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No, Romney was never offered the job. But briefly, he appeared to be close to getting it. She did not say he turned the job down, and I don't see that in my post, either. (?) (Do I need to add a contraction?!) There was a dinner with Trump with pictures, where Romney looked terrified. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-mitt-romney-dinner-photo-meme-jokes-twitter-face-a7446791.html%3famp

Oh, the "A" block podcast is going on my iPod forever. ("A" blocks are available for download as video.) It is not the salacious parts and Rachel saying "f-ing, but it doesn't really say f-ing," (meanwhile, we are staring at the work "fucking" on the screen, but okay, Rachel), or "word that starts with 'sh'-tty". And it is not even the as-ever golden reading of today's court transcript of Maria Butina and the new character in the form of the expert counter-intelligence official "known to the Court, but please state your name for the record." Rachel saying "butt" instead of "ass" in another quote (not really sure that *is* better, Rachel, but okay.) Rachel about Maria: "Rhymes with 'pie', but starts with an 'S'". (ETA! HA! HA! HA! an update at the :40 mark to note that they did not *mean* to show the actual word "fucking" in the headline, but meant to blur it! Another reason to save this!) No, for me the platinum diamond part of the "A" block was when she got to linking Maria to the older stories about Russian influence on the choice of Secretary of State. When Maria reached out in November to "Russian Official No. 1" to see "what our people think" of the likely choice (Mitt Romney). And then the way Rachel showed how the various social media platforms were saturated with negative influence about Romney. (Bye-bye, Mitt!) And then Tillerson "never served in public office but was decorated by Putin himself" appointed because of backchannel pressure. Think of where we viewers were on the night of November 8, 2016, in shock and disbelief, then more disbelief as the days went on. But as we were sitting here stunned, Maria and her officials Nos. 1 through No. 2000 said "time to get busy". Then (still in the "A" block) Rachel showed us the pictures we remember of Tillerson getting that honor from Putin, and we remember seeing it then -- and now it looks ominous in an entirely new way. And that picture of the hostage dinner with Trump and Romney ("please get me out of here") looks desperate in a whole new way. The pictures from November 2016 to January 2017 (and beyond) now have such a Rashomon quality -- what we thought we were seeing was not at all what we were seeing. Now we see the puppet strings, and Rachel might as well start drawing the strings onto the photographs she is displaying. "A" block. Was that really just 23 minutes? It seemed like it went on for months and months. And Mitt Romney should thank his lucky stars that he did not get mixed up in this administration. (I was no fan of Mitt, but now he could be on Mount Rushmore.)

Oh, holy cow, Jill Wine-Banks's pin on Lawrence's show this evening: big red letters spelling TRUMP with a hammer and sickle instead of a "U".

I appreciate this! And will wait two more weeks! I am so glad they went with six episodes this time; and glad for another season to come! When I first saw the headline in the previous page about the next season, I originally thought it said "all new cast", like "The Crown". I quickly realized that was not the case! Looking forward to both articles in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for this! Are there spoilers in the article about who returns? I have been avoiding an article above on page one about who will return and not. I can wait two more weeks to read these, in case they are plot points!

Katy Tur has filled in for two vacationing anchors plus hosted her own show today. I just can't* stop watching today, despite having my computer open to work! Ari Melber had a fantastic first guest, a retired Lt. Colonel who was horrified and hilarious. I won't get into the news part of it, but if you can watch it online, watch for the Russian accent parody ("we geeeft from frrriend") around 15 minutes into the show. [*That's "can't", with the contraction.]

Oh, thank you, Landsnark! That's ridiculous! (And hey, Al Capone is the answer to this week's Sunday Puzzle in NPR, in case anyone wants to vie to win the contestant spot.)

Yes, thanks, I knew that, but wondered why Eugene Robinson was mentioning him and why it was a shame. It seemed random.

I only saw the last hour, and Joe is not even in the bunker. I thought they would show up blazing today. I don't mind Willie, just wonder if they should rename the show: Morning "Joe" Why did Eugene Robinson say it was a shame, what happened to Al Capone?

