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more "doing chores for dad" per roll more "earning something you love" per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50% longer than the leading ordinary brand. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty, the quicker picker upper good saturday morning, everyone. i'm ayman mohyeldin at msnbc world headquarters in new york. it's 9:00 in the east, 6:00 out west. here's what's happening this hour. donald trump is fighting back against criticism from a veteran democratic congressman in an interview with my colleague chuck todd, john lewis announcing he wouldn't be attending trump's inauguration because of his misgivings about the president-elect. >> i don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president. i think the russians participated in helping this man get elected. dnd schru and they have destroyed the candidacy of hillary clinton. >> as expected, trump has fired back in a pair of tweets posted a short time ago. he suggested lewis, quote, spend more time on fixing and helping his district and accused him of being all talk, talk, talk, no action or results. overnight another challenge to the president-elect as the senate intelligent committee opens an investigation into his possible ties to russia. in a statement the committee's leaders vowed to, quote, follow the intelligence wherever it leads, even if it means forcing top administration officials to testify. in a new interview with "the wall street journal," trump says he's going to likely keep some of president obama's new sanctions on russia in place unless russia is willing to work with the united states on terror and other key issues. trump has the lowest pop tearily of any incoming president in recent memory. just 41% of americans approve of how trump's handling his transition, while 55% di disapprove. that's a steep drop from president obama's rating which was 83% before his first inauguration. thousands are converging on the nation's capital for a march arguizers say is designed to protect the dream of dr. martin luther king jr. and preserve the legacy of president barack obama. nbc's hans nicholls is in washington, d.c., covering that for us this morning. good to have you with us. what are we expecting to see there? >> reporter: good morning, i have to talk pretty loud because the rally is just starting. there are a couple hundred people here. it's quite cold. the plan is to gather here. they have buses coming in from atlanta, new york, put on byhe national action network. the reverend al sharpton will be speaking around 11:00, then they'll march farther down to the mall and their goal is to bring attention to what they think the gains are of the obama administration. and try to consolidate that. they had some light jazz playing earlier. i suspect we'll get some rabble rounding speeches you might be able to hear. with that, i'm going to send it back to you. don't ask me a follow-up. it's too loud for me to answer. >> hans nicholls with the instructions. thank you very much for that. misha al sin dor, national reporter from "the new york times" and alex seitzweld, political reporter. do you think somebody as revered as congressman john lewis, is it fair he is questioning the legitimacy of a president when we haven't seen any public evidence that the legitimacy itself of the process was undermined? we know the hacking took place at the dnc but to say he is not a legitimate president. >> congressman john lewis i think is really expressing a view that is staired by a lot of people. whether or not it's fair for him to say that is tough to answer because this is an unprecedented presidency. the idea we had an election where a foreign government may have hacked into one of the political parties to help a candidate and the fact there were all these issues that came up that were really just things that john lewis and a lot of other people feel like really questioned whether or not donald trump would have won without all these other extreme circumstances. i think it's fair in some ways to express himself. he's saying what a lot of people in different circles are saying, saying what thousands of women who are showing up after the day trump is inaugurated will say. >> alex, what kind of reverberations could this have that congressman lewis has said this? i interviewed congressman meeks a short time ago. he wasn't 100% committed to what john lewis said but what kind of impact could it have? >> there are few individual members of congress aside from those in leadership who have more credibility, power, respect than john lewis, given his history as a civil rights icon. you know, he almost died on the bridge when he was beat by alabama state troopers marching with dr. king for voting rights. for him to say this, i don't think he does it lightly. i think there are a lot of other democrats who will take it seriously and might follow his lead. i think that determines how big of an impact this has. how many other democrats and possibly some skeptical republicans follow his lead? trump doesn't really have a leg to stand on when it comes to questioning the legitimacy of prepondera presidents. he went after president obama for years saying he was not born in this country, the college records were faked. it's hard for trump to get too exercised about this when he did it himself. >> yamiche, president-elect trump tweeted out moments ago showing the reactions to congressman lewis' comments saying congressman john lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district which is in horrible shape and falling apart, not to mention crime infested rather than falsely complaining about the election results. all talk, talk, talk. no action or results. sad. are you surprised by that reaction from president-elect trump? >> i'm not surprised by the reaction because donald trump has been someone who as soon as he feels as though he's being criticized has reserved no -- there's nobody he's not willing to criticize. he was at one point battling with the pope. he's battled with the family of military victims and servicemen. he's shown me he would go after anybody he feels is going after him. it's remarkable he's saying all talk no action about congressman john lewis who everybody around this country understands is someone who literally almost lost his life fighting for people's rights and people who look like me to really have a place in history and be full citizens of this country. i think whether or not congressman lewis should be questioning the legitimacy of a president is something we could debate. to act like he's all talk and no action is really kind of in some ways i would say ridiculous because john lewis -- >> he embodies -- >> i think he embodies what we hope people do in this country, which is show up and act for your rights. >> alex, let me play you this sound bite. senator lloyd blunt reacting to his comments yesterday. take a look. >> john lewis is a great man. he's a friend of mine. he has to make his own decisi decisions, but the idea of constantly looking for ways to delegitimize the results of an election, no matter how unhappy you are about it, isn't the best example we set. >> alex, do you get a sense from people on the hill there will be a permanent protest class that will emerge that will constantly try to delegitimizing his win? >> no question. off president-elect coming in with about a 44% approval rating according to the most rent quinnipiac poll. that's unprecedentedly low compared to recent presidents coming in. george w. bush, despite losing the popular vote, came in with about a 60% approval rating ahead of his inauguration. if you're a democrat on capitol hill, you want to stop trump, i feel like you have a lot of leash to do that. you feel like your constituents back home will want to see you standing up to him. that said, democrats don't have much power on capitol hill. all they have is the filibuster and they can only use that in some cases in the senate. so they'll have to raise their voices the way john lewis has and hope that breaks through. >> yamiche, president-elect trump's cabinet picks this week many veering from his position on a number of occasions during the week's hearings. which point of diversion could pose the biggest risk do you think? i can run you through the list but i'm sure you're aware. you had rex tillerson holding back on russia, something that the republican marco rubio is really pushing. you had general kelly questioning the efficacy of building a wall, something donald trump has wanted to do. you heard general mattis talking about jerusalem being the capital and supporting tel aviv. some big policy differences here. >> the one that really made trump -- put him on the map is this idea that he would build this wall and change the way the immigration policy is doled out. if he is putting into place people who don't share that view and aren't going to put those policies into place, that's a big problem for him. at the end of the day, these people will be working at the pleasure of the president. if they don't believe the in the poll sis, they might have to possibly give orderthat may be illegal internationally but they'll be coming from the president. it will be problematic more for the people working under donald trump than for donald trump himself. >> unfortunately, we're out of time. great to talk to both of you this morning. >> thanks. a deadly ice storm is bearing down on the nation's midsection after m scattered power outages. blake mccoy joins us live in st. louis, missouri. what's the situation like? what are you seeing on the ground? >> good morning. you can see a light coating of ice still here on the bushes and trees in st. louis. across the midwest the concern is as it becomes so heavy it starts to topple trees and power lines. this morning a fresh coating of ice across parts of the midwest in the midst of a three-day ice tomorrow. overnight in kansas, emergency crews responded to this pileup outside wichita. it followed a day of slick roads in missouri as well where cars were sent sliding off