omaha elder nathan phillips was attending the indigenous peoples march. the incident that smart dust sparked a national debate. we will speak to elder nathan phillips about what happened as well as chase iron eyes, who helped organize the indigenous peoples march as well as native american writer david treuer come author of the new book "the heartbeat of wounded knee: native america from 1890 until today." all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, demomocracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as the partial government enters its 32nd day, lawmakers prepare to vote on several bills this week, aimed at ending the impasse over president trump's demand for $5.7 billion in border wall funding. on saturday, trump proposed a new deal promising to shield deferred action for childhood arrivals, or daca, protections for three years, as well as protections for those who have temporary protected status, or tps, in exchange for funding his border wall. democrats rejected the deal, which would not provide long-term protections or a path

phillips has a history of confrontations. four years ago he told a similar story claiming white students in michigan disrespected him and threw a beer can at him. he went to police, but no evidence turned up to support his claim. he has a rap sheet including negligent driving charges. there has been confusion over his service during the vote name era. phillips claimed he served in vietnam and was the victim of ugly protests upon returning. >> i am a marine corps vet. i got an honorable discharge. what my box says is i was in theater. i don't talk much about my vietnam times. when i come home, those times, i got spit on. actually spit on, called a baby killer. jesse: the marines say phillips was a reservist from 1972 to 976. worked on refrigerators stateside, never deployed. and he went awol several times. he was asked to clarify his service record. >> i always said i never stepped foot in south vietnam. i don't know how much clear can that be? jesse: he could have been a slot clearer there. it's called solen valor. he's a pro

phillips. want names ", and alissa milano saying red hat is the new white hood. >> when the story came out, everyone pounced on it and had an immediate reaction. the more information we got the more our positions changed. >> reporter: tonight we widen the lens, taking you inside a longer video showing you a more nuanced picture of what actually lid led up to that standoff. it all started january 18th. as two separate marches converged on the nation's capitol, the right to life and indigenous people's march. by the afternoon, a small group of indigenous people perform a ceremony along the reflection pool, but think are ney are not. >> before you started worshipping totem poles -- >> reporter: a small group can be heard shouting at the indigenous marchers, in this now removed facebook video. roughly half an hour later, the young black israelites turned their attention to the white students. >> look at these damn crackers. >> reporter: later identified as covington catholic students from kentucky.

phillips says he was trying to create calm between two groups at odds.nathan phillips/native americant:"i realized i had put myself in a really dangerous situation. you know there's like, here's a group of people who were angry at somebody else and i put myself in front of that and all of sudden i'm the one who all that anger and all that wanting to have the freedom to just rip me apart."this video shows what happened long before phillips shows up.you can see a group of about five black men who identify as hebrew israelites preaching. they start taunting people of all colors other blacks visitors, natives and a catholic priest."that's make america great again. a bunch of child molesting this is the moment that group is aware of the students -- some wearing make america great again hats.at first the catholic students are there in small numbersbut more and more students begin to gather watching with few weighing in. the small group of men continues taunting them. this is what make america great looks like."the students begin to react... but do not approach the men.the black israelites c

sandmann has every opportunity to move back.so does phillips.either do.while they faced off, the kids face more taunting from the hebrew israelite group.(nats) "this is a bunch of future school shooters.""that's right."while phillips maintains he felt the kids were mocking him and being rude--sandmann says it was the adults using hateful words and trying to provoke the kids -- not the other way around.sara sidner/ reporting: "after seeing the initial viral video, the diocese that oversees the covington catholic high school in kentucky condemned the students' behavior toward native americans saying they would also investigate. the mayor of their city also condemned them. but now congressman thomas massie who represents their district is praising them tweeting in part: 'in the face of racist and homosexual slurs, the young boys refused to reciprocate or disrespect anyone. even when taunted by homophobic bigots, which was obviously bewildering to them, they insulted no one.' the congressman said it was his honor to represent them."back to you. (anc

phillips says it was their attempt to thwart potential violence. the kids began dancing to it and chanting along. >> i realized i had put myself in a really dangerous situation, you know. it was like here is a group of people who were angry at somebody else and i put myself in front of that. >> reporter: phillips, a vietnam veteran, walks around, other students avoid him until you see him come face-to-face with a student who has now gone viral. the student says that he was the one trying to deescalate the situation, not phillips. i believe that by remaining motionless and calm, i was helping to diffuse the situation. i realized everyone had cameras and that perhaps a group of adults was trying to provoke a group of teens into a larger conflict. he has every opportunity to move back, so does phillips, neither do. while they faced off, the kids faced more taunting. while phillips maintains he felt the kids were mocking him and being rude, sandman says it was the other way around. the diocese that yefr seoversee high school saying that they would inve

