dynamics will mean for the obama administration, let's bring in the moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd. chuck, between cuba and north korea, i suppose this will be what they call a working vacation? >> reporter: definitely a working vacation for the president, but in many ways, carl, a preview of the final two years of the obama administration. and frankly very similar to what you see in the final two years of any eight-year tenure of a presidency which is foreign policy dictates a lot. both in choosing what foreign policy issues to go after to build a legacy because you're

chuck todd is political director and moderator of "meet the press." chuck, from my vantage point, aside from poison pills and both sides said they don't want to do, it seems to be that this funding bill will go forward and they should be okay. a government shut down after the gop. >> on capitol hill, it looks like john boehner has more control of this conference than ever before. he has got as much if not more influence even with the conservative wing. whatever some predicted post immigration fallout in the decision that the president made, it's just not there. it doesn't seem to be -- it doesn't seem to be the stomach for it. democrats are willing to help him on this one because this is the best option. >> they would have 11 of the 12 funded through september of next year and having their imprint on an entire fiscal year and something much more difficult to get if there is a continued resolution. it's wonky, but very important. >> today's impressive jobs report adds more pressure to not be disruptive. the status quo as far as the american economy is s

let's check in now with chuck todd for a preview. good morning, chuck. >> good morning, rosemary. >> we continue to see protests across the country over police brutality. it's a sign that harmony is still lacking between law enforcement and people in the community, especially in african-american communities. what is it going to take to improve relations between the public and police? >> well i think that's the question to commissioner bratton. and i think how new york city handles this will become a model for the rest of the country, just as the way when new york city started the broken windows policing initiative. it became a model for cities around the country. i think this is a big challenge for commissioner bratton. here you are on one hand. policing has never been more effective. the crime rate is dropping all over the country. that's good news. but obviously this trust gap that is built between african-americans and law enforcement is only growing and this year particularly in the last three or four months, it has become -- it h

ensure, take life in. >> chuck todd.anger. >> he's so sad. >> it's true. >> president obama christmas shopping in a book store recently with his daughters and commenting on a picture about his time in the white house. it is a sad, lonely image of the president and the book is titled "the stranger." it was written by chuck todd. no longer quite so new moderator of "meet the press." chuck has had a front row seat to the obama presidency for obama's first six years in office. but because you should never judge a book by its cover or what the president says about its cover, we figure we would talk to the author himself about the obama presidency so far. the book is "the stranger." you give a historical assessment of president obama in history and what it is looking like right now. shaping up a potential of a president's who wasn't realized. >> that 2004 speech at a moment where there had been, at the time, people were tired of red versus blue. people were burnt out on polarization. three years later, why was there excitement

chuck todd asked him about what his definition of torture is. >> torture, to me, chuck, is an americanizen on his cell phone making the last call to his four young daughters shortly before he burns to death in the upper levels of the trade center on 9/11. >> i don't want to make light of the events of 9/11 and people dying, but vice president cheney was asked directly for his definition of torture and he told about a terrorist attack. >> it is totally manipulative and does not remotely answer the question. if that is a liberal definition of torture, that means that american soldiers could draw and quarter and unarmed combat and in foreign countries. this is setting one example that is not, by definition, a definition. i have another favorite moment. that was misdirection. it will look at another cheney move here, which is intimidation. this is the response chuck todd got when he asked "when you say waterboarding is torture, then why do we prosecute japanese soldiers?" >> it is a cheap shot to try to draw a parallel to the japanese prosecuted for war crimes after world war ii and what w

now that might finally change and dominate much of the next two years as well. >> chuck todd in washington. we'll see you in the morning. of course chuck will have a lot more on the president's tough talk on north korea and the cuba story tomorrow on "meet the press". >>> after a sluggish start to the holiday shopping season, stores are hoping to make up ground in a big way. and today also known as super saturday could be key to retailers hitting their sales targets. with an improving economy, experts say shoppers will spend a little more even if they wait until the last minute. nbc's hallie jackson is live in glendale, california for us. >> reporter: good evening, carl. this shopping center is seeing bigger crowds today than it did on the saturday before christmas last year. anl cysts say about 15% of shoppers will buy their very last gift today, but most of us are only half finished. that's why today could be the busiest shopping day all year. it's the final scramble five days before christmas, which seemed to sneak up on shoppers this year. >> you procrastinate and then you work and you

