duvall patrick named an interim replacement. his former chief of staff will serve until a special election is held in june. >> working with and indeed learning for the congressional delegation and president obama, i know i can help move forward the interest of this great state in this temporary period and i look forward to this honor of service. >> joining me now, politics reporter for boston globe. thank you for your time. let's get into the decision by duvall patrick. >> the govern nor was close about his decision making process and he did name a short list. a lot of names were out there. he chose someone loyal to him. policy-wise, there is no daylight between them. the governor likes personal and inspiring stars that he has. mo cowan has been a trusted aide, someone he relied on and rolling out ambitious policy agenda pieces. >> we know that barney frank sought this interim appointment on a couple of shows on msnbc and released a statement saying i know mr. cowan is committed to working hard and in socially fair and economica

massachusetts governor duval patrick will get to appoint a united states senator for the second time. no massachusetts governor has ever gotten to do that twice. it is an awesome responsible. and i'll give the governor a little help with it tonight and suggest somebody who probably is not on his short list right now, or any list. except my list. and that is in the rewrite. >>> we will not negotiate with congress over the fulfillment of congress's responsibility to raise the debt ceiling. we can and should negotiate over how we continue to reduce our deficits in a responsible and balanced way. but we should not play chicken with the full faith and credit of the united states. >> the treasury department estimates that if the debt ceiling is not raised, the united states may just hit that ceiling by midnight on valentine's day, five weeks from today. but congressional republicans might, they just might be ready to blink. here is republican senator ron johnson of wisconsin on fox news this afternoon. >> what about the debt ceiling deadline -- would you go through that, risk shutting the g

duval patrick is the one who will end up picking this person and also duval patrick is incredibly close white house and he probably won't pick anyone that doesn't have the blessing from the man who sits in the oval office, president obama. >> makes sense there. mark, thank you very much. see you tomorrow. >> thanks, tamron. >> thanks, mark. >>> hospitals around the country are struggling to keep up with a deadly flu outbreak that's flooding emergency rooms. this year's strain is unusually strong and seems to be hitting the peak. at this time, listen to this, last week the flu killed 18 people. yesterday, 18 deaths were reported in just one state, massachusetts. boston's mayor declared a public health emergency and according to the cdc 41 states are now reporting widespread flu activity and since october, more than 2,200 people hospitalized because of the flu. nbc's kevin tibbles in milwaukee with a look at how one hospital is coping. >> reporter: tamron, here at the st. fran rice hospital in milwaukee, like other hospitals in this city, they're practicing something they called diversion

me. >>> have i mentioned how great i think duval patrick is?atest governor of all times. just the greatest. and he has a really big decision to make, who to appoint, to temporarily replace john kerry. while they get ready for a special election to replace john kerry. and i want to help the governor with that decision. next in the rewrite. but your erectile dysfunction - you know,that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid

and then i asked you for your advice on whether i should call up the governor, call up duval patrickoday and remind him of my service in the senate, including chief of staff of two committees, first the committee on the environment and pickup works. and then, more importantly the committee on finance. you know, i could maybe tell the governor some more stories about how i pushed through the biggest tax increase in history 20 years ago, maybe entertain him with some of the funny stuff that happened on the senate floor when the republicans were not half as crazy as they are now. and then beg the governor to appoint me as john kerry's successor in the senate. my point, basically, experience matters. and in the overnight polling, america spoke, spoke clearly in favor of a senator o'donnell. in a poll we conducted on our website i now have a huge lead. a huge lead over anyone else to be appointed senator from massachusetts. 40% want barney frank. only 4% want oscar winner and current oscar contender ben affleck to take time off from living the dream to cast some votes in the senate for a

we know as we explain the number of heavy hitters that duvall patrick could have picked.lain why he is putting him in this spot. >> some of the folks you mentioned earlier are people all known to folks in d.c., but not necessarily in massachusetts. remember, politics is always personal. and mo cowan is somebody who has been friends with duvall patrick for a long time since they've been lawyers in the boston area. he was the chief of staff as you noted. one point of history, this is the first time there's two black senators serving at the same time in the senate. they were both appointed -- also another senator put in place was also appointed who is african-american and the last elected african-american to the senate was barack obama. a little bit of history being made and that's one part why deval patrick made this pick. >> when we talk about the fact he's going to be the placeholder, there's going to be a special election. scott brown, former massachusetts senator that was beaten by elizabeth warren leaning strongly towards running in the race and this new poll showing b

