giving him a run for his money. >> what i'm going to do is continue to work hard to make sure that there is a conservative who is the nominee of this party. we cannot win this election, we have proven in the past when we nominate moderates, when we nominate tweedledum versus tweedal de, we don't win elections. >> donor deficit. team obama raises $45 million in february. but where are the big donors? with us from the obama re-election campaign, actress eve vague longoria. and solitary confinement. a ft. leavenworth staff sergeant robert bales today meets his civilian defense lawyer for the first time. >> plus, escape from syria. paul conroy and the hair rowing is details of his escape from homs. and "house of stone" the memoir of anthony shadid with his wife. and good day. i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. in our daily fix today, mitt

romney and rick santorum battling head to head for illinois which holds its primary tomorrow. romney has a big advantage. he and his supporters are outspending santorum by 7 to 1. and santorum failed to file delegate slates in four congressional districts. even if romney were to win, would that quiet talk of the first contested republican convention since 1976? chris sill lisa is a managing editor of postpolitics.com. it does seem as if everyone is talking about the possibility of a contested convention. first of all, there was this video, video of arlen specter announcing his candidacy for president, march 30th, 1995. he wasn't exactly on the same page as the man you'll see behind him, rick santorum on the subject of abortion rights. >> i want to take abortion out of politics. and leave moral issues such as abortion to the conscience of

the individual. that is a matter to be decided by women. not by big government. >> and then when you take a look back, you'll see right behind him was rick santorum applauding the whole time. santorum is now trying to explain that. we'll show you that video in a moment. here you see what happens when you widen out and there is a much younger rick santorum. santorum then explained that he was part of a team. does that hurt him at all with his base or is he so solid with his base on that subject that it really doesn't matter especially running against mitt romney who has had to explain so many changes in position? >> i think that -- look, romney is never going to be -- there's lots is of doubts about him within the conservative base. he's never going to be the main conservative choice. it's kind of like a trial. you just have to prove -- you just have tro provide a little bit of doubt in some people that

will maybe rick santorum isn't everything he's cracked up to be. remember the delegate math is close to determinative. the way he's staying in the race is saying i'm the real conservative, romney isn't. the romney team is doing everything they can do to say is this guy really conservative? santorum was from pennsylvania. he also endorsed arlen specter in a very contested and very idealogical primary in 2004 that specter beat pat toomey narrowly in. so he's doing -- he is being a good team player, but being a good team player in a republican presidential primary is not always rewarded. so again, it's all about just a little seeding doubt among conservatives because if they can, if the romney team can do that, andrea, then it becomes if neither of these guys are perfect in terms of conservativism, maybe we go with the guy who looks like he's going to win and probably the more electable. >> this it was john mccain on

the vet subject of whether this issue is really hurting the republicans with women on "meet the press." >> do you think there is something of a war on women among republicans? >> i think we have to fix that. i think there is a perception out there because of the way that this whole contraception issue played out, we need to get off of that issue in my view. i think we ought to respect the right of women to make choices in their lives and make that clear. and get back on to what the american people really care about. jobs and the economy. >> it could not be clearer from the nominee last time around. i wanted to share with you haley barbour, perhaps the most interesting development because haley bash bore, former republican national chairman, former mississippi governor was on abc this week. and here's what he had to say, seems to be signaling that it's okay to have an open convention, a contested convention. >> whether or not we have an open convention is up to the primary voters who are left between now and there. we've had twice, three times

really governor romney look like he was poised to begin coalescing. each time he lost the next week. a contested convention isn't necessarily all bad. >> well, just just ask gerald ford about that. that's the last time it happened on the republican side in 1976. >> andrea, look, haley barbour is a very good politician. he knows coming out and saying this is bad for the party, we need to end it now would be read by many within the conservative movement, many tea party supporters as the establishment, which he clearly is, trying to end this race prematurely. i do not think in his heart of hearts he believes an open or brokered convention is the best way for the republican party to get the white house back in november. >> i'm not sure why he also acknowledged that he voted in mississippi for newt gingrich. >> for newt gingrich. >> i know. thanks so much, chris cillizza. see you later. israel's defense min terry ehud

barak is raising red flags about iran insisting it is moving closer to the point of in return in its nuclear program. ali is tehran's bureau chief and joins me from new york. great to see you, ali. thanks so much for being with us. how does the iranian government play what israel is saying in order to build support with its own people. >> andrea, as you know, the iranians can be very tricky in their operations. this plays on two hands. on the one hand, the iranians want to say they're the innocent victim, that a lot of undue pressure is being put on to them and israel are the ones saber rattling. there's no doubt about the fact that there's a faction in iran that wouldn't mind an attack on iran. it would strengthen the fortunes of a regime who have become very illegitimate in the eyes of the iranian people, it would allow them to galvanize support

