Erupted with more protests in pakistan against the latest Charlie Hebdo magazine. In the former french colony of niger, ten have died. Protesters furious that the magazine cover once again shows a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. In an interview with chuck todd on meet the press. We dont kill anyone he says we defend freedom. Our cartoons defend freedom of conscience. In britain, they paid tribute to the magazine and its dead, but theyre anxious, the government is planning action. Without its dues britain would not be britain. Analysts say theres good reason to fear islamists are plotting further attacks. The fear that they are having a great deal of momentum may be people in different parts of europe who may feel this is the right moment to strike. The site of the magazine massacre, the tributes mount, a place of paris pilgrimage. Theres fury in europe and beyond, and feeling in france that the crisis that started here with so much death is very much alive and very dangerous. Bill neely, nbc news paris. Thank you to bill. Joining me now, nbc news chief correspondent Richard Engel live in istanbul and ibrahim hooper. Richard, let me start with you. Bill neely described the fear and fury. There were protests also in turkey over the weekend. What is your assessment at least of how this is being processed, particularly in the muslim countries. The protests here in turkey about 4 to 500 people attended them, and they were among the most radical protests turkey has seen in a long time. These are people who are openly coming out, expressing support for osama bin laden. They said if the world and the west is standing behind Charlie Hebdo and believes thats an expression of Free Expression defense of Free Expression, then these people said we want to come out and say we love osama bin laden. So this crisis is appealing to a fringe, a radical fringe in turkey and some other countries but not just the fringe because while theres a fundamental misunderstanding here in the west, in the United States certainly in france where i was throughout the Charlie Hebdo crisis, the i am charlie slogan was seen as a defense of freedom of speech. Defense to print whatever you want. But then with the enormous success of the magazine millions of copies sold with yet another insulting image of the muslim Prophet Muhammad on the cover. People in the islamic world thought okay the slogan i am charlie really means you are standing with a magazine that continually targets islam and continues to insult the faith. Ibrahim, let me bring you in on that to richards point. You have the fringe or far more extreme reaction of violence but those who perhaps are moderate who say this is not at least as they view it freedom of expression, it is opportunity to demean their prophet in this way. What are you hearing in conversations you had with people who would fall in what is called moderate range there . Well i think you need to understand that you can be both in support of freedom of expression and be offended by cartoons as long as their offense and protests against the offense are peaceful. If you want to write letters to the editor write editorials speak out against defamation of the prophet, peace be upon him. But these things are not mutually exclusive. You can defend freedom of speech as we have repeatedly but you can also take offense when religious figures that you revere are insulted and mocked. It is only common sense. Richard, lets talk about some of the major meetings taking place. Eu Foreign Ministers meet this week ahead of eu summit february 12th. You have arab League Secretary general attending talks with 28 eu Foreign Ministers at a time as you know raids are taking place, may see more individuals taken into custody in a number of european countries. Well youre seeing arrests in many different countries. Belgium, France Greece spain. Theres been investigations ongoing. Europe is absolutely on alert. Each time european officials make an arrest it leads them to new suspects. And the numbers of people that they are now trying to track down are very high. Euro poll says 5,000 syrians traveled to syria and iraq to fight with groups like isis and an Al Qaeda Group there. Thats 5,000 people. Here where i am in turkey turkish intelligence says that there are 3,000 people in turkey affiliated to isis in addition to 700 to 1,000 turks fighting with isis. And these are turkeys own numbers. Some people think they are conservative. If you add turkeys numbers and euro poll numbers, that means theres a large problem of extremists who fought in syria, many of them returned from syria and are now either in the heart of europe or like where i am now very close to europe. Ibrahim, the numbers are staggering that richard pointed out. Are you concerned in the midst of all that perhaps there will be people who were brought in wrongfully or swept up in raids targeted because they are muslim . You have to differentiate between legitimate security concerns, and if you find a plot where theres violence