phillips says he was trying to create calm between two groups at odds.nathan phillips/native americanself in a really dangerous situation. you know there's like, here's a group of people who were angry at somebody else and i put myself in front of that and all of sudden i'm the one who all that anger and all that wanting to have the freedom to just rip me apart."this video shows what happened long before phillips shows up.you can see a group of about five black men who identify as hebrew israelites preaching. they start taunting people of all colors other blacks visitors, natives and a catholic priest."that's make america great again. a bunch of child molesting this is the moment that group is aware of the students -- some wearing make america great again hats.at first the catholic students are there in small numbersbut more and more students begin to gather watching with few weighing in. the all group of men continues taunting them. this is what make america great looks like."the students begin to react... but do not approach the men.the black israelites continue to condemn the kids.

phillips as well? why didn't savannah asked him, for instance, why he passed himself off as a vietnam combat vet when, in fact, he was a reservist serving at home who was incidentally also arrested for assault owed at one point escape from prison? no big deal. perhaps mr. phillips gets the benefit of the doubt in his case and others because, among the media lead, he enjoys it something you might call minority privilege. in other words, his heritage and grievances, both real and imagined, entitle him to special treatment and consideration. if you dare question his motives or his opinions, then you are racist. period. that is patently unjust. it's ridiculous. evil still exists and of course racism does exist. but this is not the 1950s when minorities were denied opportunities across the board and when hateful stereotypes were broadly applied to them. they genuinely suffered. thankfully, things have changed. of course, pockets of racism still exist and always will, but in the wake of the civil rights move

the confrontation what did phillips do? he attempted to disrupt the national shrine. phillips and 20 demonstrators tried to force themselves into evening mass bang their drums and totally disrupt the service. security called the situation tents and had blockade phillips and his crew from disturbing the congregation. phillips of the history of racially charged confrontations four years ago the native american told the very similar story claiming white students in michigan disrespected him and threw a beer can at him. phillips went to the police but no evidence turned up to support his claim. phillips as a rap sheet which includes assault charges are alcohol-related charges and negligent driving even escaping from jail in nebraska. there is a lot off confusion with his military service in the vietnam era. i respect his service but the dishonesty created that confusion. he claims he served in vietnam was a victim of ugly protest upon returning. >> i am a marine corps vet i honorable discharge and one of the boxes it shows if i

phillips what does he think should happen with the students who participated in this.e, frankly, it's not for him to say. he saysp that's to those kids' parents and the school administration. back to you. >> darcy spencer, thank you. as you can acimagine, ron to the video continues to pour in including from one native lawmaker. you'll find that in our nbc a washingto. we've also posted the viral video. just seach "viral video." >>> president trump offered a new deal to democrats today to end the shuown, but h refused to change his demand for nearly $6 billion to fund a border wall along mexico. as nbc's kelly o'donnell explains, democratic leadership says there is no chancehe bill will make it to the president's desk.r: >> repor on this day 29, president trump host a naturalization ceremony swearing in five new americans in the oval office. >> you are now officially united states citizens. >> reporter: and with a new offer, he made government shutdown negotiations a national tv event. >> i'm here today to break the logjam -- >> reporter: the president pledging new supp

phillip? >> gabe, thank you. >>> meantime, we're learning of more people trying to provide some relief to furloughed federal workers. record jon bon jovi's restaurant is offering free meals to impacted government employees and their family wednesday from noon to 2:00 p.m. the workers can also take in a show at the new york metropolitan opera house. the met is offering a pair of free tickets to people with government i.d.s from saturday through the end of the month. and new york city restaurants are also doing their part. melba's kitchen in harlem is giving out free meals today from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. federal employees can also go to the barclays center where there is a pop-up sight from noon until 3:00 today. food bank staff will help connect workers with resources in their own neighborhoods. >>> this weekend's nfl playoff games brought high stakes drama that didn't end with the final whistle. in the saints versus the rams game, one play in particular is prompting the nfl to consider a ra

