about the advancement of these bills and their inevitably dangerous implications i'm joined now by will potter and a pen journalist and author of green is the new read an insider's account of the social movement under siege thanks so much for coming on well it's jeremy i think give us a sense in more detail than what i just said of what these bills do and what kind of penalties they hold so like you said this bills have been introduced in about ten states so far this year and they explicitly to. undercover investigators whistleblowers and in some cases even journalists who expose what happened on factory farms and slaughterhouses there are a direct response to a series of investigations that have really rocked the factory farming industry and brought these issues to a national spotlight like never before in the industry is running scared right now talk about the further implication you said that they could affect journalists i mean i don't think a lot of people realize what that means give us a sense of what so some of these bills are written so broadly that they target anyone who takes photog

his funeral will be this friday. mark potter with more. >> reporter: hugo chavez was first elected venezuela's president in 1998 and became a polarizing figure on the world stage. he was loved and hated at home, respected and ridiculed abroad. born to a family of teachers in 1954, chavez joined the venezuelan army where he despised the ruling elite. in 1998 chavez was appalled by orders from the then president to shoot civilians. in 1992, chavez led 12,000 troops in a failed coup against peres, chavez was jailed but pardons two years later. by then a hero to the left and poor. he was re-elected in 2006 but was hardly a democratic ruler, using his power so silence journalists yet championing the poor by building schools and health clinics. >> an enormous amount of money spent uselessly. conflicts with the united states. limitations to freedom of the press, throwing opposition leaders in jail or out of the country. >> reporter: he bonded with f fidel castro and mahmoud ahmadinejad and supported left-leaning countries in latin amer

and legendary boxing trainer freddie roach has told top writer bob am his latest chinese potter will be an immediate success as to time and pick champion zuma shimming held an open workout in hollywood ahead of his professional debut next month. he learns quickly . he's a great student and you know. any one of the two time gold medalist you know yeah yeah. and he picks things up very quickly and i think. i think. you know with. the world. now let's turn to a story of an extreme sport and extreme courage a snowmobile stand on your boat in return from a serious neck injury in style by winning the best trick award at the twenty thirteen x. games johnson ended up of caught up with a flying swede during a trip to st petersburg. you have to be precise with every single jump or you could be a very heavy price is hard to imagine that just a year ago daredevil danny broke five bones in his neck after attempting to land it four and flipped into a beetle foam he was lucky to survive doctors said it would take the twenty nine year old two to three years to recover but this week was back in just

his death leaves washington wondering if relations with a new leader will be any different. mark potter is live in the venezuelan capital of caracas and joins us on the phone. good morning. what is the mood like today? >> reporter: the mood here in caracas is somber. overnight people were on the streets, many of them crying. some holding up signs, other portraits of the late president. some chanting chavez lives. the venezuelan vice president, the opposition party and the state-run oil companies have all urged everyone to stay calm. the radio broadcasts are asking people to stay inside. for the most part that's what has occurred. tod today venezuela begins seven days of mourning. today chavez's body will be taken from the hospital to the military academy where he was trained. the official funeral is friday, with invited guests coming from all around, including many countries in latin america where chavez made a mark in his 14 years as president. with elections coming up, officials in the u.s. will be looking for a potential thaw in the strained relationship between the two countries. >>

his death leaves washington wondering if relations with a new leader will be any different. nbc's mark potter is live in in the venezuelan capital of caracas. >> mark good morning. what's the mood? >> reporter: the mood is somber. some are out in the streets crying, carrying signs and pictures, some crying out chavez lives. the venezuelan vice president, the opposition party and the state-run oil company together issued statements for people to be unified and calm during all this and radio stations have been urging people to stay inside. today venezuela begins seven days of national mourning. later today chavez's body will be moved from the hospital to the military academy where he was trained. his body will lie in state there. on friday the funeral, a state funeral. among the guests is some. leaders from latin america an area where hugo chavez made a dramatic mark during his 14 years as venezuela's president. with elections coming up in about a no pick his successor u.s. officials will be watching closely for signs after the election of possible openings, of possible improvements in the ofte