planned, of course stop that plot but we are also seeing a tremendous rise in islamaphobia not only in europe but in the United States ourselves, we are receiving tremendous increase in hate messages and threats. We are seeing threats to mosques, seeing hate rallies against ordinary muslim conferences like over the weekend in texas. So we are seeing tremendous rise in the level of islamaphobia, and i would also caution us all on terminology. In the package preceding this segment, the reference was repeatedly made to islamists, use as a pejorative. When you start using terms like that as a pejorative i think it sends a very negative message. It sends a message that anyone involved with islam in any way is somehow engaging in something they shouldnt be engaging in. So we have to examine the terminology and we have to you know, get out of this downward spiral of hostility and mutual mistrust that these horrific incidents can lead to. Richard, i want your thoughts as well on this weekend senator Lindsey Graham was asked about boko haram in comparison to thousands of lives that Extremist Group have taken in africa versus and i hesitate to say versus 17 lives in paris, but this is the juxtaposition people are making and the threat of boko haram versus extremists in paris. Let me play what he said. We should be doing more but boko haram doesnt represent the threat to the home land in my view that isil does and other groups in syria and iraq. But if we could show some resolve in syria and iraq reset the table, and go after these guys in syria and iraq with success, i think it would change the landscape throughout the world. Success anywhere breeds success everywhere. And it is one of the popular questions on social media, richard, when people see what happened in france and the same with what happened in africa with boko haram, ask why not do something about that group. Well the question is what are you going to do about it. And theres a couple of questions. Should the media have spent more time focusing on the atrocities in boko haram . Absolutely. Were journalists very busy trying to figure out what was going on in france . Absolutely. So it is about picking priorities and there can be a lot of discussion about what your priorities are and what you want to tune in to and what you want to listen to. Can i jump in on this subject . Much you certainly may. Yes, no. It is interesting. We ourselves, we held a vigil yesterday in washington, d. C. For the victims of boko haram. It had some people turn out, but it didnt have anywhere near the level of turnout in reaction to the Charlie Hebdo situation, so we hope that people will Pay Attention to the massacres, and it is mainly muslims who are being massacred by boko haram in the same fashion they are concerned about the situation in france. And richard, let me let you finish your thought, is it that for some senator graham articulated is not a threat to the home land is that why it is not getting attention, for example, as ibrahim pointed out with the rally his organization held . So the boko haram issue is complex, but it is at its core a nigerian issue. You have a radical group that kidnapped hundreds recently kidnapped more people in cameroon. It is an incredibly violent organization and has created its own state where it is very difficult for people to go. If you notice the only real coverage that came out of the massacres in boko haram were some aerial footage, satellite images that showed before and after raids. The number of buildings and homes that were destroyed as the boko haram militants went on a rampage. The absolute opposite from paris which is a World Capital where we got minute by minute updates, but can you make in a moral equivalency one a worse atrocity than the other . Obviously more people were killed by boko haram than there were in paris. To the point of is boko haram an International Threat . It is certainly not an International Threat in the same way isis and al qaeda are. Isis and al qaeda made it a priority a stated goal to carry out attacks in the west in the United States. They are actively appealing to their supporters in the United States and in the west to go out and launch attacks in a way that boko haram is not. Richard engel from turkey. Ibrahim, thank you for your time. The northeast is recovering from icy driving conditions that led to hundreds of accidents, at least seven people died. In pennsylvania three were killed in a pair of Chain Reaction crashes that injured dozens more. In philadelphia ice caused officials to shut down the citys bridges. In new jersey state troopers saw more than 400 accidents due to slick roads. One woman was killed. Parts of the state, drivers abandoned their vehicles to rising flood waters. Then theres this suv. Dangerously gliding like a bowling ball down a street in yonkers. New york city called in extra ambulances to deal with all of the people injured from slips and falls. And there was more vicious weather out west. Black ice is blamed for a major pileup on the interstate