joining me now is msnbc's krystal ball. thank you for being here. >> thanks for having me, reverend. >> paul ryan says he was inarticulate about the point he was making. what is your reaction, krystal? >> seemed pretty articulate when he was making it. it seemed pretty clear-cut what he was trying to say. and to me it just remind us how ronald reagan's spector of the welfare queen, which was all fake, right? this person didn't exist. but it was used to tell the story of how it was the culture of the poor that was really to blame. so if you're able to blame the poor people themselves, then it doesn't hurt so much when you cut the programs that are supporting them, that are helping them. then it's actually the programs themselves and the poor people themselves that are creating the poverty. paul ryan wants to be an expert on poverty. he wants to convince people that he really cares. but he can't hide his contempt for the very people that he claims to want to help. >> and i think that it also gives him a way of justifying why

be sure, be sure to watch krystal on "the cycle" weekdays at 3:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. >>> coming up, today we have new numbers showing how millions are struggling to eat. so wait until you hear what they're planning to do. and it's not just the koch brothers. the billionaire boys club is growing and cozying up to republican politicians. but democrats have a plan. >>> plus, with mitt romney thinks president obama should see into the future. >>> and the first lady is jumping into her good will tour of china. but some on the right are jumping to attack. stay with us. peace of mind is important when you're running a successful business. so we provide it services you can rely on. with centurylink as your trusted it partner, you'll experience reliable uptime for the network and services you depend on. multi-layered security solutions keep your information safe, and secure. and responsive dedicated support meets your needs, and eases your mind. centurylink. your link to what's next. it's eb. want to give your family the very best in taste, freshne

joining me now are steve kornacki and krystal ball. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thanks for having us, rev. >> so steve, christie was apparently told about the lane closures while they were happening but doesn't remember it. your reaction. >> what i'm most interested in is how they deal with it in this report. because the way i've read this thing is everything that is in this report maybe we will find out when the u.s. attorney weighs in on this, when the legislative committee weighs in on this. many will find out that everything in here is true. but the way the report is written it editorializes. it uses loaded language. it's with its language constantly giving the benefit of the doubt to christie. you're talking about the claim, wildstein's claim that he talked to christie on september 11th about it. this is how the report then deals with it. it says that is a reference that the governor does not recall. and even if actually made would not have registered with the governor in any event because he knew nothing abo

joining me now are krystal ball and former pennsylvania governor ed rendell.eing here tonight. >> thanks for having us, rev. >> governor rendell, no one did attack president bush like this when russia invaded georgia. but now it's fair game to attack president obama? >> well, it isn't fair game, and it comes with a lot of gall for dick cheney to be leading the criticism of president obama when dick cheney was vice president to president bush and they did their response to the invasion of georgia was much weaker. they didn't do anything compared to the steps president obama has taken. it's ludicrous. it's gotten so bad, rev, that if president obama discovered a cure for cancer, the republicans would bash him for doing nothing about heart disease. >> you know, krystal, talking about dick cheney, i mean, he knows a thing or two about invading foreign countries. >> indeed. >> but he is offering his wisdom on the crisis. listen to this. >> i worry when one would begin to address a crisis by taking options off the table. >> have they done that? >> in a sense by say

beutler, izadhi, krystal ball. >> i like izadhi. krystal, it's interesting.you couldn't buzz in early. i think that affected things. it's like comparing the pre-steroid ear ro to the steroid era. this is a wide open bracket. beutler is strong. i'm going with beutler. >> i was impressed with izadhi. not a single member of congress or former congressmen who appeared, we had ten of them, not a single one won. >> says a lot about our country. first of all, i think mike's had a little too much coffee. my feeling is krystall ball. i think she's going to win this thing. i think she's going to take it all. >> thanks, guys. >> i think she's going to take it because she's on "the cycle" every day surrounded by this knowledge. i think she has one step up on everybody playing. i'm going for krystall not only in that category. >> mark is taking krystall. >> who is your national title pick? >> susan paige. she plays it the way it was meant to play. >> congratulations. that is your field of nine. our march madness is ready to go. congratulations, krystall. exciting on "up."

