look, mike enzi was very conservative. very popular inside the state. and so it wasn't exactly a fight between a conservative and a liberal republican or a moderate republican. these were two conservatives, and when you talk to people inside the state, they couldn't figure out why she was running to unseat somebody they had considered pretty satisfactory and just as conservative as she is. >> yeah, he's a real conservative, mike enzi. all those conservative credentials and very well-liked in wyoming. the feud that we saw unfold in recent weeks within the cheney family over same-sex marriage between liz cheney and her sister mary cheney, is there a similar feud going on on a bigger notion within the republican party? >> yeah. i think so. i mean, the irony here, of course, is that liz cheney put herself far to the right of her own father, dick cheney, who when he ran for vice president said, look, i think it's up to the states. and, you know, said that he had a gay daughter, and that he believes it was an issue to be decided by the states. liz cheney posi

mike enzi is not well-known outside of wyoming.'s a pretty popular senator among republicans. he's very conservative. he is 69 years old. she is in her late 40s. one of the arguments she had been making is maybe he is too old. that wasn't a popular argument, especially among his republican senatorial colleagues. a lot of them are not only in their 60s, but 70s and even 80s. so it's -- it wasn't a very popular argument. and she -- you know, she angered a lot of long-time republicans in the state of wyoming by coming out and saying she was going to challenge mike enzi for that republican senatorial nomination. now she is out of the race. mike enzi will clearly get the republican nomination, wyoming being a very republican state. he has a pretty good path of getting re-elected, i think, for a fourth time. >> all right. wolf blitzer, thank you, appreciate it. >>> iraq's troops are in a big fight now. should the united states get involved or sit this one out? so ally bank really has no hidden fees on savings accounts? that's right, no h

she was trying to unseat republican mike enzi. polls last year showed him with a big league. cheney's campaign was rocky, to say the least. some accused her of being a carpetbagger trying to coast on her father's coattails and connections. then the public feud with her sister mary over same-sex marriage. john king broke the story and joins me now with new details. john? john, the statement cites family health issues as the reason for dropping out. do we know any more? >> i do, from several conversations from friends close to liz cheney and i'll respect the family's privacy, but some critics say she quit because she was losing the race. i can tell you, she is dealing now with two separate health issues and personal crises with two of her daughters and she just finally decided that the accumulative pressures that she needed to be a mom right now and not a candidate. but from all indications of the reporting is that these are serious challenges for the family. >> she was far behind in the polls. i mean, did she have a chance of actually winning? >> it's a great question. again,

she was someone who came in and said mike enzi is too willing to go along. not tough enough on some issues or at least she was tougher. this is part of the debate going on in the republican party. you have some who have taken a break from her dad's neo-con views. liz cheney is the opposite, very aggressive saying america has a strong foreign policy. this was an interesting race had it continued. >> even philosophical disagreements within her own family. if you had to wager a guess, you wouldn't rule out a future run? i would not rule out a future reason. and i would not rule out a political future. she's a person time candidate. part of the fact that she was losing early was part of the way too. cumulative effect, she decided she needed to be a mom right now and liz chain in a wants to be active, most of her friends believe she will run again. she will be active, you can be sure of that. >> john king, thanks very much. there's a lot more happening, susan hendricks has a 360 bulletin. >>> chicago's ban on gun sales is unconstitutional. the law was passed by t

the incumbent senator, mike enzi, really seemed to have an advantage. ren't a lot of polls but most expected that enzi had a pretty strong institutional and popular advantage. >> so, ross, i was wondering, does this debacle, does the cheney name lose some luster because of this? >> it was always a very strange campaign. liz cheney was basically trying to run the kind of outsider-based, tea party driven, grassroots campaign we have seen run very successfully in a lot of states against incumbent senators, specially long-serving incumbent senators in the republican party. as we've been talking about, she wasn't really an outsider in any meaningful sense. she has the cheney name. her issue in some sense was she was too much of an insider being associated with washington, d.c. there was also the fact that it wasn't always clear what issues she was running on. part of the reason there was such a flap over the same-sex marriage issue, a lot of people assumed she had pivoted to a more conservative position on that issue to be more in tune with wyoming's primary