in oregon saturday. More than 100 were involved including a 27yearold plan pinned when his pickup was sandwiched between two large semis. This guy survived was taken to the hospital walked away with two bandaids after that. How are things looking today . Weather channel raegan midgie is with us. We may get snow later this week. Bottom line how did this happen. Al roker today on the today show said meteorologists got it wrong. Yeah we try our hardest to do what we can, at the Weather Channel specifically. It was all about temperature differences in a small window of time. Ground temperature was basically beyond freezing then the air wasnt. So when people are driving around theyre looking at dash boards, saying it is not that freezing mark i am okay. Make a turn and are spinning out, because the ground was very cold. You see the ground isnt too cold. Theres no moisture no ice at all. 24 hours ago, man, was that different. We are going to show you images of what 24 hours ago was. You see a huge pileup more than 50 vehicles crash into each other on interstate 76. This is 476 and 76. Major veins of traffic in philadelphia area. That pileup claimed the life of one person. Then there was another pileup another accident jackknifed tractortrailer, unfortunately two people were killed there. So then when penn dot looked at everything going on we had two hours and 15 minutes of freezing drizzle in the morning between hours of 7 00 and 9 00. Then five hours of heavy rain. Water had to go somewhere. Overnight, it started to freeze again. You see this theres some salt there. That has been spread all through the area throughout the counties here in pennsylvania near philadelphia. Melting what they could, make sure everybody has a safe commute. If i hop over this guardrail, you can see this is what we are dealing with right now. We have nothing in terms of black ice. It is clear. But you did say, tamron wednesday we will start to see something in terms of messy weather in the afternoon be it here in philadelphia and also in new york city area. Boston dont worry about it. Wait til thursday for that. Back to you. That might be the most energetic live Weather Report ive seen in my career. Thank you so much for bringing it in. Cudos to you. Greatly appreciate it. More serious note the secret service is on alert as agents in the fbi continue to search for the gunman that fired several shots near the home of Vice President joe biden. The bullets believed to have come from a car as it drove by. The Vice President and his wife were not home at the time. There were no injuries reported. Senior White House Correspondent kris jansing joins us with the latest on the investigation. What can you tell us . Reporter good morning, tamron. This is puzzling. This is a very upscale neighborhood. The way one Law Enforcement person put it to me not where shots are fired from a speeding car. But thats apparently what happened. Right now, theres increased security from secret service around the biden house and the fbi is leading the investigation to find out whoever may have done this. For hours, investigators searched the area around the Vice President s delaware home and his neighbors, looking for bullets or other clues after a series of shots were fired near the residence saturday from a speeding car. They were out for the evening, but secret service was there and gave chase with local police. But the vehicle got away. Gunfire came from a public road outside the security perimeter. The shots were clearly heard. The chase, a search of the area and questioning neighbors turned up nothing, leaving investigators with a range of possibilities. Who was having a dispute in the area is it known street criminals, unrelated to the Vice President , is it somebody who is mentally defective. Reporter theres always a security perimeter around the biden four acre estate with 7,000 square foot home and guard shack at the entrance. The Vice President and dr. Jill biden often spend weekends there, away from public duties but not out of the public eye. Locals report he was at the home depot saturday morning. A man was taken into custody less than an hour after the shooting. He had been trying to get around officers securing the perimeter. But police havent charged him with anything to do with the shooting itself. None of the area homes were damaged, leaving investigators questions of who and why unanswered. The other question is was it even the biden home that was the target. They dont know. I was talking to an fbi expert who says sometimes when you have ballistics like that the sound can ricochet around so it is possible it may have been from another area but we do know both the Vice President and president have been briefed on this tamron. Kris thanks for that update. Today america celebrates the life and legacy of dr. Martin luther king jr. Hundreds of people including oprah and stars of the movie selma recreated dr. Kings historic march. Up next talk with the first africanamerican woman elected to congress from alabama who