Shooting on saturday. Investigators are still looking into the motive of the gunman, 20yearold ismaaiyl space brinsley. Saturday of the Police Benevolent association put part of the blame on the mayor but this morning Governor Cuomo urged restraint. What is healthy right now is to bring that kind of accusation down. And lets calm it down. Deep breath. Period of reflection. Honor the holy period were in, honor the families that are grieving. And then lets have a sober conversation once were in a position to do that. Msnbc adam reese joins us from brooklyn, new york. Adam, you were listening to what the mayor was saying just moments ago. Of course, theres that simmering in the background, which i just mentioned. How did he do . Reporter well have to see how the reaction is both from the community and from police. I should show you the memorial next to me, richard, is growing by the minutes. Dozens and dozens of Police Officers coming from all over the city to express their grief and console each other. A lot of tears. A lot of emotion. Want to talk to you about the hours leading up to the shooting. He was arrested 19 times in georgia and ohio. He served two years in jail on weapons charges. His mother has told police that he had tried to commit suicide this year. We can also tell you weve learned just minutes before this shooting, when he arrived on the scene, brinsley was speaking with two men who told police he said three things. He asked them to follow him on instagram. He asked them what gang they were associated with. Then he said, look at what im going to do now. Richard . What have we learned in the last 24 hours is the big question of two hours and 40 minutes that were unaccounted for leading up to the killings. Reporter we havent learned any more details, but we do know that there is that gap. After brinsley allegedly shot his exgirlfriend outside baltimore, he got on a bus and made his way to new york. He ended up at the Port Authority and then he took a train, a subway, to brooklyn, to barkley center, where he dropped off the phone he had stolen from his exgirlfriend. And then eventually made his way to this neighborhood in bedford stuyvesant. We were mentioning the Police Departments across the country keeping an eye on whats happening here in new york. President obama also promising his administration is keeping a close eye on the developments in new york city. The president made those remarks and calls to nypd commissioner bill bratton and Philadelphia Police commissioner charles ramsey, the cochairman of his task force on 21st century policing, all of this comes as msnbc has learned from a source close to Police Unions the obama administration, new york Governor Cuomo and mayor de blasio have agreed with the Police Unions not to politicize the situation. Nbcs Kristin Welker is live in hawaii for us with the president. What steps are the administration taking right now . Reporter well, richard, Senior Administration officials are in contact with officials in new york as they continue to monitor the situation there. As you pointed out, president obama did reach out to commissioner ramsey on sunday, offering his condolences and also offering the full support of the federal government. In terms of the criticism that mayor de blasio has gotten, president obama has gotten from some on the right who argue they only escalated tensions with some of their rhetoric, the administration points out the president has consistently called for a peaceful response to the eric garner and Michael Brown cases. President obama has gotten calls to do more to react more aggressively before this weekends tragic events. White house officials tell me the president wants to give that task force that has been headed by commissioner ramsey a chance. It is a 90day task force and charged with trying to find solutions to this problem. Trying to improve relations between local communities and their Police Departments. Of course, president obama has also called for more funding for body cameras for Police Departments all across the country. So, the administration wants to give those options a chance before they take any further action. Again, they continue to monitor this situation quite closely. Phone calls continue to take place and president obama will get briefed while he proceeds with his vacation here in hawaii. Nbc White House Correspondent Kristin Welker with the president in hawaii. Thank you so much for that. The shooting has sparked new questions about the relationship between police and the public. As well as the relationship between new york city mayor bill de blasio and his police forcement. Mark claxton and security analyst evy tell us whats next for new york city. President obama is leaving open the possibility here of returning north korea to the state departments list of state sponsors of terrorism. During an interview with cnn sunday, the president also said the hack was not an act of war but was an act of viber vandalism. Separately on meet the press, sony lawyer and famed litigator david boyes told Nbcs Chuck Todd the interview may eventually find an audience. Sony only delayed this. Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. It will be distributed. How its going to be distributed, i dont think anybody knows quite yet but its going to be distributed. Msnbcs adam howard has been following that story for us. He joins us right now. Adam, whats the plan going to number. I think sony is still trying to figure that out. What we do know is sony is going to distribute this film. Its a matter of when and how, not if. They are pushing back against the New York Post report they are definitely going to be releasing the film for free on crackle, their streaming service. They said thats premature. Its being considered but also looking at other potential avenues for how to release the film. We know sony is under an enormous amount of pressure from within the hollywood industry and both sides of the political aisle to get the film out, sort of as a rebuke to the alleged hackers from north korea. It certainly has put hollywood, if you will, in a place they have not been many times in history. This is, they have to respond, perhaps, to north korea and the charges from the white house, which is on sunday as you know, they threatened counteraction against the white house and pentagon and the whole u. S. Mainland. Right. Well, were kind of all accustomed to north korea doing a fair amount of sabre rattling so its hard to tell how seriously to take these most recent threats. Theyve also come out and said they wanted to have a joint investigation with the United States to get to the bottom of the hacking. So, its kind of hard to tell. Theres a lot of mixed messages but it seems the theme of north koreas response is we didnt have anything to do with this, but were glad somebody did. So, were just kind of all waiting and seeing what the next move is going to be in this chess game. All right. Msnbcs adam howard, thank you so much for that. Now a look at the holiday weather forecast. A lot of you are thinking about that right now. For a large swath of the United States you better expect rain, tlormsz and even some snow as a massive storm system is poised to strike in many areas. Msnbc meteorologist dough mmeni davis is tracking the storm. Its not all about snow for this storm. Today is the first day of winter but were not talking Winter Weather at all. We have a very active radar from the middle of the country to the east coast. Its going to stay that way right through Christmas Eve. Theres the rain starting to move up i95 now. Pushing through washington. It will move through philadelphia and new york by later this afternoon. Heres a look at tomorrows forecast. Were still dealing with rain up and down the east coast. But notice the temperatures. They are pretty mild. And even by Christmas Eve, the temperatures get more mild. We are talking thunderstorm chances, from boston all the way down through orlando. 61 degrees for the expected high on Christmas Eve. That doesnt feel very christ s christmasy, richard. Ill pick miami or l. A. Lets go together. Big question for any Holiday Travel you might be doing, will my flight leave on time or at all . Nbcs tom costello has more from reagan nationality airport. Reporter good day from a rather frigid d. C. It is likely to get warmer as the week progresses but were expecting a lot of rain, wind and that system is going to be impacting nations the nations travel. Lets take a look at the major impacts at airports were expecting starting tomorrow, starting tuesday. As that rain starts to kick in, were expecting weather impacts in atlanta and chicago. Low clouds and fog likely to impact operations in d. C. , new york and also snow in minneapolis. But Christmas Eve, these are the airports to watch as things get dicey with that major storm moving up the coast. So, were expecting the major hubs to be affected. Atlanta, up to charlotte, up to d. C. And new york and philly and boston and then west, chicago is going to be impacted likely, cleveland, detroit. That day, Christmas Eve day, i hate to tell you, could be a real dicey day. The good news is, this is rain not snow and ice. Then on Christmas Day itself, really it should be a pretty good day for travel. Its going to be a light travel day. But out in Salt Lake City were expecting snow and the same in my hometown of denver, snow there. For the most part, Christmas Day should be pretty smooth sailing. It is going to be a little rough this week. A little wet and a little windy, but thankfully, were not dealing with a major snow event. Richard, back to you. Nbcs tom costello, thank you for that. Coming up, part two of joys exclusive interview with outgoing attorney general eric holder. Holder talks about his legacy and the broader issue of race in america. And the rift between new yorks mayor and the Police Department ripped open. Whats next for the divided community and its Law Enforcement . My names louis, and i quit smoking with chantix. I had tried to do it in the past. I hadnt been successful. Quitting smoking this time was different because i got a prescription for chantix. Along with support, Chantix Varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. The fact that it reduced the urge to smoke helped me get that confidence that i could do it. Some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. Some people had seizures while taking chantix. If you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. Tell your doctor about any history of Mental Health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix or history of seizures. Don take chantix if youve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. If you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be lifethreatening. Tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or develop new or worse symptoms. Get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. Use caution when driving or operating machinery. Common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. I love myself as a nonsmoker. Ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. First obligation is to respect these families in mourning. Our first obligation is to stand by them in every way we can. That was new york city mayor bill de blasio moments ago speaking about the need to put the politics aside in the aftermath of the murder of two nypd officers. Mean i will while, his own relationship with police is under scrutiny, especially over the last several weeks. It follows comments he made after the eric garner grand jury decision. On saturday reached a new level. Some officers turned thick baeis to the mayor and Police Commissioner bratton as they entered the hospital where the two Police Officers were at. This morning with Police Commissioner brit ee eer bra to do you support those officers and the way they protested . I dont support that particular activity. I dont think it was appropriate in that setting. Its reflective of the angle of some of them. Mark claxton director of black Law Enforcement alliance and evy is a former secret Service Agent who lives in new york city. Mark, when you looked at those pictures we just showed, whats your reaction . Well, you know, unfortunately, it was so much political fear that occurred in hospital, tragic time, time of death of two Police Officers there to even incorporate any aspect of politics and it was really sad and well beneath what normally occurs within the pba, the unions themselves. There is a deep void and its a widening void between the mayor and his Police Department, but this is not anything unique. It happened in 92 under David Dinkins here in new york. It happened when Rudy Giuliani was the mayor. It happened when bloomberg was the mayor. Theres always been this kind of dwig divide. It happens behind the scenes, which is not only their election process but ongoing contract negotiations. But this is really a time that the city needs to deal with, you know, the loss of these two brave Police Officers lives and leave the politics and all of the vial rhetoric out of it. Remember the two officers, wenjian lieu and ramos. The politics was accentuated by the director for Police Benevolent association, patrick lynch. We tried to warn. It must not go on. It cannot be tolerated. That blood on the hands starts on the steps of city hall in the office of the mayor. So, evy, as we listen to lynch there and you see his statement, whats the relationship, from your view, of the mayor and the Police Department and what might lynch want here . You know, i his statement saying the blood is on the mayors hands, thats extreme. The blood is on the hands of the individual who actually pulled the trigger. However, having said that, theres going to be a bit of contention now between the Police Department and the mayor. One thing, its the sensitivity of the comment he made as far as, you know, talking about how he tells his young son to be weary of Police Officers, but the irony of that is, the mayor and his family to include his son have a protection detail of nypd. People look at that and say, we actually physically protect you. We are there to take a bullet for your son if something should happen yet you come out saying, i tell my son to be weary of police. Its going to cause a little bit of that sentiment that the city you support does not serve you. Its not just the new york city Police Department but its going to spill out and it is spilling out to other Police Departments and even Law Enforcement federal agencies. Federal agencies are included, youre saying . It feels a little of an attack, most likely, toward all Law Enforcement officers. Understandably so considering whats happening. Its not just toward one police organization. Its Law Enforcement community as a whole. Mark, if you were to rate this one to ten, ten being the worst, how bad of a situation would you say is it between the mayor and the Police Department . Well, i think given the history, i think anyone who really has an understanding of the history of the Police Unions and mayors, going back historically, understand that in large part its par for the course, especially when youre talking about contract negotiations or an Upcoming Union election. It really is par for the course. What adds to this component is whats happening across the nation. With all of the encouragement of conversation, with all of the protests going on regarding the use of race in Law Enforcement, et cetera, and those calls for reform. Thats whats really adding the fuel to this fire itself. But let me just say this, quite frankly, i think the comments of pat lynch as far as blood on the hands of the mayor is really it really is intellectually dishonest. I think sometimes the truth hurts, but the mayor felt inclined to tell the truth. Let me give you an example. I was a Police Officer for over 20 years. Thats the conversation i had with my son. And like i said, sometimes the truth hurts and thats why there needs to be a larger conversation so people understand i didnt say maliciously to my son, but it was my obligation as a parent that he was police, et cetera. Antipolice, you dont hire bill bratton as your Police Commissioner. Thats an absurdity. I think the rhetoric has gotten to the point of being beyond absurd and really needs to be tamped down and respectful. We all need to be mindful about what the priorities here in life are. Our