her exit clears the way for incumbent senator mike enzi to win a fourth term. wyoming has not elected a democrat to the senate since 1970. >>> the baseball world is mourning the death of a legendary player and broadcasting icon. jerry coleman died sunday at the age of 89 following a brief illness. coleman spent his entire pro career as a new york yankees infielder, helping the bronx bombers to four world series titles. his playing career was put on hold during world war ii and the korean war when he served as a decorated marine corps pilot. but perhaps coleman will be best remembered as the voice of the san diego padres. he served as the team's radio announcer for more than four decades, becoming famous for phrases like oh, doctor and you can hang a star on that one, baby. he'll be missed. >>> now for a look at the national weather, once again, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. you've been a busy man. >> an active weather pattern. a lot of times we get cold outbreaks, alaska tends to be warmer when the midwest and central plains are very cold. it is 11 in

her exit clears wait for incumbent senator mike enzi to win a fourth term. wyoming has not eelected a democrat to the senate since 1970s. >> the baseball world is mourning the death of a legendary player in broadcast icon. jeremy coleman died after a brief illness. he spent his entire career as a new york yankees infielder helping the bronx bombers to four world series titles. his career was put on hold in the korean war when he served as a decorated pilot. coleman will best be remembered as the voice of the san diego padres. he served as the team's radio announcer for four decades becoming famous for the phrase, oh, doctor, and you can hang a star on that one, baby." nbc meteorologist bill karins, i cannot get over how cold it is outside. >> you're about to find out and realize it because it's coming to the east coast. that's what's next. we talked about where it's hitting hard now. let's talk about who is going to have the changing weather through the day today. our storm system dumped all the snow yesterday, now exiting up into canada. we've had freezing

now, cheney first made the decision to jump into the race against fellow republican mike enzi last summercontroversial when she made that decision. but recent polls have shown enzi maintains a wide lead and cheney has publicly battled with her own family over the issue of same-sex marriage in a very, very public way. unclear whether the family battle is over, but the senate battle at this point is. >>> all right, first lady michelle obama is getting a little time alone. she's staying in hawaii for a few extra days after her husband and the first daughters headed back to washington. mrs. obama turns 50 in a few days, and the white house says the extra time in the aloha state is part of president obama's gift to his wife. mrs. obama will spend some time with friends before returning to d.c. >>> coming up, dennis rodman at it again, headed to north korea for a game. he says he's not a politician. he says he's just going to play basketball for his friend, the dictator, kim jong-un. what's going on here? is this really a good idea? and can anyone stop dennis rodman? we're live, next. [ male an

cheney has trailed in public polling and saw veteran republican lawmakers flock to encouple bent mike enzi's chamber. cheney could leave as early as this week. >>> also later today in congress, the senate will vote on a three month extension of unemployment benefits for more than 1 million americans. democrats believe they have the votes to advance the bill but house republicans argue the costs should be offset with spending cuts. senators rand paul and chuck schumer talked about their points. >> i'm not opposed to unemployment insurance. i am opposed to how to pay for it. what i've always said is it needs to be paid for but we also need to do something for long-term unemployed people. we need to create something new that would create jobs. >> the tectonic plates of our politics have changed. for the first five years of the obama administration the two issues that dominated were health care and budget deficit. this year dealing with declining middle class incomes and not enough job growth will be the none one issue. and if on the first day of the new session the republican party says they wo

