and i sense that with jonathan. >> yeah. no, and i -- just as you were talking, i was remembering this point when i went to see him, and there was a long -- what i would do, so he's 15, i'm quite a bit older, you knowsome. >> not much. >> i go out to this dormitory, and i don't know what experience you've had talking to teenagers, but you don't sit across like i'm facing you. you sit sideways, like alex and i. and probably i would be postally looking at the ceiling, asking him questions because that's the way i would get the most interesting information. and that was the day he told metahe had kill -- he told me that he had killed people and that he had killed people for hire. and i had a choice, you know, of either responding the way i was feeling -- which is to be freaked out and to be judgmental -- or could i swallow that long enough to find out the full story. and i think there were, you know, in my relationship with him over time there have been all kinds of ethical questions that have come up that i don't have bright l

jonathan butler, in a few minutes. ♪ conclude our holiday show tonight with jonathan butler singing "o holy night" and "little drummer boy," and thanks for watching, and as always, keep the faith. ♪ ♪ ♪ told me, pa rum pa pum pum a newborn king to see, pa rum pa pum pum rumay before the king, pa pa pum pum yeahwe come, boy, pa rum pa pum pum rumve no gifts to bring, pa pa pum pum to lay before the king, pa rum pa pum pum shall i play for you? pa rum pa pum pum on my drum yeah yeah i am a poor boy pa rum pa pum pum bring no gifts to pa rum pa pum pum to lay before the king pa rum pa pum pum i have no gifts to bring pa rum pa pum pum me and my drum oh pumum pa pum puma pum ohhhhhhhhhhh ra pa pa pum me and my drum ra pa ra pa pum pum i have no gifts to bring pa rum pa pum pum to lay before the king pa rum pa pum pum ra pum pum ♪ pum ♪ pa ra pa pa pum me and my drum ra pa pum rap a pum pum ohhhhhhhhhhh rap a pum pum ♪ oh oh pa pum ra pa pa pum ra pa pa pum ra pa pa pum ♪ [applause] ♪ ♪ holy night the stars are brightly shining it is the ninth --night of our dear savior's

i want to start with our first nominee is jonathan. jonathan where are you? yeah. let's give a round of applause (clapping) >> jonathan is a telephone grader at mission high school he's 80 a great student and good citizen. he has a gpa of 4.0. he's devoted countless hours as the far sit baseball team and is applying for a large number of colleges and we know heel represent us well, so - jonathan (clapping) >> (speaking spanish.) >> (clapping). >> he's a fifth grader and she's a great student who has demonstrated respect and she offers assistance to other students she's a good citizen and she takes the time for other younger kids and she works with them when they're feeling sad or getting hurt. she's a model citizen we we want though congratulate you and in e package >> (speaking spanish.) >> (clapping) and now we're going to grace ortega. where is grace. i can see her here she's a 12 grader she's got activities and she expels she's got a passion for dance in a local community and is an ambassador for locking could pco could see leadership. she participated in track

but at the latest, seven people is what we have heard. >> all right, jonathan. jonathan martin. jonathan, when you get word, that news conference is about to get, just flag us up. okay. i am hearing five minutes now. jonathan martin, appreciate it. thank you? >> okay. >> metro north is one of the busiest railroads in the country, carries more than 82 million riders each year. but already this year, a number of problems have plagued the railroad. jonathan betz is here with a breakdown met. >> metro north has enjoyed a good reputation but it has focused a difficult year. in late may, a train killed a foreman working on the line. a rookie had re-opened the trac tracks. 10 days before that accident, two of metro-north's trains collided in connecticut. the reason: tracks had come apart. inspectors picked up an issue with this joint just two days before that wreck. you can clear that see that brake minutes before the accident. it's in a photo captured by a passing train. >> that's it right there. you can see the train rails came apart in that photo. that crack, though, was not fixed.

