become permanent? >> we might as well stay with what we have. >> president obama is better? rick santorum clarifying those words today after he suggests voting for obama would be better than having mitt romney as president. tea party darling will complimentary words from teem senator jim demint help prove to republicans he's the one. and hunger games mania. thousands of fans this morning. why both liberals and conservatives say it speaks to them. hi, everybody. great to have you with us. the "news nation" following developing news. more protests unfolding across florida today, calling for justice for trayvon martin. almost one month after his death. there's been a massive walkout of students from more than a dozen high schools and middle schools in the miami area. miami is where martin lived with

his mother and where he himself was a student. students from one of the schools, miami south ridge senior high school came dwet to line up and form the shape of trayvon's initials on a school football field. you can see it there. in washington, d.c., people wearing hoodies gathered. earlier today president obama made his first remarks about this case. >> my main message is to the parents of trayvon martin. if i had a son, he would look like trayvon. and i think they are right to expect that all of us as americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and that we'll get to the bottom of exactly what that. >> nbc correspondent ron allen spoke with a representative of trayvon's parents just after the president's comments. give us an explanation of how they're reacting. this has to be a big validation

for them. >> certainly. as if they needed any. there were 25,000 people here in this town last night validating, supporting them as well. i spoke to the mayor as well here. he also feels like hopefully, this will continue to increase the pressure on the justice system and various venues to really get to the bottom of these things. the mayor continues to say the city is now an open book and they seem very open to more investigations. we were just here outside the police station. and the new prosecutors who were appointed by the governor are now holding their first meeting with the police department here to try to begin this nitty gritty process that will take a while. the expectation was that a grand jury wouldn't be convened until april 10th but everybody wants to move this along as quickly as possible. of course, being as thorough as possible because the process itself is under examination as well as the results, as well as there has not been an arrest of

george zimmerman for nearly a month. >> in florida for us. thanks so much. the sanford police department is being accused of making several mistakes in this investigation. witnesses have come forward with claims that police ignored them and police have admitted to not noticing george zimmerman's profanity on those 911 tapes. joining me now, the former chief of police in oak hill. a town in central florida. and he is now a private investigator at the global investigative group. it is good to have you here. and your insights will be certainly telling as we take a peek at the facts in all of this. you've already told the "miami herald" that you've never seen such an incompetent investigation. when you look at the facts of this and what we see in hindsight over the past 27 days, what makes competent to say that? >> there have been a lot of missteps in the investigation. for instance, it was the family's attorney who discovered the phone calls to the girlfriend. the police had that cell phone

at the time. they could have checked to see the cell phone log sheets to see who he was talking to. did they contact the girlfriend? we don't know. based on the reports, they didn't contact her. just, that they didn't charge mr. zimmerman right away is rather unusual because central florida, in particular, has a history of charging individuals right away. and they'll leave it up to the judges or a jury to decide guilt or innocence. >> george -- excuse me. when we talk about george zimmerman, the self-appointed neighborhood watchman who pulled the trigger, the police chief that they don't have grounds to arrest him because of probable cause. don't you think in light of all the things that have come forward now, that they know they have grounds, at least to arrest him. maybe not to go ahead with charging him but to arrest him and to take him into custody. >> absolutely. they had the evidence at the

time. the fact that they didn't arrest him is really questionable why. we have to look back. sanford police d problems with black community. maybe that's why they were reluctant on charging george zimmerman with killing trayvon. >> how would that appease the community? don't you think if they were having a situation where they had lost the community, the african-american community's trust in sanford, that they would want to do everything they could in their power to restore that. and to do that, this. they would actively go after a person that murdered a 17-year-old child. >> i agree with that wholeheartedly. but i think that the investigation, like i said earlier, a very shoddy investigation by the investigators. did they know how to collect evidence properly? did they know the right questions to ask him? for instance, there's a record that zimmerman is following this

individual and on the phone call to 911, he claim the individual is running. that's when the police tell him, don't follow him. we'll handle it. at some point later, zimmerman claims that trayvon approached him and struck. so you have two different views there. first he is running away and now he is approaching mr. zimmerman. i mean, the police should have picked up on that and questioned him a lot more intensely. >> when we talk about the police situation there, just yesterday, the police chief bill lee announced that he would be temporarily taking a leave. still being paid though. do you think that his temporary removal is enough? and how does he go back after this? a lot of people have been commenting. he just wants somebody else to clean up this mess and then he'll resume his position. >> well, i don't think that his temporary absence is going to help the situation simply for the fact that the person that

