nbc's kristen welker is at the white house with more on that tonight. good evening, kristen. >> reporter: lester, good evening. white house officials are, of course, concerned, and they have the added challenge of reassuring south korea and other allies in the region that the united states will defend them if they are attacked. now, the white house described the latest pronouncement from north korea as an unconstructive statement, and tried to further downplay the situation by citing north korea's long history of bellicose rhetoric. still, this is a tense moment. a chief concern, the leader of north korea is young and he's unpredictable. one senior administration official told me his father ruled from the shadows with occasional rhetorical flourishes, but the official said, kim jong-un has turned the hyperbole dial all the way up to 10. one foreign policy expert outside the white house said the problem is, his father knew where the line was, but it's not clear that kim jong-un does. the problem with all of this is that kim could lead to a miscalculation,

nbc's kristen welker has the latest on the budget battle and how some republicans are already looking toward 2016. >> reporter: on this springlike day in the nation's capital, there are plenty of people enjoying the weather. but deep disappointment that the white house is closed. >> i'm confused on why they didn't do the tours in the white house anymore. and why they still do them at the capitol. >> we had this trip planned for six months, and to come here to do that and then to find out two days prior that it was canceled was kind of upsetting. >> reporter: it's all a result of the sequester. washington failed to stop these deep across-the-board spending cuts but the partisan squabbling is somewhat toned down. here's the president in his weekly address today. >> i still believe that compromise is possible. i still believe we can come together to do big things. and i know there are leaders on the other side of the aisle who share that belief. >> reporter: still, fundamental divisions persist. >> president obama speaks of his deep concern for struggling americans, yet his plans are foc

nbc's kristen welker has our report. >>> i julia pierson -- >> reporter: an historic day in the oval office. julia pierson sworn in as the first female director of the secret service. >> obviously she's breaking the mold in terms of directors of the agency. >> reporter: barbara riggs was the agency's first woman deputy director and pierson's mentor. >> when i did hear the news i obviously was thrilled. >> reporter: an orlando native, pierson, who is 53, studied criminal justice at the university of central florida, worked as a police officer during college and became a secret service agent in miami after graduating. >> she's a go-to person. >> reporter: pierson has worked behind the scenes and in the field for 30 years. most recently serving as chief of staff. in 2007 she told "smithsonian" magazine her most challenging day on the job in washington was 9/11. we didn't know if what was happening was a prelude to more attacks, she said. i was in charge of making sure everyone was accounted for. the appointment comes at a pivotal time for the secret service. last april, several agents w

the washington post chris and kristen welker both join us now. kristen at the white house.l, to you is washington changing. one change might be take a look at what john mccain had to say about rand paul, fellow republicans filibuster against john brennan? >> we've done i think a disservice to a lot of americans by making them believe that somehow they are in danger from their government. they are not. so republican on republican friendly fire or not so friendly fire. is this a direct result of the dinner or just long-standing differences that we know exist between mccain and rand paul sfwloosh i think that the latter, andrea. in the wake of this almost 13-hour odyssey, i think a lot of republicans around washington were popping champagne bottles and saying we had a moment here. i think when you see john mccain and lindsey graham basically affirming the obama administration's position on drones, what it tells me is there's very little question in my mind that what happened yesterday was a very -- which he has been as open as anyone. i'm less convinced this was a great thing

joining me now for our daily fix, ruth marcus and nbc white house correspondent kristen welker. kristen, i want to start with you. president obama 36 minutes of talking after his meeting with the congressional leaders, including taking four questions, contrast to john boehner's 56 seconds of talking after that meeting. what's the tone in the room? the president struck me as pretty confident in where he stands. tell us what it was like. >> well, i think the president knows that he has the public on his side when it comes to this sequester battle. he has a built-in bully pullet and he's using it. that's why he answered so many questions today. what struck me, chris, he really sort of used familiar talking points. a lot of what we have heard him say when he has been out traveling, selling his message to the american people. an indication that probably not a whole lot actually was, actually got done behind the doors when the president sat down to meet with members of congress. you heard him talk about the fact that he's not going to give in on this issue of new tax revenues and then

