Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live 20131228

road -- >> it's not fair to people that's out here struggling because we're trying to survive, we work hard. >> take people off unemployment and where do you go? to welfare. >> i don't know what to do. it's a struggle. >> today, long-term unemployed benefits end for more than 1 million americans. the senate could vote on an extension. but can democrats can enough support from the gop house? also today, ducking suspension. after those controversy comments about gays and blacks, the star of "duck dynasty" will return to television. the reason behind the move. and groundbreaking films that will soon vanish. the rush to restore america's silent movies on the verge of disintegrati disintegrating. also, a digital diagnosis. a teenager develops a program that can diagnose breast cancer. it is today's big idea. a whole heck of a lot to get to. but we start here, this morning, more than 1 million americans lost their long-term unemployment benefits and that number could reach 2 million by the end of march. they are the victims of the bipartisan budget deal worked out last week that did not extend the benefits, which amount to about po $300 a week before taxes on average. it's surprisingly hard to find a job within six months and this man is now in danger of losing his home. >> seems to me, the impression of people on unemployment benefits are just kind of sitting around enjoying the money and nothing could be farther from the truth. >> nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker is here in the studio with us on a saturday. first of all, let's talk about what the president has said about this and what he is doing right now on vacation? >> great to be here. president obama has been speaking out about this, encouraging congress to extend the unemployment insurance benefits for those 1.3 million americans you talked about. he's of course vacationing in hawaii. but he just placed calls to two senators who are working on a bipartisan agreement to extend unemployment insurance benefits for about three months. so those two senators, jack reid, dean heller, who's a republican from nevada, he's making the case that this would be good for the economy, good for these workers. democrats putting on a full-court press. you have nancy pelosi who is saying that it would be immoral not to extend these benefits. but republicans -- i've been talking to them -- say they want this to be offset. it would cost about $26 billion. they say, give us a plan to offset the cost and we'll consider it. right now, politically it looks difficult to get this passed if there aren't offsets, craig. >> what are the broader economic implications here? >> well, economists have looked at this and have said, there will be a ripple effect. they think it could decrease job growth by about 300,000, could also decrease economic growth by about .4%. but, again, it would add to the deficit. so there is a plus and minus to this. i've been talking to some of these workers, though, who are losing their benefits today. they're terrified. they say that they feel like they're looking over a cliff. they don't know how they're going to make ends meet, some of them. and you're looking at 40% of those who are unemployed have been unemployed for more than six months. that is the biggest number since world war ii. >> the long-term unemployed? >> right. we've seen our economy improve. unemployment rate has dropped to 7%. but it's a continuing and ongoing problem. >> great to see you. many americans today are also scratching their heads as they try to make sense of a pair of court rulings on the legality of the nsa surveillance programs. a federal judge in new york yesterday upheld the constitutionality of the nsa's collection of phone records. a different federal judge on december 16th found the agency's plan to be, quote, largely unconstitutional. the rulings come as the president right now is considering the recommendations of a panel assigned to review surveillance programs. peter swire is a law professor at georgia tech and is a member of that panel appointed by the president. good to see you. how do you explain these opposing decisions? >> well, i think you can explain it as changing technology puts pressure on the law. the judge in the 1970s, the supreme court said if you got people's list of phone numbers, that ordinary people didn't have an expectation of prif privacy in that. it was just a list of phone numbers. it was no big deal. the judge yesterday said that 1970s opinion is still good law. but the judge the week before said technology has changed so much that having every text, every phone number is an entirely different deal than the 1970s and the fourth amendment should catch up with that. >> is this going to have to be decided by this country's highest court? >> well, there is a split in the courts. what's the right policy? our review group spoke about what the right policy is. we said we thought the program should really be changed. but these judges are talking about what the constitution says. i think we have a split in the supreme court on that. >> search and seizure specifically. "the new york times" reports that your panel found that mass collection of americans' phone records has not actually prevented a terrorist attack. the latest appeals court decision found the opposition. in an editorial today, "the new york times" quoted the judge in yesterday's ruling in part saying, quote, the effectiveness of bulk telephony metadata collection cannot be seriously disputed. has it prevented a terrorist attack? >> we got the classified briefings. and five of us, including a former deputy director of the cia and a former senior anti-terrorist adviser, we said we didn't find it to be essential in stopping any attacks. so not seriously questioned is not consistent with our own investigation. >> there's also been some criticism that the members of the review panel were too closely tied to the white house and lacked the intelligence experience and credibility to render a decision. >> in terms of intelligence experience, michael morell as more than 30 years of experience. for my own self, i've worked in these issues for more than 15 years. we had two other very experienced law professors. the experience was there. in terms of the lack of independence, that was something people said before we wrote the rortd. when the report came out, people saw we took a hard look at a lot of different things. a lot of those who criticized us says this was independent. we've all been commended for that. >> how quickly do you think the white house is going to act on the review panel's -- i believe 46 recommendations? >> right. well, president obama has said that he's taking the work with him, the report with him to hawaii for vacation. doesn't sound like a great vacation. but he's planning to come back and in january he's going to be making a speech and coming to a set of decisions and announcements about what they're going to do. i think we'll see it in early, mid january from the president. >> the information that edward snowden released this year has undoubtedly turned the u.s. intelligence community on its head. there has been some talk of offering snowden amnesty or a form of it if he turns over any remaining documents that he may have. would there have been any review of nsa surveillance programs if not for edward snowden? >> i think that the conversation changed after june when these releases came out. and the continuing news stories, i think, just pose a question to our democracy and to the other democracies in the world. how do we have freedom and democracy and rule of law and fight a dangerous world? those are tough debates. i think those debates are happening now. >> would we be having those debates without snowden and should amnesty be on the table for him? >> i think we would not be having the same debates without snowden. >> do you consider him a whistle-blower? >> you know, i've got really close friends and family members who see him as a traitor and others who see him as a whistle-blower. he broke the law. he also started a brand-new conversation. so i'm glad the pope was the man of the year in "time" magazine because there's a split side to the effects of what mr. snowden has done. >> peter swire, appreciate your time on a holiday weekend. thank you. >> glad to be here. nearly a week after that massive winter storm, thousands of people are still in the dark. that means no heat for areas where temperatures have continued to drop below freezing in many places. in maine, more than 6,000 people don't have power this afternoon. in michigan, that number is at 21,000. so what can we expect over the next few days? what can these folks expect specifically over the next few day's? alex wilson has the forecast. >> going to be a mainly rain event that we are talking about for the upcoming weekend. a little bit of snow way up in the northeast. talk about that in a second. today, new orleans, mobile, atlanta, rain heavy at times. really a washout to start the weekend, especially in atlanta for the afternoon hours. even into the overnight. jacksonville, florida, you're going to listen for a few rumbles of thunder possible with scattered thunderstorms in the mix. maybe tomorrow as well. charleston and raleigh get in on the action. things dry out for the gulf coast. but in the northeast, the rain showers sticking with us on sunday. if you're traveling along that i-95 corridor heading home after the holiday, it is going to be a slow go for you. make sure those windshield wipers are good to go. watch for ponding on the roadways. tomorrow night, rain for places like new york and boston. may see more of that wintry mix into parts of new york, western p.a. and up into parts of new england. the snow is going to be limited just to northern new england. we're really talking sections of northern vermont, northern new hampshire and parts of maine. that's where we're going to see the accumulating snow. but as you know, that's where we have the power outages. so this could cause problems for the power crews trying to restore power, maybe even cause new problems. 