represents selma. And president obama preparing for tomorrows state of the Union Address. We will look at his plan to increase taxes on the rich and extend tax benefits to the middle class. As the Supreme Court announced, it will make a decision on samesex marriage. I will talk live with the nbas first openly gay player jason collins, about his role as nba cares ambassador promoting tolerance and inclusion. Join the conversation. So many of you already joined us. Find my team at newsnation. Find me on facebook twitter, instagram under my name. Music melodic, calm music. Dont miss the Princess Cruises 50th anniversary sale. Our biggest sale ever. Save up to 500 per person. Everywhere we sail. All around the world. Call your travel consultant, or 1800princess. Princess cruises. Come back new. Dont settle for 4g lte coverage thats smaller or less reliable when only one network is americas largest and most reliable 4g lte network verizon. With xlte, our 4g lte bandwidth has doubled in over 400 cities. And now, save without settling. Get 2 lines with 10gb of data for just 110. Or 4 lines for just 140. And get a 150 bill credit for each smartphone you switch. Hurry offers end january 31st. Only on verizon. Thought i told you to stay off our turf. President obama and Michelle Obama mark the holiday by participating in a Community Service project at the boys and girls club of greater washington. Just a couple hours ago, Vice President biden addressed the annual mlk breakfast in his home state of delaware. The Vice President discussed the divide in many cities between the community and police. Dr. King wrote, and i quote, men often hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they do not know each other. They do not know each other because they cannot communicate. And they cannot communicate because they are separated. We have to bridge that separation particularly society as a whole, but particularly today between police and the community that exists in some places. [ applause ] also among the tributes to dr. King thousands joined the cast and crew of the movie selma in alabama yesterday. Oprah winfrey and stars of the movie and the director were among those marching from Selma City Hall to the bridge where Police Officers assaulted and tear gassed demonstrators during the historic Voting Rights march of 65. Democratic congresswoman terry was among those who took part includes her hometown of selma. Good to see you this morning. Happy mlk day. Thank you. Thank you. I have to talk to you about how it must have felt yesterday being there, being the only africanamerican member of the alabama congressional delegation, that is your home state, home city. How did it feel yesterday . It was an awesome, glorious day. You know, i know that the journey i now take is alabamas first black congresswoman was only made possible because of what happened on that bridge. All of us owe a debt of gratitude to the courage and persistence of the marchers from selma to montgomery. To have the cast as well as oprah who is in the movie, produced the film bring it to a new generation of people who may not fully understand or appreciate what happened on that bridge what was that like to have her there . It was awesome to have the director and oprah winfrey, i think the most moving moment one of the most moving moments is when common and john legend on the top of the bridge did a concert and did their wonderful song glory. As a native of selma, alabama, a daughter of alabama, this movie is long overdue. Because of this movie, a National Conversation is going on that spot lights my hometown as the epicenter of what happened for Voting Rights bill amendment. My hope is that people will feel inspired by the movie, come and visit us and see and experience living history. You moderated a Panel Discussion with students at Selma High School paramount is hosting free screenings of the movie today in selma and other parts of the country. What was your impression of how some of the High School Students saw what happened beyond of course what hollywood has brought to us . I think that the event at Selma High School my old almamater did show case the importance it is to never forget what happened on the bridge. Progress is always elusive. At one point one of the students stood up and said i didnt understand the similarities between what happened way back then and whats going on now, and i think that adequately sums it up. In many ways injustices of marchers suffered on the bridge has never been fully vindicated. Their fight is our fight, as colin said in his acceptance speech for Golden Globes selma is now. And that was a beautiful speech. Youre right, a powerful performance by them both yesterday. Thank you so much and congratulations on all of the success you had. I know that so many people young women, inspired by you in your home state and everywhere. Thanks for joining us. We hope youll join us at the 50th. I will do my best to be there. New questions about the new England Patriots near shutout of the indianapolis