as you might expect this time of year. but there are records being set. the road the recovery, congresswoman gabrielle giffords now at a rehab hospital. what do the months ahead hold for her. massive mafia arrest. the suspects have names like johnny pizza. could this be the end of the american mob? the truth about tiger moms, why does a new book about child rearing continue to spark intense debate? good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. welcome to msnbc saturday. check out this number, 22 below zero. that's from austin, minnesota. this weekend, that will be cold temperatures to the northeast include boston. temperatures won't get as low as international falls, minnesota. that city reported a record breaking negative 46 degrees. the last time it was that cold was 1954. that reached 41 degrees below zero. how do you even go out, right? for more, let's go to meteorologist bill karins. good morning, bill. >> this saturday morning, it is brutally cold outside. so many areas of the country are seeing temperatures well below average. our inkred credibly cold and wintry temperatures continue east of the rockies. the jet stream is cold allowing all the arctic polar air to roll down through the great lakes. this has finally arrived on the east coast, too. these are high temperatures today. this is as warm as it's going to get. only 5 in minneapolis. 18 in chicago. this doesn't even factor in the wheelchair. the cold air is more or less going from the northern plains straight to the east coast. look at the overnight low temperatures. 4 in chicago. everywhere in the pinkish color is where we're going to be in the single digits to near negative zero numbers. notice portions of ohio, northern new england, atlanta getting down to 25 we have freeze warnings in effect for florida. areas near st. louis will get a little bit of snow. that's a minor system. talk about great, warm conditions, you have to go to california. that's where temperatures continue to be beautiful. if you want to go on vacation, southern california is the place to be. back to you. >> thank you very much, bill karins. we have live pictures from the white house this morning ahead of a big week for president obama. he is huddled with advisers this weekend working on his state of the union address. this president used today's weekly address to talk about jobs and the economy. >> leading the world in innovation, opening new markets to american products, that's how we'll create jobs today. that's how we'll make america more competitive tomorrow and that's how we're going to win the future. >> let's bring in nbc white house correspondent alex viquero. >> morning, alex. >> one of the cliches that you hear in washington is that good politics even request policy and good policy equals good politics. 15 million americans are out of work and the president is once again focusing on the economy. you know, you can draw a distinction now between the president's first two years and the second two years as he gears up not incidentally for his re-election campaign. it was announced this week. some key personnel will be establishing a campaign office in chicago and he will be formally declaring within the next two years. but the first two years, the focus was on legislation. the next two years on implementation, on some of the things that the president put into effect, including the health care law, the financial reform law and some other initiatives that the obama administration was able to accomplish with much controversy during the first two years. also, recovery was a buzz word in the first two years. now competitiveness, the new buzz word, the connect in that end going to new york. appointing the chairman of the board of general electric to this new president competitiveness council. he's named bill daley, a former commerce secretary, former wall street executive, to be the chief of staff in the structure just behind me here in the west wing. john berazzo is a republican senator in the west wing. republicans are still focusing on one of the issues that brought them to power in the house of representatives and enhanced their minority status in the kneed senate and that is health care. of course, last week, the house repealed the president's health care reform law signed into law just last april. they're moving on to the senate now where prospects are much bleaker. here is what john berazzo had to say. >> thanks to the vote in the house of representatives, we are now one step closer to victory in the health care fight policy that puts americans first, not washington. our job won't be done until we repeal and replace this bad law. >> well, a lot of critics are going to say that's lip service. they're not likely to bring up a repeal of health care which they fought so hard just eight months ago to pass that of congress. and meanwhile, you're right, the president in the residence today in washington, in the white house, tuesday night, that big state of the union address, alex. >> okay. mike, we'll see you next hour. thank you. >> okay. tomorrow on meet the press, an exclusive with white house majority leader eric cantor. he and david gregory will dus how republics will exercise their new majority. if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." check your local listings. first lady michelle obama will join others today for the funeral of sargent shiver. sargent shiver passed away on tuesday after a battle with alzheimer's disease. he was 95 years old. doctors in houston say they expect congresswoman gabrielle giffords to keep them busy as she begins the next phase of her recovery. today marks two weeks since she was shot in the head outside a tucson, arizona, grocery store. janet has the latest from houston. good morning, janet. >> reporter: alex, good morning. she already started her rehabilitation at the texas medical center here after an emotional sendoff on friday. >> it was a farewell for now, not a good-bye. hundreds lined the streets of tucson as gabrielle giffords was taken by ambulance to the airport for a flight to the next chapter in her recovery. with her husband, astronaut mark kelly at her side, giffords was flown on a private plane to houston, then transferred by a medical helicopter to memorial herman hospital. the fight now moves here. giffords is already being evaluated in the intensive care unit where she could stay a week or more until the drain or shunt in her head is removed. doctors say she has some movement in her right leg, but none in her right arm. she hasn't spoken yet, but might