. >> chuck todd is nbc's political

let's check in with chuck todd for a preview. good morning, chuck. >> good morning, rosemary. >> chuck, you spoke with the new editor in chief of "charlie hebdo," the french satirical magazine. what did he have to say about the pope's recent comments on free speech and the magazine's latest controversial cover? >> well he's unapologetic about the cover, unapologetic about the controversy, but he makes a nuanced argument in response to the pope. he claims the magazine never is going after people of faith. that it doesn't go after, in his words, believers. when they attack religion, they're attacking only when he believes religion is being used for political purposes, so that the satireizing of mohamed and the satireizing of jesus is only in the name of when religion is being used for politics. to understand his argument you have to understand some of the fundamental differences between the french republic and the united states when it comes to religion. of course, freedom of religion and freedom to practice religion is part of the

joining us now for a preview is moderator chuck todd. good morning, chuck. >> good morning, rosemary. >> with the new republican controlled congress about to get under way, is there any hope that they can coexist with president obama and his agenda? >> well they have to and it's certainly the number one issue that appears to be -- that many american voters have on their plate, which is simply to see washington get along a little bit. it's in both political interests of the president and republicans to try to work together. i think we're going to see a test in the first two months of this relationship. i think republicans will pass the standalone bill pretty early this month, test the president's spine and his threat of the veto pen. that will be confrontation number one. and then, of course by the end of february, republicans have to come up with a funding plan for the department of homeland security as a response to the president's executive action on immigration. how those two issues play out, how confrontational does it get i think wi

and it's going to be wild. >> chuck todd in washington. we'll look for you sunday morning before we turn our attention to the game. we wanted to let you know among chuck's guests romney's 2012 running mate congressman paul ryan this sunday on "meet the press." >>> music mogul suge knight is being held tonight on $2 million bail accused of a fatal hit-and-run. police say he ran over two men following an argument on a film set in compton, california. one of the victims died. knight's attorney says he was attacked and he was trying to escape in his truck when the incident took place. knight, the co-founder of death row records, previously served multiple years in prison for assault. >>> still ahead on a friday evening, tough sledding in places all across the country as more communities say they're forced to ban sledding because they can't afford it when something goes wrong. >>> also, a terrific friday night "making a difference" report. a field of dreams coming true for a pretty special young man. >>> if you ask a kid, from new jersey to moo

pleasure to see you." >> good morning, jose. >> here is what chuck todd tweeted. if romney were a stock and folks were buying two hours ago, then they're now selling. we will know at 11:00 a.m. what are you expecting at 11:00 a.m. scott? >> very good analogy. i don't know honestly. i have been somewhat skeptical about this romney hoopla i think the bar is fairly high for him this cycle. he has run twice before. the rationale last time was clear and compelling the economy hadn't recovered quickly enough, job growth was slow unemployment was high he looked at obama after four years, said i can do better than this i am the turnaround guy, it made sense, that's why he was the nominee and got reasonably close. this time i am not sure what the rationale is. that leads me to question whether or not he will do it. at the same time, he thinks he has a lot to contribute and it is quite possible he goes for it. >> interesting because the fact is that he has kind of changed his tune recently as far as how he talks about issues. on poverty, for example, middle class, he is loo

and it's going to be wild. >> chuck todd in washington. we'll look for you sunday morning before we turn our attention to the game. we wanted to let you know among chuck's guests romney's 2012 running mate congressman paul ryan this sunday on "meet the press". >>> music mogul suge knight being held. police say he ran over two men on a film set in compton, california. one of the men died. knight says he was attacked and was trying to escape in his truck when the incident took place. knight the co-founder of death row records previously served multiple years in prison for assault. >>> still ahead on a friday evening, tough sledding in places all across the country as more countries say they're forced to ban sledding because they can't afford it when something goes wrong. >>> also a terrific friday niegts "making a difference" report a field of dreams coming through for a pretty special young man. "making a difference" report, a field of dreams coming through night "making a difference" report, a field of dreams coming ♪ nice! gr-reat! a sh