her a viable path to run in the future if she had actually made this year-long campaign against mike enzin an ugly affair. so much money spent, so many people caught in this particularly civil war in wyoming that everyone knows either mike enzi or the cheney family well there. she may be able to run in the future battle. >>> new york could soon become the next state to legalize medical marijuana. governor andrew cuomo will allow medical marijuana for certain ailments. he's expected to announce it during the state of the state speech this week. the move is an about-face for the governor who opposed medical marijuana. it will be more restrictive than colorado and california, it moves new york one of the nation's most punitive states for those caught using or dealing drugs, a significant closer to policies being embraced by marijuana advocates and lawmakers else why. joining me live is the huffi huffington post bureau chief and author of "this is your country on drugs. secret history of getting high in america." let's talk about new york and what it means. is "the new york times" right about

she says family health reasons are the reason she is giving up the bid against fellow republican mike enzi, and her campaign was fraught with problems almost from the start, including a very public argument with her sister who is gay over her opposition to same-sex marriage. >>> overseas tonight, after almost nine years of fighting, over 4400 americans dead in iraq, more than 32,000 came home wounded, and so many will bear the scars of that war for the rest of their lives. u.s. fighting forces are gone from iraq, but as so many predicted when president bush chose to go to war there after 9/11, the fighting has started up again. we all learned about the city of fallujah during the war. well, now there are reports that al-qaeda forces may have seized control of that city while threatening another. our report on all of it tonight from nbc's ayman mohyeldin. >> reporter: in broad daylight on the streets of fallujah, fighters linked to al-qaeda brazenly brandish their weapons, vowing to control iraq's sunni heartland, and warning they will punish anyone who sides with iraq's shiite-dominated go

her exit clears the way for mike enzy to win a fourth term. wyoming has not elected a democrat to the senate since 1970. >>> new overnight, the 13-year-old girl declared brain dead after a tonsillectomy is out of the hospital and in her mother's custody. >> jahi mcmath has been taken from children's hospital and has been brought to a place where they will use her name and where she can get to the starting line instead of where children's has left her at the finish line. >> while the family's would not reveal where jahi is headed, the place will allow her to have procedures done as soon as possible. one of those procedures could be to fit her with a feeding tube. the hospital argues that jahi's brain injury says she is brain dead. >>> first in aspen, colorado, where the pilot of a small private plane was killed after his jet crashed on the runway. two other people were on board, also pilots, and they were injured. the cause remains under investigation. at least two celebrities were at the airport and saw it all happen including country singer l

she was looking to unseat incumbent senator mike enzi. her campaign has been rocky from the start.ritics labeled her a carpetbagg er for relocating to wyoming from virginia. she also drew attention for a very public dispute with her sister, mary, who is a lesbian. >> state lawmakers are returned to sacramento this week for a pimlico election- year session. you can expect debates over billions of dollars in new tax revenue and leadership changes. democrats will work to protect their supermajorities as federal corruption investigation hangs over freshman lawmakers under the state's newly extended term limits could the dominant the lawmaking process. >> state residents now have to january 50 to pay their invoices and recently received from covered california. the agency says that health coverage will continue, but that the payment deadline was extended to prevent people from filling rushed. last month, more than 400,000 people signed up for the policies through the new health-care exchange. >> coming up on the kron4 morning news. we will have >> coming up on the kron4 morning news. we

mike enzi has a wide lead. some accused her of being a carpet bagger and then her public feud with her sister mary over same-sex marriage. joining us is peter hamby. what do you think of her dropping out? >> i think she is being sincere. there are serious health issues with her children. this is not just an excuse to abandon what i think a lot of people thought was a terrible campaign. she was never able to articulate a coherent message of why i'm running other than we need new blood. but is that enough against a senator who is conservative. >> her argument was he talked to much to the obama administration. >> the typical tea party challenger argument against an incumbent. and she supported the surveillance state, a strong national security apparatus. this does not fly with libertarians. >> but it made me think of chris christie and i'll explain why. chris christie, believe he is authentic. everything about this was a fake. she didn't live in wyoming. she wasn't as -- different from -- >> she messed around with

