we begin tonight with nbc's kelly o'donnell who took part in the questioning today. she is live in ft. lee, new jersey, tonight. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. chris christie fired a top aide, a chief of staff and cut ties with campaign manager, saying they had betrayed him. he said he gathered all of his senior staff around and had been wrongly told nobody was involved. so he apologized for his words, denials he made, even jokes he made about the traffic jam story. his trademark in your face style, tempered today by scandal inside his own circle. >> what they did hurt the people of new jersey and hurt the people of ft. lee, and the person who needs to apologize for that is me. >> reporter: appearing contrite, sometimes mournful. and in his words, embarrassed. >> i am humiliated by the fact that i did not know this and that i was deceived. and that's an awful way to feel. >> reporter: facing more than 20 cameras, dozens of questions in a marathon news conference with his national political future on the line, governor chris christie insisted he

you don't have to threaten their life. >> kelly o'donnell joins us now.howing that exclusive interview that you got with representative grimm. tell us more about his reaction to what had happened last night and your questions. >> well, good morning, richard. we were waiting outside because we knew the congressman had cast a vote, and at first my sense is he was not anxious to speak on camera. he said that he had put out a statement and at the same time, i think given last night's events, he was willing to endure some questions from us, and we put several to him. he said he made a mistake, he called the reporter from new york 1, apologized and claims that apology was accepted. i asked him when he said it was passion, it was the long day, all human things, but why did these erupt in a way that they did? it was a physical threat. it was a threat made to a reporter on camera, and he said there's just no excuse. i asked him if he spoke to speaker boehner about that, he did not respond to that question. we asked him about some of these ethics allegations that h

>> kelly o'donnell in trenton covering it all. kelly, thanks. >>> and now to the west virginia chemical spill that fouled the water for hundreds of thousands of people and led to precautions down river to the city of cincinnati, among other places. now we're learning of a special risk group in all of this. our chief environmental affairs correspondent anne thompson is just back from covering the story there for days. anne, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. i wish i had better news. but the cdc is advising pregnant women not to drink the water in charleston because they say they simply don't have enough information on the chemical that polluted the water supply, mchm. this comes hours after the word that the water was declared safe to drink. so you can imagine the people are very upset. the cdc says there are no studies on mchm that affects reproductive health or cancer. in fact, in calculating the one part per million safe levels, the cdc says it only would consider two studies done, looking at what happens when anima

nbc's kelly o'donnell is in trenton, new jersey, with more for us. kelly? >> reporter: good evening, lester. these documents paint a more vivid picture inside the agencies and the frustration that happened after the closures, moves that may have been done to harm christie's political adversaries, and tonight there is information that goes a step closer to the governor. scrambling to keep the lid on is how one new jersey newspaper today described the e-mail trail, where kristy-appointed officials had tried to blunt news coverage of that four-day bumper to bumper traffic jam. during christie's re-election campaign. two words, importance high, found on one e-mail in a trove of documents add a previously unknown link to governor christie's inner circle, his next chief of staff, regina egea. >> regina has done an extraordinary job. >> reporter: that same day, christie said this about his team. >> in this job, you're only as good as people around you. >> reporter: christie maintains he knew nothing about the mess. >> i knew nothing about this until it started to

speaker john boehner says it was appropriate. >> kelly o'donnell, thank you. >>> and still ahead for us this evening, new concern for americans unable to disconnect after work is over. what doctors say it is really doing to your body. >>> and later, two brothers show bob costas what the olympic spirit we talk about is really all about. >>> if you're old enough, you remember a day when after work, you go home from work and maybe once every six months, you would get an after-hours call from work. but for the most part, you didn't think about work until it was time to go back to work the next day. well, not anymore. now, work is in your hand, on the screen, staring you in the face and work expects an answer at night at 11 p.m., when, of course, you're expected to be plugged in and available. if you think this kind of thing can't be good for your health, you would be right. our report from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: they call it the great american speedoff. so many of us today seem to be in overdrive. anne baldwin owns a crisis communications pr firm, every day, it seems, is a cris

nbc's kelly o'donnell is in trenton for us again tonight. >> reporter: today in union beach, new jersey's lieutenant governor, kim guadagno, joined volunteers at a hurricane sandy rebuilding event. and she hammered at a new political crisis. >> the suggestion that anyone would hold back sandy relief funds for any reason is wholly and completely false. >> reporter: that allegation comes from hoboken mayor, democrat dawn zimmer, who this weekend went on television and met with the u.s. attorney's office. zimmer claims that last may, the lieutenant governor and another top official, richard constable, seen with the governor just last week, both told her relief funds would be held up unless zimmer backed a major commercial development. >> she said, i know it's not right. i know these things should not be connected, but they are. and if you tell anyone, i'll deny it. >> reporter: today, guadagno acknowledged a conversation, but -- >> i am very surprised by the mayor's allegations. and i deny wholeheartedly those allegations. >> reporter: constable called zimmer's allegations patently false and

