nbc's tracie potts is live for us in good morning to you. how does this taint his no nonsense, get it done image. >> reporter: if he can't get out in front of this and distance himself from the e-mails and messages and his staff, it could hurt that image. now washington may get involved. federal officials are telling us the justice department has received a request to look into this to see if any federal laws were broken. it appears the four-day traffic jam that backed up over the george washington bridge last september may have been orchestrated to punish a democratic mayor who did not support republican governor chris christie. according to e-mails, subpoenaed by new york lawmakers. >> none of this applies to me. i'm embarrassed for the people that are valved. i'm completely disheartened. >> reporter: in the e-mails, this woman, a top christie aide tells one of the governor's high school buddies at the port authority, time for traffic problems in fort lee. got it, the official replied. is it wrong i'm smiling, another said. students stuck

nbc's tracie potts is in washington. the white house has until tomorrow to respond to the supreme court, any word yet? >> what the white house has said is that the rule changes address not fully what the supreme court has said is that it's siding with religious groups that don't want to cover birth control as part of the new health law. this morning, this family is among two million americans happy to now have health insurance they can afford. >> this means a lot to people like us, being self-employed. >> but on capitol hill, opponents say that's only half the story. >> six million people had plans they liked, are being thrown off of it, i don't think it's anything to celebrate. >> there are snafus, some without i.d. cards, the obama administration set up a toll-free number to help. >> if someone is in the system, if they've gone in the paperwork and for some reason the insurer doesn't have it, if they call that number, we'll be able to identify them. >> there's still computer glitches. >> this cannot succeed without som

tracie potts takes a look from capitol hill. >> reporter: a new video from islamic extremists show how two planned this deadly explosion a few weeks ago. in it they claim the olympics are next. >> i would not go. and i don't think i would send my family. >> reporter: thousands of americans are headed to the games. lawmakers fear the unprecedented level of security in sochi isn't enough. >> i'm very concerned that if something does happen what is the evacuation plan and emergency response plan that would take place. >> reporter: the games apparently are not the target. russia is, the result of a war with muslims 1,000 miles from sochi. also there are new questions this morning about whether russia may have helped nsa leaker edward snowden. >> i don't think it was a gee whiz luck event he ended up in moscow under the handling of the ssb. >> he may well v. we don't know. >> edward snowden told me he acted alone. >> reporter: government investigators tell nbc there is no indication that russia or any one else helped snowden take secrets from the u.s. russian president vladamir putin says b

tracie potts is in the middle of it all, to show us how people are coping. >> reporter: it's actually warmer in minneapolis this morning, 33 below zero with the wind chill. minnesota's got some of the coldest temperatures in the nation today. the midwest frost come-ons top of record snow that closed indiana's major interstate, several counties are in a state of emergency. in milwaukee, power crews are out in it trying to keep the lights on. >> just got to do your job. >> reporter: the arctic hurricane known as a polar vortex dipped into the deep south causing power outages in dallas and snow in georgia. >> i've been out sweeping and just kind of cleaning some of this off of my car. >> pretty fun tee see people all bundled up. >> reporter: shelters opened in atlanta. >> there is no way you can survive living out there in a tent with this kind of cold weather. >> even if you sit in a choir with a blanket at least you're out of the elements and you'll stay warm. >> reporter: almost 2,000 cancellations already today. levi has been stuck in denver's airport for three days. >> to stay up al

nbc's tracie potts is in washington. tracie good morning to you. we have to ask, after all the reports we have seen in recent months and time, what is new here? >> reporter: well, what's new is that not only, richard, does it say the state department and the secretary of state at the time, hillary clinton, are to blame, it also puts some of the blame on ambassador chris stevens who was killed in that attack. the senate intelligence report says the state department failed to act on mounting evidence that militants were targeting our consulate in benghazi. >> state department knew that this was a very violent part of the world and yet they failed to take the proper security measures to protect the people in benghazi. >> reporter: the report calls the september 11th, 2012 attack that killed four americans preventable, noting there were several smaller attacks in the months before. the cia, a mile away, beefed up its security but the senate report says ambassador chris stevens who was killed declined two officers from the military before in a special o

tracy potts live in washington. good morning. he said quite a bit, didn't he? >> reporter: well, he did. and he also talked about what the best solution is here. we've been dealing with this for months now since last summer. he's now in russia. doesn't look like he's coming back any time soon. he said the best solution would be to come back to the u.s., but not under these circumstances. so he's speaking out jot line. not all spying is bad, says edward snowden. spying on other countries, that's okay. mass surveillance on americans, not okay, the former nsa contractor said in a live web chat from russia. he said he was not working with russia from the beginning. >> i don't think there is strong evidence indicating he operated with any foreign support. >> reporter: a government task force recommends the data collection snowden exposed be shut down. calling it illegal with minimal impacts on catching terrorists. >> they cannot be regarded as relevant to any investigation of the fbi. >> reporter: the attorney general tells msnbc there's no chance he will get clemen