amongst the grassroots people with the regime. so it would really strengthen their hand. so an attack on iran isn't exactly what the iranians don't want. obviously they're not going to come out and say that. >> andrea. >> ali, what about the parliamentary setbacks in the electoral setbacks for ahmadinejad. >> he has essentially become a lame duck president. there's two important things we've seen out of this. one thing is before an election, the participantory elections and presidential elections, the supreme leader was always bob the fray in these. but these ones he's been reduced to slugging it out with ahmadinejad which diminished this somewhat. also ahmadinejad has become a lame duck president but he is a guy who isn't known for taking a back seat. a lot of analysts that i've spoken to within iran think we're going to see some sort of reaction from him before his term is up in 2013.

>> ali, thank you very much. it's great to see you in new york. >> thank you. and defense secretary leon panetta safely home insisting that u.s. strategy in afghanistan will not change despite causes from the afghan government from president karzai to start negotiate agmedial withdrawal from afghan village dozen u.s. bases. joining me now is elizabeth miller on the trip with secretary panetta. what a trip you had. talk about first of all, take us behind the scenes. how did you all find out what karzai had said? because i think you just told me that will secretary panetta had just taken off from kabul. >> he had just done a briefing with the president of kabul saying things were just great. he had a great meeting with karzai. the good news is i didn't put a lot of that in the paper. we flew three hours to abu dhabi. as we landed, all the blackberries were exploding with a request from editors and producers to please get pentagon reaction because karzai had just

announced after panetta left that the u.s., had he demanded that the u.s. withdraw from all villages in afghanistan by mid next year. >> and, of course, he waited until panetta had left. but you have only villages. how do you withdraw from villages and still complete the mission? >> that's a very good question. at first, the pentagon said, well, actually we're not that far part. we're on the same page. if you press them and asked how can you continue counter insurgency which is working among the local population, trying to, you know, gain trust, how do you train local afghan security forces and police if you're not in the vils and the answer was we can't do that. there's a handful of huge military, u.s. military bases in afghanistan but by and large, the armed forces are on very small forward operating bases and smaller, 200 here, 20 here.

>> now, presumably, president karzai was doing this for local consumption, political reaction at home after the koran burnings, after the massacre of the 16 civilians. that said, if the u.s. did have to withdraw to bases, they might as well just withdraw from the country. >> that's sort of the thinking. bear in mind, the white house does want to get out of this war and right now, the strategy is that most troops will be gone by 2014, the end of 2014. so we're talking about how fast that withdrawal occurs over the next two years. that's what the debate right now is over. >> of course, it's also a debate in the election campaign. john mccain this weekend was saying you cannot hurry this process. we know that that is the position of mccain and lindsey graham. but this is what is rick santorum had to say today. i asked him about it on "morning joe." >> would you accelerator with the draw then? >> again, you know, my feeling is we should commit ourselves to be successful, but if the

president's not going to commit himself, i don't see any reason for us to continue to be there. >> beginning to hear that as well in a different iteration from mitt romney. so this is really putting the president on the spot, and the signals that we're all getting although they won't say this publicly is they do want to acsell the rate with the draw. >> we'll certainly know bill may when obama has a nato summit meeting in chicago where that is going. it's very interesting with the republicans because till recently, they were saying we've got to hold the course. they're seeing the politics and seeing the sentiment of the country here. there's no political value in promoting -- staying longer in this war for them. >> talk about a trip with leon panetta. you didn't know it, but as you were landing you had to divert the parking space because of the man who basically put himself on fire. and in exactly where the

secretary's plane was going to land. as soon as you left, president karzai threw a verbal bomb, as well. it's not exactly an easy trip traveling with the secretary. >> no, it was not. it was not. although we didn't know as you said till ten hours later and the pentagon finally announced there had been this strange incident and it got stranger and stranger as the days progressed and more information came out. so it seems as if this apparent suicide attacker was aiming for a group of marines who turned out to be two very senior commanders and the pentagon still says that panetta was not the an risk. we don't think they knew he was on the plane. nonetheless, there was -- he seems to have been aiming for very senior commanders. >> glad to have you home safe, elisabeth. up next, the wife of journalist anthony shadid on his legacy and his memoir "house of stone."

plus wounded photographer paul conroy joins us less than a month after he was smuggled out of syria. still ahead, actress eva longoria talking about her new role with the obama re-election campaign. a lot to come. join me today for a live web chat online at andrea.msnbc.com. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. what to. medicare and social security... security. that's what matters to me... ...me? i've been paying in... all these years... ...years washington's been talking at... us, but they never really listen... ...listen... it's not just some line... item on a budget; it's what i'll have to live on... ... i live on branson street... and i have something to say... aarp is bringing the conversation on medicare... and social security out from behind closed doors... in washington. because you've earned a say. i take the stuff everywhere. exactly. everyone's more energized, more alert.