phillips stop far, we have not heard back.elle reshef, abc news, new york. >>> a figure skating champion has committed suicide just a day after he was suspended. john coughlin won the pairs title in 2011 and 2012. until his us is pension, he was scheduled to participate as a coach and tv commentator in next week's championships. he was facing three reports of sexual misconduct. two involving minors. he had denid the allegations. >>> and it looks like skiing champion lipd zi von may be forced to retire after failing to finish a competition in italy. she's trying to come back from multiple knee surgeries and was planning to retire at tepid of the year. but she acknowledged it may be time to listen to her body and call it quits now. she says she'll take a couple of days to think about it. >>> super bowl liii with, of course, the new england patriots. >> they beat kansas city 37-31 in overtime. rex burkehead's two-yard run finished off a back and forth battle. all brady could do afterwards is think of his family. >> i want to say

phillips was there for the indigenous peoples rally. >> our boys were targeted. they were targeted from the get- go. immediately there were all these people running around filming. >> reporter: chaperones for the students say a third group, african-american hebrew israelites, started it all yelling hateful things at the kids. those shepherds are now sharing this video of that confrontation. >> our boys did nothing, no violence. they did not attack those gentlemen. >> reporter: phillips says he saw the encounter and inserted himself between the two groups, hoping to calm the situation. >> they could have just walked away from it but no, they decided that they wanted to stay there. >> reporter: the teen and the video standing face-to-face with phillips has been ratified as nick sandmann. in a written statement he says "i believe that by remaining motionless and, i was helping to diffuse the situation. i said a silent prayer that the situation would not get out of hand.">> sandmann says he has received death threats over the weekend. the diocese of covington and the

phillips was singing and playing a drum at the rally when thede teens surro him. it's believed some of the students were from covington catly, an all male high school in kentucky. they were in town for the life i an-abortion rally. their actions are being widely criticized. phillips who is as vietnam teran explained the meeting behind the song he was singing as he was unted. >> khaled the aim song, american indian song that could bring strength and it courage and healin a the drum and the john, i was putting myself many in god's protection and understanding. >> in a joint statement the rowmatholic diocese of coverington and covington high school apologized to phillips. officials read a statement saying in part ofdee c the actions of the covington catholic high school students. the matter is being investigated t and wake appropriate action up to and including expulsion. >>> reaction to the video continues to pour in, including from one native american lawmaker. you can find that reaction in our nbc washingtonapp, and we've also posted the viral video for you. just

the native elder was identified as nathan phillips and a vietnam vet. he and others were harassed and taunted by students from covington catholic high school, a private all-boy school in kentucky who, according to the school's facebook page, were in d.c. attending the march for life. as the students clashed with another group, phillips walked between them in an attempt to defuse the situation. the videos have drawn outrage from all corners. the communications director with the roman catholic diocese of covington, released a brief statement today saying in part, we condemn the actions of the kofgton catholic high school students towards phillips specifically and native americans in general. the matter is being investigated and we will take the appropriate action up to and including expulsion. congresswoman deb holland of new mexico also tweeted, this veteran put his life on the line for our country. the students display of blatant hate say signal of how common decency has decayed under this administration. heartbreaking. and my cnn colleague kristen powe

phillips. i respect him. i'd like to talk to him. i mean, in hindsight, i wish we co avoided the whole thing. >> the covington catholic high school students, some wearing make america great again hats were in d.c. last week for the march for life. >> at the parade i felt threatened because when we were there and we were in front of them, they surrounded us. >> but after more videos emerged, defenders of the students say there was a rush to judgment. >> do you think the students did anything wrong? >> no. >> a student whose parents didn't want his face shown told nbc affiliate his classmates were using school chanlts to drown o protestors. men identified as black hebrew isra israelites, but the chants continued when phillips entered the picture saying he was trying to intervene. >> there was three people there. our guys started jumping up and down and clapping and dancing with them. >> school chants should be in school and this wasn't school. >> native americans protested in covington and even president trump weighed in calling the st

they appear to be mocking nathan phillips. the students were at the national mall attending a march for life rally and phillips was there for the indigenous people's rally. chaperones for the students say a third group, african american hebrew israelites, started it all by yelling hateful things at those kids. those chaperones are now sharing video of that confrontation. (sot nat 05 "they could have just >> you support trump? >> phillips says he saw the encounter and inserted himself between the two groups hoping to calm the situation down. face to face with phillips >> they could have just walked away from it, but no. they decided that they wanted to stay there. >> our boys were targeted. they were targeted from the get- go. immediately there were all these people running around filming. >> the teen in the video standing face to face with phillips insists his actions are misinterpreted. he said in a written statement, "i believe that by remaining motionless and calm, i was helping to defuse the situation. i said a silent pray

