i'm craig melvin from here in washington, d.c.y with msnbc, a special edition of "the cycle" coming up live next from democracy plaza in the heart of new york city. you're watching msnbc. the place for politics. [ male announcer ] you like who you are... and you learned something along the way. this is the age of knowing what you're made of. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. see if america's most prescribed ed treatment is right for you.

that's the latest for now. >> nbc's craig melvin. appreciate it.r. >>> this morning, 3/4 of the residents on long island woke up without power. joining me now live on the phone is new york congressman steve israel whose district encompasses a large portion of island. what can you give us on the progress this morning? >> we've gone from a wind emergency and a flood emergency to a power emergency. as you just said, there are nearly 3/4 of 1 million long islanders who do not have power. long island power authority is making a slow and incremental progress. what concerns me at this point is last night for the first time since the storm, the temperatures dipped down into the 30s. so long islanders are experiencing very cold temperatures. if it continues, this becomes beyond a power emergency. it becomes a public health and safety emergency. one thing that the administration has done, which i'm grateful for, is they've deployed national forest service assets, chainsaws, woodchipers, and personnel, about 120 national forest service personnel to long islan

back to you. >> thank you, craig melvin. apologize for not having all of the communications, understandable given the situation. we'll follow up as well. >>> speaking of new jersey wednesday, president obama assured the victims of the storm that he would take care of them. >> what i can promise you is that the federal government will be working as closely as possible with the state and local officials and we will not quit until this is done. >> as we see, a tall order. joining me, former director of the white house domestic policy council, melody barne. a former member of the obama team. this is an enormous challenge and the president's been given high marks for what he's done so far by none other than chris christie. >> right. >> but how does -- how do they keep this going? we've all seen how political figures in the past, from the mayors to governors to presidents, have tripped on these kinds of disaster reresponses. >> i think the president said it the other day, as president, his first, second, and third responsibility i

i'm craig melvin. you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. let's go straight to nbc news correspondent kerry sanders from miami. the election is finally put to rest. >> folks in florida have been wondering what is going on. the numbers show that the state did tilt to obama. he got 50% of the vote. romney took 49.1% of the vote. clearly, florida remains a battleground state. the question is, why did this take so long? part of the fact is that early voting was cut back by the republican governor rick scott. if you take a look at the newspaper here, this is the tampa bay times headlines. it says, no apology from scott. he went on to say, what i'm trying to do is improve the way government works. i believe in efficiency. i believe every vote has to count. i want to have a good process that people feel good about. well, the people are not feeling good because in many cases they felt that the governor made the decision to push back the number of days from 14 to 8, meaning that there were fewer days for early voting, meaning that people couldn't get

craig melvin has the story from manhattan coming up. [ earnest ] out of the blue one day, we were toldild a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we all just lost our jobs. we don't have an income. mitt romney made over 100 million dollars by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives. turns out that when we built that stage, it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick. [ male announcer ] priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. >>> and welcome back at 4:30, everyone. i'm jim handly. >> i'm pat lawson muse. they arrive after every major storm. unlicensed contractors trying to make a fast buck. >> after the destruction we saw from sandy, a lot of homeowners need help, but many could pay the price for not checking on the people they hire. nbc's j

. >> msnbc's craig melvin in new york city's central park. what are people saying there about the marathon? i'm a big supporter of t the marathon but seems to me with so many people not having power and generators being used and police being used, a lot of unfa structure involved. what is the gin general reaction? >> to give you some idea as to how intense this reaction has been. while you were in the sound 30 seconds ago, a guy drives by, rolls down his window and gives me an earful about the marathon about what you talked about, the generators and the food that's being used here and not being used at breezy point what he just mentioned. but the folks on staten island, most certainly would agree with that. and here's the thing, mayor bloomberg has said, you know, part of the reason is just that, the economic boom that it means for the city. $350 million every year and in addition to that, the symbolism of it all, once again showing that new york city that's able to bounce back in the face of adversity. a lot of folks, dare i say 90% of the f

i'm craig melvin. you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. four days after the election, and there is big news from florida on this saturday. nbc news now calling the state for president obama. that puts 29 electoral votes in the president's column. that gives him a final count of 332 electoral votes. governor romney 206 electoral votes. more on that in a few moments. >>> major news from the nation's highest court today. the justices of the supreme court said they will consider the racially charged issue of whether to scale back the historic voting rights act. more on this now from nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: craig, this is shaping up to be the most important supreme court term in decades for civil rights. the justices are already looking at affirmative action and college admissions. now they've agreed to consider whether to gut the landmark voting rights law. here is the question simply stated. has racial discrimination in the south diminished to the point that a key part of the voting rights act passed 47 year