i disagree with jonathan. it is done out of an actof kindness at you care about the society in which you live and youay i want to promote those things, good for this society. ultimateult, that is good for all of us. >> you're not part of society? of course you're part of society. you want to promote things that are important to you. >> that's what i just said, jonathan. listen to what i said. i just said that. yes, it's good for sociy. erefore it's good for everyone. >> all right we got to leave it there. couldn't end a show without wayne scolding jonathan. thanks to michelle and richa for joining us. no silencing this duck's minwas earned orbiting the moon in 1971. afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurae is often handed down from generation to genration because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is withouequal. begin your legacy. get an auto in

i disagree with jonathan. it is done out of an act of kindness that you care about the society in which you live and you say i want to promote those things, good for this society. ultimate result, that is good for all of us. >> you're not part of society? of course you're part of society. you want to promote things that are important to you. >> that's what i just said, jonathan. listen to what i said. i just said that. yes, it's good for society. therefore it's good for everyone. >> all right. we got to leave it there. couldn't end a show without wayne scolding jonathan. thanks to michelle and richard for joining us. no silencing this duck's quack. phil robertson exercising his first amendment right. what do you think of that? ya know, with new fedex one rate you can fill that box and pay one flat rate. i didn't know the coal thing was real. it's very real... david rivera. rivera, david. [ male announcer ] fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. >>> all right. time for what do

what's your assessment, jonathan? >> look, there are two huge problems for the republicans here in forming a battle plan to create an alternative. one is that the democrats took the big republican ideas and put them into obama care as you just noted. and then the second one is there's no agreement among republicans as to what replace would look like. what would you stand up in the place of obama care. and if you, in fact, got to that point where you started to detail it, i think you'd see a huge fracture in the republican party. right now from a political standpoint, the gop is doing well to stay together in terms of being in opposition to obama care. if it gets to the point where they have to be for something, i think you'll see the tensions and fractures come into the open. >> rick tyler, i'm again your candidate. and by the way, so far i don't feel like i'm getting elected. which of those proposals that we put on the screen would you advise me i should be supportive of? >> look, i'm not sure you have to pick any on

jonathan, start wit you. i think there is, i think there is a fourth amendment situation going on here. >> are we cracking down on the legend of the cell? are we at war with donkey kong? i don't gettism president is cool with iran enriching uranium but not cool with me playing "duck hunt." i don't understand it. this is invasion of privacy and this does nothing to keep us safe against jihadist. >> my 15-year-old son plays "call of duty." sometimes most of the country is playing at the tame time. we should be careful to allow the n.s.a. to do this. >> it's invation of privacy. unless they believe a person is aer the rostist or suspect, they shouldn't have the right tohe this. knowing the government workers i wouldn't surprised if this didn't come up from guys at the n.s.a. looking for an excuse to play video games by theaxpayers. this is a stupid idea. >> i don't play xbox. my son does. a couple of months ago we talked about the n.s.a. having an ability to turn on your camera on your laptop or smart tv. i worr

thank you, david corn, jonathan capehart, and joan wall nsh new york. you have a smile on your face, which is appropriate. thank you all for being with us. if you're out holiday shopping, get a copy of my new book, "tipping the gipper." it will make you feel happier this holiday. see you monday night at 7:00 a.m. eastern for more "hardball." [ male announcer ] step one, prepare for triumph. step two, baconated cheese for awesome. step three, get ready to wow. step four... mmmmm. ♪ [ male announcer ] pillsbury crescents. make the holidays pop.

i'm jonathan betz. here are the stories we are following for you today: the final farewell to nelson mandela. south africa lays to rest its first black president. >> the free world is with you, america is with you. i am with you >> senator john mccain meets with protesters in ukraine as anger grows and europe suddenly pulls out of talks. >> the pope pushes back against critics and makes global headlines. >> today the final farewell to a man seen as an icon, a hero and a father. nelson mandela was laid to rest in his ancestral village, the burial marking the end of 10 days of mourning in south africa. thousands gathered to honour the world leader. >> nick schifrin is in nelson mandela's home town of qunu, south africa. >> celebrities, cell mates, princes and presidents came here to mourn this tightan of a man who evolved from head strong activist into icon of dignity and rec conciliation >> in a remote village where he grew up nelson mandela's long walk to freedom ended. they called in africa's greatest

jonathan capehart and david sirota, they're going to stick with me. because it's not just women and minorities and gay people or young people. now the gop has decided they don't want catholic votes either. that is coming up. >> need i remind his holiness, pope francis, charity is a gospel value. that puts free market capitalism on the right side of the lord. >> exactly! free market capitalism on the right side of the lord! who says you can't serve both god and money? who would say such a thing? [ male announcer ] this is jim, a man who doesn't stand still. but jim has afib, atrial fibrillation -- an irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts jim at a greater risk of stroke. for years, jim's medicine tied him to a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but now, with once-a-day xarelto®, jim's on the move. jim's doctor recommended xarelto®. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce afib-related stroke risk. but xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afi