it seems phillips was being treated disrespectfully. but within hours, more video surfaced. >> what the hell is you see is crackers make america great again. >> reporter: the kids had been taunted by a small group of pro vok tears kno s -- provocateu. they shouted over them with that they say are school cheers, dozens jumping up and down, which is when phillips walked towards the group of student, beating his drum, he says to calm the combustible situation. what did you do when america was tearing itself apart? you turn your head? you walk away? or did you go in there, into the midst of it and say this is wrong? that's what i did. >> reporter: while philips said he heard the kids taunt him and the diocese and school initially condemned the students, the other videos told a more complex story. according to supporters of the kids -- >> all they're doing is waiting to get on a bus and they're being yelled at by grown men. why are they the bad guys? >> reporter: ever since, social media has raged. the boys, nathan philips, and the media all

phillips after that incident went viral.to this latest interview and we expect t hear from him tomorrow on "today". >>> in rochester, new york, three men and a teena boy have been charged with plotting to attack a small muslim community center in the catskill mountains. police say they recovered 23 several d shotguns a home made bombs when they arrested the suspects. they do not know if the a date for the alleged attack. officials say the plot was discovered aft the 16-year-old made an offhand comment at school and another student reportit. >>> the baseball hall of fame is getting four new members. yankees pitcher mariano rivera is the first player to be voted in unanimously by the baseball writers association. es win fivehe yan world series titles. also elected pitcher roy halladay, edgard martinez mike messina. >>> a little baby in michigan is seeing lif from a totally different perspective after etting his very first pair of glasses. take a look. >> oh, he doesn't want but wait, wait. >> open your guys, buddy. >> hi. hi.

is brexit to blame, jess phillips?”ng, because the country is split, that it is easy to make a binary. but where i live, where people voted leave and members of my family voted leave and lots of my constituents voted leave, this is not what happens. these people outside parliament are not representing those people. people come and chat with me, i have lots of brexit voters who will come in and be like, it is all right, bab, we disagree, that is it. that is what is happening in the rest of the country, don't let these folks think they are representing anyone but themselves. —— don't let these thugs. thank you both for coming in, jess phillips and stephen doughty. both labour mps, one in birmingham and one in cardiff. still to come — we'll hear from two social media influencers about the impact that living out their entire life on youthe and other platforms has had on their mental health. do you not worry that this is really bad for you? no, i know it's bad for me. i don't think i'm handing this in a good way. but you're

so does phillips. neither do.ds face more taunting from the hebrew israelite group. >> this is a bunch of -- >> reporter: while phillips maintains he felt the kids were mocking him and being red, sandmann said it was the adults trying to provoke the kids. not the other way around. so you see there the kids standing around and, look, there is some video of the kids doing a tomahawk chop which the native american elders and others there say was disrespectful and they felt they were being taunted. but we're getting some reaction from a congressman who had said, look, i looked at that initial viral video as did the catholic diocese that's over the covington school, and basically, the covington school said, look, we condemn these kids for what they did to the native americans, especially nathaniel phillips that you see there. we condemn their behavior and we're investigating. the mayor came out and said we condemn what these students did, this is not who we are. but when it comes to the congressman, he said i looked at

phillips, part of an indigenous people's march. the students, on a school trip to washington, d.c., to attend the march for life. initial video of the incident spreading like wildfire. the students sustaining swift backlash. but longer videos posted online show much more of what happened before the exchange. both groups apparently riled up by a few self-described black israelites, hurling slurs at the native americans and the teens. >> a bunch of future school shooters! >> that's right. >> reporter: in the new footage, phillips seen approaching the crowd of boys as they chant their school letters. phillips telling a local newspaper later he was trying to diffuse the tension by intervening. and this clip purporting to show a member of the indigenous people's group confronting the boys. >> white people, go back to europe, where you came from. >> reporter: moments later, this boy seems to try to keep the confrontation from escalating. tonight, that teen releasing a statement, saying he and his family are now receiving death threats. c