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a month ago, our profession lost one of the greats. pulitzer prize winning middle east correspondent anthony shadid whose war time reporting from iraq for the washington post was poetry in motion. a year ago, he covered the uprising in libya for "the new york times" where he and three colleagues were captured by

government forces and beaten and threatened with execution before finally being released. last month, after smuggling himself into syria, he fell victim to a fatal asthma attack. he was only miles from crossing out of syria into turkey. his words continue to speak to us today through his body of work. a new memoir published entitled "house of stone, a memoir of home, family and a lost middle east." joining us now, nada bakri is, anthony's wife. our condolences. we can't begin to express how powerful the loss is of the preemptnent journalist of our generation. >> thanks, andrea. >> we want to offer the thought to you and ask you about his legacy and also about house of stone because this book was so important to him. what did building that house, finding his roots mean to him? describe for us what it was that he found there. >> you know, i think part of

anthony always wanted to go back to the middle east at some point in his life and rediscover his roots, see where his ancestors came from, see where it all began. and you know, in 2006, he finally made that journey, looked for the house and found it. he immediately felt a need but also a responsibility to the restore this house and to bring it back to its you know, past glory if i may say. you know, a year later, he started rebuilding it. as he was rebuilding it, he found a lot of himself, a lot of peace. he had been covering wars and conflict for so many years that i think the rebuilding, which was the opposite of what he has been covering all those years before kind of just helped him so much, helped him find peace, find tranquility, find himself, find home. he felt like the house was his biggest accomplishment. and then came the book after the

house. but he felt always like it was something that he had creates and he had created it from imagination and it reminded him of a lost middle east that was the -- drew him to go back to the middle east and become a reporter there. >> and something that i didn't realize until after anthony died is that he had had not learned to speak arabic as a child. he had learned by going to cairo and studying and then of course, covering the wars. so he really was searching for those roots. >> he was for as long as he remembers, he was searching for those roots. he grew up listening to stories about the southern town where his ancestors came from. they were very lebanese in their home, his family, his extended family, his relatives. they maintained a lot of lebanese traditions and customs and you know, love for their roots. and when he graduated from

school, he started studying arabic in college. after he graduated he went to cairo and learned arabic there. took a year off and completely dedicated it to learning arabic. he spoke it like a local. >> he what must you have thought when he wanted to go into syria after the experience that he had suffered in libya? being captured and threatened with execution, then smuggling himself into syria in the middle of this devastating regime attack on civilians? how did you -- you're a journalist. you take risks all the time, as well. but you have a family. and what was going through your mind knowing that in fact, that he suffered from asthma? >> you know, when i met anthony, he was already a successful journalist. and i just never felt like i can tell him where to go or what to do and not to do because he was

already established and successful. and you know, as a mother and a wife, i of course, don't want any member of my family to be in harm's way, but then again, anthony -- that said, anthony was also a correspondent. he loved the middle east. he loved covering the middle east. he loved working there. nothing made him happier as when he was, woulding there. he was truly committed to the middle east and to journalism and to being a reporter in the middle east. so for him, it was not about taking risks. it was more about you know -- he talks about this all the time when asked about taking risks. he says it is a commitment to journ journalism, a commitment to a story that otherwise is not going to be told. >> i recall reading his reporting from libya when he returned to libya only weeks ago, i think, or perhaps a month or so ago on how much had failed to come together politically for

the libyan government. it was always with a connection to the people. all through his years in baghdad, he always was the one journalist whom you could count on to or the on how the iraqi people were responding and to go out and take extraordinary risks but to sort of blend into the background and find that story, that telling detail. that's what made anthony shadid really irreplaceable as a journalist and, of course, in the hearts of his family. we can only again say how sorry we are for your loss and thank you for helping to explain to us what was in his heart as he wrote "house of stone," and we recommend that the people read this real journey into his search for his roots. >> thank you for having me, andrea. >> nada bakri, thank you very much. and there in syria, a stark turn in the syrian crisis. only today after anti-government rebels hit the capital city of