she was trying to unseat republican incumbent mike enzi. she says she's ending her campaign due to serious health issues in her family. the senator issueded a statement saying, "while it is not always easy, diane and i have always believed in putting family first. we have tremendous respect for liz's decision." >>> and former gop presidential nominee mit romney in the news, accepting an apology from msnbc host melissa harris perry. over the weekend she expressed remorse for a segment on her show that poked fun at romney's adopted african-american grandson. and governor romney saying he's ready to move. on he says everybody makes mistakes. and that's tonight's "speed read." >>> and two republican lawmakers from wisconsin in a bruising fight over obamacare. ron johnson of wisconsin and representative jim sensenbrenner. the court had s being asked to block the federal government from paying for health coverage for members of congress and staff. representative sensenbrenner calling it an unfortunate political stunt. senator johnson defending hi

her campaign against mike enzi had gained little traction within the go prb.ink your laptype files and other information is private when you cross the border, think again. >>> and another major misfire for gun control groups. the grapevine is next. while a bn tends to stay in motion. staying active can ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, this can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain and improve daily physical function so moving is easier. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic

she said she had an illness in the story, she's pulling out of the race against mike enzi.ink this signals the scott walker strategy that the republicans will fight democrats rather than each other? >> not at all. enzi is one of the more conservative members of the senate anyway, and so this was actually cannibalism, i think, on the conservative side of politics. so, no, the poll numbers weren't what she wanted, it was early, there's strategy and it didn't look good. plus she put politics before family, which also didn't make her look like the best candidate. >> just one more quickie on this. are you interested that governor scott walker is talking about this kind of thing, strategizing? sounds very presidential campaign-like to me. >> yeah, that's exactly what it sounds like. more politics, presidential politics. but he's the type of person who will spend a lot of money and say, hey, why don't you guys support me. i think he's one of of the people that are considered a possible issue when it comes to where are we at politically? he wants everybody to go after the democrats

she was trying to unseat mike enzi but faced opposition from her own party and her family after she voiced opposition to same-sex marriage. her sister who married her long time girlfriend publicly chastised cheney for the comment. >> apparently sexting starts as early as middle school for some. a new study in the journal of pediatrics finds one in five seventh graders sent a sexual picture or text message. researchers also found four out of seven teens that sectioned were more likely to involve in making out or having a friend with benefits. they also found girls were more likely to send photos than boys. more girls than boys. experts say the study proves it's important to talk to your kids about sex early and often. >> wow. that's amazing. 5:18 now. coming up, consumer electronics show kicks off tomorrow. we'll get a peek at some of the gadgets expected to make a splash. a deadly stabbing near a busy intersection in san francisco. it happened just after 3:00 this morning near the intersection of market street and octavia boulevard. bob redell joins us live at the scene this morning. what

cheney was in a primary against mike enzi. polling showed enzi with sizable leads among wyoming republicans. we'll be right back. ♪ like, really big... then expanded? ♪ or their new product tanked? ♪ or not? what if they embrace new technology instead? ♪ imagine a company's future with the future of trading. company profile. a research tool on thinkorswim. from td ameritrade. >>> welcome back to "hardball." we're just six days into 2014, and already the political battle lines that will define 2014 are being drawn, furiously. for democrats, it's an all-out assault on the issue of income inequality, and it's not just the president leading the charge here. it's the entire party. senator chuck schumer, a key member of his party's leadership outlined the strategy like this. quote, our republican colleagues should take note. issues like job creation, minimum wage, and unemployment insurance are going to weigh on the minds of voters far more than obama care by the time the 2014 elections rolling around. at its heart, the growing disp

in an unexpected move, liz cheney is bowing out of the senate race to unseat wyoming senator mike enzirious health issues that have recently arisen in our family. she did not elaborate. cnn learned from multiple sources close to the family that that involves at least one of her children. her candidacy was rocky from the start from cris schism -- criticism about her citizenship in wyoming to a dispute over same-sex marriage with her sister. >>> jihad jane was indicted in 2009 for conspireing to support terrorists and was allegedly part of a plot to murder a swedish cartoonist. four years in jail she has served will count to her ten-year sentence. she had faced life in prison. but received leniency for helping the fbi in other terrorism cases. >>> in utah marriage licenses for same-sex couples can no longer be issued after the supreme court ruled in favor of the state's request to repeal a decision that for a short time allowed gays and lesbians to tie the knot. >> it's unfortunate that many utah citizens have been put into this legal limbo. but we are evaluating their legal status curre