5 to 8 inches for the areas in purple. towards that deeper blue, that's a 3 to 5-inch forecast. that's through monday. >> alex, thank you. the obamacare effect, after a year of bipartisan battling over health care, will democrats run on or against the law? and the economics of porn. the adult entertainment industry is in a financial slump. why that matters to consumers. we're going to talk about that. plus, snoop and the secretary. what brought together this unlikely pair at the white house? this is msnbc. i started a week ago going pro with crest pro-health. since i've been using crest pro-health, i've noticed a huge improvement. 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(vo) so do we, business pro. so do we. go national. go like a pro. the final report on the massacre at sandy hook elementary is released by police. although the report does not draw a conclusion on the motive, it does give a glimpse into the life of gunman adam lanza. lanza's mother, nancy, told a friend two weeks before the massacre that her son went over the edge when their house lost power during hurricane sandy. the release comes on the heels of a state attorney's report from november. a ship trapped in the antarctic ice still waiting to be rescued. their hope lies with an australian ship making its way to the south pole. the trapped vessel sent out a distress call christmas day. one rescue vessel couldn't break through the ice last night. a second released earlier today. the australian ship is expected to arrive tomorrow evening. back to politics. obamacare, an agenda item the president used to barnstorm into his second term in january. last week he called it his biggest screw-up of the year. what lies ahead for the health care program and what affect will it have on the mid-term elections as they start to tyke shape? dave weigel and dominico monitara join us. dave, one major problem yet to be corrected with obamacare is that the right demographics don't yet appear to have signed up, namely young people. now it looks like fewer latinos specifically have signed up than the administration was hoping. the main reason, quote, people in mixed immigration status families worry that personal information submitted under the affordable care act could be used to deport someone in their family. how fixable is that problem? >> i don't think there's a fix in the offing right now. that was a predictable problem. it drove the cost of health care for years and years. people showing up in emergency rooms using care that everyone had to pay for. that's a problem. i think there are so many issues that have yet to be resolved with this that are going to become problematic ones the deadlines are over. we have maybe 2 million people who will have registered by the end of the enrollment on monday. 6 million people have lost their insurance in the individual plans. they're not all clawing them back because of the waiver the president granted. what you just mentioned is one problem. we could spend many segments discussing the factors of obamacare that have not yet played out politically. >> let's talk about the political implications. we heard from senator harry reid last week that this was going to be something that democrats proudly run on come the mid-terms. a lot of republicans have said this is absolutely something that they are going to run on during the mid-terms. is it too early to tell what kind of effect this is going to be come mid november next year? >> remember, in october, talking about republicans being at the lowest point that -- there was a huge congressional ballot advantage for democrats. and just a month later, the switch happened because of the disastrous rollout of the website. you think think the website at some point is going to get fixed, even if it isn't perfect. you're going to have people sign up, get coverage, who like it, who want to keep it. what happens then? if 2 million people and not the 7 million people that maybe estimated would get it, how do you take that back from those folks if you're republicans? that's what you're starting to see split some republicans on what the next approach should be. do you try to fix the law? do you try to exempt some people from having to buy -- mandato mandatorily buy? and if the economy continues to improve and the affordable care act appears to be at least not as bad as it's been, maybe it mitigates some losses. but democrats are playing on republican turf. in the house, in the senate, democrats are on defense and they're just trying to mitigate as many losses as possible at this point. >> dave, you did something we should commend. you wrote a piece about all the political prediction that is you made this year that turned out to be flat-out wrong. the very first wrong prediction you admit to, january 3rd, dave weigel writes, the new congress will be more reasonable than the old one. you were quite wrong on that, dave weigel. how are you feeling about congress in 2014? >> they bailed me out at the end of the year by agreeing to a budget deal. i actually as the shutdown was approaching was thinking they would shut down the government, they wanted to try it just once. but at the beginning of the year, it looked like a lot of the new members had more political experience than the tea party class in 2010. a lot of guys cut their teeth in the state legislatures, former chiefs of staffs were members of congress. some of those guys when they got there, what i understood as the year went on, the incentives for them getting reelected were for them to go far to the right. as good politicians, they did that and became more unreasonable. but they came a little bit back from damascus at the end of the year. >> i think it's commendable that a journalist would say, i screwed up in a big way. what's the big political story we're talking about in 2014? is there a surprise that looms that we can't yet predict? >> the mid-terms are the biggest story. the race to watch so far is going to be this kentucky senate race. >> do you think mitch mcconnell is in trouble? >> i'm not sure he's in trouble. i think he knows he's got a fight on his hands. he saw it coming. the reason we look at that race, look at the john cornyn race in texas, they're early on the caller d. in march is the cornyn race. in may is the mcconnell primary. for tea party conservative story lines, do conservatives fight back? if they hold off both tea party challengers in those two early primaries, we're going to see maybe a rewriting of the narrative just a little bit. >> always appreciate you guys. happy new year to both of you. not your average duet at the white house. secretary of state john kerry, rapper snoop, chitchat it, fist bump. snoop tweeting the video with the caption, boss life, me and john kerry at the white house. we don't clean up tweets here. to which john kerry added, between us, we've sold 30 million. you're watching msnbc. first lady michelle obama joined -- craig? >> that was stupid. >> that was me on steve kornacki's show this morning. the game is called "against the clock." it went downhill from there. >> 200-point toss-up question, the creator and designer of this firearm which has killed more people than -- david? incorrect. of this firearm which has killed more people than any other firearm in the world? >> ak-47. >> that's correct. craig, bonus question, name that creator and designer of the ak-47? >> what did you just say his name? >> i'm not telling. >> we can't accept that. >> i lost. i finished third. called back. a & e lifts its suspension against "duck dynasty" phil robertson despite his controversial remarks. what the network is saying now. and the economy of porn, changing the industry in a big way. what it means for workers and why consumers should care even if you don't watch. we'll ask two former actors next. 