nbc's kristen welker is in port st. lucie tonight with more on that. kristen? >> reporter: lester, good evening. president obama has long said if congress can't come up with an immigration reform bill, he will submit his own proposal to the hill. but now that leaked copy of his plan is inflaming an already heated debate. while president obama vacationing in florida hit the links with tiger woods in this palm city community, the immigration debate got a fresh jolt when "usa today" reported on a leaked copy of the president's immigration proposal. according to the paper, the draft bill would create a new lawful prospective immigrant visa that would allow illegal immigrants to become legal permanent residents in eight years and the plan would boost border security funding and require employers to check immigration status of new hires. >> good evening. >> reporter: that drew sharp criticism from republican senator marco rubio, a key figure in the bipartisan group working on immigration reform. in a statement, he said, "if actually proposed, the president's bill wou

that's why, and so -- i just think it's unfair to the reporters who were there. >> ruth marcus, kristen welker, come on home, kristen. looks like you had a very cold weekend, by the way. you were bundled up all weekend. i was watching you. >> i was. >> this is not that easy a duty. thanks, kristen. >> there was a cold snap here. >> i know. and senator mccain also was firing back at the white house this weekend over immigration claiming that the white house immigration plan could derail bipartisan talks. >> the president obviously has some thoughts about immigration reform, which he has drafted and gotten his agencies to comment on. if the president proceedses legislation, do you think it will fail? >> of course. of course it will. and that's why we are working together. republicans and democrats. by the way, he has had no communications with republicans on the issue, unlike the previous four presidents that i have dealt with. i believe we are making progress on a bipart sfwlan basis. i believe we can woman up with a product. >> and joining us is usa today's alan gomez, the reporter who broke t

joining us now is our white house correspondent kristen welker. dly include trips in the west bank and jordan. this is also an opportunity for the president to confirm in person what he has repeatedly said about his support for israel and the jewish state. that's right, isn't it? >> it absolutely is right, martin. remember, president obama hasn't visited israel he's got some criticism for that. this trip will allow him to reaffirm his support of israel and to try to strengthen ties with the prime minister. the two have had a somewhat strained relationship over the last several years. this is an opportunity for the president so send a signal. this is his first foreign trip during this second term. it does send a strong message to isra israel. the question is will president obama offer any proposals to try to move the peace process forward? and vice versa. i asked jay carney that question earlier today. he wouldn't answer specifically expect to say that whenever the two meet, they talk about the peace process. but as our colleagues at first read repo

the president has since returned to the white house which is where we find kristen welker. veral proposals last night from raising the minimum wage to providing preschool education for every child in this country. do you have any sense of which of these proposals he plans to prioritize in the immediate future? >> well, i think you're going to see him give a hearty push to all these proposals. as you mentioned today he was in asheville, north carolina, talking about manufacturing. tomorrow he'll be in georgia talking about expanding early childhood education. and friday he'll be in chicago talking about gun controls, enacting stiffer gun laws. one thing that stood out from last night's state of the union address is that this president seems prepared to spend his political capital on the issue of guns. we saw that emotional crescendo where he referenced the victims of gun violence and said they deserve a vote. talking about gabby giffords, the parents of hadiya pendelton. you can expect him to hit the root with the initiatives. >> even as we speak, kristen, the president has b

washington examiner's susan, from the national review jim garrity and nbc white house correspondent kristen welker let's start with you. a little birdie told me you have a little state of the union address news. >> reporter: a little bit of news coming out of the white house this morning, chris. the white house looking at this speech as really the president's best chance to map out what he hopes to accomplish not just in the four years but what he is hoping to aim over the next year, year and a half. his best chance to get some of those larger policy initiatives passed like immigration control, stiffer gun control laws. i am being told this morning that the economy will be a key focus of the president's state of the union address. of course that is still the big issue with the unemployment rate 7.9%, and we just got that gdp report that showed the economy contracted in the fourth quarter. just to take you behind the scenes here a little bit, chris, i am told the president has a strong working draft at this point. his staff has worked hard to make sure that his schedule you was kept light, specific