craig melvin has a preview of what's coming up next in about 15 or 16 minutes or so.x witt. we will dig into those closing arguments from the campaigns as they crisscross the country in these final hours of the race. also, an update next hour from fema on sandy recovery efforts in the northeast and how that major storm may have changed the game this week. i'm live from here in d.c. for the next hour so keep it right here. >> we are staying put. thank you very much, craig melvin. >>> coming up next the big three, keystone capers. what's behind a new move in pennsylvania. you're watching "weekends with alex witt" live from democracy plaza. okay, that looks great. were you profitable last month? how much money is in your checking account? have the browns paid you for their addition yet? your finances are scattered all over the place. mm-hmm. what are your monthly expenses? you keep your receipts in plastic baggies? seriously? [ announcer ] get it done and get it off your mind... with quickbooks. organize your small business finances... all in one place. quickbooks pulls

nbc's craig melvin is in central park with more. craig, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. that marathon, of course, winds its way through all five boroughs here in new york city and ends behind me here in central park. the park remains closed this morning. i spoke to a worker a short time ago, still cutting down damaged trees and clearing debris but the preparations continued. as you mentioned, the race will go on. that decision has some wondering how and others wondering why. sandy knocked out power for millions, flooded tunnels and shut down subways, but the massive and deadly storm that's crippled the city won't stop its marathon. >> it's a bold move. it's a move that, as you know, does not come without some controversially. >> and off they go. >> reporter: for nearly 50,000 registered runners the race to the finish may prove easier than a journey to the start. >> i assume if the marathon is going to happen, they are going to have ways to get people out there. >> reporter: starting line is on staten island

. >>> i'm craig melvin. protesters plan to spend the night in tahrir square.they're demonstrating against mohamed morsi's decision to grant himself broad new powers. >>> more than three weeks after superstorm sandy hit, gas rationing will end in new york at 6:00 a.m. >>> and the multistate powerball jackpot now up to $325 million. the drawing is tomorrow night. back to "native soil." >>> after they made it through security, the four hijacking teams took their seats, mostly in first and business class. once their planes were in the air, they sprang into action. on american flight 11 en route from boston to l.a., terrorists took over the cockpit. then they made two announcements that were overheard by air traffic control and other pilots. >> we have the plane. just stay quiet and you'll be okay. we are returning to the airport. >> nobody move. everything will be okay. if you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. just stay quiet. >> the hijackers turned off the plane's transponder making it difficult to track. >> flight attendant betty

. >>> i'm craig melvin, here'a a stories making news, black friday is in full swing aftff the to earliest opened on evening, sales will be up nearl of the w are expected to h stores. >>> the woman p tco-worker have. nd stone was snapped pointing herting at a s respect. the two took photo on a pd trip by their employer, a non-profit organization. from the world of professional hockey, the nhl has just anunced the cancellation of the 2012-2013'< regular season th. to the a-star breaking news in egypt where a power grab mors si has set off protests. f that that hasmorsi's calling him nbc's jim maceda from cairo. >> reporter: craig, in the square below me, tahrir, square anti-mors si protesters claiming grab that square who believe morsisays th two-month transition period and after that he'll relinquisthe specl pourershe went thousand supporters who gathered oue palace that he takere weref the kind of like our supre court chiest judges who weredecrcreating jam and difficult a painstaking process of writing theconstitution. he called them xweils eating risk losing this m history if it speed t

i'm craig melvin. it's 52 days until the country comes face-to-face with the so-called fiscal cliff. that would be a hike of $400,000 a year for all married couples with two kids and that's just the beginning. if approximate we go off the fiscal cliff, we he could see unemployment back at 9.1%. what we face, coming up. but we start with news from the sunshine state. in florida, nbc news now jekting president obama to be the winner in florida. it only took them four days after the election to be done. that puts president obama at 332 votes and president obama at 206 electoral votes. meanwhile, we've got a new result to bring you from california as well. republican congresswoman mary bono mack has conceded defeat so democrat ruiz will take office. bono mack served 14 years in office and she connie mack also lost election this year. >>> the obama administration pushing back, a deadline for the state to submit plans for health care exchange. a piece of the affordable health care act. they will now have an

. >>> i'm craig melvin. the first family is sharing a meal with holiday staffers.the middle east, . >>> yes, we're coming up on cottage now. >> let's check 15th and 16th out real quick. >> ten-four, sir. >> stop this guy. he put something on the ground. >> hold up. >> the police. come on over. put your hands up on the bar. i'm going to pat you down. you got something on you? you've got no weed on you? >> got it. hook him up. >> any given night on the street, the sheriff's police will catch a suspect red-handed. often times this person will give up a bigger fish in order to get himself off the hook. that's the case with one south side drug dealer that investigators already captured and flipped. >> this will determine if he will continue to work with us. >> the suspect has told him about a family restaurant whose owners serve mexican fare but deal with marijuana on a regular basis. >> bring them right to the back room and it's all set up there in bags. >> the source says that the intel is timely, too, because a new shipment of marijuana arrived recently. >> heard him

