. >> i'm john heilemann. with all respect to john harbaugh, everyday we work is just like being back in college. >> it is our year in review part one. we will be running through our list. today is our six to his political stories of the year. obama and the good economy. the establishment party the po-po, and the world of flame. isis, ebola, russia. enough calamities to fit into a twisted cover of the 12 days of christmas. of all the global hotspots, which creates the biggest challenge in 2015? >> some of them have gotten better. we have withdrawn from afghanistan. we can turn off the lights in north korea whenever we want to. i'm going to go with russia, because it's economy is really. and a volatile, unpredictable dictator under a lot of pressure. >> that is a reasonable assertion. i think there is an equally good case to be made for the threat of isis, which is a huge cancer in the middle east. it is not a group whose capabilities we do not understand. there are a lot of people concerned about some of the br

our john heilemann pays attribute -- a tribute. >> first up, green day.almost single-handedly revived punk as an art form. they became a successful and establishment voice. joan jett and the black arts who removed any doubt that women can rock as hard as the guys. next up, bill withers, an icon of soul who gave us "lean on me" and "just the two of us." an rmv legend -- and paul butterfield and his blues legend with that harmonica. and of course, the godfather, already inducted for his work with velvet underground, his solo work is truly ambitious. but perhaps the most deserved induction of all is that of richard starkey, a.k.a. ringo starr. his solo pathway may be slightly rockier than those of his former bandmates john, paul, and george. >> ♪ it don't come easy ♪ >> it will not just be an induction, but an award for his many musical gifts. >> ♪ oh, my my ♪ >> his cap 40 hits broke boundaries and tab will -- dabbled unabashedly with taboos. giving us some of the weirdest songs of all time. his vocal stylings were as pure as those of johnny mathis. >> ♪ mm

. >> i'm john heilemann. >> with all due respect to john simmons, we don't know how to censor ourselves. ♪ >> all right. rob portman is out of the game. jed bush scores again. and ashton carter of his game. first, the republicans combine their forces and unleashed a resoundingly forceful -- strongly worded letter. the truth is, there is nothing they can do. >> this is a serious breach of our constitution. it is a serious threat to our system of government. frankly, we have limited options and limited abilities to deal with it directly. >> ok, mark. huffing and puffing, but what is the actual play for republicans? >> this is a good day for john boehner and mitch mcconnell. they want to be a governing party. they don't want to shut the government down. they got a lot, which today -- accomplished today. they have to come into january with a strategy to counter the state of the union. >> here is the worst thing they could do. the worst thing they could do is shut down the government. all the crazy talk about shutting down the government and impeaching the president has passed. anything that

>> i'm john heilemann. >> and, i'm mark haleperin. with all due respect, a departing white house -- sam katz. [laughter] ♪ on the show tonight, the president cannot cross a bridge. chris christie tries to shake a bridge and the colonies are welcoming the duke and duchess of cambridge. dianne feinstein, the head of the senate intel committee, has long wanted the report critical of cia torture a.k.a. enhanced interrogation tactics and of cia conduct to be released. on the eve of the launch party blurbs already coming in from notable critics like george w. bush. >> we are fortunate to have men and women who work hard at the cia serving on our behalf. these are patriots. whatever the report says, if it diminishes their contributions to our country, it is way off base. >> another critic, former cia director michael hayden. >> to say that we relentlessly over an extended period of time lied to everyone about a program that was not doing any good, that beggars the image. >> this will probably be the biggest story in politics. will this tortu

. >> i'm john heilemann. you are the real poppa bear rest in peace. hello, sports fans. the three white guys are jeb, chris, and brad. first, remember when the republicans said they would sweep in a new era of bipartisanship? that happened thanks to north korea. we heard from important figures from politics and entertainment speaking in unison. president obama encouraging people to go to the movies. the last two republican candidates piping up, and mitt romney telling sony to fight. rob lowe said, "hollywood has done proud," while bill maher said that the nation was thrown under the bus. you are a policy man, washington man, person of the beltway. what can washington do, if anything, to pick up this problem? >> it's a crazy situation. who would have thought kim jong-un would be the uniter not a divider, bringing america together. it presents an interesting problem. this is a nation that barely has electricity, already economically isolated. the usual tools that you would apply to a rogue nation you cannot with north korea. there are a couple of things. maybe they can lea

