. >> the ioc has been absolutely disappointing. the olympic charter describes the olympic movement as something that supports human dignity, equality. >> reporter: the ioc says it is not their role to question the domestic laws of the host nation, and has reminded athletes that political demonstrations are banned by the olympic charter. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. >>> back in a moment with the new hire on one of the most popular and enduring shows on television that is getting a lot of attention tonight. >>> former first lady barbara bush thankfully home from the hospital and just in time to celebrate her wedding anniversary, mrs. bush and her husband, the former president, hold the record for the longest married first couple in u.s. history, 69 years. barbara pierce bush, a descendant of president franklin pierce, married navy veteran george h.w. bush not knowing some day he would be known as 41. jimmy and rosalynn carter are in second place, celebrating their 68th anniversary in july. >>> if you're a 20-year-old in boston

do you think maybe the ioc made a bad decision in choosing sochi? >> absolutely. they want to bring russia along, they could have gone to moscow, st. petersburg. but the idea of going to the middle of the caucasus where it's rife with terrorism is crazy. they're going to be lucky if they get through this thing without something happening. the other thing i would say is why is it we don't hear once again from the imams and the clerics and the head of the muslim countries who should be saying, you know, we oppose any kind of violence that would take place, for that matter, anyplace else, but once again, you're keeping your mouths shut, and i guess you're once again reflecting your prophet. i find it just absolutely incredible that somebody -- we're dealing with potentially terrorists inside the olympic zone. i mean, to pull it out of there, if it were up to me, i would pull the damn thing out of there. let's hope they don't put it in tehran the next time. that's how smart you idiots on the ioc are. >> um -- well, where is it next year? korea. the summer olympics. >>

are serious about ensuring that workers who built the sports stadiums were exploited by the end the ioc and the russian government are no wonder pressure to find a way to make sure that workers from central asia. get all the money their load. well some local sports he's done for you and tomato in defeating inside the ham burger in the relegation zone and if things don't improve soon they could. the second division soccer next season would be the first time ever for hamburg since the bonus room and giving in. there have been in the league for fifteen years and one hundred fifty five days but they seldom saw this loan. with a stronger side two outs in the thirty fourth minute returning from injury the opening goal. just minutes later we were chilled to the hope that in this case from the field on the fun bombard which hurts but maher with was hoping for a better second half but not with mistakes like this the striker to see if i made her dearly to give his team a two nil lead at the dentist two minutes later sought to pass to wax my hair for the single finest war. but since it's the end o

the ioc may have an eye 300,000 tickets that remain unsolid. as they down play the e-mails sent to eight countries. the head of media relation in ioc sent me an e-mail which read in part. it would be totally wrong to describe this as a threat. the e-mail is one person's opinion about security and terrorism and not a threat from a terrorist. but clearly everybody is concerned and for that reason, president obama was on the phone with president putin and directly talking about the security threat and offering all u.s. assistance necessary. >> we'll see if putun takes him up on that. >> so with the security concerns in sochi, will the olympics games be safe. ralph peters is the fox news analyst. you have been to russia countless times and sochi and how confident knowing as you do about the ring of steel around the town and keeping terrorist out? >> well, russia security services are brutal and ruthless and generally effective and not always efficient. but this is a real grudge match between the islamic terrorist and valentine putin personally. it

dana perino, the ioc says this is, quote, propaganda, promoting the united states over otheres countriesoint of the olympics, though? >> i was trying to think of how is that different than what the> have on their uniforms? the flag on their uniforms. every country has some sort ofir representation of their country on their uniform.coun i get the rules. that's fine. i understand thati politics and self expression at the olympics goes hand in hand. one of the best ways to have influence is to win.e 'cause if you win, then you get more attention and you can go on the today show and get even more exposure for whatever your views are. >> she can dress up like the founding father and have a scroll of the constitution. >> she should do that while she's engaged in the sport. >> that would be amazing if she could win in costume. eric bolling, it looks like thit isn't the first time. four years ago, goalies ryan miller and quick had to change their masks and also -- it saidd miller time, and had to drop support our troops. this has happened before. >> they're very specific. they can have their fla