i am jonathan betz. a weaker safety net as emergency unemployment benefits run out. >>> no relief for hundreds of thousands of hurricane katrina victims. a federal judge throws out all of the remaining lawsuits against the government. >>> a new report now says al-qaeda was not responsible for the attack on the american consulate in been gas i. a humanitarian disaster in syria. a refugee camp where people are starving to death. >>> it's been a particularly difficult holiday for millions of americans. nearly 11 million people are unemployed. 4 million have been unemployed for more than six months. as of today, nearly a third of those people are being cut off from a federal lifeline. 1.3 million americans lost long-term unemployment benefits. on average, each person got a little more than a thousand dollars a month. the benefits began in 2008 at the height of the recession. since then, the payouts have cost the federal government $225,000,000,000. congress had renewed them regularly until this year. rebecca

jonathan, did you want to weigh in? >> no. look, the democrats and the president in particular really just screwed up. the unveiling of healthcare.gov. and i think also made a mistake of not reminding people that the -- be all and end all of the affordable care act is not just healthcare.gov. healthcare.gov is a website, which is part of this massive undertaking of, you know, getting health care to millions of americans. and also, as republicans thrilled at the notion of the president and democrats going down with the obamacare ship, folks not focusing on the fact that they had, meaning republicans, had no alternative to offer. >> right. >> so for me, it was just like stressful to watch. but hilarious, because i thought, you know what, republicans, maybe you should get what you ask for. >> you know, guys, i have to tell you, if it wasn't such a comedic reality television show to watch what was going on in congress, if it wasn't so sad, it really would be something that i would tune in and watch on a regular basis. goldie taylo

i am jonathan betz with tonight's headlines. mompom says the u.s. will try again to help americans trapped in south sudan. an earlier rescue mission had to be called off after four soldiers were shot trying to evacuate americans. three aircraft came under fire while trying to land. >>> proceed europe protesters in ukraine say they are not backing down. they are angry over the president's decision to back away from a deal with the european union. it has galvanized those who support closer ties with moscow. >>> there is renewed violence in the central african republic. 30 people were killed in the capital overnight including a peacekeeping soldier as fighting there continues between

well thank you so much, jonathan altar. and michael steele. we appreciate both of you. >> thanks. >>> and we are waiting for -- we are awaiting a press conference with the ntsb on the deadly metro north train derailment the, which is beginning right now. let's take a listen to what they are saying. >> this is preliminary information from the event recorders shows that the train was traveling at approximately 82 miles per hour as it went into a 30-mile-an-hour curve. that speed again was 82 miles per hour. at the entrance to a 30-mile-an-hour curve. approximately six seconds before the rear engine of the train came to a stop, the throttle was reduced to idle. approximately five seconds before the rear engine came to a stop, the brake pressure dropped from 120 psi to 0, resulting in full application of the brakes. at this point oh in the investigation, we don't know what the initiating event was for either the throttle going to idle or the brake pressure dropping to zero. our investigators will be carefully reviewing all the data to determine th

john allen for politico and jonathan alter. jonathan, let me begin with you. some said at politico this is more or less an election for the president. if the deadline was an election, i want to know, did he win or did he lose? >> i guess i would disagree with the, you know, with the basic premise of that. because if he loses the election and let's say fewer people sign up or the system crashes again temporarily or all kinds of things go wrong, they still have at least a few months, you know, to get it together and get more people enrolled. whereas the big election, the 2012 election, if he'd lost that there would be no obama care. so this is something in this notion as david axelrod puts it where in washington every day is election day, it's really kind of false. because there's this sense that somehow this is all going to go away if it's done wrong. it's going to go south on the president. it's a done deal, michael. the republicans do not have the votes to repeal this or even cripple it. he has the veto pen. so these are all various bumps in the road of one s