and joining me to do that from the white house is nbc news correspondent, kristen welker. so, kristen, nbc's first read is talking about and describing this as flooding the zone. but john boehner really refusing to endorse the path to citizenship that's been talked about. so what's the strategy as we go down the wire here? we have just one week to go until the state of the union. >> reporter: well, thomas, the strategy is for the president to try to define and set the tone of the issues that are being discussed, before congress can do it. and as you point out, he does have a pretty strong bully pulpit right now, because he is exactly one week out before his state of the union address. and of course, the big sticking point right now between this white house and republicans is that idea of a path to citizenship. president obama thinks that it should not be linked to stronger border security, but the republican plan, eric cantor, does want to see that linked to border security. so today president obama going to use his bully pulpit. he's going to meet with labor leaders and ce

nbc's white house correspondent kristen welker has more on that. you. >> matt, good morning to you. the first lady will be hitting the road to promote her third anniversary of her let's move campaign. but her media blitz topped by that performance at the oscars has everyone talking. people are still buzzing about michelle obama's oscar finale that no one saw coming. >> and the oscar goes to -- "argo." >> even an iranian news agency covered it, but photo shopped sleeves and a higher neckline. conservative columnist jennifer ruben is critical, saying it made the white house and first lady seem small. >> there is a sense of going too far and too much and becoming so ubiquitous that no one considers you special. she's the first lady, for goodness saks not a celebrity. >> reporter: the white house didn't respond but most of her appearances have been focused on her campaign let's move. on jimmy fallon, sharing a moment with big bird. >> eating healthy is easy and it's fun and delicious, too. >> reporter: and talking hairdos with rachel ray. >> this is my

lester. >> kristen welker. thanks. here is erica. >>> turning to south africa, where former olympian oscar pistorius is spending his first full day out on bail. michelle kosinkski joins us with more. >> reporter: he went to his uncle's house after being released on bail. he can't go back to his own home, the scene of the alleged crime. he to turn in passports, guns, can't use drugs or alcohol. needs permission to leave town and has to check in with police twice a week starting monday. he may start training again monday, even though his agent canceled all upcoming races. his coach says that may be the best thing for him right now to clear his mind. isn't training the last thing on pistorius' mind after losing his girlfriend? the coach didn't comment. pistorius sobbed, his body shaking as the ruling was read. the judge said he had problems with pistorius' account about what happened that morning that reeva steenkamp was killed. why derush into the danger that he claimed was so terrifying? why didn't he ask who was in the

nbc's white house correspondent, kristen welker, joins me now. s can we give on that? because there is a lot more now on the plate to discuss with north korea now in the mix. >> reporter: absolutely. well, in terms of afghanistan, tho thomas, i can tell you that president obama plans to specifically announce that 34,000 u.s. troops will be home within the year. this is significant for a couple of reasons. this is the first time that the president will give specifics about troop levels. it also represents that about half of the troops will be brought home. currently, there are about 66,000 troops in country. now, this comes after president obama met last month with afghan president hamid karzai. you'll remember the two discussed troop levels and actually talked about speeding up the timeline for troop withdrawal. what remains unseen, though, is how many troops will be left after 2014? that is, of course, the official end of combat missions. there has been some discussion about leaving zero troops in country, but some military officials have express

for more on the response to the milestone week to the dow, let's go to kristen welker at the white house for us. good saturday morning to you. what is the take on the latest economic news, after the rocky start with the negative gdp number? >> good morning, alex. a real mixed bag this week. the white house responding as they typically do, when we get one of these jobs reports or gdp reports, saying, look, these are signs that the economy is recovering, but that there is still a lot of work left to be done. particularly on the jobs report, to take that part, alex. the white house pointing that the jobs numbers were revised last year and at the ends the e month to show higher hiring. the fact nah manufacturing, construction, had a strong showing in the jobs report, but, of course, the negative side of that, the unemployment rate did tick up to 7.9%. that is indication there is more work to be done on the economy. republicans pointing to that number and the gdp report which showed the economy basically shrunk to say that the obama economy is not working. you look at the gdp number, what is

nbc white house correspondent kristen welker has more. kristen? >> reporter: lester, good evening. the first lady is back at the white house tonight after traveling to her hometown to attend that funeral. it was an emotional afternoon that underscored just how fraught the battle over gun violence is in this country. ♪ in chicago, a day of mourning for 15-year-old hadiya pendleton. >> your angel has become the face, and the tragic reality of this epidemic of gun violence. >> reporter: first lady michelle obama was there to comfort a community still in shock, and a mother in the grips of grief. >> no mother, no father, should ever have to experience this. >> reporter: pendleton, a majorette -- >> i'm hadiya -- >> reporter: -- performed in events surrounding the president's inauguration and was shot to death just a few days later. and while there were remembrances today -- >> on that day, the last thing i saw before they put her in the ambulance was her smiling, and from heaven above, i know that each day she's smiling down on all of us. >> reporter: -- there were also demands for act