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[ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com. that your favorite dutch apple pie starts with a golden flaky crust, wedges of fresh fuji apples, and a brown sugar streusel on top. so she made her dutch apple pie just like that. marie callender's. it's time to savor. student protests turned deadly in egypt. one student was killed and scores arrested when supporters of the muslim brotherhood clashed with egyptian police at a university in cairo. students have been protesting for weeks against the ouster of former president mohamed morsi. the muslim brotherhood was labeled a terrorist organization by some this week. a nursing home has agreed to provide long-term care for a 13-year-old girl who's been declared brain dead. that's according to the family's attorney. her family maintains she's still alive. she went into cardiac arrest after tonsil surgery earlier this month. in libya, the government has released four detained americanings. they were being held in the city west of the capital of tripoli. they were part of security prepared dlns efforts when taken into custody. they were checking potential evacuation routes for diplomats at the u.s. embassy. and the city of denver started issuing licenses friday that will allow businesses to sell recreational marijuana there. retail marijuana sales will begin in colorado new year's day. in our next hour, former congress patrick kennedy will join me live to talk about his personal fight against those new laws legalizing marijuana in colorado and other places as well. a & e is now backing off its decision to suspend "duck dynasty" star phil robertson. the network pulled robertson off his family's reality show last week after those comments he made in an interview published by "gq." a & e released a statement explaining the decision saying, quote, "duck dynasty" is not a show about one man's views. it resonates with a large audience because it is a show about family, a family that america has come to love, as you might have seen in many episodes, they come together to reflect and pray for unity, tolerance and forgiveness. these are three values that we at a & e networks also feel strongly about. jawn murray is the editor-in-chief of "alwa alwayslist.com. 250,000 signatures were selected on a petition to end the suspension. is this decision a direct response to pressure from fans? >> i think it's only partially a direct response to the fans. a & e said they talked to advocacy groups. this is their franchise show, the most successful show -- reality show on cable television right now. so a & e saw that they were about to lose the show. with the suspension of phil, the rest of the cast said, we're not coming back to work either. and other networks said if a & e dropped them, they would pick them up. they had to make a move. it was public relations 101. to make this announcement on a friday -- >> on a holiday friday. >> the story gets buried because you want it to go under the radar. >> glaad also released a statement today saying, quote, phil robertson should look african-american and gay people in the eyes and hear about the hurtful impact of praising jim crow laws and comparing gay people and terrorists. if dialogue with phil is not part of next steps, then a & e has chosen profits over african-american and gay people, especially its employees and viewers. again, this statement coming from glaad. a & e has said that they are going to use this moment, jawn, to launch a national public service campaign to promote unity and tolerance. how is that going to be received? >> i don't know how it will be received. i'm all for teaching moments. i do think sometimes in situations like this, we are quick to call for someone to be terminated. we are quick to try to brandish somebody with the scarlet letter. but we should educate and enlighten people. his comments clearly indicate he's a racist and homophobe. this is not how you communicate in america. when your rhetoric and your free speech offends and someone else is hurt by it, it becomes hateful speech and we don't have that. >> jawn murray, thank you. >> my pleasure. the internet has changed the face of many industries in america over the past few years. when's the last time you picked up an actual newspaper? now the impact of the online generation is overhauling yet another industry, adult entertainment, or pornography. what was once a vibrant retail business now belongs to amateurs and online entrepreneurs. should consumers care? aurora snow is a retired adult film actor, also a contributor to "the daily beast." derek hay is director of an adult talent agency and former adult actor himself. and richard abaloits, covered adult entertainment for a number of years. richard, in broad terms, how has the internet changed the porn business? >> it's changed the porn business in every imaginable way. it's changed the way consumers access it. it's changed the way it's produced. it's changed the content of the porn industry. the old model was, you'd go to the video store or you'd have to go to a theater. now it's everywhere. it's ubiquitous and it's changed how they market it and how they can sell it. >> aurora, sounds like there's still a lot of money to be made in the industry. the adult entertainer performers, today versus 10 to 15 years ago, what's the difference? >> there were many more companies so there was a lot more work. now there are probably more performers than there are companies or work. and so that's actually reduced some of the rates that performers make. there's a lot less money now than there was ten years ago. >> how big a business is it still? how much demand is there for professional adult entertainment? >> i would say what aurora said is correct. there's far less work for the performers and there are far many more performers. and there are less studios providing employment for them. >> richard, in a piece that you wrote for "the daily beast," you quoted an adult entertainment executive as saying, pyre ri is the biggest single factor contributing to the economic malaise we are in, how can you compete with free? why hasn't the porn industry been able to crack down on piracy? >> the porn industry has tried to crack down on piracy. and to some extent, they have. a few years ago when i wrote that, they were being devastated by these free tube site, the porn equivalent of youtube. you they've worked an arrangement where these sites advertise just a few-minute clips. but at the end of the day, like the music industry, the business model is fundamentally transformed. a lot of the actresses, the performers no longer work for the big studios but they do prooif private web shows, escort on the side. it's changed every aspect of the business. so they're never really going to resolve the piracy issue. but that's not as it was a few years ago the primary problem. >> aurora, what happens when adult entertainment stars get out of the business? what do they do for work after that? >> that's a problem that many performers are confronted with. there's not really a clear answer for what performers do when they leave the industry. even if you've had a really great career in the business, it's still somehow a black mark on you if you try to enter into different professional industries afterwards. entertainment is one of the most forgiving industries. so entertainment is an easy industry for performers to get into afterwards. but that is exactly why most performers end up coming back to the business. >> derek, what has all this meant for consumers? what's been the effect on consumers and why should folks who don't watch porn even care? >> well, folks should care because it's an industry that's in decline and it's a lot of jobs that are disappearing. so that's particularly meaningful for the city of los angeles and the city of miami, two centers for the adult entertainment industry in the united states. so they should certainly care about that. local economy in los angeles and san fernando valley is definitely being affected by that. i don't think the consumers are seeing a whole great deal of difference except maybe they're consuming the product for free these days. if they have a moral conscience, perhaps that troubles them. but for most people, i guess not. >> richard, one of the things that's struck me as somewhat -- as maybe a contributing factor, it seems as if 20, 25, 30 years ago when you said, porn star, adult entertainment star, there was a certain, oh, my god, i can't believe they do that. but now it seems as if it's a lot more mainstream and it's a lot more acceptable. the demystification of porn, has that in any way, shape or form distribute kricontributed to th industry's demise? i don't know that -- no. i would say it has not. a talent agent i interviewed once liked to say that women used to fall into porn. now they aspire to be porn stars. and that's certainly responsible for the huge number of women who have no problem making movies or celebrities, for example, that are willing to sell a sex tape. that certainly wouldn't have been true 30 years ago. that reduces the amount of money each woman. but i don't think it's responsible for the industry's decline as a whole. if anything, that helps the industry. >> aurora, 10, 15 years from now, what's the conversation like with regards to the porn industry in this country? >> i don't know. i think that there's a lot of money that used to be in the porn industry that just isn't there anymore. and i think one of the ways that it's changed is that it's allowed performers that have built name recognition to offer very personalized videos to fans via the internet. now performers with name recognition can create do-it-yourself videos, so to speak. and that enables them to capitalize on a declining business. >> aurora snow, derek hay and richard abowitz, fascinating conversation. thank you all so much for being a part of it. >> thanks. time to flash back to this day in 1993 when country singer billy ray cyrus married tish finley. cyrus' record company recordedly advised against the secret wedding. the couple filed for divorce twice. but they mended their aching hearts. this week, the couple tweeted a picture of their loving embrace. that relationship also produced the hard-twerking melissa harris-perry. this week, miley released a new video for her single "adore you." she's going to be performing in times square on new year's eve. now let's flash back to this day in 1846 when a growing united states kept looking westward and added iowa to the union, the hawkeye state became the 29th state. it's been crucial in making or breaking presidential hopefuls. then senator barack obama secured his future when he won the iowa caucuses, beating out john edwards and hillary rodham clinton. >> and in new hampshire, if you'll give me the same chance that iowa did tonight, i will be that president for america. thank you, iowa. what if we could keep enough plastic waste to cover mt. rainier out of landfills each year? 