. >> well, jonathan, this is incredible. this is a situation where you have a hospital who has considered ja har dead for a number of weeks, and they look at it as a corpse, and the family is taking it to the courts and making it a much bigger legal battle. this is what the uncle of jahai has to say. >> she moves when her mother touches her and speaks. and we have an attorney who has sworn that she's not dead. we have a filth that has agreedd to take her. and we have a doctor here in california who will be by her side throughout the transfer. we have informed the defendants and provided them with documentation of the same sworn agendas. >> what's really incredible, moments afterwards, jahai's mother came out to speak, and she's very emotional and defiant and says that she's going to speak fight for the very end. >> my daughter's life, [ unintelligible ] every hour, i just thank god, give us one more day, please. >> she's responding, and i go in there and talk to her, and i say, hey, jahai, you need to start moving, because y

i think jonathan's point is really important. this is, if you're watching at home, this isn't the grand bargain. politics is the art of only the possible. the possible in this case is something very small. there is clearly no appetite for brinksmanship again. it is getting what they can get done. not getting into a bigger intractable fight that might shut down the government or cause really hard political pain on either side explaining to their base what they are getting but what they are giving up. this literally is the art of the possible and right now the possible is very, very very smart. >> i just wonder who really wins here. again, i think it's this town. the scepticism -- my sceptic levels are higher than they usually are, kate. i look at ui, unemployment insurance stuff, that may be carved out of this. yes, while increasing federal spending levels that's because congressional democrats have skroungd around for loose change and found a way to pay for this stuff. this is all paid for. that is distinctly the goalpost has bee

i disagree with jonathan. it is done out of an act of kindness that you carebout the society in which you live and you say i want to promote those things, good for this society. ultimate result, that is good for all of us. >> you're not part of society? ofourse you're part of society. you want to promote things that are important to you. >> that's what i just said, jonathan. listen to what i said. i just said that. yes, it's good for society. therefore it's good for everyone. >> all right. we got to leave it there. coul't end a show without wayne scolding jnathan. thanks to michle and richard for joiningus. for joiningus. no silencing thisuck's who you are or what you do arthritis does not discriminate i thought it was an old person's disease, then it happened to me i was diagnosed with arthritis when i was four yearold. i was two i am one i am one of over 50 million americans affected by e chronic pain of arths. i amne of 300,000 kids wi ahritis. we are your friends... we are co-workers were your kids there a

this is a great question, jo jonathan as a columnist. are they doing this because they feel a yuck factor with him? or selling the yuck factor to yaky. console every moment of their lives. two depending on -- we're talking about folks who have come to congress who aren't -- a lot of them aren't terribly smart. the guy you interviewed in that first clip, i wasn't here to determine whether the president is legitimately president. these are folks who failed school house rock. this is what's ridiculous about this. the level of disrespect from september of -- >> remember i only believe what i see. have you been to japan? do you believe there's a tokyo? number one on the countdown goes to tea party activist, during the shutdown he helped organ anti-obama protest at the world war 2 memorial. they had their share of red hot recei rhetoric. but the while rant made the headlines. >> a president who vows down to allah is not a president of the people. he's a president of his people. i call upon all of you to wage a second american nonviolent revolu

i'm jonathan betz. with a look at the headlines tonight. ♪ >> members of all faiths answered the call to a national day of prayer to mourn nelson mandela. also a steady flow of mourners stopped by his home in johannesburg. over the government's push with closer ties with russia. more than 100,000 attended that protest. and thousands rally in bangkok as the crisis deepens in thailand. the prime minister is calling for new elections. the leader of the main opposition party resigned from office and the conflict is not over yet. al jazeera's scott heidley, any indication that they are satisfied with this protest? >> jonathan, had said that this is not a victory because the dissolution of parliament is not the goal they sought. they sought the resignation of yingpluck shinawatra. acting as the care taker prime minister. they wanted her to resign, they wanted the government to be shut down and the creation of a people's council, something that's really not in the constitution. so that's why the prime minist

jonathan, take a look at this. the president reflected on his job and how he's talking about he said it's important to remember who he's working for. let's listen. >> if you feel those folks in your gut every single day, that will get you through the setbacks and the difficulties. and the frustrations and the criticisms that are inherent in the office. and i think the interesting thing about having been president for five years is it makes you humbler as opposed to cockier about what you as an individual can do. you recognize that you're just part of a sweep of history. and your job really is to push the boulder up the hill a little bit before somebody else pushes it up a little further and the task never stops of perfecting our union. >> you know, jonathan, i was just thinking isn't he the guy that went like this when somebody criticized him? dust off my shoulder like it doesn't mean anything to me? somehow i remember that and now he's basically saying it hurts. the criticism has hurt me. it's a burden to carry. >