they appointed to run the department, the captain, he is the one who had the oversight of the investigation initially. so it doesn't make sense. you're putting in a captain who had oversight of that in charge of the department now. i don't understand that. >> still a lot of questions to come out of this. a lot of people don't understand. thanks for your time today. i appreciate it. >> government officials say a short time from now the u.s. soldier accused of shooting and killing 17 afghan civilians will be formally charged with murder. army staff sergeant robert bales is expected to be charged with 17 counts of murder as well as lesser charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault. the lawyer representing bales said the government will have trouble proving this case because there is no crime scene. john yang is there where bales is being held inside a maximum security cell. as we look at the charges collecoming

down, what kind of charges will he be facing? >> military experts, justice experts say this will undoubtedly carry the death penalty. we won't know that for a little while the way the military justice system works. we get the preliminary charges and then an article 32 investigation, a grand jury investigation. that's when they decide, or they recommend the specific charges to, that bales will be tried on. that's when they'll say specifically whether or not this will be a death penalty case. that triggers all sorts of new sort of levels of judgment in this case. the military system does not bring a lot of death penalty cases. the last execution was in 1961. and currently on the maximum security prison here at ft. leavenworth, there are six people on death row. it is so rare, they don't have the equipment to carry out an

execution. if someone were to be executed. they have to be taken to the federal penitentiary in indiana. >> have people been about, especially what we've learned, that bales' lawyer said his client has these memories problems that stem from a concussion predating these attacks. there is this lack of physical evidence, and the fingerprints, the crime scene basically, that can't be investigated. what are government officials saying about that? >> well, they are obviously skeptical, number one, of the allegations that he had some sort of concussive head injury in a vehicle accident. they say there is no record of that. they say on brown's contention that there is no physical evidence, there is no forensic evidence, they say that they have shell casings that were apparently, they say have been determined to have been fired from staff sergeant bales' weapon. they do not have, they admit, access to the bodies of the dead. but as we're learning through

these charges, he is facing six charges of attempted murder. so that there are six afghan villagers who were wounded by staff sergeant bales and conceivably could testify that it was staff sergeant bales who assaulted them. thomas? >> nbc's john yang. thank you. if they're going to be a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk with what may be the etch a sketch candidate for the future. >> rick santorum tries to clarify his comments after suggesting republicans should vote for president obama over mitt romney. what he's saying today. plus, how whitney houston's family is reacting to the coroner's report on the cause of houston's death and what was found inside her body? we'll bring you a live report. join our conversation on twitter. this mio energy is completely crushing my game. i take the stuff everywhere. exactly. everyone's more energized, more alert.

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developments in the race for the gop nomination. a day ahead of the louisiana primary. now rick santorum is clarifying remarks he made suggesting if he isn't the party's nominee, the republicans should give president obama another term. here's rick santorum yesterday and then today. >> if they're going to be a little different, we might as well today with what we have instead of taking a risk with what may be the etch a sketch candidate for the future. i said the other day that we need a real choice in this election. i'm going to support whoever wins the republican primary to beat out obama. that's the number one issue. >> before that latest remark, the romney campaign said, as senator santorum continues to drag out this already expensive,

negative campaign, it is clear that he is becoming the most valuable player on president obama's team. we bring in now our political panel. a.b. stoddard, and democratic strategist, jimmy williams. great to see both of you this afternoon. i want to start with you. it seems that rick santorum realized he may have gone a little too far with that initial comment, backtrack quickly. he normally doesn't backtrack this fast. >> i think he received a few phone calls as well as the aggressive comments that the romney camp came up with pretty quickly. this is not good for rick santorum. he is actually slipping away from relevance at this point. a few weeks ago he was a legitimate contender. he lost significant contests in michigan and ohio. very close races he might have won. and this is slipping away from his grasp. he might do very well tomorrow night but it won't yield him a lot of delegates.

he'll still be behind in a 2-1. he is starting to sound like newt gingrich where his comments from yesterday sounded as if he was more interested in defeateding mitt romney out of some kind of spite than defeating the read that. that's the kind of thing that causes party leaders and people who have been supporting -- and his been factors. foster freese people fueling his super pac. they don't like that kind of talk. you've seen where his support has gone. >> as a.b. points out, the relevance for rick santorum may be waning. when we talk about what's coming in louisiana, romney is 0-6 when we talk about contested southern primaries. louisiana right ahead of us. the polls indicate that santorum is ahead in that state. another loss, a southern loss really hurt romney or as a.b. points out, can he just stick out through the south and remain the top contender.