kelly o'donnell reports. >> reporter: his trademark in your face style tempered by scandal inside his own inner circle. >> what they did hurt the people of new jersey and hurt the people of ft. lee and the person that needs to apologize for that is me. >> appearing contrite and mournful and embarrassed. >> i am you mihumiliated that it know about this and i was deceived. >> reporter: he says he never knew about a political vendetta. he worried about a series of damaging e-mails that he called stupid and callous. he now fired the chief of staff. she wrote time for some traffic problems in fort lee. the man that responded, got it, appeared at a state assembly hearing. >> i alert my right to remain silent under the united states and new jersey constitutions. >> he already re-signed and refused to answer questions. >> same answer. >> same answer, sir. >> reporter: the e-mail suggests there was a deliberate political motivation behind four days of snarled traffic last september at the george washington bridge aimed at the democratic mayor of fort lee. >> critics say this is that you're a p

kelly o'donnell has that report. >> reporter: new jersey's lieutenant governor joined volunteers at an event and hammered at a new political crisis. >> the suggestion that anyone would hold back sandy relief funds for any reason is wholly and completely false. >> reporter: that allegation comes from hoboken major dawn zimmer who went on television and met with the u.s. attorneys office. zimmer claims that last may the lieutenant governor and another top official, richard constable seen with the governor last week, both told her relief funds would be held up unless zimmer backed a major commercial development. >> he said i know it's not right and they shouldn't be connected but if you tell anybody i'll deny it. >> i'm very surprised by the mayor's allegations and i deny wholeheartedly those allegations. >> reporter: constable called the allegations patently false and absurd. the lieutenant governor wouldn't take questions. >> why would she make these allegations? >> reporter: zimmer says she is disappointed in guadagno's response but stands by her word. today on a conference call a chri

kelly o'donnell has our report. >> reporter: new jersey's lieutenant governor joined volunteers at aurricane sandy rebuilding event. and she hammered at a new political crisis. >> the suggestion that anyone would hold back sandy relief funds for any reason is wholly and completely false. >> reporter: that allegation comes from democrat dawn zimmer who this weekend went on television and met with the u.s. attorneys office. zirm claims last may the lieutenant governor and another top official seen with the governor just last week both told her relief funds would be held up unless zimmer backed a major commercial develop. . >> she said, i know it's not right. i know this should not be connected but they are. if you tell anyone, i'll deny it. >> she acknowledged a conversation but -- >> i'm very surprised by the mayor's allegations and i deny wholeheartedly those allegations. >> reporter: constable said they are false and absurd. the lieutenant governor would not take questions citing pending investigations. why would she make the allegations? zimmer says she is genuinely disappointed in

>> kelly o'donnell at the state capitol in trenton tonight, thanks. >>> tonight officials in omaha say there have been at least two fatalities in a massive explosion at an animal feed processing plant. at least 17 people were injured. some in critical condition tonight. and after hours of searching for survivors, first responders have now moved into what they call a recovery effort. the cause of the blast has not yet been determined. >>> just hours from now, another big winter storm is going to hit across a big part of the country, bringing bone-chilling temperatures from the upper midwest right on up through new england, and because this follows that bitter cold from the so-called polar vortex a while back earlier this month, some states are worried about propane supplies for heating homes. that story tonight from nbc's john yang. >> reporter: for jeff dahl in stacy, minnesota, north of minneapolis, it's already been a rough winter. he has closed off rooms in his house to cut his gas use. >> we have a propane fireplace that we have just turned off. >> reporter: but it's still expensiv

he talked about the growing bridge scandal, issuing another public apology, and nbc's kelly o'donnellas there. >> reporter: on his way to the assembly chamber, governor chris christie prepared himself for another public display of regret. [ applause ] while tradition welcomes the governor with applause, controversy is where christie began. >> mistakes were clearly made. we let down the people we're entrusted to serve. i know our citizens deserve better, much better. >> reporter: the unfolding scandal has brought ridicule and withering criticism. christie faced the state lawmakers who have launched investigations. >> without a doubt, we will cooperate with all appropriate inquiries to insure that this breach of trust does not happen again. let me tell you, everybody, i was blindsided yesterday morning. >> reporter: governor christie denied any prior knowledge of an intentional plan to snarl bridge traffic last september, but how close to christie were the people who did know? an examination of hundreds of pages of documents shows at least six people in governor christie's inner circle