the road. in springfield, the start of this ice storm left kendra williams and her family without power. >> water everywhere and ice. and no heat. so, yeah, we're all having to bundle up and try to keep all the heat we can in the house. >> reporter: the potentially crippling ice storm is impacting sunday's nfl playoff game in kansas city. the chiefs set to take on the steelers. kickoff had been set for 12:05 p.m. it's been pushed back to a night game, 7:20 p.m. kickoff, to give the storm time to pass. >> if you look at the weather and t patterns we've been provided by the experts, this is the best window to not only play the game but to commute to and from the game. >> reporter: out west where the storm began more than three feet of fresh snow has piled up around lake tahoe. the truckee river is swelling. in utah, officials are sharing this terrifying video of a snowplow being cut off, sliding 300 feet down a hill. the driver is recovering. in portland, oregon, a commuter train slid off the tracks friday. blow torches had to be used to melt the ice. with more freezing rain now coating parts of the midwest, concern about just how much ice these communities will get. back here live, you can see cloud over the gateway arch. the main threat for ice in the st. louis area has passed. there's a sense they dodged a bum et. it was not as bad as expected here in st. louis. the main ice threat now heads back west. oklahoma and kansas today, they're looking at more ice in wichita and kansas city in particular going into the evening. >> blake mccoy outside that iconic archway. thank you very much, blake. joining me for the big picture, meteorologist bonnie schneider. obviously two days into this, it won't be easing up for the folks out there anytime soon. >> no. of course it would be worse if we have strong winds but we have enough ice i'm confident we'll see these widespread power outages lasting for days in the worst hit arias which is kansas and oklahoma, and that is going to continue into the evening hours. we have light freezing rain in many locations including oklahoma. the temperature right around the freezing mark and to the north and west in the 20s. quite a contrast, two air masses, warm, moist air coming up from the gulf of mexico, and you have cold arctic air. we've seen this before. what happens when that warm air override the colder air? them we have precipitation. well, if the ground is cold enough at the surface, once it hits anything, that water becomes ice and that's exactly what we're seeing here and what we're going to see through the weekend escalating into saturday night and early sunday. now, looking across the country, this is what we have right now. but then as we go into the future, notice the precipitation working its way to the north and west even into monday. the worst of the ice threat will be over by sunday. here's what we're looking at in terms of accumulation, so important to note, arias right through western kansas, even the panhandle of texas crippling. this is where we'll see the highest accumulation of ice, but once you start talking about even a quarter of an inch of ice and that's what we'll see through kansas city where we could see widespread power outages. this adds 500 pounds of weight to a tree branch, only a thin layer of ice. it may not look like it's doing a lot of damage but once you start piling on the ice, you could see a lot of power outages that could last far long time. >> power outages, icy roads, k dangerous conditions. thank you. the alleged british spy who wrote the dossier on donald trump. isle ask one of america's former koorld nay or thes of counterterrorism about that story and the apparent rift between donald trump and the intelligence community. now? 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>> before we get to what it will signal to our allies it will only underscore for the american people the concerns that they have about the let le jgitimacyf donald trump's election and raise questions about his ties to russia because after all our elections are, you know, a true vital interest and the fact that he would let russia off the hook for meddling in those e lks in a really extensive and to my mind unconscionable way would be really extraordinary. i think there are a lot of questions being raid by trump's continued leaning over backward for putin. >> let me get your take on the effectiveness of russia's capabilities in doing something like this. we know they may hack into the e-mails of government agencies and servers, but from your expertise, do you think that they're really successful in being able to shape an entire election? >> i think those of us who were awake during the elections recognized this had a profound effect. first of all, the hacking gave the trump campaign and its supporters enormous amounts of material they spoke about all the time. even trump in his press conference the other day expressed essentially gratitude for all that information. that's the first thing. but the other thing that shouldn't be lost is the amount of fake news developed by russian intelligence and that wound up circulating extensively in the u.s., especially on social media. according to scholarly studies the hits for these stories, most of which were highly negative about secretary clinton, the numbers went into the hundreds of millions. so we are talking about a profound effect on an election that was so narrowly won. 77,000 votes in thee states as opposed to secretary clinton's 3 million-vote majority. >> let me get your take on this. >> you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from sunday of getting back at you. so even for a practical supposedly hard-nosed businessman he's being really dumb to do this. >> we talk about in this business there's this ongoing tension between the intelligence community and president-elect donald trump. what do you think chuck schumer meant by that, you take on the intelligence community they can get back at you? >> well, look, the first thing is that no president can craft successful foreign policy with an alienated and demoralized intelligence community. and donald trump is doing an excellent job of achieving just that goal. he has accused them of politicization, really a stab in the heart of the intelligence community, and a fabrication of doing a poor job. he has teed up an extraordinary level of conflict with the intelligence community at a point when this is usually the honeymoon between a new president and the intelligence community. he's getting briefings, learning about the nation's secrets. he's demoralizing them, reducing their ability to produce for him. we may see both an exodus of capable senior and junior intelligence officials and ultimately i think what senator schumer is referring to here is the possibility that the community will work the hill and will also leak when necessary to show that, you know, they have been telling the administration x, y, and z about a particular issue and they were ignored and to great consequence, that is, they will make sure that foreign policy failures that the credit for that goes to the white house. >> switching gears a little bit, let me ask you about this former british spy identified as christopher steele, believed to be behind the memos that had been written with those unverified claims that the russians may have had compromising information on president-elect donald trump. to use intelligence language, he's gone underground, as they say. what does that suggest to you? an individual a respected former spy in touch with the fbi over several years and shared intelligence with them. what does it suggest he's gone underground, no traces of him? first of all, i don't know christopher steele but he has a reputation of being a superb intelligence operative. he was the uk's top russia watcher, quite a distinguished position. if he's gone underground, it tells me he is fearful for his life and the life of his chil children. remember that the russians are believed to be responsible for the killing of a former russian intelligence officer in the uk. remember, they put polonium in his sushi. i'm sure he is quite concerned about his personal safety after this experience. i wouldn't be surprised if we don't see him for quite some time. >> a remarkable story that keeps getting more and more complex. ambassador, thank you for your time. >> thanks for having me. a key member of the trump inauguration committee and transition team will join me to talk about the protests expected in and around the inaugural and what we might expect from the president-elect's inaugural address. stay with us. the inauguration days away. what president-elect donald trump might say in his nug ral address. welcome back, everyone. i'm ayman mohyeldin here at msnbc world headquarters in new york. at the half hour mark, here's what we're monitoring. breaking news of a winter storm sweeping through more than a dozen states across the nation's midsection. icy conditions are to blame for this 20-car pileup in wichita, kansas, and the state's governor has even declared a state of emergency. out west, heavy snowfall making driving dangerous in the state of utah. poor visibility led to this accident when a tractor-trailer hit a snowplow. police say the driver is recovering with serious injuries. a very scary moment there indeed. to politics now, it's been a busy week on capitol hill from confirmation hearings to new scrutiny involving russia's meddling in the u.s. elections. and the very latest steps to dismantle obamacare. all of this happening with less than a week to go to inauguration. nbc's kelly o'donnell is outside trump towers for us this morning. good to see you. what's the president-elect's main concern right now with all of this that's playing out, his cabinet hearings or repealing obamacare? >> reporter: well, both are essential, ayman. he's saying the repeal and replace effort is going forward. also saying that he's told his nominees to speak their mind, to be themselves, as they appear at those confirmation hearings, which will continue. of course it's not unusual