colts. One report says the nfl, have you heard this the nfl is investigating claims the patriots deflated footballs so players could get better grips in rainy weather. Hmm. Dig into that one and this. It is like a once in a lifetime thing meeting the president. Wrote a letter to santa, not asking for gifts and toys asking for safety. That letter ended up at the white house. Hear his heartwarming story as he prepares to meet the president and the first lady at the state of the Union Address. Ameriprise asked people a simple question in retirement, will you have enough money to live life on your terms . I sure hope so. With healthcare costs, who knows. Umm. Everyone has retirement questions. So ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. Now you and your ameripise advisor. Can get the real answers you need. Start building your confident retirement today. Sunday dinners at my house. Its a full day for me, and i love it. But when i started having back pain my sister had to come help. I dont like asking for help. I took tylenol but i had to take six pills to get through the day. So my daughter brought over some aleve. Its just two pills, all day and now, im back aleve. Two pills. All day strong, all day long. And now introducing aleve pm for a better am. Here i am. Rock you like a hurricane. Fiber one now makes cookies. Find them in the cookie aisle. Rma. Checking your credit score is for chumps. I have great credit. How do you know . Duh. You know those change, right . Tattoos dont change. Try credit karma. Its free and you can see what your score is right now. Arent you a little bit curious . I just got my free credit score credit karma. Really free credit scores. Really free. I have got to update my ink. You only know in a fire to get out, to escape and now ok you are outside and you are safe but what do you do now and thats where the red cross came in. We ran out of the house just wearing our pajamas. At that point just to even have a toothbrush that i could call my own was so important. You know it just makes you feel like a person again. Every 8 minutes the American Red Cross responds to a home fire or other emergency. You can help. Please donate now. Shopping online is as easy as it gets. Wouldnt it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters and even piano tuners were just as simple . Thanks to angies list now it is. Weve made hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a few clicks. Buy their services directly at angieslist. Com no more calling around. No more hassles. Start shopping from a list of toprated providers today. Angies list is revolutionizing local service again. Visit angieslist. Com today. The countdown to the super bowl is on with defending champion Seattle Seahawks set to face off against the new England Patriots. So everyone is still buzzing about seattles win over the green bay packers. In a stunning ending they close a 12 point gap in the last five minutes to clinch the nfc championship. It was followed up by the patriots near shutout of the quarterback, tom brady setting up for a sixth super bowl appearance. This guy is a beast. This morning there are questions being raised by some that perhaps game balls used in the championship may have been deflated. The indianapolis affiliate reports the nfl is looking into whether the patriots deflated footballs, violating league rules. Joining me from the Washington Post is the editor sidney bowlen. How are you . Immigrate am great. Lets start off with allegations, whatever the investigation into the balls that the patriots use. Whats the story there . Well you know the interesting thing about game balls, footballs is each team likes to have its own footballs. Musicians, professional musicians are particular about instruments, you should see a quarterback dealing with his football. They like them a certain way, theyre very particular about them. The nfl doesnt want them cheating, they have rules about this. So they each supply their balls. They choose 12 footballs that are given to officials two and a half hours before the game. They look at them approve them. And theyre kept in a safe place with the person who is responsible to get them on the field for each series of downs. Theyre saying that the colts evidently one of the balls was underinflated. Whether it was deflated this is where we get into the grassy knoll theory. Thats the question. It was a rainy night, maybe an underinflated ball would be easier to hold onto. I know that obviously this would not effect the super bowl, who plays in it they could be fined or lose a draft pick if it turns out to be true. Lets talk about the showdown the patriots some predicting major tv ratings, in arizona, on nbc. The matchup could be epic. What do you think . It should be intriguing. Seattle secondary is fantastic but banged up. You saw Richard Sherman with his left arm clutched to the chest. He had quite a heroic performance in the second half. New englands receivers are certainly very good. I dont know that theyre stellar, top tier. I