kelly cass, tell us what to expect next. >> hi, krystal. think, heat and humidity, right, just around the corner. yes, we are dealing with another wintry blast, currently dealing with moderate to heavy snow at times across maryland and delaware. that i-81 ride right here in western virginia pretty treacherous right now. we've oveven had sleet mixing wh snow in the high country of western north carolina as well. even west of d.c. and south of d.c., still coming down, meaning problems for the roadways, especially as you make your way through salisbury, maryland, where it is still snowing pretty good right now. an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow can be expected across this region, and we are expecting another very cold night tonight. as tom costello just reported, temperatures down into the single digits in parts of the northeast. so, all the slush and even some of that rain that you had during the day across north carolina is going to flash freeze out there on the roadways. so, especially the bridges and the overpasses, that is where it's go

. >> let me ask you this, krystal.h mcconnell took the stage holding a rifle. he later said he carried it out to present to senator corbin as an nra achievement award. was this his best attempt at winning over the far right crowd he is being challenged by in kentucky? >> i think that's right. he is being challenged from the right in kentucky. he is being challenged from the left and the center in kentucky. he is in a very tough battle. a lot of times conservatives, because the party is so fractured, and because they stand actually on so little, their economic philosophy doesn't stand up to scrutiny, they have very little to offer that the country actually wants from them, they fall back on these cultural symbols like a gun. this is a symbol to his base that he is one of them, without having to say a word. that's a lot of what they rely on. i think obama bashing has become one of those cultural symbols for the right. >> paul ryan said today, dana, the liberals are only offering people a full stomach and an empty soul. a

>> that's a great point, chr krystal.nvestigators have to be cognizant of that at all times. 230 people on the aircraft or hundreds of thousands of family and friends that are feeling the impact of this. investigators have to be sensitive to that and there's always a balance. you have to ask probing questions. it's really important in order to elicit the right information, but it also has to be done with some sensitivity and understanding about the people that are involved here. >> such a great point. ta dave, as we're looking at the third satellite image showing possible debris in the southern i indian ocean, in what we've been calling the southern arc of the potential plane trajectory, should we be honing in or considering the possibility that the plane could have flown along that northern arc that crossed over some 15 different countries? >> you know, there's always a possibility it could have gone the other way and this is just sea debris, these fphotos to lok at the pings received by ray tar, that's important. becaus

the one left standing is krystal ball with 900 points. congratulations, krystall.national championship game next saturday against kate and sarah. bill wolf will tell you what you and the others will be playing for next week. >> congratulations. as today's winner, you've earned a spot in the up against the finals where you will face off for the tournament of champions grand prize. two amazing dinners at new york city's renowned restaurant. thanks, tom. and the fine dining experience, why, we'll throw in a bottle of wine. back to you, steve. >> all right. we have one more game left next saturday to crown our champion. krystal. you've gotten a look at the competition so far. any fighting words you want to offer for kate or alex? >> i just hope that i don't embarrass myself. >> that is the confidence we have come to expect from championship contender krystal ball. she and alex and kate nocera will square off. what do we know now that we didn't know last week? our answers are after this. in the nation, we reward safe driving. add vanishing deductible from nationwide ins

joining me now are former pennsylvania governor ed rendell and krystal ball. thank you both for joining me. >> thanks for having me. >> our pleasure. >> the best defense is a good offense. shouldn't democrats go after republicans when it comes to health care? >> absolutely. the first thing i would do, rev, if i was running for governor in florida or pennsylvania or mary landrieu or kay hagans running in north carolina and louisiana, go after the republicans for not expanding medicaid. find every one of those people in pennsylvania almost 500,000, every one of those people who would have health care coverage had they chosen to expand medicaid, and say look, we can do this. it's wrong for the republicans to keep you from getting health care. get all those people out to the poll, number one. number two, get all of the 26 and under who are living with their parents who if we appeal obamacare, they have no health care. get them out to the polls. get the people with preexisting illnesses. get them out to the polls. emphasize the positive. let's go and get the people

