0 miracle cure, dr. sanjay gupta with a possible fix for migraines. is it a game changer in the field? could it work for you. your "new day" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> good morning. welcome to "new day." it is friday, november 22nd, 6:00 in the east. today marks the 50th anniversary of president john f. kennedy's assassination. as america honors the legacy, the environment in washington is anything but nostalgic. senate democrats dropping the nuclear bomb, voting to rewrite the rules in order to keep republicans from blocking presidential nominees with filibusters. chief congressional correspondent dana bash is live in washington watching this situation for us. good morning, dana. >> good morning, chris. for years just the threat of this major senate rules change, the nuclear option, had been enough to force the parties to compromise because the alternative was thought to be mutually assured destruction. democrats have launched and republicans are all but threatening to retaliate. john mccain is a republican who tends to work across the aisle and says by detonating the nuclear option democrats may have blown up any remnants of senate bipartisanship. >> puts a chill on everything that requires bipartisanship. >> reporter: republican feathers are so ruffled, agreement on issues that should pass may be harder to find. >> they're going to be difficulties from time to time where cooperation was probably the case in the past and will not be now. >> reporter: the historic rules change strips republicans of their power to block the president's executive and judicial nominees, except the supreme court. instead of 60 votes to break a filibuster it's now 51 votes, a simple majority. it's called the nuclear option for good reason. just a few years ago, even democratic leader harry reid said he wouldn't do it, saying it would be -- >> that's a black chapter in the history of the senate. >> reporter: why about now? why isn't this a black chapter. >> things have changed dramatically since 2005. dramatically. for the last 4 1/2 years they have done everything they can to deny the fact that obama was elected and re-elected. >> reporter: translation, gop obstruction is unprecedented. to back that up, democrats point to statistics from the nonpartisan congressional research service. in the history of the country have there been 168 filibusters of presidential nominees. about half, 82, happened during the obama administration. >> in summary, this is a power grab. >> reporter: angry republicans don't necessarily dispute democrats' statistics about nominees they have blocked, instead they find to how many judges they have confirmed, 215 and rejected 5. the president opposed this tactic as a senator when democrats were in the minority. >> if they choose to change the rules and put an end to democratic debate, the fighting and bitterness and the gridlock will only get worse. >> reporter: he's changed his tune, too. >> the vote today i think is an indication that a majority of senators believe, as i believe, that enough is enough. >> reporter: democrats say they get that this landmark rules change benefits them now but could hurt them someday when they lose control of the senate and end up back in the minority. they essentially say they really don't have any choice, they prefer to take that risk rather than deal with what they called continued obstruction now. chris and kate? >> all right, dana, thanks so much for that. joining us now to talk more about it is cnn political analyst and executive editor of the daily beast, john avalon. the hypocrisy on both sides is noteworthy and startling as dana points out in her piece. harry reid was threatening this for a very long time. both sides have threatened it. why pull the trigger? why are democrats so frustrated. >> things are objectively worse than ever before when it comes to abuse of the filibuster. the key stat that the senate majority leader's office is putting out nearly half of all filibusters occurred under this president. this illustrates how much precedent has been blown up over the last, in particular, decade. filibusters out of control, nominations aren't going through, promises repeatedly broken, trust at an all-time low inside the institution. now harry reids switches his position and drops the nuclear option. it's an extraordinary situation. >> in a situation when you know it's about finding way to work with the other side, you do something you know will not do that. >> they are feeling they're essentially cutting their losses. this way they can get at least get nominations through. back in 2005 when republicans threatened the nuclear option, because democrats were filibustering president bush's nominees, it was a gang of 14 came together, led by john mccain and others, to help bring about bipartisan compromise. that spirit is gone, those bridge bullers feel unempowered and the trust is broken so many times. democrats felt they might as well drop the nuclear option. if they didn't, republicans would the next time they were in control. >> john mccain says he tried to do that this time. it didn't work out, obviously. what do you make of what mitch mcconnell, john boehner, others said about why now? they said this is a fake fight and democrats are trying to change the subject. >> shocking, there's probably politics here. >> what? >> changing conversation away from the rolling disaster of obama care and the website. that is in play. there's an issue of increasing democratic frustration with republicans trying to obstruct everything this president does from judicial nominations on down. as you heard reed say, it's a sense they're trying to deny his re-election. that sense of constant frustration as liberals described as charlie's football, getting pulled away by lucy, that 60-vote threshold has become a tyranny of the minority, they argue. >> let's talk about the new poll numbers cnn has out. the new polling showing the president's approval rating is at an all-time