priority should be preserving and protecting human life, all human life. What are you looking for here so they get past this point . What does the mayor need to do . What does bratton need to do . What does lynch need to do here . They all just need to do their jobs. We need to bring this down. We need to focus on whats important, stopping the violence, making sure the communitys voices are heard. If you look at 2013 ucr report, uniform crime report, it actually states officers were in some form of assault 49,851 times. And in 30 of those assaults, they were actually incurred some type of injury. So there is that legitimacy there, that police to deal with this type of behavior, their job is somewhat difficult. You have to move on, blaming everybody, hurting everybody, this is not the way to bring peace about within our community at all. Well see how the weak turns out to be. Thank you so much. Mark claxton as well, appreciate your time. Coming up on the cycle, live coverage of mayor de blasio saes News Conference with bill bratton, 3 30 eastern. 70yearold british singer joe cocker died after a long battle of lung cancer. He had a career that spanned four decades. He is known for hits you are so beautiful and up where you belong that earned him a grammy and oscar. Three things to know this monday. Line of immigrants applying for their first u. S. Drivers license was out the door in phoenix today. Those socalled dreamers are among the first of some 22,000 newly eligible to apply for drivers licenses in arizona, thanks to president obamas deferred action program. Last week a federal judge ordered arizona to stop enforcing governor january brewers twoyear ban of licenses for dreermz. Advocates of samesex marriage are celebrating fridays Supreme Court ruling in florida. Friday the high court refused to extend a stay on the ban clearing the way for samesex unions to begin on january 6th. Florida is on track to be the 36th state, plus d. C. , to allow samesex couples to we had. Pope francis used his annual greeting to the Catholic Churchs hierarchy to serve up a blistering report of vatican. Quote, spiritual alzheimers, existential squchizophrenia and terrorism of gossip. The Holiday Season is here, which means its time for the volkswagen signthendrive event. For practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a germanengineered volkswagen. Like the sporty, advanced new jetta. And the 2015 motor trend car of the year allnew golf. If youre wishing for a new volkswagen this season. Just about all you need is a finely tuned. Pen. Get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first months payment on select new volkswagen models. Approaching medicare eligibility . You may think you can put off checking out your Medicare Options until youre sixtyfive, but now is a good time to get the ball rolling. Keep in mind, medicare only covers about eighty percent of part b medical costs. The rest is up to you. Thats where aarp Medicare Supplement insurance plans insured by Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company come in. Like all standardized Medicare Supplement insurance plans, they could help pay some of what medicare doesnt, saving you in outofpocket medical costs. Youve learned that taking informed steps along the way really makes a difference later. Thats what it means to go long™. Call now and request this free [decision guide]. Its full of information on medicare and the range of aarp Medicare Supplement plans to choose from based on your needs and budget. All plans like these let you choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients, and there are no network restrictions. Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company has over thirty Years Experience and the commitment to roll along with you, keeping you on course. So call now and discover how an aarp Medicare Supplement plan could go long™ for you. These are the only Medicare Supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an Organization Serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. Plus, nine out of ten plan members surveyed say they would recommend their plan to a friend. Remember, medicare doesnt cover everything. The rest is up to you. Call now, request your free [decision guide] and start gathering the information you need to help you keep rolling with confidence. Go long™. Hit him with a hard count,ine. See if theyll tip their hand. The nfl trusts duracell quantum to their game day communication. Theyre blitzing up the gut get out of the pocket hut duracell quantum. Lasts up to 35 longer than the competition. Theres new information about the night Baltimore Ravens running back ray rice punched his thenfiancee janay palmer in an atlanta city casino. Nbcs craig melvin has more. Reporter a newly released security footage obtained exclusively by nbc news following a court ruling you can see rice being directed away from his thenfiancee, janay palmer, then handcuffed. Authorities then questioning a crying palmer and give her medical treatment. Then after the punch that left palmer on an elevator floor and unable to get up, she and rice kiss in the elevator while both are handcuffed. Both are led away and arrested for simple assault. The charges for palmer were later dropped. Rice entered an Intervention Program and avoided a potential trial. Now some are questioning the way authorities handle the janay palmer, specifically, why was a woman who was knocked unconscious when Security First approached