the other problem was, she took on a man who's pretty well liked, mike enzi is running for his fourthm, and he's a conservative, and so this wasn't quite a tea party race, and here she was trying to run as an outsider. and she has got an establishment name like cheney, which is well regarded in wyoming, his home state. so this is one of those things where the race now takes on a very different dimension, probably one of the most watched of this year, but because of these personal reasons and talking to sources close to the family, it's a real issue, they say, and she decided today was the right time to bow out. thomas? >> so many people recognize her potential as a politician, but, obviously, if there are other concerns that come up, you have to admire what she's putting first, family always comes first. nbc's kelly o'donnell, thank you so much. >> happy new year. >> happy new year, thank you. >>> new developments in the case of a girl on life support after tonsil surgery. she's been released to her mother's custody, so what comes next on this debate over life and death? >>> also ahea

. >>> liz cheney called mike enzi personally.nd said he's keeping the cheneys in his prayers. she says because of family reasons. >>> in san francisco, there's a new push to get rid of a law that gets, get this, bans people from using their garages to store anything but cars. so you can't keep a bike in there, no lawn equipment, just cars. no boxes of junk, guys. the city supervisor, mark farrell, says the laws are unnecessary and makes people who store the stuff in their garage scoff laws. so we'll see where that goes. but that's going to wrap up this hour of "jansing and co.," i'm chris jansing. brian shactman up next in today for thomas roberts. >> that would change my domestic situation significantly and make more work for me. chris, thank you very much. the agenda next hour, deep freeze gripping much of the nation, 49 states experiencing some type of cold weather right now. even the south being sucked in today by the so-called polar vortex. this weather, dangerous and deadly. we have reporters blanketing the country. meantim

cheney was in a primary against mike enzi. polling showed enzi with sizable leads among wyoming republicans. we'll be right back. open to ambition. open to bold ideas. that's why new york has a new plan -- dozens of tax free zones all across the state. move here, expand here, or start a new business here and pay no taxes for ten years... we're new york. if there's something that creates more jobs, and grows more businesses... we're open to it. start a tax-free business at startup-ny.com. where does the united states get most of its energy? is it africa? the middle east? canada? or the u.s.? the answer is... the u.s. ♪ most of america's energy comes from right here at home. take the energy quiz. energy lives here. >>> welcome back to "hardball." we're just six days into 2014, and already the political battle lines that will define 2014 are being drawn, furiously. for democrats, it's an all-out assault on the issue of income inequality, and it's not just the president leading the charge here. it's the entire party. senator chuck

she'd mounted a primary challenge to incumbent republican mike enzi. cheney did not mention the resulting party rift today. instead, in a statement, she said, "serious health issues have recently arisen in our family, and under the circumstances, i have decided to discontinue my campaign." a pennsylvania woman known as "jihad jane" was sentenced today to ten years in federal prison. colleen larose pleaded guilty to plotting to kill a swedish artist in 2009 for depicting the prophet muhammad as a dog. in philadelphia today, she told a federal judge that she is no longer obsessed with radical islam. the cost of keeping asian carp from getting into the great lakes from the mississippi river could top $18-billion dollars. the army corps of engineers gave that figure today as its high- end estimate to stop the invasive species. it offered eight possible plans, from physically separating the waterways to using electric barriers. on wall street today, stocks fell to start the first full trading week of the new year. the dow jones industrial average lost nearl