first duvall patrick needed to name an interim replacement and the former chief of staff, william moowan who will serve until that special election, months from now. only the second black senator ever from massachusetts. >> to the extent you asked whether having a black govern nor was a goal of mine, yeah. i guess it goes with the package if you know what i mean. >> i suspect that the reason i'm standing here is not because i'm an african-american, but as the governor indicated, he has confidence. >> it's time to talk massachusetts politics. to begin the speculation of who will be on the ballot and win these fun things. >> can you do it in an accent? >> no. if we are going talk politics, we should be joined by former governor michael dukakis. this is a first term governor. >> signed to frances. >> you have a $16,000 jewel or so. >> i have a $1.99 on ebay. >> he is living. >> the duke joins us. there is so much to talk about here. i will try to be quick. a couple of quick points. it first is on this appointment of cowan. to the national media story here, is patrick going to appoint ba

cowan used to be chief of staff to governor duval patrick. >>> okay, it is time to head down to new orleans. the super bowl coverage that we are calling blitz and glitz. we have a whole team. jc hayward, andre ya roane, -- andrea roane, kristin berset all are down there. and james brown is a damascus high school grad, jc got one on one time with him to get his take on the super bowl. >> taking care of me as usual. >> reporter: getting ready for the super bowl requires lots of preparation, but cbs' james brown spent valuable time with me, even though he was losing his voice. i suggested hot lemon tea. >> it's good. >> reporter: yeah, see. the lemon, i'm telling you. he has had an incredible career since he started anchoring sports at channel 9 back in 1984. today he's the well known host of the n.f.l. today and inside the n.f.l. >> reporter: those who watch the show realize that many times you have to sort of real in your compatriots. how do you do that? >> my job is to be as conversant as possible with all the material we're going to cover, know the game inside and out, know the story lines

>> the moment kerry resigns the senate seat, massachusetts governor duval patrick will appoint someonehe vacancy until a special election were held between 145 and 160 days. we know that former congressman barney frank said he'd like to be appointed to the seat. and congressman ed marky of massachusetts has made it clear he will actually run in the special election. >> and if confirmed, kerry will be replacing hillary clinton. how you would grade her tenure? >> i think secretary clinton's tenure has been remarkably successful. because of her star power as a former first lady, former senator from new york and former presidential candidate, she was able to help president obama repair the nation's battered reputation around the world. i don't think we'll see a secretary of state of her caliber for a very long time. >> that's quite an assessment. thank you for get up with us this morning. >> thank you. >>> turning now to our first look at some of the other stories going on around america. we begin with an amazing explosion of metal and debris in vermont. a store surveillance video camera c

democratic massachusetts governor duvall patrick picking his former chief of staff to fill open senatewill hold the seat until a special election was held. it is the first time the senate has had two african american senators republican tim scott representing south carolina. those with religious objections will be forced to pay the obama care tax. it was released by the irs about the law answer individual mandate. any one whose religious belief conflicts with insurance they will be exempt from that. >> 34 percent of firms expect to add to the payrolls in the next six months. this is the highest percentage since last april. here with three companies hiring right now cheryl casone from the fox business network. >> i wish these surveys will translating into data. when it comes to unemployment we will get another monthly look at the job situation in the morning. we have companies that are hiring who have seasonal jobs today with lows. they are the home improvement company they are the second largest in the nation. they have 45,000 seasonal jobs 9,000 permanent part-time jobs 15 million cus

. >>> massachusetts governor duvall patrick has named a place holder to fill the senate seat of johnerry. he'd be the second african-american in the senate. tim scott of south carolina, another appointee is the other. it's the first time in history that two african-americans have served in the senate at the same time. in selecting cowan, governor patrick passed over former congressman barney frank who openly lobbied for the job. cowan will serve until april 30th when massachusetts voters will choose someone to fill out the remainder of kerry's term. we'll be right back. >> it's a matter of republicans and democrats coming together and finding a meeting of the minds and then making the case and, you know, i'm hopeful that this can get done and i don't think that it should take many, many months. i think this is something that we should be able to get done certainly this year and i'd like to see if we can get it done sooner in the first half of the year. the president's approach is very similar to what a bipartisan group of eight senators called for earlier this week. now the question

now barney frank lobbying to become the place holder senator in massachusetts trying to get duvall patrick'se on the senate seat. he said, i support him. here is an apology. >> cenk: it's a stupid thing he said. am i openly and aggressively straight. >> it's not a made up issue. >> cenk: no, because it's republican who is pretend to back mitt romney, mccain. they're being funded by the neo-cons to put the ads out there. it's an amazing story. >> 100%. >> cenk: let's go to brennan the president had an announcement on him as well. >> obama: a 25-year veteran of the c.i.a. he knows what the job demands. policies with the facts strong analytic inflexion and keen understanding. he has a strong position on the history, the culture the politics, the economics the desire for human dignity drive something much in the changes of today's world. >> well, i've got a much bigger issue with john brennan as a nominee. i want to talk to one of the top security expert. zbigniew brzezinski former u.s. natural security adviser to jimmy carter, thank you for joining us first of all we really appreciate it. >> gl