i'm jonathan betz with the top stories this hour. the russian city of volgograd has been hit by two bombings in two days. ahead of the winter olympics in sochi. many blame chechen separatists for the attacks. >>> part of the u.s. brokered deal to start peace negotiations between the israelis and palestinians, many are angry that those who killed their loved ones are free. >>> jahi mcmatt will get a reprieve, her family filed an injunction to stop the hospital from taking her off of life support. let's talk to the doctor, i know you negotiate this with families, so how do you work your way through this and how do you talk with feamsd who -- families who aren't yet ready to let go? >> this is clearly the most unfortunate situation. very clearly difficult to deal with. from a neurological standpoint you can see how someone could use objectivity and not realize the reality at hand. but it's a physician's job to stay objective and support and inform the family to the best of our ability. >> is it always so black and white, is there no gra

so let's bring in father jonathan morris. all right, father. >> you're not going to win an argument with jon stewart, as a comedian, he doesn't have to deal in truth. and as a statement. stuart: now, is there a moral obligation to pay more for a job, more in wages than the market dictates should be paid? is there a moral obligation to pay above market wage rates. >> which market? what about the market in bangladesh and paying the workers about a dollar a day. stuart: no, the markets in the u.s. >> that's an important point. society has a responsibility to create opportunity so that every citizen willing to work and work hard can make a good living. that's what society has a response-- and the government has a responsibility to step into the market and regulate the market when people are being cheated, that's the principle. stuart: so you approve in principle of the government legislating wages? >> what's the minimum wage all about. of course the government-- . >> so you approve. >> the minimum wage. but should the government

jonathan, i'll go to you first. you wrote the gop might as well be dead. sure, the tweet was later corrected. come on people, the lowest level black person could have told them the tweet was wrong or offensive. not that anyone listened, assuming there are any low level black people there, which is hilarious but also probably true. the outreach, it's cosmetic. >> when you look at the gop autopsy, it's airy fairy, we must use best practices to reach out to the african-american community. best practices is that nonsense world used in the consultant's world, which means we don't know what to do, how to go about this. lets talk to somebody else with the answer. this would not have happened -- rosa parks tweet would not have happened. the unfurling of the confederate flag would not have happened. lar lar larry clayman would not have been allowed had michael steele been the chair of the republican party because he knows what kind of message that sends to african-americans, what that does for the reputation of the republican party, and he would know to stop it. lo

let's take you to jonathan martin. he is at the crash site in the bronx. jonathan? >> reporter: hey, tony. you know, investigators have said from the start that this is a very preliminary information, but as you mentioned, these two black box data recorders have revealed key information. one frust from the front and one from the back, showing this train was going too fast echoing what a lot of these passengers and witnesses have been saying from the start. >> reporter: investigators with the national transportation safety board say they now know the commuter train that de-railed was going too fast as it approached a curve. >> the preliminary information and let me emphasize this is preliminary information from the event recorders shows that the train was traveling at approximately 82 miles per hour as it went into a 30-mile-an-hour curve. >> investigators say it's too early to know if speeding was caused by operator or mechanical error like an issue with the brakes. >> we don't know whether the brakes went to zero pressure because of a valve change or because of the

i'm jonathan betz. >> flu season is coming on strong. six states are reporting a high level of cases. one of them is texas, where the flu killed more than a dozen people in the houston area. our correspondent has more. >> in there go up the nose. >> doctors across the houston area are seeing more patients than usual with flu symptoms. >> we saw an uptake in patient volume. >> the center for disease control says texas is one of six states with high levels of the flu, doctors saying they are seeing 60% more cases. >> most of the cases have been caused by the h1-n 1 strain. >> 80% were h1 n 1. >> the flu made 6 million americans sick. 400,000 had to go to hospitals. the best defense is a flu shot, protecting more than the person who gets it. >> you can save the health of your family and others. half of americans had flu shots. it's not too late. anyone six months and older who hasn't, should get one now. >> many people on colorado are recovering from the floods that devastated the state in september. resid