putin really, really put pressure on the ioc to hold this venue here instead of in austria, simply becauseo showcase this region, the black sea region of russia. he wanted to increase his own standing in the international community. one of the ways to do that is to host the olympics. i find it very strange that the ioc would put a venue within 15 minutes driving of three regions in russia, south ossesia, all three of which have been harboring insurgencies for hundreds of years. >> i'm trying to figure out what role putin will play. should the u.s. have taken a stronger stand on participation? >> i think so. who's to say? this is a free market economy. the olympics are a place that people from all over the world love to visit and they love the community that goes particularly with the winter olympics. but you're right, russia hasn't been very kind to the united states in the past few months. and the idea of spending dollars and converting them into rubles at this late stage to me is not anything i would particularly enjoy. >> finally, what's your advice to folks who spent a lot of money, sa

we look to cooperating with the ioc, with the host nation, and the other countries that are there inity of the games. >> again, if you were head of homeland security, as you were, would you look at this recent history of attacks, look at some vulnerabilities and conclude that this is just a probe by terrorists to potentially target the games? >> i don't know that i would conclude that. i think that what you would do is just be alert to the fact, you know, to the situation. but remember, in the run-up to all the games recently, there have been security issues, security questions, have appropriate preparations been made. after the games, everybody talks about the actual performances which actually is the point. >> the usa today concluded on monday in its paper the following, and i'll read it to you about broader concerns. yet as the new security measures were being advanced, the volgograd attacks underscored a long-standing concern in the run-up to the winter games. two months ago, a western security official with knowledge told usa today that there is a fear to lock down sochi that ot

. >> reporter: the ioc relented in 2011, but the fight united the women. and when hendrickson won the world championship last year, van, jerome, and abbey hughes and alyssa johnson celebrated it as a victory for all. >> when they write the history of women's ski jumping, what do you hope is written about this period? >> you know i hope that they write that we did as much as we could for the sport. and we left it off better than we found it. >> reporter: charting a flight path for women to follow. anne thompson, nbc news, park city, utah. >> that is our broadcast on a wednesday night. thank you for joining us. i'm brian williams, we of course hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. >>> we are in shock, disbelief, we're number. we're grieving, and please give us some time. >> right now at 6:00, the police chief chokes up as he and officers try to understand what went wrong during investigation that ended when an officer shot and killed one of their own. thanks for joining us. i'm janelle wang in for jessica aguirre. >> i'm raj mathai. n

. >> reporter: the ioc relented in 2011, but the fight united the women.ckson won the world championship last year, van, jerome, and abbey hughes and alyssa johnson celebrated it as a victory for all. >> when they write the history of women's ski jumping, what do you hope is written about this period? >> you know i hope that they write that we did as much as we could for the sport. and we left it off better than we found it. >> reporter: charting a flight path for women to follow. anne thompson, nbc news, park city, utah. >> that is our broadcast on a wednesday night. thank you for joining us. i'm brian williams, we of course hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. here tomorrow evening. good night. >>> i had a gun put to my head. he said you will do what i say, or i will kill you. >> you know what happened to

recently senior ioc member john franco kasper made the headlines but he admitted he came to further the money had disappeared into people's pockets. he sings told us he sweats which was good. when i've worked or didn't read it this way or another no less that there are rumors of people are saying that i would pay any fee for sale but they will create them to become a state map and international media for what reason i love fall and don't forget the interview posting system. the optical of holiday thing came from an american film of the soul. i don't think that the end is still one of the states. it never came to my site. it was just us by germany's to a certain percentage of corruption in discipline and go to school. he had no worries whatsoever to think that if you think the people have had. sydney defects me with a dumbass. he owns the bbq to any extent this was never and i can for discussion. in a series of reports from sochi which ballots a debatable whether they want salty dog comb area. the new and regular games sports such as this i'm not an olympic hockey than vomit. my fire wha