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington for us. good morning. and the question might be what might those new documents tell us? >> reporter: well, they will certainly tell us if anyone else may have been involved, and whether this was actually as the attorney who filed that lawsuit put it this morning, in a statement, a nefarious plan. he says one of the people trapped on the bridge suffered a panic attack because she felt like a trapped rat, stuck there for an hour. and the governor says he had nothing to do with that. >> if i had ever had an inkli inkling -- >> reporter: new jersey governor chris christie repeatedly denied he had any knowledge of plans to create a massive traffic jam to punish the mayor of ft. lee for not supporting him. >> let me tell you, everybody, i was blind sided, but i am humiliated by the fact that i did not know this, and that i was deceived. >> reporter: e-mails suggest a top aide was involved. the governor cut all ties with his former campaign manager, and fired the aide bridget anne kelly. >> it is just not believa

nbc's tracie potts is in washington. as it gets so cold, folks got to keep warm and the question is how they're handling this. >> reporter: well, people who are seeing their bills double since last year, some of them tell us they're closing the doors upstairs to try to force the heat downstairs and not heat the entire house. the federal government declared a home heating fuel emergency, which covers 23 states, plus d.c. what that does is relax the rules for drivers of propane trucks so they can get that propane where it needs to be. the problem is it has been so cold for so long, people are running out of fuel, much earlier in the season than expected. plus in the midwest, they started out with less fuel. so that's causing complications as well. in some areas, companies say they're limiting how much they'll sell to any individual. they're filling customers' tanks at half to try to get that to last, try to spread it out. some companies tell us they're seeing more applications for home heating assistance, low income famili

that brings us to nbc's tracie potts live in washington. good morning to you. the poll, that poll question brings into question, if you will, would he ever come back to the united states? >> reporter: well, russia has said he can stay there indefinitely. certainly the u.s. government wants him to come back and face charges but snowden has given no indication whatsoever that he wants to come back. and deal with all of this. we may hear more about that today when he speaks out about those secret surveillance programs he made public. 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 civ

we talked to tracie potts in washington, d.c. where it wasn't snowing but the wind there was keeping her so very cold. >> peggy, thanks very much. cold seeing those pictures. >> and we're in a warm studio. you can see how cold the air is. this is from columbus, ohio. this is a water main break that flooded several streets downtown. initially there were concerns about the water turning to ice. crews replaced the broken pipe at about 3:00 this morning. getting things under way. what they could. a lot of water there. >> imagine if it had somehow stopped, spilled and frozen there. >> and you know, firefighters even, if a fire breaks out they have a tough time with a lot of hoses and pipes because things are freezing. it's a tough go. >> let's check in with christina loren. she's got a lot of blue behind her again. >> the big effort is taking place in this region to try to protect people who are homeless out on the streets. i have noticed that. it's nice to see all of the communities come together when we experience something like thi

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 disarm our intelligence agencies. the review group turned up no indication that this database has been intentionally abused. >> reporter: verizon reports it's received more than 1,000 requests from the government for customers' information. that was just last year. and the top

tracie potts from washington, d.c. boy, you can see she's really taking one for the team i guess you could say. she looks cold. >> sometimes it's hard to talk. >> let's find out more about the deep freeze affecting a good morgs of the u.s. and how it's hurting travelers. go to nbcbayarea.com and search weather. speaking of. >> speaking of because in our neck of the woods nice, clear. i thought it was warm on my drive in. 49 degrees. >> too warm? complaining? >> no. i feel guilty because these poor people are going through so much heartac heartache. you look at the nation, california, maybe a little bit of florida, all looking pretty good. in comparison for winter. >> hey, good morning. we've got a good looking day shaping up. it's going to be cold and we're tracking showers, good tuesday morning to you also it's a traffic tuesday. 37 degrees in the north bay, san francisco is at 49 and we are tracking a return of the low clouds and the tag. that's going to help keep our temperatures down. low clouds start to settle in.