"meet the press" moderator chuck todd joins us with more. you spoke exclusively with the editor in chief of the magazine. he was unapologetic. >> unapologetic but tried to offer the explanation of what he says is the editorial line that he draws when it comes to satirizing religion. he said they only choose to sat rise religion when people are trying to use the prophet muhammad jesus, as ways to advance a political and en dachlt he says they are not mocking believers, he's trying to draw that line. a lot of people don't view there is a difference between doing that. that was his explanation, they're not attacking people that believe, that have faith. they're only attacking those that are trying to use it for political purposes. i understand the nuanced argument but it is a tough one to set sell to folks. >> we've seen more protests erupt as well as more terror plots foiled. when we're talking strategy and what the u.s. is doing to avoid these near misses are we at a point where we need to change strategy? u.s. officials have admitted that. >

and it's going to be wild. >> chuck todd in washington. we'll look for you sunday morning before we turn our attention to the game. we wanted to let you know among chuck's guests romney's 2012 running mate congressman paul ryan this sunday on "meet the press". >>> music mogul suge knight is being held tonight on $2 million bail accused of a fatal hit-and-run. police say he ran over two men following an argument on a film set in compton, california. one of the victims died. knight's attorney says he was attacked and was trying to escape in his truck when the incident took place. knight, the co-founder of death row records previously served multiple years in prison for assault. >>> still ahead on a friday evening, tough sledding in places all across the country as more countries say they're forced to ban sledding because they can't afford it when something goes wrong. >>> also, a terrific friday night "making a difference" report, a field of dreams coming through for a pretty special young man. a pretty special young man. "making a differenc

let's bring in moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd peter alexander who covered the romney campaign. here in studio steve kornacki host of" up "with steve core nami. talk about a whirl wind the last couple hours. the calls, it was spreading like wildfire. you tweeted earlier as romney supporters talked to each other. feels like how wall street trades on rumors. they were thinking yes, now they think no. and it is no. let's talk about it. >> look it does sound to me that somebody had the larger conversation for mitt romney. let's play out what a mitt romney campaign would have looked like for the next six months. if he had decided to get in every day was going to be a day where the story would be hey, look who's not with mitt romney today. either a staffer, we saw that yesterday, jeb bush signed up his iowa director from the last two cycles or major donor, or frankly his lead in the polls. he looks good in the polls now, but as the campaign would have heated up his numbers would have only gone down simply as other candidates started getting attention. he was going to have to deal wit

of. >> host: chuck todd, welcome to c-span. we've been on opposite sides of the table before as you've always us questioned in the past so this is my turn. >> guest: looking forward to it. >> host: the book is "the stranger: barack obama in the white house." first question, the obvious question, why the title? >> guest: i was trying to get in something about the book addicted he was an outsider, there's a part and that is a political loner in some form and they think he was that as a badge of honor at some point in his political career. also to sort of i think it answers the question why has he struggled running washington? ultimately it wasn't a greater washington which is why people gravitated toward them. but i think as, here we are your sixth, getting intercepted this is to try to figure out i hope that i know people understand why has he struggled to run washington. he's a strange creature to washington and vice versa. washington treats them as a stranger. >> host: we'll talk about us throughout the hour but do you think i

moderator chuck todd talks to us about the paris attacks and the effects. >>> i have new information regarding snowfall potential monday night into tuesday. i'll have the late >>> a big celebration starts today for rock creek park. it's turning 125 years old. the national park service says they'll be holding events all year long to honor the park's birthday. they say they'll make a full announcement about their plans for the park's future this afternoon. >>> if you're still looking for something to do this weekend, you can head on down to the washington auto show. it is going on at the convention center in downtown d.c. today you can take part in camp jeep. the toyota ride and drive and mazda ride and drive. the 2015 washington auto show runs now through february 1st. i know adam you went and checked it out recently. >> yes. i love the mustang whole thing down there. there was like a '66 shelby and '64 mustang. i used to have one. the older ones specifically. >> they have cars doing all kinds of weird things different contraptions. lots of fun for the kids. >> i like the one that can

chuck todd, as we were getting ready to come on the air, the white house has put out an advisory that the speech for the first time as of right now has been released to the american public. >> well, the white house did it themselves. they're used to journalists. and they say in there -- they even talk about it. there's a game in washington and squlournlists forward it along to interest groups and everybody gets to put their reaction to the president's speech. in a way a tip of the hat to the way social media works these days the white house said fine, we'll release it. everybody has it. go to white house.gov. they put the whole thing up there. obviously, we in the media do get it. >> a tried and true tradition. it allows people like us to sound smart, informed. absolutely. chris jansing, kristen welker fresh from the obama white house, your day job. happy to have you inside tonight. to both of you quickly starting with chris. what's the mood inside that structure you just left? >> optimistic. they think they have the wind at their back. they think that the president has the economic n