our political director moderator of "meet the press" chuck todd is with us from the white house tonight. how does it help jeb bush by getting on the board early and does it scare anyone off? >> he has to get out early because many people, like myself and others, never believed he was serious about running. now everybody believes he's serious about running, number one. number two, there are a lot of skeptical conservatives, the activist base of the republican party is more conservative than jeb bush is or his brother or his father. and he's got to work hard to win over those conservatives. that's another reason to start early. finally, it puts pressure on the other so-called establishment front-runners, a chris christie in new jersey, a mitt romney was thinking about a third run, jeb bush getting in now makes their candidacies longer shots today. >> chuck todd on the north lawn of the white house tonight. chuck, thanks. >>> now to geopolitics. as we've been reporting the price of gas continues to get dramatically cheaper across this country. in some places now below $2 a gallon. it's gre

joining us now for a preview is chuck todd. good morning, chuck.efore we get to the spending bill, let's talk about the fallout that continues from the senate intelligence committee's so-called torture report. dick cheney will be your guest. are you surprised at all by his blunt and dismissive reaction? >> i'm not. he's always been very comfortable with the decisions that they made on this and he truly believes -- he believes he's intellectually honest in defending the program. he believes it saved lives. he believes the ends justify the means. but he does appear to be more and more on an island when it comes to defending this program because this report seems to make the case that the cia misled congress, misled the american people and even misled former vice president cheney on the effectiveness of the program. so i'll be curious. a few days ago he dismissed it, but admitted he hadn't fully read it. so can he dispute the facts. i think that will take up a large part of our conversation. >>> let's talk about the spending bill. last night the senat

whether this is all about politics or whether there really is a legal question here. >> all right, chuck toddderator of "meet the press." chuck, thank you. >> all right. >> don't miss chuck's exclusive interview on immigration with texas governor elect greg abb t abbott. they're also going to be talking about the fallout from these protests in the eric garner case and michael brown case. on the show today will be philadelphia mayor michael nutter and philadelphia police commissioner charles ramsey. it's all happening on "meet the press" this morning at 10:30, right here on nbc 10. we'll be right back. it may seem strange, but people really can love their laxative. especially when it's miralax. it hydrates, eases, and softens, to unblock your system naturally. so you have peace of mind from start to finish. love your laxative. miralax. ♪ ♪ bring the delicious taste of hershey's chocolate to anything - everything. with hershey's spreads, the possibilities are delicious. >>> this is nbc 10 news. >> at 7:56 this morning, here is a live look at lincoln financial field. still some clouds lingering

. >>> this morning on "meet the press," moderator chuck todd will discuss race and justice following those grand jury decisions in missouri and new york. chuck todd will be joined by law enforcement experts, including philadelphia police commissioner charles ramsey and philadelphia mayor michael nutter. they'll break down the controversial cases and talk about how the country can move forward. you can watch "meet the press" right here on nbc 10 at 10:30 this morning. >>> a warning on this next story. you may find the details disturbing. authorities in the lehigh valley tell us that a man shot and killed his stepdaughter jessica padgett because of an alleged desire to have sex with her corpse. police arrested gregory graph on charges of homicide and abuse of a corpse. he's being held without bail. authorities say that graph confessed to killing jessica padgett. she was 33 years old. padgett was last seen leaving her daycare job in north hampton last month. police found her car at a dollar general store about a mile away. authorities charged her stepfather after padgett's body was foun