coming up in the next half hour tracie potts will have a live report on the deadly bombings. >> now to a developing story out of oakland. police looking for a 14-year-old boy who they say shot and killed his own 17-year-old sister. then ran away. christie smith live in oakland with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, scott. i reached out to oakland police this morning and an officer at the patrol desk told me sfashs he knows so far no arrests but they are looking. the family of mario tolliver is urging him to turn himself in. they already lost loved one. they don't want to lose another. 17 jerald justice tolliver was shot and killed, a young mother survived by her 2-year-old daughter. her cousin says justice and her brother argued inside the family apartment. this is on franklin street. there was an argument and the chronicle reports that it may have been over the fact that she bleached his clothes doing laundry. one cousin says they are not sure where he might get a gun but it isn't a big surprise. >> if he wasn't my family member i wouldn't be surprised if t

tracie potts live in washington, the federal government even closed because of the storm, tracie? >> reporter: it's coming our way too. chicago's starting to see that heavy snowfall. coming through the midwest. to the northeast. we're told in washington we'll probably start to see rough weather, snowfall around mid morning into the evening. and later this evening two, four, maybe six inches in some areas, up in philadelphia they are looking up to 12 inches, up to 10 in other parts of the region. and it's going to be cold as well at or below zero wind chills in many of these areas. so round two, here we come. there are some challenges. first of all, because it came so early a lot of areas are starting to run out of their budgets for salt and sand to salt the streets. i have seen that up in new jersey. and also propane tanks, a lot of people heated by propane. that's running short. the federal government declared a home heating fuel emergency. back to you. >> tracie potts and christina continues our coverage. travel delays i'm sure. >> yeah. and you know what, this thing is just get

tracie potts live in washington with the latest on this political scandal. tracie. >> reporter: good morning. this will be the first time we've heard from governor christie since these e-mails and texts making these allegations were made public and it comes as the justice department here in washington received a request to take a closer look at this to see if federal laws may have been broken. it appears the four-day traffic jam that backed up over the george washington bridge last september may have been orchestrated to punish a democratic mayor who did not support chris christie. according to e-mails subpoenaed by new york lawmakers. >> none of this surprises me. i'm embarrassed for the people involved. i'm completely disheartened. >> reporter: in the e-mails this woman, a top christie aide, tells one of the governor's high school bud es at the port authority, time for some traffic problems in fort lee. got it the official replied. is it wrong that i'm smiling, eerd says. someone jokes that the children stuck in traffic are children of christie's political

nbc's tracie potts has more on what's on everyone's agendas. >> reporter: next week, america hits the debt ceiling again and won't be able to pay its bills. some republicans insist to raise the ceiling, democrats must give up something. >> of course, we should do something. we shouldn't just write a blank check. >> i do not believe that republican leaders will follow ted cruz over the cliff once again. >> reporter: it sounds like lawmakers may actually compromise on unemployment. >> surely, in a $3 billion -- $ 3 trillion expenditure, we can find a place to pay for unemployment insurance. >> reporter: but raising the minimum wage? that may be a tougher fight. >> it's about debating not who wants to cure poverty. republicans want to help people who are unemployed, we want to help people get jobs, but about what policies work. >> we should not play russian roulette with america's economy. we should not kill off jobs because of another political squabble. >> reporter: president obama lays out his vision in the state of the union address tomorrow night. >> the republican congress is not g

tracie potts has more from capitol hill now. >> reporter: a new video from islamic extremists shows howould suicide bombers planned this deadly explosion a few weeks ago. in it, they claim the olympics are next. >> i would not go. and i don't think i would send my family. >> reporter: thousands of americans are headed to the games. lawmakers fear the unprecedented level of security in sochi. is it enough? >> i'm very concerned that something does happen, what is the evacuation plan and emergency response plan that would take place? >> reporter: the games apparently are not the target. russia is. the result of a war with muslims a thousand miles from sochi. also, there are new questions this morning about whether russia may help an faa leaker, edward snowden. >> i don't think that it is -- it was a gee-wiz luck event heepded up in moscow. under the handling of the fsd. >> he may well have. we don't know at this stage. >> edward snowden acted a loin. >> reporter: government investigators tell nbc there is no indication that russia or anyone else helped snowden take secrets from the u.s. a

tracie potts is going to have more from washington. friday, we told you as it happened that target said the number doubled what it first announced. and the amount of data was bigger too, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, home addresses in addition to bank account information and even atm pins. all kinds of information coming up. >> we'll look forward to that. >> let's check with christina loren. a nice late spring warm-up. it's going to feel like that. then we have winter coming back. >> then winter comes back around. and i know a lot of people want the rain. if you lived here for any duration you know we can have an active spring. that's what we're looking toward as we get into the next few months. i know we're still in winter. it's been so dry. san jose clear to start. good monday morning to you. temperatures are chilly out there. 47 degrees in the south bay. 52 the peninsula. in the north bay starting out at 37 degrees. temperatures are going to work out like this. average for this time of year in san jose is 59 degrees so. well abov