>> kristen welker, port st.ucie, thank you so much. >>> lost his job after being charged with slapping a toddler on a minneapolis to atlanta flight. accused of hitting t 2-year-old and calling him a racial slur. the boy's mother says he appeared to be intoxicated on the flight and lashed out at their baby when he started to cry. his attorney says he will plead not guilty to the federal assault charge. >>> another history-making win for danica patrick. stock car driver became the first woman to nab a top spot for any race in nascar's premiere circuit, winning the daytona 500 pole with a lap topping 196 miles per hour at the international speedway in florida. she says she was raised to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl. she proved that. >>> talk about nerves of steel. diver ocean ramsey ditched her shark cage to tag along with the real deal. a massive great white shark, hitching a ride on its dorsal fin, the pair float along peacefully. she shot the video for go pro. she's been swimming with sharks since

nbc white house correspondent kristen welker joins us live. good afternoon.riday the day the sequester kicks in, can we assume the white house has really given up on congress doing anything to avoid it? >> well, martin, good afternoon. that seems to be the case. i've been talking to officials here at the white house and on capitol hill. and there seems to be a broad agreement that at this point the sequester is all but going to happen. it's hard to see how they're going to avoid it actually kicking in. this is the fifth budget battle we've seen. what's strange about this particular fight is there seems to be a real lack of urgency to get something done by that march 1st deadline. as you point out, the meeting on friday happens hours after the sequester is set to go into effect. it's really one of the only meetings we've seen between the president and congressional leaders. both sides are really dug in. the president demanding any idea includes revenues. and republicans saying they're not going to accept that type of a deal. it's hard to see how this gets work

nbc's kristen welker is at the white house tonight with the photo and the story behind it. kristen? >> reporter: lester, good evening. the gun debate took a detour this week when president obama said he likes to shoot skeet at camp david. gun rights advocates called for proof and today the white house provided it. it's not a picture you see every day, and it's several months old, but white house press secretary jay carney felt the need to release this photo on twitter today. >> finally? they finally dug up some evidence? >> reporter: it's an image of president obama shooting skeet at camp david on his birthday back in august. all this after an interview published sunday in which the new republic asked the president, have you ever fired a gun? mr. obama responded, yes, in fact, up at camp david, we do skeet shooting all the time. and i have a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations. comedians pounced. >> you can barely hear yourself think over all the shooting of skeet. >> reporter: and some gun rights advocates accused the presi

kelly o'dom on the hill, and nbc white house correspondent kristen welker in decatur, georgia.te house saying about the hagel situation? >> well, at this hour, andrea, they are, of course, watching this with some concern, but they still believe that ultimately they will have enough votes to get hagel confirmed, as kelly pointed out. it is a numbers game. if you talk to them about the numbers, they think they have about 55 democrats and independents together. about two republicans and so they think ultimately they will be able to get over that 60 vote threshold. again, some trepidation when this all started to evolve yesterday when it became leer this was going to become a cloture vote. they are watch this quite closely, and as you point out, the president quite anxious to get his nominee confirmed. there is a lot of business on the horizon that he needs to be engaged with. andrea. >> kelly o'donnell, when we talk about those numbers, they need 60 votes, so they have the majority, but how do they get to 60? >> one of the issues is trying to package this from a republican perspec

nbc's kristen welker is at the white house. to tell us more about what's at stake. kristen? >> reporter: good evening. president obama has said he would be in contact with members of congress, but according to my sources here at the white house and on the hill there have been no top-level discussions today and there is no resolution in sight. at the governors association meeting in washington, bipartisan frustration. >> the uncertainty of sequestration is really harming our states and national economy. >> there can't be any question. this is something nobody wants. right? it's not a balanced, thoughtful compromise. >> reporter: hope for a deal is fading but the president said today there is still time. >> these cuts don't have to happen. congress can turn them off any time with just a little compromise. >> reporter: recent polls show a majority of americans support the president's plan to avert the sequester through new taxes and spending cuts. but house republicans say they just agreed to raise taxes and this deal should be solely based on slashing spending. >> house republ