. >> one of those inmates is jonathan hall. serving 40 years for murder. >> take that camera somewhere else. >> our crew first encountered hall while interviewing another inmate a few doors down. >> this is what i think of your story. >> i believe he threw -- well, he threw a liquid substance under the door. it smelled somewhat suspicious, so we're going to go report that. yeah, he threw pee under the door. >> did he? >> yeah. >> better double-check. >> okay. >> we soon learn that hall's anger had really begun the day before. >> he started off yesterday night, he drew a bunch of gang graffiti on the walls. staff attempted to go in there, restrain him, take pictures of the graffiti, he refused, became belligerent. this morning i went up there and talked to him. he decided he would cooperate. we did restrain him, bring him out. we did take photos. probably 30 minutes later, i'm guessing because other offenders probably gave him a hard time that he did back down and let us do our job, now he's covered his window, started throwing

jonathan, what's going to happen here? >> well, i can't tell which way the approval ratings will go in the future, but president obama certainly hopes this is rock bottom. we've seen with president bush the most recent that a president can go a lot lower than president obama is at the moment. i think he's taken a twin hit on health care because it questions both the competence of the administration and also the president's personal credibility in making promises about people being able to keep their health plans, being able to keep their doctors. and so i think if the health care law starts working again, you'll start to see his numbers track up with that a little bit. but it's going to be a long haul. >> jonathan allen, shira center, good to talk to both of you. we are still waiting to hear from john boehner, the speaker. these will be his first comments since the budget deal was announced. as we said, conservative groups and some conservatives are making it tough for him. they're suggesting already that they're going to

four boys, jonathan miller. justin bieber isn't in your house, i hope. >> i wasn't warned we were going to spin the whole hour. i'm not a belieber. i am fascinated with the fiancÉ marketing. there is this sort of creative stuff coming out at the end of the year to push sales. >> tells about the new distribution. in your world, is it still the same thing? has anything changed in the real estate business? not really. what has changed is the prices are getting higher. >> we need a beyonce of real estate. >> of real estate? rules and sell houses like she sells albums. >> justin bieber has 50 million followers on twitter. tom so envious. you have no idea. so envious. >> his distributors were counting on marketing directly to his fans and going straight to them and bypassing the traditional ways of talking to the fans and getting them to go out to the movie theater. that is not really happening because the movie is not doing so well. plus the fans have grown up a little bit. in talking to different movie insiders or

i'm jonathan betz. thousands are in the streets of kiev protesting the pact with the european union. they are demanding president viktor yanukovych's resignation over a decision to snub the e.u. over closer ties with russia. >> former russian oil tycoon mikhail khordorkovsky spoke at a press conference. he promised to help political prisoners in russia, but will not enter politics >> a bomb exploded in tel aviv. a passenger noticed a passenger and alerted the driver who quickly got everyone off. >> a train derailment in nairobi's slum. at least six have been hurt. >> the ongoing rift between south sudan's president and the former vice president is threatening to drag the country into a civil war. rebels control the state capital, which has most of the country's oil. as many as 500 people have been killed. troops have been diverted to south sudan. let's go to leslie ne warner, a non profit think tank. thank you for being with us. the vice president's loyalists took over the oil-rich capital, how much is

jonathan, back to you. >> gabe gutierrez, if you have the golden ticket, call me. temperatures are warming up slightly. is the snow finally over? depends on where you are. weather channel meteorologist chris warren is with us to break it down. >> it does depend on where you are. you can see that it has warmed up above freezing from boston to philadelphia, temperatures are running in the mid to upper 30s, even a little bit more yellow on the map here as it is now right at 60 degrees from kansas city, but still on the warm side -- cold side around the great lakes where there's still some snow coming down. in the coming days, in particular this weekend, there will be some wintry weather but a huge chunk of the country will be dealing with rain and some thunderstorms possibly severe thunderstorms on saturday. by sunday morning, there could be a fair amount of snow going into chicago and michigan. this going to be the best bet for wintry weather saturday night into sunday. out ahead of that rain it is going to be very warm in the south. even making it up in the mid-atla