i'm craig melvin. you're watches msnbc. the election is over.o take on the big issues. blazing hot summers, record drought, and stronger storms. coming up, we'll talk with one of the country's top scientists about how we tackle global warming. >>> plus, voters in colorado and washington state will be able to light up legally very soon. but will that really fly with the feds? we'll talk about pot. >>> then later, don't think that just because the election is over that the horse race has come to a screeching halt. heck, no. the bench already filling up with contenders for 2016. that and more straight ahead. to our political headlines now. today, of course, veteran's day. around the country, americans are honoring those who have served. this morning, president obama laid a wreath at arlington national cemetery's tomb of the unknown soldier. meanwhile, crowds gathered in manhattan to commemorate the day. organizers are using the occasion to collect winter coats for hard-hit hurricane sandy victims with so many in the area still recovering from the s

. >>> i'm craig melvin. here's what's happening. thanks giving at the white house. first family broke bread with friends and staff members earlier today. the president called troops in afghanistan to thank them for their service and wish them a happy thanksgiving. >>> bargain hunters are out in full force right now. several store chains opening for thanksgiving. no wonder. last year merchants who opened on turkey day reportedly rang up a 22% increase in sales for the black friday weekend. back to "lockup." >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> we have good days and bad days in here. yesterday was a good day. today's not so good. i have a son out there. i don't want him to follow in my footsteps. i don't want this for him. i don't want this for anybody. this is no place for anybody to be. >> one of the benefits of indiana state prison's cat program is that inmates are motivated to behave because if they get sent to the hole, their cats stay behind. that's where darrell maymon comes in. >> friends that have cats, i go down and visit them

>>> i'm craig melvin. all is quiet in israel.ael says it will renew military action if the cease-fire is violated. meanwhile, in barack obatexas, killed some people. a fire forced the evacuation of more than one dozen homes. now back to "lockup." >>> thanks. >> our confidential source has been feeding authorities realtime intel about a drug ring on chicago's west side. he's on the block while undercover officers make buys from two of their targets. >> this could go on two or three months, build cases on these guys. eventually shut down the whole block. >> it's part of a sheriff police operation called "game over." >> today was huge. we know we can get buys out of there easily. we'll get the guys we need to be transactional and on tape, and then the whole thing will come down. >> he was out there. >> yeah. >> he? >> investigators find their informant roosevelt already slipping back into bad habits and getting high. >> you get any sleep last night? >> a little bit. i be going to sleep about 3:00 in the morning. >> took a weed nap r

. >>> i'm craig melvin. here's what's happening.es near beaumont, texas, say the huge highway pileup today involved as many as 150 vehicles. two people were killed. more than 80 hurt. >>> pompano beach, florida, catamaran carrying nearly a dozen deep sea divers was hit by a massive wave today and capsized. one person died there. >>> in new jersey, a roller coaster partially submerged in the atlantic by hurricane sandy may stay there. the mayor of seaside heights says it would make a great tourist attraction. back to "lockup." >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> i'm surrounded every day by murderers, rapists, child molesters, and the worst of the ilk, mankind, 4 1/2. but me and the man in here are hard to believe, pretty decent guys. >> the old-school convicts and the younger less disciplined inmates at indiana state prison usually keep a distance between themselves. but another segment of the prison population roams wherever and with whomever they choose. >> we've got guys in here that used to cause u

msnbc's craig melvin is live for us right now. d craig, obviously, this one -- they're all a loss of life matters, but this being children just breaks your heart in so many ways. >> reporter: tamron, indeed, it does. a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old, his brother, they were -- the rushing floodwaters swept them away, we're told. that brought the death toll at 17 here on the island, and then we were told a little bit later that an elderly couple had also been found inside their home. the death toll now on staten island, as you mentioned, 19. i want to show you the street behind me. we are in the midland beach neighborhood. and believe it or not, the water here has receded. we've talked to a number of folks who live on this street who have come back. some of them have been able to get into what's left of their homes. many of them have not. three separate families were trapped on the roofs, they told us at one point during the storm. all of them managed to get taken to safety. we're also hearing from a number of people here on staten isla

craig melvin has a look at what's next. >> thanks so much.our, president obama takes his fiscal cliff campaign to pennsylvania. the president says allowing taxes to rise on the middle class would be, quote, scrooge christmas for millions of americans. >>> plus we're following developing news from the supreme court. waiting to hear if the high court decides to take up several new challenges to same-sex marriage. a live report on that coming up next on news nation. [ male announcer ] citi turns 200 this year. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ is a thrilling, dual-flavored ride to mouth fun-town. but it's not like everyone is going to break into a karaoke jam session. ♪ this will literally probably never happen. with his wife, danielle, almost every we