brave tracie potts is live in washington. how does it feel where you are, tracie? >> reporter: it feels cold. but feels cold pretty much everywhere around the country. we woke up to single digit temperatures with windchills at 5, 10, 15 below. that's nothing compared to what they're seeing in the midwest. it's actually warmer in minneapolis this morning. minnesota has some of the coldest temperatures in the nation today. the midwest frost comes on top of record snow that closed indiana's major interstate. several counties there are in a state of emergency. in milwaukee, power crews are out, in it, trying to keep the lights on. >> just got to do your job. that's what we're here for. >> reporter: the arctic hurricane known as a polar vortex dipped into the deep south, causing power outages in dallas -- >> back on! 12 1/2 hours. >> reporter: -- and snow in georgia. >> i've been out here sweeping and just kind of cleaning some of this off of my car. >> pretty funny to see people down here all bundled up. >> reporter: shelters opened in atlanta. >> there is just no way

tracie potts joins us live from washington. the president impose into the speech with one of the lowest approval ratings of his presidency. >> it's the seventh straight poll where his approval rating has been under water as he lays out his plan for this year. >> reporter: the white house is reaching out online encouraging people o interact during the state of the union and preparing a q&a all day tomorrow. the theme of the speech? >> tomorrow night it's time to restore. >> reporter: officials say president obama will urge to raise the minimum wage but will focus on what he can do without congress. >> success in washington of a president of any party should not be measured alone by how many bills congress passes. >> reporter: retirement accounts, promises from businesses to hire the long-term unemployed. >> that's precisely what is needed many my state where the middle class is really shrinking. >> let's be careful here that we don't create a situation where congress is an afterthought. >> reporter: republicans have three respon

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. what is new on this report. >> reporter: the report echoes what we heard from the review board that the state department ignored red flags that warned of trouble. the senate intelligence report says the state department failed to act on mounting evidence that militants were targeting our consulate in benghazi. >> state department knew that this was a very violent part of the world, yet, they failed to take the proper security measures to protect the people in benghazi. >> reporter: the report calls the september 11th, 2012 attack that killed four americans preventable noting smaller attacks in the months before. the cia a mile away beefed up its security but the senate report says ambassador chris stevens declined the military's offer to bring in a special security forces team. the military responded to slowly, the report says, placing ultimate blame on former secretary of state hillary clinton. the state department fired back. >> there was no specific threat indicating an attack was

nbc's tracie potts live in washington. tracie, we just learned the president will call for ending the nsa's control over americans' phone data. give us details on that. >> reporter: he will modify the program so that the court, you know, the court would actually have to give an order, brian, first, before those records are searched. he will also say according to a senior administration official today that the government should not hold on to those records. phone calls, e-mails, texts, today president obama lays out what he thinks the government should and should not do. the national security agency argues monitoring helps them track down terrorists. >> we can and should take steps to make the activities we engage in, in order to help keep america safe, and americans safe. >> reporter: critics say americans should know more. >> could have been a lot more candid with the american people up front about this program. >> reporter: new this week, reports that the nsa has been collecting nearly 200 million text messages a day. tha

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. tracie, the president seemed pretty fed up with congress and says he is willing to go it alone. >> reporter: and we're going to see some of that today, betty, as he heads to maryland to talk about the minimum wage, pennsylvania to talk about this new retirement bond he pitched last night. a lot of this agenda -- it's a smaller agenda -- a lot of it, the president says, he can get started on his own. >> america does not stand still and neither will i. >> reporter: president obama says he'll act alone to boost the economy, ease regulations to bring jobs back from overseas, build more manufacturing hubs, create retirement savings for workers whose employers don't offer them, and raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for new federal contractors. he urged business owners and congress to do the same. >> so, join the rest of the country. say yes. give america a raise. >> reporter: but he needs congress to simplify the tax code, fix immigration, get extended unemployment checks rolling agai

tracie potts on capitol hill with the latest. >> 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 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 say the government should purge its data base. in a speech last week, president obama laid out reforms but stopped short of getting rid of the programs. >> we cannot unilaterally disarm our intelligence agencies. the review group turned up no indications the data base has been intentionally abused. >> reporter: verizon has more than 1,000 requests for customer information. that was just last year. now the top attorney for microsoft saying their foreign client information be s

tracie potts is live. what can we expect to hear? >> the white house says he is going to focus on security, number one. what the president says at the justice department tood coup kick off a long process here on capitol hill changing the way the nsa does business. spying on phone calls, e-mails, texts, today, president obama lays out what he thinks the government should and should not do. the national security agency argues monitoring helps them track down terrorists. >> we can and should take steps to make the activities we engage in in order to help keep america and americans safe. >> critics say americans should know more. >> we could have been more candid with the american people up front. >> the nsa has been collecting nearly 200 million text messages a day. that plus phone records and allegations of spying on world leaders, all leaked by former nsa contractor, edward snowden. >> we are dealing with an agency that didn't have adequate enough safeguards to keep a sub krat tore from stealing millions and millions and millions of f