>> kelly o'donnell in trenton again tonight, covering the state of the state of new jersey. kelly, thanks. >>> in washington today a vote to extend long term unemployment benefits went down in the senate as the chamber descended into partisan argument. instead the vote was 55-45. it needed 60 votes to advance. negotiations to find a compromise will go on, but that's little comfort to more than a million people who were cut off from benefits right at the beginning of the year. >>> tonight a federal judge in philadelphia has put on hold that $760 million settlement between the nfl and retired players to settle claims involving concussions and brain injuries. while it sounds like a lot of money, and it is, the judge says three quarters of a billion dollars might not be enough now to cover some 20,000 football players. the judge says she wants more financial details before signing off on the settlement. >>> new yorkers often get around by subway or cab, and judging by most tv shows, everyone in l.a. drives a prius. but in the area outside of those two places, the part better kno

kelly o'donnell rkt my colleague, who is running around new jersey looking for the lieutenant governor, reports that chris christie's lieutenant governor, kim guadagno, will address the controversy this hour. the lieutenant governor will be holding a martin luther king event this morning, and she will address the allegations at the top of her remarks, according to kelly o'donnell. >>> up neck, independence day. taking a deep dive into why this could be the best time in decades to be a third-party candidate if you want to run for congress. we're going to talk to a south dakota senator who got out of game years ago and is now trying to make a comeback. a first ahead at the politics planner. we'll hear from the president today. he'll be doing a national service project, as he's done previous mlk days. vice president biden will speak with al sharpton. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™. [ bottle ] en

great reporting, chris, thank you for weighing in and kelly o'donnell, of course.e in washington. the national zoo's baby panda ready for her close-up. this is baobao, born on august 23rd, making her official public debu on january 18th. >>> the supreme court effectively gutted the 1965 voting rights acts in june last year when the court struck down a key provision opening the door for states and localities too undo a half century of voting rights gains. >> in the 11 states all confederacy and even in some of the states outside of the south there have been a systemic deliberate attempt to take us back to another period. we must not forget our past and must not forget our history. if we forget it, we will repeat it. the vote is precious, it is sacred. >> cherilyn i fell joins me to talk about the voting rights restrictions in local contests. it's great to have you. >> thank you. >> we heard about texas and north carolina and some of the state restrictions but as you and i have been discussing off camera, there is a local impact of some of these voting rights cases a

called the reporter to apologize and offered to meet him for lunch and took a softer tone with kelly o'donnell. >> i'm a human being and sometimes your emotions get the better of you. but it shouldn't happen. it shouldn't lose your cool. when you're wrong, you have to admit it and it shouldn't happen. >> the watchdog group citizens for responsibility and ethics is calling for a federal investigation into the incident. no word yet on that lunch date. we'll keep you posted. now to bill karins on the latest with the deep freeze in the south. >> the south needs to be the south. they need to warm up and get back to normal. it's the transition day today. we still have above freezing in many of the areas that saw the snow and ice 36 hours ago. the rain and snow sending. a little bit of rain left in florida but there's no more of any of that on the weather map. so that's good. as far as what we're going to deal with during the morning hours, atlanta still at 17. still ice and snow on the roads. we also had a lot of problems in birmingham. there are a lot of bad roads and people stranded in the birming

joining me now for our daily x fix, kelly o'donnell and the host of "up every weekend morning." steve, let me start with you first of all. you have followed new jersey politics, followed chris christie up close and personal. what is the there there behind bridgegate. is this potentially character-revealing about chris christie? a potential national candidate. >> well, what's already come out of it raises enough questions. but i think the question of the moment right now is what's next. i should just point out quickly that the christie ally, he was my employer, i worked for him many years ago. i just want to make sure i get that out there. that man is scheduled right now to testify before a state assembly committee. he's been subpoenaed to testify tomorrow. so there's a lot of questions about what exactly he's going to say there. these are all e-mails, texts, correspondences that he had that were subpoenaed. that's what's being released. that's what's all out there today. so the question first of all is what's going to happen when he appears before that committee. the second ques

. >> joining me right now, nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell. it made it through the senate surprisingly does the future look good though? >> reporter: it's an incremental step and hill is freezing over if that they got more than expected in terms of republican turnout as you outlined. six republicans. that is a genuine surprise to some of the democrats who have been pushing this forward. what happens now is a complicated process where senators will discuss possibilities of could this be paid for with cuts elsewhere to provide this extension of unemployment benefits? even if it gets through the senate, there's a big question mark about how many days that will take and what steps will be required so we'll be talking about this for the next few days, richard. over on the house side where republicans are in charge, the mood is not very open to this. now, today house speaker john boehner released a statement saying that one month ago he personally told the white house that another extension of temporary emergency unemployment benefits should not onl

