for that pesky edward snowden character that guy really needs to disappear right and speaking of snowden obama had some kind words for the man who started this whole mess in the first place. the sensational way in which these disclosures have come out is often shed more heat than light. while revealing methods to our adversaries that could impact or operations in ways that we may not fully understand for years to come. more heat than light is the main heat on him or james clapper or keith alexander because i won't disagree there and frankly without snowden disclosures there is absolutely no way obama would have had to stand there today and try to defend unlimited unabated global survey once and of course we're just supposed to take the government's word for because there was not one specific detail in that speech of how these leaks have actually made america less safe but hey these kind of facts just don't fit the narrative that obama's trying to paint here remember it's bush's old story terrorists are all around us and will strike at any time and anywhere only only all encompassing global sur

obama gave his long awaited speech on n.s.a. reform unsurprisingly he rejected nearly all of the most important recommendations of his own review panel suggested in the wake of the snowden leaks bulk metadata collection is still a ok information will just be stored in a yet to be determined non-government site and intelligence agencies will have to receive judicial approval before accessing that database obama also hinted that privacy advocates would have some kind of role in contesting these data requests although as of now that role is completely unclear but considering that courts have rejected only point the review percent of all government surveillance inquiries somehow i don't think that judicial approval is going to be too difficult for the n.s.a. to manage so it's not about substantive reform what was the speech about what was a lot of this we're going to get a say though that if another nine eleven or massive cyber attack occurs they will be asked by congress in the media why they failed to connect the dots. did you feel the collective shiver of fear run across america just then let the really traumatization began in fact of the course of the forty five minute

. >> the times continue, and it's why president obama should tell his aides to begin finding a way to end mr. snowden'sication and give him an incentive to return home" question, will president obama relent and offer mr. snowden some form of clemency? >> he might. the nsa official that you just showed on the screen told 60 minutes that he would consider a plea bargain or clemency in exchange for assurances that the data that's been captured by snowden is now secure. what's fascinating is the government really has no idea of exactly what he has, and they're worried what else might be out there, and i think if you look at most people, they regard snowden maybe not heroic whistleblower but not a trader who should spend the rest of his life in jail. i think there's plenty of room for negotiation and there's three more years before the president leaves office. >> the guy broke the law, broke faith with the american people, with the nation. he committed the crime and he ought to do the time. if the president gave clemency or a pardonnen to snowden you'd have resignation through the national security agency.

snowden's leaks is massive. and that's not just talk, the obama administration continues to do what it can to apprehend snowden. and is prosecuting a record number of leakers. what options are open to all the participants in this tug of war? obama administration, and those who make contemplate become whistle blowers, joining us to discuss the implications of the white house's war, the security transparency, and journalism are mark scout. masters program and global scouters program. he is a former c,i analyst and historian for the spy museum. from durham north carolina, peter fiber. he was a member of the national security council staff in the clinton and bush administrations. and thomas drake, he was prosecuted for revealing unclassified details of the n schumachera's surveillance programs. mark, let me start with you, when the administration uses words like massive, and costly, when it devils into what some critics have called high personally, how are we to understand the value of what edward snowden took, and the damage it has done. >> well, we will be sorting out the value of what he took for a very long time

flurry of meetings as they prepare to make changes, surveillance programs exposed by edward snowden president obama could ask the n.s.a. to stop storing the telephone records of millions of americans and scale back efforts targetting foreign leaders. >> edward snowden has been asked to testify before a european parliamentary committee. no date has been proposed. the investigation is aimed at drafting policy to protect the privacy of citizens and improve it security in e.u. institutions. >> former cuban president fidel castro made a rare public appearance. the 87-year-old was shown on state television on an art gallery opening. it's been nine months since he was last seen in public. he's made a few appearances since stepping down in 2006, because of failing health. after leading the island nation for 50 years, castro was succeeded by his brother raul. >> the high cost of low temperatures. the hit the u.s. economy took vault of a cold snap. an island with a unique attraction. out of a horror movie. the island of the dolls. and this year's baseball hall of fame inductees talk about the steroid scandal