the couple handcuffed . And why would authorities allow the man being arrested for assault close enough to kiss his victim . If youre looking to Law Enforcement to provide you a service and keep you safe and then they act as they did in this particular instance, then, of course, it just further solidifies for the victim that help is not available. Reporter the couple married in march and janay continues to stand firmly by ray. Over the weekend, they appeared together at a charity event. In an exclusive interview with matt last month, she talked about how their incident may serve to educate others. Its so theres so many messages. I got chosen for a reason. It was definitely to bring awareness to what people are going through every day. Even though its not what im going through every day, its definitely brought, you know, this topic to the forefront. Nbcs craig melvin reporting for us there. When we come back, part two of joys exclusive sitdown with outgoing attorney general eric holder including what he calls his proudest accomplishment. [ male announcer ] are you so stuffed up, you feel like youre underwater . Try zyrtecd® to powerfully clear your blocked nose and relieve your other allergy symptoms. So you can breathe easier all day. Zyrtecd®. Find it at the pharmacy counter. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat . Campbells healthy request soup lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. [ mm. ] great taste. [ tapping ] sounds good. Campbells healthy request. Mm mm good. ® everyone recognizes its a time to step back and just focus on these families. I think its a time for everyone to put aside political debates, put aside protests, put aside all of the things that we will talk about in due time. In the coming days, two families prepare for funerals. Two families try to think about how to piece their lives back together. That should be our only concern. That was new york city mayor bill de blasio, speaking about the need to put the politics aside in the aftermath of the murder of the two nypd officers. In the wake of this killing of these killings, former new york governor George Pataki cited eric holder as partly to blame. Taking to twitter saying it was part of divisive anticop. Holder called the shootings senseless and an unspeakable act of barbarism. A week ago he sat for an interview with joy reid. In the first part he spoke about local police and africanamericans. In this portion of the interview today with joy, he speaks about race on america as well as his own accomplishments in office. You talked about the fact youve been forthright in a lot of ways talking about race. Thats true. A lot of people believe that of you. Your critics on the right might say, he came out swinging. Saying were a nation of cowards on race, talking about things in a very blunt way when it came to race. So, its not surprising the other side swung back. Do you feel in any sense that you might have come out and polarized the debate at all when it comes to talking about race . No, you see, i think that people have to be prepared to deal with the truth, with the facts. And not be defensive about that. If people look at the entirety of that speech, i talk about the fact that people have to be in a position to feel safe to express opinions. The other side has to be able to hear them in a way that, you know, theyre not necessarily being critical but to take it in a thoughtful way. Its a painful process to go through. This is a nation, after all, that had to deal with slavery and then legalize segregation. We still have a lot we have to get through. Were still suffering the impacts of, you know, a racial system that was inconsistent with our founding documents. So, race is still a hard, hard thing for people to talk about and to deal with. I think a lot of africanamericans have this feeling that, you know, black president , first africanamerican president , africanamerican attorney general, and they look at both of your relationship, lets say, with congress and sort of the attitude toward the two of you from some members of congress on the other side. White president , white attorney general, would there have been this tough, difficult a relationship with congress . Hard to say. You know, the attorney general seems to be of lately the person, whether youre white, black, republican, democrat, who catches a lot of grief. So, there is thats just a part of the position. I cant look into the hearts and minds of people who have been, perhaps, my harshest critics. I think a large part of the criticism is political in nature. Whether there is a racial component or not, you know, i dont know. Ive tried to, you know, work may way through that and focus on the work. What can i do as attorney general with the power i have as attorney general to make this country better and to deal with those racial issues i talked about in that speech back in 2009. I mean, but do you feel youve been critical in a lot of ways of the way youve been treated by congress, everything from fast and furious and all of these investigations, even threats they would like to see you impeach some members on the other side. Do you feel youve been especially disrespected as attorney general . Well, its unfortunately, part of washington in 2014. I would hope my successor would not have to endure some of the thing is did. I say endure only because i think ive shown respect where, perhaps, i havent been given any. Im not necessarily im not wound that