craig melvin is in. >> we'll look at the battle over marriage equality and chad griffin will join usut the new morgan freeman ad and the next state's taking of the fight for same sex marriage and topping the agenda the fiscal cliff jumpers. will members of both parties drive the company over the edge with just over a month left for congress to reach a deal? we'll ask chris van hollen and throwing grover under the bus, the power panel weighs in on more republicans walking away from the norquist antitax pledge and it is the day americans love to shop at work. can cyber monday top a $1 billion black friday? all of that and lots more straight ahead. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego. prego?! but i've bought ragu for years. [ thinking ] wonder what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo! [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. a wiit takes some doing.n't just happen. some coordinating. and a trip to the one place with the new ideas that help us pull it all together. from the things that hang and shin

. >>> i'm craig melvin. here's what's happening. protesters have taken to the streets of egypt after president mohamed morsi's position to grant himself broad new powers. israeli troops shot and killed a palestinian man and injured 19 people since a truce took hold. shoppers flock to the stores this black friday looking for deals on the traditional opening day of the holiday season. i will be back with live coverage of these stories and more. back to "hardball," though. >>> welcome back to "hardball." now that we've marked the highlights of the gop primary, let's dig into the turning points in the general election. first up the video that turned out to be the lowampaign. the candidate's taped comments to donors down in florida that nearly half the americans are lazy and happy to be on the government dollar, known as the 47% video. let's listen again. >> never trust the caterers. joining me again, former republican national committee chairman michael steele and "the huffington post's" howard fine. that could not have been somebody th

. >>> i'm craig melvin. fighting continued for a third day between israel and militants in gaza.rens rang out again in tel aviv. rocket fire targeted jerusalem, the first time that's happened since 1970. >>> harry reid has rejected a call by republicans for a select committee to investigate the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. and an explosion ripped through an oil rig in the gulf of mexico earlier. 11 people hurt, two are still missing. back to "hardball." ♪ >>> our challenge is to make sure that, you know, we are able to cooperate together, work together, find some common ground, make some tough compromises, build some consensus to do the people's business. >> still seems a little tired from the election there. back to "hardball." today president obama met with congressional leaders to kick off talks to avoid that fiscal cliff. it caps a week in which he's reached out to union leaders, business leaders, congressional leaders to soften the ground for a deal. at exactly is the white house driveway. the congressional leaders, boehner, reid, pelosi, mcconnell, were optimis

. >>> i'm craig melvin. here is what is happening.ritical moment for the deal to stop attacks from gaza and confident that the impact will not be affected by walkoffs claimed for thursday night and black friday. and the annual turkey pardon at the white house went off without a hitch. the tradition started back in 1963. back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "hardball." with a victory behind him, democrats are feeling more confident in talks with republicans about the fiscal cliff. many on the left have been vocal in calling for the president not to buckle on the issues of tax increases on the rich and no cuts to entitlements like social security and medicare. many key players are talking more defiantly on these issues since the election. nancy pelosi for example flatly said she wouldn't go along with a deal that didn't raise tax rates on the rich. let's watch the former speaker. >> we've seen talk about a possible compromise that would leave rates the same but cap deductions for high income earners. is that something that's acceptab

craig melvin will be speaking with new york congressman peter king chairman of the house committee onsecurity. >>> let's go now to the fiscal cliff. bipartisan talks will begin next friday at the white house. they hope to find compromise on the issue that has divided d.c. for years. nbc correspondent mike viqueira is joining me now live. another good saturday to you, my friend. >> good morning to you, alex. >> is there any common ground between the the parties? do you see any? >> reporter: both sads say they want compromise. but there doesn't seem to be any common ground on the one key issue that is going to hold this thing back and might take us into christmas or past the deadline. that is the tax rate for the wealthy. you remember the president campaigned on letting the bush tax cuts expire for the wealthy. keeping it for the lower 98% of american incomes. but for the wealthy as defined by over $250,000 a year for a couple, the president wants to let that rise. house republican john boehner, the republican speaker of the house, says absolutely not. taxes will not rise. it cannot pas

>> craig melvin at central park, thank you. >>> congressman michael grim represents the borough of staten island and scott stringer is the staten island president. you are right there in staten island, an area so hard hit. reactions to this border from frustration, to bewilderment and rage, and i detect from you you feel some rage about this decision. >> well, there's no question i'm angry about it, and i'm exoegt sentiments of all the people i'm visiting on a regular basis. like three different groups of people here on staten island, those that are still grieving their loved ones, their friends and their neighbors for lives that we lost. those that don't know where friends, neighbors, family members, are they are displaced. we don't even know their status and there's a good chance death tolls can still rise, and then there are those that are to the new york city marathon. i should mention, congressman, we invited the mayor or a representative from the mayor's office to come on, and they declined but they did give a statement saying our recovery efforts are on going and none will be impac