back at home, massachusetts democratic governor duval patrick named the former chief of staff to the. senate. william cohen will become the second african american in the chamber. the first time there have been two african-americans at once in the senate. cohen will replace john kerry until a special election in june. kerry has been confirmed as secretary of state. senators heard from both sides today on the gun issue. besides the usual suspects there was a surprise witness today with a special point of view. chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is on capitol hill tonight. >> six weeks after the newtown connecticut school shooting, congress began to examine issue of gun violence. high provile victim of 2011 attack in tucson, arizona, made this appeal. >> it will be hard. but the time is now. you must act. be bold. be courageous. americans are counting on you. >> judiciary chairman patrick laey from lurel vermont promised the second amendment would continue to be protected but auvred this idea. >> what responsible gun owner objects to improving the background check system? w

the progressive change campaign committee, the triple-c, both are pressuring governor devalue duvall patrickappoint the former congressman who has said he wants the job. and the petition to the elizabeth warren campaign that actually says we need someone who we are 100% confident who will fight right along side her. barney frank has endorseed fred markie to fill the seat permanently in the special election that will be scheduled for later this year. then the fourth nugget for you is that we're getting a first look at a possible primary challenge for new jersey democrat frank lautenberg's new senate seat. a new poll shows cory booker leading lautenberg 42% booker has said he's considering a round but he has not official entered the race. the 88-year-old frank lautenberg is now serving his fifth term in the senate. still ahead, chris christie has been in the news a lot lately. and our own brett erlich is next. put on your seat belts. that's next in "the war room." young turks is that we're honest. they know that i'm not bs'ing them with some hidden agenda, actually supporting one party or the

. >>> massachusetts governor, duval patrick, named william mo cowan as his chief of staff to replace john kerry. and coming to a post office near you, johnny cash, the u.s. postal service is honoring the legendary singer in its new legendary icon release of stamps. >> that's cool. >> apparently the u.s. postal service gets about 40,000 suggestions for stamps each year, they narrowed it down to 20, and johnny cash won it. >> all right. randy, thank you very much. the baltimore ravens ray lewis will play his last nfl game ever on super bowl sunday. seems headed for the hall of fame. but in the past, he was on trial for double murder. and one of his co-defendants wrote a book. >>> and just when you thought the manti te'o story couldn't get more involved, it has. dr. phil mcgraw says the california man who was behind the hoax fell in love with te'o while pretending to be his girlfriend. you know i relieve coug >>> and extreme sports under scrutiny after dangerous games going wrong. [ tissue box ] he said nasal congestion. yeah...i heard him. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-sympt

massachusetts governor duval patrick has named william cowan to fill john kerry's senate seat.y steps down this week. >>> and coming to a post office near you, johnny cash. the u.s. postal service is honoring the legendary music singer. they'll release it later this year. >> that's cool. >> anderson, i guess it's a pretty big deal. the postal service gets 40,000 suggestions for stamps every year and narrow it down to 20 and johnny cash wins it. >> everybody likes johnny cash. thank you. >>> ray lewis is going to play his last nfl game on super bowl sunday. he seems to be on his way to the hall of fame but 13 years ago he was on a established for murder. >>> just when you thought the manti te'o story kobt get any more involved, it has. the california man fell in love with te'o while pretending to be his girlfriend. wait until you hear what else dr. phil asked in the interview. ♪ using cloud computing and mobile technology, verizon innovators have developed a projective display for firefighters. allowing them to see through anything. because the world's biggest challenges deserve

massachusetts governor duval patrick has pick hid former chief of staff, william cohen, to fill serrie'suntil a special election this summer. with cohen's apparentment, there are now two familiar senators serving in the u.s. senate at the same time in u.s. history. >>> before we head to break, another cool slow sure just into our newsroom. shenandoah county public schools are closed so again, another school closing into our newsroom. shenandoah county public schools are closed. >>> a new way to record out police interact with the public. saying good-bye to an american patriot. we'll look back at the life of patty andrews.  >>> an icon of the 1940s has died. patty andrews passed away yesterday in california. she and her singing sisters were best known for supporting the troops during world war ii with their movies and music. patty andrews was the last surviving sister. she was 94 years old. >> having a big impact on music for sure. >> all right. what is going on outside? >> the weather has been kind of crazy here for the last couple of days with the 70s we had jed and the