. >> kristen welker is in port st. lucie. what is this plan? >> reporter: this is the plan that was leaked to the newspaper today. it would include permanent residency in eight years and more funding for border security and requiring business to check immigration status. some people looking at that proposal and saying it was actually farther to the left than some of the contours of senate plan that we believe are coming together. under the senate plan, citizenship would have to depend on the borders being secure. now the white house not confirming that usa today article, but dennis mcdonough today making the points that president obama will put his own proposal forward if congress cannot come up with a plan. as of right now, the white house wants to give congress a chance to act on immigration reform. but marco rubio within hours released a statement saying the president's plan is dead on arrival. that is evis enraging the immign debate. the white house saying it does seem as though the process is moving forward. just to put this in larger cont

nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker joining me from palm city, florida.he planning on having some private meetings and getting some work done or is this going to be an actual vacation? >> reporter: the white house says every vacation is a working vacation but i can tell you today is he playing a game of golf. we're waiting to hear who exactly his golf partners are today. some of his top aides joining him on this trip include valerie jarrett, ben nicholson, josh rhodes. butch harmon, someone who worked with tiger woods told "golf digest" he'd be playing with president obama this weekend. harmon has played with past presidents including nixon, eisenhower, george h.w. bush. so president obama really enjoying some r&r on this three-day weekend ahead of the presidents' day holiday, it comes after he spent the week, craig, crisscrossing the country touting some of the key messages in his state of the union address, so he will enjoy some down time and then head back to d.c. and take on a number of the big challenges that await him, including of course the battle

. >> joining me now, nbc news correspondent kristen welker, good saturday morning to you, kristen. that was very revealing. does the president see this as a particularly personal cause? i think he does see this as a personal problem this is part of his broader strategy. the president using more emotional appeal as he has argued for stiffer gun control laws. that's an uphill battle, not just with congressional republicans, but a number of democrats. the president showing this other side of himself as he makes this case, not only for stiffer gun control laws, but really investing in inner cities like chicago. as you pointed out, chicago is his adoptive hometown. the city where the first lady grew up, they raised the first daughter there for a number of years before they were actually the first daughters and of course, the city gave birth to president obama's political career this is personal for him. chicago, one of the cities at the epicenter of the gun violence debate because of the high rate of violence, and it witnessed the murder of hadiya penned heelton, chit teen who performed

>> kristen welker traveling with the president in florida.e of guns in america i'm joined by msnbc contributor goldie taylor. let's start in the windy city. what the heck is happening in chicago? >> well, you know, there are a plethora of issues happening in chicago. i was struck with how much that young woman looks like my youngest daughter, and but for the grace of god there go i. what's happening in chicago are any number of things, pervasive poverty and lack to opportunity. one of my dear friends said nothing stops a bullet like a job so we're talking about a crisis from top to bottom throughout these communities in and surrounding chicago. >> we found out this morning that there's a democratic primary race under way in chicago right now for the seat formerly held by jesse jackson. one of the candidates running for that seat dropped out of the race after new york city mayor michael bloomberg got involved in the campaign. bloomberg's pac got another money behind another candidate robbie kelly. hutchinson had support from the nra. how signi

. >> kristen welker live at the white house.ou later in the show. >> thanks. >>> so is the president making his case on the sequester? for more on that, let's bring in ed o'keefe, congressional reporter for "the washington post" and from "the chicago sun-times." bob woodward wrote in the washington post today that the sequester originated by the president. here's a quote. my extensive reporting for my book "the price of politics" shows that the automatic spending cuts were initiated by the white house and were the brain child of jack lew and bob nabors. that's how the sequester started so who is really to blame for this? >> well, i will defer to my colleague bob woodward who, yes, exhaustively reported this and, you know, i think the white house says, you know, whether or not they were the first to propose it, congress went along and approved it as well. the blame is mutual and everyone should be blamed for having it get to where it is. and americans are less concerned with who set this up as opposed to how we'll sort this out a