That was from meowmommy, so I'm looping her in:

TPTB stopped offering full video of her shows on podcast years ago; I can't even explain it anymore, but it had to do with licensing. There is full audio of her shows on podcasts. And the MSNBC app does have her full shows in video, but sometimes not until the next day. I also agree this is more about "Team Trump" than blackmail of him personally, perhaps threats to his family involved in this -- other MSNBC shows have been using that term. I suspect he has a sense that his family is on an indictment list, and I think everyone is waiting for that day to come. Rachel is right to bring in Wendy Sherman's perspective on this.

Did the longer UK version have scenes with Morse more undressed? I read a few references cheering "naked" Morse from a few months ago, and I think the most we saw was shirt-off Morse. I got the feeling the anti-segregation crowd was mostly from the university, which made it odd that Joan was in the front lines. Town-gown separation is a real thing. Not a law, but just a more improbable likelihood that Joan would be out protesting. I'd like to know if she is aware that Morse found Claudine all by himself!

Seriously, both of you, LOL. (I don't get to see many segments because of the time zone [only the first hour is on podcast], so sometimes don't know if something is new. )

It was so jarring to see Piers Morgan on the show -- again, I see this around 3:00-4:00 AM, so am never sure if I am awake or not. Has Piers been on MSNBC much?

Is it a sleeveless, large checkered print? She is on a later show, also, with great comments.

Hah, when I saw Fancy among the mines, I said "Chekhov's minefield," because it was sure to go off in the third act -- and it did, fortunately! Well, Morse had already found the eyeglass screw, right before the photographer appeared and was shot. Morse thought it meant something, the way he held it up to the light and looked thoughtfully into the distance. The secret red letters in the end credits spell out: SIR HENRY NEWBOLT -- I believe he was the author of the poem recited by the old officer as he stood on the stairs. (Yes, I checked, and it is part of his poem "Vitai Lampada" (Torch of Life). Ugh, I could not believe that the stepmother was still alive at the end. If ever there was a villain... By the way, according to the credits, the girlfriend of Morse is indeed the Claudine mentioned by Joan last week.

Yes, I think we are meant to think he spent the night with the French-accented woman who might or might not be Claudine -- he did not arrive back at his flat until the next morning. And LennieBriscoe, the episodes air first in Britain, and several months later over here.

Thanks -- just was not seeing or hearing from them in the hour preceding the news conference. CNN was on the ground broadcasting from several locations. I did appreciate Mika's story about the "crowd size" pictures in the West Wing. I had not heard the story previously.

CNN has been on the ground in England in several locations-- why is MSNBC stuck in the studio?

Oh for heavens sake, Mika, it is *not* pronounced "Buckinghamshy-er". It is like "New Hampsher".

Yes, because she had both the ranking (Democrat) member of the House Intelligence Committee plus the former Ambassador Victoria Nuland on for interviews, and both were well worth hearing. She did not say this, but her show will not air on Friday-- Richard Engle show scheduled in her slot. Of course, if Trump spills tea on the Queen, maybe there will be a live show.

One rebuttal to the false pastry story came from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who was at the breakfast and said he had eggs and toast and juice and good fruit, all paid for by the United States, which apparently hosted the breakfast. AND, it was clear in the video that they had not even been served yet, so SHS's comment was even more ridiculous. She really is vile. (And it sounds like it was Sarah who got the Belgian pastries and wanted the full breakfast.)

I think Chris Jansing is terrific and focused; she has been guest anchoring different daytime MSNBC shows almost every day for the past two months.

Well, you called it back when he did his last show. It was on at 5:30 AM on the West Coast -- who ever got up to watch that on a Saturday? You are right, just giving Alex (who I can barely stand for different reasons) is a complete lack of imagination.

Rachel is probably too nice to show the booking picture of Manafort at the Alexandria jail early this morning (he was transported in the dark, sometime after midnight), but he looks rough (no shave) and is in the prison uniform of the Alexandria city jail. As worn by previous "spies and traitors".