chuck todd, thank you. >> thanks. >>> an alert this morning. if you include today, you have four shopping days left until christmas. this is serious people. which stores are open around the clock to help you out? how much time do you have to ship those gifts if they want them to arrive in time for christmas? anne thompson has your shopping survival guide. >> the final frenzy is underway. >> this was not supposed to be b this. >> four shopping days left until christmas. procrastinating for some is a holiday tradition. >> i always wait to the last weekend. >> all the hustle and bustle to others feels like hand to hand combat. >> don't wait. it sucks. >> there are plenty of deals and specials to attract last minute shoppers, but analysts caution what's on sale may have more to do with the retailer's list than yours. >> there was inventory entering the season retailers had been aggressive clearing out. this week you're probably going to get good deals. >> to keep the mad rush from crushing your holiday spirit, it is suggested early in the morning o

chuck todd, thank you for being here this afternoon. >> thank you, kelly. >> chuck joined by law enforcementrace and justice. check your local listings for that air time. >>> are consumer spending big bucks on discretionary items? wine? we'll check the indicator and luxury wine maker silver road. stay tuned. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 [ male announcer ] your love for trading never stops, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 even on the go. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 open a schwab account, and you could earn tdd# 1-800-345-2550 300 commission-free online trades. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so when a market move affects one of your positions, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 schwab can help you decide what to do. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 with tools like free live-streaming cnbc tv tdd# 1-800-345-2550 that give you the latest financial news and trends. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and bubble charts and price charts that let you see exactly tdd# 1-800-345-2550 how market activity is affecting your positions. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so when the time comes to decide whether to scale in tdd# 1-800-345-2550 or scale out you can make your move, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 wher

joining me now is julius wide, latin america studies and chuck todd, moderator of meet the press joining me as well from the newsroom. chuck, let's listen to julia first because you have been studying this for so long, what do you think of the most important steps being taken today? >> well, of course, it's human and family dimension of bringing alan gross home is enormously important. the release of prisoners here and there for all of those individuals and the families, it's a wonderful step. the magnitude of this step by the president in terms of taking significant moves to redo normalized, make more natural this relationship that's been so stuck and fraught for half a century is very significant. it's significant for the two countries, it's significant for americans standing in latin america, it's signature for cuba's future. a reform process that raul castro has unleashed is going quite slowly. i believe, however, that the impulse and the imme us to will help that process move forward. >> and chuck todd, the president could have taken smaller steps, he had a lot of leverage here. he'

. >> joining us live now from washington is "meet the press" moderator chuck todd. art with the sony hack. the white house says it's planning a proportional response. i think it's safe to say we're not going to attack north korea but what does the president mean by a proportional response? >> that's code for they haven't figured it out yet, because they don't have a lot of options, you know, proportional, you're absolutely right. that's also code for it isn't going to be military. when you take that off the table, that means sanctions of some sort, you know, it is proportional would mean something on the same level. well, this is where there's a conundrum inside the obama white house and their national security team. if you do your own version of a cyberattack on naeshg, there's an ethical dilemma on that. there's a debate inside the american foreign policy committee on whether the united states should be engaging in cyber warfare. if we do, we're tacitly approving it as a tactic of war which opens a pandora's box with other countries. that's one. two, are there more

. >>> chuck todd is moderator of meet the press. chuck, good morning to you. we've heard the president say that the united states is going to respond proportionately. any idea what the president might be considering and what are the administration's options? >> they are very limited, since in many ways north korea is such an isolated country by the united states. in the near term, you are likely to see the state department officiallily put north korea on the list as countries with state sponsored terrorism. it was taken off the list by the bush administration in an attempt to strike a nuclear deal that didn't happen. it could mean that you could sanction any chinese companies that would do business with north korean companies. so there would be some of that, but beyond that, craig, a cyber retaliation, i don't know if that's in the cards because some folks worry that that's a pandora's box, that would be the utilizes giving a permission slip to other countries saying it's a legitimate tool. >> let's talk about the lame duck president. president obama issuing t