>> i am john heilemann. >> i am mark halperin. with all due respect to fidel castro, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. ♪ on the show tonight, jeb bush gets painted red. hillary clinton sings the blues. sony gets blacked out. did somebody say christmas in havana? president obama is calling today's agreement a breakthrough in an outdated approach. alan gross says it is good to be home. republicans, most of them are not so happy, especially senator marco rubio. >> this president is the single worst negotiator we have had in the white house in my lifetime. i can tell you that his foreign-policy is at a minimum naive and perhaps even truly counterproductive to the future of democracy in the region. as part of a long record of coddling dictators and tyrants that this administration has established. today, by conceding to the aggressors, this president and this administration have let the people of cuba down. >> texas senator ted cruz also super unhappy. >> this is yet another manifestation of the failures of the obama-clinton-kerry for

>> i'm john heilemann. >> and i mark halperin. we are all about the stirred and not the shaken. on this show to night -- the right puts its down and the president assures ceos they won't foot the bill and obama and mcconnell play some footsie. but we get with breaking news. just like in ferguson, missouri there will be no indictment for a sheriff who killed a black man in new york city. he was put in a chokehold and was captured on a cell phone camera. the video is seen around the world. moments ago, president obama spoke about the implications of another grand jury decision not to indict another police officer who killed a black man. >> it is incumbent upon all this as americans, regardless of race region faith that we recognize this is an american problem, not just a black problem or brown problem or native american problem. when anybody in this country is not being treated equally under the law that is a problem and it is my job as president to help solve it. >> so, how does this decision -- non-decision, second time a grand jury has reached this conclusion how does this comp

. >> i'm john heilemann. with all due respect to jay-z, i've got 99 problems but a cold open ain't one. hit me. >> in our lineup tonight -- america as cops, hillary's chops, and washington, d.c.'s comedy flops. but first, a chess game dashers -- here is what happened in congress today. nancy pelosi held a press conference, and then john boehner held a press conference and an houseboat on the president's executive order, but none of it means anything. it's got about as much substance as a trauma -- it's all kabuki. boehner has to figure out if he needs democrats to offset his conservative members who will vote no on his plan which is why pelosi thinks she can make a deal. >> i extended the hand of friendship once again to the speaker to say we stand ready to cooperate. there are some of those writers we cannot live with. there is no conversation. if he doesn't or to have leverage over those riders. >> a lot of sound and fury on capitol hill -- is it signifying anything or is it signifying nothing? >> there is

. >> i'm john heilemann. and with all the respect, i would not have voted for last season's winner either. >> in our washington lineup tonight -- jeb bush's running question and sony executive's lack of discretion. but first something in a congressional package -- what makes this trillion dollar spending bill different from all other trillion dollar spending bills? the answer is most interesting conflict is not between democrats and republicans, it's between democrats and the white house. president obama and vice president biden have been calling everyone to vote for the so-called cromnibus. >> if we don't finish today, we will be here until christmas. we know how this works. let me tell you something else. there's not one of you in this room that doesn't understand this is exactly the way i don't want to do business. i want to 12 appropriations bills will stop i want to do them one at a time and i want to do them before october 1, but when the senate does nothing they put us in this box and here we are. >> i