. >> reporter: what no one knows is how long chavismo will survive without chavez himself. mark potter, nbc news, caracas, venezuela. >>> still ahead for us on a friday night, all this bad weather got us to thinking, why have the europeans been more accurate about predicting our weather than our own forecasting models of late. al roker is here to talk about that tonight. and later, the new controversy this evening over an old family favorite. >>> boston mayor tom menino is defending his decision not to close the schools there today despite a snowstorm. he says he got conflicting forecasts. and when severe weather is approaching, when you hear us talk about the european models, we don't mean anyone who wears fancy clothes walking down a runway. those multicolored spaghetti lines on the weather maps when big storms are approaching, those are all computer models, predictions. some are from our government forecasters, but increasingly, the european computer models have been more accurate about our weather. we wanted to know why. we asked the one guy to explain this. you love your computer

potter. the festival will be showing all five hundered of its films. it runs through march 10th. for more information visit www.cinequest.org there is a different type of art exhibit currently underway on the second floor of the king library. palo alto artist judy gettel-sun calls her collection up so close. she says she gets her inspiration from her proximity to people...animals...or just about anything. ">>>"the idea of being so close to something is that the intersection between two beings, myself and another human, myself and another animal or. that's where creativity is, that's where life is. so up so close is like how close can i get to you and at what point do we spark creativity"" gettel-sun paintings will continue to be featured in the library through march 7th. and that's all we have for arts and entertainment. back to you jessica and liz. thanks monday. spartans softball is relying on their best hitter to swing their way to the top of the conference. but before that we asked san jose state students whether it was still relevant to dedicate a month to a specific culture

potter. from here on out, their conference room will be called the ham rove memorial conference room. [cheers and applause] this is a moving tribute to my dearly digested friend ham rove who was the chief strategist for colbert super pac. you may remember our motto making a better -- >> tomorrow. >> stephen: last year. together ham rove and i contributed individual, corporate and union donations to support candidates in the 2012 election. ham picked the candidate so it's no surprise that a pile of lunch meat chose the white bread. ham rove may be gone but not forgotten especially by abc news who ask ham rove's mentor, karl rove, the question we've all been wondering. >> how do you feel about stephen colbert's ham rendition of your head. >> he's an entertainer but when he took out the knife and starting stabbing it he may need some counseling or encouraging somebody to maybe mimic him. but there was anxiety in his stab there's. >> stephen: karl. there's no need for anxiety. i'm in no way encouraging anybody to stab karl rove. there's a big difference between karl rove and ham rove. jim

so expert hackers claim they found out and say it will be emma watson of harry potter fame. >> interestingi don't buy it. >> have you read the book? >> i have not. i still don't buy it. i think it's too early. i think they even haven't started cast -- >> you don't think she's going to get the part. >> i don't know. i'm not an expert in the area. >> not an expert in the area. you're an expert in many areas. i thought "fifty shades of grey" was one of them. >> even though i haven't read the books. >> i think you have read the books. >> yes. i wouldn't admit it if i had but i have not. >>> also ahead, i'll save you here, justin bieber has been having a rough time from run-ins with the paparazzi showing up late for a concert and the worst birthday ever and i'm getting help from home and family members are joining him on tours. >>> first an abc news exclusive follow-up to the horrifying attack at california's cat haven, a worker who spoke to the young victim right before she was killed by a lion is telling her story. she is also the one who called 911 after finding the woman lying unconscious.

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will change in the negative. >>> all right. live in ka rack razz, mark potteranks for that. >>> hoar at home there's hope for a better relationship. in a statement president obama said this, quote, the united states reaffirms its support for the venezuelan people and interest in developing a constructive relationship. the united states remains committed to policies that promote democratic principles, the rule of law and respect to human rights. senator marco rubio said the venezuelan people have an opportunity to turn the page on one of the darkest periods in its history and embark on a new, al bet it different path to restore the rule of law in a nation that deserves so much better. michael hirsch and "the washington post" editorial writer ruth marcus. good to see both of you again. michael, how might his death represent a different opportunity for a stronger relationship with the united states here? >> well, he was really a unique quality. it's difficult to say what the vice president who will be interim president will do, he was very devoted to chavez, and c