and meet the press host chuck todd will join us on his unflinchingly critical book on president obama. i'm antonio mora. welcome to "consider this," and those stories and much more straight ahead. >> americans still upset that a new york city police officer was not indicted in the death of eric garner. >> this needs to end. >> we deserve better. >> this is how many military bases dispose of waste. >> this is our generations agent orange. >> barack obama in the white house. >> washington would change on its own by his mere presence. >> syrian families made it through their final steps through a war that nearly killed them. >> if we fight atrocities, as some point you have to make a good. >> we begin with a large protest across the country and calls for police reform following the grand jury decision not to charge a new york city police officer in the death of eric garner. you joining us now is the reverend jesse jackson, civil rights activist and reverend, always good to see you. there is, of course, an incredible amount of outrage in the grand jury decision of the eric garner case. wh

joining me from washington is nbc's "meet the press" moderator chuck todd.rview with the sony ceo and fires back at the white house and frankly for the president's message was a little bit inconsistent with the fbi. what do you make of it all? >> i tell you. the president was unequivocal and blunt in cla what he had to say about sony and then the boston marathon comparison and let on twitter of #sonyweakbostonstrong and not just criticizing the sony decision we embarrassing them on a national stage and i think they're -- i'm not surprised that sony feels the need to fire back in response there but i think it -- part of that motivation for the president was because there had been some question, did sony base its decision after talking with the government, after talking with homeland security? the implication from the president was, no. >> and, chuck, we heard from representative brad sherman of california on this saying he's willing to marshal the resources necessary to protect people and allow them to watch this film, but frankly, it is a case of too little,

. >> a new chuck todd book. a stranger, barack obama in the white house. you'd think washington would change on its own. >> families made the final steps through a war that nearly killed them. >> as long as we stand up saying we fight, at some point you have to make good. >>> we begin with a large protest across the country, and the calls for police reform, following the grand jury decision not to charge a new york city police officer in the death of eric garner. joining us from washington d.c. is the reverend jesse jackson, activist and founder and president of the rainbow push coalition. good to see you. there is, of course, an incredible amount of outrage over the grand jury's decision in the eric garner case. what do you hope will come from it, and the efforts i know you and others are having all over the country? >> well, it's a tremendous amount, the way the department of justice stopped the rein of terror against black men. it's shot for them one time in new york. the jury sets the killers free. it's rodney king, beaten in california. those that bea

chuck todd is moderator of meet the press and joins us. good morning. >> good morning erica. we have this government shutdown averted, washington insight. you say those phrases and eyes glaze over when we talk about political wins and losses. let's look at the standpoint of the american public. where did the american people win and lose on this? >> where they win is continuity, the fact that most government gets funded for r almost a year to the fall of next year. what does that mean? it means you can't blame the government for sort of up-ending the economy, hurting the economic recovery. we're in a good cycle with the economy now. looks like it has momentum, looks like excel ration. big picture, that's good use. what eed people on right and left were the things that got stuck into it that meant nothing to funding the government. whether it was a pay raise for political operatives that raised money for two parties or this deal that weakened part of the wall street regulation that had a lot of people upset and gives power to financial institutions to do trade which some believ

. >>> and meet the press chuck todd meets us to talk about his critical book on president obama. i'm antonio mora, this is "consider this." those stories and more ahead. >> the new york city grand jury decided not to indict the officer in the killing of eric garner. >> iran is conducting air strikes against i.s.i.l. >> what appeared to be an f-4 phantom jet. >> if iran is taking on i.s.i.l. that in fact is positive. >> oil prices are plunging. >> from caracas to tehran to moscow, countries that count on high oil prices are bracing for tough time. >> scott panetti lives to see another day. >> his lawyers say he is too ill to suffer capital punishment. >> barack obama in in the white house, he thought washington would change by his mere presence. >> nasa is getting ready to launch, a vehicle that could carry stroants t astronauts to r mars. >> another controversial decision in a involved police and minorities. a grand jury in new york city decided not to charge a officer who killed a black man in staten island. officer pantdaler pantaleleri. >> i said leave me alone. i can't breath