i'm krystal ball reporting from san francisco. my bracket is done. let's just say you should probably go ahead and start calling it krystal baller. >> we begin with breaking news. the search for missing malaysian flight 370 is a criminal investigation. focusing in two vast corridors. expanding two continents, pair of oceans and several seas. dictated by the final satellite ping that hit 7 1/2 hours after takeoff. the criminal aspect is based on investigators' belief the flight was taken off course deliberately. the pentagon now says that the u.s. military is about to cut back participation in the search and returning it to its normal navy operations. lots of developments happening over the weekend. we have no wreckage, no evidence after crash. we have no evidence that this plane landed anywhere and no evidence the pilots were onboard behind it but that's where investigators are focused. on the pilots the flight crew, the ground engineers and anyone who had access to this plane. let's start with nbc's kerry sanders in washington. let's start with the

krystal? >> thank you so much for that report. here with us now is kyle bailey, an aviation analyst and pilot. and kyle, given what we know at this point about where the plane went down and the ocean about that additional right-hand turn, that was taken about the plane potential lip going down as low as 12,000 feet in altitude, are there any possibilities for what happened onboard that flight that we can definitively rule out? or are all possibilities still open in your view? >> the one thing we can rule out at this point is the airplane is probably in pakistan or somewhere up north. right now, if i had to put my odds on it, i would say pretty much most likely a rapid decompression, low cabin pressure and that plane descended, either automatically or by the pilots to get down to a level where the passengers could actually breathe. >> and what sort of events would lead to a rapid depressurization? >> it's usually a structural failure. even a fire if there were lithium batteries in the cargo hold as reporting, a fire could cause a r

the white delegation led by krystal ball choose maria carey and derek jeter. because they are on welfare. corporate welfare that is. let's touch base with each delegation and get a take on their strategy. krystal? >> i want to have fun and pick cool people. hi, mom. >> joy, what is your strategy? >> mine is attacking equality and bring real wealth into your community. >> we have never seen a strategy like joy's. can you change race relations? it is time to pick again. >> the white delegation chooses halle berry. >> interesting choice. does the black delegation need time to deliberate? >> no, the black delegation chooses bill gates. >> bill gates is now black. i don't know the justification for picking him is, but $76 billion moved into the community. >> the white delegation chooses drake. >> you can have him. good luck with that. it's joy's turn. >> the black delegation takes warren buffett. >> ladies and gentlemen, i have a major economic restructuring here going on here. my statistician is telling me perhaps $300 billion is moved from the white community to

i think that's right, krystal. you made a big deal out of that. all these searches that involve other countries are going to be shaped by the culture that they're happening in, right? and some people, abby for one was talking about in the office that the nature of a search in asia is going to be shaped by the notion of losing face, which is huge in that culture. the malaysian government does not want to lose face, does not want to be told perhaps by the western nations, by america what to do and where to go. china has been repeatedly publicly criticizing them. how much does all that play into this sort of national identity issue? >> are you asking me -- >> quite a bit -- >> that one was to jim. david, you're next. >> okay. i think that plays a role. i had said on previous occasions that i thought this was much like the egypt air investigation. because you have a real dynamic between the military and the civilian aviation authorities. and you have a national airline. which means you have a national reputation to maintain. and unfortunately also, yo

>> hi, krystal. we saw the first shots fired in this crises outside an air base in crimea during an intense standoff. the air base has been sealed off by armed russian soldiers but ukrainian soldiers who work in the base marched up towards the gate, demanding they be allowed in to get on with their jobs. the russians responded by firing warning shots above their heads and threatening to shoot them in their legs. luckily it was diffused. earlier today vladimir putin, the russian president, had denied there are russian troops occupying crimea. that was met with disdain by secretary of state john kerry who of course was visiting ukraine today. he came as a gesture of support for the government, saying the u.s. would provide $1 billion of loan guarantees as well as providing expertise to the central bank and to help crack down on corruption. he visited the barricades here which have become a shrine to those who were killed during the clashes, many of them shot by snipers. he was very well received and of