chuck todd moderator of "meet the press." thank you for your insight. >> thanks rosemary. >> chuck's guests today will include out-going attorney general eric holder. it's all happening on "meet the press" this morning at 10:30 right here on nbc 10. >>> in sports today, the nfl playoffs continue. the packers take on the cowboys while the broncos square off against the colts. both the patriots and seahawks are moving on after winning their games yesterday. in the nba, the sixers put on a show last night to win their second in a row. philly showed off a couple of highlight reel buckets, then hung on in the final minute to beat the pacers 93-92. good for the sixers. they are at home again on tuesday against the hawks. >>> in the nhl, the flyers lost to the bruins yesterday, and also lost their number one goalie steve mason, who went down with a leg injury. he is expected to miss about a week. philly drops this one to boston 3-1. >>> you remember that 6-year-old flyers fan? he became a youtube sensation when he rejected a sidney

on book tv mead chuck todd on president obama's performance in office and sunday at noon eastern, our three-hour conversation with talk show host and author tavis smiley. with your calls, e-mails and sweets. opening day remarks by tip o'neill, newt ging riff and nancy pelosi. at 8:00, hear from the majority leaders leaders. find our schedule at c-span.org and let us know what you think. >> join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. >> throughout 2014, they feature with the help of our local cable partners. here's a look at one of the cities. >> we have the best cheese in wisconsin. >> we are here in wisconsin and what we are looking at is the milk intake room where the milk comes from the farmers into the silo. it goes into the pasturizer. the pasturizer heats up the the milk for 15 seconds. the purpose is to kill all harmful bacteria to humans. this room is the productive room. after it goes through and holds for 15 seconds at 161 degrees, we cool it down to 90. all the piping systems head in to what we are looking for to approximate uh it in. we are

i think today was bad day for hillary clinton. >> chuck todd thank you. mitt romney's former running mate paul ryan, is one of chuck's guests on "meet the press" this weekend. watch that here on nbc 4 sunday morning at 10:30. >>> neighbors of a man whose name was added to the fbi's most wanted terrorist list say they don't believe the allegations against him. libanimo hamd was a taxi driver in nournlrthern virginia before he left the country. he's not the only member of the family making headlines. >> a really good guy, like i grew up with him. and he used to take care of me. he's not a terrorist. >> reporter: this woman grew up in this fairfax county apartment complex with liban mohamed. he was just placed on the fbi's wanted terrorist list. it's be been his younger brother who's been high-profile waging against the no fly list, a list he's on. this is him returning to northern virginia in 2011 after he'd been detained in kuwait and barred from returning to this country. he was eventually able to fly home after a federal lawsuit was filed. >> i can't eve

chuck todd joins me now. what do you think went into this calculation from your reporting? >> i think he had the sober conversation about what the primary gauntlet was going to look like. i think there's two things here. i think i wanted to be the nominee and think he wanted to be president. i think he looked at what the next six months. there's a good idea what it would look like. he gets in and every day is a story that were with mitt romney signing up with somebody else six months of that. then he looks good in the polls now as more candidates get in and voters start looking around and kicking the tires, he was going to see that sort of lead of name recognition start eroding. the next six months are going to be really hard what shape would his candidacy be in labor day of this year. was he willing to do all of the gauntlet? remember john mccain, the one man gang in '07. and he had the stomach to do it like that and it was a tough slog. romney had done it twice, going through it the third time i have to think that that was what talked him out of this. i think he wants to

chuck todd, as we were getting ready to come on the air, the white house has put out an advisory that the speech for the first time, as of right now, has been released to the american public. >> well, the white house did it themselves. they are used to journalists, and they say in there, even talk about it, there's a game in washington and journalists forwarded it along to interest groups and everybody gets to put their reaction before the president is done with his speech, so in a way of sort of a tip of the hat to the way social media works these days, the white house said, fine, we'll release it to the public. everybody has it. go to whitehouse.gov. we didn't get it until about five minutes ago. >> a tried and true tradition, you get an advanced text and allows people like us to sound informed and smart and prescient. chris jansing and kristen welker, happy to have you here tonight, both of you starting with chris, what is the mood inside that structure you just left? >> optimistic. they think that they have the wind at their back. they think that the president has the economic num