. >>> also today, massachusetts governor duvall patrick named william cohen to serve as interim u.s. senator, thus replacing senator john kerry. cowan is the chief of staff. he will serve until kerry's successor is chosen in a special election. kerry was confirmed yesterday as secretary of state. >>> that 15-year-old pakistani school girl who was shot in the head by the taliban will undergo more surgery. malala will receive a titanium plate to repair her shattered skull. shown here. you see the big hole. and also she'll be getting a hearing device to replace her destroyed eardrum. the taliban shot malala in october, after she was speaking out in support of girls getting an education. the surgery will be performed in birmingham, england, where her father has now gotten a job with the pakistani consulate. >>> and stocks are taking a hit today, but that did not dampen the hype for research in motion's new phone, take a good long look at it here, the blackberry 10, the z-10 as it is officially called. came out today. it contains a new operating software that already has 70,000 apps avail

scott brown would be much happier running for governor when duval patrick leaves office next year, aetter chance of winning, and a job he would love, love, according to my sources, he doesn't really like it. political readers who missed last tuesday's edition are only five days behind on this story, because they ran this story, why scott brown might run for governor, not senate. politico reported why it could be easier for brown to win the governorship, he wouldn't be as tied to crazy republicans, it will be an open seat this time. and winning the senate seat means you win it for a year, and then have to immediately run for re-election to a six-year term. politico didn't mention that. being a senator if well done is actually a lot more like being a professor than scott brown realizes than going to washington. there is like a crap load more of homework and tons of reading. and no, you don't have to absolutely do it. but if you don't do enough of the studying and stuff the other senators are going to talk rings around you in the closed door meetings, where they do the actual governor.

lori: messages as governor duval patrick has passed his former chief of staff to fill the seat left vacantming secretary of state john kerry. he will serve until a special election is held to fill the seat on june 205th. the appointment marks the first time ever that the senate has two black members serving at the same time. republican tens got of south carolina being the other. democrats are trying a new tactic, tired of letting president bush for their failed policies. well, now they're blaming our colleagues on fox news for manufacturing washington spending problems. fox is chief political correspondent carl cameron led to the arguments from both sides. >> president obama reportedly said that america does not have a spending problem. well, of course we know that's not accurate. >> that is the senate's top republican referring to the president's assertion that the u.s. does not have a spending problem during a private discussion on the $16 trillion federal debt crisis as quoted by house speaker in a recent "wall street journal" op-ed. other democrats in including louisiana democratic sen

. >> and we're two days from knowing who governor duval patrick will appoint as the next senator of massachusetts. it is really very simple. he will appoint barney frank or make a big mistake. >>> and it is all over for sarah palin, nobody is sorry to see her go. sarah palin, the presidential candidate who never was is in tonight's rewrite for possibly the final time. ♪ [ male announcer ] some day, your life will flash before your eyes. make it worth watching. introducing the 2013 lexus ls. an entirely new pursuit. >>> hillary clinton did not do a sixty minutes interview with president obama last night in order to silence her talk of running for president, she of course, knew one of the questions would be are you running for president. hillary and obama's excellent adventure is coming up. and what they look for in a leader coming up next. [ male announcer ] after years of celebrations, marie callender's gives you a way to make any day a special occasion. new mini cream pies for one. real whip cream and a cookie-crumb crust. marie callender's. it's time to savor. diarrhea, gas, bloating? yes! one

frank telling msnbc's "morning joe" yesterday, he wants duval patrick to appoint him that will be vacatewhen john kerry becomes secretary of state. >> if i -- in fact, i'm not going to be -- i've told the governor that i would like frank to do that because i would like to be a part of that. >> i want to bring in "the boston globe" statehouse bureau chief frank phillips and you're sitting there in congressman frank's home district right now. is anybody there surprised at all? i think we are a little surprised. he has been talking about it for several years, i've had private conversations with him over the last few years. he's tired of talking about it and in the last few days he's talking now that he wants to go back into the u.s. senate and get involved and get involved and they were controversial issues. >> i think the colleagues of the globe, thaw talked to the former congressman yesterday and did he give youio insight as to why he may have changed his mind about wanting to leave issue what wash. >> he said there are a lot of issues on the table and the fiscal cliff issues and the debt