nbc 10's chuck todd gives us insight into the president's pick and how ashton carter will lead the defensepartment. >>> plus, a "rolling stone" article wrote a story, now they are casting doubt on the accuser's story. >>> "rolling stone" is casting doubt on a young woman's account of being gang raped at a frat party at the university of virginia. in a statement on its website today, the magazine says there now appears to be discrepancies in the account given by the woman known publicly only as jackie. "rolling stone" published her story last month. it sparked protests and put a spotlight on the issue of sexual assault on college campuses across the country. >>> bill cosby is fighting back against a lawsuit that was filed earlier this week. it claims he sexually asauled a teenager in 1974. his lawyers filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss the suit, the suit which makes the accuser pay more than -- they ask that the accuser pay $0,000 to cover cosby's legal costs. his lawyer tried to explain that the woman who filed the suit is trying to extort money. >>> tom wolf and other newly elected

joining us now for a preview is moderator chuck todd.ng, chuck. >> good morning, rosemary. >> chuck, as we talk about u.s. foreign policy, of course we've all been following the hacking of sony pictures. the fbi, of course, blaming north korea. president obama even weighed in on it this week, saying that the u.s. will respond. any indication how the administration will do that exactly? >> well, look, they're trying to shape a response. they keep using the phrase "proportional response." the president this morning in an interview is using that same phrase. what that is code for is number one it's not going to be a military response. number two, they're still trying to figure it out. it looks like the most like lly initial response is to put them back on the state sponsors of terrorism, iran, syria are countries like that. north korea had been on that list. they were taken off back in 2008 in an attempt at a nuclear deal that fell through during the last days of the bush administration. so that's probably going to happen. what that means i

joining me now the great chuck todd. >> how about that ted cruz. >> ted cruz apologizing what's that? >> look, he lost many of the republicans in his own senate in the party there. it was striking to me, the day the deal goes through you would have a bob corker, not just him, but others who would use their release to say they were for against the deal, and then say by the way, ted cruz really did x wrong and now look what the he's done. on one hand it is good populous politics, some conservatives say so what, some need to go in and blowup the senate and make a point but he realizes it stops your ability to get stuff done. it is the rules of how much time you get and things like that. and it's a reminder that yes, sir a single senator can hold things up but you better have an end game. ted cruz didn't have an end game. elizabeth warren knew she didn't have an end game which is why she didn't employ the same ta t tactics in stopping the bill. >> harry reed's democrats may have left town. he's going to keep his people there for as long as he can, is he not? >> more than likely. there ma

chuck todd went through some of the harsher techniques mentioned in the report. >> spent 11 days, twors, in a coffin-sized box, 21 inches, 2.5 feet. that's on page 42. >> i think that -- >> is that going to meet the standard of torture? >> i think that was one of the approved techniques. >> if another country captures a u.s. soldier, the iranian regime, waterboards, is it going to be accepted? >> you're trying to come up now with hypothetical situations. waterboarding, the way we did it, was not torture. >> cheney named only one example of torture when asked by chuck. let's listen. >> torture to me, chuck, is an american citizen on a cell phone making a last call to his four young daughters shortly before he burns to death in the upper levels of the trade center in new york city on 9/11. >> ron, good point. everybody here thought that was a good point he made. explicate how that relates to this question of whether or not we should have a program which many people believe it's torture. >> i don't have tears for terrorists. i have tears for friends i lost on 9/11. i have tears for the f

chuck todd is moderator of meet the press. good morning to you. >> good morning lester. >> i want to have the latest comments from the president. he talked in an interview with black entertainment television, bet. here it is. >> when you deal with something as deeply rooted as racism or violence in any society, you've got to have individual lens but recognize it's going to take time. >> as upsetting as what happened in new york and ferguson, as upsetting as those cases were, there's no evidence those officers were racially motivated. what kind of careful line does the president walk here as he tries to deal with the racial issue? >> the fact of the matter is, and we're going to have new information at the top of the show, there's just a dramatic difference in how whites and blacks view their treatment we the law enforcement community. there's a giant trust gap. yes, you know the president does walk this line. he's also very red sent criticizing law enforcement officials. they have a trust gap. it's one of the things i'm trying