you could make that argument about mike enzi. liz cheney didn't fit that typical tea party mold.gton, d.c., moved to wyoming in 2012 and had to answer tho carpet bagger charges. she's also an unapologetic neoconservative. she supports surveillance apparatus in this country, a lot of grass roots and libertarians don't like that. >> i want to also get your take as congress is heading back to work today on the big -- we're entering a political year, right, or a campaign year. this is one of the big political stories. right out of the gate we're talking about long-term unemployment benefits. both sides think there's political advantage in taking on this fight right now. what are you hearing? >> i talked to a house senior leadership aid yesterday who admitted it is beneficial to the white house and democrats. i talked to a former obama white house person just before christmas when obama was sort of adrift figuring out what to do and he said, looking the president needs to find an issue on campaigning. so this is an issue they think they can talk about and win in this most that we're i

she has also trailed in public polling and saw veteran republican lawmakers flock to incumbent mike enzi'sorner. >>> we also want to take a look at something going on are hillary clinton. >>> first, joel and nicole's take on liz cheney. >> i think a lot of people more people loved and admire liz cheney than loved and admired liz cheney's campaign. >> a good way to put it. >> it was made difficult by people feeling like she revealed some of the impulses that would make her less than the bush and cheney years. >> you knew her? >> i worked alongside liz and mary cheney for the president and vice president's re-election. this was so shockey to everyone who knew the cheney's because they have always stood together, not just as a family, but as political warriors. so to see liz have to wage a campaign with a divided family front. >> that is hard. >> not as one of her assets but one of her burdenses was dismayed irks dismayed. >> a statement from the cheney campaign and reads the following. under the circumstances i have decided to discontinue my campaign. my children and our futures were the mot

vice president citing quote, family and health reasons for ending challenge to incumbent senator mike enziore when we get it. >>> doctors say israeli prime minister ariel sharon is fighting for his life but the prognosis remains grim. vital organs are deteriorating doctors report. charron has been in a coma for eight years. >>> we're awaiting nee details from colorado on a deadly crash at aspen airport. one person died when the private jet crashed and burst into flames. will carr joins us with the latest on this from in there. will, what happened? >> reporter: good morning, martha, we know this plane started in mexico yesterday morning. apparently it stopped in tucson, arizona, and then it crashed while attempting to land in aspen, colorado, which is 100 miles southwest of denver. now if you take a look at at some of the video you see the plane's fuselage, it is flipped up side down, it is charred. you're looking what is left of this private jet. cord to authorities the crash killed a 54-year-old man and insured two others evidently. all three were mexico and all three were pilots. the pla

liz cheney moved to wyoming in 2012, and she was also kind of seen as this carpetbagger taking on mike enzi. so some top republicans never embraced her candidacy. they worried it would hurt the republican party, and this announcement this morning, now all that guarantees that enzi is, in fact, going to get the fourth term. >> thank you. >>> president obama is back at the white house after his two-week hawaiian vacation. he and congress returned to a packed agenda. they will face off on unemployment benefits and obamacare. harry reid went on the offensive sunday. >> i'm really concerned about what's going on with republicans in congress. repeat to your viewers, two-thirds of the people in the house of representatives, the republicans, voted to close the government, keep it closed more than 16 days, and default on our debt. the republicans should get a life and start talking about doing something constructively. all they talk about is how bad obamacare is. they don't talk about anything to do to improve it. >> john dickinson is in washington. john, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, cha

president dick cheney citing family and health reasons for ending her challenge to incumbent senator mike enziw concerns over al qaeda's mounting presence in iraq as the terrorist group overruns fallujah and ramadi. secretary of state john kerry vowing to help the iraqi government but rejected the possibility of send troops back to the embattled nation. iraq's prime minister is urging residents of fallujah to expel al qaeda. >>> dennis rodman's relationship with north korean dictator kim jong-un just got weirder. former nba star making good on his promise to bring a team of foreign basketball pros to the impoverished nation for a basketball game marking the tyrant's birthday. among players challenging north rianne national team, former nba stars, vin baker, kenny anderson and cliff robinson. those are the headlines. back to dagen and connell. connell: oh, man. dagen: we're shaking our heads going okay. connell: charles payne was asked to be part of that team but not available. he had to come back to talk to us about level 3 communications. >> wanted to know how the hook shot was looking. dagen