damascus. this was really unusual because at least three people were killed after a gun battle that erupted in an upscale neighborhood. it's home to many senior officials and to embassies. the u.n. now estimates 8,000 people have been killed in this year-long conflict. paul conroy, a photographer for the sunday times, was badly injured in the same explosion that killed his colleague marie colvin and also french photographer remi oh chick at a makeshift press center in homs. he was smuggled out of syria a few weeks ago. he will joins us from london where you're about to undergo another operation. thank you for joining us. i know you came out of the hospital to attend a rally this weekend in london because you feel very strongly about the lack of western focus on supporting the rebels and the people of syria who are being slaughtered. >> absolutely. that's -- obviously the people

of baba amr saved my life. without their assistance, health and commitment, i would not be here today. in many ways, it's a debt of honor i owe to the people and to my colleague marie who died and remmy who died and many other people. my attendance at the rival could really keep the spotlight on what's happening in syria now. i fear that are with the fall of baba amr and homs, many people think this is now over. in fact, this is in reality the beginning of the regime's annihilation of the opposition. i don't mean politically. i mean physically annihilating the people of that country. so yes, it's a debt of honor and gratitude. i think it's an issue that needs to be in any way possible kept in the public eye. >> only last week, david

cameron, the prime minister and president obama agreed that this is not something that the nato allies can undertake. what do you think they should be doing? >> i think we've reached the point now where it's not about -- it's not about the u.n. it's not about world agreement. that's not going to happen. we've seen russia and china veto any attempts at getting them saving lives. i think really unilateral action is needed by somebody. step in and start providing some form of safe haven that people can flee to. not being a politician, it obviously sounds easy for me to call this, but if our intention is to save lives at had point in time, that's what need to happen. we don't need to be sending the

likes of kofi annan over to talk to this regime who these people are murdering their own people. they're certainly not listening to any voice of reason at this point. i think it's time that people actually put humanity in front of politics and started saving lives. otherwise, i think as i've said before, we're going to be sitting here in ten years going why and how did we let this happen again? history repeats itself and we're now seeing the balkans, we're seeing slaughter of innocent, men, women and children and we really need to put aside politics and maybe call people's bluff. putin's in power. maybe we do go in and call the bluff. let's see if they are happy to stand by while we attempt to save the lives of men, women and children. >> and paul, how has your

life -- how did they save your life? how did they get you out briefly, and how is your health? i know you're having another surgery. are you having another operation on your leg today? >> it's in fact, tomorrow. i've been just being told for certain. my legacy got a huge hole in the back of it, they call it a cavity which the hospital bit by bit cutting out and dead flesh that's in the hole. and pretty shortly they'll start stitching at the bones and regain some mobility. they essentially came in and raced in and said you're leaving now. took me -- threw me in the back of a pickup truck along with william javier. we sped through the streets of baba amr at night. there were mortar shells, there were snipers and they got us to a tunnel. that was the way in and out. and i just saw this very small

drainage tunnel and driven for three kilometers to the outside of homs where i was taken by the free syrian army stage by is taken to a relatively safehouse close by. unfortunately, edith and william never made it. the tunnel was attacked and many people were killed in the tunnel. and javier escaped the tunnel and eventually made it to the safety of the lebanese border. but i mean, it was the sheer bravery of the people who actually picked us up and took us through that tunnel and made the escape possible that you know r know, will forever link me to the people of baba amr who laid down their lives to get the word out. >> the terrible loss of marie colvin. what can you tell us about the last hours or her final assignment? >> her final assignment?

we'd already been to baba amr once. we reported and she was as usual, she was on fire. she had the bit between her teeth. we left baba amr and three days later decided to return. she couldn't sit down. she couldn't stop. she knew what was happening. so we went back to baba amr in which time the situation had deteriorated. it was now a matter of survival. we got many tv reports via skype as we possibly could. marie would not let this lie. she could see the slaughter that was happening around us. and our final morning was spent laughing actually getting up very early to link other people to the field hospital. she said i want to be there first. i want the story. and unfortunately, that was our last moments together were brief. she was laughing. you know, we wanted to get

there. we were doing it. her death was instant. the shell landed maybe one meter from her. i was about three meters away. but marie colvin died courageously doing the job she was passionate about reporting on the slaughter of men, women and children and i think obviously, the world will be a darker place for not having -- anthony as we discussed also, a terrible loss, good friend. this war has taken from us some very brave people. i think the world will be slightly darker, less informed place because of their loss. >> well, thank you for bearing witness in your photographs. of course, the testimony to all that you have accomplished, as well. good health, better health to you. paul conroy, thank you very much. very much indeed for being with us today. >> many thanks for having me.