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[ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. a new way to detect breast cancer invented by a teenager. it's today's big idea. it's a computer program coded to think like a brain. the goal? telling whether a breast mass is benign or malignant. britney winger is the creator of what's called the global neural network cloud service. britney took the top prize for the idea in last year's google science fair. good to see you, britney. >> good to see you, too. thanks for having me. >> describe in simple terms how this works. >> what it is is a program that's actually able to model a brain's neurons and inner connections so it can learn how to detect complicated patterns that are far too complex for humans to see. feeds and inputs based on the way cells look. through that, it's able to determine which masses are cancerous and which ones aren't cancerous. it does it by analyzing fine needle aspirates which are highly noninvasive. they're really cheap and are the quickest form of procedure a woman can have. >> how accurate is it? >> so far, it's diagnosed over 99% of cancer patients correctly. and i ran a series of 7.6 million tests to prove that. >> 99%? >> yeah, it's really exciting. >> it is really exciting. how did it take so long for us to get here? how was it that a 17-year-old -- that's how old you were when you came up with this -- how was it that a 17-year-old was able to develop this idea when i would imagine lots of older and more experienced sciencetistists and engineers were not able to? >> when i was in seventh grade, i took a class on futuristic thinking. i got coding books and started teaching myself how to code. but when i was in tenth grade, that's when i really wanted to extend it to breast cancer because my cousin was diagnosed with the disease. and i found out she was not alone. in fact, one in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetimes. these statistics are startling. so it was at that point that i really wanted to combine my passion for artificial intelligence for improving the diagnostic process. i worked years on it. and i had a lot of flopped attempts. but that's what's great about science. you learn a lot from your mistakes. >> you're at duke now. i assume that you are studying science? >> yeah. i plan on dual majoring in biology, specific in genomics and computers. >> what's the next step for this idea? what's the next phase? >> it's kind of a multifaceted next phase. one phase is to get this into more hospitals. i'm currently beta testing with two institutions. but to improve the results and get it closer to working with all patients, i need more hospitals to test it in. in addition, i want to prove that these same sort of tactics can work with many if not all types of cancer. so i currently extended the program to diagnose leukemia samples. i've been able to go through and identify proteins that may be candidates for drug targeting. working in those two different realms. >> brittney, thank you so much. do you have a big idea that's making a difference? you can e-mail us. climbing for a cure. a 9-year-old california boy became the youngest person to scale the highest mountain in the western and southern hemispheres. this week, tyler armstrong reached the 22,841-foot summit of a mountain in argentina. armstrong is hoping to raise awareness about a type of muscular dystrophy that only affects young boys. he says his next stop is going to be alaska's mt. mckinley. this is the quicksilver cash back card from capital one. it's not the "fumbling around with rotating categories" card. it's not the "getting blindsided by limits" card. it's the no-game-playing, no-earning-limit-having, deep-bomb-throwing, give-me-the-ball-and-i'll-take- it-to-the-house, cash back card. this is the quicksilver cash card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere, every single day. so let me ask you... what's in your wallet? the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. 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[ imitates robot ] everyone deserves ooey, gooey, pillsbury cinnamon rolls. make the weekend pop. the silent film era in america lasted 17 years, from 1912 to 1929. but those films helped shape the art of movie-making. more than 1,500 feature length films were made during that time. but three-quarters of those films are gone forever. david pierce is a film historian. recently completed a report for the library of congress. david, first of all, what happened to these films? why have some survived and most not? >> well, the films at the time were made on a nitrate film stock. so they were flammable and they would also deteriorate over time. so bad storage meant that most of the films simply rotted in their cans on the shelf. also, there was absolutely no commercial value for those films until very recently. >> what happened very recently? >> well, there's been a resurgence of interest since the premier of "napoleon" in 1980 at radio city music hall. and surprisingly the entertainment value of the best films from the teens and '20s are still there. >> have you been able to track down some of the films once thought lost? >> well, it turns out that many of the films which are completely missing from the united states showed up overseas. and they were sent to overseas theaters and then at the end of the distribution period, instead of being junked the way they were supposed to, they ended up going to film collectors and then to film archives. oddly enough, the biggest collection of american silent feature films found overseas was in czechoslovakia. >> czechoslovakia. why there? >> it looks like the czech was the end of the line for distribution. so the distributors said, once you send it to czechoslovakia, don't bother to spend the shipping to send it back. >> what have we lost as a culture? you talk about three-quarters of all silent films gone. what does that mean to us as society? >> what we've lost is a real in-depth understanding of what life was like during that period as well as the social moores of that time. there were an enormous number of films produced for women audiences. just as magazines were projecting new roles for women in the 1920s, the films were doing the same things. but we can't really uncover the influence of the films because so few of them survived. >> film historian david pierce, thank you so much. it was enlightening. appreciate your time. >> thank you so much, craig. today is the expiration date for long-term unemployment benefits. is there hope for a fix from congress? also, recreational marijuana hits stores next week in colorado. i'm going to talk to a former congress who's got a very personal stake in fighting that. ♪ ♪ ♪ get great gifts from the person who knows you best. you. that's powerful. verizon. get new year's countdown deals. save $50 on select droid devices, like the free droid mini. i couldn't have survived this long without an unemployment benefit. >> those benefits will come to an abrupt end. >> my neighbors don't even realize what's going on. >> end of the line for unemployed americans. i'm craig melvin. you are watching msnbc. today marks the expiration date for long-term unemployment benefits. more than 1 million people are affected. could congress still come to the rescue? we'll talk about that. also ahead this hour, the quack is back. phil robertson returning to television after his controversial remarks about gays and blacks. why a & e lifted that suspension. plus, is pot a dangerous drug? one former congress who overcame addiction himself insists, yes. he is fighting new marijuana laws. but will it make a difference in places like colorado where recreational pot goes on sale in just a few days? we'll get to those stories in a few moments. but we start here, today is the day that 1.3 million americans will lose their unemployment benefits. they are victims of that bipartisan budget deal worked out last week which did not extend them -- remember the emergency benefits were created back in 2008 to help workers who had exhausted their state benefits. john harwood joins me live with more. we know the president based on kristen welker's reporting last hour, he called senators harry reid and dean heller from his vacation in hawaii to tell them that he supports their proposal for a three-month benefits extension. how likely is that to pass? >> not very. you've got a situation where the congress, i think, and washington has made a psychological turn from the idea that our economy is in a crisis and recovery situation to the feeling that we're in a growth -- a strengthening of the labor market kind of situation. and when that happens, the impetus, the push, the will to make it happen on the part of democrats and get those extended benefits over the finish line becomes more and more difficult. still could have a temporary extension. if the president decides to invest his political capital, you can't rule it out. but it's not looking likely. >> let's talk about what this means for average americans. on average, we're talking about $300 every week. that's on average. these are also -- this extension is something that congress has done 11 times, is that right? >> that's right. and it's going to hurt some people. there are people who have been out of the labor market for some time. we're talking about the long-term unemployed. the longer you stay out of the labor market, the harder it is to get back in. and people have grown accustomed to getting these benefits and they're going to be hurting. it's going to pinch them. on the other hand, there are some people who will be motivated to take a job that they might not have taken in the absence of these benefits. it could send the unemployment rate down. some