way. There are times when ive wanted to just snap back. There are occasionings when i have. But there have been frequently more times when ive wanted to, you know, be a lot more aggressive in the responses that ive made. Have i been treated well . Doesnt really matter. At the end of the day, people are not going to remember some of the silly stuff that was thrown at me. What theyll focus on are the accomplishments the men and women of the Justice Department have made under my leadership over the past six years. Well compound it. The thing youll be most proud you did and thing you wish you would have done. I think most proud is the the general way in which we have approached the whole question of civil rights, the fight for Voting Rights in the face of really, you know, turning our backs as a nation on civil rights history. I mean, im here in a museum, the documents of africanamericans from 1619 and one of the parts of this museum thats most moving to me is the struggle for the right to vote and the fact that we have maybe turned our backs on that effort. So, im proud of that. Im also proud of what we have done with regard to the criminal Justice System and the way that has been approached, asking questions about, are we overincarcerating . Are we charging people with crimes in a way we should not . Are there ways we should do things in an alternative way . Come up with scientifically proven evidencebased approaches that will keep fewer people in jail but at the same time, keep the American People safe. I think we can do both. Another thing you wish you had done . Im not sure that i think more about what we have done and the work we the things we have accomplished and im proud of the men and women of the Justice Department. I sometimes think, i wish i had more time, even though i think its time for me to transition to something else, theres also something that thats just over the hor zone or just out of grass you think you want to spend more time on. This whole incident now, Building Trust in communities of color and people in Law Enforcement. Thats something i want to spend a lot of time on but my time will be short but im confident lor ret lynch, who will succeed me will be effective. Tomorrow eric holder talks about the war on drugs, voteding and civil rights. Its been nearly two years since georgia teen Kendrick Johnson was found dead in a rolled up gym mat. Joy talks to his parents. Oh boy, this always happeyoure clean. Ther. You got that right bam just gotta check your bag. Huh, charmin ultra strong. Youre cleaner than i thought. Charmin ultra strong cleans so much better it meets even his highest standards of clean. With a soft duraclean texture, charmin ultra strong is 4 times stronger. And you can use up to 4x less. Are you good to go hun . Cleaner than ever. Rotorooter approved. Charmin is clogfree or its free. Having a perfectly nice day, when out of nowhere a pickup truck slams into your brand new car. One second it wasnt there and the next second. Boom youve had your first accident. Now you have to make your first claim. So you talk to your Insurance Company and. Boom youre blindsided for a second time. They wont give you enough money to replace your brand new car. Dont those people know youre already shaken up . Liberty mutuals new car replacement will pay for the entire value of your car plus depreciation. Call and for drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Switch to Liberty Mutual insurance and you could save up to 423 dollars. Call Liberty Mutual for a free quote today at see Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. The parents of a georgia teen found dead in a rolled up gym mat want want new educational requirements for coroners. The body of Kendrick Johnson was found nearly two years ago inside his high school gym. The county coroner ruled the death an accident. The family believes their son was killed and a second private autopsy suggests foul play. In addition to a federal investigation, the parents and their attorney are now pushing for kendricks law. It would require uniform National Standards for the nations coroners, many are not required to have medical degrees. Recently, joy reid sat with kendricks mother and the family attorney, Benjamin Crump. Ill start by thanking both of you for being here and giving you our condo lens, mrsmrs. Mrs. Johnson. Tell us what you want to see happen now that the county ruled your sons death not to be a homicide. What do you want to see done . I want justice for my son. And what does that mean . Do you believe that arrests should have been made . Does the family have its own sources of information as to who that would even be . Well, joy, you know, they had an explanation and they had their own private pathologist that concluded contradictory conclusion of the local coroner and that was that he died from blunt force trauma. Thats very different from want the local coroner opined. Has the county ben, you can answer this question. Has the county been in communications with the family to explain their reasoning in the case or to explain how the investigation was conducted . Quite simply, joy, they told jackie and kendricks father, ken, that even though they sent him to school with a book bag, he was returned home to them in a body bag and that he died from his own doing, trying to get a tennis shoe from out of a rolled up wrestling mat, got stuck and died. And thats their explanation and that has been their explanation. Thats why