. >> joining us to discuss the political implications of the investigation is chuck todd moderator of "meet the press." chuck, thank you for joining us. >> absolutely. >> first, at face value it appears to be about a football fan rooting on his team. some may be asking is there merit to this investigation? >> well i think is there merit? i think anyone would say he is the governor does jerry jones or one of jerry jones' businesses have business in front of the port authority, things look that. i think there's always a sense of it's not for me to judge what should be relevant and what shouldn't be relevant. i'll just tell you this -- chris christie is lucky that both the new york giants and new york jets are not in the playoffs because i think this could be a bigger political problem for him locally rooting for the cowboys if the giants for instance were also in the playoffs. >> agree with that. >> turning to the jersey bridge scandal. we learned that chris christie met with investigators about that scandal. can we expect this to follow him around if he decides to run for president? >>

that's for sure. >> chuck todd from "meet the thank you. you can wat "meet the pre" at 10:30 sundayng here on nbc 4. >>> twitter accounts belonging "the new york and united pre int were hacked today. fake tweets were s china had fired a missile at the "uss george washingt the united states navy says no ships were ever fired upbo upi and "the po" confird the hacking and are investig > a local rabbi appeared in cot today in a case involving crim charges he'd been facing since october. prosecuts say at least six women were secretly recorded in a sacred bath and they may be looking for more victims. news4's chris gorn caught up with rabbi barry freundel as he left court. >> share anything that you're going throu why this is progress through court? >> sorry. >> repor do yo anything to say to the victim rabbi barry freundel has told by his lawyer not to discuss his case. >> do i feel betrayed? yes, i feel violated. >> repor at this demonsn tod in front of the courthouse one woman said the rabbi was supervising her conver to orthodox judaism and a

on c-span2, tonight at 10:00, meet chuck todd, on president obama's performance. and our three-our conversation with talk show host and author tavis smiley with your calls e-mails, and tweets. and tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3, opening-day remarks by former house speaker's tip o'neill, newt gingrich, then he has to, and nancy pelosi. we will hear from senate majority leader's byrd, howard baker, bob roll, and george -- bob dole and george mitchell. let us know about the programs you are watching. call us, e-mail us, or send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. >> all weekend american history tv is featuring austin texas the loans star state's capital and fourth-largest city. hosted by our time warner cable partners, c-span's city tour's staff recently visited sites showcasing austin's history. learn more about austin all weekend here on american history tv. >> the texas state library and archives commission is a state agency that was founded by the state with a very simple but powerful mission, and that is

. >> chuck todd says he's in. >> we'll talk with chuck little later the hour. first, we are just a few days into 2015 as i mentioned but just one year away mr. the iowa caucuses the new hampshire presidential primary. so not too far off. >> no. in national politics that's a nanosecond as you know. for the potential presidential candidates the 2016 battle for the white house begins right. kristen welker takes a look at the state of the race. >> reporter: former florida governor jeb bush was the proud father watching george t. wush his son get signed in as texas land commissioner. there are signs he's considering a race for the white house. earlier this week he resigned from all of his corporate and non-profit board positions after announcing on facebook last month he's actively exploring a bid. polls show bush is a prohibitive front-runner with names that include ted cruz rand paul and chris christie. just this week senator marco rubio from bush's home state of florida told npr he's still keeping his own options open. >> as far as speculating about whether two p

chuck todd is moderator of "meet the press." chuck, good morning. >> good morning, lester. >> the president is looking to give the middle class a break at the expense of those who are higher earners. how is that going to go in front of an all-republican congress, his first address to an all-republican congress? >> it is hard to imagine it is going to go well. i think it all depends on how the white house pitches this idea. is this their definitive answer on how they would change the tax code? or is this an opening bid, the start of negotiations? logic says it is an opening bid but if this were an election year lester i would say this is the president trying to frame the election as he's the defender of the middle class and the republicans, if they do go along with him, are the party of the rich. it certainly seems when you look at this tax plan right, it's tax cuts for the middle class paid for by tax hikes on the wealthy in some form or another. i just am with you, it is hard to imagine this republican congress going along. >>

chuck todd is moderator of "meet the press." good morning to you. we look at paris, ottawa and sydney. these were low tech attacks, people with guns. as we look at our country's preparedness i know the administration has a strategy. are they reexamining and wondering now if it's enough to cataract home grown terrorism? >> the more we learn about theattack the more we learn yemen was involved. we the past few years we thought we degraded yemen. the scary thing about paris is these two brothers that got training over there essentially were sleeper cell for four years. that's the new concern lester with security officials. which is okay are there people the united states government had identified as potential threats but followed them a while and thought they're not doing much. this is what french authorities ended up doing. do we need to look back and need more resources? those are the questions and hand ringing going on in the u.s. >> there's some push now to reintroduce reentry of foreign fighters to take away passports if they go overseas. is there