massachusetts governor duvall patrick is naming william cowan a, kerry's former chief of staff to servecial election in june. senator kerry was confirmed as the next secretary of state officially submitted his resignation last night. >>> i have more now on allegations we have been reporting on during the program that baltimore ravens linebacker ray lewis has been using performance-enhancing substances that were banned by the national football league. mr. lewis spoke out about the allegations a short time ago in new orleans where he's getting ready to play sunday's super bowl. have a listen. >> i think honestly -- i'm going to say it very clearly again. i think it is probably one of the most embarrassing things that we can do on this type of oh stage. when you let cowards come in and do things like that, to try to disturb something, i have said it before. i said a million times. the reason i'm smiling is because it's so funny of a story. i have never, ever took whatever he said i was supposed to do. >> this was an allegation made by sports illustrated involving a substance derived from d

moveon.org and the progressive change campaign committee have begun online petitions to urge governor duvall patrickck him. and "the boston globe" backed him on monday. more than almost anyone now in the senate, frank knows where potential savings can be found. if frank were to play a role simply in framing the debate over budget cuts, he'd be making a greater contribution than most appointed senators make even in far longer terms. former congressman barney frank joins us now. you amaze me. i thought what you were going to be doing is what we do here after you left the congress, but there you are talking up a senate seat. >> i expect -- as recently as the last week of december, people said would you take the senate seat? i said, if you offer something, it would be rude to the people, i'm hoping i wasn't offered it. i was sitting in the caucus and realizing it's going to be equivalent in some ways to the new deal. the debt limit issue comes up and the sequester. there are conservatives who are going to try to use that to cut social security, cut medicare. they're going to try and shift the cuts that

. >> and we're two days from knowing who governor duval patrick will appoint as the next senator of massachusetts. it is really very simple. he will appoint barney frank or make a big mistake. >>> and it is all over for sarah palin, nobody is sorry to see her go. sarah palin, the presidential candidate who never was is in tonight's rewrite for possibly the final time. ♪ [ male announcer ] some day, your life will flash before your eyes. make it worth watching. introducing the 2013 lexus ls. an entirely new pursuit. campbell's has 24 new soups that will make it drop over, and over again. ♪ from jammin' jerk chicken, to creamy gouda bisque. see what's new from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. executor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. now this...will work. [ male announcer ] just like you, business pro. just like you. go national. go like a pro. >

duvall patrick has named a place holder to fill the senate seat of john terry.e'd be the second african-american in the senate. tim scott of south carolina, another appointee is the other. it's the first time in history that two african-americans have served in the senate at the same time. in selecting cowan, governor patrick passed over former congressman barney frank who openly lobbied for the job. cowan will serve until april 30th when massachusetts voters will choose someone to fill out the remainder of kerry's term. we'll be right back. 'cause all our states are great. and now is when the gulf gets even better. the beaches and waters couldn't be more beautiful. take a boat ride or just lay in the sun. enjoy the wildlife and natural beauty. and don't forget our amazing seafood. so come to the gulf, you'll have a great time. especially in alabama. you mean mississippi. that's florida. say louisiana or there's no dessert. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. ♪ ooh baby, can i do for you today? ♪ [ female announcer ] need help keeping your

massachusetts governor duvall patrick is naming william cowan a, kerry's former chief of staff to servecial election in june. senator kerry was confirmed as the next secretary of state officially submitted his

he's campaigning to be the appointed senator of massachusetts and duval patrick as governor of the massachusetts will not send someone to washington to vote against the white house in the major vote. i also -- i wouldn't, s.e. your comment there struck me as if the left is decided to roll over for chuck hagel specifically on the gay rights issue. tammy baldwin said she'll ask tough questions and assurances from him that his attitudes really changed and in a way to reflect -- >> it's an outlier and good to see. >> you're saying some special break is made here. this is the nominee of the administration that ended don't ask don't tell. >> yeah. >> there's built-in trust there on the left and among gay and lesbian supporters because there's an assumption -- >> no doubt. >> there's an assumption to put somebody in place to end that. if mitt romney was elected, did we ever accomplish what he wanted to do as a candidate? reimplement don't ask don't tell? he never really addressed that. >> right. >> if a republican president were nominating somebody with a history of chuck hagel, there's more cause for

. >>> yesterday we found that massachusetts governor duvall patrick had chosen -- barney frank reacted announcing he was publicly interested. here is what he told the hill. if i wanted to talk about feelings, i would would have called oprah. barney, that's exactly why we love you. >>> up next, republicans are still talking about like half the country is a bunch of takers. maybe they didn't learn the lessons of the 2012 election, the 27% stuff. more of that coming. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. >>> i'm hampton pearson with your cnbc market wrap. the dow had its best january since 1994. despite a loss today, the s&p fell 3 but had its best january since 1997. the nasdaq ended flat. >>> jobless claims rose by 38,000 last week. that was a bigger gain than expected. meanwhile, according to adp, p