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington with more on this. acie, the justices will be looking at this as a free speech issue, i assume. >> reporter: right, and it's actually the second time that they've looked at this particular case, betty, but they rejected it before it came in a different format. this time, the plaintiffs argue that free speech isn't really free if it's restricted such that people really can't even hear what you're saying, the people that you're talking to. on the other hand, those who work at these clinics say that it's a public safety issue, that many of these demonstrators have either been physical with or have intimidated doctors and nurses and other workers and patients, of course, headed into these clinics. massachusetts has a long history with this. that's where that law is coming from. back in 1994, a couple of abortion clinic workers were killed. and now, as of this morning, a few hours from now, the case is being argued here before the u.s. supreme court. betty? >> we'll be watching. tracie, thank you very much fo

. >> 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 phone records. in a decision 3-2 the private liberty and 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

coming up in the next half hour tracie potts will have a live report on

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. this story gives a bridge over troubled water a whole new meaning. >> well, we're going to hear more about that bridge today and in the future. now washington may get involved, betty. federal officials are telling us that the justice department received a request to look into this, to see if any federal laws were violated. >> reporter: it appears the four day traffic jam that backed up over the george washington bridge last september may have been orchestrated to punish a democratic mayor who did not support republican governor chris christie. according to e-mails subpoenaed by new york lawmakers. >> none of this surprises me. i'm embarrassed that people are involved and completely disheartened. >> reporter: this woman, a top christie aide tells one of the governor's high school buddies, time for some traffic problems in for the lee. got it, the official replies. it is wrong that i'm smiling, another says. someone else jokes the students stuck in traffic are children of christie's pol

a brave tracie potts is in washington. she joins us now. good morning. >>> good morning from washington, d.c. it was seven degree this morning. with the wind chill, it feels like 11 below. that is not the worst. the temperatures are much colder in the midwest. it's actually warmer in minneapolis this morning. 33 below zero with the wind chill. minnesota's got some of the coldest temperatures in the nation today. the midwest frost comes on top of record snow that closed in d indiana ace m indiana's major interstate. power crews are in it trying to keep the lights on. >> you have to do your job. >> reporter: the hurricane known as a polar vortex dipped into the deep south causing power outages in dallas. >> 12 1/2 hours. >> and snow in georgia. >> i've been sweeping and cleaning some of this off of my car. >> it's pretty funny to see people bundled up. >> reporter: shelters opened in atlanta. >> there's no way you can really survive living out there in a tent with this cold weather. >> even if you had to sit in a chair with a blanket, at leas

tracie potts is live in washington. is this leading to rationing and price hikes?> it is, especially in the midwest. they started out the season with less propane than they normally have. this also affects the northeast. this is really going to be the second big round of cold and snow that we've seen so far this season. old man winter came early so people have been heating homes and businesses for longer. they're in the process of trying to stay warm. they're burning more fuel. that has led in part to a propane shortage. now what that means is it's harder to get and it's more expensive, more demand, less supply means according to government figures people are paying up to 46% more for propane than they did last year. some customers tell us they're paying double what they paid last year. assistance applications for home heating assistance is up as well. 15 states that have declared emergencies. and government, the transportation department has relaxed some of the regulations to try to get more oil to people as the cold starts to settle in. >> this is very important.

tracy potts is live in washington for us this morning. snowden offered revealing answers to very poignant questions, didn't he? >> he did. like whether he's ever coming back to the united states to face the charges. he actually said it's probably the best solution but not likely to happen any time soon. not all spying is bad, says edward snowden. spying on other countries, that's okay. mass surveillance on americans not okay the former nsa contractor said in a live web chat from russia. he denied stealing any passwords and says he was not working with russia from the beginning. >> i don't think there is strong evidence indicating that he operated with any foreign support. >> a government task force recommends the data selection exposed be shutdown with minimal impact on catching terrorists. >> it can be be regarded to relevant to my investigation by the fbi. >> there's no chance snowden will get clemency. >> i think that will be going too far. >> he ought to return to the united states and face the charges. >> but snowden says there's no