be trying to form words. >> the evaluation is quite comprehensive. we ask questions, review records, we perform examinations and see what the person can and cannot do. >> how do you feel? >> reporter: later, giffords will be moved to the nearby rehab facility as they expect it to last four to six months. giffords will stay in a standard room like every other patient, cared for by doctors and patients who will coordinate every from artwork to muscle therapy. >> she will keep us busy and we will keep her busy, as well. >> a new chapter as doctors strive for what they call a new normal for giffords, which may not include a complete recovery. it's a long, grueling process. the results uncertain. what the progress she's made so far, all agree gabby giffords is up for the challenge. to drive that point home, a candlelight vigil last night in houston, both a show of support and a welcome to town. her temporary home before her eventual return to tucson. it is a long and difficult process ahead. but here in texas, giffords will have the advantage of being close to her as though fraught husband, mark kelly, who is training nearby at the johnson space center. alex, back to you. >> i bet that will be a help. thank you so much. from the dakotas to maine, it is bitter cold. new york central park is in single digits right now. and our poor, dear friend jeff rossen is reporting for us live. you feel it, huh? >> anything for you, alex. you really can feel it. and the wind isn't that bad right now, which is helping, but i imagine which the wind gusts up later on, it is going to be biting. 15 degrees is the real temperature here. the windchill is 4. behind me, you have a good deal of runners, thousands of them in central park who are volunteering to be out here this morning for a half marathon. but it is down right dangerous if you stand out in this too long without wearing the proper layers. but it's even worse in places like international falls, minnesota, where yesterday they set a 1954 record and beat that record, negative 46 degrees, if you can even imagine that. there was an example that we saw of somebody taking a cup of water and throwing it into the air. it instantly turned into snow and showered down looking like a snow shower. it was literally that cold out. this is the coldest air of the northeast so far this season. remember, they're looking at five snowstorms, as well, alex. and they say another snowstorm is coming in, perhaps a big snow event for wednesday, which i know my daughter, sky ler, who is 4 1/2 years old at home right now will absolutely love. so hi, sweetheart. yes, more snow coming in. daddy will take you out to play if he actually is home if not stuck in a snow bank somewhere as we all usually are, alex. >> we're going to push fo for you to be home with skyler because that sounds like fun. hi, skyler, have a good saturday. thanks, jeff. a woman who became the subject of a popular youtube video is threatening to sue, but does she have a case? massive mob bust. the suspects have nicknames like tony bagels and vinnie carwash. and the uproar over the tiger mom. many have taken issue with her parenting philosophy. but some are also wondering, is she really on to something? i love winter. with my subaru forester and its all-wheel drive... ... handling even the toughest conditions... is just another day at the beach. we removed the alcohol and made it less intense. ♪ now people everywhere are getting a deep clean and fresher mouth without the intensity that kept them away. it still kills bad breath germs for a whole mouth clean. but it's never felt so good. ♪ new listerine® zero™. deep clean. less intense. the #1 dentist recommended mouthwash brand, listerine®. news this morning, the company in charge of security at a pennsylvania mall says it has fired one of its security guards for leaking surveillance video. this video shows a woman falling into the fountain. right there. she was texting and walking at the same time. it quickly became one of the most viewed videos on youtube. well, now, st woman and her lawyer are threatening legal action. but does she have a case? let's ask our legal experts that question. good morning, girls. good to see you. jonna, before we get to the video part of this, the woman's lawyer is exploring whether someone should have come to her aid instead of videotaping and watching this thing go down. what are your thoughts on that? >> the security guard might have had an "s" on his chest, but that didn't stand for superman. he had no duty to go down there primarily because she quickly got up and scurried away. she was not hurt. >> she goes in and she's out. >> embarrassment has a way to do that. there was no obligation on the part of the security guard here. >> is there a responsibility in terms of the mall, are they required to help her out in a situation like this? >> i think what she's going to argue is the mall was negligent in not having a protective railing around the fountain. this the was a death trap. i think that's what they're going to argue. in any lawsuit, certain elements must be satisfied. here, arguably, none of the elements of negligence are satisfied. most notably, she wasn't injured. she got up and walked off. >> thinking oh, my god, i hope nobody saw that. >> united states like walking blindfolded into the mall when really, it's on you. remove the blindfold. >> it's your fault. but is an attorney going to take a case, jonna, that they don't think they can do something with? >> oh, my god, for 15 minutes of fame, lots of airtime? i think she already has an attorney and there is not a whole lot there. i think she should embrace her youtubeness and try to use it for something better, like ted williams got a nice, big contract after he was exploited. >> maybe a funny commercial or something. >> for a cell phone or verizon, can you hear me now and you're under water. >> but here is a concern. the security guard who shared this video, tacky, perhaps, sensitive, perhaps, but this guy was fired, lost his job over this. what do you think about that? >> what i think is she might try to argue intentional inflexion of emotional distress. she's going to say that she was severely upset when this video was released by the security guard and all of america was laughing at her. i think very clearly the actions of the security guard was not appropriate. i think it is fine that he was fired. but his conduct does not rise to the level of extreme and outrageous. there wasn't a pattern of this. he wasn't filming on multiple occasions and he