. >> nbc kelly o'donnell with that report for us. >>> a federal judge that struck down the voter approved ban on same sex marriages. the judge enforced this ruling immediately because appeals are making their way through the court. >>> abortion buffett zones. the challengers say 45 foot areas criminalize people peacefully pro testing. tracey is in washington for us. as the justices look at this shurks what a do we thit they'll be saying? >> they have increasingly come out in favor of the first amendment in recent years. last time they dealt with this issue specifically, 13 years ago, four of the six justices who upheld that colorado law are gone now. it's anybody's guess how they may approach this at this point. this is a law out massachusetts that sets up a 35 foot buffer zone around the planned parenthood. there's been controversy of protestors against abortion, patients and workers going in, two even killed in 1994. the protestors say they don't have free speech if the law only targets them because of what they're saying. on the other hand, those who support what's going on inside clin

hit is a lot less bad politically than the you knew about this and you didn't say anything. >> kelly o'donnell is in trenton and had a front row seat. kelly, i want to play the answer to you -- to your question. there you are on camera. i thought you were already on your way to fort lee. tell me about your response after his response. let's play it. >> i feel passionately about issues and i don't hide my emotions from people. i am not a focus group tested blow dried candidate or governor. now, that has always made some people as you know uneasy. i am who i am but i'm not a bully. in this instance, the language ugsed and conduct displayed in those e-mails unacceptable to me. i will not tolerate it. the best i can do, when i see stuff like that to end it. that won't satisfy everybody but i'm not in the business of satisfying everybody. >> kelly o., i'm not a bully will go down-- politics ain't bean bag, tell me about being in the room and how it all felt? >> reporter: it was an intense nearly two hours. there were about 20 cameras in the room, an extraordinary number and there was a real sense o

. >> joining us now from trenton, new jersey, nbc's kelly o'donnell. i'm here at 30 rock, mark, a columnist for the "new jersey star ledger." kelly, can you give us what we know so far about the investigation into the use of sandy recovery aid. we were sharing a bit of response coming from the christie administration. >> well, richard, this is an example of something that was already raised as a question, as a concern. now it is kind of blowing up a bit, getting more attention because of the circumstances we're in right now with the governor getting all of this extra attention. so, by that i mean, i spoke to frank pallone's chief of staff today and he said that the congressman who represents the area at the shore has been raising the issue about how the money was spent since august, and he had pressed the hud investigators to take a look. was the money used properly, was there a less expensive alternative that did not feature the christie family in those tv ads? so this is sort of a step forward where they are doing an audit, they say, that is a fairly

joining us right now from trenton, new jersey, nbc's kelly o'donnell has been following the story for us. welcome to both of you. kelly, you're going to kick us off here. how much does christie's state of the state speech, i understand you've had glimpses of excerpts of it. how much of it is going to focus on the bridge scandal we have heard? >> well, aides have not addressed that directly, but what we can expect is because the state of the state address is its sort of own entity, annual event that is intended to talk to the state, to the lawmakers about the critical issues, so expect most of it to be about substance and policy. the governor is going to talk about education reforms he'd like to make, including extending the day and the school year for new jersey students, talking about property taxes, talking about issues that he will hope become the headlines and sort of redirect some of the conversation. the political reality is all of his remarks today will be seen in the context of this storm that he is in over what his aides did, what he may or may not have known, how his adminis

kelly o'donnell explains the breakdown of the new allegation, another that team christie vehemently denied. >> only brief glimpsed of governor christie coming and going from florida republican fund-raisers this weekend, but a once supportive ally, the democratic mayor of hoboken, made a series of tv appearances and allegations against christie's administration. >> it's not fair for the governor to hold sandy funds hostage for the city of hoboken because he wants me to give back to one private developer. >> dawn zimmer released a statement sunday night saying she met for several hours at their request with the new jersey u.s. attorney's office. and promised to provide any requested information and testify under oath. zimmer claims that last may, new jersey's lieutenant governor told her that hurricane relief money would be delayed unless the mayor supported a particular developer's project. >> she pulled me aside in the parking lot and she said, i know it's not right. i know this thing should not be connected, but they r and if you tell anyone, i'll deny it. >> christie's office forcefully