for those to go right up to inauguration day, and in some cases beyond. the president-elect will go to washington on monday. that's just a one-day visit, not the big move, but he is preparing to take over. and it comes also at a time when democrats continue to be frustrated about some of the environment of the election season, especially with the russian hackin ining that targe their own party. just days before getting the keys, trump's white house chief of staff stopped into the briefing room friday, while at trump tower top ailds say the president-elect will work through the weekend. >> he's working a little bit on the inauguration but he's mostly very much focused on the first 100-day plan. >> reporter: but on capitol hill, angst from campaign 2016 is not over. congresswoman debby wasserman schultz raced past cameras, leaving a closed-door briefing. sources say she and other democrats vented frustration at fbi director james comey for his public airing of the clinton e-mail probe and how the bureau handled the russian hacking of democratic officials. exposure of those hacked emails led to wasserman schultz's resignation as the democratic party chair. in a statement, she writes, "the fbi director must clarify for the american people the agency's policies for investigating and alerting those who are hacked by foreign governments." meanwhile, trump's team under pressure to explain contacts between trump's national security advisor michael flynn and russian officials. advisers now confirm flynn did speak by phone with russia's ambassador to the u.s. on the day the obama administration imposed sanctions over the hacking. >> that call took place on the 29th of december at which time general flynn was asked whether or not he would help set up a call after the inauguration with president putin and then president trump. >> reporter: in a brief stop before cameras, trump, who met with tv host steve harvey, about working on change in inner cities, made a passing mention of a major policy goal. >> repeal and replace is going great. >> reporter: while republicans in congress who do not yet have a replacement health care plan passed the first in a series of steps towards repeal. >> this provides congress with the legislative tools we need to repeal and replace obamacare. >> reporter: democrats are outraged and some plan to boycott trump's inauguration, including civil rights icon john lewis. >> going to be very difficult. i don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president. >> reporter: and congressman john lewis was responding to chuck todd's question about if he could work with donald trump. as you get the sense there, he says he will try to do so but believes it will be very hard. this morning donald trump took to twit to respond to congressman lewis, very critical, saying that congressman lewis should focus on his district where there are problems and not be complaining about the legitimacy of the election. it was a two-tweet series where donald trump was punching back. ayman? >> all right. kelly o'donnell live outside trump towers in manhattan. thank you very much. for reaction, let's bring in ashley bell, senior strategist and national director of african-american political engagement for the republican national committee. great to have you with us this morning, sir. i want to start with your reaction with those new tweets from president-elect trump. he said, "congressman john lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart, not to mention crime infested." my question to you, as we go into the dr. martin luther king jr. holiday, congressman john lewis one of the most wildly revered, respected civil rights activists in this country's history. did president-elect trump cross a line here with that tweet? >> john lewis is an icon for this service to his country. what he did in the civil rights movement allowed in people like myself to be able to vote and be able to vote in historic numbers for donald trump. donald trump received a historic amount of african-american support, 13% from african-american men like myself and john lewis. that would not have been possible without the sacrifices john lewis has given to this country. so with much respect we give john lewis for his time and service to this country and continues to aggressive. >> did donald trump cross a line with what he said about john lewis? >> i think that donald trump was talking about crime in atlanta. i'm from atlanta. i understand the challenges there. that's fair game to talk about the state of affairs anywhere in this country. it wasn't personal to john lewis. let's look at the facts, look at atlanta. atlanta is a great city. i think they've done great job of increasing police. but there are still challenges there. there's no one who will tell you there's still not challenges with crime and that's a fair assessment. >> this is a man you said you have a tremendous amount of respect for, john lewis. what is your reaction when you hear somebody like that, of his stature, say that president-elect donald trump is not legitimate? >> look, you know, i spend a lot of time since the election talking to many democrats who are still hurting about this election, who are still upset and take it personal. i understand that. but i'm also inspired by the fact tha they're still willing to work with this president and move forward. it will be some time. feelings are still hurt, we understand, that but i think going forward i think there's a sense of hope still that we need change, and i think that change can't happen without us all working together. i think if you listen to representative lewis' comments he's still open to working with this administration. and you hear that a lot with many different civil rights groups in the african-american community. they're open, they're optimistic, and i think they're still willing to sit down at the table and we're thankful for that. >> you talk about some of those in the opposition that are thankful and willing to talk to you guys and participate and try to advance your agenda. we also know there are many protests around president trump's inauguration, one march day after he takes office is expected to draw as many as 200,000 participants according to them. how closely are you guys paying attention to thirty meeir messa make sure you reach out to those folks that have concerns and fears and say don't be afraid, we're going to work with you? >> we're working overtime and in overdrive. if you look at the marches happening, i think al sharpton is putting together, every organization that's listed to be a part of that march, that civil rights group, we've met with those leaders at least two to three times since the election. they're not going to agree with us on everything, but they do still want a seat at the table and deserve one. and we've had hours of conversation about how we go forward together. they still believe that there's progress that can be made if we all agree that, you know, we may disagree on the means but the end is the same. we want a safe country, people to have affordable health care, we don't want to roll back civil rights gains. if we can all agree on that, figure out how to get it done. every one of those groups has reached out to this this president and sat down with leadership and we will meet going forward. protesting is a right. we're glad they're highlighting the issues. we hope they ao sit at the table and reason together to find a way forward. >> let's talk about some confirmation hearings, particularly the opposition to jeff sessions, president-elect trump's pick for foerge. just yesterday senator al franken hat had this to say. >> i'm going to vote against senator sessions. i just don't feel comfortable that he would protect all americans' rights. >> so, you know, you heard him there say he doesn't feel comfortable he'll protect all americans' rights. give us your point as to why you think senator jeff sessions, or if you don't, but do you think he can protect the rights of all americans including african-americans and minorities? >> i think he can. i respect the senate's ability to question senator sessions. they've done that. but far too often there's these vague things like i don't feel comfortable, i don't know if he will. no one's really gotten specific about what these concerns are and in any relevant fashion. i will say this, senator sessions is someone who's qualified for the job, someone i think the president trusts. and i think that you'll see him build out a justice department that will have wide and varied opinions and a diverse staff that i think will be in a position to make sure that everyone's rights are protected. i ask folks in the reverse, what exactly is the problem? what exactly are you pointing to that says senator sessions can't do the job? and folks that go back to the '80s and point to things that happened then, but look at his track record recently, look at the fact, the civil rights cases he's been involved with, his stewardship in alabama, look at his last election in alabama. did you see anyone in alabama bringing up these comments during the election when he was re-elected several times? >> all right. we have to leave threat. thanks for joining us from atlanta. >> always apleasure. in a moment, if obamacare is so bad, why do most people want to save it? and next on "a.m. joy," sounding racist or being racist, what's the difference? when you've been making delicious natural cheese for over 100 years like kraft has, you learn a lot about people's tastes. honey, what do you want for dinner tonight? oh, whatever you're making. cheesy chipotle pork quesadillas? mmmm... ravioli lasagna bake? yeah, i don't know... grilled white chicken... grab something rich, sharp and creamy. triple cheddar stuffed sliders. sold! we aim to cheese! kraft natural cheese: we make cheese for how you love cheese. i've been fortunate enough to win on golf's biggest stages. but when joint pain and stiffness from psoriatic arthritis hit... even the smallest things became difficult. so i talked to my rheumatologist... and he prescribed enbrel... to help relieve joint pain and help stop further joint damage. enbrel mayer your ility to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis... lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common... or if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding or paleness. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. get back to the things that matter most. ask how enbrel can help relieve joint pain and help stop joint damage. enbrel, the number one rheumatologist-prescribed biologic. so we know how to cover almost alanything.ything, even mer-mutts. (1940s aqua music) (burke) and we covered it, february third, twenty-sixteen. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ the repeal and replacement of obamacare. now the hard part. take a listen to this impassioned speech. >> everywhere i go in the district, people are frigened. they come up and say what will happen? morrow you need to look people in the eye and tell them why you're taking their insurance away. >>. >> jon:ing us now is democratic congresswoman debbie dingle of michigan, whose husband, retired congressman john dingle, sponsored universal health insurance legislation every year since entering congress back in 1955. also yevgeny memed joins us. congresswoman, you've been speaking to your constituents about this issue of health care. what do they say to you about the effort to repeal obamacare? >> this was real what i said on the floor of the house this week. i don't even go into starbucks. i can't order my hot chocolate before three people come up to me and say what's going to happen to me? for many watching on msnbc this morning, this is a war of words. but when you are out just talking to real people, they are scared to death. in michigan alone weather the support of a republican governor, helping michigan reduce the number of uninsured by 50%. it covered close to 700,000 people and they're scared to death. i had a black bishop at a roundtable i did last week that said black men didn't is a choice, they didn't go to a doctor until they ended up in the emergency room and many of them died. we need to figure this out. >> yevgeny, this is a new npr poll and the greatest percentage of those who want to keep obamacare. we're going to break it down. but i'll read it. 38% say they want it strengthened on expanded. 31% want it repealed and replaced. just 14% want it repealed and not replaced. so the question to you, then, is why does it have to be scrapped? that's -- the pace that the republicans are going on right now is they'reoing to replace it. they keep saying replace -- repeal and replace but we haven't seen what the new plan is. why do you think they want it totally repealed? >> i think it -- >> sorry, congresswoman, that was to yevgeny. >> okay. >> there are definitely political realities here, two mainly, first that republicans have promised constituents some sort of repeal will happen and they have to make good on trying to make that happen, whether it does or doesn't. the other political reality is what's going to ensure that some kind of replacement plan does take its place, and that's fact that even in red states there are lots and lots of people who have gotten insurance either through medicaid expansion or on the exchanges. and you really don't want to go back to your constituents and tell them, you know, you lost your insurance, you're going to have to wait two years to get new coverage. so those are the two political realities i think we're seeing. and that's why republicans are treading very carefully right now. >> congresswoman, president-elect trump says the problem with obamacare is that deductibles are too high, premiums are going through the roof, increasing year upon year. does donald trump have any credit in that information? is that correct information that that is the reality that is happening now? >> let's be real. health care is one of the most omp comp wi complicated subjects there is. we passed this bill and this is what got a compromised into because that's what was happening. health insurance or the cost of health care in the automobile industry was breaking the auto companies. there was more cost of healthcare in an automobile than the price of steel or aluminum. so some people out there had escalated premium costs and higher deductibles. some did not. that bill was not perfect, but what we've got to figure out, i'm sorry, if we live in america, i believe that every american has a right to affordable quality healthcare. how we do it, i want to work with everybody so that we do do it. so if i woman gets diagnosed with breast cancer, she shouldn't have to worry about how she's going to get treatment. >> do you at all believe what the republicans are saying, is there any legitimacy that they say -- particularly speaker ryan saying that obamacare is collapsing on top of itself? >> i think that we've got -- no, i don't believe that it's collapsing on top of itself, and we wouldn't have the number of republican governors who have expanded medicaid worried about what is going to happen. we do have to look at how we pay for all of this and how do we tweak the program to make sure that it is working. there were assumptions that more young people would buy into the program. how are we going to treat some of these different issues? it ivery complicated, but what's not complicated to me, if someone gets sick, they shouldn't have to worry if they can go to a doctor. >> evgeni, how likely is it that republicans can replace and repeal obamacare concurrently so there is no gap for the millions of americans who are relying on obamacare? >> frankly that's the only realistic way forward. there's a lot of political rhetoric going around right now, but fundamentally, if you get rid of obamacare and you don't have something ready to go relatively quickly, insurers are going to pull out of the market. they're not going to want to keep offering plans and you're not going to be able to entice them back into the market that easily when you finally have your replacement. i think that republicans understand this. there's a certain amount of political rhetoric that has to go on, but fundamentally i don't imagine that they're going to kick 20 million people off of their medicaid and exchange plans. >> congresswoman, what do you object the most to repealing obamacare or the lack of replacement? which one do you think is the bigger problem? >> i've always said that republicans don't want to repeal obamacare. it became a phrase. because look at what donald trump is saying. we don't ever want to go back to the days that you're denying someone insurance because of a pre-existing condition and they want young people to be able to stay on their parents' plan until they're 26 or that someone can cancel someone's insurance because you're suddenly diagnosed with cancer or diabetes. >> right. >> so i think what we have out there is people are just scared. this isn't red states or blue states. this is real people who get sick and need help, and we've got to figure out how we're going to deliver healthcare to them and that every american can be able to go to the doctor when they need to go to it and preventative care is reducing costs when they go in early and prevent more serious things from happening. >> it is a question that has been a cllenge for politicians for generations in this particular country. congresswoman debbie dingell and evgeni, thank you both for joining us this morning. a new deadly reality is facing migrants overseas who are just trying to survive. we're going to look at that next. i'm all the techy stuff you got crammed into your brand-new car. i'm so sexy, you can't keep your hands off me. do it again. there you go... i can do whatever you want. except keep your eyes on the road. now would be a good time to have new car replacement. so get allstate and be better protected from mayhem, like me. it's good to be in good hands. the first rule of is that teamwork is important. remember to do the little things. help each other out. and the second rule of being a viking. there's more than one way to win. vikings: war of clans play free now. happening now in europe, the u.n.'s refugee agencies warning that the migrant crises could become worse as dire winter weather sets in. lucy, the u.n. says the conditions are deadly and getting worse. >> reporter: that's right, the u.n. said at least five refugees already died from freezing weather since the start of the year. there's been a severe cold snap across eastern europe, some of the lowest temperatures in decades, heavy snow. conditions are dangerous to anyone but especially the thousands who have very little in terms of warm clothing. the problem is lack of resources but also politics. that's been reports of authorities closing access, pushing refugees back from their territory to neighboring countries, we're talking some of the northwest vulnerable populations here and these people are at risk of death in addition to the many challenges they're facing. >> a situation that continues to get worse by the day. thank you very much for that, lucy. that will do it for me this hour. thanks for watching. "am joy" is next with a closer look at the firestorm surrounding fbi director james comey. plus the reason so many people are gathering in washington d.c. right now. she's going to tell us all about that. stay with us. myalgia, i was active. i was energetic. then the chronic, widespread pain drained my energy. my doctor said moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain. he also prescribed lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery untiyoknow how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcol oblem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i can be more active. ask your doctor about lyrica. i am so disappointed