think that will be really interesting to watch. I am also going to be curious to see how the patriots use rob gronkowski, i think he will have a bigger roll. I will be watching giseles posts, rooting for her husband on the planet. Shes the most amazing nfl wife i think in history. Thank you very much. Greatly appreciate it. Take care. Up next president obama will unveil his new plan to a Republican Controlled Congress at the state of the union. This comes just as our new poll Shows Majority of americans think the country is divided. I dont know if thats a big surprise. It is todays first read. What forced a flight from jfk airport to slam on its brakes as it took off full speed. One of the stories we are following around the newsnation. [coughing] dave, im sorry to interrupt. I gotta take a sick day tomorrow. Dads dont take sick days, dads take nyquil. The nighttime, sniffling sneezing, coughing aching, fever, best sleep with a cold medicine. [ female announcer ] we help make secure financial tomorrows a reality for over 19 million people. [ susan ] my promotion allowed me to start investing for my retirement. Transamerica made it easy. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. Transamerica. Transform tomorrow. Ring ring progresso i cant believe im eating bacon and rich creamy cheese before my sisters wedding well its only 100 calories, so youll be ready for that dress uhhuh. You dont love the dress . I love my sister. 40 flavors. 100 calories or less. Welcome back. President obama is expected to announce a tax hike for the wealthiest americans at tomorrows state of the union. The white house says the new tax plan will bring in 320 billion over the next decade. The proposal calls for raising Capital Gains tax from 15 to 28 . It adds new fees for big institutions and requires closing what the white house calls a trust Fund Loophole on wealthy inheritances. The administration is pitching the latest move as investment in the middle class, but republicans in congress dismiss the president s plan as a nonstarter. Let me give you the theme of the speech in three words. Middle class economics. He is going to talk about how middle class economics brought us to a place where the economy is growing, jobs are growing, deficit is shrinking. Joining me senior Political Editor. The notion that in order for some to do better someone has to do worse is not true. Raising taxes on people that are successful is not going to make people that are struggling more successful. Now really joining me now, nbc news senior Political Editor mark murray. Mark, good to see you. Good to see you, tamron. Interesting, Martin Luther king holiday, look at the nation. When you look at the polling out there, before we talk about the state of the Union Address, 40 describe the current state of the union to be divided. You know theres an interesting dichotomy between attitudes about the state of washington and whats going on in the nations politics versus the state of the country as a whole where you see somber economic numbers. I was struck by the fact that divided is the number one response you have on what the state of the union is. Recovery is second place, it was in third place when we asked that question a year ago. Somber numbers there, but still people are very down on americas political system. So that brings us now to the state of the union. People are down they feel in many cases the middle class is being squeezed doesnt exist, is being forgot. You can go through cloud words that pop up. How does the president s tax plan factor in with the middle class. You kind of mention, as far as policy, this is a nonstarter with republicans controlling the house and United States senate. It is more 2016 economic positioning than policy proposals. Comes at a time when more and more republicans, heard from jeb bush and mitt romney say it is important to tackle poverty, it is important to boost up the middle class, and what the president is essentially doing is saying okay republicans, if youre interested in boosting poor americans and middle class, raise tax on the wealthy to pay for all those middle class and low income tax cuts. What do you expect the headline will talk more about it tomorrow what do you think the headline will be from state of the union. I think president obama will try to channel what he has seen as better economic in past state of the unions, he said the state of the union is getting stronger. I think youll hear him with more optimism backed by economic numbers that are out there but dont discount a lot of americans arent feeling the improving economic numbers and him being able to reconcile that will be the most interesting politics. Mark, thank you. See you tomorrow. Thanks, tamron. A battered and bruised golfer says he was beaten and robbed after leaving a bar in hawaii. Driven around in the trunk of a car, been robbed. Police are investigating his claims he was drugged. It is one of the stories we are following today. And ill talk live with nbas first openly gay player about tolerance and inclusion in the league and talk about the Supreme Court preparing to rule on samesex marriage. Its working for new york state. Already 55 companies are investing over 98 Million Dollars and creating over 2100 jobs. From long island to all across upstate new york, more businesses are coming to new york. They are paying no property taxes no corporate taxes no sales taxes. And with over 300 locations, and 3. 