chuck todd this morning. thanks very much. and this morning, chuck on meet the press will have much more on the after math of the attacks. and including eric holder, about the fear of home grown terror in this country. >>> and and shenille has more information on the plane crash in indonesia. >> here's the latest. >> shenille searchers detected more signals in the area where the tail section from the air asia plane was found. dieferses have been sent down to investigate. that tail was brought up on saturday. it took divers three hours to do it using a system of flotation devices and cranes to drag it on to the deck of a ship. once it was above the sea surface. it was clear there was significant damage. the black boxes were not found on it and search boats and divers are checking an area a mile or two away where they heard more pinks today. they have found some debris and passenger seats. the pings are coming from underneath a large piece of wreckage which would make it very difficult to visually confirm that those pings are ac

here with a preview, chuck todd moderator of "meet the press." chuck, there's a lot on david cameron's agenda. we've been saying with katty okay, a lot is political. he first set this meeting because of his election in may, closely fought contest. but now clearly all of the focus is on the terror threats in europe attacks in paris and whether or not there are sleeper cells elsewhere. >> andrea i got two words that keep going through my head this week. it's dismantle and disrupt. do you remember how many times whether it was president bush president obama, prime minister cameron and blair, how the goal about disrupting dismantle and disrupt. perhaps for five or six years there was success, core al qaeda, the disruption and made these folks feel as at the they had to worry about their own survival rather than be on the offense and go recruit. now it feels as if -- i'm having 2003 2004 flashbacks, right, that all of a sudden it's terror cells popping up in europe and that the isis and aqap in yemen there, both seem to be not disrupted to the point t

. >> one of the busiest guys in all of washington right now is chuck todd who raced over here to the set. we'll give chuck a second to catch his breath. angie, great vamping -- >> don't give away the trade secrets. come on. >> we've got really interesting things coming up. congress the house-led gop congress and whatnot. you're taking a look at that on the show. >> we'll see how it works. you're going to hear them say the first key test is the keystone pipeline. how is the post veto world work? does it set a confrontational tone or is this symbolic republicans need to do this. the president needs to do this and then they move on. then the next big challenge will be immigration. everybody claims yeah they're all going to work together. we'll see by the end of 2015. >> that was going to be my main question. could 2015 in fact be the year of the veto? >> i don't think it will be. actually there's still a 60-vote filibuster issue in the senate. mitch mcconnell is always going to have to find democrats to vote. i think if the president will know who those eight to ten democrats in any mom

joining us now for a preview with moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd. chuck, thanks for being with us. good morning. >> good morning to you, ted. >> following the attacks in paris earlier this month and now reports that isis has executed a japanese hostage, there's been a lot of talk about terror and extremism. muslim faith. is violence in the name of religion ever really just about religion? >> well, look in this case you're going to have a lot of muslims who argue that it's not. that what's happening here with these radicals in yemen and syria, that they're using islam, but they're not real muslims, that they're perverting it. and i think there is a healthy debate that's going on. it's taking place actually inside the white house. do you call it radical islam or radical extremism? there are some folks who say, you have to call it for what it is. it's a growing strain inside the muslim community. others argue, no it's not. you can't do that. and i'll have kareem abdul-jabbar who noted, when the kkk burned crosses, all christians weren't condemned by fo

he did so with chuck todd for tomorrow's "meet the press." chuck joins us tonight. chuck, no doubt he is watching all this reaction we just showed. what is he saying about it? >> well number one, he's unapologetic about what they do. and he tries to defend and tries to explain this line on what they do with their satire. his explanation, for instance on going after religion, is he doesn't go after the believers. he says they're not attacking people's personal religious beliefs. what he says they do is they only go after religious figures or religious leaders when religion is being used for political gains and political purposes. so his argument is their satire and their use of muhammad is not aimed at muslim citizens. it is aimed at radicals who are using muhammad for their own political gain. it's a very nuanced argument. it was a fascinating conversation. i got a lot more, obviously, from there. including his reaction to the pope's criticism, lester. >> chuck, thanks. remind folks you can watch chuck's full interview with the new editor in chief in "charlie hebdo"

chuck todd nbc news political director is on the front lawn following preparations there. what's the main goal this time around. >> reporter: some some ways it's hoping that his message gets across and it's sustainable. the good news for him, he gets to deliver the state of the union with a little bit of political wind at his back. he's acquiring political capital for first time in a long time. approval ratings are up and people's views of the economy are better. there's sort of -- there's less anger out there than there's been in some time. it's an opportunity for him. the difficulty is it's pessimistic public they don't believe divided government works anymore and not convinced problems will get solved. for me it's overcoming what i think is a massive credibility gap that government in general here in washington has with the public. >> and chuck, we've been delving into the robin hood style tax policies on the table for tonight. what is the biggest challenge in terms of getting bipartisan support tonight? is there any specific area you see getting bipartisan support afte