chuck todd brought it up.e heard. i think within the context of what the exile community is saying and also the fact that what senator martinez said is i think people want the best for cuba. there's a love of cuba. it's so embedded in our psyche both as latinos, as americans. there's this global sense that, you know, water bigger than this now. it's time to really think about policy in a way, you know, that really hasn't worked for 55 years. >> julio thank you, my friend for being on. of course latino rebels go to check it out. it's an important voice you need to hear. >> thank you very much. >> let's hear many voices. that's really part and parcel of our mantra on this show. i want to go to a voice inside cuba. in 1990 when he was 25 years old, he was jailed literally, because he spoke out for democracy in his country. he was released 17 years later and continues to be a strong voice of opposition in the island. he is here in south florida with me today. he only speaks spanish so i will translate this convers

. >> jon: yeah, you can't just ask an old man that question, chuck todd! with the moral controversy put to bed, let's focus on efficacy. the c.i.a. report suggested the information could have and was obtained by different more geneva conventiony but less seedy methods. >> it absolutely worked for 13 years. i'd do it again in a minute. >> jon: wouldn't give it a thought... (laughter) and that, ladies and gentlemen, that's the best thing about dick. he's impervious to doubt. never enters his mind. because of all the little ponies running around up there, but never enters his mind that the confident, plain-spoken proannouncements of truth are oftentimes (bleep). just from his appearances on "meet the press." >> the report has been pretty well confirmed he went to prague and met with the senior of the iraqi intelligence service and we believe he has reconstituted nuclear weapons and has been seeking to acquire the kind of tubes necessary to build a centrifuge. this is a country that i think would be one of the leading -- perhaps the leading state in that part

and they had a great case that chuck todd asked him about, in which the cia according to his own memosld dick cheney that they used intelligence from torture to help stop the dirty bomb plot here in d.c. and their own records show that they didn't use intelligence for that. so dick cheney himself was lied to. now chuck asked him, does this mean you were misled? and he said, i wasn't. well, the question is, how does he know? did he go back and look at the intelligence and evaluate it himself? he's just out there saying things that are assertions, not facts, not citing any record or evidence to what's in this report. when it comes to whether it's moral or not, that's a matter of taste and one's own individual morality. but this report shows it didn't do what dick cheney said it did. >> let's watch the two who know about it. mccain and cheney. they disagree about what the tactics used amounted to torture. here's senator mccain, followed by the vice president. >> you can't claim that tying someone to the floor and have them freeze to death is not torture. you can't say 183 times someone is

. >>> i'm chuck todd and with me to provide analysis are eugene robinson of the washington post, and my colleague andrea mitchell and rich lauer editor of "the national review." with welcome to "meet the press." >>> this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. >>> one huge story has dominated the this week, a it is the aftermath of that grand jury decision in ferguson, missouri. we learned that darren wilson resigned from the ferguson police force. he submitted a resignation letter that said he wanted to stay on, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me, and there is a lot of healing that needs to be done. and almost three quarters of the way through president barack obama's historic presidency, there is a lot of healing that needs to be done. we will be joined by governor patrick patrick, deval patrick and a panel to discuss the issue. >> there is not a latino america or black america, there is a united states of america. >> reporter: the president who cast the vision of hope saw it splinter this week by a splint screen reality. >> we

chuck todd, and a roll of quarters. so now that my exploretation-- exploration has come to an end. who knows what i am going to it maybe i will be like herman cain and hit the road in a bus with my face on it. maybe i'll hit the road in a bunch of tiny cars each way different part of my face on it we'll figure it out. me and all that delicious money. because since i am no longer a possible candidate, i am officially offering to retake control of the definitely not coordinating with steve stephen colbert superpac. to give it back to me, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome jon stewart. (cheers and applause) jon? bhas's jon? jon? where's jon? he's at the daily show? jimmy, jimmy, open up the satellite link to the daily. jon, jon, what is going on? remember, remember when you gave me the superpac, remember how we didn't coordinate that you would give it back to me if i decided not to run? >> jon: i do remember not coordinating that. >> stephen: well, jon, i am not running. so let's sign the transfer papers. did trevor send them to you. >> jon: oh, yeah, trevor sent-- oh, you know what

