretary of state john kerry also in geneva, abruptly cut short his visit to the metals east flied to make the trip to switzerland. ali arouzi is in geneva for us. is it realistic to assume we could see a nuclear deal with iranians soon or is there still a long way to go here? >> well, alex, it's a very tough question. there is the potential for a deal here. both sides that are negotiating here certainly want to many cop to some sort of understanding but they've been locked into intense discussions last night. we're expecting those discussions to go throughout tonight and there have been a lot of sticking points here. there's a lot to play for and both sides have retractors in iran and the united states and

there are a lot of details to hammer out. iran doesn't want to give away the shop and the united states and other world powers don't want to be seen as too soft in iran. but the alternatives could be a lot worse. yes, a deal could be in sight, possibly not today, maybe in the next ten days, 12 days. they meet again here in geneva to come to some sort of understanding. >> can you outline some of the sticking points here as claimed by secretary kerry and the french foreign minister? >> we'll, they've been very tight-lipped about it. laurent fab yas said that there are major security concerns with iran's nuclear program and he's brought up something that hasn't been brought up in other talks and that's the heavy water refinery at araq which could make plutonium grade bombs. this is a new thing he's thrown in here and that's caught iranians slightly off guard. it wasn't something they were expecting to negotiate about.

apparently the french have dug hair heels in about this issue and want this resolved. that's made things a little more difficult to come to some sort of understanding. ironically the iranian foreign minister blamed the french for intransience rather than iran's old foe america. we have to see what will happen. the french do have a veto vote in the security council. their presence is very important. >> ali, we have talked many times from your post inside of tehran there. i'm curious your perspective. do you think it is all about the sanctions being aced up and that's driving iran's interest to try to cut this deal in. >> i think that's certainly true. i don't think the iranians really want to admit that overau, but yes the sanctions are really biting in iran. things have become very expensive. the banking system has closed down. you can't get money in or out. certain goods are harder to get. it's still manageable at this stage, but if that suddenly goes

out of control, the shortages of food, are their bread queues is going to cause some serious problems for the leadership in iran. i think they want to avoid that before it runs out of control. >> ali arouzi in geneva. thanks. back in the understand, the third ranking republican in the house says there's not enough time left this year to can taal immigration reform. kevin mccarthy of california says he is committed to, woulding on immigration next year. senate passed a comprehensive immigration bill back in june. >> before heading to florida last night, the president spoke in new orleans to promote increased government spending on major infrastructure projects likes ports, roads and airports. >> if we help our businesses grow and our children to reach a little higher, then the economy's going to grow faster. we'll rebuild our middle class. stronger. the american dream will be real and achievable, not just for a few but for everybody, not just today but for decades to come. >> texas senator ted cruz making

an appearance on late night tv invoking president reagan on the "tonight show." >> remember, reagan challenged an incumbent republican president in 1976 in a primary and there was a grass-roots revolution where he said listen, this isn't working. let's get back to free market principles, back to the constitution because economic growth, people want jobs. they want opportunity. and what we're doing isn't working. that same thing's true right now. >> joining me now political reporter for "us news and world report" lauren fox and david nakamura. we just hear ted cruz invoking president reagan suggesting he's like reagan. is that a fair comparison? >> probably not. jay leno sort of challenged him, sort of said i don't think reagan would be able to within a primary or be able to sort of appeal to the tea party right now. that's something jeb bush said a year ago during the campaign that you know, and that's something president obama has said, as well. i think you know, people go on a

show like leno to try to broaden their appeal and soften their edge. cruz faced a few tough questions from leno and i think he handled it fairly well, but you know, he sort of tried to say i'm not so extreme. the only reason i shut down the government was because president obama refused to negotiate on the bigger budget principles. but at the same time, i think leno did expose some of the points that ted cruz is trying to get away from with his father saying extreme comments and gay marriage. cruz didn't answer those, as well. it will be interesting to see how his appeal is able to broaden or not or whether he stays limited to the tea party base. >> listen to more of what he did say on the show. lawrence, take a listen. >> i think americans are deeply frustrated. that washington is broken. and i think it's a bipartisan problem. i mean, i think the biggest divide we have is not between republicans and democrats. it is between entrenched

politicians in both parties in washington and the american people. >> lauren, this is a man who is a champion of the face of the tea party. he's trying to strike what sounds like a populist tone to me, an every man tone. does that resonate or fall flat. >> what's interesting here is he's saying the biggest problem in washington are those dug in on both sides. if we look what he's meant for the u.s. senate even among republican colleagues who have tried to moderate him a little bit, he is one of those entrenched politicians. it's hard for him to strike a populist tone. he's got an incredible story and he's got an incredible message that resonates with some tea party folks but when we're talking about poor americans and striking a populist tone, i don't think that ted cruz is the guy to carry that message through. we'll see as eget closer to 2016. maybe he'll be able to broaden his base and maybe this will be his message. >> okay. we're going to talk about minimum wage, david is as dick

durbin says the white house is very supportive to hike the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour now. what are you hearing from the white house on this. >> president obama has talked a lot about narrowing the growing income divide in the country. last year during his campaign, he tried to strike that populist tone by talking about this. he says all of our policies are geared toward helping that middle class grow and prosper. so you know, something like raising the minimum wage, the president talked about raising it to $9 an hour. now i think there was a lot of people wondering if he would go this far. there was some concern at the white house about doing so. in the end he endorsed this. a lot of states and cities are dealing with this, as well. you're seeing it here in washington, d.c., city council is talking about it. so it's something happening around the country. but in terms of this federal legislation, that's going to be a harder chore. this is a big jump. but the president i think is throwing his weight behind this because he does believe this is something important that can make a difference fairly

quickly. >> in fact, lauren, getting this passed in the senate is one thing. there are no signs gop leaders in the house are likely to take up the issue? is there room for compromise on the $10.10 number? >> i think one of the difficulties here is that the president like we said earlier, in his state of the union address last year announced that $9 was what he was pushing for. if we're going to move to the $10 number, all of a sudden, republicans think they have extra negotiating room. i think republicans will be thinking that their starting point is going to be to negotiate with the president and his starting point is $9, theirs is going to be lower. i don't think we're going to see this $10 number as the federal minimum wage here. republicans are just a little bit too entrenched on this issue. i'll be surprised if they take this issue up at all. >> david, i do want to go over your latest article titled "health care woes follow president obama to new orleans." what is the president's strategy going forward? >> he tried to sort of make a difference the other day when he sort of apologized on nbc saying

hey, you know, for those who are having plans canceled, i'm sorry that we weren't more clear on this. but unfortunately for him and the administration, that is not going to slow the attacks from republicans and so the president was trying to make a message yesterday in new orleans talking about the budget and negotiations coming up but he acknowledged near the end of the speech that he had to talk again about the health care problems. he's copying to do that. i think it's going to follow him till this website gets fixed. he's saying he's making that marker the end of this month. that's the big deadline. i think the full administration's focus has got to be on that. >> okay. thanks so much. lauren fox, david, good to see you. ahead, the happiest place on earth and testing american students. are they making the grade? the results of a new report on reading, writing and arithmetic that might alarm you. help the gulf recover and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company.