succeeds she would be the first to be zealous and scatter reno with back to nineteen eighty eight and the ioc on their homepage recognized team's historic content in a headline story which also took a look back at her groundbreaking career twenty three year old is the favorite to repeat as the olympic champion in her swan song performance at the sochi games. and now staying with winter sports the south korean boss lee dual has done it once again in the second round of the north american cup in new york. i would one use only and great men's final won their second goal but the lake placid course with a combined time of one minute fifty one point seven one seconds. meanwhile the other south korean team won bronze after prepping silver the day before. and shifting over to golf twenty seven year old ms unwin is off to a great start at the pga tour's sony open in hawaii. this shot a bogey free seven under par in the first round of and at the white owl a country club golf course in honolulu. hopes are high that he'll keep the momentum going into day two with a final round to be played on sunday mean

sochi winter olympics next month is of growing concern with the international olympic committee and the ioc president thomas bach addressed the issue in this new year's message saying that while terrorism must not try all of the two bombings in russia earlier this week despite that he expressed trusting the government there to deliver a safe and on the tropical updates for those participating and watching the games. let's not jump into thursday's comex up starting with the caveat all the k c c just visited the mocha status in the words that come all this comes in looking to lock up the pace and tcc answers with three pointers. it's like forty three forty three at the half and will be surprised if that were met by hon zealand six players score from the floor rod benson as the film was the one and the seats that line and power smokers tollway eighty nine to eighty four. now would still be in the new brush and passion best they take on the typical big storm in so long in the third meeting of the season. now energized by the home fans heckled takes the first set six doesn't that make them one b

we oftentimes point to what happened with the so-called nazi olympics back in 1936 where the ioc wentnto believing there was nothing unusual going on there and be okay to host the olympics there. we've seen this time and time again, in the past with ioc and this is a long list of corrupt things that has infiltrated the organization. >> you make a very good point. the fact of the matter isn't it today that no matter where the olympics will be held and no matter where any large public gathering, any big sporting event or anything like that where the world's attention will be held that becomes a terror target. >> yes. >> absolutely. this is the world we live in now. >> go ahead. >> sure. >> i was just saying this is the world that we live in. and, you know, we're going to be having this conversation about sochi in another four years because they are hosting the fifa world up with. i doubt the problems we're talking about today will be solved in four years. so this is the new normal. we're going to be having our large events like this, particularly sporting events targeted and now we just

committee at the head quarters and they are downplaying this saying this isn't a threat but quote the ioc takes security very seriously and passes on creditable information to the relevant services. but in this case, the e-mail contains though threat and appears to be a random message from a member of the public. the russian authorities are continuing their crackdown with militant groups saying they killed a leader of the group. and the u.s. is offering assistance now with security. president obama offered any assistance the united states can give and that includes high-tech equipment that was used to stop road size bombings. that is a situation that has every concerned. this is a serious threat. >> sparks shooting out of a truck as a driver tries to get away from deputies while he was desperate to escape. and peace talks underway and the bloody civil war in syria and even the nugoegz -- negotiations are getting hostill. >> right now, dramatic video showing sparks flying from a truck during a high-speed chase. strips blew out the tires of the trucks and he gave up after the officers surro

the ioc downplayed those threats. they say they were rand of messages from a member of the public but american officials are taking -- are not taking them lightly their offering to help the russians with securities ltd. it states has offered full support and any assistance to the russian government was security preparations for the sochi games. russian authorities will be responsible for overall security at the olympics. with the diplomatic security bureau has help from the united states. lou: they are telling those who are attending games to be alert at all times. peace talks aimed at ending the three year war in syria started in switzerland marking the first time there she went face-to-face with western rebels seeking to overthrow his government. at the launch secretary of state kerry reiterated a side must go. >> everybody here understands that people in the region whose support the opposition would never stop because of what he has done and how he has done it. you cannot have peace. you cannot have stability. you