jonathan capehart is back with us. let's start off with syria, they'll miss the first deadline for getting rid of chemical weapons. what are the implications of that for president obama? this is something that plagued this white house and obviously the people of syria for a long time. what are the implications for president obama? >> the implications are it's more of a syrian headache for the president. remember, he had threatened military answer against the assad regime then decided not to in order to pursue a diplomatic solution and part of that solution was getting rid of assad's chemical weapon stockpiles by tomorrow, 500 metric tons were supposed to have been gotten rid of. but because of security concerns and weather, that is not -- hasn't even begun to happen. then the final deadline is early february for the remaining 700 metric tons to be disposed of. this is a headache for the president that's going to continue into next year. >> we'll watch it closely. let's shift to a much lighter note. and new year's eve c

jonathan? >> absolutely. i think it's number one issue for moderate democratic senators defending themselves. i think it's a problem for open seat democrats and for democrats trying to win republican seats. we will be talking about this for the next 10, 11 months. >> mark, what's your take, yes or no? >> kristen in short-term, huge political win for republicans. long-term we have a long way to go until the 2014 midterms but republicans made a lot of hay on it, remains to be seen. one thing the map, alaska, arkansas, those states really benefit them when you look at the 2014 map. >> mark and jonathan, thank you for insights and joining us this afternoon. we appreciate it. >> take care, kristen. happy holidays. >> you, too. happy holidays. >>> latest went storm moving away. expect plenty of cold in the northeast with temperatures at or below freezing. it's a better story at the airports today but you should still expect a little wait. flight aware.com puts total u.s. cancelations at just over 200 right now but

ron, james, and jonathan, thank you all for your time tonight. and let me say that nelson mandela had a book come out after his autobiography "long walk to freedom." rick stangel put out a book of lessons mandela taught. he taught about reconciliation, he taught about what we need to do. and all that we hear in the coming days, let us try to hear mandela speak for mandela. and let us try to be a little more mandela-like. no, i don't think the president is right. we will not see another nelson mandela. it's not likely in our life time. but we can bring a little mandela in us and become better people in the spirit of nelson mandela. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. up next is a special edition of "hardball." an exclusive interview with president obama. >>> tonight, we bring you to my interview with president barack obama. we present it against the backdrop of the passing of his personal hero nelson mandela. an event which msnbc will be covering for the rest of the evening. i have covered two great world events in my career. one was the fall of

jonathan? >> i'm changing my mind. i'm changing my mind. >> this is like the supreme court and you just heard one of the other justices make a case and you're swayed by an argument? >> he changes his mind more than i change my jackets. >> i'm not swayed by an argument. i was going to say wendy davis -- >> just to be different. >> it's about theater and theater is about make believe and who is all about make believe? senator ted cruz. and you talk about someone who did a real filibuster, he did a faux filibuster on the floor of the senate, yammering on about whatever it was, i can't remember. >> green eggs and ham. >> hitler. >> chamberlain and a whole bunch of other things but it enhance his stature looking like he was fighting for the regular person when what he was really doing was giving the best performance of his life on behalf of himself. >> he was lying. >> to me it was watching bob mcdonald through the year. >> what a collapse. >> not knowing where the watch came from or where money for his daughter's wedding r

jonathan, anything on tap for you? >> i'm going to say that you guys are not going to succeed in your new year's resolutions of keeping your inbox at zero. >> especially when the candidates that you follow that send -- you follow them on twitter and everything, they send you all their press releases. >> my resolution is not to steal anymore junk food in the green room. >> panel, thank you so much. been a fun year. look forward to seeing you in 2014. >>> straight ahead, does this sound like a waste of money. millions being spent on empty school buildings. our next guest says there's a simple solution to that problem. so what or who is standing in the way? find out next. and ah, so you can see like right here i can just... you know, check my policy here, add a car, ah speak to customer service, check on a claim...you know, all with the ah, tap of my geico app. oh, that's so cool. well, i would disagree with you but, ah, that would make me a liar. no dude, you're on the jumbotron! whoa. ah...yeah, pretty much walked into