. >> reporter: there has been no immediate reaction from edward snowden to president obama. but supporters would say changes would happen. edward snowden former nsa contractor, released documents just seven months ago. stating that the national security agency had-collecting the phone records of verizon customers. and then details of an internet surveillance program. nine couples had been giving nsa direct access to all user data. a defiant president obama said the math was simple. >> you can't have 100% security and also then have 100% privacy and zero inconvenience. >> reporter: a new days later snowden took to the airwaves and identified himself fueling the now public debate. >> i sitting in my detective certainly had the authority to wiretap anybody even if you're not doing anything wrong you're being watched and recorded. >> reporter: and everything could be held indefinitely. >> the storage increases every year. >> reporter: revelations kept coming. in late june the british version of the nsa had intercepted communications of world leaders at a summit meeting in 2009.

collection will continue that's what snowden was focused on when he said that is what needs to end so i guess we can gather that he was not very pleased with president obama's speech it didn't go far enough but i know you've been tracking some other questions and answers what else do we now yes snowden as addressed a number of questions here there's been a lot of talk about what he thinks about spying and secrecy people have said that snowden just doesn't believe in any sort of spying and he was asked directly about that question what in your opinion is the appropriate extent of u.s. national security apparatus surely some spy use needed to which snowden replied not all spying is bad the biggest problem we face right now is the new technique of indiscriminate mass surveillance or governments are seizing billions and billions and billions of innocents communication every single day i think a person should be able to dial a number make a purchase send an s.m.s. reading e-mail or visit a web site without having to think. about what's going to look like on their permanent record so we've seen a number of n.s.a. disclosure over the last seven months but starting

after months of revelations by national security agency analyst edward snowden, today president obama rolled out his reforms to u.s. surveillance programs. he vowed the nsa would take a new approach when it comes to collecting and storing the phone records of americans. he promised the government will not eavesdrop on foreign leaders who are american allies. our north american editor starts our coverage. >> it could be you or him. you just cannot know. but information about millions of innocent phone calls and e- mails have been collected by u.s. intelligence, swept up as part of a vast operation that shocked many at home and abroad. president obama says now there will be changes. >> the bottom line is people around the world, regardless of their nationality, should know the united states is not spying on ordinary people who do not threaten our national security. we take their privacy concerns into account in our policies and procedures. this applies to foreign leaders as well. has ordered obama that spying on friendly foreign leaders should stop unless there is a compelling national

also one clear this morning, referring to edward snowden, if it had not been for snowden, obama would not made a speech on security and not had a discussion. on our facebook page, robin cooper writes in about the president's speech. snowden to wake the masses is a statement from robin cooper. is making thea case for violating the fourth amendment. he pretends to be a constitutional scholar and pretends to care about liberty. they care primarily about control of the people. they have a desire for more power. comments offading facebook and twitter. steve's in trenton new jersey on our democrat line this morning. take your calling. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am shocked at the gop hypocrisy on this. i understand it is a fine line between safety and privacy. this is the question i have, what if an attack happened on obamas watch that could've been prevented by some of this surveillance? supporter but i gave them a pass on some of the things he did to keep the country safe. if you have nothing to hide, you have no reason to worry about giving up privacy. there are things have t

whom the president once dismissed as nothing more than a, quote, hacker, edward snowden, it's highly unlikely president obama would have gone before the american public and ordered changes to these spying programs because we would not have even known they existed. snowden is presumably still in temporary asylum with felony charges waiting for him back at home. and the data he stole is still being used to break scoop after scoop after scoop. just yesterday, the guardian newspaper -- let's bring in glenn greenwald with first look media. he was the first to use information given to him by snowden and glenn has a book coming out called "no place to hide." glenn, thanks for being here. let's get right to it. the president announcing five reforms. perhaps the most notable, one has to do with bulk phone call collections. section 215. this collection of metadata is going to continue. it's just a third party may be involved with the database. here's why president obama argues this collection needs to be stored. >> the program grew out of the desire to address a gap identified after 9/11. one of the hijackers made a p

edward snowden also plans to address president obama's surveillance reforms. snowden has been living in exile in russia because the united states wants to prosecute him for leaking classified documents. >>> there's a lot of shoveling on the east coast. this is new york, where the snowfall has now given way to partly cloudy skies. and bitter cold. it's going to be 20 degrees the rests of week. >>> somebody must have left the door open on this amtrak train. snow-covered parts of the train's interior in maryland. the controls, seats, even the steering wheel were coated with snow and ice. >> that just looks cold. doesn't look like fun. >> right. >> they have been getting the very cold temperatures. they are going to see wind chills below zero. unbelievable! of course, we have had record- breaking temperatures. 10 days in a row, i think today may be the end of it but fire danger is running high over the mountains and the swells are building along the coastline. interesting though how it's breaking down today. we have some strong offshore winds developing over the mo