people could leave the labor market altogether because to get these benefits, you have to show you're looking for work. if they're not there, some people who really don't feel as if they have a realistic prospect for getting a decent job may stop looking. there's no question there's human consequences and a toll from this. but unless something changes in the political atmosphere and the political dynamics here in washington, it's not likely to be revived. it's very expensive, craig. if you did extend it for a full year, $25 billion. and republicans insist on paying for that. not easy to come up with ways to pay for it that both sides can agree on. >> what do we know about the economic impact of extending these unemployment benefits versus not extending these unemployment benefits? >> there will be some fiscal drag, some negative economic consequences on the entire economy from the loss of this money in circulation. people who don't have a lot of money when they get it spend it pretty quickly so it flows through the economy. but there are various forms of stimulus that the united states government has turned to over the last few years. we're beginning the phase where those things get pulled back. >> john harwood, always appreciate your insight, sir. thank you. >> you bet. >> democratic texas congresswoman sheila jackson-lee, you heard john harwood there. nancy pelosi and chris van holland both said this was nonnegotiable, extending unemployment had to be a part of that budget deal that passed. that did not happen. why weren't democrats able to make that part of the budget agreement that president obama signed from hawaii? >> this is a season of giving for many americans and as we go into the new year, it is a time of inspiration and prosperity and looking to the future. what we have done is given in essence a end of the line sentence to our fellow americans. now 1.3 million in 2014. it will be 3.6 million-plus. it is a partisan issue in the united states congress. the american people believe that job hunters, people who work, as i call them, working americans, who have invested in unemployment insurance should have it as a safety net. and the democrats thought that the republicans in the house after the budget deal had appropriately included two elements of need. one, what we call the doctor fix that provide for medicare reimbursement so our seniors could be able to have the doctors that they choose. we're glad that happened. and we also expected and were expecting the extension -- the emergency extension of unemployment offered by mr. levin and mr. van holland. done since president bush. it started since president bush and it is an emergency. with all the political might our democratic leadership had and all of us who actually voted in what we call the previous question, we voted 100% democrats to ensure that that would be extended. we got no republican. and the reason why we feel that this is a catastrophe is because your reporter said it right but it is absurd. this is an emergency. and republicans want to insist on a pay-for. i don't believe a pay-for is necessary. >> you believe we should borrow to pay for it? >> i believe just like in hurricanes -- remember that long fight we had for hurricane sandy. >> sure. >> how devastating that was. to leave our fellow americans out in distress because the republicans were looking for a pay-for. yes, i believe it's an emergency. the economy is percolating. but long-term unemployed persons are having difficulty. 40% of these individuals are middle class individuals. their salaries are above the middle class arena. 60% are not. this is an absolute lifeline. >> to those who would say, this was meant to be a temporary program, to those who say, at some point we have to stop it, what would you say to those folks? >> well, i would say to them that is a roof over your head temporary? is running water temporary? is bread and food on the table temporary? this is money that kicks in after the state unemployment runs out. that's why it's an emergency. we only give it to those who are still unemployed after six months and can document that they're looking for work. frankly, we're going to be having a press conference right here in houston. i hope it carries across america. we're going to be asking those who have mortgages, those who have to pay rent, meaning those who are the rental people, those who hold mortgages for individuals, all the utility people, to hold off on anybody who shows an unemployment compensation stub, not to put these people out in the street, not to in essence evict them, not to foreclose on them. because in actuality, this was a lifeline for these individuals. they were out looking for others, bankers and others. i think it is a crisis of heart and mind. i introduced a bill hr-3773 on the 16th of december. i'm very delighted that senator reid from rhode island and heller from nevada introduced bipartisan legislation on the 18th. that's what i was hoping to do. they could have done it then, but the republicans insisted on a pay-for, which is allegedly the reason why it couldn't go into the budget. how ridiculous. it's their own people because these are americans. it's democrats, republicans, independents or people that don't even vote but they're trying to support their family. i'm outraged about this. >> congresswoman, we should note, 77,000 of the long-term unemployed that we mentioned, are in texas. that's my understanding, are in your district specifically. but at what point -- how do we decide when the program itself has run its course? is there -- does unemployment need to be below a certain number? what's the measure? >> craig, that's a very good question. right now, we've obviously done better than we thought we would be doing. i thank president obama for helping us with that kind of policy but also for calling the senators on the unemployment legislation they have. but we're at 7%. we have documented that individuals are looking for employment and long-term unemployed persons have a more difficult time in securing a position. i hope that that does not continue. and that there are three of them for every position that is there. so we will see people taking jobs below their skill set. that pushes out individuals who absolutely need those jobs. as i said, 60% of the people are under that middle income salary and so they are absolutely desperate. some of them are single breadwinners. heads of households, young mothers, young fathers. so we look at this as a guy that's got all the skills and college graduated -- there's a guy that's a former chief of staff. there's a lot of depression that sits in on those individuals as well. but it also takes in the persons who frankly are not skilled, or salaries were in the $20,000s and $30,000s. they don't have any savings or 401(k)s. it should be a safety net that continues down the road. we can find an established pay-for for it. but right now, it's an emergency. we need the american people's opinion about helping the jobless, the unemployed job hunters. we need to use that opinion and be able to help these people who are desperate. i'm asking all of those who expect payments from these individuals to give them relief if they can document their last unemployment distribution. do not cut off telephones and cut off lifelines and water and cut off opportunity for them to eat. by the way, 200,000 jobs are being lost because of the lack of unemployment insurance. >> congresswoman sheila jackson lee, we are going to have the leave it there. thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me. topping the saturday headlines, a third rescue vessel is on its way to try to save that ship stuck in the antarctic since wednesday. the trapped ship has 74 people on board. one vessel failed to break through the ice yesterday. a second was released earlier today. officials say those on board that ship are safe. a federal judge rules the nsa's phone surveillance program is legal. judge william paulie said there's no evidence the agency abuses authority. the aclu which brought the case said it would appeal. meanwhile, you might remember another federal judge ruled earlier this month that the agency's plan was, quote, largely unconstitutional. p.i.n. security, target now admits that the massive cyber attack also includes personal id numbers. why the store says there's still no risk to consumers. plus, a year of victory, from new laws to new stars, even homecoming queens, the transgender community earned mainstream attention this year. so what's next for 2014? actress laverne cox from "orange is the new black" is live in the studio. we'll talk about that and a lot more on the other side of this break. to share with family. 