thank you. up next, back to politics. actress eva longoria on why she has joined the obama campaign. this is andrea mitchell reports only on msnbc. ♪ i'm michael bazinet, president of creative digital imaging of bangor, maine. we have customers all over the united states. we rely on the postal service for everything that we do. the eastern maine processing facility is vital to our operation and our success. if we lose this processing facility we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. we would have to consider layoffs

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poised to become a deciding factor in key states like colorado, new mexico and nevada, the obama campaign is now deploying some star power to sell its message to latinos. eva longoria shot to fame playing is gabriel solis on the tv show "desperate housewives" now. she joins me now. so nice to meet you. you were very involved in the last election campaign four years ago. you're taking a larger role now. what is your main purpose and how do you see yourself being helpful to the candidate? >> i was asked to be a co-chair. my roles are to engage and mobilize the voters specifically with the latino and women's community. those are two areas of interest i participate in heavily and

pretty literate about. i'll be going to swing states. >> you know a lot about health carey know. and we in fact, profiled you on nbc nightly news because of what you're doing with special needs community. >> yes. >> but the women's issues, women's health issues have become front and center force of what has happened on the republican side. now in texas, interestingly, governor perry has turned back $35 million for planned parenthood preventive programs, including pap tests and mammograms and texas as you know better than i has i think it's your home state has the highest number of uninsured women. >> yeah. >> do you think this is going to become a mobilizing force? >> absolutely. the election is going to be about choice and pretty clear for women who's on their side. there is an attack on women's health care and president obama's policies are the only ones that are going to move the agenda for women's rights. there's so much dismantling of

what we've accomplished as women by the right side. so i'm going to be out there and campaigning for him. i think one of the things about the affordable care act that just came out was that the gender rating for women, we're charged more because we go to the doctors more. the affordable care act will eliminate the gender rating for insurers. women need to be educated on everything that obama has done in his first term regarding their rights and access to health care. >> now, one of the striking things that is quite noticeable is that there are seven co-ch r co-chairs who are latino. >> that's not a mistake, you know? >> that is absolutely targeting 16.3% of the population. mitt romney had this to say after winning puerto rico on his chances of doing very well with hispanic voters. >> those people who don't think that latinos need to vote for a republican need to look in puerto rico and see there the conservative principles and

latino voters go together and hispanic voters are going to vote for republicans if we stand for something, conservative principles that bring growth and good jobs and rising home values. that's why we're going to get latino voters to help us out. >> now, george bush did very well in his first election with hispanic voters. >> right. >> and that has gone down. >> he's also from the state of texas. . >> do you think that immigration reform is the issue that has -- >> the clip is interesting. he makes a huge generalization because he won the primary so puerto rico voters, republicans who live in puerto rico voted for him is a huge generalization he's going to get the latino vote. 63% of latinos in america are cuban-american. there's central americans and of all the candidates, pitt romney

is probably the one on the wrong side of every issue pertaining to latinos, education, the economy. he's campaigning with -- he's causing the anti-immigration law from arizona a model law for the rest of the country. he's campaigning with the author of it. that is polarizing to latinos. he wants to veto the d.r.e.a.m. act if he was in office. that is dangerous for our community. obama for me is the only one that understands that the success of the future of america is intricately tied to the success of the hispanic community. >> there have been many hispanic leaders in the last couple years who have been disappointed in the president for not doing more on immigration reform. >> its an a problem. reform has been on the national agenda for three administrations. >> even longer. >> and it does need to be fixed. it's broken. nobody wants illegal immigration. the misconception is latinos are for illegal immigration. that is not true. i know there's disappointment in the latino community but what he

has done, what he can do, he's proposed changes to keep families together. he has reallocated resources from the department of homeland security to focus on deporting criminals, not students. so i think also because the gop primary has been so long, all we've heard is attacks on his record and that's what i'm going to be doing is getting out there and showing the great things about what he's done in his first term. latinos need to hear it. >> eva longoria, appreciate your coming today. up next, our politico briefing. is the birth control battle becoming a fund-raising bonanza for the democrats? [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now. two of the most important are energy security