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the u.s. department of education gives students across this country a mixed grade. on one hand, test scores have improved some. but fourth and eighth graders still don't have the basic math and reading skills they need to succeed. michelle reis the former chancellor of public schools in washington, d.c. and the founder of the education reform advocacy group students first. we're glad to have you. >> thanks for having me. >> let's look at new numbers out this week. just 42% of fourth graders, 35% of eighth graders scored at or above the proficient level in math. move mooing on to reading, 35% of fourth graders, 36% of eighth graders hit that mark. those numbers seem alarming. are they or is there something more behind the numbers we should know? >> they are. we can certainly say that american children are not where they need to be to compete in

the global economy. if you look internationally, u.s. kids are 14th, 17th and 25th out of about 30 developed nations in reading science and math. we definitely have a long way to go. >> okay. as d.c. schools chancellor, you took heat for some reform measures those regarding teacher evaluation reforms and that system there. since you left, a lot of questions have been seen about the improvements seen in the d.c. test scores during your tenure. however, d.c. and tennessee have both seen growth in these test scores. what's the key and do you feel vindicateded? >> well, i think that first, it's important to note that both d.c. and tennessee are states where the average achievement levels are still lower than we want them to be for our kids. but if you look at the growth that's happened over the last two years in these two jurisdictions, it is tremendous. it is in some areas quadruple

what the national averages were in terms of the gains they made. it's important to look the an these two places and say what were they doing, and that the bottom line is that both places really invested in teacher quality and teacher effectiveness. they implemented teacher evaluation systems like we referred to, ones that really recognized and rewarded the top performing teachers but also identified those who weren't ing well and both of those states actually invested heavily in professional development for teachers but both states also ensured that they put in place higher standards, both of them adopted what is known as the common core standards which are much, much higher standards we believe are going to help american children compete with their global counterparts. >> we're talking today because of these test scores. it begs the question, how much weight should we put in standardized tests? in other words, if the success or failure of american schools and students is based on test scores alone, isn't there tremendous danger of teachers teaching to these tests and

students getting shortchanged on broad based education? >> right. i think what we need is a balance. in some school districts and schools across the country, you're seeing a swinging to one end of the pendulum which is an overemphasis on testing. people believe it's the end all, be all. kids are being taught to the test. they're being taught to believe that is really the only measure that is important and that is actually harmful. on the other hand, we have to make sure that we are measuring accurately whether or not kids are learning in our schools and have to do that in a consistent standardized way. really the answer is a really common sense middle ground where we say do we have national standardized assessments? yes. do we look at them every year to ensure that our kids are growing every year an we're being aggressive about that? yes, but it has to be put in the context of making sure that overall, kids are gaining the skills and knowledge that they need to be productive members of society. >> as you're well aware, because after the sequester, we've seen

some of the biggest cuts to federal shakes funding ever. according to the committee for education, funding these cuts apartmentsed to nearly $2.5 billion. all these advances you're talking about in d.c. and tennessee are due to strong funding at the state level. there's a deal in the senate that might leave many of these cuts in place. so what do you think the impact is long-term of cuts like this? >> well, you know, i think it's incredibly important to look carefully at the way we're funding our schools. and you know, when a state or the federal government is cutting and the first thing to go is education, he think that sends a message to the american people about how important our children are. and i think that's the absolute wrong message. at the same time, you know, we have to look at where the dollars are being spent because in this country, we have over the last couple of decades more than doubled, almost tripled the amount of money we are spending per child on public education. yet the results have remained relatively flat. so we need to have investment in

education in a strong way, but we also need to make sure those dollars are going into the kinds of programs that are going to produce results for kids. >> michelle, if there was one thing you could tackle on head on first and foremost, what would that be? what is your top priority? >> well, i think the honestly, if you look at the research, it's very clear that of all of the in-school factors that exist, the number one factor that has an impact on student achievement levels is the quality of teacher in the classroom. i think that doing the kinds of things that tennessee and d.c. have been doing like investing in the teacher force really making sure we are respecting our teaches for the incredibly hard work they do but also acknowledging the fact this is not a profession that everyone can be successful in. you have to be somebody who is able to move student achievement gains forward aggressively. i think it's that focus on elevating the profession that is probably the most important thing we can do as a nation. >> founder of the education reform advocacy group, michelle

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tech. it leads by 43 votes. the idaho statesman has this couple boyce i couple sue to overturn ban on same-sex marriage. they say it violates the constitution's due process. the oe the -- happy places and titans on twitter. first in today's number ones, the priciest name plates. apple may have seen its stock slump but the way forbes figures it, apple is still the most valuable brand in the world. for a third straight year, it's not even close. using earnings reports forbes estimates the brand to be worth more than $104 billion, nearly double the value of microsoft coming in at almost $57 billion. coca-cola is the only nontech company in the top five followed by ibm at 51 bill, google fifth with a $47 billion worth. switzerland has overtaken denmark as the happiest corrupt

in the world based on the organization for economic cooperation and development. low unemployment and high net wealth are two reasons switzerland finished first. norway right behind followed by ice land, sweden and denmark. the u.s. ranking 14th. ♪ ♪ and you're going to hear me roar ♪ >> i almost started singing that. i know you're glad i didn't. thanks to her hit song, katie perry has overtaken justin bieber for twitter supremacy and has almost 46.9 million followers. 6 million more than lady gaga, president obama and taylor swift. those are your number ones. play it loud because i'm going to start singing.

welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." time for headlines at the half. more than 500,000 people have been evacuated in in vietnam as typhoon heiyan looms closer.

sustained winds of 147 miles per hour. the philippine red cross says at least 1200 people are dead. the most powerful storm on earth ever to hit land. a grand jury has indicted 11 bikers including an undercover new york city police detective linked to a beating on a new york city highway. september attack happened after the driver of an suv bumped a bike in front of him. the mayor of toronto refuses to resign but may enter rehab. the mayor is considering his options and treatment is one of them. he recently admitted smoking cocaine. video surfaced of him threatening to kill someone. negotiations are taking place right now the between the united states and iran in an effort to halt the country's nuclear process. i spoke with congressman john yarmuth this morning. he said the u.s. should stay the course despite the objections of israel to a deal.