wyoming of the daughter of dick cheney citing health reasons for dropping out in the race begins mike enzictured pelvis in a skiing the injury will force her to cut back on the work schedule the next three weeks. the german leader called off a planned voice to it poland. >>> pope francis announcing a trip to the holy land. the pontiff will visit the middle east from may 24th to the 26tt. openly foreign travel plan in 2014 to date. the three-day pilgrimage will include stops in amman, jordan, bethlehem and jerusalem. since francis's election back in march, israeli and palestinian leaders extended invitation for him to visit the region. those are the headlines. back to tracy. >> i invited him over too. but declined. >> maybe he will call. tracy: i would take a text at this point. lauren green, thank you very much. >> sure. tracy: big question, how long before pot is legal in all 50 states? tweet us and your responses will be at bottom of the screen. lizzie mack has the answer. new york governor cuomo planning to bring medical marijuana -- >> that is such a big turn around for the governor. h

she was hoping senator to mike enzi, a long-term republican, would step aside. but many republicans rallied behind him. the family drama, her opposition to same-sex marriage that put her at odds with her sister, mary, and that caused the most controversy. with a very private feud spilling out into the public view. i'm told that she and her family reached this decision over the holidays. and these new revelations of health issues specifically are about one of her three daughters, george. >> so that's interesting. not her father, former vice president cheney. of course had a heart transplant. thank you, jeff. >>> now, on top of the severe weather we have been talking about, the flu is on the rise in a big way in much of the country. the number of states with high flu activity more than tripling from 6 to 20 last week. here to talk about it is abc news chief health and medical editor dr. richard besser. rich, tell us what's going on here. >> this is a dramatic rise. flu tends to start in the southeast and spread from there. over the course of one week, it went from

she was looking to unseat incumbent senator mike enzi.the start. critics labeled her a "carpetbagger" for relocating to wyoming from virginia. cheney also drew attention for a very public dispute with her sister, mary - who is a lesbian - over the issue of same-sex marriage. >> medical marijuana activists are appealing a state court decision upholding a ban on marijuana cultivation. they petitioned the california supreme court on friday. they say prohibiting qualified medical marijuana users from growing their own pot violates the state's medical marijuana laws. the supreme court ruled last year that local governments can outlaw marijuana dispensaries. the appeals court ruling said that applies to growing marijuana as well. lawmakers are set to vote on tuesday. >> governor andrew cuomo is expected to add new york to the 20 states allowing medical marijuana use. cuomo would use administrative powers rather than legislative action to allow a limited number of hospitals to use marijuana to treat certain ailments. marijuana remains illegal in

herself as the conservative in the primary where she faced a major uphill battle to unseat senator mike enzi definition of marriage. >> reporter: but it launched a nasty family feud. liz's younger sister mary is gay, married to her long-time partner, they have two children. >> listen, i love mary very much. i love her family very much. this is just an issue on which we disagree. >> reporter: that played out in public. after that interview, mary wrote on facebook, liz, this isn't just an issue on which we disagree. you're just wrong and on the wrong side of history. for nearly the decade the former vice president has been open in his support for gay marriage. >> my general view is that freedom means freedom for everyone. >> reporter: a cheney family friend said liz's decision was a mom thing and predicted this will not be her final act in wyoming politics. marci and muhammad? >> thanks, karen. >>> the supreme court has put gay marriage on hold in utah. the decision stays in effect until an appeals court can take up the case. that court might decide of the state's ban on same-sex marriage vie