nbc's tracie potts joins us live from washington. this minimum wage hike, will it help alleviate some of the approval rating problems, do you think? >> reporter: not necessarily. it is only for new federal contractors, those that changed significantly when they get renewed. we're talking about janitors, construction workers, people who work in kitchens, military bases and on federal sites. it is only going to affect a certain number of people around the country. but it is new and it is significant and part of what the president will talk about tonight. >> having a big block of -- >> reporter: the white house is reaching out online encouraging people to interact during the state of the union and promoting an all day q&a tomorrow. >> big block of cheese. >> big block of cheese day. >> reporter: the theme of tonight's speech, the president talks about that in this vine video. >> tomorrow night, it is time to restore opportunity for all. >> reporter: officials say president obama will urge congress to fix immigration and raise the minimu

tracy potts joins us live from washington. the president also goes into this speech with one of the lowest approval ratings of his presidency. >> reporter: it's actually the 7th straight poll we have done in a row where his approval rating has been underwater as he begins to layout his plan for this year. the white house is reaching out online encouraging people to interact during the state of the union and promoting an all day q and a tomorrow. >> big block of cheese day. >> big block of cheese day. >> reporter: the theme of the speech, the president talks about that in the vine video. >> tomorrow night, it's time to restore opportunity for all. >> reporter: officials say president obama will urge congress to fix immigration and raise the minimum wage but he'll focus on what he can do without congress. >> success in washington of a president of any party should not be measured alone by how many bills congress passes. >> reporter: job training, retirement accounts for workers that don't have 401(k)s. promises to hired the long

nbc's tracie potts is there. these days, you know, being live on location looks painful, unfortunately. >> it's not too bad. we haven't been out here too long. talk to me in a few hours. the federal government today is open. they decided to do a two hour delay and give people unscheduled leave. if you have leave, you can stay home. you can bet a lot of people will take that option. the roads in some areas, especially some of the suburbs and outlying areas, neighborhood that's have yet to be plowed, they are still treacherous. people spinning out and in some cases just not able to quite get out of their neighborhood to get on to the main roads. also, up and down the east coast you heard some of those snowfall totals that bill was telling us about. it's tying up traffic. this morning's commute hopefully light if people heed the warnings to stay home. betty? >> i would assume many people will. hopefully they will. it's much warmer inside than it is where you are now. >>> tens of thousands of loans, shopping sprees a

nbc's tracie potts is live in washingt washington. some really revealing answers to pointed questions. >> he did. like when he was asked about coming back to the u.s., he actually said he thinks that's ultimately the best solution but under the circumstances, it's just not likely to happen right now. so instead, he is speaking out online. not all spying is bad says edward snowden, spying on other countries, that's okay. mass surveillance on americans, not okay, the former nsa contractor said in a live web chat from russia. he denies stealing any pass words and says he was not working with russia from the beginning. >> i don't that i there is strong evidence indicating that he operated with any foreign support. >> a government task force recommends the data collection snowden exposed be shut down. calling it illegal with minimal impact on catching terrorists. >> it cannot be regarded as relevant to a particular investigation or any investigation of the fbi. >> reporter: the attorney general tells msnbc there is no chance snowden will g

tracie potts in live in washington. how does this break down for us? >> reporter: well, for now for companies that didn't want to comply with the part of the law, it brings down like this. the supreme court has sided with religious organizations who say they should not be forced to cover contraceptives as part of this new health law. this morning this family is among 2 mill beyond americans happy to now have health insurance they can afford. >> this means a lot to people like us being self-employed. >> reporter: but on capitol hill, opponents say that is only half the story. >> 6 million people who had plans they liked that have been thrown off of it, i don't think there is anything to celebrate. >> reporter: there are still snafus. people without i.d. cards, others not showing up in the system. the obama administration set p a toll free number to help. >> if someone is in the system, if they have gone through the paperwork, and for some reason the insurer doesn't have it, if they call that number, we'll be able to identify them. >> reporter: but there

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. the governor is now dealing with, what, two federal investigations? >> reporter: right. first the u.s. attorney looking into what happened at the bridge. and now the governor's office has to convince washington the department of housing and urban development that an ad that ran featuring the governor and his family after super storm sandy wasn't political. >> the jersey shore is open. >> you bet it is. we're stronger than a storm. >> reporter: this ad after super storm sandy cost $2 million more than ads without governor christie. now federal auditors are looking into whether it was designed to boost tourism or christie's re-election campaign. >> it was at the expense of money from the taxpayers that could have been used for other sandy purposes. >> reporter: this as the bridge traffic scandal widens. state lawmakers are creating a super committee to investigate whether the governor's office created this four day traffic jam as political payback for a democrat who did not support chri