>> netanyahu is kind of like the israeli tea party. he always wants everything his way. i say that as a jewish american who strongly supports israel. these kinds of situations require step by step progress. this is a huge step forward. >> nbc's kristen welker is at the white house for us. a got saturday to you. how likely is it secretary kerry is going to walk away from these talks with a firm deal? >> it's not looking it very promising at this hour according to diplomats in geneva and a part of these talks. one of the key sticking points coming from france. this they say this deal doesn't do enough to curb iran's nuclear enrichment program calling this a sucker's deal. another sticking point has been sanctions. the united states apparently offering to limit some sanctions on a very small scale. israelis have been highly skeptical of these talks, as well. prime minister benjamin

netanyahu saying iran is essentially poised to get the deal of the century. president obama called prime minister netanyahu yesterday reassuring him israel's security is still a key u.s. priority. so at this hour, alex, it doesn't look like they're going to walk away with a deal right now. of course, things could change. these talks continue. the mere fact that these talks are happening though is incredibly significant. this is the first time there have been top level talks between the united states and iran for more than 30 years. of course, you have to go back to before the iran hostage crisis to when the united states and iran were actually talking. so it is significant that they are sitting down and talking, but at this hour, still no deal. alex? >> that means we're going back to the late 70s on that one. thank you very much. joining me with more, matt cartwright, member of the oversight and government reform committee. it's nice to see you again. i want to ask you about what you

just heard from your colleague yarmuth saying benjamin netanyahu is like the israeli tea party in regard he wants things done only his way. >> that might be a bit strong. i have the deepest respect for john yarmuth, one of my mentors as a freshman congressman. you want to wait and see what the details of any arrangement are when they come out and then comment on them. certainly, our support for israel has to be unwavering. you know, students of history don't have to look back far. 75 years ago, we passed some horrible anniversaries, even today is the anniversary of kristallnacht in germany lead ago up to the holocaust an unspeakable event we have to not stop talking about.

maybe more importantly for today's discussion, there was the munich conference at the end of september, 1938. you know, when neville chamberlain flew to munich, i think it was his third time flying there, meeting with hitler and receiving assurances and coming away with a deal. a deal that history has reviled as appeasement. it's a satisfaction and comfort to me that smart people like john kerry are in geneva and they remember follies like that that happened in the past. >> i'm very glad for your historical perspective. thanks for that. with regard to the negotiations under way and possibility of easing sanctions with iran, where do you stand on that? >> well, obviously, we have to take a firm view of it. i understand that two sticking points are number one, reducing the iranian stockpile of enriched uranium from 20% down

to 5%. that's important. there's also a nuclear research facility at a place called araq, which is capable apparently of producing weapons grade plutonium, very important obviously to shutter that facility as part of any arrangement. and i understand there's pushback going on from the iranian foreign minister about that. but again, i'm encouraged because we have participation of france, germany, great britain. we have catherine ashton from the eu there. lady ashton met i understand for five hours last night with the iranian foreign minister and secretary kerry. so it's good to see they're working hard on this. but as far as commenting on the deal, we have to see what the details are before we do that. >> absolutely a good point there. let's switch gears right now and talk about the jobs report with you. as the unemployment rate kicked

up to 73%, that said 204,000 new jobs were added. to what do you attribute those new jobs? >> it's one of these end of the month results comments. and you know, it's hard to look at statistics like this and say, well, that problems that the democrats are right or the republicans are right. it's just another monthly milestone. what we saw was the unemployment rate for septicing up a little bit. and we saw the number of jobs in october added more than was expected. but we haven't heard the unemployment rate for october yet. but unemployment is still a serious serious problem in this country. i come from northeastern pennsylvania. i'm coming to you from pitston, pennsylvania right now where our unemployment rate is traditionally two ticks higher than the rest of the country. unemployment is a cancer. and whether it's 7.2 or 7.3

nationwide, it's 2% higher than that here and we have to do something about unemployment and i say attacking the infrastructure problem is the place to start. >> yeah you've got to consider the unemployment rate and these numbers might be also affected due to the furloughs and the government shutdown. on the heels of that, the white house released a report this week detailing the costs of the shutdown. found 120,000 private sector jobs were lost. back pay will total $2 billion. can we recover from those losses? >> i think we can. but losses are losses. i mean, if you say we added jobs in october, think of how many more jobs we would have added if the economy were firing on all cylinders. you know, it's so hard to measure the damage that was done. you take the national parks. i was talking to a fellow who lives right outside the great smoky mountain national park. he said his town's entire economy depends on that park.

and than shutdown came at a time right in the middle of leaf peeping season when the peak tourism happened. so we're talking about hotels and motels and restaurants and gas stations. all of these places suffered immeasurably at the worst time of the year for them to take that hit. >> in fact, nbc news commissioned a report from probably that very same town bringing the same results there. pretty painful. i would like to talk about the interview with nbc news this week in which the president said i'm sorry about the health carroll out problems. what kind of moves does he have left to turn public sentiment in support of the affordable care act? >> well, i think that's a good first step. i think that whether or not he personally had you know anything to do with the website glitches and overstepping the talking points as obviously did happen, he's -- this shows the character of the man. he is a man willing to step out

and say the buck stops here. as he did when he said he was sorry about overstating whether you can keep your policy. but that's own the beginning. i think that as americans, as republicans, as democrats, what we ought to be doing is rolling up our sleeves, looking at had health care law. it it is the law. let's make it better. let's make it work for all-americans. i've been saying all last year, all during my campaign for congress that this is a good law because it addresses proper accounting for all of the uninsured care that does happen in the united states right now. right now, that uninsured care is borne by the hospitals and the medical providers and that's not fair. let's spread that out among a much wider base. >> okay. pennsylvania representative matt cartwright. thanks so much. >> my pleasure. so we just talked about the economy and along those lines, the white house has given the nod to the senate's plan to raise the minimum wage.

i've been asking all of you, should the u.s. raise the minimum wage to $10 or more an hour. here are some of your tweets. nancy conley writes, poverty is driving the crisis in hunger, health care, spending and education, living wage is the only way out. thomas taylor brown tweets yes, but with greedy corporate mentality favoring part time and temporary workforce, will it really matter? one says raising the minimum wage to provide a living wage to millions of americans will also boost the economy purchasing power. laura tweets as a poor college student, i say yes. it would make saving up to me a lot easier. i'll get 0 more of your tweets later on. the weather, an quiet weekend for about 90% of the country with snow showers coming in near the great lakes. meteorologist dylan dreyer is here with the forecast. hey there, dylan. >> things are pretty quiet across the country today. as we head into the weekend, we do have some lake effect rain and show showers across the upper peninsula of michigan,

clearing out of wisconsin right now. lake effect snow trying to develop throughout parts of new york. there's not a whole lot of moisture with this system. there's also rain moving through texas. you can see there's really pretty quiet weather going on across the country. as for temperatures, that's pretty average for this time of year with the jet stream not in much of a ridge or a dip across the country. we'll be in the 40s through new england. 50 in new york city. chilly across minneapolis. 44 degrees and 56 in chicago. temperatures will cool off a lint more as we go into sunday with them dropping down to about 41 in minneapolis. check chicago should top out in the 40s. we're still not looking an the a whole lot of wet weather. northwest and the pacific northwest we could see scattered showers and a little bit of wind out that way with another storm system making its way on shore. across southern florida, scattered showers and thunderstorms. we should top out around 60 degrees in washington, d.c. on sunday. not too bad. >> thank you, dylan. thomas roberts in moscow ahead of tonight's miss universe of

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well, the ancient greeks could never have done this. the sochi olympic torch started its first space walk. two cosmonauts carried that torch outside the international space station this morning. it will not burn aboard because lighting it could hurt the crew. it was taken aboard a space shuttle in 1996 but this is the first time it's gone outside a spacecraft. tonight the world's most beautiful women compete for miss jufrs being held in moscow co-hosted by thomas roberts who has been sending video diaries from the russian capital all week. >> this is my gorgeous and talented co-host. >> i'm messing a lot. >> you're highly talented. >> are you. >> we've had a really fun morning so far. there's a lot going on.