you zbaf them to us. >> krystal mention it is divide on the front around this. there seems to be this opening to for republicans, chances of them taking the senate are going up and they are put, forth good candidates in states like colorado and michigan and maybe new hampshire if brown runs which are democratically held states. are they going to seize this opportunity or shoot themselves in foot by electing more candidates like states in georgia, north carolina, mississippi. >> that opening closes. on the national security thing the danger for the democrats is that they are -- p they get the feeling the candidates are all the same, that's an opening for republicans. >> i mean, it seems to be some divide on that. the republicans and democrats are both divided and some folks say we have to make a change and some folks that say this is just the way that business is done now. but all these races that have -- referring to, are interconnected and people often think of georgia is doing had and colorado is doing that. they are interconnected in terms of what donors can

i'm krystal ball reporting from san francisco. my bracket is done.robably go ahead and start calling it krystal baller.

lead to a slippery slope, because you could say any sport team, whether that's swimming, i'm sure krystal can attest to that as a college swimmer, or any sport, saying our lives are devoted to this. it's a lot of hours, a lot of work. josh, ultimately this is about the money. why not just say this is about the money? because that's what schools are most concerned about, that these players will then ask to be paid. >> yeah. what the nlrb is saying is something that i think is fairly obvious, which is playing in a division i football or basketball program is a job. it produces something of tremendous economic value to the school and it's something that you have to work on like it's a full-time job, and in many cases, it's really inconsistent with being a full-time student carrying a full course load at one of these schools. we have the scandal at the same time at the university of north carolina about how they have these more or less fake classes. one student handed in a one-paragraph essay about rosa parks that was -- >> terrible. >> it was factually incorrect in addition to having very li

i think krystal's people nails that. >> thank you for that, ari. we have much more still ahead. long time spying defender calls on the cia for spying. from ari's angle, senator feinstein's epic speech is the beginning of why we should be concerned. salesperson #2: actually, we're throwing in a $1,000 fuel reward card. we've never done that. that's why there's never been a better time to buy a passat tdi clean diesel. husband: so it's like two deals in one? avo: during the salesperson #2: first ever exactly. volkswagen tdi clean diesel event, get a great deal on a passat tdi, that gets up to 795 highway miles per tank. and get a $1000 dollar fuel reward card. it's like two deals in one. hurry in and get a $1,000 fuel reward card and 0.9% apr for 60 months on tdi models. who gets the allstate safe driving bonus check. rock beats scissors! [ chuckles ] wife beats rock. and with two checks a year, everyone wins. [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call 866-906-8500 now. [ dennis ] zach really loves hi

new this morning, on msnbc.com, the cycle's krystal ball with the nra shoots down a qualified obama nomineeit comes as the white house is considering delaying the nomination. as many as ten senate democrats, many from red states, are under intense pressure from a new nra push. the gun lobby is angry at the doctor's views on gun reform. many are in step with a majority of americans that support assault weapons ban, and limits on ammunition sales. and you can see t"the cycle" weekday afternoons right here on msnbc. >>> so some of our other stories in the news this morning, obamacare sign up hits the 5 million mark. the obama administration has about 1 million more to go to reach its 6 million goal by the end of the month. march 31 is the last day to enroll for a health plan through the new online markets or exchanges. >>> and scientists say they have found 14 billion rear old echos of the life creating big bang. these are pictures from the south pole. it's considered the first direct evidence of existence in the universe. >>> and time.com reports pumps outbreak at ohio state rose to 23 cases.

. >> krystal river is named one of the thousand places to see before you die in that in the new york times best seller of the same name, manatee eco tourism is the life blood of that small town on the shore, population 3,000. eco tourism and the hundreds of thousands of tourists it brings has set off a debate. >> what do tourists get with swimming with the manatees. >> you only touch what you love and only love what you know. we are fostering a steward ship. once we come face-to-face and such something, it's real to us. >> the swimming with manatees attraction is his livelihood. >> manatees will behave much more like cats and not so much like dogs. >> we call them gentle giants. they're so engaging and curious and they move in slow motion when they're looking at you and there's a connection when you look in their eyes. >> every day, he takes visitors underwater, and often swimmers will pelt or touch the manatees, which is legal here. some conservationist the want the tour boats eliminated because they believe snorkelers and boats are disturbing the animals. at the very least, some in