>> kyra phillips, great to have you. >>> two years into president trump's term now, a growing list of democrats tonight who want to take on president trump in 2020, including four women, one, a member of the house, the other three are senators. elizabeth warren, kristen gilly grand and kamala harris revealing she's running. she revealed it on "good morning america." >> i'm running for president of the united states. well, first of all, let me just say, i love my country. i love my country. and this a moment in time that i feel a sense of responsibility to stand up and fight for the best of who we are. >> senator harris will hold her first campaign event on friday in south carolina, then she'll visit iowa on monday. >>> overseas tonight, a new attack on u.s. forces in syria. isis is taking responsibility for a suicide car bombing on a convoy of u.s. and kurdish troops. no u.s. forces reportedly injured. it comes just days after four americans were killed in another isis attack in syria. president trump was at dover air force base when their remains were brought home this weekend. >>> b

i'm phillip mena. >> and i'm frances rivera. - at the cma foundation, we believe every child should have the access and opportunity to participate in quality music programs. i'm sara evans. music has always been a huge part of my life. music education isn't just important if you're going to make it your career. it also helps children develop the abilities that set them up for lifelong success. music is transformative and i want to ensure that it is never silenced. learn more at itstartswithme.org. (upbeat music) ad lib live picture - bay bridge already january 14th. halfway through the first month of the new year. a live look outside. that's beautiful. >> it is. >> lights glistening there near the bay bridge. hope you had a great weekend. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. we'll have a look at that traffic in a bit. not a lot of traffic right now. >> that's my report. tt weather. >> we'll have a lot going on this week. it starts out nice and quietr. we have this parkedn

phillips. i respect him. i'd like to talk to him. in hindsight, i wish we could have walked away and avoided the whole thing. but i can't say that i'm sorry for listening to him and standing there. >> tribal elder nathan phillips has told the today show the students should face some consequence. >> instead of being expelled, the students should go through some kind of sensitivity training, that they should -- cultural education of some kind. and if they don't, then don't graduate. >> phillips will be on the today show tomorrow with reaction to sandmann's latest comments. joining joining me is jonathan capehart. you wrote a powerful case. nothing justifies what the covington students did. i take it that nick sand man's interview this morning didn't change your mind. >> no, it didn't, because at the very end after walking readers through various videos that i had watched, including one that was put out there an hour 46 minutes long taped by the black hebrew israelites, the ultimate point i was making was respect for your elders was som

. >> this shows teenagers making fun of nathan phillips. the students from the catholic high school of kentucky were at the national mall attending a march for the life raleigh. phillips was there for the indigenous peoples rally. >> our boys were targeted. they were targeted from the get- go. immediately there were all these people running around filming. >> chaperone say that a third group, african-american hebrew israelites started it by yelling hateful things. those chaperones are sharing this video of that confrontation. >> our boys didn't do anything to they didn't attack those gentlemen. >> philip said he saw the encounter and inserted himself between the groups helping to calm the situation. >> they could've walked away but they decided that they wanted to stay. >> the teenagers standing face- to-face with phillips has been identified as nick in a written statement he says i believe that i remain motionless and, is helping to the diffuse the situation. i said a silent prayer that it would not get out of hand. >>> they say since the

i'm phillip mena. >> i'm frances rivera. monitoring powerful storms threatening americans from coast to coast. blizzard warnings are in effect for parts of north central california, where a pair of weather systems are dumping multiple feet of snow. meanwhile, the nypd scuba team trained first responders in ice rescue techniques, while twont storms are expected to move through parts of the midwest and northeast over the next few days. let's go straight to n meteorologist bill karins who's tracking it all. good morning. f> the worst of the storm is right over the top california. there in the middle of it with blizzard conditions, winds up to 90 miles an hour recorded in the mountains. and we are concerned the ferguson burn scar there is a od warning. they did have an inch of rainfall there. california's just filled with all these stormalerts. we have warnings for blizzards and snow. wind advisories, flood watches, flood odwarnings, flash f watch around los angeles and even some high surf to deal with thughout the rest of toda