7 million square feet available, theres a place thats right for your business. See if startupny can work for you. Go to startup. Ny. Gov. I dont know my credit score. Thats really important. I mean i dont know my credit score. Dont you want to buy a house. Like, ever . You should probably check out credit karma, its free. Credit . Karma . Free . Credit karma. Really free credit scores. Sunday dinners at my house. Its a full day for me, and i love it. But when i started having back pain my sister had to come help. I dont like asking for help. I took tylenol but i had to take six pills to get through the day. So my daughter brought over some aleve. Its just two pills, all day and now, im back aleve. Two pills. All day strong, all day long. And now introducing aleve pm for a better am. Welcome back. A bizarre story, this professional golfer says he was kidnapped, robbed and beaten tops our look at stories around the newsnation. Australian golfer went to a wine bar in honolulu friday night. After he failed to move on in the sony open Golf Tournament he says he got separated from his caddy and a friend at the bar and pretty much thats all he remembers. Two and a half hours later, i woke up on the street two homeless guys kicking on me i dont know, trying to see if i was alive or what. He says a homeless woman told him he had been thrown out of the trunk of a car at a park. Now he is asking if he was drugged. Police say theyre investigating, but he didnt get blood work at the hospital. Sort of a crazy story. The faa is investigating a close call at new yorks jfk airport. A jetblue flight was cleared for takeoff saturday evening, headed down the runway, and a Caribbean Airway flight crossed with no authorization. The jetblue pilot slammed on the brakes. The faa says the two planes never came closer than 2800 feet theyre still investigating obviously. Up next meet the 13yearold chicago boy whose emotional letter to santa was simply for safety not a toy, not a gift. This kid wanted safety. That letter now has resulted in this young man being a guest at the state of the union. It is one of the stories we thought you should know. Ietly plucks] right on cue. [cat meows] meow, meow, meow, meow. Its more than just a meal its meow mix mealtime. With great taste and 100 complete nutrition, its the only one cats ask for by name. Boy once upon a time, there was a nice house that lived with a family. One day, it started to rain. The house tried to keep out all the water, but water got inside and ruined everybodys everythings. The house thought she let the family down. They just didnt think it could happen. They told the house they would take better care of her. Always. Announcer protect what matters. Get flood insurance. Ring ring . Progresso its ok that your soup tastes like my homemade. Its our slow simmered vegetables and tender white meat chicken. Apology accepted. Im watching you soup people. Make it progresso or make it yourself welcome back. Theres a lot going on this morning. Here are some things we thought you should know. Among hundreds of lawmakers attending tomorrows state of the Union Address, there will be a 13yearold boy in their presence from chicagos south side. His name is mal eek bryant he wrote letter to santa asking for safety. Malik got a response from president obama and heres msnbcs jermaine lee with how he touched the first family. Reporter when 13yearold malik bryant wrote a letter to santa this year he only asked for one thing. It wasnt a new x box or ipad or bicycle. I would like to ask you something but first ill tell you about me. Im a black africanamerican and stand 5 foot 10. My favorite subject is math. I have two siblings. All i ask for is for safety. I just want to be safe. Of all of the things you could have asked for, safety. It was safety in his hard neighborhood in the south side of chicago. Thats the part where two people had got shot at. Reporter 13 people blocks from here. Two hours before the shooting i was up there. Reporter does it feel like you literally dodged a bullet . Yeah. Im worried about losing my life for nothing. Reporter his letter never made it to santa but did land in the hands of another famous figure, president barack obama. After leading the letter president obama wrote back. I want to offer you a few words of encouragement this holiday season. Trying to ensure communities like yours of safe places to dream, discover and grow. Im confident you can achieve anything you imagine and i will be rooting for you. Sincerely, president obama. Reporter wow, the president is rooting for you. Aint trying to brag or nothing. But that