>> 6. >> right? >> beautiful ladies. >> beautiful women all competing for the title. >> joining me now is the co-host of the miss universe pageant msnbc's thomas roberts. with him is the reigning beautiful miss universe olivia culpo of the united states. it's great to see you. you look quite glamorous the two of you. >> this is alex witt one of the most brill beautiful women in all the world. >> you're telling that to miss universe. >> we need to move on quickly then. no, no. we played a clip from your video diary where you seem to forget how many women are competing. what's it been like preparing for the big event tonight? >> all right. so we might have misstated the number. it's 86 women who are competing from around the globe. so a lot of research has gone into this for me. luckily we've had a lot of rehearsals leading up to this evening. it's going to be a fantastic show. but i'm co-hosting with mel b., a live show. so you never know what you're going to get.

you could get anything. you know how i am. >> as long as you have your fan on stage, you will be perfect. >> it's warm here in moscow. >> is it really? >> olivia says it's freezing. >> i say bring me a fan. so then they found me this gilded fan. >> tomato and toe matte toe. oh libya, you're handing over your crown after a year. what is your biggest take away from your reign? what's the past year been like for you? >> how happy you can make people be with something as simple as a smile. the opportunity that i've had to inspire people and encourage them whether they're sick, hungry, poor or just need a voice. just from the crown and sash has been so inspiring to me and something that changed my life forever. >> thomas, as you well know, there's a serious side to all this because of russia's so-called anti-gay propaganda law. this year's pageant has become highly politicized. andy cohen, the original host backed out. why did you decide to go? >> i thought this was a great opportunity for visibility.

patrick, my husband is here with me. we traveled here together. i think that the lgbt community has a place at the international take. and we might not like our seat right now in all nations. so there is no reason to actually give it up. so i thought it was an important position to come and co-host and accept this assignment. it was also a great opportunity for me to get here on russian soil and see firsthand what it's like currently for the russian people and for certain people of the lgbt community who have had to face this lawhead-on just by simply living their truth, by simply declaring publicly that they identify as lgbt. >> is there an obvious daily threat to lgbt people? >> you know, so many of the people i've had interactions with over the last you know couple of days have been fantastic. obviously, there's a heavy weight and heavy burden ha goes with a law like this, alex. we know through the struggles for equality in our own home

country that it can be a slow roll to get there. but it comes from honest dialogue. it comes from open debate. the only way we've gotten as far as we have in the state so far is the fact that we've had lgbt leader stand up. we've had straight allies who stand up with them. they say you know what? this is wrong. so this law is discriminatory here in russia. it only condones closet. it only condones homophobia. so the more people that speak out about it, the better. >> well, it's going to be a heck of a pageant. olivia, do you have a favorite to win? >> i do, but i can't tell you. >> alex, i'll tell you. want me to tell you who her favorite is? >> i do actually. >> okay. >> as long as it doesn't come out of my mouth, i'm fine. >> it is always appointment tv. so much fun to watch. you kind of i look at all of you and think no way. but anyway, i'm awfully glad to talk to you both. and it's going to be a great

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now to florida where allegations of harassment and bullying inside the miami dolphins locker room have taken another ugly turn. in a statement put out for the lawyers for jonathan martin, his attorney says "jonathan endured harassment that went far beyond the traditional locker room hazing. for the entire season and a half he he was with the dolphins he attempted to befriend the same teammates who subjected him to the abuse with the hope doing so would end the harassment." just minutes ago, joe philbin addressed the media the an a news conference. kerry sanders is there in

florida for us. with a hello to you, did he have any answers or or say an anything new today. >> he did say something new. he got out in front of the cameras and sort of addressed this. he didn't actually deal with any facts but he said that there is a lot of information we want to get the facts on, and i've been in touch with the owner stephen ross and the general manager jeff ireland. we're all committed to getting to the bottom of this. he went on to say this, i will no longer be answering any questions relative to this matter. he was asked if any psychologists had been hired to help with the team members who remain behind. he said had he not done that. the other thing he also confirmed is that chris mosly, the offensive line coach who's not been here for more than a month, that date is important because this most recent development, his departure, chris moseley not being here for more than a month, that that really predates all of this controversy. but nonetheless, he confirmed chris moseley as of today is no longer with the team. he said they have parted ways. it is the offensive line we're talking about here, specifically

jonathan martin who is on the offensive line and apparently had some problems with alleged bully richie incognito. but in a statement from jonathan martin's attorney, he talks about players using the plural word and saying that he even endured a physical attack. so these are simply allegations. the nfl has hired an independent investigator, alex, and that investigation is already now underway. that investigator, ted wells, an attorney who was in new york yesterday, did not indicate that he indeed had a meeting set up with jonathan martin next week. in fact, he said no comment. but there are reports that there is a meeting scheduled for sometime next week. of course, that, only makes sense in an effort to get to the bottom of what happened here, need to talk to the person who feels that he was wronged through this process. alex in. >> lots of lawyers here, kerry. any sense that the dolphins or

the coach are gearing up for a massive lawsuit? >> you know, i think it's probably expected at some point, but there are certain issues here that will make that somewhat different because of collective bargaining agreements. the players association has preestablished certain things. so there are likely had ways to maneuver in, some people might call them loopholes but it is not as clear-cut assay as you were not involved with the nfl league. yeah, i think you're going to see a lot of lawyers and a lot of talk. this is a multibillion dollar operation and it is not uncommon when things go astray that people are paid money and you don't hear too much more about it. >> can i ask you about these allegations about i a woman against richie incognito at a golf outing? what's that about? >> well, that's more than a year and a half ago. here in south florida, the aventura police department got a call from a woman at a dolphin-sponsored golf tournament where richie

incognito allegedly used a golf club in a rather sexual way with this woman and offended her. somebody he didn't know. she apparently complained, ultimately went to the police department and made a complaint. but since then she is not talking because there was some sort of agreement that they came to. just now, joe philbin, the coach when asked about that said that we were made aware of the golf incident and we took immediate action. what that action was, however, the team here will not say. >> okay. kerry, thank you for the wrap-up from davy, florida. a survivor says it was like hearing a 74.fly over his roof. now typhoon haiyan heads toward vietnam. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you.