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[ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ [ male announcer ] that's handy. stick with innovation. stick with power. stick with technology. get the new flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare. 2013 was undeniably a banner year for the gay and lesbian community. the number of states where same-sex marriage is legal jumped with four more in the works. four more gay members of congress and a number of professional athletes came out of the closet as well chipping away at long-held stereotypes in sports. but what about the transgender community? is their fight for equal rights also picking up steam? michael silverman is the executive director of the transgender legal defense and education fund and laverne cox is back, the star of "orange is the new black," a transgender rights advocate as well. always good to see you. >> hello, craig. >> we're going to talk about this show in a second. your fans would take me to task if i didn't ask you. last month, we know the senate overwhelmingly and bipartisanly passed the employment nondiscrimination act. it would essentially prohibit discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation and gender identity. still awaiting a vote in the house. for folks who have not necessarily been following this closely, how important of a law would this be for the transgender community? >> first of all, this is the first time the senate has actually -- we've voted on the bill. this is an inclusive bill. several years ago, a bill was put forth by certain members of congress that didn't include transgender people. it's still legal in about 33 states to fire someone simply for being transgender. this law would protect people from that. our unemployment rate is that of the national average. this bill would be a huge boost for employment, nondiscrimination for -- >> 33 states? >> absolutely. >> i don't think a lot of folks realize that. michael, political feasibility, what are the chances of this thing passing both houses? >> the chances are good. it's our job as activists and advocates for the transgender community and community members to keep telling our stories, to introduce ourselves to the american people. the more they know the challenges that transgender face, it's things like getting and keeping jobs so we can support ourselves and our families, getting access to health care, ensuring we can live safely and free from violence, people overwhelmingly support transgender rights. in the years, we will pass a bill to protect transgender people from getting fired. >> thanks to a new law in california, when students return from winter break, transgender students from kynaindergarten through eighth grade will be able to use whichever bathroom they'd like to based on their gender identity. the law kls gives them the identity to play on boys or girls sports teams as well in california. at this point, do we see other states following suit? if so, which states? >> we already have more than a dozen states that protect transgender people from discrimination in certain places. you have to make sure all of your students have the same opportunity. this year one of the breakout stories was coy mathis in colorado, a little girl whose family sued the school district because they wouldn't let her use the little girl's bathroom. they treated her as a girl and they said, you're the only transgender girl who's not allowed to use the girl's bathroom. and she won. >> michael alluded to it. you had a heck of a year yourself. you became the first african-american transgender woman to have a leading role on a mainstream show. "time" magazine, i don't know if you heard about this, fourth most influential fictional character of 2013. that's a big deal. >> i don't quite know how to process that. >> that's a big deal. >> i'm really, really grateful. i'm so happy to be here today and to have this opportunity because i guess to live my dream as an actor but hopefully get to amplify so many transgender people's voices. >> as an advocate, what's the most important thing for you to achieve for the transgender community next year in 2014? >> i'm excited about the bill in california. but i'm also excited about the implementation of an act which went into effect earlier this year and protects transgender people who are incarcerated. transgender people are 13 times more likely to be assaulted in prison than other people. the act stipulates that transgender people should be housed according to how they identify in terms of gender. that's a huge law that will affect the lives of so many incarcerated trans people. >> for your show fans who are watching, you're wrapping up taping for next season. what can you promise them? >> i can promise them lots of drama and lots of comedy and amazing, fun things. >> oh, you're giving them nothing. you gave them no specific nugget or tidbit. well played. >> thank you so much. >> always good to see you. thank you so much for your time. we will be right back. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] own your obsession with the exceptional values during the season of audi. visit audioffers.com today. ♪ to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global. on the ground, in the air, even into space. we repaid every dollar america lent us. and gave america back a profit. we're here to keep our promises. to help you realize a better tomorrow. from the families of aig, happy holidays. shhhh! shhhh. 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[ man ] shhhh! for fast cold and flu relief, day or night, try alka-seltzer plus day and night liquid gels. florence wiley died sunday, december 15th, surrounded by family and friends. she was 76. you didn't know her but she was my grandmother. she was a woman of faith who sang in the church choir and i enjoyed her so much as a young child that i started singing in the choir, too, just to be around her. some of my earliest and fondest memories involve her. sleepovers at her house, the pancakes she made, car trips to fun places and a biting sense of humor that kept her family in stitches. florence wiley was flat-out hilarious. her staple? a slew of folksy sayings she tried out every now and then. she also worked as a cafeteria worker. then as a school custodian for more than 40 years. never making much more than the minimum wage. she made it work for decades. she reared four children and was a single mother long before we started calling them that. to do it like so many, she worked hard, nights, holidays. for probably far too long. hers was a life spent struggling. but i don't remember ever hearing a single complaint, even after diabetes stole her legs and even when it became apparent she was going to lose her decades-long battle with that dreadful disease, she did not complain. her strength in life was eclipsed only by the courage with which she faced death. she taught me and her ten grandchildren, her ten other grandchildren, the value of hard work, how to laugh and just how important family really is. florence wiley was the matriarch of our family. no thought this week, just a thank you. i know you're watching and probably saying something like, boy, you're going on too long. o, and my fico® credit score's on here. yeah, you've got our discover it card, so you get your fico® score on your monthly statements now, for free! that's nice of you! it's a great way to stay on top of your credit, and make sure things look the way they should. awesomesauce! huh! my twin sister always says that. wait...lisa? julie?! you sound really different on the phone. do i sound pleasant? for once in your life you sound very pleasant. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. free fico® credit score. get the it card at discover.com. ♪ ♪ get great gifts from the person who knows you best. you. that's powerful. verizon. get new year's countdown deals. save $50 on select droid devices, like the free droid mini. target is reassuring its customers that their p.i.n. data is safe and secure. the retailer confirmed that some numbers were stolen as part of that massive cyber attack. but it says hackers can't crack the codes. according to the store's spokeswoman, the p.i.n. was encorrupted when it was stolen. i'm craig melvin. secretary of state john kerry is continuing his quest for middle east peace. he will return to jerusalem and the west bank new year's day for talks between israeli and palestinian leaders. kerry has recently reignited talks from broke down in 2010. more than 95,000 reports of sexual assault in the military were filed this year. that's an increase of more than 50% over last year. that's according to the "associated press." defense officials say that increased awareness may have led more victims to come forward. thursday, president obama signed that defense bill that addresses the problem of sexual assault in the military. retail marijuana sales in colorado are set to begin bright and early on new year's day. yesterday in denver, retailers were lined up as doors opened in the city's licensing bureau, ensuring that they'd be good to go on january 1st. only businesses that were already licensed to sell medical marijuana are allowed to make the transition to recreational sales. but store owner jason jones hopes more will be able to follow. >> i think you'll see a lot of new retail stores that will be coming in all throughout january and probably february also. so we're very excited. looks like we've got our licenses right here. there it is. >> but not everyone is cheering. former congressman patrick kennedy recently started a group called project s.a.m., smart approaches to marijuana. project s.a.m. says a massive health and safety problem is yet to come in a state like colorado as a result of legalizing marijuana sales. but pot's been legal for about a year now. what kind of tipping point do you see coming? >> well, craig, first of all, my condolences on the loss of your grandmother. it was a great story you told about her. >> thank you, congressman. >> on the issue that you just asked about, obviously you know that with legality, just as in the case with alcohol and with tobacco, there's going to be more use. there's just really no dispute about that. at the top of your segment, you showed this person was talking about the increased number of retail outlets. well, what that means is that there's going to be more exposure to kids. we know that kids when they perceive something as not harmful are more likely to try it, use it and the like. and what the studies have already been released that have shown early indications of this, that there's greater use amongst teenagers 12-graders, particularly, and that use correlates with the both medical marijuana coming into states and now, of course, with legalization, it's only to be expected that we're going to see that increased use continue to go up. now, people might think that's not a big deal because they don't think marijuana's a big deal. but the science now tells us otherwise. and i think that's going to be our challenge, is getting that information out because now we have a new big tobacco. you have a commercial interest by those proprietors that you just saw on your film who now want to sell. they have a for-profit motive to sell as much marijuana as they can. what that means is they're going to have a commercial reason to try to get kids to use, just like big tobacco did in its heyday. >> you mentioned some research. and i think you're referring to one of the nih studies. a 60% of high school seniors say they do not think that marijuana is harmful, hurtful. 