a reminder chuck todd will have much more on the capitol hill showdown and the fallout from the torture report including an exclusive interview with former vice president dick cheney tomorrow on "meet the press". >>> when "nbc nightly news" continues on this saturday, making day care more about learning and how it's getting new attention as a national priority. >>> and later, just released, the new photographs of the young man who would be king. >>> there was a big summit at the white house this week what president obama called one of the best investments we can make, expanding early education for young children in day care. we get more on this from our senior white house correspondent chris jansing. >> reporter: when babies come to this home day care, they'll get more than lunch and diapers changes. there's reading, science for babies, numbers, colors, shapes, even sign language. and the oldest is just 15 months. >> sometimes they have the whole idea like we are baby sitters, we are teachers. >> reporter: there's growing evidence that the benefits of early childhood education start at

. >> i'm chuck todd. joining us are former senior adviser to president obama, david axelrod, nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell, helene cooper of the new york times and former chief spokesman for the coalitioner provisional authority in iraq, dan senor. welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, this is "meet the press with chuck todd." >>> good morning. some late news, last night the senate approved a $1.1 trillion spending bill. it will fund the government through next september. bottom line, no government shutdown this year or perhaps next as well. let's get to our big story, the senate report on what some call torture, what others call enhanced interrogation techniques. the report put together by senate democrats on the intelligence committee. it's a detailed and in some cases shocking indictment of the methods used to interrogate detainees. there's no shortage of critics of what the cia did. former vice president dick cheney. welcome ba

. >> chuck todd will have much more on this topic tomorrow on "meet the press". >>> president obama visited walter reed military hospital today after complaining of a persistent sore throat. his physician recommended he go in for tests including a ct scan after complaining of the symptom for weeks. in a statement the white house said it was determined that the president was suffering from acid reflux and would be treated accordingly. >>> when "nbc nightly news" continues on this saturday, big companies are changing the way they target women consumers. but will that make an impact in more ways than one? >>> and later, the book and movie that has hundreds forging their own journey. >>> we're back with a look at how some of the biggest brands in this country are changing the way they appeal to female consumers. their advertising campaigns are getting a makeover celebrating women of all sizes and shapes. and as nbc's anne thompson reports, it's been positive for women and companies. >> reporter: advertising is embracing a new kind of woman, strong, courageous -- >> you have the wrong body for b

and a program note, chuck todd will have much more on the state of policing in america when nypd commissioner bill bratton joins him tomorrow on "meet the press". >>> once again today north korea lashed out at the united states blaming it for disruptions in the wake of a sony white house scandal. nbc's senior white house correspondent chris jansing is traveling with the president in honolulu and has the latest for us. chris. >> reporter: good evening, lester. tensions between the u.s. and north korea have been escalating, but tonight they've taken a particularly ugly turn. the north's already limited internet connection went down again this morning along with its 3g cell service, pyongyang blamed the u.s. and reacted with a racest rant against president obama, words the north has used before in which the white house calls particularly ugly and disrespectful. what washington won't do is respond to charges that the u.s. is behind the cyber attacks. officials here say that's exactly what north korea wants, to provoke a response. of course the stakes have been high ever since the massive and expe

he took strong exception to the senate report and contrary to its conclusions told chuck todd that the interrogation techniques absolutely worked. kristin welker is at the white house with more on this. good evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening. facing criticism after the intelligence report was released this past week, dick cheney was unapologetic this past week and said the bush administration got it right. dick cheney unwavering in his support for the harsh interrogation tactics on his watch and today he ratcheted it up. >> i would do it in a minute. >> long periods of water boarding were necessary and insisted the procedures were not torture. >> torture is what the al qaeda terrorists did to 3000 americans on 9/11. there is no comparison between that and the interrogation. >> he called it more politically motivated. >> i won't use a word on your show, but it is a crock. >> reporter: and he claims the interrogation tactics provided credible information. >> it worked. it absolutely did work. >> but one of the strongest critics of the program, john mccain, who was tortured as a