phillips.. i'd like to talk to him. i mean, in hindsight, i wish we could have walked away and avoided the whole thing, but i can't say that i'm sorry for listening to him and standing there. >> this morning, 16-year-old nick sandmann standing by his actions in this moment gone viral. the junior at kentucky's covington catholic high school now the face of this lincoln memorial confrontation with native american elder nathan phillips. >> and what's it been like to be at the center of this storm? >> well, i've been -- it's weird to see your face on television. i've been reading a lot, and you know, i've also been getting a lot of messages from people both support and a lot of hateful things. >> sandmann and dozens of his class mamates had just finished attending a march for life rally when they -- a radical movement that is growing more militant. >> they started shouting a bunch of homophobic racist derogatory comments at us. >> what kinds of things did you hear them say? >> i heard them call us

phillips was singing and playing a drum at the rally when the tes surrounded him. that's believed some of the students were from covington cay, an all male high school in kentucky. they were here for the march for life anti-abortionth real. r actions are being widely criticized. phillips who is a vietnam veteeln says he sorry for the students. >> who allows the cldren to -- to treat others that who teaches our children that? >> in a jointstatement, the roman catholic die receives covington and covington catholic high school apologized to phillips. officials released a statent reading in part, quote, we condemn the actions of the covington catholic high school students. the matter is being investigated, and we will take appropriate action up to and including expulsion. >>> reaction toeo that vid continues to pour in,fr includi one native americanak lawm. find that in our nbc washington app as well as the video. just search viral video. >>> wve got an update on a brutal attack on a 69-year-old dog walker that happened in broad daylight. the alleged attackers are both

that is phillips and another native american drummer. was an attempt to thwart potential violence. the kids danced to it, and some begin chanting along with the native song. but for those who think they were enjoying each other's company, phillips says that is not at all how it felt, especially because of the student standing before him. >> fear, not for myself, but fear for the next generations, fear where this country's going, fear for those youth, fear for their future, fear for their souls, their spirit, what they're going to do to this country. >> reporter: now, the covington catholic school students were in washington from kentucky, taking part in the right to life march. the kat like diocese that oversees the school has condemned the students' behavior toward nathaniel phillips and native americans in general. they say they're investigating. there is something very clear that was happening in this video. basically, that hour and a half video that went out, that we were able to view kind of all things that happened before all this

here's abc's kyra phillips tonight. >> reporter: rudy giuliani said discussions about building a trump tower in moscow extended all the way to election day 2016, even as donald trump was insisting he had no dealings with russia. >> have no business whatsoever with russia. have nothing to do with russia. i have nothing to do with russia. i don't have any jobs in russia. i'm all over the world, but we're not involved in russia. >> reporter: the story from team trump keeps changing. first, they insisted discussions for the moscow tower ended in january 2016. then they acknowledged the talks lasted through that june, well into the campaign. in an october debate with hillary clinton, trump insisted he had no dealings with russia. >> i don't deal there. i have no businesses there. i have no loans from russia. >> reporter: but over the weekend, giuliani extended the timeline for the trump tower moscow talks yet again. >> that they went on throughout 2016. weren't a lot of them, but there were conversations, could be up to as far as october, november. >> reporter: later, giuliani told "the new

i'm frances rivera. >> i'm phillip mena. >> i'm phillip mena. checkge how's your cough? i'm good. i took 12-hour mucinex and sent it far away. hey buddy, have you seen a nice woman with a cough? woahhh! mucinex dm releases fast and lasts 12-hours, not 4. send coughs far away all day. ad lib live picture - sf skyline. >>> good thursday morning, january 24th. a live look at san francisco. this is one of my favorite shots. i always say that because it's so beautiful on this clear morning for us. >> this is one of my favorite shots. >> this is the best shot. >> maybe 6:30 a little better. let's get to the forecast. >> it is cool. we've had some chilly starts to the day. a live look outside in palo alto. looking at highway 101. as you step out only mid-40s. we'll stay there at 5:00 then see things warming up. south bay, look at this,

phillips was singing and playing a drum at the rally when the him. surrounded that's believed some of the students were from covington catholic, an all-male high school in kentucky. they were in town for the march for life anti-abortio rly. their actions are being widely criticized. phillips, who is v atnam veteran, explained the eaning behind the song he was singing as he was being taunted. >> it's called the aimong, american indian movement song and known as anity song. it's to bring, you know, strength and courage and heali w and believe that songs and the drum, those are a wayf communicating to god, so when i was singing the songs, i was putting myself in god's presence and asking god for protection an understanding. >> in a joint statement, the roman catholic diocese of covington and covington catholic high school apologized to phillips. officials released a statement readinin part, quote, we condemn the actions of the covington catholic highchool udents. the matter is being investigated, and we will take appropriate action up to and including e