23% admitted that they smoked it in the last month. that's just admitted. if attitudes and laws surrounding pot are becoming more lax, what do you think is the most effective way to combat those? >> well, i was the author of the mental health parity act which treats those diseases. but the best path is prevention. when something is legal, the perceived harm of it, as you indicated in your citation there, is reduced. and that means more people will use. so the two most abused drugs are alcohol and tobacco. and it's there because they're legal. i just think as a nation, we want to watch what happens in colorado and washington and make sure that we don't repeat the effects if they are as negative as we think they may be. we don't want to have that repeated in other states around the country. >> you, of course, once served in congress. you know a thing or two about the will of the people. colorado's residents have voted to legalize pot. they voted to tax pot. this is highly supported statewide. it's also highly supported in washington state. how do you reconcile your views with the fact that honestly the people have spoken? >> well, they have spoken. and obviously what we need to do now is monitor what the maybe unintended consequences are because i think a lot of people voted for this as i initially thought. and they thought, no big deal. what we need to know now is what are the facts on the ground? are there greater hospitalizations amongst kids? are there greater fatalities on the roads from drug to driving? is there an impact on learning and education? is there increase in dropout rate? these are the things, craig, we need to now monitor so we know what the consequences -- because i don't think the people of colorado and washington ultimately could have foreseen what those consequences are. but now the rest of the nation gets to watch as they go through this experiment. and that is, i think, something all of us need to pay close attention to if we don't want those consequences to visit themselves on the rest of us in other states. >> congressman, really quickly, would we be better off resigning ourselves to the fact that this is something that is clearly going to start happening state by state over the next five, ten, 15 years? would we be better off by figuring out ways to restrict it, ways to monitor it as you just indicated, versus trying to stop this tide? >> well, i think we have to do everything we can, craig. and that's why we need to pay more attention to what the consequences are and we'll have to monitor them, as you said. but i appreciate you having me on. this is a debate that frankly never took place in real vigorous way before colorado approved or washington approved. i don't think the country really does understand what it's in for if this continues to go down the road it's going in right now. and i think it's time for us to pause and just start thinking about this some more because marijuana may not be as bad as heroin or cocaine or others. but when you see more people use it, the adverse consequences of it are real. and i think we need to pay attention to that before we continue to go down this road. >> former congressman patrick kennedy, congressman, thank you. always appreciate you. >> thank you, craig. we're going to switch gears here. he's back. a & e has reversed itself. they say they will bring back the entire "duck dynasty" family for new episodes of that wildly popular show. let's talk about "duck dynasty" with the brain trust. angela rise, bob franken, syndicated columnist and republican strategist, ron christie. good to see all of you on a holiday weekend. angela, let me start with you. i know you are an avid viewer of "duck dynasty." >> absolutely. >> you know, it didn't take cracker barrel or a & e a long time to turn around and make nice with the patriarch phil robertson. his suspension has been lifted. what does this say about us? what does this say about society? what does this say about -- why the turnaround? >> well, craig, i think we know that we are a consumer-driven people. and the unfortunate reality about "duck dynasty's" future is that it will continue. a & e responded to its 14 million viewers, the fact that it is the most viewed reality tv show certainly helped and the fact that two-thirds of its revenue for the show come from advertisers that has everything to do with this. so unfortunately the folks that did not like the things that he had to say about the blacks and the gays were beat out by the fact that money talks. plain and simply. >> money talks. we know it walks. ron, the controversy has generated days of free publicity for the show, for a & e. isn't this -- hasn't this whole thing been a win-win for the show and for the cable outfit as well? >> i think it has been. i agree absolutely with what angela had to say. this is all about revenue. it's all about profit. it's all about the bottom line. i did not like what that gentleman had to say about blacks and about homosexuals. i thought it was offensive. but you know what? as an employer, they said, we're going to suspend you. we didn't agree with your comments but lo and behold it goes to their bottom line. their bottom line is, i think a & e is more interested in making a profit than doing the right thing of, in my view, keeping this gentleman off the air. >> and in lifting that suspension after 5:00 on a friday afternoon, the weekend before new year's when maybe 17 journalists are paying attention. are those of us, bob franken, who populate the nation's east and west coasts, are we simply out of touch with what sells in the rest of america? >> first of all, it's really disturbing to hear just how cynical you are, craig. be still my heart. and i am, too. i was among those who suspected that this was just some great, great p.r. stunt on the part of a & e. but i'm persuaded that that was not the case. they already had a ton of viewers, including for just a few moments, me. but that leaves now the only recourse that people have who are so offended by what he had to say, the only recourse, of course, is to not watch the show. it's going to be a big sacrifice, i know, craig. you're a devotee. >> you know me well, bob. brain tuscaloosa, stay right there. up next, president obama's new year. after battles over health care, surveillance, guns, what the white house can do to turn things around in 2014. 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[ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ president bill clinton will be swearing in new york city's mayor elect, bill de blasio. he will be sworn in using a bible once owned by president franklin delano roosevelt. de blasio said he was honored to serve in the clinton administration and on secretary clinton's 2008 senate campaign as well. and feels honored they will be joining the event. the "brain trust" is back. angela rye, bob franken and ron christie. the president and congress will no doubt come back refreshed and ready to work in january. they face some big issues, most left over from 2013, including the continuing implementation of the affordable care act, nsa surveillance, comprehensive immigration reform and strengthening gun regulation. ron you wrote in "the daily beast" thursday, before the president can tackle any of those issues, he needs to essentially clean house. the president needs to send a message to his inner circle as well as the american people that he is singularly focused on bringing in the best and brightest, those with chicago political connections should be on notice. who needs to go? >> i think valerie jarrett needs to go. the president's senior adviser. from what i've heard from folks in the white house, there are a number of individuals who are scared about sending information through ms. jarrett for fear that it might upset her as opposed to getting the information to the president. for having had the honor and privilege to have served in the white house for four years, i can tell you the president is very best served by those advisers who can come in the oval office and tell him absolutely what he doesn't want to hear. if there's a filter that's going on and if ms. jarrett is filtering the information that goes to the president, he's not able to make the best decisions, i think she needs to go. >> angela, is valerie jarrett the problem at 1600 pennsylvania avenue? >> no, i think the problem is at the polar end of pennsylvania avenue at the united states capitol with the house of representatives. we saw what the president was able to accomplish when he was sworn into office. that was the most productive congress in history. he signed bills into law. he's not been able to do that given the stalemate with the current congress which is led by the house and to which