snowden has been charged with three felonies. he can come here appear before the worth with a lawyer and make his case. >> the embarrassments for the obama administration continue. snowden documents appeared to indicate that u.s. intelligence agencies had been listening to cell phone calls of german chancellor angela merkel. then the washington post reported that the nsa had tapped into servers covering yahoo and google. at the end of the year snowden told the washington post he had already won. because as many leaks had fueled a vigorous and high profile public depate. david shuster, al jazeera. >> this afternoon my colleague tony harris spoke with glen greenwald. he said there was no need for government to indiscriminately collect huge amounts of information. >> the real question i think not enough people are asking is why should the u.s. government be keeping everybody's metadata? why does the records of everyone we l talk to and who we speak to and why we e-mail, why does that need to be preserved if we have done nothing wrong? there is no legitimate reason for it to be kept. people who have done something wrong should be monitored f

responding to obama's speech, jesselyn radack, an advisor to edward snowden and former justice departmentawyer, criticized obama for leaving the bulk collection of metadata intact. >> i am happy that the government will no longer be housing people's records, but that begs the question of why the government should be storing anybody's records at all, and a lot of people might mistake the storing issue for the government not collecting, and the bulk metadata collection program remains intact. it continues. it, are going to transition but that does not really tell us anything, if they are going to overhaul it in some kind of fashion -- we have no idea. the point is they are still metadata onass hundreds of thousands of innocent americans. >> as obama unveiled reforms prompted by edward snowden's disclosures, snowden himself faced new attacks from lawmakers and intelligence officials. speaking to nbc's "meet the press," house intelligence chair mike rogers suggested, without providing evidence, that snowden is a russian spy. >> this was a thief who we believe had some help, who stole informat

snowden. and president obama addressed the nation last night for the annual state of the union speech after that speech the situation turned grim for one reporter covering the events and why one news reporter was interviewing representative michael graham and asked him a question about an investigation into illegal fund raising for the congressman's campaign this outrage to graham who then resorted to threatening the reporter and it was all caught on camera. why would you have to. leave. it there were. no. you know no. one would know. everything. ok. defended his actions but later apologized to that reporter he threatens. the state of the union focused on everything from raising the minimum wage to closing guantanamo bay to ending the war in afghanistan but how much of it is rhetoric and how much of it is a reality our to correspondent lucie county has more on the state of the union. a year of action and that was the rallying cry from the u.s. president at the state of the union address here in washington but it does of course come at a time when action is anything but guaranteed it has been an

and a lots of people asked their burning questions to snowden including a question about his reaction to president obama's n.s.a. speech we'll take a look at his response just ahead and the capital of ukraine has seen countless clashing between protesters and riot police now a tense cease fire has been declared while opposition leaders negotiate with the government the latest from ukraine coming up. and the syrian peace talks have just wrapped david two in switzerland but with the two sides warring over assad's power in the country will the syrian government and rebels even be able to come to an agreement in geneva bring you more from switzerland later in the show. it's thursday january twenty third four pm in washington d.c. i mean you're a david and you're watching r t. and we begin today with breaking news with a special q. and a chat conducted by former government contractor edward snowden today snowden gave a number of curious people out there the chance to have a conversation with him by offering them to ask some timely questions our very own sam sachs has been charting those questions and answers f

snowden. president barack obama is expected to announce changes in u.s. spy programs later on friday.atty cullhane joins us. apologies we have lost communications with patty. >>> the spying row has damaged relations with america's european allies. so how will the changes be viewed there? >> yes, relations were damaged and leading the criticism of u.s. surveillance activities here in europe has been germany. german age exes were outraged when it was revealed that the chancellor's cell phone was being listened into. so what do you think the german government will make of this development now? >> i think the expectations here in berlin are pretty low. they had been strangely enough quite high when it emerged that the americans had been listening in on the phone calls of chancellor merkel. the reason why is they saw opportunity in crisis. they had been hoping to join the five i's agreement. an agreement that existed since 1948 and basically involves the sharing of secrets amongst those countries. and spying on chancellor merkel, realizes that has not been the case. and they are not quite