jonathan hunt. >> it's a great day of sadness. as secretary cohen said it's a day and will be in the days to come to celebrate one of the host extraordinary lives of 20th and early 21st centuries. to quote quickly from the editor of the south african weekly. wrote just a couple of years ago. while south africaens feel is part of the structure of our national being. we worry we may not be ourselves without him. south africa is a different nation without his beating heart. >> jonathan hunt, thank you so much. >> i think greg gutfeld would man the words teachable moment. i think that's what this is to celebrate a great man. >> he'll probably do as much in death over the next two weeks that he did in life. the world is going to learn about a great man. generations will learn about a great man. maybe just maybe some leaders here today will stop and think about what nelson mandela said and particularly when he embraced the clerk. the clerk's courage in moving it forward by the way. anybody on opposing political parties ought to think ab

jonathan capehart and james saul. i want to start with a quote from the pope himself as the person of the year. he has rawritten that humanity s experienced a turning point in history. to improve people's welfare and health and education. and yet the majority of our contemporaries are living barely from day to day. inequality is increasingly evident. and he talks about the commandment thou shall not kill. he says we should take the same approach to an economy of exclusion and inequality. he wrote that such an economy kills. pretty strong language. is that kind of emphasis and leadership he has offered a part of why he was selected, do you think? >> absolutely. pope francis was named person of the year simply for bringing back christianity to fundamental christianity 101. which is that, you know, christ came to bring good news to the poor. and i just want to say, isn't it refreshing, can't we celebrate the fact that someone who was named person of the year for their beliefs, like critiquing free market economics, rathe

i'll start with you, jonathan capehart. before we discuss the situation, i want the to ask about a joint statement today made by the family of newtown's victims. after thanking people for their kindness and thoughts at this time, they suggested the best way to help on saturday would be to perform an act of charity. i think that's something many people can relate to. and yet there are so many who think this is a time to also think about other collective action, including policy change. >> yes. well, you can understand, if you've met any of the families, the newtown families, you can understand, you know that the pain from a year ago is still very much -- very much present, very much on the surface. and so their desire, one for privacy, and two, for acts of kindness or charity, are understandable. but we also have to understand that there are people out there who have been fighting for gun violence reduction, changes in gun policies that would make it possible for there to be, you know, more safety on the streets. so that the

i am jonathan betz in new york. back in power, a familiar place, but this time, he is talking about changes. syria's largest city. many killed are children. south africa, now the focus on fulfilling nelson mandela's legacy. a secret kept from the nsa. information that snowden might still hold might be worth his freedom. >> tonight, south america's wealthiest country had a new liter, chile has elected michelle bechelet. lucy i can't newman in santiago. >> she is back. chile's michelle bachelet, elected against on the promise of ambitious reforms to make south america's economy stable. >> the constitution for a democracy that ensures rights for people and guarantees that the voice of the pour majority will not be silenced in the minority. the appeal is unquestionable. this will guarantee my study can study for free. >> no match for bachelet which seems to be the high abstension. the low voter turnout a big disappointment. >> they are making the point that they are not coming to vote because it's not to do the reforms.

back to you. >> jonathan martin reporting in the bronx. rerouting thousands of passengers is not an easy thing, but over 280,000 people use the system every day. the train was heading to grand central station and that's where al jazeera jennifer glasse has been tracking. what alternatives are there for commuters? >> good afternoon, stephanie, that's right, a very difficult rush hour for the 26,000 commuters who usually come into grand central terminal on that hudson line which is not running. they face a complicated lengthy transport into the city, they have to get on a train, a shuttle bus, and a number of transports, metro north's worst accident in its 24 year history. many commuters are facing commutes that are taking a lot longer. >> i was headed to hastings on the hudson, because of the derailment, it is what do they call it, not bypass but a detour ahead. >> how long will it normally take you and -- >> about 20 minutes and now probably about an hour and a half. >> and that misery is expected to continue for self days. we talked to th

jonathan, again up against nothing. again i want to go back to -- let's go back to how obama comes back. proactively. you're sitting in the corner with the people around them. and you got a whole team. what are they advising him? how does he get back? hit some singles, hit some doubles. what are we doing here? >> they have to do it all. the problem has been people don't know or maybe they don't realize. but the law has been up and running pieces of it since it was passed. and several things have been in place for a long time. what they need to do is get out there and make sure people know about what's in the law. but also to remind them that when republicans want to repeal the law and replace it to force republicans to say replace it with what. because what they're doing with the repeal talk is take advantage of the fact that people don't understand it. they don't like it. and then when republicans get into office, let's say they succeed in taking over the senate. the pressure will be on them to now what? you've repeale