joining me now, traveling with the president, in florida is our white house correspondent, kristen welker. kristen, these escalating threats are clearly a cause of problem. we don't know it's saber-rattling or whether it's serious. this is an untested new leader. obviously there's a cause of real concern and we have to reassure our allies about the u.s. resolve. is there any thought that sending two stealth bombers from missouri to south korea and back yesterday, was too provocative. or do we need to show u.s. strength in the face of this belligerence? >> well the administration has been criticized to some extent for that, andrea. but they are pushing back against those assertions that somehow sending those stealth bombers over south korea provoked north korea even more. defense secretary chuck hagel defending the exercise, saying this is part of routine behavior. however, white house deputy press secretary, josh earnest on air force one today made the point that this is not the first time that north korea has made these types of bellicose statements and taken these types of bellicose act

. >> president obama there in his weekly address, kristen welker standing by at the white house. what's the president going to be talking about when he heads to the hill next week, kristen? >> reporter: craig, good afternoon. i think he will be talking about a whole range of topics and everything from immigration reform to gun control, but i think the focus of these discussions will be on deficit reduction, the sequester. that was certainly the focus from president obama met with rank and file members of congress during this past week, as you mentioned during the lunch and he also had dinner with 12 gop senators. this is really coming against the backdrop of the president being criticized to not reach out to members of congress. it marks a reset, circumventing congressional leaders dealing with the rank and file republicans to try to get something done on deficit reduction. the question is will these conversati conversations actually yield results. one interesting thing that came out of that dinner that president obama had with members of congress. one of the people who attended t

nbc's kristen welker is in washington tonight with late word of the results of today's straw poll. lo. >> reporter: lester, good evening. here is the headline. senator rand paul of kentucky won with 25% of the vote, edging out senator marco rubio of florida who garnered 23%. then it was rick santorum in third place with 8%. followed by new jersey governor chris christie, who wasn't invited, he received 7%. former vice presidential candidate paul ryan got 6%. all potential leaders in a party

let's begin with kristen welker on the stalemate and its impact.evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening to you. the public's frustration is mounting tonight with all of

back to you. >> kristen welker from 1600 pennsylvania on this saturday morning. amie parnes and ed o'keefe, good saturday morning to you. >> good morning. >> what happened in that friday meeting? what do we know? >> essentially nothing, craig. and i would say that you had house speaker john boehner talking about standing his ground and saying we passed two bills, it's the senate's turn and harry reid saying sorry, but that was last time, the last congress what have you done for me lately? so you have the standoff in the room, and, you know, house speaker john boehner you saw a few minutes about, talking to reporters, but we're not compromising on revenue, but the president got what he wanted on taxes, we won't do that this time around. >> ed, much of the past week has been spent finger pointing. blame game has been quite prominent in d.c. over the past few days. any way to objectively say who is at fault here? >> frankly, we might as well forget that and look ahead. certainly there was a lot of that this week classic washington parlor game, when all is said and d

. >> joining me from the white house is nbc correspondent kristen welker. on behind closed doors? john boehner revealing his cards that no new revenue is on the table and they are going to continue to move forward with the resolution. >> reporter: that meeting lasted about an hour and if you listen to speaker boehner's tone, not a lot of optimism in talking about turning off the sequester. this suggests that no real tangible progress has been made. i would say at this point nothing has changed. this meeting is largely, by all accounts, what president obama has to say and it's no indication that there is anything more than that. remember, the sequester kicks in today. so a lot of people scratching their heads wondering why they haven't been meeting all week to try to get something accomplished and the reality is, what speaker boehner said, he's not going to give in on the issues of revenue. president obama digging in on that point. he wants any deal to include revenues and that's really where the sticking point lies. conventional wisdom is that they will dea

