the republican party and boehner joked about having to calm down legendary college football coach lou holtz. >> about 9:30 i get this text, the country is overwith. we're not doing this again. i already had this conversation with lou about nine or ten days after the election. he came in to speak to our 34 new members. and before he went over to talk to them, he came to my office. he is moaning and groaning. i said, lou, would you stop? we're americans. we'll figure this out. and i just spent 15 minutes giving lou holtz a pep talk. >> and that's your morning dish of "scrambled politics." >>> and now for a look at the national weather, here is bill karins with the forecast. it's cold, right? >> lou holtz isn't happy all that's come out either. here's what we're dealing with out there this morning. snow has made its presence in the washington, d.c. area. we haven't had a lot over this winter period, especially think morning from washington, d.c., southward driving through virginia to fredericksburg, also into areas of southern maryland. we picked up between a dusting to two inches, just enough

and i just spent 15 minutes giving lou holtz a pep talk. >> well, good news for republicans, lou holtz hasn't been the best predictor when it comes to college football, so maybe he's off on this prediction as well. anyway, boehner's message to stick together before a group that is known for being more centrist was no accident. and boehner joked about his own vulnerability in his conference, making this joke after being introduced by former congressman mike hocksly. >> when he gave me this introduction, he was talking about how no one questioned my integrity, no one questioned my patriotism, no one questioned my conservatism. huh. where the hell have you been?! >> boehner successfully corralled those members yesterday, though. the house passed a bill to suspend the debt ceiling for four months until may 19th, avoiding a showdown over the federal borrowing limit. backing off a demand for dollar-for-dollar spending cuts. house republicans, instead, added a no-budget, no-pay provision to the bill, which would withhold lawmakers' paychecks if they failed to pass a budget and attempt to emba

lou holtz weighing in on the manti te'o story. he has advice. >> attorney general eric holder asking a court to squirt the law. asking them not to release documents on the botched fast and furious operation. judicial watch made the request 7 months ago on the freedom of information act. the century aurora theater scared by a tragic reopening its doors 6 months after james holmes allegedly killed 12 people. survivors first responders and families of the victims attended and viewed a private screening of the new hobbit movie. >>> overnight routers reporting a plane in algeria to rescue any remaining hostages taken in the terror raid on the gas plant. we know one american hostage is still missing. amy kellogg is following those developments from washington. >> this nightmare at a remote gas field in algeria in the middle of the desert is still ongoing. the bulk of the attempt has ended. the state department is saying the situation is not secured and not completely wrapped up. the algerians are saying the fighting on the residential c

>> it's really not. >> quick, the aggie beat lou holtz's irish in the cotton bowl.ught to call the aggies to give the pep talk. >> oh, whatever. we're back in a minute. what's next? he's going to apply testosterone to his underarm. axiron, the only underarm treatment for low t, can restore testosterone levels back to normal in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots

>> i think that was a lou holtz quote but go ahead. >> i think it was f. scott fitzgerald. thing that drives me crazy in this debate. i repeat it all the time, hoping somebody on twitter is going to get it, and they're just not. unfortunately, a lot of politicians in washington, i do agree with paul on this, can't chew gum and walk at the same time. you can do that and we have to do two things at the same time in this country and we have to take care of the long term debt. when do that, that is not what david cameron is enacting in great britain, enacting austerity measures now and slashing spending now. we're talking about the long haul. for some reason when you talk about taking care of things 10, 15, 20 years from now, people will raise their arms and scream, no, we can't do that. that's austerity. you can't cut spending while in an economic downturn. of course, we can't. we can plan for the future while spending some now. >> it seems to me, sam, the real problem is people don't just focus on this during a time of economic crisis. people in boom times you can't cut socia

there was a great article over the weekend, it was an interview that was done by steven war with lou holtznstitution, but how the pool is always open because notre dame is a national team that can draw from schools all across the country whp when you get numbers like this, i had seen recent numbers saying the number of fans among youngsters had dropped significantly because it had been so long since you were there in a national championship. when you see something like this, you guys were back in, back front and center for everybody out there, what would that mean in terms of admissions and what happens from the university? what do you get from the endowment? >> well, admissions are up. and they've been up every year the last several years. some of that would be due to football success. early applications were up 10% by the middle of the season already. so there's definitely some moves there. certainly the number of donors will increase with success in sports. there's never been a correlation between major giving and sports. but you know, it's a very public front porch and you'll get folks

lou here every day at this time and of course at 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. tonight catch former congressional budget office director douglas holtz-eakin.fix the whole fiscal mess? budget problem? senate, president and house go at that. i would not want to preempt any of that and deny the american people a entertainment. frustration, of course, glad to share it with you. i hope holtz-eakin has ideas. we'll hear those you. melissa: thank you. >> thank you of. let's check nicole at the stock exchange. >> we're seeing oil services inindex to the downside. we're looking at some of the names in particular. you are seeing they have down arrows here. some of the ones that received downgrades. test sore owe down 5.25%. that is dramatic down day for any stock. these four in particular got down grades at howard weill. baker hughes and phillips 66. so they have been coming under pressure. on the other hand i want to throw in hess and devon energy. those two got upgrades. that is why you see up arrows. hess up for example, 1%. deutsche bank upgraded them to buy from hold. lori: thank you, nicole. we have new evidence sanctions against iran are star