feel real good. Everybody has a blessing. Reporter and this is yours . Yeah. Reporter not only did the president write a letter he and first lady Michelle Obama invited malik to be one of the guests at the state of the union is a dress in washington. This is the suit ill be wearing. It cost over 400 but we got a deal on it. Its a threepiece. This aint my style but these. Most people dont get this chance to go meet the president. Reporter right. And the first lady. Im nervous because thats the president. Reporter have you ever been on an airplane . No. Reporter he says the state of the Union Address means a lot to him and his family and offers hope in a place often filled with violence fear and despair. Exciting once in a lifetime thing meeting the president. That was jermaine lee. A maryland couple is under investigation by Child Protective Services for allowing their 10 and 6yearold children to walk home unsupervised from a park. This park is about a mile from the home. Nbc news Kristen Welker has the story. Reporter daniel says part of growing up is learning how to do things on her own. Thats why they allow their 10yearold son and 166yearold daughter to walk short distances around their neighborhood about themselves. They need to learn the intangible thing we call street smarts. Reporter its a theory called free range parenting, a rejection of the overprotective helicopter parent. I feel safe because i know my parents have confidence in us. Reporter but now this family is being investigated by Child Protective Services because last month police found them walking home from a park amile from their home some of the roads they walk along get a lot of traffic does that concern you . If my children didnt know how to cross streets and hadnt spent time then it would be concern. My kids know. Reporter they didnt comment specifically on this case but points to maryland law, a child under the age of 8 cannot be left alone in a building closure or motor vehicle. They say they didnt break the law since the kids were walking outside. The founder of the free range kids our parents did it and nobody blinked an eye and the crime rate was higher. Reporter more than 58,000 people abducted by nonrelatives in one year. What were asking parents to do is talk to their children and have them know about safety. Kidnappings are unbelievably rare scary and dramatic when they are on the news but they just dont happen often. Reporter the family will meet with Child Protective Services next week with no plans to back down. Kristen welker nbc news Silver Spring maryland. Should children as young as 6 years old be allowed to walk home short distances . Go home to newsnation. Msnbc. Com to cast the vote. Fridays gut check, we told you about Duke Universitys decision to cancel a weekly muslim call to prayer despite originally deciding to go ahead with the idea. We asked if you think duke should stand by the call for prayer. 42 said of you said yes and 56 said no. Thank you so much for joining us on this special holiday for all of us. Im tamron hall and do not forget the special coverage we have the state of the Union Address tomorrow night 8 00 p. M. Eastern time. Well follow that for you. Up next though my colleague, Andrea Mitchell. Ke the best chicken noodle soup. Because i make the best chicken noodle soup. For every way you make chicken noodle soup, make it delicious with swanson®. Health can change in a minute. So cvs health is changing healthcare. Making it more accessible and affordable with over 900 locations for walkin medical care. And more on the way. Minuteclinic. Another innovation from cvs health. Because health is everything. Right now, hacking north korea. It turns out the nsa was deep inside pyongyangs Computer Systems long before the sony scandal. Several times they got sloppy and we could see the ip addresses being used to post and to send emails were coming from ips that were exclusively used by the north koreans. Europe backlash crowds fill the streets in germany calling for a halt to muslim immigration after the attacks in paris. Final he had dits the president put the finishing touches on the proposals to help the middle class and tax the rich in tomorrows nights state of the Union Address. True grit lindsay vonn rockets into the record books after knee surgeries that could be debilitating. I kept believing in myself and im surprised how quickly things have come around and ive gotten back on the podium and top step pretty quickly. Well speak to the world champ live coming up. And the nation pauses to remember dr. Martin luther king jr. And his vision for america. To memorialize Martin Luther king as an idea and selma as an idea of what can happen with strategy with discipline and with love. Good day, everyone, im Andrea Mitchell in washington. After recent events in france and belgium, e. U. Leaders are calling for an antiterror alliance with arab countries and violent protests have taken part in the muslim world in places like pakistan afghanistan, all in reaction to qutsCharlie Hebdo