New-yorkUnited-statesJerusalemIsrael-general-IsraelAlabamaPortlandOregonMissouriTexasWashingtonTel-aviv uses most. first breaking weather news. freezing rain paralyzing 15 states. 40 million people are in its path. overnight icy roads triggered this 20 car pileup in wichita, kansas. another problem, heavy ice snapping power lines because of the extreme weight. residents forced to stay home. >> we've seen winter storm in the past where people were without power for a long period of time, several weeks. >> the weather is also impacting this weekend's nfl playoff schedule. forcing the league it dlat game between kansas city and pittsburgh because of the threat. joining me now, bonnie schneider. good morning. it's crazy out there. >> and this storm will ramp up today and tonight and into sunday morning. for kansas, this event will ramp up this afternoon and the evening. let's take a look. the main threat oklahoma and kansas today, downed trees and power lines and of course the very slick roadways. the freezing rain will mnuchin to the north on sunday, significant icing. this could be a crucial situation for days across parts of oklahoma and kansas. by monday, the snow and ice works its way toward the upper midwest and the threat will diminish in the afternoon. so three days of this. temperatures in the 20s in oklahoma city, tulsa just below freezing. and we're really he seeing temperatures at different levels of the atmosphere and that's why we're seeing the ice. we have warm moist air coming up from the golf. cold arctic air collides and what happens is the warm air overrides the colder air an eventually when the rain comes down, the air stays warm in the middle of the atmosphere. but keep in mind at the surface, it's cold enough to freeze. so whatever that rain hits, freezes over instantly to ice, whether your car, the roadways, or even your driveway. so please be extra careful. even a thin sheen can cause major accidents. accumulations across western oklahoma really dangerous. and when we might be it, you might think a quarter of an inch, that's not so bad. this is when we start seeing hazardous roads, the departmentss that you saw unfortunately i think we'll see more of that. but this particular ice storm has called for more widespread area of half an inch or greater. this is when the tree limbs snap and we see widespread outages. also an inch, this is when it's really severe and hopefully we will see that in a limited area. but again, we're watching for a duration of an event that will last several days and that is why anyone that loses power really wants to make sure that they are prepared now because when you have an ice storm, you can see the power outages for a long period of time. so st. louis also looking at the freezing mix happening. you heard about the nfl game for kansas city moved to the evening on sunday night. temperatures at game time should be above freezing, but it will be close. so we'll watch that very carefully. >> bonnie schneider, thank you. overnight the senate intelligence committee announced they would investigate possible links between the campaign of donald trump and russia. the bipartisan effort will also look more broadly at any russian intelligence activity impacting the united states. in a statement the committee's leaders promise to, quote, follow the intelligence wherever it leads. with less than a week to goo the inauguration, civil rights icon and congressman john lewis of georgia is sharing his misgivings about donald trump. >> i don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president. i think the russians participated in have help helping this man get elected and they helped destroy the candidacy of hillary clinton. i don't plan to attend the inauguration. it will be the first one that i miss. you can not be at home with something that you feel that is wrong. >> will youlewis says he believ trying to work with people, but he admitted with trump it will be hard. trump is making history with the rowest popularity of any incoming president in recent memory. just 41% of americans approve of his handling of the transition while 55% disapprove. in contrast, president obama enjoyed more than 80% approval in the week leading up to his first inauguration. trump tower has hosted a stream of unexpected visitors in recent weeks including kanye west and leonardo dicaprio. and add to the list steve harvey who says he was invited by both president obama and president-elect trump. harvey trump critic said of the meeting -- >> we've got to team up and see if we can bring about some positive change in the inner cities which i felt was my only agenda and he agreed and he wants do something. and he realizes that he needs some allies in that department and he seemed really sincere about it. >> joining me now, senior politics editor and our political senior new york reporter. great to have you here. thank you so much for coming in. beth about, i want to start but. the john lewis comments, how unprecedented are they for a congressman to say our president-elect is not legitimate. what effect might that have? >> it will have an affect because john lewis is john lewis. he's an eye conic figure. he's a civil rights hero. he is the leader in many ways of the black caucus in washington and congress. so for him to make that comment is quite significant. and it really harkens back to the fact that so many african-americans and democrats frankly across the country were so frustrated with donald trump's attempt to delegitimize barack obama by suggesting that he hasndn't been born in the united states. so that it seems to smack of that anger. clearly there are very big questions about the russian hacking of hillary clinton's campaign e-mails and the dnc. not too many people have gone up to the point of saying that is tee legitimized trump's win. most democrats will say look, he seems to have won fair and square, although there was clearly interference. for john lieu toys take that next step and say that he's not a legitimate president could mean that other african-american members of congress follow in his way. and then we have a very racially polarized environment coming in for this new president which is regrettable. >> and the congressman says that he won't attend the inauguration. how big is this movement going to be? >> we've seen a few others saying that they won't attend. i haven't seen a widespread flood of democrats saying they won't attend. but john lewis is very from you sh influential. >> so democrats reportedly confronting james comey. but nobody said anything about russia. what happened? >> so basically comey went in there to answer questions and a lot of democrats left frustrated. and what comey had said previously was that they don't comment on ongoing probes or investigations. and he tried to explain that when he had announced that they were reopening the probe into hillary clinton, it was because he had closed it earlier, reopened it and that change is what prompted all of the fallout that some people say helped elect donald trump. and now the irony is you have donald trump being protected by not having a probe earlier, not having it discussed and hillary clinton got cleared, everyone thought it was good. but having closed it seem stod have led the way for comey to argue he can now update people and have an impact on the election. >> so how much is comey's job security in a job that's deally would not be political but is being tied to how nice does he have to be to trump now with in new administration coming in. because some of the democrats are calling for his resignation. >> sure. and back in the summer when he have he refused to prosecute hillary clinton for her e-mail server, many republicans were calling for his head, too. the fbi director serves a ten year turn term. he would have to offer his resignation. it's not something that he could be easily fired out of. so it's up to james comey whether he wants to continue in the job and see if he can build a relationship with the new administration. but he's been pretty much on the hot seat for democrats and republicans alike for you fnow and there is real legitimacy to the frustrations that democrats might feel about him now, that he would kind of stone wall around the fbi investigation of these russian hacks. but be extremely open about the tenuous new revelations of e-mails right at the end of campaign that hurt hillary clinton. >> and if you're a democrat, just imane your position. you don't like this geico any oig and if you try to get rid of him, the guy who replaces him is donald trump. >> and the senate intel chiefs both gop and democrats are promising that they will follow the line and find out what is up with these allegations. is this actually going to whet the appetite of the republicans to investigate trump on this front? >> here's the thing. chairman had announced that they will do this investigation had previously said it is not within the injujurisdiction of our committee do that. that probably would have led to a bipartisan commission do that. mcconnell said no, the committee can do this. this can happen. that puts the ball back into the political realm. how much are democrats going to appreciate the report and find credence with it if it's being handled within the senate a political body rather than independent body. >> and yet we see no sign from any of the leadership of the senate or house that they would be inclined to create sort of an independent or bipartisan special committee to do this work. so the fact that the senate is planning to do this is a pretty big step because the house especially the house which is much more politicized for republicans has shown no such inclination to really dig deep into this. and so for the senate to do it is a step of independence. >> and all that being said, what the reaction from the trump camp on this? >> i think they want to get off this subpoenas possible and donald trump has conflated thes do dossier that his cam page had any contact with russia and he is trying to pit the media against itself, call it all fake news. but i think the ultimate goal is to move off this as soon as pob possible. he wants to talk about health care and jobs and the more he talks about putin, the less it's good for him. >> and what about this investigation? it's all sort of percolating and all in information is coming out. how much damage will it be doing into the incoming trump administration? >> we've seen the polling. you said it earlier, that no president-elect has ever come into office with this little public support. so it's not good. and it's probably a combination of many things. the probe of the hacking is one thing. trump's tweeting. we know from polling on many, many voters including those who support trump say they want him to knock it off. he's an impulsive guy and it probably helped him get elected, but it makes him look a little unstable. and i think that is contributing to this low polling number and certainly the investigation if this goes forward can't help as ozzie said, he wants to move on to his agenda, not talk about putin. >> beth, ozzie, thank you so much for being here. appreciate your input. well, still ahead, the grekt message congressman lewis has for young activists after saying donald trump is not a legitimate president. and later, fighting with the press. the growing concerns about the president-elect playing favorites with journalists. c'mon in, pop pop! happy birthday! i survived a heart attack. i'm doing all i can to keep from having another one. and i'm taking brilinta. for people who've been hospitalized for a heart attack. i take brilinta with a baby aspirin. no more than one hundred milligrams as it affects how well it works. brilinta helps keep my platelets from sticking together and forming a clot. brilinta reduced the chance of another heart attack. or dying from one. it worked better than plavix. 