ken and jackie refuse to accept that and say, we know foul play was involved. That our son was killed and we want to find out who killed our son. And mrs. Johnson, if i may ask you, was there anyone you know of that had been threatening your son . Had he been in fights with anyone at school, to your knowledge . Yes, he had gotten in a fight, but i dont know about the threatening. Did your son that was well go on, ben. He was in a fight with some individuals on a football trip and there has always been a question whether there was intimidate that played and maybe some bullying that played into what happened to cause his death on january 10th. Mrs. Johnson, have any other of your sons friends, any of his acquaintances spoken to you about what they think might have happened . No. Well, a lot of them think the same thing we think, that he was murdered. And do they have any idea who they think did it . Same person that everybody think did it. Thats who they think did it, too. Ben, there is an individual or individuals the family believes was involved in kendricks death . Well, they know the u. S. Attorneys office in macon, georgia, Michael Moore is investigating. They sent target letters out to certain individuals who were schoolmates of kendrick as a target of an investigation to find out if they had anything at all to do with kendricks death. And those target letters were sent to the children of an fbi agent in the georgia area. So, it is very telling that the u. S. Attorneys office is investigating this matter as a homicide. Because they heard everything that was presented by the local authorities and they did not accept that as being conclusive for their investigation and chose to investigate it as a homicide. So, now this case is being investigated by the federal government . Yes, maam. Thanks to the efforts of Jackie Johnson and ken johnson, who went every day to Courthouse Square in valdosta, georgia, and held up a son that said, please help us find out who killed our son, kendrick. Lastly, mrs. Johnson, are you confident you will get some kind of resolution from the federal government that you were not able to get from the county . Yes, i am. What makes you confident in that . Theyre still working on my sons case. They havent gave up on us. Joy, and i please allow us to express to america that shes fighting for the legacy of her child. She knows shes not going to get her child back, but they are pushing kendricks law which is a notion thats just common sense legislation that says a coroner who makes such a crucial decision on the manner and cause of death, which leads to whether or not theyre going to investigate and charge anybody in the death of your loved one has to at least have a medical education or background. Right now in the state of georgia, as many states in america, a coroner only has to have a High School Diploma or a ged and win an election, and they get to decide the manner and cause of death of your loved one. They simply think thats not right and theyre joining the National Association of medical examiners to try to change that law that would bear her sons name because its just good legislation. All right. Well definitely be following up with you on that and see how that legislation moves forward. Attorney Benjamin Crump and jacquelyn johnson, thank you both for being here. Coming up, the National Conversation on race is once again front and center on the field. Plus, what else is trending. First, now this news with a look back at the year in social media images. I take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn. Because it gives me. Zero heartburn prilosec otc. The number 1 doctorrecommended frequent heartburn medicine for 9 straight years. One pill each morning. 24 hours. Zero heartburn. Dont put off checking out your Medicare Options until 65. Now is a good time to get the ball rolling. Medicare only covers about 80 of part b medical costs. The rest is up to you. Thats where aarp Medicare Supplement insurance plans, insured by Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company, come in. Like all standardized Medicare Supplement insurance plans, they could help save you in outofpocket medical costs. Taking informed steps really makes a difference later. Thats what it means to go long™. Call now and request this free decision guide and explore the range of aarp Medicare Supplement plans. All plans like these let you choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. These are the only Medicare Supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. Call now and request your free decision guide and start gathering the information you need to help you go long™. Your retirement accounts, your 401 k s are smiling a little wider this morning. This afternoon, actually. As we watch the dow peeking in on 18,000. Santa class rally possible. A lot of people think well hit 18,000 before the end of the year. S p also record territory, up almost four points so far today as the market closes in about 40 minutes. Its time now for stories youre buzzing about on social media in our segment called we the tweeple we start with the killing of officers liu and ramos. Youre tweeting wit with nypdlivesmatter and over 115,000 total tweets. Some are connecting these officers deaths to recent Police Shootings of unarmed black men. The vast majority of you are posting tweets like this, two wrongs dont make a right. No one deserves to lose their life, not a cop, not a civilian, nobody. Youre