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piggy bank for democrats trying to raise money off of what some would say are republican missteps. john mccain certainly said ta they said this weekend they ought to get off these issues. >> i think every mainstream republican is cringing. i mean, this is a space, a square that the republicans do not want to be on. and because of a series of mishaps and events over the past three months, they've created the impression that they are against birth control. the republicans have. it's created a great windfall for democrats in fundraising. beyond that, it is kinds of re-created the gender gap and the republicans are getting killed with women. a recent pew poll showed that president obama would lead mitt romney by 20 points among women and santorum he would lead by 26 points. i mean, women, 93% of women use birth control. they do not want to feel that this is being challenged. >> and it is clearly going to energize the base, but the other

argument is that the republicans are energizing their base by focusing on all of this. >> well, yes, that is an argument. i was thinking about that. the point is that it's one thing to take, make an argument about abortion because you know, people don't have personal experience with abortion. some do and some don't. with birth control as i said, 93% of women use birth control. even if you're a conservative woman, a lot of women use birth control. so women don't want to -- the planned parenthood, a lot of women identify with planned parenthood because it was a rite of passage when they were younger, they would go to planned parenthood if they didn't want to go to their parents. when nancy brinker cut off funding to planned parenthood, that was one of the first indications that this was a war on contraception. i think that got people upset. rick santorum interjected it into the presidential race. then you had rush limbaugh

attacking a georgetown student because she testified for birth control. all of these things add up. and this is one issue where the democrats have been remarkably on message. they have sent out dozens of fund-raising letters. they've coined the phrase "war on women." and so you know, it's been a real strong thing for democrats. >> lois romano frompolitico. up next, raising awareness about a hidden killer. dean vein thrombosis. we'll be talking to melanie blume who was married to david blume whoev died of dpt while covering the war in iraq. happybaby strives to make the best organic baby food. in a business like ours, personal connections are so important. we use our american express open gold card to further those connections. last year we took dozens of trips using membership rewards points to meet with farmers that grow our sweet potatoes and merchants that sell our product.

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to death by a neighborhood watch captain. latest on who joined the protest today. we'll take a closer look at florida's so-called stand your ground law that's playing a big role in this case. plus, three children and an adult killed outside a jewish school in france. authorities link the gun to two other deadly attacks just last week. now there is fear there is a serial killer on the loose. up next, raising awareness about deep vein thrombosis. stay with us. hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. i worked at the colorado springs mail processing plant for 22 years. we processed on a given day about a million pieces of mail. checks, newspapers, bills. a lot of people get their medications only through the mail.

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it's been nine years since our friend and colleague david bloom died suddenly from deem vein thrombosis. he left behind his wife and three daughters and all of us who loved him here. joining us now is his wife.

it's great to see you again. you have carried this fight and this education program really to let people know about this silent killer. tell us about the warning signs and how we can prevent them. >> good to see you again. there are risk factors involved. there can be lifestyle risk factors. medical risk factors, certain heart respiratory diseases. those fighting that good fight are heightened risk for developing a blood clot. >> is that because of chemotherapy or other medications that increase the risk or something to do with cancer itself? >> it's both. having cancer can change tb clotting factors and the fact that often times that are surgery ors a person is maybe in

the hospital bed more and there's the restricts mobility, decreased circulation. all of those combined can enhance or increase a person's risk. we released a survey showing that almost 75% of cancer pashtss were not informed that their risk was increased for dvt. >> he was tall. he was healthy. he was athletic. obviously, at the peak of his career and yet being in that tank and in that unit in a cramped space for all of those hours put him at terrible risk, fatal risk. >> that's right. sleeping out after night with his knees to his chin. he was also dehydrated. being dehydrated and the

restricted blood flow in his lower limbs, those were contributing factors. he was only 39 years old and never should have died from this. statistics show that 300,000 americans die each year. that's more than aids and breast cancer combined. >> a stunning number. people on planes should drink water. they should not drink alcohol. they should use those surgical type stocking to try to keep the blood flowing. >> that's right. pump your foot on long flights. drink water, not wine. our website as all the resources. >> love to you and the girls. thanks for you for the work you're doing. that does it for us. join me in about 15 minute frs

our live web chat on our website and on twitter. hall hall has a look another what's next on "news nation." we're following several developing stories this hour. more protests in florida today as the parents of trayvon martin gets boosts of support at an unarmed teenage been gunned down and no one is charged. the army sergeant accused of killing 16 afghan civilians is meeting with his defense team for the first time. why some velts are saying multiple tours are not to blame for the allegations. le announce] this is lawn ranger -- eden prairie, minnesota. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting,

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