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diffusing iran's nuclear ambitions. and tirade on tape. toronto's mayor now answers questions about another videotape. good day to all of you. welcome to "weekends with alex witt" just past 1:00 p.m. in the west, 10:00 p.m. outest. in geneva, iran and six world powers are working out the first steps of a potential nuclear deal. secretary of state john kerry is among other top diplomats involved in the intense discussions. we are learning there may be some complications as parties struggle to find common ground. ali arouzi is in geneva. to you? >> talks between world powers in iran over iran's disputed nuclear program are going on for a third day in geneva. there were intense talks last night and carrying on today. russian foreign minister lavrov arrived here today.

the chinese foreign minister we're expecting later to join the talks. talks have never been at this high a level. all ministers from the foreign countries are here to talk with iranian foreign minister. things are getting pretty intense. it looked like they were making headway yesterday, but today the french foreign minister lauren fabius said there are serious concerns about iran's nuclear program and he's brought up iran's heavy water refinery saying this needs to be addressed too, a point that hasn't been brought up you before. the two sides are trying to hammer out a deal. they've sat with the bilateral meetings with john kerry and the iranians today. the iranians had bilateral meetings with the russians. we have to see what happens. both sides have been very tight-lipped about this, but that initial burst of optimism has slightly been dampened. not to say that a deal will be scuffled but a lot harder than

anticipated. if a deal isn't struck here tonight, there have been indications most sides may come back to geneva here in the next week to ten days to try to sort out some agreement but it's not going to be easy. but all sides here seem to want to come to some sort of agreement to avoid this nuclear standoff that's been going on with iran and the world powers for at least a decade now. ali arouzi, nbc news, jaeb, switzerland. >> all right, thank you very much for that. let's get to the breaking news from the philippines where typhoon haiyan, the biggest storm recorded slammed into the island nation. more than 1200 people are recorded dead at this point. officials expect that number to rice. the winds there were at least 190 miles an hour. gusts over 200 miles an hour. both are stronger than anything katrina brought to the gulf coast for perspective there. now coastal residents in vietnam are evacuating their homes as the storm heads for southeast asia expected to make landfall sometime tomorrow. joining us is aaron aspy, an

emergency communications officer with world vision. right now, aaron is on the central philippine island of bohol. how bad is the damage and what are you seeing around where you are? >> right now we still don't have power and water supply here in bohol is in the quake hit area also along the trail of the typhoon. we were able to resume relief operations and able to reach the flooded areas where people evacuated, but there are still a lot of people who need help. there are still a lot of people who evacuated in makeshift tents and in evacuation centers. right now, some of the people who are in enclosed spaces are really scared because they're still face thing aftershocks. so this typhoon is really an additional woe to the people.

and in the hardest hit areas we still cannot reach those who are there had and most of our staff that has been stationed there remain hard to reach as of now. so we're sending teams there to check on them and to find the extent of the damage there. >> and aaron, do you know of any fatalities in the region? >> there are unconfirmed numbers that has exhe'ded thousands. >> thousands? >> yes. and this was will be fully unrabled as we check on the extent of damage brought by haiyan. >> what about living through these winds? you sent us video we're seeing here. 200-mile-an-hour winds. what is that like? >> yes, haiyan unleashed a fierce winds and massive rains that pummeled through houses and

entire communities. these also resulted to storm surges as high as seven meters which crashed into coastal communities and destroyed fishing villages. raging floods also destroyed rows of farmland and everything now there is like a wasteland. >> aaron, someone described it as sounding as if a 747 jumbo jet was flying right over their house. does that make sense to you? >> yes, and even if i'm just here in the central part where the storm was just under signal number 3, howling winds came crashing in the top of the building where i am staying. what's really scary even for workers and we really felt that we were at risk during those times. >> do you have the kinds cuff

supplies that you need? has the government been on scene there to try and help its citizens? >> yes. world vision is trying its best toe really establish communication lines in the hardest hit areas. and we are really pressed for time to really reach out to these people to provide much needed food, drinking water. hygiene kits and other essential relief items. >> aaron, i'm sure that you've seen the pictures of banda aceh and the horrible tsunami that happened some eight years ago. if people are looking to that kind of devastation from history, are we seeing a similar situation here in the philippines? >> it's very similar. the destruction that was caused by haiyan was was really like a

tsunami that hit the islands in the central philippines. we really can't describe the mass iyania vanzant devastation that it has caused us. >> yeah. aaron, what's going to be next for you guys in next coming days and weeks? how much time will you be able to spend there? >> yes, world vision is going full force. we will be able to mobilize our full local staff capacity to launch the biggest relief effort here in the philippines to assist the needs of more than 1.2 million people who have been severely affected by this terrible storm. and we will also remain on alert for two to three more typhoons before year ends. >> okay. aaron aspi there with world vision. you have your work cut out for you. i'm sure everyone around you is grateful for your help. good luck. >> thank you. to politics now, and a bold prediction today from a gop gop

leader regarding the affordable care act. here's rnc chairman reince priebus. >> by next year the rates are going to go even higher and higher. this is the reason why the republican party has been fighting against obama care. it is not ready to roll out. i think you know, we're not circling wagons. we're just saying this is what we've been talking about and this program has to be put on hold. >> house republicans plan to introduce new legislation next week. indiana congressman todd young delivered this week's gop address. >> next week, the house will take up the keep your had elt care act which will ensure plans available today in the individual market can continue to exist. no one should have to go to their inbox or mailbox in fear of finding out they're losing a plan they like. >> health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius announced a new obama administration rule requiring health insurance companies to cover treatment for mental health and substance abuse no

differently than they do for physical illnesses. the president is turning his focus to the economy. he used the louisiana port in new orleans as a backdrop to promote his plan to invest billions of dollars into u.s. infrastructure and to bolster american exports. >> let's make it easier for more businesses to expand and grow and sell more goods made in america to the rest of the world. let's make sure we've got the best ports and roads and bridges and schools. let's make sure our young people are getting a great education. let's give everybody a chance to get ahead. not just a few at the top, but everybody. >> and during a democratic fund raiser in miami last night, he said the u.s. must continue updating its policies toward cuba. administration has engaged in recent discussions about immigration and relaxed travel rules for cuban-americans. what are the chances the white house would even think of delaying the individual mandate? that's next. we went out and asked people a simple question:

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now back to the developing story in geneva where the intense negotiations over iran's nuclear capabilities continue but disagreements seem to have put a deal today to be increasingly unlikely. christopher dickey for "the daily beast" and news week. i'm glad to see you, my friend. let's get to your assessment and the prospects of a deal. where do you put it in. >> i think the prospects are good for a deal but maybe not this weekend. i think they've come to a point where they have to cross a lot of ts and dot a lot of is, and once they in this paper, once they have this paper, it's going to be very hard to back away from. so everybody's getting very nervous the closer this he get to actually firming up the deal. but it was unimaginable a couple of years ago that we would ever come this far this fast.