the death of president chavez, and then there will be the election sometime in the future, maybe in a month or so, to determine his successor. >> mark potter, thanks so much. >>> we want to say good morning to our wednesday political power panel. jackie kucinich, and james peterson, also the director of african studies at lehigh university, and republican strategist john braybender. we had some of our elected leaders responding, mark i don't rubo reacting, saying the venezuelan people now have an opportunity to turn the page on one of the darkest periods in its history in a nation that deserves so much better than the socialist disaster. tom cotton saying after the welcome news of chavez' death, i hope the oppressed people will be able to live in freedom. and bob menendez saying chavez ruled with an iron hand and it's left with a political void we hope will be filled peacefully. what is the opportunity for the u.s. and venezuela to patch up the rocky relationship? >> first we feed the leaders to take a different kind of tone in this particular moment. in the aftermath of the passing of a national leader, you have to have some compassion fo

officials are wondering how his passing will impact relations with the oil giant. nbc's mark potter is in caracas this morning. mark, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. the mood in caracas is somber as venezuelans begin seven days of national mourning. even though chavez had long been ill and news of his condition had been worsening, many here were still surprised when he died, in part because of his larger than life personality. venezuela's vice president was clearly emotional as he announced the death of hugo chavez. within minutes, crowds started gathering in the streets of caracas, chanting chavez lives and the struggle continues. many were visibly shaken by the news. while in miami, venezuelan exiles took to the streets with a very different reaction. in a statement, president obama reaffirmed the u.s.'s interest in developing a constructive relationship with the venezuelan government. but for years that relationship has been contentious. chavez embraced cuba's fidel castro and sided with mahmoud ahmadinejad. in a speech to the u.n. general assembly, he h

potter, nbc news, miami. >>> good evening. i'm michael smerconish in new york filling in for chris matthews. we willet to the hugo chavez story in just a moment, but our big story leading off tonight, the market strikes back. we've heard it all before from the right. president obama hates the free market, he's a socialist. his policies are going to destroy the economy. well, he seems to be doing a pretty bad job of ruining the economy because today the dow closed at an all-time high of over 14,250. that means the dow has more than doubled since its low in 2009. it's not all to the president's credit, of course, and the recovery is uneven at best. but you can be sure that if the dow were in the tank, obama would get the blame. so maybe he should get some of the credit. >>> also, the empire strikes back. could we be looking at another bush run for the white house? jeb bush isn't saying no, and when they don't say no, they often mean yes. add to that bush's apparent shift to the right on immigration, and you can see the outlines of a presidential run. so you know what that means. we could be looking at

will make almost anything you ask for in frappucino form. >> i want to order off menu stuff. this is a sumatose crunch, a butter beer for hogwarts fans, harry potteror fans of, you know, twix. >> these will give you a crazy sugar high. what is the point if it's not in print? panera bread's jacob busso says it is the fun of being in on a secret. >> it does create a little bit of a buzz. people kind of wonder what is the hidden menu? >> reporter: panera's hidden menu is all about luring in the carb free customers. if you're like me just go protein style at in-n-out. >> without the bread it's healthy right? for "today" katy tur, nbc news, los angeles. >> i hope she didn't shoot that story in one day. >> you know, that was three weeks ago. katy tur hasn't had a meal since. >> just a little thing too. great ideas. >> i like the twix thing from starbucks. never heard of that. >> i know where you're going right after the show. downstairs to starbucks. >>> up next dylan takes us inside the peeps factory. to see how easter's most popular candy is made. first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪ happy easter happy easter ♪ alright, let's go. ♪ shimmy, shimmy chocolat

. >> i'm going to take a little bit extra time which i will give to my colleagues as well because i wanted to get to colonel potteras well. look, i think the issue on even's mind regarding the military right now is the tragedy, as we understand it, that last year we lost more soldiers to suicide than to armed combat. and we're talking, what, somewhere around 350 or so. can you answer, let me just throw out the first question is why is this number so incredibly high? why is that occurring? and later on we will talk about what you guys are trying to do to address it. but tell me in your judgment. i think the average american would say, what? we're losing more people to suicide than to armed combat? i think that comes as a shock. why do you think that number's as high as it is? >> thank you, mr. chairman. that is, as you indicated earlier, a very complex issue and a complex question. i think a couple of things if you want to compare the number lost to suicide to the number lost in combat, part of that is attributable to the fact that we have a high survivability rate in combat right now. and so the number that we're