we look to cooperating with the ioc, with the host nation and the other countries that are there in termsurity of the games. >> joining me now is former secret service agent dan bongino. he was the leading agent for several overseas trip. he is a democratic candidate for congress in maryland and author of "life inside the bubble." good morning to you. >> thanks, alex. >> we have sochi about 400 miles or so away from volvo grad, t-- volvograd. all of these places i mentioned militant hot beds. so it begs the question, is it too close for comfort, sochi, relative to these other places? >> i think so. i think the selection of the site was poor for a number of reasons. v volgograd was targeted. it was a rife between the chechens and dagestan for years for selection. >> in regard to this, you have 11 sports divided up in two areas. they're about 30 miles or so apart. >> that is a lot of geography. so how difficult is that to secure? >> very difficult. when you are doing security for the president of the united states and he goes to multiple site, remember, alex, it's not just the sites that ha

government isn't commenting but when asked the spokesman for the international olympics committee says, the ioc stands against any form of corruption. tony. >> john terrett, thank you. we're going to take a look at the day's headlines. when we return. this is are al jazeera america. back in a minute. television event, al jazeera america takes you beyond the debate. experience first hand the tragic journey of these migrants. >> a lot of people don't have a clue what goes on until you live near the boarder. >> six strangers with different points of view... >> i don't believe in borders. >> our government is allowing an invasion. >> ...get to experience illegal immigration, up close and personal. >> its very overwhelming to see this many people that have perished. >> a lot of families that don't know where their babies went. >> i want to make sure that her life, its remembered. >> what happens when lost lives are relived. >> the only way to find out is to see it yourselves. >> on borderland. only on al jazeera america. >> any of you guys want to come to the united states? >> no movement in the syr

it was given to the russianses in 2007 by the ioc. at that time the war and the fighting in the north caucuses was going on. and there are critics especially overseas who say they are hosting games on the edge of a conflict. it's over a week before the actual start of the games. you were there. what's your assessment of how ready and calm the government and authorities are? i think the government, the kremlin want people to stop talking about security, and talking about sports. at the moment that is simply not going to happen. you should have been here today at this - at the stadium. many, many international crews and journalists were not here to watch the flame go through dagestan, they were here to see if there would be a repeat of the bombings we saw in volgograd. and this whole issue of security is getting ramped up all the time. the americans are now involved. they are offering to put two warships in the black sea. they have got aircraft on standby in germany for evacuation, and we heard that there has been a report in london say

police on the international olympic committee say it has to go and they're forcing her to it, citing iocidelines. this isn't the entire constitution. it just says we the people on the mask. what's the big deal? >> i have a question. did todd create this story? this is like the ultimate fox news outrage. the war on the constitution. it's a combination of the hockey, patriotism, and women. i don't know. if i had an olympic helmet, it would say i brake for unicorns. if they made me take it off, i would, because you're not supposed to put stuff on helmets, however, what if it was an islamic sign, a rainbow for toleran tolerance. i don't know if they would have reacted the same. >> we should try it and create another fox news story of outrage. gr they say this is, quote, propaganda, corroding the united states over other countries. isn't that the point of the olympics, though. >> i was trying to think of how that's different from what they have on the uniforms. every country has some sort of representation of their country on the uniform. i get the rules. that's fine. i understand that politi

the ioc says it appears to be a random e-mail from a member of the pub lilic.a copy provided by the slow vavenian national committee. if it is a prank, it is interesting to note you have olympic officials in various countries commenting on this. such is the concern. they have now detailed two potential threats against it's games. one is set to be targeting the olympic torch relay. the time frame for this attack is opened right now. an intensifying security crackdown as the threat of terrorism grows in the leader to the sochi olympic games. explosive new images amid russian state news reports. the police killed the suspected militant leader in this shootout in dagestan tuesday. in addition, reports that the leader of the terrorist cell has been killed in dagestan. this region, east of sochi, has become a hot bed for islamic insurgents after years of unrest. >> from their point of view, they don't have to succeed with an operation. it is just enough to try. the russian security services, they have to have a zero point success rate to have a good outcome. >> repor