laura hobbs and her friend, krystal tobias, were found dead in a park in 2005. police say torrez's d-n-a matched evidence recovered at the crime scene. but he remained free for five years while police blamed the father of one of the victims. authorities say torrez murdered the sailor while the father sat in jail awaiting trial for the girls' deaths. francis cardinal george returned to the altar for sunday mass after his week-long hospitalization for an infection brought on by his cancer treatment. the cardinal held onto a fellow priest for support, weakened by chemotherapy and the stomach infection. at the end of mass and outside greeting worshippers, the cardinal gave thanks for the many prayers from chicago's catholics. >> it's easy prey for other people i find. i count on others to pray for me. that's what it means to be a family, a community of saints. i know they dupree. i get messages and phone calls and letters and people who really pray for me. i'm grateful. >>the cardinal is still hopeful he'll be able to travel to rome next month for the canonization o

. >> the day also brings one of the few pleasures in krystal o'reilly's life.this pleasure has a bittersweet side. o'reilly is currently awaiting trial for allegedly robbing two banks and could face up to ten years in prison. >> going to see him like i'm not sad but when he's leaving i tend to be a little sad. >> go see mommy? >> yes. >> yes? >> she's been here for six months and her son doesn't get to see her that often because i have to work all the time and i have custody of him. we're on our way upstairs. come on. >> i love her to death. she's my best friend. i do everything -- well, i don't do everything. i tell my mom everything. she's real supportive. she's really good with my son. so i love her. >> where are you going? >> go see mommy? >> go mommy. and draw a picture. >> you're going draw pictures with mommy and color? >> the door opened! >> the door opened, yes! here we go. >> he'll be three in may. oh, my god, he's getting so big. so big. it's crazy. my nana calls him half pint because he looks just like his father. just like his father. >> who's that

. >> krystal ball, she phrased it much more carefully today. she said it's reminiscent.t's what everyone is nervous about. >> it was one of those things, it was a question from the audience, which is always where the problems come from. she was a little bit out of shape there last night on the precision with which we respect and the restraint with which we expect the secretary of state to speak. if she were john kerry today, she never would have used the word hitler. >> she's much more careful reen in a setting like that, your comment can obviously become public. even though she is no longer secretary of state, she is still seen as a leading voice of our foreign policy. >> so she will be judged by that standard whenever she speaks. >> absolutely. anytime you go down the path of comparing anything to hitler, to nazis, it does not make you sound like an intelligence, thoughtful person. it's way over the top in terms of a comparison. i think there was an instinct here. she was receiving negative press in connection to the russian reset, the republicans are trying to tie oba

. >> joining me now at the texas election anchor desk, krystal ball, big win for wendy davis. 34% reportingallenger. >> yeah. this result was no the really in doubt, but still it was a chance for her to get her sea legs. she made a couple of criticisms about her bio not being completely accurate. but it's a tough, uphill battle but she's giving democrats in the state of texas a lot of hope that they haven't had in quite a long time. >> the republican nominee to no surprise is greg abbott. he won his easily. and so the fight is on. we have our nominees. '. >> absolute pli. one of the fast nating things in the last couple of days, greg abbott cement months with the birth enand secessionist wings of the party, or as we call them moderates here in texas. but it's very interesting. the last few day, he's done something which suggests a slight movement towards general election. he's show casing his wife, who is a latina. he put a commercial up appealing to hispanic votes. and he has after voting today here in austin, come out and said i am a multiculturist. that's something that you would never h

i'm krystal ball.est names in the business with his prediction and maybe a bit of advice for my [ set all that and the guest spot. acclaimed author who literally wrote a book on writing books. be here when the great carol takes a seat at the head of the table. >>> the search and rescue for missing malaysia flight 370 is now in its second week. there's still month sign of the 250-ton plane or 239 people who were onboard, including three americans. potential much area keeps growing because it has to. the malaysian government is refusing to confirm anything. frustrating families and other governments trying that are trying to help in the search. within the last hour, we learned american scientists are depunking a theory the plane crashed near where it last contacted civilian air traffic control. the u.s. geological survey says the seismic event was motto during, not caused by