potter is in caracas. good morning, mark. >> good morning. the funeral begins later this morning and will be attended by presidents and diplomats from latin america and around the world. among them, cuban president raul castro, iran's mahmoud ahmadinejad, and a small, low-level delegation from the united states. after the service, chavez will not be buried. instead he will lie in state for another seven days, so more venezuelans can pay their respects. all day yesterday, and into the night, thousands and thousands of people stood in a mile-long line for the chance to quickly file past the casket. the vice president here says chavez's body eventually will be preserved, much like those of historic communist figures lenin and mao for future public display in a special tomb. soon, perhaps in a month or so, there will be an election to pick chavez's successor as the new the president of venezuela. >> mark potter, thank you. >>> officials say the california woman attacked by a lion wednesday at an exotic animal park was talking on the phone with a co-worker moments before she was killed. the co

potter" films. he was 65 years old. >>> finally, truly stunning number for you. baseball season set to begin. yankees third baseman alex rodriguez willake $29 million but take a look at this. he will be making more than the houston astros. the whole team. their team payroll is going to be around $25 million. which is on the low side admittedly. oh, by the way, the injured rodriguez may not even play until june. >> you know, so much of that resentment toward the yankees. such an excessive ball team. >> no salary cap means -- >> any chance the astros can make it to the playoffs. >> exactly 0%. >> you better change that. >> houston, it can happen. it can happen. maybe not but it could happen. >> it could happen. >> we're rooting for them. >>> "pop news," "pop news" friday, everybody. we begin with this question. who needs a little vacation? come on. >> i do. >> i do. >> all right. well, no time off for any of you. but how about a fabulous trip to the movies to see the original "vacation" back as the griswolds, chevy chase and beverly deangelo will have their son rusty all grown up played by ed helms of "the hangover" and "the office" an

willing to help and has some knowledge to lift a curse. that becomes a crucial part of the novel, and some people object to that. i don't know why. with harry potter and everything else, you wonder why they still pick on it. it was banned in schools because it was being used by teachers who loved it, and they thought it was good for their students, and, number two, usually, it's just one family, one family read parts of the book and say, oh, this is outrageous. i don't like the language or i don't like the fact that it's about witchcraft, and then the community and students rise up and say, no, this is a valuable novel. it's about a lot of things, not just about language and witchcraft. the problem with banning any book is that once you ban one, you don't know where it will stop, and that road takes us back to totalitarian states, and i don't think we want that. there are ways of schools to prepare students for what they read and discussion, and even bringing parents in so that it's open and students can be challenged by reading all sorts of books because it is good, never ends, and we know what that leads to. >> next, we hear from dave dewit, the

willing to help and has some knowledge of how to lift a curse. that becomes a crucial part of the novel. some people object to that. i don't know why. since harry potter and everything else, you wonder why they still pick on the novel. from the very beginning, there were the names of the novel in schools. we have to remember the reason of his band in schools is because it is being used by teachers who left it out of his guide for their students. and number two, it usually is just one family. the report said that the book and say this say this is outrageous. i don't like the language of the fat that it's about witchcraft. and then the community and students rights have been female, this is a valuable novel is about a lot of things, not just language and witchcraft. the problem with banning any book is that once you ban one, we don't know where we'll start and that road takes us back to totalitarian state and i don't think we want that. there are ways to schools of preparing students for what they read and discussion and bringing parents and say that it's been and students can be challenged by reading all sorts of books because going down that censorshi

will make cars cost about $130 more by 2025. >>> hollywood mourning the loss of a star in the harry potter movie series. >> in my opinion, why is post on sunday. ha. >> gretchen: richard griffin, who played harry's unsympathetic uncle, vernon, dying of complications of heart surgery in england. harry potter himself, daniel radcliffe, saying he was, quote, proud to know griffith. he also won a toniy award for his real in "history boys." he was 65. >>> for the second straight year, volkswagen just taking home the world car of the year award. this year the vw gulf beat out cars from porsche and mercedes. it's on sale in europe, but not available in the united states until sometime next year. those are your headlines today. >> steve: let's talk a little bit about what's going on in congress. it looks as if the u.s. senate, under the taught language of harry reid will come up with a bill they'll have everybody vote on. shortly after sandy hook, the president was talking about assault weapons ban, background checks, whole myriad of things. since then the president has backed away from an assault weapons ban and, in fact, harry reid t