boehner responds, are you kidding me? we know this is not a valerie jarrett problem. it's far bigger than that. this is about people that don't want to move and the brinksmanship that is plaguing the united states capitol. >> bob, the brinksmanship in d.c. is undeniably one of the biggest political stories of the year, if not the political story of the year. any hope that this is something that is going to subside in 2014 or is that also going to be a political reality next year? >> well, it is an election year. and the stake is that the republicans could take over the senate. then you'd have all of congress as an adversary to the president. i think then what we would see is barack obama presiding over a lame duck dynasty. >> you had to go there, bob. >> i had to go there. i've been saving that line for days. >> you came up with that three days ago. lame duck dynasty. >> the truth of the matter, it is an election year. the only thing which might allow certain things to happen so we don't have the debacle we had last year is if the republicans decide that it is a good strategy not to be the issue. for instance, not to cause a default when the debt ceiling comes up. that kind of thing and sort of cool their jets for the year. that is going to be the question, whether the republicans decide that they can most effectively win control of congress by having very little friction. >> ron, it would seem to be politically advantageous for the gop to get something done on comprehensive immigration reform. >> i think that's right. i think both sides want to have a resolution of this issue. >> do they? >> yes -- >> both sides -- or all factions of all sides? >> i think all factions of all sides. if you've got the labor unions and the chamber of commerce and everybody in between saying, we need to do this, take a look at these undocumented folks who are here, we can't mass deport them, we have to have a mechanism -- yes, can they go back of the line, yes, will they pay a fine? we have to find a way to get through the issue. >> i saw you shaking your head, angela. >> i think the reality of it is all factions do not want to address immigration reform. in fact, all factions predominantly even the mainstream of the gop have said this, craig. one representative said, we're not for a pathway to citizenship. we're for a pathway to legalization. if you can't agree on the very definitions of what immigration reform really look like, it's going to be very difficult to move it forward. speaker boehner has been very clear about wanting to implement a piecemeal approach and not take up the comprehensive measure the senate's taken up. the president has been clear. pass a bill and he'll sign it into law. >> i think something that we need to watch also is the role of john boehner. as we're leaving 2013, he has really said to the tea party people, cool it, guys. but i don't think that they're going to want to cool it. i think it could be a free-for-all at times. >> and at the beginning of the year, there were a number of folks in and outside d.c. who thought that john boehner might not be speaker of the house for very much longer. now you've got a john boehner who appears to be emboldened. and i think it goes back to the government shutdown. i think john boehner like a lot of folks in this country realized it was stupid, it was a bad idea. he was pushed to the cliff by some folks who probably did not mean well. and now you've got a guy who's really stuck in a very precarious position. how does john boehner play it come 2014? >> i think 2014 is going to be a great year for john boehner and the house republicans. at his core, i've known this man for 22 years. >> he's a moderate. >> he's a dealmaker. he wants to sit down with republicans, democrats and say, what's in the best interest of the country. unfortunately, there are 30 to 40 people in the house of representatives who say no to everything. i applaud boehner for saying, this is ridiculous. >> but he should have said it sooner. >> yes. >> could have, would have, should have, i'm glad he did it. >> year and these people aren't running to please john boehner. they're running to please the voters in their districts. >> which politician was overlooked in 2013? but has the potential to be a game changer in 2014? that's next. and...boom! it just hits you! that nasty odor coming from your washer. you've tried different ways to get rid of it... but they all just hit a dead end. time to say farewell to the smell with tide washing machine cleaner. it goes straight to the source of the stink to lift odor-causing residues off your washer's drum so your washer will smell clean and fresh. there's no room for a stinky washer. tide washing machine cleaner. visit tide.com to find out more. shhhh! shhhh. 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[ man ] shhhh! for fast cold and flu relief, day or night, try alka-seltzer plus day and night liquid gels. the brain trust is back. angela, bob, ron. this is where we look at the overplayed and certain overlooked and underplayed stories of the week. not overlooked, speculation of 2016. hillary clinton and new jersey governor chris christie. the new poll finds they would be presidential nominees running neck and neck for the oval office. find out which political figures have been overlooked and underplayed. angela, who is it? >> sure. well we know we have heard about freshman elizabeth warren in the senate but we haven't heard about is senator corey booker since october. senator booker i think we can expect great things from him in 2014. he promised to keep his head down and keep working but recently on twitter he and rand paul got back and forth. >> the festivus twitter exchange. it was clever. it's interesting to see if cory booker becomes -- whether he gets recognition for legislative achievements. very interesting to see what happens there. >> sure. >> who you got, bob? >> well, i'm saying andrew cuomo. sort of a shame that we're not straying very far from new york and new jersey but andy cuomo i would believe is somebody waiting for hillary clinton to decide and if she decides not to take a big step, i think he is in. people say he hasn't done the ground work. i can see the news conference where he responds saying saying, you talking to me? >> you worked on that one, too. >> second thing. >> earlier this week. >> 2-2. >> he's a writer. bob franken. how about you, ron? >> you talking to me? >> who's overlooked, underplayed? >> i think associate justice of the united states supreme court anthony kennedy. when you look at the supreme court to look at the utah same-sex marriage case and you have a couple of pending challenges of obamacare. i think justice kennedy is what sandra day o'connor was, the spring vote of the court and will sway the court and interesting to' what he does in the cases. >> it is undeniable, you know, justice kennedy continues to be and has been one of the most powerful men in america. >> as a matter of fact, what's so interesting is there's an awful lot of -- there are a lot of primal issues to make the way before the court. we still have gay marriage, whether it's constitutional or not. we have got all of the questions that are raised -- >> affirmative action, as well. >> yeah. >> sorry, bob. i was going to add is affirmative action is a big case. we have a black president now. folks thinking we've all overcome and we are all equal. it's concerning. >> we're running out of time. we spend time here talking about the nsa and talking about privacy and surveillance. and of course there's decision yesterday that contradicted the decision from a few weeks but i do wonder whether we're -- that is going to be a galvanizing issue. is privacy one of those issues that's going to get folks out of bed next november to vote in the midterm election? >> i think it is. >> really? >> i think the nsa case galvanized people of saying government is overreaching too much and i think the supreme court is ultimately going to take the case up, craig. i don't think we'll leave it at the district court. the supreme court will take it, as well. >> angela rye, bob franken and newbie ron crispy. you didn't embarrass your family. you did okay. we may have you back. thank you so much for watching. happy new year. i'll be back here next saturday 2:00 eastern. right now "disrupt with karen finney." wake it up with olay regenerist. formulated with a skin energizing complex, it penetrates 10 layers of the skin's surface, because energized skin is younger looking skin. ♪ i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. 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[ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com. the end of trial and error has arrived. across the country has brought me to the lovely city of boston. cheers. and seeing as it's such a historic city, i'm sure they'll appreciate that geico's been saving people money for over 75 years. oh... dear, i've dropped my tea into the boston harbor. huhh... i guess this party's over. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. hello, disrupters. i'm karen finney. over a million americans just lost a lifeline and if nothing changes another 4 million will be in peril before 2014 ends. but hey, at least one american is back at work after less than two weeks. >> breaking news on the "duck dynasty" suspension. >> breaking news. >> the quack is, in fact, back. >> in a lot of ways, though, the suspension was if anything symbolic. >> the left may control hollywood but they don't control the hearts and minds of a majority of americans. >> this family is what they is. >> do you have any objection on

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