kristen welker is at the white house and nbc's kelly o'donnell is on capitol hill.e we get to the meeting, kelly, i want to talk to you, john boehner sat down for an interview. i want to play what he said about the government shutdown. let's come back and talk about it. >> our goal here is to cut spending. it's not to shut down the government, and keeping the government open after march 27th is our goal. the president the other day indicated his willingness and desire to see the government funded after march 27th, so i'm hopeful the senate democrats will work with us to make sure there's no threat of government shutdown. >> so, kelly, we're going to get a vote later in the hour on this continuing resolution to fund the government through the house. what are the next steps here, walk us through the sort of how legislatively this is going to work, if it's going to work. >> well, you can almost hear the violins playing, chris, because there does seem to be more conciliatory tone all around. it seems both parties know a government shutdown threat is a loser for everyone

for more, we're going to go to nbc's kristen welker who is at the white house. ust talking about president obama's event today, the naturalization ceremony a few minutes ago. what is next for him as he tries on this fupush for immigration reform? >> reporter: i think you're going to hear the president continue to make the argument that he made today that he wants to see congress come up with an immigration reform plan by the end of the month so it can be debated next month and then voted on as soon as possible. of course, organizing for action, the president's re-tooled campaign, will also be working on this on the sidelines to put pressure on congress. the president's comments sort of highlight and echo the timeline that senator chuck schumer mapped out this weekend. he is, of course, on that bipartisan gang of eight which is working on immigration reform. he said they are close to getting a plan, a bill unveiled. they hope to get something done by the end of the month. i can tell you, karen, though, in talking to my sources, one of the big sticking points is wa

>> great, kristen welker, thank you.ounds like you're at a construction site but you're at the port of miami. thank you for being with us. >> reporter: thank you, jonathan. >>> i want to bring in our panel now. with us from san francisco, msnbc contributor mazia teresa kumar, president and ce o o of voto latino. in austin, texas, an nbc reporter. madia, i'm going to start with you. a crucial moment for immigration reform. the gang of eight working on a bipartisan approach. the headlines are a republican congress calling people that word. can i even say that word? this isn't helping, is it? >> i have to give credit to the republicans. the moment that congressman young said that, boehner actually issued a statement saying that he had to apologize to the american people and to american latinos. i think that shows not only that they're actually trying to put a good step forward but recognize they have a larger problem. how do you change the hearts and minds of the extreme right of republicans who don't want immigration refor

kristen welker joins us now from the white house.this a clear indication that the president has frankly given up on speaker boehner and instead is approaching individual senators one by one in the hope of maybe reshaping a grand bargain, something he hoped to achieve two years ago? >> i think that's right. and remember, it also comes against the backdrop of president obama having been criticized for not reaching out to lawmakers. sop i think optics are at play here. but white house officials acknowledge president obama ramping up his outreach to rank and file republicans. and those are going to be attending this dinner tonight have been invited by the president lindsey graham really made this guest list. these are republican who is are perceived as being open or at least willing to talk about compromise when it comes to the budget issues when it comes to averting the sequester. also it's important to open to compromise to things like immigration reform, gun control. those are some of the items that are going to be on the agenda. but

but they're not going to be comfortable at all supporting something like this. >> and kristen welker,the same time the president back on the hill today. what we have enter the reporting from mark murray and dominico and chuck todd, is that the tea party republicans were dead set against the president, but there was a willingness by the legislative branch, if you will of the house republicans, those in the leadership who want to get something done. who are willing to listen to the president, especially as he was putting entitlements right there on the table. >> and i've been talking to my sources who were a part of that meeting yesterday. who say you could really feel the divide. that there was a sort of branch who thought that the president was willing to find some common ground with them. and of course, others more conservative who said they're just not going to raise taxes. we saw that reflected to some extent in the op-ed that house speaker john boehner wrote today, in which he really called on the president to come forward more with entitlements, to be willing to give up more on e

nbc's kristen welker is at the white house for us this morning. the white house taking these threats? again, this is taking into the perspective that we don't know much about the new leader there of north korea, kim jong-un. >> right, it's a great point, thomas. and that is one reason why the white house is taking this very seriously, at the same time trying to reassure its allies in the region that the united states is prepared to protect them if necessary. we got a statement from caitlin hayden overnight. it says we've seen reports of a new and unconstructive statement from north korea. we take these threats seriously and remain in close contact with our south korean allies. but, we would also note that north korea has a long history of bell coast rhetoric and threats, and today's announcement follows that familiar pattern. so again u.s. officials really trying to reassure its allies in the region. but thomas, part of why this is so disconcerting for the white house, this follows a series of provocations by north korea, including a number of miss