. >> i'm john heilemann.nd with all the respect, i would not have voted for last season's winner either. >> in our washington lineup tonight -- jeb bush's running question and sony executive's lack of discretion. but first something in a congressional package -- what makes this trillion dollar spending bill different from all other trillion dollar spending

john heilemann is so excited.heir first ever trip to the big apple. that's why nbc's kate snow joins us live. they left prince george behind, the little one. >> they did, mika. he's 1 year old. maybe they wanted a little break, a baby moon before they have their second child. she's expecting right now. five months pregnant. we've seen prince william leave here this morning on his way to washington, d.c. today where he'll be at the white house and give a speech. a really critically worded speech about endangered wildlife and illegal poaching and kate will head up to harlem and reunite for a mets game in brooklyn. new yorkers just hoping to catch a glimpse. it was their first time setting foot in manhattan and cheering fans got the best view of the royal couple amid christmas lights sunday night. the royal baby bump showing under kate's maternity coat and later stepping out for a private dinner, the duchess dazzled in a black lace dress. they flew in on a commercial flight leaving baby george behind in london. >> th

. >> i'm john heilemann. o john harbaugh, everyday we work is just like being back in college. >> it is our year in review part one. we will be running through our list. today is our six to his political stories of the year. obama and the good economy. the establishment party the po-po, and the world of flame.

. >> i'm john heilemann. with all respect to dr.en , you are the real poppa bear, rest in peace. utentag, sports fans! the three white guys are jeb, chris, and brad. first, remember when the republicans said they would sweep in a new era of bipartisanship? that happened, thanks to north korea. sony shutdown "the interview"

. >> i'm john heilemann. cold open ain't one. hit me. in our lineup tonight -- america as cops, hillary's chops, and washington, d.c.'s comedy flops. but first, a chess game dashers -- here is what happened in congress today. nancy pelosi held a press conference, and then john boehner held a press conference and an houseboat on the president's executive order, but none of it means anything. it's got about as much substance as a trauma -- it's all kabuki. boehner has to figure out if he

. ♪ >> i'm john heilemann. >> and i am mark halperin.e all about the stirred and not the shaken. ♪ on this show tonight, the right puts its foot down and the president assures ceos they won't foot the bill and obama and mcconnell play some footsie. but we get with breaking news. just like in ferguson, missouri, there will be no indictment for a sheriff who killed a black man in new york city. he was put in a chokehold and was captured on a cell phone camera. the video is seen around the world. moments ago, president obama spoke about the implications of another grand jury decision not

. >> i am john heilemann. >> i am mark halperin.h all due respect to fidel castro, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. ♪ on the show tonight, jeb bush gets painted red. hillary clinton sings the blues. sony gets blacked out. did somebody say christmas in havana? president obama is calling today's agreement a breakthrough in an outdated approach. alan gross says it is good to be home. republicans, most of them are not so happy, especially senator marco rubio. >> this

. >> i'm john heilemann. >> with all due respect to bill simmons, we don't know how to censor ourselves. rob portman is out of the game. jed bush scores again. and ashton carter on top of his game. first, the republicans combine their forces and unleashed a resoundingly forceful -- strongly worded letter. the truth is, there is nothing they can do. >> this is a serious breach of our constitution.

. ♪ >> i'm john heilemann. >> and, i'm mark haleperin.ith all due respect, a departing white house -- sam katz. [laughter] ♪ on the show tonight, the president cannot cross a bridge. chris christie tries to shake a bridge and the colonies are welcoming the duke and duchess of cambridge. dianne feinstein, the head of the senate intel committee, has long wanted the report critical of cia torture a.k.a. enhanced interrogation tactics and of cia conduct to be released.

for moore, john heilemann is .ere, bloomberg managing editor we also have scott sosnick from cover sportsestions, what people thought about football's future and whether they thought it would be more popular, less popular, or as popular. the majority of people think it will be just as popular or more popular. i kind of lumped those two together. aey see football as having bright future for it is the dominant sport in terms of revenue. was, if youuestion have a son, whether you would want them to play competitive football. to my mind, this is a conversation of people like us. i certainly hear more people say in the wake of the concussion stuff -- not the ray rice stuff or anything else, but the wake of the concussion stuff they say, i would rather have my kid pay -- play soccer or lacrosse, or something where they were less likely to be knocked out. it raises the question of whether a lot of parents are certain to feel this way and what the future of the sport is long-term. >> it seems to me there are no other sports that have suffered the kind of brutal pr that football has recently. ever