wasn't secretly filming on the rest room. there's just not a lawsuit. >> real quick, do you think he has a case if he wants to come back and sue the company for wrongful termination? >> you know, he might, but i'm sure somewhere in there contract it says you can't publicize anything you do on the job. so for that, he probably doesn't have much of a case, either. >> all right. well, ladies, thank you. it was fun talking about that. it was an interesting one. >> if you can't join them, beat them. google comes up with a plan to compete with groupon. plus suzanne somers will join us to talk about her plan to stay sexy forever. she's doing it, too, no question. do your lashes want volume or length? how about both? with covergirl lashblast fusion. a mascara for lashes that want it all... all at once. our biggest brush 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[ female announcer ] grab a box of multigrain cheerios. get a code to... ...a 7 day plan to get going on that new years weight loss. get the box. get the code. get started! on that new years weight loss. discover customersl are getting five percent cashback bonus on travel. it pays to switch, it pays to discover. did you know a problem in your heart can cause a stroke in your brain? it's true. an irregular heartbeat, called atrial fibrillation, or afib, can make a blood clot form, here, in your heart, that can break free and go straight to your brain where it can cause a serious stroke. having atrial fibrillation gives you a 5 times greater risk of stroke than if you didn't have it. strokes that are twice as likely to be deadly or severely disabling as other types of strokes. if you, or someone you care for, have atrial fibrillation, even if you're already taking medication, there are still important things you'll want to know. for a free interactive book call 1-877-904-afib, or log onto afibstroke.com. learn more about the connection between atrial fibrillation and strokes, and get advice on how to live with afib. and with this valuable information in your hand, talk to your doctor. call 1-877-904-afib today. taking a look at the day's business headlines, google is coming up with its own version of groupon. it will extend time limited deals with local vendors after google reportedly tried and failed to buy the chicago based groupon for almost $6 million. almost two-thirds of cars on the road could have more corn based ethanol fuel in their tanks. the environmental protection agency just extended the number of cars and trucks that can use the blend. anheuser busch adds to its run of 23 years in the super bowl advertisers. the clued dailies will appear in a 60-second ad. some say the spot is so good, the company is teasing with two 15-second commercials to run in this weekend's playoff games. the battle hymns of the tiger mother. in it, author amy chua lays out some of the rules she raised her diaw by. no sleepovers, no play dates, no tv or computer games. chua didn't allow her kids to choose their own activities. these rules aren't applied in many americans households, but some say chua is on to something. >> you can tell your child, oh, with you're great, you're perfect all you want. but eventually they're going to have to go the out into the real world and, you know, when they don't do so well at school or don't the make the sports team, they wonder, can't get a job and i think with that's when your self-esteem really starts to fall. >> and i'm joined now live by time contributor. origins, how the nine months before birth shape the rest of our lives. good morning to you. glad you're year. >> good morning, alex. >> i'd love to hear your reaction to this the book and the debate that's raging out there. >> a lot of the debate has focused on amy chua's parenting practices and whether we think they're good or bad. but i think it's more interesting to talk about and think about what it says about us that we've had this intense reaction to this book. i think it speaks to the fears that we have about how we're raising our children and whether we're preparing them for a global economy in which we'll have to compete against rising powers like china. >> yeah. we know when you raise children, you're a parent of two and i'm a parent of two and you're always wondering if you're doing it right. with so many different philosophies coming at you. she describes some seemingly harsh episodes. she tells one daughter trying to learn a piano speice, stop being lazy, cowardly, self-indulgent and pa tht ek. then she tells the other daughter, if the next time's not perfect, i'm going to take all your stuffed animals and burn them. what is she trying to do? >> she's clearly trying to motivate her children to work harder and to do the best they can. psychologists are united in saying stress and name calling are not the way to do that. that may enforce compliance in the moment, but over the long-term, that's going to kill a child's natural curiosity and love of learning and it's going to do damage to the parent/child relationship. >> you write on the flip side that she's saying, we slather praise on kids for the lowest of tasks, drawing a ziggel. are westerners overpraisers? >> it's not that we praise too much. it's that we praise in the wrong way. american parents tend to use words like you're so gifted, your so tallaned, you're so artistic, whereas a smarter way to praise is to focus on effort and hard work and say, you worked really hard on that. i'm really proud of all you put into that. and then if a child does do poorly, they don't have to think, oh, well, i guess i'm not smart. they just think, well, next time i'll work harder. >> here is a study released in december. if we look at these numbers, it's super interesting. u.s. students are ranked 17th in the world in reading. china, number one. american kids, 23rd in science. china, number one. in math, american teams come in 31st. chinese student, number one. what is the take away here? >> clearly, the chinese are doing something right, at least in preparing their students to take tests. they have a lot of focus on memorization and practice and chinese students do work longer hours and may be working harder than american students. on the other hand, in china, a lot of people are looking to the west in terms of how do we produce innovators, entrepreneurs, creative people who are -- they're going to need to power their economy into the 21st century. >> you bring up creative. is there anything that shows a despaisparity between american- creativity, if you will, and chinese kreefbivet