that is phillips and another native american drummer.pt to thwart potential violence. the kids danced to it, and some begin chanting along with the native song. but for those who think they were enjoying each other's company, phillips says that is not at all how it felt, especially because of the student standing before him. >> fear, not for myself, but fear for the next generations, fear where this country's going, fear for those youth, fear for their future, fear for their souls, their spirit, what they're going to do to this country. >> reporter: now, the covington catholic school students were in washington from kentucky, taking part in the right to life march. the catholic diocese that oversees the school has condemned the students' behavior towards nathan phillips, the elder you saw there, and native americans in general. they're investigating. but there's something very clear happening here. in the hour and a half video that we saw, it is clear what started the tension were the black men who call themselves hebrew israelites. they

they have to tag it out, nbc news cannot verify what nathan phillips was saying.'re right about that being a softball interview. he was asked by savannah guthrig in the beginning, how are you doing? how are you feeling? how can you ask if you're savannah guthrie, the self-awareness to justou know tt if you asked the 15-year-old kid that was exonerated by all those videos if he should apologize, how do not ask nathan phillips that same question? that is what people at home want, some consistency. you ask him to apologize and then you have to ask nathan phillips to apologize as well. >> tucker: conservatives spend a lot of time talking about how tough the media is, i don't mind when journalists are tough.a we never point out the real crime which is, they go soft on everybody else.gh everything's soft focus, just disgusting. >> the soft part, you are right about that. "the new york times" today did a full feature on black israelites, they were at no point referencing the homophobic slurs, the racist slurs and then juxtapose this with dan leven, "the new york times" r

nathan phillips in spite of changing his story has a credibility issue.here was a rush to judgment and people had to walk that one back. when the full video within the context around it. the horrible racial slurs and anti-gay slurs directed at 15-year-old kid, you see how the two sides of the issue, phillips and sandmann. then savannah is asking, do you think you owe an apology. he had somebody come up to him in what i would say an aggressive fashion and bangedw a drum in his face. howie: commentator dan bongino said guthrie should resign in disgrace. mara: everything is fodder for the culture wars. the smartest thing the kid said in hindsight i wish i could have walked away. in hindsight i wish journalists would have gotten the facts first. instead of expressing their opinions first. we saw one clip of tape. apparently there was other footage of these black israelites. just stop tweeting. howie: you write it's just a matter of time before the social media mob comes for you. buck: there is a concept out there that just don't engage in the culture wars tha

phillips. sunday to "the detroit free press."nots that were screaming at the monument, the lincoln memorial, they were sayt some of it was true too pay the young white american kids were being taught in their catholic schools, their doctrine, their truths. when they found out there's more truth out there than what they are being taught, they were offended. they were insulted. they were scared. that's how they responded." the seething contempt for the catholic faith as expressed by him. he has since kind of cleaned up his rhetoric but what do you think about that? >> it wasn't the white kids who called the indians savages. it was the black thugs. this guy didn't go over after e blacks, did he? the hebrew israelites. he went after the catholic church. he tried to storm the church. that's what the nazis did in germany. they went into the synagogues to disrupt the services. if you try to disrupt a religious service, it's against the law in washington, d.c. it's also a hate crime. there were three groups here, laura. only one was not

phillips also gave an interview and no one has even talked about this.was talking about what he was thinking. this guy, phillips, said these white students were in the process of attacking the black individuals. didn't happen. they were "beasts preying on the black individuals." any called the students racist and he said the looks on on the kids' faces were similar to the faces during lynchings in the south. now, this guy's story has changed seven times. the fact that the media believed this guy without checking anything, what else is the media being told and just running with? how do we know? >> greg: it fits their assumptions. what kills me, jed, is the idea, if you are wearing something, you had it coming. we have learned that that's not what you say to people. >> jedediah: the nerve to say that to a kid. >> greg: wearing a hat. >> jedediah: the line. you were wearing a skirt like that, you deserve it. it's crazy. you did that research but they are counting on no one doing that or you do it but it doesn't get sent out. all they need is the initial cli