and just the last two months have seen enormous progress. i think there will be a deal just maybe not this weekend. >> word is christopher, the last 24 hours or so it's the french that are holding up this draft deal because they say it does not do enough. how have they approached iran in recent years? >> well, they've been very tough on iran. the previous french administration nicolas sarkozy's presidency was tough on iran and francois hollande has been, as well. they don't trust the iranians. there is a very long and ugly history between france and iran dating back into the '80s with a lot of terrorist incidents and a lot of reasons to mistrust each other. and i think they just don't want to give anything away. on the other hand, they're not taking an absolutist position. the real question here is, how do you keep iran from reaching a

point where it can achieve what's called breakout where it is so close to having the raw materials for nuclear weapons that it could in the course of a few weeks or months, simply turn its back on u.n. inspectors, turn its back on the international community and go all out and create a nuclear weapon. we think if they wanted to do that, it would only be a matter of months between today and when they could create nuclear weapons. so the question is, how do you pull them away from that. how do you create an inspection regime that prevents that from happening but how do you also get them to reduce their inventory of enriched uranium and now the french have raised the issue of polonium producing producer at araq, how do you get them to back away from all of that so the possibility of a breakout becomes more distant, not close per. that's really where all these negotiations are headed. an inspection regime and an

inventory of nuclear materials that make the world feel secure that iran won't change its mind some day and decide, as north korea did at one point, we're going to go for unique clear weapons. >> the ayatollah sent out a tweet yesterday which i find absolutely extraordinary sending out a tweet but he called the negotiators children of the revolution. he said that no one should call them compromisers. how much faith do you have, christopher, in this new tone that as we're saying a year ago would have been inconceivable? >> well, you know, the iranians are very smart. and they watch the americans very carefully. and we have tended to focus all our attention on iranian hard liners and the problems they may create. they're still hard liners. but they have enough sense to look at the international community and say, we don't want to be the ones that scuttle this deal. in fact, if you read what they say very carefully over the last

few weeks and months, you'll see that they're watching the american congress and they understand very well that president obama who is in a very weak position right now, especially vis-a-vis the american congress, probably cannot get a deal through capitol hill. and as a result, the ayatollahs can be look like they're perfectly willing to negotiate. even the hard liners can say we're all ready to make a move on this because they basically know congress will scuttle this deal. >> listen to benjamin netanyahu yesterday. here's part of that. >> iran got the deal of the century and the international community got a bad deal. this is a very bad deal. and israel utterly rejects it, and what i'm saying is shared by many, many in the regions whether or not they express it publicly. >> do you think there is a nonmilitary solution that he would agree to?

>> well, i don't know exactly what kind of military solution he would agree to. i mean, bibi netanyahu can talk a lot about the power of israel, but the truth is israel cannot take out the nuclear facility abc abilities of iran. it can't kill all the scientists or take away all the enrichment facilities. if it tries, all that will happen is it will all go underground and we won't know anything like as much as we know right now about the program. in fact, if israel starts a war, the united states will have to finish it. and that's exactly what the bush administration was frankly terrified of and why they argued very vehemently against any kind of military attack by the israelis. and the obama administration has tried very hard to convince the israelis that at the end of the day, it will not allow iran to

have a nuclear weapon. but you know, all bets are off if iran were to go toward a breakout and start moving publicly, more or less publicly to create nuclear weapons. that's probably not going to happen. beibi netanyahu can probably learn to live with a deal where there is an inspection regime, where there is a reduction in the inventory of enriched uranium and potential fuel for nuclear weapons. but of course, he's going to complain all the way. and the people in congress who listen to israel and listen to bibi netanyahu specially who listen essentially to the likud party are going to do everything they can to fall in line with the kind of policies that bibi netanyahu wants, which is basically a policy that says keep pour ong sanctions until the iranians are humiliated and surrender. that's not going to happen. but that's what israel or at least what bibi netanyahu wants.

>> christopher dickey in paris, always a pleasure. i'll see you gun soon. thanks. back in washington the newly released jobs report shows the economy added 204,000 jobs last month. but at the same time, the you be employment rate edged up .1 point to 7.3%. joining me reporter emily heil and national reporter for msnbc.com suze kim. i'm going to apologize in advance for the brevity of this segment. suze, your latest article you write the fact that the recovery is continuing despite washington is a good thing, but it could also be doing even bet fer congress stopped sab tajjing growth every few months. what's the administration of the obama administration to these numbers? >> so obama in a speech yesterday in new orleans said that obviously, he was encouraged by the fact ha more jobs were created last month than analysts expected despite the shutdown but he says we could do better, that the economy has a long way to go and

the congress should be pro active in doing something to help it rather than constantly threatening deadlock fights that do end up hurting the economy and could still hurt growth this month. >> emily, how are republicans spinning this latest report? >> you're hearing veg very guarded optimism and then a really quick pivot to obama care because that's the subject that republicans want to talk about. i have a feeling if you asked a republican, what do you think of the weather outside? they'd say it's a really sunny day but how much does obama care stink. they're not really addressing these numbers in any significant way. they sort of glanced at them but then quickly pivot to obama care. >> suze, what about the minimum wage hike in the white house is saying it supports this hike to $10.10. is that going to ever happen or will there be more gop obstruction on minimum wage? >> i don't think it's likely to happen in the current congress. obama is actually expected to mention it yesterday. he decided not to, but it's definitely the obama administration and democrats'

efforts to put out new markers to give the american people a sense they do have an agenda going forward however much republicans try to obstruct it. that's the message you expect to hear in 2014. >> emily, the president saying he's sorry this week in the interview with chuck todd regarding people losing their current health care plans under this obama carrollout. what is the white house strategy going forward. >> working very hard on the technical glitches first of all. president obama wished he could do the code and fix the problems himself. so someone somewhere is working on that code, you can be sure. they're also trying to sort of move on to other topics, as well talking about the economy yesterday, talking about infrastructure, talking about immigration. so the white house strategy here is to also rebuff calls even by democrats to move the deadline for signing up. they're really thinking they can get these problems fixed in enough time to make those signups work. >> suze kim, emily heil, next

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hurry, this offer ends december 2nd. for details, visit vwdealer.com today . toronto's infamous mayor isn't stepping down. but there's word he is considering rehab. >> well, three days after admitting to smoking crack cocaine, mayor rob ford was in the spotlight for this video where he is heard making death threats against an unknown person. he tried to explain to reporters what could have led him to go on the tirade. >> it's extremely embarrassing. the whole world's going to see it. i was very, very inebriated. i don't know what to say. again and again i apologize if he won't find the exit, i think

we have to show him the door. >> that city counselor you heard from plan on passing legislation to have the mayor removed from office. under that city's law, the mayor can't be forcibly removed from office unless convicted and jailed for a criminal offense. police have yet to charge him with any crime. if you thought the miami dolphins scandal couldn't get worse, think again. new revelations. use ups. they make returns easy. unhappy customer becomes happy customer. then, repeat customer. easy returns, i'm happy. repeat customers, i'm happy. sales go up, i'm happy. i ordered another pair. i'm happy. (both) i'm happy. i'm happy. happy. happy. happy. happy. happy happy. i love logistics.