tracie potts joins us live and tracie, we expect the president to speak in about an hour and a half from >> right. now we know a little more about what he's going to say. according to a senior official who is familiar with the president's speech, he is going to announce sweeping changes to how the nsa collects data. according to is senior official the president will propose that the national security agency get court approval before searching americans' phone records and someone other than the government hold on to the records. >> we can and should take steps to make the activities we engage in in order to help keep america safe and americans safe. >> reporter: critics say americans should know more. >> could have been a lot more candid up front about this program. >> reporter: new this week reports the nsa is collecting 200 million text messages a day. that plus phone records and allegations of spying on world leaders, all linked by former nsa contractor edward snowden. >> we're dealing with an agency that didn't have adequate enough sif guards to keep a subcontractor from stealing mill

tracie potts joins us live in washington, d.c., a divisive bill. ch support does it have on capitol hill, tracie? >> reporter: well, in the house with republicans probably much more than we'll see on the senate side if it even gets that far. this would bar federal funding except for rape, incest and the health of the mother. we learned about it last week. remember the thousands marching through d.c. for the march for life, majority leader eric cantor mentioned they were going to roll it out. they are earned about the new health law requiring insurance companies to pay for abortion inducing drugs. not the first time the house dealt with this. in june they made an attempt to outlaw abortions after 20 weeks. the supreme court which is where this march went last week also has been dealing with this. challenge to the massachusetts law that established buffer zones around abortion clinics. so lots to talk about this year. it's rolling out across america. we've seen the impact on political races in virginia, in texas, and now coming up also in senate races

tracie potts joins us live with the details. good morning. a lot of concern here. >> reporter: those stem from e-mails received by the u.s. olympic committee and five other european countries. threatening problems at the games urging the athletes not to go because there may be trouble. the europeans say this has come around, they don't think it's credible. the u.s. says it wasn't specific. they are not overly concerned about it but it comes after the hunt for the four so called black widows who may have been possible terror suspects trying to plan something. it comes after the bombing so it has raised the concerns about security. the chair of a homeland security committee has been to sochi, he checked out the venues. while there is remarkable security there and unprecedented level there are concerns especially considering the fact it doesn't appear the u.s. and the russians are cooperating on intelligence. >> very interesting. thanks so much. >> a new poll finds less than a third of americans think president obama is an above average commande

for more on the violence let's go to tracie potts who is monitoring the situation live in washington, d.c. the pictures we're seeing coming in really amazing damage. it looks like they were targeting police because the first blast happened at police headquarters, the second at a metrocation but police cars were targeted and third at a police station. apparently after that there were clashes between security forces and about 2,000 supporters of president morsi, bombs thrown, tear gas. you saw some of the aftermath. five people at least killed and dozens injured and all of this coming one day before the third anniversary of protests that threw out former president hosni mubarak. is any one claiming responsibility? not initially. there are reports of a militant group that claimed responsibility but those reports haven't been verified. >> 6:32. a follow-up a fellow judge says immigrants in federal courtrooms should not be squakled if possible. a response to a class action lawsuit to limit the use. it applies to the san francisco court. immigration officials will now avoytd shackling immig

tracie potts on capitol hill where the hard work begins.opefully they are at it. >> reporter: they have been, the farm bill could see a compromise today with a vote as early as wednesday. immigration which has been on the back burner may pop up in the president's speech tomorrow, but more pressing now is the debt ceiling we're about to hit again next friday. the president's speech he is likely to urge congress to raise that debt ceiling so america won't experience an historic default. the other issue they need to deal with unemployment insurance that ran out at the beginning of the year for millions, bot sides say they want to reinstate those benefits, the question is are they going to insist on cuts to do that. there are numbers issues that have come up, the minimum wage for example that the president may talk about tomorrow. but we may or may not see quick action on capitol hill. sometimes we get a sense of what the president's going to emphasize based on who is attending the speech. just this morning we got an update who is in the first

tracie potts joins us live in washington, d.c. with the details. good morning. >> reporter: laura, good morning. some families rethinking their plans after this latest round of e-mails sent to five countries threatening violence but the europeans say those have been going around for years and they have been discredited. the u.s. not worried saying they are non-specific and non-credible. but add that to the four so called black widows they are looking for, possibly terror suspects, add that to the bombing blast and there is increasing concern. here on capitol hill the head of the homeland security committee said he toured the regions, they seem safe, the most safe of any olympics so far but that they are concerned that the u.s. and russia are not sharing intelligence. that's the situation now. two weeks before the games begin. >> one to watch. thanks so much, tracie. >> a judge could decide to limit the use of shackles on immigrants who appear before immigration judges. a hearing will be held in a san francisco federal courtroom today. immigration e