the ioc, unfortunately, is more interested in money than human rights. until that is changed this will happen. we need to address the fact why do we oppress people who want the same rights that everyone else has. >> once we get closer to the olympics in socchi, we have more groups coming out in support of human rights as relates to the laws in russia. >> we have seen athletes be political. he has taken a step out front on this issue. >> he and another n.f.l. player. some thought it may be because of that. heterosexuals out in front helping gay rights. >> thank you michael. the winter olympics are less than a month away. hundreds of american athletes are going. a colorado town has a lot to be proud of. paul beban has that story. >> forget football. this is how they do "friday night lights" in steamboat springs. the kids line up. saturday morning it's time for speed camp and saturday afternoon a cross county race. this is base camp. it's the steamboat springs winter sports club, a place to play, meet and compete. >> this may be humble compared to the big s

15 billion rupels behind me when asked a spokesman for the international olympic committee said the iocands against any form of corruption. tony. >> john terrett, thank you. >>> the man who led a coup of mohamed morsi, has been in control of the country since morsi was removed. abdel fattah al-sisi is expected to be the favorite to win once he officially announces his candidacy. he officially announced the elections for april. >>> tunisia has ratified a new constitution. the president signed the document during a ceremony on monday. considered to be one of the most aggressive constitutions in the area. tunisia's government pulled back on some religious inspired measures after a widespread opposition. >>> poultry farms across three provinces in south korea are on a 12 hour lock down to prevent the spread of bird flu. more than 400,000 birds have been slaughtered so far. before people begin to travel for the lunar new year celebrations. harry fausett has the story. >> a growing threat as avian flu continues to spread. monday saw all poultry farms in three provinces observings a lock down

. >> they may be, but they still would stand on the letter of the law, the ioc has a rule that says yous. they had a guy last time. it wasn't bogey miller, it could have been another hockey guy, another goalie who what had miller time. they said no it wasn't because of the connection with the beer, but there's no writing, you can't do it. >> you're a law guy. >> in the case of the olympics and my business is the last place you have real amateurs, they're not even real amateurs, but they're not allowed toy adv. >> i'm glad i got out of the olympics. i love the fact that you didn't on use the word. oh, my goodness. now he's making fun of my height. "duck dynasty" which i see you're now a member of with your beard. >> he was my inspiration. >> i dig the show, so it's great. >> they went down from, i guess, their premier went to 8.5 million, for season five, which was below last year, which was i think about 11 million. does that mean anything? >> well, it's still a huge number. >> i would take that. >> anybody would take that, i think it's number two in the nation. they made a mistake mixi

this morning, an american member of the ioc opens up about the threats facing these games. >>> and lucky daft punk grabs top honors at the grammy

. >> the most expensive and most corrupt games and ioc that came out a few weeks ago that he believedt had been stolen. but on an official level, not as far as we've seen at all. >> of course, the international olympic committee is not held up as the most noncorrupt group. the anti-gay rhetoric, threat of terror attacks and these widespread widely known allegations of corruption, is there anything positive that we've learned in the way that the russians have handled the planning for the games so far? any silver linings for sochi? >> it's just that somehow, despite all of the difficulties, all the horror of the lgbt law and campaign, all of the corruption, incredible security concerns, you still have tens and millions of russians who are really, really excited about the fact that these games are coming and i just think if it goes off without a tragedy, that will be amazing. >> miriam from buzzfeed, thank you so much. >>> your eggs may not be the only things getting poached in a game of angry birds, the nsa and british counterpart are developing ways to use popular apps like angry birds