. >> nbc's kelly o'donnell joins us live from trenton, new jersey.or christie doing his best to get this scandal in the rear-view mirror. but we've got more records surfacing that christie's top pr team was aware of the lane closures. what's the latest there in trenton? >> reporter: well, what we're talking about, craig, is that same sort of document dump of e-mails, a couple thousand pages. people have been pouring through it to look for clues that might suggest how wide was this scandal, who might have known. some of those disclosures include now some of the top communication strategy folks who work for the governor and are still on the job, or have communications about the fact that there was a lane closure problem. what these new e-mails do not indicate is anything specifically related to the underlying allegation that the e-mail trail showed us earlier where there was apparently an actual plan to intentionally shut down the lanes for political purposes. what these e-mails do is say that there was awareness in the governor's office, that the lane

>> kelly o'donnell, thank you. appreciate it. joining me right now, national political reporter for the atlantic and msnbc contributor. let's start about this. the support for this bipartisan extension of unemployment benefits. molly, it looks bleak in the senate with republicans saying they won't vote for it if it doesn't include spending cuts. even if the proposal passed the senate, house republican leaders have expressed no interest in extending the program. it lacks a pay for. i asked democratic congressman peter welsh about this earlier today. this is what he had to say in response to this. take a listen. >> only one in four unemployed americans receives unemployment insurance benefits. it's essential to them they be extended. it's also important to the economy. >> are we looking at the possibility of getting nothing done on unemployment benefits even for the short-term let alone thinking about this at the long-term of 2014? >> i think it's too soon to say where this is headed. as kelly just said, even if this does pass the

kelly o'donnell has been tracking it christie'su moves palm beaching >> good morning, david. christie's halfway through a busy schedule of events here in florida and meeting with that important group within the republican party, the donors. i'm told some donors did not want him to come. other insiders say he was received very well by hundreds in attendance and he's here to help florida governor rick scott, his friend and his party. despite troubles at home, christie takes hold of his national place in politics this weekend. mixing with big donors at private fund-raisers for florida governor rick scott. but no plans for christie and scott to appear together publicly. christie has kept his fund-raising schedule including a thursday night event for a new jersey senate candidate. >> the florida events were scheduled a long time ago and to duck out of them now would only invite controversy and criticism. he's doing the right thing by going down and doing these. >> reporter: but it's tricky trying to balance business with on going damage control over the scandal. >> if i were him i

i will break you like a boy. >> nbc capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joins me live.ngressman grimm's background, former fbi agent, first elected into congress in 2010. for people not familiar with his background, and kelly, so interesting, early on, i thought people were being a tad bit flip about it. and i said, listen, if this was a female reporter he'd done that to, we would not be kind of grinning this off. this was a threat whether he was going to carry it out or not. >> we are so accustomed to interacting with lawmakers, tamron, day in and day out. and often there are times like these when you're asking about things they don't want to respond to or difficult circumstances. and it's just part of the natural process here. and if that exchange ended when the reporter said back to you, that would have been business as usual. a lawmaker does not have to respond when they're challenged by a question. what was so startling is for someone from the largest media market, new york, his district is staten island, new york, he's a regular on all kinds of different radio and

joining me now, weap"washington post" editorial columnist and kelly o'donnell, your reporting from the governor's aides that he will mention it at the top. how is he going to frame it? >> reporter: exactly, right off the top. the idea according to those around christie working on this speech is that he will try to say to the lawmakers who will be his primary audience in the chamber that together they have worked on issues in a political environment. there have been other controversies and disagreements in the past. and this is a situation they've got to get through together and focus on the job at hand. look for ways where they can find mutual agreement on topics important to the state. so it will be addressed but think of it in terms of a rfrns point, not something where christie will restate his comments from last week about not knowing the particulars. i'm told he's not going to address the issue of his own credibility, for example. but he will sort of set the atmosphere that is political and say there's a job to get done. that works in a speech like this because a state of the stat

kelly o'donnell joins me with more on this.ching some people by surprise with this announcement. >> certainly, the reasons liz cheney put forward are a surprise, and it was not unusual to suspect there might be some movement in her campaign in the terms of the fact she's been blind, but this, a nonpolitical reason is a surprise, and sources close to the family say it is involving her children, a health concern. this is not involving her father, the former vice president, who we have reported on his many health issues and heart transplant surgery over the years. not related to him, but about their family. so it comes at a time when her campaign was not doing well based on things like the polling and how she's been received in wyoming. it's many generations that her family has been rooted there, but liz cheney herself had spent most of her adult life in the d.c. area and moved her family to wyoming in 2012 to set up this bid, but there were many there in wyoming who were not feeling comfortable that she was really wyoming rooted