. >> nbc's kristen welker joins us now from the white house. are you excited as heck, kristen?t service. is there a hope, perhaps, that hiring a woman may change the sort of macho culture that some people think actually led to the prostitution scandal? >> reporter: well, karen, good afternoon. i think that that is certainly going to be one of her greatest challenges. to try to change the perception that this agency is still mired in scandal. and to really turn the page. this agency really has suffered one of its most difficult years. so she takes the helm at a pivotal moment. some of her critics say she's an insider, so therefore may not be the best person to come in and shake things up. you heard the president, vice president express their full confidence in her. and i've been talking to some of her colleagues, current and former, who say she's absolutely the right person for the job. as you mentioned, she has 30 years' service with the secret service. she has worked with this agency inside and out. she's been in the field. she's also served behind the scenes, risen up through

richard. >> and kristen welker can will be watching that story for us when he speaks at 2:00 p.m.re, richard. >>> and today, a fun tweet leading up to the st. patrick's day weekend from foodatarium. we have caffeine, sugar and fat, and alcohol. happy st. patrick's day. wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy. what's the rush? license and registration please. what's this? uhh, it's my geico insurance id card, sir. it's digital, uh, pretty cool right? maybe. you know why i pulled you over today? because i'm a pig driving a convertible? tail light's out.. fix it. digital insurance id cards. just a click away with the geico mobile app. only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. she was a picky eater. well now i'm her dietitian and last year, she wasn't eating so well. so i recommended boost complete nutritio

>> kristen welker tonight, thanks. for more on all this, let's bring in chief washington correspondent john harwood. all this talk of the party recasting itself, that means reaching out to a lot of different groups, different interests. is it practical? >> it's pretty complicated. it's not easy at all. republicans need to do better with young voters who are socially liberal but older voters and the religious right are the heart of their base. they need to appeal to working-class voters, especially hispanics, but also do better with upscale voters, college-educated women in particular. one telling piece of advice came from jeb bush at this cpac conference. he said republicans can't be against everything, they can't be against the changes coursing through american society and the world that voters can see with their own eyes. >> and this conversation primarily talking about the campaign going forward to 2016. what about the here and now? does this mean a change in the way the party deals with the president, for example?

let's go to the white house and nbc's kristen welker. with a good saturday to you, kristen, what else are you hearing from the white house today with this sequester now in effect? >> reporter: good afternoon, alex. white house officials are telling me that president obama is going to continue to try to work toward a solution to stave off these sequester cuts. in the short term. but it's hard to see how that happens, alex. because right now there's really no clear path forward. president obama met with congressional leaders here at the white house on friday as you recall. and those in the meetings say it was really both sides reiterating where they stand on this issue. president obama demanding that any plan include new revenues. republicans saying they're not going to agree to that because they just gave revenues during that last fiscal fight. house speaker john boehner left town, left for ohio. but before he left he sat down for an exclusive interview with nbc's david gregory which will air tomorrow on "meet the press." take a listen to

kristen welker, thanks. last week or so a lot of folks were getting notices that pink slips might be coming along. think about losing a day's pay, the impact that has on most people's lives. >> it is enormous. a lot of people putting out there too on twitter or facebook messages about what it would add to. for some people it could be a 10 to 20% pay cut, $600 a month, for many people that is their mortgage payment, their rent. it is interesting. we're hearing a lot the president is waiting for public outrage but then he tempered his message yesterday saying it is not going to be this massive apocalypse. >> but it might be personally. >> exactly. >> that's the issue. like i say, to lose a day's pay, as we know through this economy a lot of folks are living on the edge as it is. it's hard. i think there is a big picture debate in washington about which way to go with the budget but it's a localized disaster for some people. >> it is. and for many americans it feels like that big picture debate. they often get