. >> i think the president of the ioc should be johnny knoxville, because knbasically, this is ju jack stuff, but they invent it and call it olympic sports. >> you mean that in a good way. >> in the nicest way. >> it's ridiculous they put the x-games guy in there. you talk about the voice rising at the end. i mean, those guys -- well, you know. >> what about your buddy at t e times square? he was a snowboarder. >> snowboarder is a little different than what this is. snowboarding, this is snowboarding but all kinds of tricks and games and they have judges. i don't like judges in the olympics. they're a bad idea. >> everyone gets a medal. everyone gets the same medal. >> in racing, you win by having the best time. >> bob, this is an opportunity for you to say something nice about greeks, maybe, in the ancient greeks and tradition. you want to take that opportunity or no? >> i think let's move all the olympics full-time to greece and maybe that would help them with their economy. >> it's all about the ratings. >> but what bob costas is saying for his generation, he's looking at t he think

and bob costas was talking, and he said that johnny knoxville should be the president of the ioc. olympic events. >> there's a man with his finger on the pulse. >> jimmy: yes, that's exactly right. bob costas. yeah, you should do this. >> yeah, i think so. >> jimmy: yeah, and put us some new sports into the olympics. >> well, you know nutball would be sanctioned immediately. >> jimmy: yes. now, familiarize -- i'm not familiar with nutball. what is that again? >> well, you lay about -- you sit about eight feet across from your buddy on a carpet. and just take a ball or a bone or a shoe and just try to hit each other in the nuts. >> jimmy: yeah, there you go. that's it. it's a great -- costas, call him. >> or battle shots. we played that last time. >> jimmy: ah, man, we played this game last time you were on the show. we wore sailor hats, and we played like battleship. but it was called battle shots. and instead of -- what were we drinking, shots of beer? >> beer and we added tequila at the last second. >> jimmy: we didn't add tequila. we didn't add tequila at the last second. you a

. >> the ioc has been quiet on the issue. is that a mistake? are you critical of their approach?m not critical of anyone's approach. i mean, everyone has to do what is right for them. i'm just glad that i'm part of the delegation that's not being quiet. and the usoc, you know, you never know what other types of things that they're trying to accomplish. so you can't really judge what they're doing. but i'm really glad that i'm on the side of the delegation and the president trying to support the message. >> just 30 seconds between us. when you come home, will you begin a new career of advocacy? >> you know, i am always -- i've always been a private person and i've kept that side of my life special to family and friends and people who know me really well and i intend to become, or to stay a private person, even though i'm an out gay person. i've just always been that way. it's never been something that i've been ashamed about, but it's been something that i've always, you know, that people who have known me, have always known. and i intend to continue to stay private. >> thank you

now, the ioc is taking the warning

nonetheless, head of media relations at the ioc said to me in a e-mail, quote, the e-mail is one person's opinion about security and terrorism. it is not a threat from a terrorist. certainly, though, president obama himself is concerned. he got on the phone yesterday with president putin of russia and promised all possible u.s. assistance to combat any potential terrorist attack. shep? >> jonathan, thanks. >>> security forces in israel say they busted militants talking on the internet about the possibility of blowing up the u.s. embassy in tel aviv. they say it was one of several targets the men were talking about attacking. i say talking about because our correspondent in israel reported in the last hour that this never went past the chatter stage. to call it a plan would be a real stretch. these are pictures of the three palestinian suspects according to the israeli officials working with al qaeda. again, that's according to the israelis. u.s. government said they cannot confirm the report. fox news cannot confirm the report. the government sources say they have no reason to doubt the i

it makes sense they ioc would've chosen that.is the more than 30 years since russia had the chance to host the games. the time was due for russia to have another bite at it. host: this is from michigan, 34 -- went to lake placid, new york. this was a last-minute move. this is a picture from the new york times. let's go to mario in connecticut. caller: good morning. the russians are having a heads up given by the terrorists themselves, much like the u.s. had a heads up given by england knewther countries that there were terrorists coming to attack us on 9/11. the fbih prior to 9/11 talked to the fbi terrorist operations center and said we want to keep a terrorist from flying a plane into the world trade center. how is it that the u.s. wants to chime in and criticize russia? one of the biggest problems in preventing a terrorist incident will always be two separate real intelligence from white noise. after the fact it's going to be relatively common that you have some information out there they could have pointed towards a specific