this comes from edward snowden, as president obama is recommending guarding the nsa. james great to have you back. first i want to ask you a question about timing. president obama i to announce these recommendations on how to curb the nsa tomorrow, already critics are saying that he's not going to go far enough. is there a connection between the timing of this new information and that? >> well, these stories are complicated, they take a lot of reporting. we worked with other u.k. media on this and we probably stores when they're long enough with nsa, but this story in particular serves as a good reminder firstly of the nsa's approach to a lot of their collection, holding and storing billions and billions of text messages of people that most people would never be of interest to them. >> let's talk about exactly what this is all about. it is a program called dish fire that goes out and collects all these 200 million text messages every single day, gaiting all sorts of other information about the people who are texting. who are the targets and what is it being used for?

. >>> next, is edward snowden coming home? the obamaion says there is a way, but with the nsa leaker play along? hear what he told our own jake tapper. >>> plus, what was it that set richard sherman off during the championship game? we have the audio of what he said during the game. >>> justin bieber busted for drag racing and dui. is he the new thug on the block? let's go outfront. >>> good evening, everyone.

president obama should tell his aides to begin finding a way to end mr. snowden's vili indication and give him an incentive to return home. snowden has been living in russia for the last few months to avoid espionage charges. and the times think his should get some form of kleclemency. >> washington is full of people who broke the law by lying to congress, by engaging in illegal spying, by ordering the torture of prisoners. we haven't seen prosecutions of those officials and we haven't seen a lot of hand wringing about the precedent set by not prosecuting those people. let's not get on a high horse and say, oh dear, if we don't prosecute this person we're going to set a bad precedent. >> we'll talk with our cnn justice reporter correspondent evan perez in washington. "the new york times" powerful paper, editorial as well. clearly the white house is read what they say. they care about what they say. do you think it's going to make a difference in terms how the obama administratione pursues snowden? >> if you asked me this three, four months ago i would say it's not

in addition to answering questions, snowden plans to address issues like president obama's surveillance. snowden has been living in russia because the u.s. want to prosecute him for leaking classified documents. >>> new this morning, president obama's approval rating is on the rebound heading into the sixth year of his presidency. a new poll finds 46% of americans approve of the job the president is doing, 47% disapprove. that's up 4 points from december when the president was dealing with the fallout from the problems with the affordable care act website and the government shutdown. >>> protests against shuttle buses that take tech workers from san francisco to silicon valley are getting personal. demonstrators are targeting google engineer anthony levandowski protesting outside his home. they contend that he drive up the cost of living for everyone else in town. >> there is absolutely no reason to go after people in their home no matter what you think of their job or their politics. >> levandowski told kpix 5 he was surprised by the protest but didn't feel threatened. >>> an oakland r

. >> later today, nr nsa leaker edward snowden will speak out, a week removed from president obama's speech on reforms. most americans think snowden should stand trial in the u.s. for his action, though 23% believe he should be granted amnesty. >> that brings us to nbc's tracy potts live in washington. here's what i want to foknow, i there any chance le come back to the u.s. >> reporter: it is unlikely. the white house says she should, russians say he is welcome to stay there as long as he wants to and today for the first time since last summer, we are going to hear from him wage faulking to the p-- talking to the publi about those secret under surveillance programs. this is where edward snowden will answer questions live this afternoon about the government secrets he leaked to the world. >> it is our firm position that he ought to return to the united states and face the charges against rom the spying program snowden expoles reasonable doubt now under heavy scrutiny. in a report due out today, a government task force is expected to recommend the american security stop collecting phon