joining me now for our daily fix is chris cillizza and live in trenton, new jersey, nbc's kelly o'donne o'donnell. kelly, today we learned there's going to be a special investigative committee solely focused on the bridge with subpoena power. you sat down with the assemlyman who will lead it, john wisniewski, how significant is this announcement and what can we expect? >> i just came from the announcement that they made and raced over here to be able to tell you first, peter, what they've said is they created this super committee which means it is pulling together both members of both parties and they will have this special power but also hire outside counsel to pursue this investigation. as you know, legislative bodies have committees that have certain areas of jurisdiction and basically say these issues have become so significant and you are potentially so far reaching they need to create a separate way to pursue this. they also told us that because of the calendar of how they do business here, things will slow down a little bit. on thursday, the new assembly begins a new session and with that,

let's bring in kelly o'donnell now traveling with the governor. >> reporter: good evening, lester. there's a string of fund-raisers. they're all private across florida. they were set before the bridge scandal erupted. and he's keeping that schedule in that new national role. we spotted governor christie arriving here at this gated community, home of a florida lobbyist. and i'm told that some gop donors did not want governor christie to come to florida now. others insiders say he was very well received at a country club in orlando. he is here to give money to republican governor rick scott from the rga, $2.5 million, however, scott and christie are not being seen in public together. lester? >> all right. thank you very much, kelly. >>> now to that devastating attack in afghanistan. the deadliest attack on foreign civilians since the afghan war began. officials say three americans are among 21 people killed when a suicide bomber and gunman struck at a restaurant just as people were sitting down to dinner. the white house is condemning the attack, which happened in the heart of kabul.

and took a softer tone with kelly o'donnell. >> i'm a human being and sometimes your emotions get the better of you. the bottom line is it shouldn't happen. you shouldn't lose your cool. that's why i apologized. when you're wrong, you have to admit it and it shouldn't happen. >> the watchdog group citizens for responsibility and ethics is calling for a federal investigation into the incident. no word yet on that lunch date. we'll keep you posted. >>> now the late northwest sports from richard lui. hey there. >> good thursday to you. the two best players in the nba facing off last night. what a game this was. lebron james two championship rings, durant with two straight 30 plus games. miami leading by five. durant gets two. in the third, the thunder take the lead. james, monster hustling. adding to his 34 points. the thunder get their 9th straight win, 112-95. >>> arizona needs no confidence, though. until maybe last night. stanford almost beating the number one team. 50 seconds left. game tied. arizona gets the three-point every for the lead. and later the win. 60-57. the super bowl c

and then apologized when questioned by kelly o'donnell from nbc news today. >> i'm a human being and sometimes your emotions get the better of you. the bottom line is it shouldn't happen. you shouldn't lose your cool. that's why i apologized. >> the reporter says he accepts grimm's apology and will not pursue legal action. grimm is a former marine and fbi agent. >> next and new at 11:00, a somber tribute for a maryland man killed three years ago today. what family and friends are doing to keep his case from going cold. >> metro want to raise fares. we'll tell you by how much. >> news4 was first to tell you about a major project taking shape in downtown. shapnbc universal's coverage of the 2012 london games was the most watched television event ever. so, what's next? the upcoming winter games from sochi. where every second of nbc universal's coverage will be available on every device. on tv, online or streaming on the nbc sports live extra app. beginning february 6th, experience the winter games everywhere. welcome to what's next. comcast nbcuniversal i love you. uh, i mean, thank you

>> kelly o'donnell on tough duty this morning in sunny florida. appreciate it. we're going to have more on the story coming up on "meet the press," the bridge scandal versus fallout over benghazi. roundtable will weigh in on how both republicans and democrats may try to use the scandals to their advantage as we get closer to 2016. plus, did edward snowden get any help? i'll ask two key leaders in congress, the chairs of the senate and house intelligence committee. and he was secretary of defense and head of the cia. so what does robert gates think about the president's proposed spying reforms? you'll hear his very first response to the president's speech when he joins me later on "meet the press." all coming can up after this break. ." all coming can up after this break. ♪ [ male announcer ] if we could see energy... what would we see? ♪ the billions of gallons of fuel that get us to work. ♪ we'd see all the electricity flowing through the devices that connect us and teach us. ♪ we'd see that almost 100% of medical plastics are made from oil and natural gas. ♪ a

and he took a softer tone with our kelly o'donnell. >> i'm a human being. and sometimes your emotions get the better of you. and the bottom line, though, it shouldn't happen, you shouldn't lose your cool and that's why i apologize. when you're wrong, you're wrong, you have to admit it and it shouldn't happen. >> citizens for responsibility and ethics is calling for a federal investigation into this incident. no word yet on that lunch date. >>> nbc's bill karins is here. that's what we're remembering about the state of the union, that whole interaction there. >> yeah. and first thing he did, that statement, put up the statement he wasn't going to apologize and after it went national and on the "today" show, yeah, then he apologized. >> you got that all on video. hey, good news in the west. >> people are very alarmed. there is this wet substance that is clear and outside. >> what do you call that? >> i think you call that rain. >> water? >> the water. this is a beautiful weather map. the white is the clouds. the green is the rain. it shows that the weather pa