now, the ioc is taking the warning seriously, but doesn't believe that it is necessarily a credible threat. a former mayor who knows what it is like to be the target of terrorists was on cnn earlier today. >> the minute you told the olympics in a place, whether it's salt lake city or it's rio de janeiro or it's london, you have actually brought all the world problems to you. so, yes, sochi is dangerous, because it's close to the caucasus, but every one of these causes gets attracted to you and you have got to have enormous security. >> russian forces are hunting down, burning out, in some cases killing terror suspects with the start of the games now just two weeks away. our phil black is in southern russia with more. >> reporter: an intensifying security crackdown. as the threat of terrorism grows in the lead up to the sochi olympic games. explosive new images amid russian state news reports that police killed a suspected militant leader, mu gs gato tuesday. in addition, reports that the leaders of the region has been a hot bed for islamic insurgents after years of unrest. >> from their po

now it is the women's turn to take flight after a very difficult lawsuit which they won against the iocvan has been leading the fight to compete in the olympics for more than a decade. the team told the "today" show what it meant to finally compete at the olympic games. >> very much looking forward to going and jumping in sochi and representing my country and showing the world our sport. [ male announcer ] winter olympian ted ligety can't take a sick day tomorrow. [ coughs ] [ male announcer ] so he can't let a cold keep him up tonight. vicks nyquil. powerful nighttime 6 symptom cold and flu relief. ♪ [ female announcer ] no matter the occasion..., your home's the place everyone gathers. so be ready with a stouffer's lasagna. it's the mouthwatering recipe that keeps them coming back. stouffer's. made with care for your family. you know the shirt he'll choose... the wine he'll order. you know him. yet now, after exploring vineyards in the hills of italy, he doesn't order the wine he always orders. he asks to be surprised. and for that moment, he's new to you. princess cruises. come back

is this something that we've seen before, because the ioc was pretty quick in issuing a statement saying these aren't credible. >> we have, and really since 9/11, these sorts of large international events, the olympic games, the world cup, nato summits, we always see lots of noise in the system. what is markedly different about sochi is its setting and how close actual terrorist events have occurred so close to the games in a really specific credible threat. that is what is different. that is what is causing, i think, legitimate concern on the part of athletes, countries, and the host in this case. and i think over the next two weeks in the run-up, we're going to see lots of offensive action by the russians, lots of threats, and then even into and through the games, this is going to be an ongoing story, chris. >> michael leiter, always good to have you on the program. thank you, michael. >> thanks, chris. >>> checking the news feed this morning, police are searching for a motive in tuesday's deadly shooting at purdue university. 23-year-old teaching assistant, cody cousins, has been arre

ioc president thomas bach expressed, quote, full confidence in russia's ability to deliver safe gamesmeantime, security concerns forced the olympic torch relay to take a detour today as it passed through the extremely volatile russian republic of dagestan, which has been a hotbed of terrorism and unrest. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in dagestan with the latest. >> reporter: u.s. officials have repeatedly said the threat of terrorism before or during the sochi games is high. well, that threat comes primarily from here, from dagestan, and other parts of the north caucuses. and today, the olympic flame passed through. ♪ the olympic torch made its most dangerous stop today to the russian republic of dagestan. but threats of terrorism dramatically curtailed the traditional relay, so organizers invited a few thousand spectators to a soccer stadium to watch the torch do laps around field, a contained event under heavy guard. a torch relay to nowhere. islamic militants from dagestan have repeatedly threatened the torch, the olympic games, and foreign tourists. for the