the show's moderator chuck todd told viewers that his wife worked as a paid advisor for muriel. >> pleased to be joined by the three powerful women who run the nation's capital. >> we met with them and also what has rocked the nation and the city over the past two holiday weekend, violence. chief had no comment saying she was late to another engagement, but mayor bowser discussed the recent deaths of the new york city police officers and along with recent tension of police and race. >> i think in washington we're unlike a lot of places where trust has actually grown between the community and the police. it's been long fought with great leaders like kathy and great officers on our department. so we don't see those tension points in our neighborhoods. >> reporter: what is important is for officials to continue feeding those relationships between the community and police. especially now with the city coming off the two violent holiday weekends. six shootings on christmas i'm two involved police and four that were fatal. there were also multiple stabbings in two different establishments, not t

chuck todd our chuck todd, said that was dpis qualifying. legally, he was wrong. but, politically, schuk turned out to be absolutely right. >> suppose the moderator there, the older guy, had just said who are you going to vote for in the primary? who are you going to vote for in the general? she would say i'm going to volt for myself. that's not a secret. there's nothing secret about voting. >> this is the result of an aide sitting around -- >> this is not aides. this is consul tanttants that you pay a lot of money to silting around telling you under no circumstances do you get anywhere near that. >> finally, going to the strangest gubl thattorial debate. back in may, a series of third party candidates stole the show out in idaho. this is harley brown. the leather clad biker who loves his hog, but hates political correctness. >> a substantial portion of my political campaign is campaigning against political correctness. i don't like political correctness. can i say this? it sucks. it's bondage. and i'm not -- i'm about as politically correct as your proverbial tur

"meet the press" moderator chuck todd joins us with more. how is this going to affect u.s. foreign policy? the saudis have been fairly disastrous keeping peace in that region. >> it's funny you say that. the saudi arabian/u.s. relationship is always described as tight and important, yet let's get down to brass tacks. it hasn't been as good. president obama has not been as friendly towards saudi arabia. i think there's been growing skepticism in washington and both parties about saudi arabia. they just simply exported their problems internally to the rest of the middle east. so there's been some friction on how to go after these sunni extremists because it is sunni extremism that is the cause of what's going on in syria, in iraq, and even in europe. there's been tension in that relationship for some time and saudi arabia now doesn't have the same economic power they did against us because we're producing more oil. but the united states is which is helping the drop in prices. so this has been a different type of relationship between the u.s. and saudi arabia than in past pres

this editor is defiant in an interview with chuck todd on "meet the press." >> we don't kill anyone, he says. we defend freedom. our cartoons defend freedom of conscious. >> in britain, jewish leaders pay tribute to the paris magazine and its dead today. they are anxious the government is planning action. >> without its dues, britain would not be britain. just as without muslims, britain would not be britain. >> analysts say there's good reason to fear islamists are plotting further attacks. >> they feel they are having a great deal of momentum and may be people sitting in different parts of europe who may feel this is the right moment to strike. >> tonight at the site of the magazine massacre, the tributes mount. a place of paris pilgrimage. >> reporter: there's fear in europe, furry beyond, and the feeling in france that the crisis that started here with so much death is very much alive and very dangerous. bill neely, nbc news paris. >>> this was a historic day in the philippines, what some call the biggest turnout ever for the appearance by the pope. it was the final mass for pope

. >> chuck todd of "meet the press." there's a lot going on today. >> right. >> what are we learning more about these people. we talked about it last time you were here but we're learning more about the organization and level that this attack came from. >> more sophistication. three or four days ago we were hearing lone wolf home grown, hard to find. now it turns out al qaeda in yemen, operational again or maybe more operational than maybe u.s. intelligence officials thought it was. there's probably a drone strike in yemen about every three to four months that is suppose lid taking out key al qaeda operatives and yet the ability to at least inspire that is clearly there. i think the scariest thing and you'll hear eric holder talk about it on "meet the press," the scariest thing is these two brothers were sleeper cells. they got trained in yemen in 2010 and here we are five years late fwharnld active terrorists after french authorities stopped following them. so maybe people we thought were low-grade risks go back. they'r