let's go to kristen welker. what is the president saying about the trip to the middle east? how are they characterizing this trip? >> reporter: hi, alex. officials believe he set out to do. he also reaffirmed the united states' commitment to the israeli people. the israeli people were skeptical about that prior to the trip. and then there was an unexpected diplomatic victory where president obama, through arm twisting, convinced netanyahu to call turkey and apologize for a deadly raid against a turkish ship. that will be key in moving forward with issues like syria and tries to reopen the peace process in the middle east. so i think white house officials are feeling good about the trip. the big question, if you talk to experts in the region, is what is president obama going to do now to try to restart peace talks? of course, secretary of state kerry is really taking the lead on that. to what extent will president obama engage in that and get involved? that's what experts around the region will be watching. overall, they believe it's a success. alex? >> something else that co

kristen welker is at the white house for us on this sunday. the latest news from the senate's gang of eight? >> reporter: well, craig, good afternoon. the bottom line is, democrats, chuck schumer, are essentially claiming that there is a deal, while republicans, including senator marco rubio, are urging caution and saying, not so fast. this needs to be open to public opinion and we don't have a deal until all the is are dotted, all the ts are crossed. so that is why the discussions stand right now, but all sides do agree that there was major progress that occurred in the past few days, with business and labor agreeing to a plan for the guest worker program. essentially worked out one of the major sticking points. how much to pay guest workers or temporary workers. this was something that threatened to derail these negotiations. it's something, by the way, craig, that was one of the main factors that led to derailing the negotiations back in 2007. so the fact that they have made progress on this, all sides would agree, is important and represen

with more on all of this, nbc's kristen welker live from the white house. s the political reality of how much sway either of these lobbies has? >> reporter: well, craig, look, politically, gun control laws are really tough to get through congress. and if you look at the polls, it shows that a majority of americans supports stiffer gun control laws. but congress is really much more divided. we saw that play out this week, when senate majority leader harry reid dropped the assault weapons ban from the senate bill. that's not really a surprise, but it sort of underscores just how divisive this issue continues to be. now in the senate bill, it includes universal background checks as well as stiffer penalties for straw purchases as well as gun trafficking. but it's not clear that that piece of legislation will make its way through senate, or certainly through the house. so this is really tough slogging going forward. so mayor michael bloomberg sort of rolling out what he hopes will be a counterweight to the nra, that $12 million ad campaign, which you mentioned.

. >>> kristen welker is at the white house with reaction this morning from the obama administration. what are you hearing at this point from the white house? >> reporter: well, erica, good morning. behind the scenes certainly officials are alarmed by this latest provocation but are also trying to reassure the allies in the region. this is a statement that was just released by a spokesperson. she says, quote, we've seen reports of a new and unconstructive statement from north korea. we take these threats seriously and remain in close contact with our south korean allies, but we would also note that north korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric and threats and today's announcement follows that familiar pattern. so again, u.s. officials really trying to reassure allies in the region. top officials have been in contact with their counterparts there. part of why this is so disconcerting is because it follows a series of provocations from north korea, including a number of nuclear tests, a missile launch, and also, of course, north korea called an end to the 1953 armistice with sout

. >> kristen welker traveling with the president at the loud port of policeman ma'am. thank you. "chicago sun times" washington bureau chief lynn sweet joins me live. let's talk about the president's comments. infrastructure is something every president talks about. it makes for a great state of the union material. president obama has talked about it, a great deal over his first few years in office and in his second term as well. with all the other issues like immigration and gun control, how much of a priority is this really for the wougs? >> i think it is a low congressional priority, especially since the president just, is finally going to unveil a president and i think the republicans really want to look at this as a whole. not just take out one piece of it. obama has had trips to highlight parts of his state of the union message. a whole package of proposals to have wean american drivers from gas in cars. these are all programs congress may or may not buy into. my guess is that especially in a gop-controlled house, they're not looking to start more new programs. >> lynn, you