tracie potts live in washington, d.c. where the president is expected to balance keeping americans safe with government transparency. >> reporter: good morning. that balance apparently includes major changes in how the nsa, the national security agency, collects phone records, new this morning from a senior administration official, the president in a couple hours when he speaks at the justice department will propose one, making sure a court approves any search of those records, and also he wants to make sure that someone other than the government holds onto the records, this is an issue that has split the public, the white house says the president's number one focus will be keeping america safer i. >> we're dealing with an agency that didn't have adequate enough safeguards to keep a subcontractor from stealing millions of files. >> we can and should take steps to make the activities we engage in in order to help keep america safe and americans safe. >> you heard senator patrick lacy referring to edward snowden, the former

tracie potts is live on capitol hill with what we've just learned about some of the others. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. target where between 40 and 110 million people were affected, today we heard for the first time from ceo of target. says they are going to get to the bottom of this and he is defending the fact that the store took four days to let customers know. he said they had to get a handle on it. get rid of the virus and figure out what all of their hundreds of scores were going to be telling people to do as a result of this breach. now you mentioned others that may have been involved. not necessarily linked but we know that neiman-marcus reports a breach around the same time. reuters says they have a source telling them three other u.s. retailers saw breaches as well, credit card numbers or other personal fgs taken. it's just not clear who those are. the names haven't been revealed. and if they were linked. as many as five retailers that were attacked by hackers. >> wow. check those statements. thanks so much. >> one step closer to the elusive sixth supe

tracie potts live at capitol hill this morning with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning.e're trying to figure out where they are going to be today. for last three years the president has had a paint brush with in his hand visiting schools around the area, so there is a fairly good chance we may see him and mrs. obama at a local school again today. today is the day that we celebrate and remember the revere reverend dr. king. the government t white house, urge people not to sit around but take the day to actually do something to give back to your community. there are communities all over the country that have organized not only events with music and speeches to remember this day, but also real hands on ways that you can help. there is a website set up to find out where you can do that called mlkday.gov. you go to that, pop in your zip code they give you all sorts of opportunities around your area to recognize and participate in this day of service. >> all right. thank you much. as part of the day of service nearly 200 doctors, nurses and staff from kaiser permanente will sp

"today in the bay's" tracie potts joins us live in washington, d.c.he fcc opening up public comment. people not holding back. >> a lot of people think it could lead to air rage. a story following up on. we first told you last fall about the fcc opening comment, they want to approve use of cell phones, including phone calls, on airplanes. safety isn't the issue anymore, they say. the issue seems to be people getting aggravated by not being able to have a quiet car on a plane. listen to some of the nearly 400 comments that have already come in to the fcc. i am begging you, please, do not allow voice calls on flights. this isn't an issue of technology. this is an issue of comfort and courtesy. that woman from southern california. a man from colorado follows up, flying is bad enough with the cramped seats and long delays. i can think of nothing worse, he says, than adding 100 passengers all talking at once on their cell phones believe it or not, 400 comments, 4 people said, it's a good idea, like this one. i would like to voice my full support for allowin

. >> tracie potts joins us.a congress members among the richers on capitol hill. >> a few of them in the top 10 and top 20 including darrell issa again at the very top of this list according to the center for responsive politics. he is worth $464 million. last year he wasn't at the top, bummed off by a texas republican. also in the top 10, at the very bottom. nancy pelosi who according to this report is worth an average of $87 million. dianne feinstein came in at twem, her average net worth, $68 million. what is interestingÑ some flexibility. the rules how spousal income has reported and changed a bit. what that means is for some lawmakers nike nancy pelosi they estimate she is either worth about a million minimum or 174 maximum or somewhere in between. kind of interesting. >> not terribly accurate. i want to check in with you, chris tee keen this morning. >> we've got this working. you've got to do your best to get it right. temperatures are going to be right i find this stuff fascinating. we've got major chang

live to washington where "today in the bay's" tracie potts is outside this morning braving the storm. is shining on you. >> reporter: we're finally getting some sun. i can tell the temperature is warming up since negative 10 windchill. the federal government's open today, opening two hours late. people do have the option of staying home if they want to. that might be a good choice, considering what we're seeing from here up through the northeast. >> reporter: with schools and businesses closed today, morning rush hour may look nothing like this. >> it's crazy. cars stuck in the middle. cars stuck on the side. >> no plows from the city here. >> reporter: what happened? >> ridiculous. >> reporter: officials were stuck, too. >> slow response so far because we can't move out there. >> reporter: one of our own nbc producers got stuck coming to work. >> people are just getting out of the cars, frustrated, patience has run out. >> reporter: some drivers resorted to plan b. >> go back to work and spend the night. >> reporter: in pennsylvania, some people had fun with the snow. others just tri