todd through an interpreter that cartoon parodies of religious figures protect the freedom of religion. >> translator: we declare that god must not be a political or public figure. he must be a private figure. religion should not be a political argument. >> despite that defense, the cover has sparked violent protests in parts of the muslim world today. >>> new tonight, police say a threat on social media forced a delta airlines plane to be evacuated. the plane had just landed in raleigh, north carolina when a bomb threat against the flight was posted. passengers were evacuated and the plane searched by bomb crews. nothing was found. passengers were allowed back on to get their baggage. still to come tonight, smelly bugs wrecking havoc down south have hitched a ride. oh yes, folks. and the pests could be raising a stink in our area. >>> we felt a little bit of a chill today but a weather change is in the forecast. amelia is coming up to show us how warm it could get a this... is the best part of the day. when we sit down together and talk. more and more, we're having conversations about

. >> joining us now is chuck todd, moderator of nbc's "meet the press." several questions for you. first n your opinion, was this address geared toward a national audience? >> it was absolutely a national address. he was sticking up the place he begin. he didn't play that clip. that's a clip where i plan on showing. none were exists in new jersey as far as i knew. but, look i actually thought his diagnosis of what's ailing the country as part of this sort of -- i've always said america's been going through this anxiety crisis of some sort for quite some time. i thought he was spot on in what he's identified. the question is i think what a lot of candidates have struggled is, how do tackle the issue and how to make people who feel sort of this anxiety, because that anxiety is coupled with distrust of politicians, whether it's chris christie or president obama. >> as we know governor christie makes headlines all the time for being blunt and outspoken, no filter. is that something that will help him if he decides to run for president or is it something strategists might tell him he ne

tomorrow on "meet the press" chuck todd will speak with yet another potential 2016 candidate former governor mike huckabee. >>> when "nbc nightly news" continues on this saturday, a piece of americana is one of the most sought-after rides in cuba. >>> it was a historic week in havana, one that saw the highest level talks between the u.s. and cuba in more than three decades. but beyond the politics this week's meeting means change is coming to the streets of an island known for its classic cars. as nbc's gabe gutierrez reports it could mean a new future for those on two wheels as well. >> reporter: it is an unlikely love affair. cuban-born louis enrique gonzalez smitten with something so american. >> you ride a harley, you feel you are owner of the world. you enjoy every moment. >> reporter: nowhere will you find a prouder owner of a harley davidson. before the revolution there were thousands of hogs on the island. now, just a few hundred. so how does a distinctly american brand survive for more than half a century here in castro's cuba? ingenuity. they called themselves harleyistas motorcycl

mayor bowser police chief lanier and henderson went on "meet the press" and talked to chuck todd about tackling d.c.'s issues. >> how fitting for the nation's capital to have three women in charge who have gotten things done in this city for years and we're going to continue to focus on moving our city forward. washington has come a long way. we have improved our schools. driven down crime and we want the whole world to know that we are a city on a move. >> coming up at 11:00, we'll take a closer look at the issues they're working on. school reform. d.c. statehood and the district's marijuana initiative. >>> at 16 most teenagers can drive, work and pay taxes and now a city in maryland wants them to vote. on tuesday, the city council will hear public comments on a proposal to let 16 year olds vote in local elections to increase voter turnout and if it pass highs atville will allow teenagers to vote. >> hopefully people stepped outside today. >> high temperature was 65 degrees. dry most of the afternoon. plenty of clouds around. hopefully you soaked up the warmth because that's leaving a

our political director and moderator of "meet the press" chuck todd is here with us tonight. what are the numbers going into tonight? >> the president, for the first time since he delivered a state of the union, actually has an american public optimistic about the economy. look at this number. 45% said they're satisfied with the state of the u.s. economy today. that is the highest satisfaction number we've recorded in over a decade. that, of course, is something we do expect the president to do a little victory lap about the state of the economy. also it appears he's got a little bit of a -- he got the post-election honeymoon, not the republicans. his executive actions on immigration and on cuba both enjoy majority support, 52% on the immigration front, 60% on what he unilaterally decided to do with cuba. what will be a challenge for him tonight, brian, is whether he's talking about the issues that the country has prioritized. the five issues they prioritized to us were to create jobs defeat isis reduce the deficit, secure the southern border and deal with iranian nukes. >> n

for more let's turn to chuck todd the moderator of "meet the press." chuck, where will the republicans start? >> they'll start with a symbolic president to test the president and his veto pen. we know it will be a big year on poshlly health care immigration, but the keystone pipeline one of the first things this republican congress with the help of some democrats if they still will lead in the senate in order to get things to the president's desk that will be the first test of the president's veto threat and it could be the first veto he ends up issuing of 2015. after that the question is where are they going to try to get along? how much does the republican leadership say we have to figure out where we can govern and where to work. issues like trade that's a possibility. tax reform some people are optimistic. i'm not as optimistic as much. and then to me the big wild card lester is going to be the improving economy. does the improving economy as we've seen a ton of story this is year does it give president obama new political capital to use in 2015 to