>> okay, kelly o'donnell, thank you for that from palm beach.at's at stake. we're going to talk with bill richardson next. on your busiest, you see the gray. try root touch up by nice 'n easy. just brush our permanent color matching creme right where you need it. then rinse. in 10 minutes, zap those grays and get on with your day. nice 'n easy root touch up. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltz

. >> nbc's kelly o'donnell caught up with the congressman today and he told her there was no excuse for her behavior. >> it never should have happened. i called michael scotto and he accepted my apology and we will go to lunch. i'm a human being and sometimes your emotions get the better of you and it shouldn't have happened and you shouldn't lose your cool and when you're wrong you admit it and it shouldn't have happened. >> when asked about the federal investigation grimm said he hadn't talked to the investigators and doesn't know where it stands. >>> a man collapsed and died outside a d.c. fire station. the mayor is taking action today. >>> seven unsolved murders right here in this county. now, a new effort under way to crack these cases. i'm david culver. i will tell you how they intend to do that. >>> talking a cold night as skies continue to clear and temperatures go way down. and i'll let you know about the next couple of chances for next couple of chances for for seeing your business' cash flow work even harder. for seeing receivables coming in and payables going out... so that

kelly o'donnell is in ft. lauderdale this morning. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. a brief getaway for new jersey governor chris christie from the chilly, winter weather in new jersey as well as the political environment there. he will have five events across two days here in florida. these are private fund-raisers, so we won't get to see the donors he's mixing and mingling with, but you're right, they're the very people who could be very important if chris christie decides to run for president in 2016. he has this new job, and that's part of why he's on this mission this weekend, as chairman of the republican governors association, where he will be trying to raise attention and campaign cash for governors across the country. so, he's here to help republican governor rick scott. but back home, there has been that widening investigation, and the impact of that comes with him. there are 20 subpoenas that go after the governor's office, some of his current as well as former staffers, his campaign and the port author

kelly o'donnell is in trenton, new jersey, this morning with what this all may mean for chris christied morning. good to see you, lester. as state lawmakers here investigate, as journalists continue to pore through documents and the public makes its own judgments about what happened, governor christie is preparing for a second term and what is supposed to be a celebration for his upcoming inaugural. and all of this is overshadowing his political standing and his political future is uncertain. the governor's image problem in bold face across trenton's front page. and on the upcoming cover of "the new yorker" magazine. >> christie created this atmosphere where people, i guess, feel okay or think, hey, this is how we do things in the christie administration. you don't mess with us. >> reporter: christie has no public appearances scheduled this weekend and made none friday. >> i have absolutely nothing to hide. >> reporter: letting reaction to his thursday marathon news conference and his repeated apologies play out. >> this is a bad time for governor christie, but he's going to have an op

nbc's kelly o'donnell is at the state capitol where critics and supporters are wondering if christie'sning, kate. it begins, of course, with the personal apology to the ft. lee mayor. and he started off with a two-hour news conference, the longest i've ever covered from a government official where christie talked about feeling heartbroken and betrayed that once trusted aides are linked to this scandal. he talked about the e-mails and made apologies. >> the language used and the conduct displayed in those e-mails is unacceptable to me. and i will not tolerate it. but the best i can do is when i see stuff like that to end it. what they did hurt the people of new jersey and hurt the people of ft. lee. and the person who needs to apologize for that is me. and i have. >> reporter: governor christie now faces potentially more headaches with upon 1,000 pages of documents being released today at the state capitol with a state assembly committee investigating this. there's also been a class action suit filed naming christie and other government officials because of the traffic snarls last septe

and another member of our team, kelly o'donnell, we always say this, may have the best seat of all. she is inside the house chamber there far on the right, using her customized nbc news opera glasses. kelly, this may be the year that the gallery has changed over to these kind of celebrity invited guests not unlike the white house correspondents dinner. >> it had a little of that feeling, brian, because one of the reality tv stars of "duck dynasty," willie robertson is here with his star spangled bandanna, and there has been a parade of members, republican members of the house who have come from the floor up to the second level to shake hands with him. guests at a night like this often represent big themes. so we also can tell you there are people who are teachers, the unemployed, there are war veterans who are here there is an array of people who represent some of the themes of this night, but there was a definite, especially before the event started to unfold, a real celebrity feeling in the room because i haven't seen that in covering a lot of these where members were taking photos