low. that jives with all the other polling we've seen. also an interesting statistic. i'm not sure what to make of this number. the fact that more americans believe the president will have less power in the coming year than republicans in congress. >> yes. that second statistic is a little bit fishy to me. no question, the president has been taking on water. he's right at his floor of polling. the real question is if he breaks through and starts hitting the 30s consistently -- >> maybe it's more of a show they don't have confidence. >> the second issue about influence in washington, people have seen the house republicans have really been able to effectively exert a veto. they expect more of that. therefore, that will drive the agenda. don't forget, as unpopular washington is in general, the house is the least popular. that dysfunction is baked in the cake. the president, though, that halo effect gone, gone, gone. >> what is unusual that people have to watch is there are cycles in politics. the one we're in is a race to the bottom. it's the most dangerous type of race in politics. each side has agreed tacitly, that there's no percentage in my coming up with a better plan than you, my coming off better than you. i just have to be less bad. that's when it gets really ugly. they're watching the numbers come down. that's why something like the nuclear option makes sense. >> that's right, chris. there are really important points at the bottom of that. politics has become a negative cycle. if the other guy screws up, i don't do best. against the backdrop of all of this, there's the lonely paul ryan, murray commission trying to come together to avoid another shutdown. that makes the hill even steeper to climb. guys, the big bottom line is, everyone right now is saying, let's wait till the next election, maybe our party can get total control and then we'll have function. >> had we gone back to youtube to look at clips of the godfather. listening to reed and mcconnell is right out of the godfarther. if you make this offer right now, i'll make you an offer much worse later on. >> you do this now, you'll regret it later. i'm regretting it right now, simply because they can't get anything done on both sides. hypocrisy is frustrating. great to see you, john. >> you, too, guys. good morning to you. good morning to you hot home. making news, the last day of planned talks to reach a deal on iran's nuclear program. two days of discussions have made little if any progress. the u.s. and allies say they'll drawback economic sanctions if iran agrees to conditions, especially slowing uranium enrichment. a possible deal is drawing skepticism from many in congress. talks were complicated by comments from the supreme leader. karzai says he will not sign a new ten-year security agreement until after the afghan presidential election next spring. u.s. officials say if a deal isn't signed by the end of the year, any remaining u.s. military presence may be canceled after next year's combat troop withdrawal. a sixth naval officer has been linked to a growing corruption scandal. david haas has been suspended as part of an investigation into a company accused of bribing navy officers. on thursday, the head of that company, francis leonard, appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and bribery. his company operates ports throughout asia. prosecutors say he showered officers with lavish gifts in return for hundreds of millions of dollars in navy contracts. kennedy cousin michael skakel is waking up a free man. he was released on $1.2 million bail. a connecticut judge ordered a new trial in the 19 5 murder of martha moxley, ruling skakel's original attorney failed to adequately represent him. skakel must wear an electronic monitoring device and have no contact with the moxley family. he may play invincible superheroes on the big screen, but in real life hugh jackman revealed he is dealing with cancer. the wolverines star posted a photo on instagram telling his followers he had basal cell kans nome ma. carcinoma. you sometimes think you're invincible, but you aren't. >> even the wolverine can get it. >> exactly. >> let's get over to indra tore a check of the weather. that makes me happy over there. >> no one is ep xaing the sno - the snow over there. this is denver. beautiful out there. this is going to be the story, especially for the west coast through the weekend. let's take a look at the radar real quick. you can see that system has dropped farther down to the south. today it will be more like southern colorado. love that. also into albuquerque, we'll be looking for some of the snow showers. let's see this continue to drop farther down to the south so you can see why the snow is dropping farther down to the south. look at these totals. impressive, telluride, 2 feet of snow, albuquerque, 1 to 2 inches. over a foot of snow in big bear. also rain with this. we'll be talking about. notice this low, this moisture filling in the area. you can see this. heavy rain and flooding concerns where it is too warm to get the snow. anywhere from 3 to 5 inches expected, especially around the phoenix area. the other story will be the cold front making its way across the country. expect some rain into the northeast today. maybe 1 to 2 inches of rain as the system kicks across, the heavier amounts farther down to the south. timing moves out quickly. by sunday, this guy should be out of here. looking at the totals again, very light. that is not the story with the system. it is the colder temps. chicago, 39 today, sunday try 25. new york city, 55 today. sunday 32 degrees. we know what 32 is, the freezing mark in case you don't. i hope we do. snow on sunday. >> really? >> just a little bit. i'll probably be asleep, hopefully at that time, yes. >> if you see a random blond dancing in the streets that would be me. >> perfect. >> nothing random about you, babe. >> thanks, indra. the dow closed above 16,000 for the first time ever. why this could help you get a better job, coming up. also ahead, america remembers jfk. we'll take you live to dallas where crowds are already gathering at dealey plaza to honor the legacy of a fallen president. 