our daily fix, chris cillizza, msnbc managing editor and nbc news white house correspondent, kristen welker. thanks to both and chris, thanks to you for being here when i was not, on the road all week. first of all, let's talk about guns, the reality check. kristen, you were at the white house where the president, you're at the white house where the president just made that appeal. some are criticizing him for not following up aggressively enough. there have been a lot of events, joe biden, mike bloomberg. but the president himself, has he lent enough of his moral authority. hitting the road and trying to campaign for this and keeping the spirit of newtown alive? >> there's no doubt that there's sort of been a lapse in terms of his pressing this issue is he was on his foreign trip in israel. this is the first time we have seen him speak about this issue in quite some time. what was striking about his comments today, they were emotional, they sort of were reminiscent of his comments during the state of the union address. when he used that emotional appeal to try to press lawmakers to vote on

>> the very latest for us, kristen welker, thank you so much. i want to bring in now to talk more on the topics, stach writer for the hill newspaper, deputy managing editor for politico, good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> you've heard about the reports that have been coming out this morning. we heard from schumer. we've also heard from lindsey graham as well as marco rubio just within the last three or four hours. what's your assessment of what is happening behind the scenes at this moment? >> they made a lot of progress over the weekend. we were just hearing about this visa program for temporary workers, hoe skilled workers to come over. they have reached agreement on that, the business and the labor sides came together. that's a big deal. that's a major point, a major sticking point for the gang of eight to get to their agreement on the issue. this morning has been interesting because we heard senator shchumer's optimism siig we're close to a deal and senator rubio by contrast hitting the pause button a little bit. not the brakes

unfolds now from one end of pennsylvania avenue to the other, i'm joined live by correspondent kristen welker and nbc news senior political editor mark murray. we are awaiting the president to sign the expanded violence against women act and joined by joe biden. it was supposed to start about ten minutes ago and been delayed. kristen, i assume because of the president's lunch with particular and chris van hollen went long. what can you tell me? >> reporter: that's right. as far as we know he is still having lunch with them and the goal of the lunch to talk about, of course, budget issues and something he spoke to republican lawmakers about last night having dinner with them at the jefferson hotel here in washington, d.c. but we understand that the president's also going to be talking about things like immigration reform as well as gun control in not only this lunch but in the upcoming meetings, going to the hill next week so a lot on the plate at these meet and greets and lunches and dinners he's having but really seeing a shift intactic here. the president circumventing and talking to rank a

. >> nbc's kristen welker, thank you. >> thank you. >>> back today with us, favorite emcee, michael crowlyt "time" and turns 90 this week. >> wow. >> congrats to you and your colleagues. >> you look great for 90. >> you guys do -- >> 90 years young. >> don't look a day over 35. there's an interesting tweet this morning. president and congress need marriage counseling and if the president and congress are daddy and daddy or daddy and mommy then america's the rest of the kids and we're not ma mad about sequester deal. so how did we get here? do they need marriage counseling? what is going on, michael? >> well, you know, that's an interesting metaphor but i think a big key to understanding what's happening here is, you know, if you imagine that the democrats are daddy and mommy, it's like mommy has a sister and arguing with the sister whether to stay in the marriage and can't decide. in other words, you know, the republican party itself is divided. we have a problem here with divided government between the two parties and i think boehner and maybe mcconnell -- an impulse to do that deal and r

joining me now live from the white house, nbc's kristen welker. a very sobering good saturday morning to you. what's the latest we know about this? >> alex, that's right. it is a sober saturday morning for this administration. with defense secretary chuck hagel announcing that the united states will add 14 anti-missile interceptors in alaska. the defense secretary saying that this move comes after north korea really increased its provocations, its bellicose language, and also had made more progress in its nuclear development. so that's really at the root of this movement. if you remember, just last week, north korea threatened a preemptive strike against the united states, when the u.n. announced that it would increase sanctions against north korea. and it also announced that it was scrapping its 1953 treaty with south korea. so some really disconcerting moves here. the defense secretary also talking about the fact that it had made progress in its nuclear capabilities. take a listen to what he had to say. >> north korea, in particular, has recentl