nbc's kelly o'donnell is joining us from palm beach, florida. kel kelly? >> reporter: good afternoon. governor christie is flying back to new jersey after a very big weekend in florida. today events to raise cash for the republican party and bring in new do lors, as well. one event hosted by co-founder of home depot ken langone. part of the mission of christie here in florida to support the republican governor of this state in his re-election bid. all of this was scheduled before the trouble that has really engulfed the christie administration back in new jersey related to the bridge scandal and the traffic woes and some new allegations against senior aides in his administration. christie kept the commitments here. was mixing and mingling with donors. we're told he was well received, able to present a check to florida governor rick scott for $2.5 million from republican governors association funds. that's his new role, the head of the organization, picked by governors in november and the trip that should be on the political schedule. a question going forwa

nbc news's kelly o'donnell joins us from florida. >> reporter: good day, milissa. another political challenge for chris christie. and this one is playing out in florida. will he be as effective as a fund-raiser as his reputation suggests now that there is the scandal involving the bridge traffic investigation? christie committed to these events in florida. there are five private fund-raisers in different parts of the sunshine state this weekend. that was all set before the investigation erupted. and so he is keeping this commitment and there was some question in some people's mind, would that be wise? he says he is going to stick with this job as the head of the rga. it's a new position for him, whereas the leader of the republican governors, it's his role to go around the country and help fund-raise and bring attention to republican governors and candidates. florida governor rick scott is in a reelection bid himself. so part of the money raised will be helping him this weekend. for governor christie, it's a chance to get away from trenton for a couple of days. but

nbc's kelly o'donnell has the very latest from trenton for us. hi to you. >> reporter: state lawmakers and other officials here investigate, journalists look through the documents and the public decides what to make of this whole bridge scandal. governor chris christie is preparing for a second term and that includes a big day of inauguration events coming up in a couple weeks. and all of this happening while his political future appears uncertain. the governor's image problem in bold face across trenton's front page. and on the upcoming cover of the "new yorker" magazine. >> christie created this atmosphere where people i guess feel okay or think, hey, this is how we do things in the christie administration. you don't mess with us. >> reporter: christie has no public appearances scheduled this weekend, and made none friday. >> i have absolutely nothing to hide. >> reporter: letting reaction to his thursday marathon news conference and his repeated apologies play out. >> this is a bad time for governor christie. but he's going to have an opportuni

. >> kelly o'donnell in beautiful ft. lauderdale.ed jed columnist. >> i think he wants to look people in the eye and convince them that he was blindsided by this. he has an effect when he looks you in the eye and says i don't know what was going on. these donors are going to believe him. he came across as very believable in his press conference. i know a lot of reporters who are on the fence about this. i am. >> you and i were talking about the numbers. no change in opinion on him on a national perspective, 68%. and only 20% like him less than they did. couple of people like him more, 5%. >> it's a real jersey story and it has national ramifications obviously. he still has the star power. whatever you want to call it. >> any other shoes to drop. when you look at the list of 18 individuals, two agencies that have been issued the subpoenas, do you think there's more to come in. >> i think that it's going to be interesting to see the testimony of some of the people. i don't think -- you may have some of the people closest to him not tak

nbc's kelly o'donnell was at the lieutenant governor's event this morning. y, what can you tell us? >> good morning, chris. the lieutenant governor is addressing these new allegations that really burst on the scene over the weekend from hoboken's mayor dawn zimmer, who had claimed that last may in a conversation the two of them had that the lieutenant governor linked sandy relief funds for hoboken to a commercial development project, seeking the mayor's support for that project. this blew open this weekend, and today for the first time publicly, the lieutenant governor addressed those allegations and strongly denied them. >> any suggestion, any suggestion, that sandy funds were tied to the approval of any project in new jersey is completely false. >> and the lieutenant governor says that the conversation, the version provided by mayor zimmer is, in her words, "illogical and will not stand the test of scrutiny." she does not deny there was a conversation, but she did not go into any further detail. she further said that she has given a lot of attention to hobo

kelly o'donnell is live in trenton covering all of this for us. let's start with the documents., memos, detailed frustration and concern from local officials. nothing that goes up to the governor. what is this doing to his public image and future? >> one of the thing that is is unclear about this is what direction will this investigation go. will there be anything in the e-mails and documents being reviewed by journalists and investigator that is will fill in a picture that takes this in any new direction. as you point out, he denied having knowledge of what his associates were doing, denied authorization, distancing himself from it and trying to demonstrate he's willing to take a tough stand by cutting loose from people who have been very close and loyal to him. we are in a bit of a period now where there is a waiting to see what comes next phase. the governor spoke for almost two hours. i think that was the longest press conference of an elected official or single official i ever attended in a part that was strategic to answer any question in the room at the time to allow for