. >>> also today, you can ask edward snowden what he thinks of president obama's efforts to control the nsa. snowden is taking part in a live webcast today. it comes on the same day a government task force urges the president to take even more steps to rein in the nsa's power. nbc's tracie potts has more now from capitol hill. >> reporter: this is the website where former nsa contractor edward snowden will answer questions live this afternoon about the government secrets he leaked to the world. >> it is our firm position that he ought to return to the united states and face the charges against him. >> reporter: the spying program snowden exposed are now under heavy scrutiny. in a report due out today, a government task force is expected to recommend that the national security agency stop collecting americans' phone records. in a split decision, 3-2, the privacy and civil liberties oversight board will also say the government should purge its database. in a speech last week, president obama laid out reforms but stopped short of getting rid of those programs. >> we cannot unilaterally dis

snowden, is he invited to sochi? >> translator: the most renowned american in russia now is barack obama. everybody is invited. mr. snowden is subject to the treatment of provisional asylum here in russia. he has a right to travel freely across the country. he has no special limitation. he can just buy a ticket and come here. >> and stay as long as he wants? >> translator: yes, sure, definitely. >> whoever comes to sochi will find a city still under construction, and it is costing a fortune. lots of questions about corruption and the unbelievable cost. these olympics are going to cost far and away more than any ever. >> one official estimate was $51 billion. a lot of people say it's in fact gone up, it could be higher. we don't know the exact number. >> more than $8 billion for this one road. eclipsing the cost of the last winter olympics. organizers are even spending on extra snow. insurance against the sub-tropical climate. >> putin guaranteed there will be snow. >> guarantee? >> so they built a snow guarantee system, which is pretty routine at most ski resorts. but they are the most expensive anywhere in the wor

president obama announced a re view but insisted edward snowden was no patriot. >> edward snowden can come here, appear before the court with a lawyer, and make his case. >> the yafth for the barack obama administration continues. in october a german newspaper reported that u.s. intelligence agencies lisped to cell phone calls. then "the washington post" reported the n.s.a. tapped into the main communication link. the scory underscored the n.s.a.'s ability to spy. at the end of the year edward snowden told "the washington post" he had won, because as mean leaks fuelled a vigorous debate. >> meanwhile, edward snowden remains in russia on a grant of temporary asylum. he was charged with violating the act so can't face clemency if he returns. >> president obama approved a $1.1 trillion bill funding government departments. now, congress faces the challenge of whether to raise the federal debt ceiling. >> at least 21 are dead after a taliban strike in afghanistan. a suicide bomber and gunman targeted a restaurant in kabul. it's one of the deadliest attacks in that area since 2001. four uni

according to information that we're getting in part from wiki leaks edward snowden is preparing to respond to president obama's speech sometime next week yeah that's the rub exactly what you're saying that if it wasn't for edward snowden this wouldn't have happened in the last few would it we had. a former f.b.i. agent just noted whistle blow she said she saw this is baby steps made today but some progress nonetheless however what about a total moment was that really atonement for what had gone on here he did say that the other side overstepped the mark but what about that apology to all those people that have been needlessly spotted on what was. it wasn't i didn't sense from the tone of obama's speech very lengthy speech that was any apologies made as a matter of fact he said the u.s. will not make any apologies for continuing its surveillance practices overseas he did say that spying on foreign friends and allies the heads of state will stop unless there is necessary need for it unless significant evidence is given for why u.s. officials would have to spy for example the head of seat in germany angle of merk

citizens on a massive scale is a very worthy topic of debate and of reform rigidity of things snowden has hurt the obama administration oh no i wouldn't say that he's hurt the about ministration i said would he's hurt all americans by sort of revealing our international foreign secrets of who were for who were spying on foreign in the in the foreign arena i think he's heard it he said our credibility and the president's credibility on a worldwide platform but i think more so important hurt america's military power and he's hurt our influence across the world and that's the sad part that's what some other bases start with you on this one amy. income inequality that's the president's going to push that a lot in two thousand and fourteen including the minimum wage issue and unemployment benefits good issue for them. well i think he has a lot of issues to be able to fall back on since the major one obamacare is a fiasco and republicans are targeting that very effectively but in terms of the president these are popular issues with the american people extending unemployment benefits and raising the minimum wa

snowden is answering questions online in a live chat. this is happening a week after the president said he wanted the government to stop storing america's phone record, but in the same speech president obamas did put our country in danger. >> what are we wi missing. >> the whole thing started ten minutes late and we have been hoping for a video but this is a q & a session with texted questions. the group holding this is also raising money for a snowden defense fun, and we can't tell you whether snowden is writing the answers but that's the claim on face value. the first question was whether the u.s. democracy can recover from the damage of the national security agency spying. snowed response was, quote, what makes our country long is our system of values. we can correct the laws some hold senior officials responsible for abusive programs. we're waiting for some kind of response to the president's reforms and these allegations that in fact edward snowden might have had help, maybe even perhaps have been a spy for the russian security services. for most part these questions have dealt with personal conditions, such as whether the encryption systems are a safeguard against the nsa program. >