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directv now limit your entertainment. only xfinity gives you more to stream to any screen. democrats have long aired their grievances about donald trump and the election process. but there is an opening to establish better relationships when trump takes office. here is more from chuck todd's exclusive interview with john lewis. >> you have forged relationships with many presidents. do you plan on trying to forge a relationship with donald trump? >> you know, i believe in forgiveness, i believe in trying to work with people. it will be hard. it will be very difficult. i don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president. >> you do not consider him a legitimate president. why is that? >> i think the russians participated in having this man get elected. and they helped destroy the candidacy of hillary clinton. i don't plan to attend the inauguration. it would be the first one that i miss since i've been in the congress. you cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong. >> that will send a big message to a lot of people in this country, that you don't believe he's a legitimate president. >> i think there was a conspiracy on the part of the russians and others to help him get elected. that's not right. that's not fair. that is not the open democratic process. >> you're a man of action. you have been your whole life. you believe this president is not legitimate. what would you tell young folks, young activists to do? >> i would say to young people and i continue to say it today and i'll say is it during the next few days as we celebrate and commemorate the birthday of martin luther king jr., that when you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something. you cannot afford to be quiet but to be silent. >> so what should nancy pelosi do, what should chuck schumer do, what should barack obama do? >> we must not be silent. we must act. >> you can watch the full interview tomorrow on "meet the press." kelly o'donnell is outside trump tower this morning and kelly, any reaction from trump or his team on this? >> reporter: well, as you would expect when you have a figure who has the wide respect and admiration of both republicans and democrats like john lewis, his use of the words that we just period there saying that donald trump is not a legitimate president are already having repercussions and reverberations because of the standing that lewis has in american life and in politics. so it is already a ccern for republicans who say while the criticism of how the election unfolded, democrats not being happy with the result, questions from what influence the russian hacking may or may not have had on how voters were thinking about the election are legitimate to have. but to use words like delegitimizing and not a legitimate president does raise concerns. we heard that in particular from roy blunt. here's what he had to say. >> the idea of constantly looking for ways to delegitimize the results of the election no matter how unhappy you are about it isn't the best example we set. the best example we set is understanding that there is a democratic process that you go through, there is a unique process in our country where states still matter. and mr. trump won that election handily. >> reporter: and so that's what you'll hear largely from republicans trying to turn forward, to look about what comes next with the new administration. but clearly the feelings that many democrats and others have about the sort of unsettled aspects of the election, not the vote count, not the tally, not the electoral college which has clearly resolved the donald trump won quote fair and square, but the atmosphere and the political environment of 2016 still echos in to the new year as the president-elect gets ready to go to washington on monday. it will be a day trip. he will be working on some of the things for the inauguration and his new administration. not yet making the big move. but you get a sense that there are certainly concerns about how the election uolded that ve not resolved. >> and how can we gauge the concern about how concerned they are about the true nature of trump's relations with russia or what the campaign's relation was? >> reporter: of course that has been an ongoing question and we know that the senate int intelligence committee will launch an unexpected and many say welcome investigation into the russian hacking. the trump transition team says that there were no improper contacts with russian officials. they do acknowledge that the incoming national security adviser michael flynn had some phone communication with russia's ambassador to the u.s. but they say that was purely the normal business of transition. and we saw in a new interview, print interview with the "wall street journal," donald trump is quoted as saying if russia can help on issues that the u.s. has a common interest with, things like fighting isis that type of relationship, that why would anybody want sanctions. that is curious because of course many are wondering will the new administration keep the punishment imposed by the o outgoinged administration attempted interference. so he leaves that door open about rolling back those sanctions. >> kelly o'donnell, thank you. well, some frightening moments that we'll tell you about what happened to the driver of this truck during the ongoing ice storm. ♪ if you're gonna make an entrance... 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[burke] it happened. december 14th, 2015. and we covered it. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ everything your family touches sticks with them. make sure the germthey bring home don't stick around. use clorox disinfecting products. because no one kills germs better than clorox. welcome back. i'm dara brown. here's what we're monitoring. breaking news, the nation's midsection bracing for a winter storm. expected to produce thick ice that already has glazed roads. grounded flights ap knoknocked power. in kansas, the national guard are patrolling key roads and help drivers stranded by icy conditions. and to the west, heavy snowfall is making driving dangerous in utah. poor visibility led to this accident. police say the driver has serious injuries after rolling several hundred feet down an embankment. prominent civil rights leader congress than john lewis will not be attending the inauguration of president-elect trump. his first to sit out since he took office in congress in 1987. the georgia congressman told nbc's chuck todd in an exclusive interview on meet the press that he feels the circumstances of his election are, quote, not right. >> i don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president. i think the russians participated in having this man get elected and they helped destroy the candidacy of hillary clinton. >> joining me is president and ceo of the national urban league. mark, thank you so much for coming. >> good morning. >> so first question, do you agree with congressman lewis? >> john lewis is one of the great americans of our generation. he's a personal hero. he's a friend. he's someone whose opinion i would not challenge. but what his statement underscores i think, and this is a point, is whye need a select committee, a bartisan effort, a complete examination of the role of russia in the last election cycle. because it's dangerous and people have missed the point. the point is not simply did it have an impact on the election. the question is did they attempt to have an impact on the election. and if they did it, then it constitutes espionage, it constitutes something that all americans should be concerned about. any interference with our election process. so the air needs to be cleared and it's not going to be cleared unless there is a thorough examination. either a select committee, bipartisan commission of citizens with the full power to examine all of the facts and in a public fashion. >> there are just days before the inauguration. does donald trump deserve the opportunity to go into the office without being a could th accusations? >> i don't think that you can just drop the issue with russia simply because there is an inauguration taking place. certainly the president will -- the president-elect will become the president. he simply is going to have to govern. what i think would be good is if he would embrace the idea of a full and complete examination, indicate that he's going to fully cooperate with it. because it's a bit of heho protested too much, i think by continuing to protest -- and i feel one might feel that