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same grin, same walk. and the same beautiful hair. [ female announcer ] nice 'n easy. in one step get expert highlights and lowlights. for color they may just think you were born with. [ rob ] i'm a lucky guy. [ female announcer ] with nice 'n easy, get the most natural shade of you. welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." approaching 32 past the hour. more information surfacing today in the controversy surrounding the miami dolphins and allegations of locker room bullying. during the last hour, kerry sanders reported there are documents which reveal one of the apparent bullyers richie incognito allegedly displayed "inappropriate behavior toward a female volunteer employee a year and a half ago." meanwhile his accuser has been undergoing counseling for

emotional issues. omar kelly is a columnist with the south florida sun sentinel. i'm glad you're here to talk about this. what has the atmosphere been like in that locker room? >> it's a circus. tyson clay bow walked through the locker room today singing clown music basically, the music they play in the circus because of the media attention. i'm here on an everyday day basis. there's probably ten times more media than what they're used to. has been a tremendous distraction and toll on the players. right now they are dieing to play a football game. unfortunately it's monday and not sunday. >> yeah, yeah. murtha former dolphins player went to high school with richie incognito. he insists richie should apologize to jonathan martin for the racial slurs that he made but he also said hazing is par for the course in the nfl. he went through his own share of hazing by richie incognito and

other players. listen to part of what he said. >> he's done stuff to me that you know, i can't even explain on tv as far as pranks and jokes and what not. and there's times where i got a little angry but it wasn't just him. it was other players too and i would confront him and 95% of the time they would say i'm sorry. my bad. i shouldn't have gone that far. slap hands. it's over. so the fact that it's been blown out of proportion to this extent i think has a lot to do with how it was handled. >> so omar, there may be some sort of tradition with rookie hazing but when you talk about jonathan martin, it's aged this has been going on longer than normal. is that the case? lug. >> oh, yeah, definitely. if you know richie incognito, he's an alpha male. his last day in the locker room that i was in there, richie spent about four minutes making fun of me in front of my peers. that's just the nature of richie and the nature of an nfl locker room. he is the jokester, the guy

who's going to you if you do something wrong or wear the wrong color or i carried an umbrella that had a flower on it because it was my wife's umbrella, that's richie incognito. strangely enough, people who don't know him are going to sort of take what his statement that he made in the transcripts of the voice mail probably out of context. you know, we don't know the full extent of it. use of the n word is never excusable. however, you know, it's clear from things he has used it before in front of african-americans. some of them accepted it, some of them didn't. some of them felt it was part of the locker room culture. maybe it could get away with it, but richie was a very alpha male kind of individual. >> okay. something i want to talk about reports that you may have been hearing, as well that the dolphins coaching staff told incognito you got to toughen martin up. so if these allegations prove to be true and given the possibility other players may have been involved and the racial component of this story, what end coo of legal nightmare

might the miami dolphins and coping staff be facing? >> definitely this is a legal nightmare. i think the odds of just about anybody surviving this from a front office to a coaching standpoint are very slim. certainly they're standing behind the nfl investigation and they expect that you know, all the details will reveal things. what i've learned from doing a lot of reporting, nobody truly knows what happened. nobody truly knows what's the breaking point with jonathan martin. nobody knows what his motivation and his mom's moat ration is in terms of her legal history. that's going to become more clear as time goes on as maybe a lawsuit is filed. certainly, it would be very difficult for me to sit here and say to you that jauchkt martin will have an nfl future. maybe they're trying to protect his future earnings by somehow posing a lawsuit against the nfl and possibly against the dolphins. >> omar, you cover these sports teams and you know, you see what

goes on in locker rooms. the sense of bullying against jonathan martin, do you think it was excessive? >>. >> you know what? bullying, i don't know if there's a line between bullying and hazing. certainly hazing took place. we documented it. we wrote about it. and it took place for two years. i can tell you since i've been covering joe philbin era, hazing has definitely increased. did joe philbin encourage it? he certainly did not. he spoke to players and said you need to cut this out. however, when players showed up with platinum blonde hair and i'm referring to kaleb sturgis or the dolphins defensive linemen who had colored dyed into it, they didn't do anything in. the only thing i can tell you that player said before they kicked off for the season, they said please get them respect many haircuts. they're allows to cut their

hair. that's what the coaching staff said. when it was going on, nobody did anything to stop it. >> what do you know about the cafeteria incident that was the tipping point, the breaking point for martin? what happened there? >> you know what? it is a cafeteria incident they routinely do to all the players on team. dolphins quart ryan tannehill said the offensive linemen have pulled that prank on him. a guy comes in and he's late for lunch and they say come over and sit with us. as you go and sit down, everybody gets up and moves from the table and goes elsewhere. this is a routine stunt i was told two weeks prior, jonathan martin was part of the same stunt pulled on nick garner. before that, part of the same stunt pulled on will underneath man. just about everybody had been part of this prank. it was an ongoing joke. unfortunately jonathan wasn't in a playing mood in that instance. >> doesn't sound very funny though. god, you guys, get a new joke. anyway. >> it sounds like an episode of

"mean girls," only in a football locker room. >> good call there, omar kelly. good to talk with you. time for the big three now. unneccessary roughness, cruz said what and best week, worst week. the big three panel, host of disrupt with karen finney, contributor goldie taylor whose new column breaking black is featured every monday on the grio and contributor susan del%io. wow, what a lineup. have to go through the whole segment giving you guys titles here. first to the unnecessary roughness. let's continue the conversation about the hazing mess involving the dolphins. karen calling it hazing, do you think that's underselling it. >> absolutely. we need to understand this is the kind of behavior. we see this starting with kids getting bullied when young and we tolerate it at this level. we shouldn't be surprised they say it's just hazing part of the rituals. when you read some of the

stories, it's pretty dispeckable behavior and i don't think it should be part of accepted culture. >> goldie, incognito apparently left a generally offensive racially offensive message on martin's voice mail. you can see that on the screen. we'll put up part of that. some african-american team members defended him had how do you square that? is there a scenario under any circumstances in which that's acceptable? >> there is no scenario under which this kind of text message would be acceptable. incognito, this is not his first time at the rodeo. he's been released from teams since his college career over what is really middle school behavior. picking up your lunch tray and moving to a different table because a guy sits down? i think we did that in the seventh grade. what he did crosses the line. there is an allegation there have been physical assaults involved, that's about the young man's sister and so i think this goes much further. the very notion that there are other players on that team protecting, condoning

encouraging this kind of behavior and even members of the media who won't report what they know because maybe they fear whether or not they can get back into the locker room i think is despicable beyond measure. >> susan, does the fact that some teammates said they considered richie incognito a "quote honorary black man," does that suggest to you the world of professional sports has different standards, that it's existing outside the real world we all live in? >> it shows there no professionalism in professional football. it's one thing with the cafeteria tray. but what you ig con nit toe did is despicable. he's shown this behavior all along. this shouldn't come as a surprise. he's gotten into brawls in night clubs several times. he has the new charge he's harassed a female volunteer at a golf tournament. this is a despicable person. since he's been allowed to get away with it for so long, that's elevated a lot of the hazing that's gone on in these locker rooms. >> it's disturbing people are

blaming jonathan martin for not being tougher or now the conforming >> right. >> disturbing >> karen, it sounds like incognito is getting more support from teammates. >> that's the team culture which is another issue you want to address. that is the team culture. they're going to back up their players for good or bad. >> i think what's despicable to me is they are saying incognito is a so-called honorary black man or that martin is not quite black enough as if going to an ivy league institution somehow makes you less than black. there's a real problem here. i think the nfl investigation has got to get to the bottom of it. >> susan, we're going to move on to cruz said what. the texas senator was on the tonight show with jay leno last night. here's what he said. >> remember, reagan challenged an incumbent republican president in 1976 in a primary and there was a grass-roots revolution where he said listen, this isn't working. let's get back to free market