most of you know mo -- most of you know mike enzi. he has what he calls the 80/20 role. he worked with ted kennedy when his life. they got a lot done. i said how did you get so much done? peace and we agreed on 80% of the stuff. there's 20% we don't agree on. but we decided it was focus on the 80%, and the 20% we don't, we set that aside for another day. they made great progress as a team, democrat and republican. want to take a couple minutes and focus on the third of the three pieces i talk about which is deficit reduction and that is how do we get a result in everything we do. representative comments mentioned in improper payments. dr. coburn and i've come back to the well again and again and again. we introduce new legislation today, not today but this year -- last year's we don't continue to waste money on benefits to people better day. a lot of common sense stuff. elijah is right. in fact when i was new in the senate george w. bush said we know are spending a lot of money to wasting a lot of money. let's do something about it. we pass legislation that said we want

most of you know mike enzi, the senator from utah. he has the eda-20 rule that has enabled him to work with ted kennedy when he was alive and they were both leaders of the pension committee. and they got a lot done. and i asked him how do you get so much done and he said that we subscribe to the 80-20 rule, we agree on 80% of the stuff and 20% of the issues we don't agree on and what we decide to do is focus on the 80% we do agree and the 20%, we set that aside for another day and they make great progress, a democrat and republican. dr. coburn and by making great progress and set a great example of some of the same re. i want to take a couple minutes and focus on the third of the three's that i talked about, which is deficit reduction and how we get a better result on everything we do. representative cummings mengin the improper payments. dr. coburn and i have gone back to that well again and again. the legislation passed in 2010 and again in 2012 we introduced a legislation today so that we don't continue to waste money. a lot of com

>> the best goes to wyoming senator mike enzy.son with the worst week, chris christie. as much as i'm a supporter of his, have to recognize he's having a tough week. it should have been a great week. he signed the state's version of the dream act the day before this broke. and he was going to kick off his tour with the rga next week. this was a really rough week. >> that whole dream act thing got buried ant back page. morris? >> mine was for quantitative easing, extending it. we had very poor job numbers. there was an debate on whether to extent it. we need to create jobs. my loser of the week, the u.s./india relations. this is a problem and we need to fix it and the white house needs to pay attention to this and get this under control. >> and they've taken away security barriers. it's a mess. thanks so much, goldie, susan and morris. i appreciate it. that is a wrap of "weekends with alex witt." see you right back here tomorrow at noon eastern. up next, try poligrip for partials. poligrip helps minimize stress which may damage sup

cheney was challenging popular senator mike enzi in the republican primary and not doing well in the college football season wraps up tonight. two surprise teams faceoff, but one team's road to the big game has captured the attention of the nation. jessica joining us this morning with a look at sports. >> in sports, you believe anything is possible and tigers weren't on the radar before the season began for the to be 25. they finished 3-9, failed to win a conference game last year. that resulted in the firing of their head coach. enter new head coach and now the tigers are the team from alabama that is playing for a national championship. some are calling this team a team of does in any, as well, because two miraclous plays, ross shimabuku has the story. >> first, it was the prayer at jordan hair. auburn trails georgia 38-37, with 36 seconds left in the ballgame. lewis hauled in this hail mary tipped ball for go ahead touchdown as the tigers pulled off a shocking victory. >> what did that ball look like when it was dangling up in the air? >> like a bag of money. you see a bag of mone

liz cheney rattled wyoming politics by attempting to knock out a well-liked conservative, senator mike enzi, running for a fourth time. >> i believe it is necessary for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate. >> reporter: the state's gop establishment did not back her, cheney was accused of being a carpetbagger, moving her family in wyoming in 2012 after decades in the d.c. suburbs. then her campaign exposed a stunningly public family feud over same-sex marriage. when sister mary cheney and mary's wife, heather poe, criticized liz's opposition to gay marriage, saying she had supported their union in the past. the rift so damaging that dick and lynn cheney released a public statement saying that liz cheney has always believed in the traditional definition of marriage. and in a statement, liz cheney does not explain the details of this serious health issue. she and her husband, phil, thank their supporters and say that they will continue to fight for wyoming and its future. but the campaign will end today. back to all of you. >> thank you very much. >>> we'll go to natalie with a