here is kristen welker. >> people are still buzzing about michelle obama's oscar finale that no one saw iranian news agency covered it but photo shopped sleeves and a higher neckline to follow the country's strict dress rules for women. in this country, conservative columnist jennifer ruben is critical, writing the oscar appearance made the white house and first lady seem small. >> there is a sense of going too far and too much and becoming so ubiqutous that people don't consider you something special. she's not a hollywood celebrity. >> white house officials wouldn't respond but note most of her recent paerpss have been focused on let's move. the first lady has been popping up all over the place lately, on jimmy fallon, sharing a moment with big bird. >> eating healthy is easy. and it's fun and delicious, too. >> and talking hairdos with rachel ray. >> this is my midlife crisis, the bangs. >> jody cantor says it's part of a carefully crafted pr plan. >> her real strategy is kind of a charm offensive that has been intended to build support for her husband's initiative. >> aides say behi

i'm joined by kristen welker who's live at the white house. kristen, these cuts are no laughing matter, but how does the white house get house republicans to agree to additional revenue? what are you hearing? >> reporter: well, martin, i'm not sure that they're going to be able to in terms of strategy. we've seen president obama taking his case to the american people. you saw him do that yesterday in that clip that you aired with the president joined by first responders making the case that their jobs could be at risk if the sequester kicks in. of course today he's granting interviews to local affiliates across the country. i expect him to hit the road next week to take his message on the road. but from all accounts talking to people on both sides of pennsylvania avenue, it looks like this sequester by all likelihood will kick in. that is what a lot of people believe at this point in time, just nine days left for congress and the white house to avert those deep spending cuts that are scheduled to kick in on march 1st. both sides still deeply en

. >> let's go to the white house and nbc's kristen welker. another good saturday to you, kristen. let's talk about the president, what he's doing this weekend to help broker some sort of a deal to avoid the sequester taking effect on friday. >> reporter: alex, good afternoon. the president says he's going to have conversations with members of congress and throughout the week. but so far the limited conversations they have had have yielded no results. both sides are dug in it seems increasingly likely the sequester will kick in. on friday president obama met with the prime minister of japan, and he answered some questions from journalists as you can imagine, many of them about the sequester. one person asking him, is it inevitable the sequester will go into effect? here's what he had to say. take a listen. >> i never think that anything's inevitable. we always have the opportunity to make the right decisions. i hope is that we can see a different course taken by congress. this should be a no-brainer. >> reporter: now in order to pressure congress to act, the obama administration ha

>> kristen welker at the white house. thanks. once again, lester? >>> all right. thanks. it was an amazing feat of airmanship and an incredible display of steely determination and grit. chances are you haven't heard about it. 14 months ago on a flight from newark to warsaw, carrying many american passengers, an airline pilot faced potential disaster. the plane's wheels were stuck. he saved everyone on board, and now he's being hailed as the polish "sully." in the skies over warsaw, lott polish airlines flight 16 with 231 on board was just second away from attempting an emergency landing like no other. captain add tad bronaugh had -- spent an hour and 20 minutes trying to land with no wheels. to no avail, he had no choice but to belly flop the plane with runners acting like a sled on to a concrete runway. in the final moments, the passengers were ready for the worst. like the other passengers, greg cohen had his head between his legs. what were the final instructions before landing? >> they had us get in ready position, you know. they were telling us to brace for impact. p

kristen welker has that story. >> reporter: first lady michelle obama showcasing her lighter side onou don't have much time for tv. i mean, how do you have time for personal stuff? like how about dates? >> we try to do date nights. it's tough, you know, barak has a 20-car motorcade. it's got men with guns, ambulance -- the ambulance is always there. i mean, how romantic can you be? >> you got an ambulance pulling up. >> you know, he's like -- we're going to go a romantic dinner. i'm like, is the ambulance coming? >> reporter: in her first sit down interview with jimmy fallon, the first lady marked the third anniversary of let's move, her campaign to promote healthy children. she even talked a little politics. >> dream team, michelle and hillary, 16. [ applause ] >> you know, i have my eye actually on another job. and i hear that when jay leno retires -- >> reporter: this caps a busy week for the first lady who released a new portrait and a psa with big bird. >> there's so many different activities you can do. >> reporter: she also appeared on "rachael ray," confessing what was behind