also leaving your condolence on the Facebook Page wrote, quote, he was the best father i could ask for. Its horrible someone gets shot dead just for being a Police Officer. And youre tweeting your appreciation for new york jets player nick mangold. He wore this nypd hat sunday in support of the victims families. Sadly youre tweeting about the passing of legendary singer joe cocker who died after the battle of lung cancer. The british born singer songwriter up where we belong, who hit number one winning a grammy and Academy Award in 1983. Ringo starr of the beetles tweeted, goodbye to one of his friends. Peace and love. Youre sending tweets like this about his powerful work as an artist. R. I. P. , you screamed, the walked, you danced, you sang for us all with your heart inside out. Trending is Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks who made a 79yard touchdown run right here. Youre tweeting that he was in beastmode. Youre also sharing the transcript of lynchs postgame talk. Lynch famously does not like mandatory interviews, so he responded to every question yesterday with a simple thanks for asking. One of your responses to that, only thing better than watching Marshawn Lynch play football is watching his postgame interviews. Thanks for asking. The elf on the shelf might be a little better than that. The elf on the shelf is a popular toy. He reports back to santa on whether a child has been naughty or nice. Now, the elf shows up in different locations every day and kids see the elf as a live, moving and watching them. This dad tweeted, nothing more fun than watching my 8yearold look for the elf on the shelf each morning. While Washington Post headline says, the elf prepares children to live in a future police state complete with constant surveillance. If you think thats farfetched, listen to this Law Enforcement official in texas. Picked him up from the airport coming in from the north pole. Then he saw sheriff bishop and got sworn in. Hes a special deputy with the sheriffs office. Thats special deputy elf to you. There he is already doing police work. This is just a joke but its got you tweeting things like this. Ive got to be honest, the elf on the shelf creeps me out and im not completely convinced he doesnt move to new places on his own. Join the conversation about this and that and more with fellow reiders on twitter, facebook, instagram and msnbc. Com. That wraps up things for me on the reid report. Im richard liu in for joy today. Tune in tomorrow at 2 p. M. Eastern and visit us online at thereidreport. Msnbc. Com. The Holiday Season is here, which means its time for the volkswagen signthendrive event. For practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a germanengineered volkswagen. Like the sporty, advanced new jetta. And the 2015 motor trend car of the year allnew golf. If youre wishing for a new volkswagen this season. Just about all you need is a finely tuned. Pen. Get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first months payment on select new volkswagen models. 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 but the comfort it provides is its justimmeasurable. Ece the america red cross brings hope and help to people in need every 8 minutes, every day. So this season give something that means something. I was pretty stunned myself. Removes fourteen years of stains. See . Crest whitestrips work on a deeper level than paste. Whitening toothpaste only removes surface stains, but whitestrips go below the enamel surface to safely remove deep stains. Dont miss our buy one get one free offer this Holiday Season think its time for everyone to put aside political debates, put aside protests, put aside all of the things that we will talk about in due time. Cycling right now, mayor of the nations largest city trying to calm growing tensions after the executionstyle murders of two onduty Police Officers. Good afternoon, im toure. Were about to hear from new york city mayor bill de blasio and Police Commissioner bill bratton. That will happen at the half hour. As we something on air, memorials are growing for officers liu and ramos who were killed inside their car in brooklyn. The aftermath is laid bear the growing gap between city leaders and its Police Officers. The issue began on the 2013 Mayoral Campaign trail when the mayor railed against nypd overreach, ending stop and frisk was central to his campaign. The rift deepened during the protest over ferguson and reaction to nonindictment in the eric garner case. And a move not seen in new york city for decades, Police Union Members turn their backs on the mayor on saturday when he arrived for a press conference. The hot rhetoric were seeing today has stunned many in the city. Case in point, union chief pat lynch. That blood on the hands starts on the steps of city hall in the office of the mayor. When these funerals are over, those responsible will be called on the carpet and held accountable. The man who pulled the trigger began his spree in baltimore where he shot his exgirlfriend. She survived and and is being treated at a hospitalized. Then he took a bush to new york city. Bratton says the officers were ambushed, targeted for the uniforms they wore. There are almost no words that can explain what happened. Quite obvious the targeting of these Police Officers was a direct spinoff of this issue of these demonstrations. Police say moments before the attack, the gunman told two bystanders, quote, watch what i am going to do