but in calling for clemency for snowden, the times went against many elected leaders starting with president obama. >> i don't think mr. snowden was a patriot. >> he's a trait. the disclosure of this information puts americans at risk. it shows our adversaries what our capabilities are. and it's a giant violation of the law. >> i don't think he meets the legal definition of being a traitor according to our constitution but he certainly has done a very, very bad thing. >> he has disclosed programs that make it easier for terrorists overseas and the first people who are going to feel that damage are our soldiers in afghanistan. >> the strength of leaking that, yes, that would be a prosecutable offense. and i think he should be prosecuted. >> he had an opportunity, if what he was was a whistle blower to pick up the phone and call the house intelligence committee, the senate intelligence committee, now he's done this enormous disservice to our country. and i -- i think answer is no clemency. >> our belief last always been that he should return to the united states and face -- and face justice. >> with

within -- ofntext of technology hedge funds, or bitcoin and how that will push into edward snowden land and how obamad to that overseas. everyone is trying to figure out what happens next. the nice thing is that as -- thaton moves along innovation moves along even as the government may doddle. the big picture with government versus the small and nimble tech community able to make some money through the passage, let's say. jason kelly, always a pleasure. minutes past the hour and that means it is time to get you out to the newsroom. all you need has to know on trades. what are you seeing? cracks -- >> stocks have been fluctuating throughout the day. right now, the s&p and dow are pretty much flat. the nasdaq is the laggard, down about .25%. were jobless claims this morning that were in line with estimates. they are also looking forward to tomorrow's jobs data. highlight twoo stocks for you, american airlines group stock. that is soaring today. the company was created last month after getting out of bankruptcy. passenger traffic rose for the month of december. we are also watching ubs. one analyst cut

two major newspapers have now called on the obama administration to pardon or grant clemency to edward snowden that ever really happened what you always talk about pardoning and closely say about the state of our whistleblower a lot more on that with mike happened on just a moment also and sea-tac voters approved fifteen dollars an hour minimum wage back in november progress is across the country cheer but now a judge has gutted that wage hike of much of its power but this is mean for the future of the fight for a living wage and all across the country americans are suffering is suffering because republicans are creating yet another don't want to call it our health care system tell you what that dollar hole is and what we can do to close it in tonight's daily take. you need to know this a former obama administration official has joined two major newspapers in saying that she supports clemency for n.s.a. whistleblower edward snowden. earlier this morning and marie slaughter used to work as the state department's director of policy planning said on twitter that she agrees with the new york times

things keep coming out every few weeks, there are more and more revelations from the snowden documents, and president obama just doesn't have the option to sit there and say, okay, well this is what we're going to keep doing. there are critics on the hill who say don't touch it, you know, peter king from new york is saying i absolutely hope we don't see reforms. we need this, and nothing can change. at all. so, you know, i think he does need to convince the majority of congress, though, that he is serious, because i would say the majority in congress wants to see some changes at least. >> well, let me play for you from "the rundown" what pat leahy had to say. >> if we collect everything, do we have anything? we know, for example, we have plenty of information to stop 9/11, but you had different groups, the cia and the fbi didn't talk to each other. they never connected the dots that were there. we haven't had a single incident where the collection has stopped an attack, even though we're constantly having attacks planned. >> the argument on the other side is, this is like buying insurance, you know, you ma

only person that said that cornell west he said it and i say and he and i get along great obama said about snowden though all right if he did the right thing why not come home and face a trial and bring the story public rather than hiding wealth because do you really think with our government he'd get a fair trial we a uses but everything i don't believe anyone no i just think that in a situation where it's national security and that that high level v.a. going to get a fair trial here i don't believe he would how come we haven't tried any of the guys that get no. how come a have been held for over ten years and never charged with a feint not one of them is seen the light of day of a trial by the way that's another thing i do as president i would immediately make contact with fidel castro and i would inform him that within one to two years we've given you back get mo because that's a piece of property that belongs to cuba you got into should row i get in touch with fidel because i know fidel and he still alive and i'd like to stalk to be again uses interesting person to time i would love to then do