i'm krystal ball.hilling than the images from this disaster could be the idea that we were warned about it year ago. >>> cycling now, the white house extending the obamacare deadline, seeking reassurance that you'll sign up for health insurance. i'm abby huntsman. republicans are already writing their latest prescription, and it could be bad medicine for the president. >>> oh, boy. and march madness madness is down to the sweet 16, though not many of us at this point would use the word "sweet" to describe our brackets. i'm toure. jordan shultz is back at the head of the table to tell ari once again while coastal carolina was not an intelligent pick. >>> this is still the most credible lead that we have. it now seems to corroborate some form of objects and debris, and if it is confirmed

i'm krystal ball. we're less than a week out from those quote, unquote, elections.tter. >>> a year and a prayer. hope kahn frances marks a milestone at the vatican facing new questions about the future of his church. i'm luke russert, father james martin who literally wrote the book on jesus takes his seat at the head of the table, right where he belongs. >>> aftershock. the west coast braces for what's next after a big quake struck overnight. i'm abby huntsman. scientists say it's not if but when the next one is going to strike. >> toure today becomes court tv. i'm making the case for why it's good to defend bad people. >>> we begin with breaking news in the missing flight mystery. the fbi is about to run fingerprints lived by airport security in kuala lumpur against u.s. databases trying to id the two men who boarded the flight 370 using stolen pass ports and one-way tickets purchase with cash through an iranian middle man. right now there's no evidence terrorism brought down the plane but u.s. officials are not going to rule that out either. in fact, no evidence

plus, i'll make something krystal clear.t important political divide is wait for it, with the democrats. >> what? >> we begin with breaking news, and it is potentially huge developments in the mystery of missing malaysia flight 370. the search area has broadened but rescue teams could be narrowing in. they are working off new information that the plane might have veered 750 miles off course. the military says more than an hour after the plane lost contact with civilian air traffic control, their military radar possibly picked up the plane in the strait of malaca, 750 miles away from the intended flight path and where initial searches started four days ago. that's why the search area was extended monday. the strait of malaca is one of the world's busiest shipping channels and runs along the coast. the u.s. has long range aircraft searching over the strait covering about 1,500 square miles every hour. the pc-3 orion is equipped with special sensors to detect small degree in the water but still no sightings of the plane so far.

spring begins in nine days, krystal and looks like mother nature is soaking up every minute of it. >>sman paul ryan's attempt to overhaul government assistance programs got off to a rocky start. the house committee chairman released a report on the war on poverty and blasted government assistance programs for low-income people as inefficient and ineffective. right there he proves it by showing the poverty rate as near lit same as it was on the onset of the war on poverty, but, wait, what is that little end note there? >> what is it? >> oh, the number he uses doesn't include government transfer payments which, you know, is pretty much everything. transfer payments include things like retirement and medical benefits, unemployment insurance and benefits for military veterans, you know, things that help lift people out of poverty, so much so that these benefits can actually make up to 25% of personal income for those who are struggling. not only that but the report actually lists many government assistance programs that are actually work, so there's a lot under the surface of this report

the three players will be brian boyler, and krystal ball who if you watched our selection show a fewselection committee. the last one in the tournament. they will compete for the final spot. alex, you're in. championship game, april 5th. what do we know now that we didn't know last week. our answers after this. [ female announcer ] what's a powerful way to cut through everyday greasy messes? [ male announcer ] sponges take your mark. ♪ [ female announcer ] one drop of ultra dawn has twice the everyday grease cleaning ingredients of one drop of the leading non-concentrated brand... ♪ [ crowd cheering ] ...to clean 2x more greasy dishes. dawn does more. so it's not a chore. dawn does more. ♪ ♪ nothing says, "you're my #1 copilot," like a milk-bone biscuit. ♪ say it with milk-bone. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get