principles, back to the constitution because economic growth, people want jobs. they want opportunity. and what we're doing isn't working. that same thing's true right now. >> is he a reagan republican in your mind, susan? >> absolutely not. just because you use the man's name, this guy has been in office, he's a senator for ten months. and has been only disruptive to the process. i agree that people want jobs. but that requires responsible leadership and getting things done in washington. that's exactly the opposite of what he's been promoting. just because you have a good line of rhetoric doesn't mean you're getting the job done. >> goldie, let's listen to a bit more of what cruz said. here it is. >> i think americans are deeply frustrated that washington is broken. and i think it's a bipartisan problem. i mean, i think the biggest divide we have is not between republicans and democrats. it is between entrenched politicians in both parties in washington and the american people. >> so this is the guy, goldie,

who is really the face of the tea party for many. and yet, here we have a populist tone he's trying to strike here. do you buy it. >> i'm not buying it for a minute. ted cruz singularly almost by himself has destroyed the gop splintered into three pieces between the establishment, the tea party and evangelicals across the country. he has done more as a single human being to cause gridlock in this country. he shut the government down. he nearly caused us to breach our very own debt ceiling, challenging the nation's full faith and credit around the globe almost by himself. and then to try to spread this blame across the aisle to both parties is laughable. >> now, karen, isn't ted cruz the guy that democrats would rather have as the face of the republican party than say chris christie? >> absolutely. are you kidding me? i mean. >> speaking as a democrat. >> keep it up with ted cruz. if at the wants to run for president, i will write a check

and help him myself because everything these guys just said, is a disgrace to the process and disgrace to what government is supposed to be about. but he is a very smart, cunning politician. i mean, the message you heard him trying to articulate on leno which is a much broader audience kind of performance for him versus when he is speaking to conservative groups or this summer when he was railing against obama care and talking about shutting the government down and then says well i don't want to shut it down, please, let's bring it on. i'm assuming that at some point he will be as thin skinned as rand paul. >> i understand one of you is making big three history in today's best and worst picks. so stick around. hope he saved e. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there.

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to work for you at no charge. it is time now for the big three for the best and worst of the week. so goldie, we'll start with you. start with your best and get to your worst. how got. >> my best of the week is me. >> yea, oh.

>> about 7:00 last night, i logged on to healthcare.gov. i was able to create an account. search for put in all of my financial data and household data. i was able to find health plans, platinum health plans mind you that were $350 less than my last laugh employer sponsored plan. i saved the money. i do have a pre-existing condition p. it is likely i could not have found other coverage. the winner this week is me. have i saved money and now have health care as of janua so i'm excited about that. >> you have just made history. that was it. let's get to the worst though. what have you got. >> my worst this week, it was tough between rob ford but richie incognito takes it from me. it doesn't sound like he's an honorary black man as much as someone in need of mental health illnesses. >> something kathleen sebelius should be covered. susan, how about you? best week. >> best week goes to governor

chris christie. he won huge this week in his re-election and he won with 60% of the vote. that seemed to be the magic number. everybody wanted to see it. could he reach 60? >> would send a strong mess allege and he did and is he you 59.9, you don't reach it. but that was a high mark set by a lot of people who said if he wanted to show he had national potential, he had to show a huge win. >> worst? >> worst week, rob ford from toronto is on the list. when your best defense of smoking crack is, i was in a drunken stupor, it's really time to go. >> and saying give me ten minutes and i'll kill this guy. yikes. karen, how about you? >> i thought the best week was the obama coalition of voters, the new american electorate, or america, because we saw those

voters -- chris christie did the work of reaching out to those voters and he did garner support from african-americans and latinos in impressive numbers. and terry mcauliffe in virginia showed when you do this work, this group of voters will show up. it's a huge lesson for both republican and democratic parties looking at 2014 and 2016, you have to do the work and show up in these communities because barack obama will not be on the ticket. the winners are, we showed up and did our part. and women were the key piece in all that. black women in particular. and i thought the kochs had the worst week. they tried to meddle in a municipal election in iowa and it was not to be. the democrats -- the democratic mayor was reelected. they swept the city council. so it just showed that, you know what, americans for prosperity koch brothers, they can be beaten. >> what are you disrupting our air waves with today? >> we're going to disrupt some

of the rhetoric around who really should be apologizing for some of the mistakes or some of the problems we've been having with the affordable care act. tom harkin will talk about the insurance companies. laverne cox talks about what a great week this was for civil rights and lgtb rights and we're going to talk about why women rule and why both parties should be paying attention to what we women think. >> thank you very much, karen, goldie and susan. from the battlefield in iraq to the home front here in the states, a wounded warrior struggled to get on with his life. that is next. eeper. here's kevin in the nissan sentra. lamb to the slaughter. mom's baked cookies but he'll be lucky to make it inside. and here's the play. oh, dad did not see this coming. [ crowd cheering ] now if kevin can just seize the opportunity. he's seen it. it's all over. nothing but daylight. yes i'd love a cookie. [ male announcer ] make a powerful first impression. the nissan sentra. now get one fifty nine per month lease on a two-thousand thirteen nissan sentra.

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this monday america will pause to recognize the men and women who have served in this nation's military. tomorrow, msnbc contributor, former congressman and iraq war vet patrick murphy will host a one-hour discussion about veterans issue live from the september 11th memorial in lower manhattan. during the special, msnbc will air part of a special series of

documentaries "wounded, the battle back home." produced by the wounded warrior project. here's a sneak peek. >> working out calms me down. some of the stuff that i experienced in my life is extreme edginess, extreme. one minute, i can be your best friend. and all of a sudden you just say hi to me and i want to tear your head off. if i drink a coffee, i feel like my heart's going to explode because i'm already -- it's like a machine gun but it's in my heart. i can't sleep at night. if i get over four hours of sleep at night, something's wrong. i'll see bikes up against telephone poles and think, is that going to blow? you never know. >> ptsd is a chemistry change in your brain. you sit and think about all the bad times. it's like replaying a movie in your head over and over again. hits the end, it rewinds, just plays again. >> "taking the hill" will air

tomorrow at noon right here on msnbc. that's a wrap-up of this edition of "weekends with alex witt." see you right back here tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. eastern time after that special. up next, craig melvin who's in the house. look at it, craig. i'm giving it to you ten seconds early. have a good one. no matter what y you're playing tomorrow. [ coughs ] [ male announcer ] you can't let a cold keep you up tonight. [ snores ] [ male announcer ] vicks nyquil. powerful nighttime 6-symptom cold & flu relief. ♪ [ sniffles, coughs ] excuse me. i need something for my cold symptoms. [ sniffles ] we've got dayquil for day and nyquil for night. [ thud ] you didn't see that. [ female announcer ] right now at walgreens dayquil and nyquil are just $11.99 with card. a man who doesn't stand still. but jim has afib, atrial fibrillation -- an irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts jim at a greater risk of stroke.

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