. >> kristen welker, keep us posted. if you hear of anything changing whatsoever on the situation. eugene, the president, let's talk about the president's role here. he is forced to tread this very odd line, which is to say it's not an apocalypse, but it's bad. he's been accused of fear mongrg. >> it's just bad enough for everybody to call their republican congressman and tell them to come back to the table. that's how bad it is, precisely. >> he needs the public to feel outraged. he doesn't necessarily need them to be in pain. he wants them to be angry about this. >> responsibly, what can the president allow? how bad can he allow it to be? if he sees something awful happening due to the sequester cuts, it seems to me he's going to feel it's incumbent on him to rectify it as far as he can. otherwise he's being derelict in his duty as president. he can't let an aircraft carrier rust to pieces or something like that. he is going to have to fix it up. >> i would say, john, your client has an interesting analysis in today's "washington post." neither side, i mean, the white house has s

for the latest, let's go to nbc's kristen welker live for us at the white house.enators lindsey graham and john mccain have just issued a statement warning that if the use of chemical weapons is verified, then the united states must take immediate action. i have to ask you, kristen, how is the white house responding to these disturbing reports out of syria? >> reporter: well, they are quite concerned about the reports out of syria, martin, and i have to tell you, there are still a lot of question marks. the white house making the point that they are looking into the allegations that chemical weapons were used in syria. as you pointed out, the government is pointing fingers at the rebel forces. the rebel forces are pointing fingers at the government. you notice the language that jay carney used today was quite different in terms of referring to the rebel forces. saying at this point in time there is no credible evidence to suggest that they used chemical weapons. they are taking these reports very seriously, though, and trying to determine if this was, in fact, the

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. >> kristen welker is live where the miami heat play. another big sell from the president today. >> reporter: it was a big sell. it comes after a week in which the president has been talking about new gun legislation, immigration reform. today president really trying to show folks that he is also focused on the economy as well. he did it against the back drop of the port of miami which is where he was standing. they are currently involved in a $2 billion upgrade project. a combination of public and private funds stoefl president today calling for more investments in infrastructure prongs and calling on congress to issue a number of tax inkrepiinkre incentives to encourage new measures in the united states and also international company to invest here in the country. so the president talking about the fact that he wants to set p up that investment program. also call for fast forward bonds which would get rid of the red tape and make it easier to move forward with infrastructure projects like this one. and he also called for an expansion o

joining me now from the white house is nbc's kristen welker. kristen, good saturday to you.day? >> reporter: craig, good saturday to you. look, this is not good politically for the president, for members of of congress, of course, if you look at the polls the majority of americans say they will blame republicans for this, but certainly it makes all of washington look ineffective. this stalemate continues and there's really no clear path of how they will stave off these deep, across-the-board spending cuts. president obama met with congressional leaders at the white house on friday. it was really more of a photo op, craig. they didn't accomplish anything. people with knowledge of the meetings say that both sides essentially restated where they stand on this issue. president obama saying he's not going to accept a deal that doesn't include new tax revenues and republicans saying they're not going to accept that type of a deal. today house speaker john boehner is back in his hometown of ohio. he spoke to constituents and he held his ground on this issue essentially signaled tha

>> kristen welker at the white house. thank you very much. >>> we have an important health alert this morning tied to the commonly prescribed antibiotic known as the z-pack. 50 million people take it every year. now the fda warns it may lead to a fatal irregular heart rhythm in some patients. dr. goldberg is a cardiologist from the women's heart program at nyu. dr. goldberg, nice to see you. >> good morning. >> the headline is -- >> zithromax could cause fatal heart rhythms but more commonly in people with existing heart disease. it's pretty small in healthy people but makes us think twice about calling the doctor for the z-pack. >> in 2012 there were first warnings issued about this. why is the fda acting in this way at this time? >> it was a research study in the new england journal of medicine. a panel had to investigate if it was a real b problem. it alerts doctors and patients that there is a potential problem. >> if you have issues with irregular heartbeat, low potassium levels, low mag menes levels should you not g