he did so with chuck todd for tomorrow's "meet the press." chuck joins us tonight. chuck, no doubt he is watching all this reaction we just showed. what is he saying about it? >> well number one, he's unapologetic about what they do. and he tries to defend and troo is to explain this line on what they do with their satire. his explanation, for instance ongoing after religion is he doesn't go after the believers. he says they're not attacking people's personal religious beliefs. what he says they do is they only go after religious figures or religious leaders when religion is being used for political gains and political purposes. so his argument is their satire and their use of muhammad is not aimed at muslim citizens. it is aimed at radicals who are using muhammad for their own political gain. it's a very nuanced argument. it was a fascinating conversation. i got a lot more obviously, from there. including his reaction to the pope's criticism, lester. >> chuck, thanks. remind folks you can watch chuck's full interview with the new editor in chief in "charlie hebdo"

well, republican senator lindsey graham was on "meet the press" yesterday and he told chuck todd he is considering a run for the white house. >> i hear you're actually polling right now to test your ability to run for president. >> yes. we're not polling, but we set up a testing the waters committee under the irs code that would allow me to look beyond south carolina as to whether or not a guy like lindsey graham has a viable path. >> also on "meet the press," dan pfeiffer he explained what we can expect from tomorrow's state of the union address. >> tuesday night's speech let me give you the theme in three words -- middle class economics. he'll talk about how that brought us back from the brink and put us to where the deficit is shrinking. >>> the pope wrapped up his trip to asia and we are learning more about a possible trip to the u.s. later this year. an archbishop said he may travel to washington, d.c. and stay in the states under the 27th. the bishop said the highlight of the trip might be a speech to members of congress. we'll continue to follow that for you. >>> but first lady

among chuck todd's guests will be the new editor in chief of "charlie hebdo," the first american television interview since the massacre that claimed all of his friends. >>> there is a religious controversy tonight on the campus of one of the great universities in the u.s. this started when officials at duke university said they would allow muslim students to use the bell tower on campus at the chapel for a call to prayer. that idea did not go over well on or off campus. our report tonight from nbc's kate snow. >> reporter: this afternoon outside the iconic chapel on duke university's campus, hundreds came for the muslim call to prayer but it wasn't exactly what they'd hoped for. on tuesday, responding to a request last semester, duke announced a change. it would broadcast the students chanting that call to prayer every friday over speakers on top of the bell tower, similar to what mosques do. the director of the duke islamic study center. >> today would have been a day to honor both the presence of a large and thriving muslim population here and also duke's commitment to pluralism. >> repo

let me bring in the moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd. chuck, good morning to you. >> good morning, sir. >> how does this affect us in the united states? >> in talking with security officials in the administration this is the nightmare scenario what's going on in france. the combination of a soft target and a small conspiracy or lone wolf-style conspiracy. i mean look at the flashbacks that i know i'm having having to do with two brothers holed up as they're running, wanting to be martyrs. it feels like boston all over again. in some ways what paris is going through. i was talking to one security official who said they would love to publicly be able to say this could happen at any time in the united states. but they don't want to panic the country. but at the same time these are the most -- these are the hardest type of terrorist attacks to stop. the soft targets combined with these small either lone wolves or small packs and small conspiracies. especially the broader the conspiracy, the easier it is to stop these attacks. but the smaller

in an interview with chuck todd on "meet the press." >> we don't kill anyone he says. we depend freedom. our cartoons defend freedom of conscious. >> in britain, jewish leaders pay tribute to the paris magazine and its dead today. they are anxious the government is planning action. >> without dues britain would not be britain. just as without muslims, britain would not be britain. >> analysts say there's good reason to fear islamists are plotting further tacks. >> they feel they are having pay great deal of momentum and may be people sitting in different parts of europe who may feel this is the right moment to strike. >> tonight at the site of the magazine massacre the tributes mount. a place of paris pilgrimage. there's fear in europe furry beyond and the feeling in france that the crisis that started here with so much death is very much alive and very dangerous. bill neely, nbc news paris. >>> this was a historic day in the philippines, what some call the biggest turnout ever for the appearance for the pope. it was the final mass for pope francis on this asian tour.