they're trying to delegitimize his prz. b prz city. but this is bigger than donald trump. whether our elections are elections that americans participate in. if we don't, if you will, air all the facts with respect to russia, what we are going to face in the future is not only russia, but other nations having if you will campaign offices inside of the american democratic system. that is unacceptable. is that not what we want. we should not the tolerate any interference in our elections process. there is enough there to warrant i think a complete and full examination. and i think cooperating around the examination is in the best interests of the country. there has been suggestions that other countries may have sought to influence our elections process. if that's the case, let there be transparency. we deserve to know. >> i want to ask you about the l mlk march. what is it that you want the trump administration to do? >> i think a strong commitment to enforce civil rights law. whether the voting rights act and commitment not only to enforce the existing voting rights agenct, will you a willi nrs n ness to work on a fix to the shelby case. and also an opportunity for innercity america. we've come a long way since the recession of 2007, 8 and 9. however, unemployment remains high. wages remain continuingly stagnant. i'd like to see a bipartisan plan, we're willing to work along with anyone who wants to put a plan together to meaningfully create job opportunities and upward mobility particularly for young people who reside in america's not the only urban communities, but i think the areas of poverty and distress and suburban and rural america. there is a chance here. so we would like to see a commitment around civil rights and economic opportunity. not only from the new administration and the new cabinet, but i think from both sides of the aisle in the congress. dr. king and his message went beyond politics. it went to justice and morality. this march today is a reaffirmation by all of us to the principles that dr. king fought for. and those principles have inspired so many of us and guided the work of many. it's a reaffirmation, a time for recommitment. >> let's talk about this moving forward, though. you and other leaders have voiced your concerns about senator jeff sessions' past as it relates to allegations of racism. take a listen to one of his supporters what they said. >> if you disagree with senator sessions because of his political views, let's have a conversation about that. but let's do it on the facts, not on 30 years of innuendos and allegations that have been disproven. after 20 years of knowing senator sessions, i have not seen the slightest evidence of racism because it does not exist. i know a racist when i see one and i've seen more than one. but jeffessions is not one. >> so after hearing this kind of sentiment, what is the disconnect? >> i think the disconnects is it's not about, quote, whether senator sessions is a racist. it's about whether we can trust senator sessions should he become attorney general to be aggressively enforce the civil rights laws, to use the power of the justice department to fulfill the mission of the justice department and the mission of the work that has taken place over the last 50 years. that this is not about personality, about whether we like someone or whether someone is polite or gentlemanly. this is more about the record. so i think that the hearings i don't think provide any of us with any additional evidence. and i think it's more than 30 years ago. i mean i know his vote against loretta lynch. i note the fact that he opposed retroactivity of the crack cocaine disparity reduction bill. those sorts of things raise important questions. for you, should he be confirmed? i think we'd like to encourage him to give strong signals to all of us that that justice department is going to tip. there are concept decrees in baltimore, in chicago. there is a police community initiative that is taking place under the obama administration. we like to see him continue that. we'd like to see him aggressively ensure that those cities that have made commitments to police reform carry out those reforms and it's not an effort to either undue those efforts, those consent decrees or to some extent weaken e power of the justice department in enforcing these laws. >> marc morial, great to have you here and we'll see you at the mlk march. now donald trump's frequent use of twitter. well documented, but the ripple effects of the president-elect's social media seem to be growing wider. savannah sellers is here with more. >> thanks. and that is exactly right. the effects of the trump tweet can be huge. just this week, a mobile app called trigger has added a feature where users can be alerted when trump tweets about a company they have invested in. since according to the app an unfavorable tweet by trump could cost a company billions. but the president-elect is adamant that he will continue his tweeting sways. so is this xwofrnigoverning in of social media or should trump stop the twitter habit? he tweets often and early. take to go dwittwitter round th clock to share his personal thoughts on just about everything. >> let's show you a twitter war between touchdown and senator warren. >> tweet storm from the president-elect. >> reporter: from meryl streep's acting abilities, calling her overrated, to the apprentice, shaming newcomer arnold schwarzenegger. to fake news. calling out crooked opponents. this is a look at some of the words he frequently uses. crooked. dishonest. weak. failing. all among his top adjectives. as trump's visibility has increased, so has the impact of a single tweet. a recent tweet complaining about the cost of boeing's new air force one caused the aerospace giant's stock to drop $2 per share in just one day. trump has nearly 20 million followers on twitter. small compared to the likes of justin bieber or taylor swift, but against other politicians and lieaders like hillary clinton, his audience is huge. trump's team says the tweeting will tip. >> it's free for you. you get information from him. and the press doesn't like it because he is it an end run around him and it's a democratization of information. >> reporter: a new poll shows nearly two-thirds of americans want trump to st teting on his personal account. >> dyou think donald trump should keep tweeting? >> i think he shouldn't keep tweeting with the amount of power and the position he holds, i feel like he should tone it down a bit. >> it wasn't appropriate before and it's not appropriate now. sglu like >> you like it? >> it's like your first amendment. >> i think he should tip communicating on twitter, but avoid using it for sensitive subjects. >> so there you have it. and right here on rockefeller plaza, the majority felt he should stop the constant tweeting. about there have been real consequences. at the consumer electronics show in las vegas, it was reported that technology executives had actually altered their pr team's schedule so is that someone is keeping an eye on donald trump's twitter account at all times for fear of a mention and subsequent stock market impact. >> savannah, thank you. still ahead, did james comey take actions that might have influenced the outcome of the presidential election and what happens if the new internal investigation says yes? and coming up in the next hour, the mixed messages from president-elect donald trump on whether he will lift economic sanctions against russia. with hydrogenated oil... ...but real joyful moments are shared over the real cream in reddi-wip. ♪ reddi-wip. share the joy. that's how i feel about blue-emu pain relief spray. odorless and fast-acting. it soothes all my muscle aches and pains. and it's convenient for those hard to reach places. and if you're like me, you'll love blue-emu super strength cream. it's made with real emu oil, it's non greasy, it's a deep penetrating formula that works itself down into your joints. take it from me. it works fast and you won't stink. blue-emu, it works for me it'll work for you. hi, i'm frank. i take movantik for oic, opioid-induced constipation. had a bad back injury, my doctor prescribed opioids which helped with the chronic pain, but backed me up big-time. tried prunes, laxatives, still constipated... had to talk to my doctor. she said, "how long you been holding this in?" (laughs) that was my movantik moment. my doctor told me that movantik is specifically designed for oic and can help you go more often. don't take movantik if you have a bowel blockage or a history of them. movantik may cause serious side effects, including symptoms of opioid withdrawal, severe stomach pain and/or diarrhea, and tears in the stomach or intestine. tell your doctor about any side effects and about medicines you take. movantik may interact with them causing side effects. why hold it in? have your movantik moment. talk to your doctor about opioid-induced constipation. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. opioid-induced constipation. prescription opioids helped my chronic knee pain, but left me constipated. finally, i let it out. told my doctor. he said movantik may help me go more often. don't take movantik if you have or had a bowel blockage. serious side effects include opioid withdrawal, severe stomach pain, severe diarrhea, and stomach or intestinal tears. tell your doctor about side effects and medicines you take. movantik may interact with them causing side effects. have your movantik moment. talk to your doctor about opioid-induced constipation. i think there was a conspiracy on the part of the russians and others to help him get elected. that's not right. that's not fair. that's not the open democratic process. >> that is civil rights icon john lewis weighing in on president-elect donald trump. joining me now, joe watkins, rick tyler, and zerlena maxwell. great to have you all this morning. >> thanks so much. >> how unprecedented is this to have such a high ranking congressman questioning president's legitimacy and what is the fallout from this? >> of course john lewis is a personal hero of mine. i mean what he did for americans of color and for all americans back in the 1960s changed america. so i have tremendous respect for him. and him saying -- making these comments of course certainly has created the sensational news story that it is. i think that it's very clear to me that donald trump won the election. i mean, whether you voted for him or you didn't vote for him, whether you are a fan or a foe, he won the election fair and square. and no matter what role the russians may have had in the election, it's clear that donald trump supporters were enthused and came out in big numbers to support him and to make him president. >> and do you think democrats like john lewis should be trying to work with trump for the good ofhe country instead of taking this divisive tact? >> no, i actually think that he is taking a very courageous stance here and it goes along with his long legacy. think about what john lewis bled for in the 1960s. he bled for african-americans to have the right to cast their ballots to be a part of this democratic process and to be full citizenship in a free democratic society. russian interference into that process is something that goes to the core of what he fought and bled for. so i think that it's very important for us to get to the bottom of what happened regardless of the actual outcome of the election. i think it's very concerning to have a deficit of 4 million votes and we're going to be swearing in someone who received fewer votes and has a cloud of succespicion because of russian interference. >> and we've learned this morning that the senate intelligence committee will be performing its own investigation into trump's possible ties with russia. rick, what kind of impact do those questions have if these are the not resolved? >> i think there is a certain iron any with john lewis talking about i will legitimacy of donald trump when donald trump questioned the legitimacy of the last president barack obama is for nearly his entire term. i think the russian inquiry i said at the beginning has legs, it will have legs, and it will always provide people with an ability to say that his presidency is somehow illegitimate. i do think -- i agree with joe, i think he won fair and square. he got the most electoral votes. but i think this will always taint the election. >> and a congressional briefing turned adversarial with democrats questioning james comey o comey's handling of the hillary clinton e-mails. what can they accomplish? >> i think he nee to be held accountable because what did he a week before the election in october was really problematic and now we see when we're looking back to hisdon't-it's n with his words saying i don't comment on ongoing investigations. it's almost laughable. that is serious charge to say you top of the have faith in the director of in the world in whi things are very dangerous and we need to have faith in that leader. so i think the investigation into comey's actions is important and i think it's a very serious one. i think the russian interference in the election is problematic regardless of the outcome of the election. i no, ma'am not in disagreement that donald trump won the election under our current rules. what i'm saying is that the interference by the russians stealing private e-mails, stealing john podesta's private gmail messages, is something we need to look into regardless of the outcome like i said. >> how long can the president-elect keep this feud going um with your nation's spy agencies? stay with us. we'll ask you how troubling it is. ever try something so good, you get hungry just thinking about it? at red lobster's big festival of shrimp, get your perfect pair for just $15.99. choose 2 of 6 new and classic shrimp creations, like bold new firecracker red shrimp. exploding with flavor? yeah they are. or try new creamy shrimp linguini, and new sweet bourbon-brown sugar grilled shrimp. flavors like these are big. and for just $15.99, they can't last. so hurry in. tadirectv now. stream all your entertainment! anywhere! anytime! can we lose the 'all'. there's no cbs and we don't have a ton of sports. anywhere, any... let's lose the 'anywhere, anytime' too. you can't download on-the-go, there's no dvr, yada yada yada. stream some stuff! somewhere! sometimes! you totally nailed that buddy. simple. don't let directv now limit your entertainment. only xfinity gives you more to stream to any screen. in his first press conference as president-elect, donald trump lashed out at american intelligence agencies who he says publicized a dossier detailing his alleged ties to russia. >> i think it was disdpras fgra that the intelligence agencies allowed any informationhat turned out to be so false and fake out. i think it's a disgrace. i say that, and i say that, amend that's something that nazi germany would have done and did do. i think it's a disgrace that information that was false and fake and never happened got released to the public. >> a senior u.s. official told nbc news that fbi director james comey told trump about the existence of these unverified allegations in a private chat after the president-elect's official intelligence briefing. our political panel is back with us. joe, this was trump's first news conference in months. what's your take? how would you describe this? >> well, it was very contentious, of course, and he had very strong words for the intelligence community. i have a lot of friends in the intelligence community so i know this is a difficult time for them. i think donald trump's choice of dan coats, former u.s. senator and ambassador dan coats to be the director of intelligence to work with the agency is going to have a soothing and helpful effect going forward. but right now it's very contentious. >> rick, trump criticized the intelligence agencies, the media. how long can he keep up this combative relationship before it becomes damaging to the country? >> it's already become damaging to him. what he says is an intelligence briefing released to the public was not. it was a campaign document and it was pretty much made public anyway. he calls it an intelligence document and now it's all a muddle and all very confused. look, somebody put that two-page summary of that campaign document into the presidents' daily briefing for a specific reason -- to embarrass him. and they did, and here we are. ironically he used that whole event to deflect in his press conference from what he was even there for, which we're not talking about, which was his ability to not have conflicts of interest in ethics and he certainly didn't satisfy i think anybody's need or desire to avoid conflicts of interest while he's in office. >> zerlina, was it fair game for this story about so-called dossier to even be released in the first place? >> i think it's interesting you ask that given the fact we had the new york fbi laebing late in the election cycle. so i think that donald trump, who benefitted from leaks that hurt hillary clinton late in the electi cycle isn't the messenger to say that he's judgment set by any leaks right now. and as joe and rick mentioned in the previous segment, it is irpic considering donald trump spent five years with the birther lie delegitimizing this president and he all these questions about his own presidency. perhaps karma coming back to bite him a bit. >> open questions. so many more. zerlina, rick, joe, thank you. that'll do it for me this hour. i'm dara brown. at the top of the hour, social media lawsuit. the family of an american student killed in the paris attacks takes aim at twitter, google, and facebook. the reasons why in our next hour. not back. it's looking up not down. it's feeling up thinking up living up. it's being in motion... in body in spirit in the now. boost. it's not just nutrition. it's intelligent nutrition. with 26 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein. all in 3 delicious flavors. it's choosing to go in one direction... up. boost. be up for it. the full value of your totaled new car. the guy says, "you picked the wrong insurance plan." no, i picked the wrong insurance company. with new car replacement™, we'll replace the full value of your car plus depreciation. liberty mutual insurance. has been a struggle. i considered all my options with my doctor, who recommended once-daily toujeo®. now i'm on the path to better blood sugar control. toujeo® is a long-acting insulin from the makers of lantus®. it releases slowly, providing consistent insulin levels for a full 24 hours, proven full 24-hour blood sugar control, and signifanc reduction. and alg with toujeo®, i'm eating better and moving more. toujeo® is a long-acting, man-made insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. it contains 3 times as much insulin in 1 milliliter as standard insulin. don't use toujeo® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you're allergic to insulin. allergic reaction may occur and may be life threatening. don't reuse needles or share insulin pens, even if the needle has been changed. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which can be serious and life threatening. it may cause shaking, sweating, fast heartbeat, and blurred vision. check your blood sugar levels daily while using toujeo®. injection site reactions may occur. don't change your dose or type of insulin without talking to your doctor. tell your doctor if you take other medicines and about all your medical conditions. insulins, including toujeo®, in combination with tzds (thiazolidinediones) may cause serious side effects like heart failure that can lead to death, even if you've never had heart failure before. don't dilute or mix toujeo® with other insulins or solutions as it may not work as intended and you may lose blood sugar control, which could be serious. toujeo® helps me stay on track with my blood sugar. ask your doctor about toujeo®. good morning, everyone. a congressman is blasting president-elect trump one week before he takes office. >> i don't see this president-elect as a legitimate presid
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