kristen welker is in washington. good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. that fight between the white house and bob woodward has been brewing all week. it really started last sunday, when woodward wrote an op-ed, saying that president obama moved the goalpost in the sequester fight, at first saying tax increases should be off the table and now asking for new revenue. woodward says the white house is trying to shut him down. the white house says that's just not true. now the exchange is becoming heated. veteran journalist bob woodward isn't backing down in his criticism of the obama white house. on fox news thursday night, woodward again described a testy phone call last month with the president's economic adviser, gene sperling. >> it was a half hour in which he was shouting at me. >> reporter: all week, woodward has complained that sperling crossed the line, in suggesting via e-mail that woodward would regret reporting that president obama moved the goalpost in the sequester fight. >> he said that i'm going to regret, you know, that's -- that's -- that go

>> all right, kristen welker. al roker looks forward to that event every year. let's hope they can get it together. thank you. 7:13 right now. back to savannah and dylan. >> how can we talk about easter when there's snow on the ground? >> with spring starting tomorrow, you think enough already with the snow. but no. >> the groundhog needs to be fired. >> the one year he says spring is going to come early. forget about it. >> he got it wrong. >> he got it way wrong. with the snow coming down in the northeast, there's another storm in the west. you think you're past it at this point in the year, but more snow is going to call, especially across upstate new york through central and northern new england too. this is a huge storm. we had severe weather associated with it down across the southeast with wind damage and possible tornadoes. hail as well. also, a lot of heavy rain down into alabama. now, in the northeast, it doesn't look like much across seattle right now, but this is going to be another storm system that brings in perhaps several inches of rain. there is

nbc's kristen welker, explain the white house and how its approach to this and taking these threats very when we consider we have a new defense secretary in chuck hagel. >> reporter: white house officials taking this latest provocation very seriously. they are concerned and chuck hagel expressing his concern. at the same time they are trying to reassure their allies in the region. caitlin hayden releasing this statement. we've seen reports of a new and unconstructive statement from north korea. we take these threats seriously and remain in close contact with our south korean allies but would also note north korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric and threats and this follows that familiar pattern. trying to reassure the allies in the region. the latest provocation comes on the heels of a number of provocations, including a number of nuclear tests from north korea. they fired a rocket last december and of course called an end to the 1953 armistice with south korea. chuck hagel and president obama watching this situation quite closely, top u.s. officials are in close contact with th

here's part of my colleague, kristen welker's, report and reaction on the anticipated cuts and the cuts been made. >> reporter: collective concern across the country from an army arsenal in huntsville, alabama, where they're facing furlough. >> is sequestration will definitely affect my family. >> to the grand canyon. >> we're cutting travel. we're cutting training. we're reducing overtime. >> on the arizona border where agents could see their hours cut back. >> cutting down the security of our nation, i don't believe is the way to go at it. >> reporter: in some cases the fallout has already begun. one of the navy's warships, the carrier "truman," is not going to the persian gulf. the air force's world famous thunder birds have been grounded. and hundreds of immigrants who were facing deportation have been released from prisons. >> and even one more note. cuts in funds to philadelphia's meals on wheels could force the program to stop making deliveries to homebound clients or put on a waiting list for people with critical needs. of course, these are all just projections. if congress and

. >> kristen welker is live at the white house for us. korea right now for the obama administration? >> reporter: well, i think it is a problem, craig. the obama administration had been hoping when kim jong-un took over that he would help to lead north korea out of isolationism. really the opposite has happened. he's become more bellicose than his father and these intercepters are going to be placed because of recent provocations from north korea and there is a sense that they've made advances in nuclear capabilities. last week, north korea threatened a preemptive nuclear strike against the united states and also they're ending their treaty with south korea. to there is a lot of concern. we should say this move to increase the number of intercepters marks a shift in the obama administration's policy, because back in 2010, they had said they weren't going to add new intercepters. this comes as president obama is just starting his second term. he's mapped out an ambitious agenda. but experts say this is going to take up a large portion of t