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[thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there. ♪ save your coffee from the artificial stuff. ♪ switch to truvia. great tasting, zero-calorie sweetness... ...from the stevia leaf. ♪ taking me higher pretty good. welcome back to "new day," everyone. a great day for your 401(k). that rhymed. as the dow reaches a milestone. for the first time ever, the index closed above 16,000 on thursday, breaking a three-day losing streak and sparking hope that the upswing is here to stay. i think that's false hope but it's still hope. christine romans is here with more on this. so? >> it's never here to stay. that's the beauty of a stock market, right? it goes up and down. it's been going up all year. 16,000 is a nice round number. right? what it really, really shows you is how much your 401(k) has grown this year. look at 2009. since 2009, the dow was up 145%. hit 14,000 this year, 15,000 this year, and then in 139 days, 16,000. it's been a very fast assent. it hasn't had a pullback. it's been about a slowly recovering economy and a fed that's pumping money into the system, without fail, every month. >> retire now? >> i have a few more years to work. >> 401(k), yes. what's the upside of companies being flushed with cash on their stock price? >> you want them to be confident and have money in the bank so they can build factories, buy other companies, agree and they can invest and grow jobs. where we've seen the jobs grown though have been the highly skilled jobs. you have companies with a lot of money in the bank. and what a lot of folks would like to see is companies spending more money to grow. they want to see a stock market rally and a job rally together, not seeing that quite yet. >> i smell a bubble. >> it's interesting. a lot of people have been saying since early this year that stocks can't much higher. but they keep marching higher. at what point is there a pullback. >> it's the if and when. >> that's the part of the stock market that's so confounding. when the fed stops juicing the economy, you'll likely see stocks slow down. >> all right, christine, thank you so much. >> you're welcome. >> see much more of christine. she's the host of "your money" airing on cnn saturdays at 9:30 and 2:00 p.m. eastern. >> today is the day the world remembers the 50th anniversary of president john f. kennedy's assassination. for the first time, the spot of the actual shooting, dealey plaza in dallas will be the site for a solemn ceremony. the commemoration honors the life of a fallen president. cnn's ed lavandera is in dallas with more. good morning, ed. >> reporter: good morning, chris. we are standing just along elm street where president kennedy was killed 50 years ago, just below the 6th floor window. the city of dallas is coming together, not to celebrate or talk about how john f. kennedy died but how he lived. at 12:30, the moment gunshots echoed through dealey plaza 50 years ago, bells will toll across the city of dallas. a poignant moment honoring john f. kennedy's life. >> do the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free. >> reporter: historian david mccollough will read passages from some of president kennedy's speeches. >> ask not what your can't can do for you. ask what you can do for your country. >> reporter: 5,000 people were invited to attend the dealey plaza ceremony but no one from the kennedy family will be here. the president's daughter, caroline kennedy just started working as the u.s. ambassador to japan. for the organizers of the event like former dallas mayor ron kirk, this anniversary is a chance for dallas to come to terms with the tragedy. >> what we were looking for is an opportunity to mark an occasion that is a moment that's important in american history and world history. but do it in a way in which we can reflect on president kennedy's legacy. >> reporter: there will be no mention of lee harvey oswald, buried in ft. worth. appreciate flowers have been left on his grave site this week. you won't see the conspiracy theorists who preach on the grassy knoll like eyewitness james tate who watched the motorcade that day. one of the shots fired struck the curb at his feet, debris flew up and hit his face. do you feel slighted? >> no. none of us witnesses are even invited to the 50th. we were there at the 40th anniversary. they don't want us. they made that clear. >> reporter: today's ceremony will end with the unveiling of a new monument to the president. inscribed with a passage from the speech kennedy was supposed to give in dallas that afternoon. it reads in part, we in this country, in this generation, are the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. we ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility. words left unspoken 50 years ago but resurrected for a new generation. >> reporter: and chris, i'm struck over the last couple of days, i've lived in dallas a long time and struck by the thousands of people that we've seen flocking to dealey plaza this week, even 50 years later. it's amazing to see how many people come here wanting to see the place where this tragic event occurred. chris and kate, back to you. >> you have the memorial, you also have need in the country right now. people are looking for heroes, things that elevate them. this is one of those occasions. thinking about the man that motivated the imagination of the american people. thanks for covering it for us, ed. we'll check in with you in a little while. catch the assassination of president kennedy, tonight at 9:00 eastern on cnn. coming up next on "new day," the final round of nuclear talks with iran under way in geneva. it's still not clear if a deal is at hand. how close are they and what is at stake for the u.s.? 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