i'm phillip mena. >> great being with you. i'm frances rivera. millions wer a in the path of deadly winter blast this weekend. the storm contributed to at least seven deathsn the midwest. some of the hardest hit areas were missouri where several enter statesnd were shutdown many drivers left stranded. a delta plane slid off the tarmac sunday morning when arriving in northern kentuck where nearly 9 inches of snow fell. fortunately, there were no injuries. conditions led to the cancellations of more than 250 flight at three major airports serving the d.c. area. and virginiaic state p say they responded to more than 230 traffic crashes. the storm knocked out power for nearly 200,000 people in virginia and north carolina. drivers are urged to stay off the roads around the nation's capital where the storm has dumpedore than 10 inches of snow in some areas and winter weather advisories are e inect until 10:00 a.m. >> president trump facing tough questions this morning over his relati with russia following a pair of bombshell reports. "the new york tis"

the video shows what happened before phillips arrived.olic students are there in small numbers but more and more students begin to gather watching with few weighing in. the small group of men continues taunting them. phillips says he and another native drummer came in an attempt to thwart potential danger. he says for those who think they were enjoying each others company, that's not how it felt.. espeically because of the student standing before him. (justine) some of the students in the video attend covington catholic high school in northern kentucky. the spokesperson for the diocese that the school is part of said they "condemn the actions" and will investigate what happened. (justine) new tonight... we are hearing from the teen who is at the center of the video confront

so does phillips.f, the kids faced more taunting from the he brew group. >> while he said he felt the kids were mocking him, he says it was the adults using hateful r words and try iing to provoke the kids, not the other way around. they initially came out and condemned the students for their behavior between them and the native american elder and native americans in general and said they would be investigating. they have not changed the statement. the it's on their front page of their website. the mayor of the city condemned the students. we have not heard from the mayor, but now congressman massey has said look, i am proud of these students because in the face of racism and home phobic slur, they didn't respond. you'll see his tweet there. he talks about them even after being taunted, they kept to themselves and they were bewilder bewildered, but did not respond. he said he was proud of them. >> i was reading about it this morning. it's like snapshot of america, 2019. sarah s sidner, thank you so mu.

. >> and i'm phillip mena. mostly of the country waking up to dangerously low temperatures, not seen in decades. the arctic blast is bringing brutal cold, snow and ice to the midwest, northeast, and even the deep south. chicago is opening warming centers around the city to provide some protection. amtrak announced last night all trains scheduled to and from chicago today are canceled. the u.s. postal service is suspending mail delivery today in minnesota, western wisconsin, iowa and western illinois. for more on this, we're joined now by nbc's ron mott in >> reporter: hey, phillip, good morning to you. folks here in chicago are waking up to some historic low cold temperatures here. depending on where you live in this metro area, anywhere from 20 to 25 below, with wind chills anywhere from 50 to 55 below 0 and there is a chance this could be the coldest day ever in recorded history in chicago. >>> hundreds of car accidents across several states where millions are bundled up, faced with life-threatening cold. fri

phillip randolph, roy wilkins, reverend king received the keys to the city. been a long time coming. preparations have been going on for months all over the south, in all the big cities up north, just about all over the country. you might say this day's been 300 years in coming, ever since the first black woman taught her child this is our country too. ever since the first black man said to himself, i'm going to be free, never stopped working for freedom, never stopped praying and hoping and fighting. ♪ ♪ >> the leaders are spreading the word around, explaining about the prayer pilgrimage, inviting folks to come to washington. that's rosa parks from montgomery, alabama. and reverend kilgore, director of the prayer pilgrimage. >> negro church leaders recognize that through the years, the church has been a citadel of hope. it has given birth to many movements to schools, to hospitals, and civil rights movements. the young negro church leaders and others today recognize their position of leadership in a time like this. >> cleveland robinson, new york labor leade

phillips talk about that. he said he wasn't disrespecting mr. phillips at all in his mind.phillips has a completely different view of what happened that day. he has talked about that, said he felt he was being mocked. at one point the teenagers started doing the tomahawk chop while native americans were singing their prayer song. nathan phillips said, look, i don't think everything in his statement -- not yet responding to the words out of sandmann's mouth but in the statement that was sent out he didn't think some of it seemed disingenuous. however he said he, too, would not mind having a meet-up with him, that he was willing to do that. he wants this country to come together. >> sara sidner, thanks for bringing us up to speed. appreciate it. >>> new developments in the longest shutdown in u.s. history now. ♪ >> the opportunity to end all this is staring us in the face. we'll vote on this legislation. >> the second vote is just re-open government while we work to see if we can find a compromise. >> cannot have the president every time say i will shut down the government un