the quote, the ioc takes security very seriously and passes on any credible information to the relevant security services. however, in this case it seems like the email sent to a number of national limit committees contains no threat and appears to be a random message from a member of the public. nonetheless everybody is clearly on edge. we reached out to the u.s. olympic committee to find out if they received any direct threats. we are awaiting a response from them. >> reporter: the so-called black widows. there might be as many as four they are looking for. report * the russian security services have named and published photographs of 3 of those so called black widows, they are doing everything they can to find them as far as they are aware. they may have been in a firefight and killed one of them saturday. we don't have a confirmation on that. what they are concerned about at the moment is the torch relay. the olympic torch is passing through russia. it's 350 miles from sochi. they are concerned that olympic torch procession is a slightly softer target could be an attractive target f

i think the ioc is eyes yemen and perhaps syria for future olympic games. >> we are following the worldrime-time host going back to barcelona, do i have that right? for nbc. this is completely different than any games you've covered, is that fair to say? >> it is. there's always concerns about terrorism, dating to munich in 1972, and we had a tragic incident in centennial park in atlanta, one of the few areas that wasn't secure. they wanted to create an open, free-flowing area, and there was a tragedy that ensue. but here you have indigenous terrorists, not that far away. but what the russian government is doing is creating this giant perimeter of security, not just immediately around the venues, the hotels, the broadcast center, but extending out tens of miles beyond it. so that even if you're a spectator, you have to be credentialed. you don't just have to have a ticket, you have to be credentialed to get in. there's 40,000 russian policemen and military forces there bolstered by perhaps american forces, as well. nothing is certain. but i think if you're within the olympic perimeter,

so it's a bit of a puzzle why the ioc decided sochi was the most attractive venue. the most difficult building project for the winter olympics he has ever seen. >> what worries me is the worry about the security could affect the athletes, even though they're great athletes, it could affect their strength, their ability to do what they're going to these games to do. should i be concerned about that? >> if your question is could it tell in the athletic performances -- >> yes. >> -- if things get a little hairy, absolutely. certainly. figure skaters have about two and a half minutes in the short program that they have been practicing four years for and have to land jumps on a blade less than a quarter of an inch thick. it would be pretty easy to disturb their focus, i would think. it remains to be seen. you know, i really, again, just because the inside of the olympic village at sochi is secure by 60,000 troops doesn't mean that there aren't other concerns. and again, the people who may suffer the most from this are ordinary russians who literally live just a couple of

congressional delegation joined us and more than 30 other governors came together joining me in a letter to the ioc to keep wrestling. and together, we kept wrestling in the olympics and the olympic dreams of iowa wrestlers alive. [ applause ] my friends, iowa faces another challenge where we can come together again and rally around what is best for our state. the epa has proposed reducing the level of biofuels outlined in the renewable fuels standard (rfs). if this rule is adopted, it would be a devastating setback to the agriculture sector of the iowa economy. the proposed rule comes at a time when our state continues to implement new pioneering policies encouraging growth and innovation in the renewable energy sector. in a partnership with iowa state university, we launched the "fueling our future" program last october, which will bring iowa to the forefront in the use of e30 fuel. this new program is a reflection of the importance of further advancing the renewable fuels industry, and how the rfs is helping to create important iowa jobs. the rfs has led to a cleaner environment, opened the mark

. >> still it's time for the ioc to take a strong and unequivocal stance against the law and make itsian government is not living up to its commitment as an olympic host. >> reporter: the ioc says it's not their role to comment on russian law, but the justice minister has given them unspecified assurances that openly gay athletes and foreign visitors will not be discriminated against during the games. >> stef, thank you so mump. figure stait skating legend brian boitano is here for his first interview after being named to the delegation. good morning. >> good morning. >> you have been to the olympics three times as an athlete? >> yes. >> first time as a member of the delegation. what does it mean to you? >> i was so honored to be asked by the white house and going through the whole veting process and being named to the delegation. it was really interesting, because i didn't know who was going to be on the dell gigs or any part of it. >> shortly after you were named to the delegation, you did something that by your own admission you say you never thought you would do publicly. >> yeah