>> i think she is right. he could lose every race in the primary and then carry the south in the fall. i don't think anyone think that's won't happen. however, rick santorum saying this, a.b. is dead on with this. it hurts him. it also hurt hill more importantly with conservatives. while conservatives may not like mitt romney, they really hate barack obama. and if you don't believe me, at the very same press clip that you just played from today of rick santorum in louisiana, right before that when he was firing his pistols at target practice, a woman shouted out. pretend it's obama. i don't know who that woman was, i don't know if she was white or black. i guarantee you she was a conservative voter. she was there to see rick santorum. you say those things and it doesn't help with you the conservative base. >> i'll tell you what. santorum had head phones on. he didn't hear that so he wasn't able to respond. afterward he said that was ridiculous. >> on his defense, he did come back and say that's not a good thing to say. >> one thing i want to say as we

talk about developments as it come to the south. there was this very important meeting with mitt romney yesterday and tea party favorite south carolina senator jim demint just stopping short. he said i can tell conservatives from my perspective is that, i'm not only comfortable with romney. i'm excited about the possibility of him possibly being our nominee. is that a strong sign that the conservative opposition to mitt romney is melting and i don't like the word coalesce but i'll say, they are starting to gather around romney. they're starting to gather around him and believe he is the one who will pull this off. >> if you couple that with jeb bush's endorse many a couple days ago, i would say they are at best, tepid. they are endorsements nonetheless and they matter. these are going to begin to roll out more and more. jim demint is important. i would say that his endorsement or quasi endorsement is more

important than jeb bush's. it is the absolute conservative base of the republican party and that's important. saying you're comfortable with someone is not a great endorsement. >> a.b., as jimmy points out, we got the endorsement there from jeb bush but it also happened to come in the morning time. then later was the etch a sketch comment that they haven't soon, they haven't been able to shake at all. the toy appears on the campaign trail with everybody now. >> it is a favorite toy of newt gingrich and rick santorum. this is the kind of thing it is easy to say poor mitt romney. he doesn't really get a break and he didn't say it himself. it was an aide. and it is not really so fair that the media jumped on it and it became this epic gaffe. but truly, we all know a year from now if mitt romney is lost, people will call him etch a sketch for the rest of his political career. it is the kind of thing that sticks and unfortunately, when those things stick, you're stuck with them. so i think rick santorum and

newt gingrich should leave the etch a sketches in the car and finish up this joke. i think mitt romney is stuck with that joke forever. >> he can just shake it off. he can try to anyway. >> thanks so much. really appreciate it. two years ago president obama signed the health care act into law. and now the fate of that legislation lies in the supreme court. what can we expect from the high court next week? plus, what if foreclosure didn't mean you have to lose your home. that's a big question. how bank of america is trying to give some struggling homeowners a new way to stay inside their own homes. choose control. introducing gold choice. the freedom you can only get from hertz to keep the car you reserved or simply choose another. and it's free. ya know, for whoever you are that day. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

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well. >> chances are, had she not had the preexisting heart disease and cocaine use, she may not have drowned. >> nbc's greg melvin joins us to talk about it. the coroner says the cocaine was found in her system but there was none found in the hotel room where she died. correct? >> yeah, that is correct. there was a report that surfaced yesterday. and in that report, there was a claim that someone removed the cocaine from the hotel room and that the same person was also supplying whitney houston with cocaine. i spoke with the spokesperson for the beverly hills police department late last night and i asked him about that report. he would not confirm or deny the report, although did he say that the investigation into her death from the police department's standpoint in the investigation is still very much open and very much active as well. you mentioned the coroner's report yesterday. the coroner, the l.a. county

coroner told how whitney houston died. they release that had one-page preliminary report and it confirmed what so many people suspected. what so many people feared as well. that whitney houston had used cocaine shortly before she got into the bathtub at the beverly hilton. and that she was using cocaine on a semi regular basis, according to the coroner. there was evidence of chronic use as you pointed out. it was that cocaine use coupled with a heart condition. the 48-year-old's arteries were 60% blocked. it was those two things that ultimately led to the accidental drowning on february 11th. >> there's a lot of documentation of the erratic and kind of wild behavior that whitney houston had leading up to the weekend of her death and the parties that took place in the beverly hilton. when we talk about the fact that everybody got to witness this, basically a sad relapse of an

addict, there isn't now, i guess, concern from the family that this is all going to get out and tarnish her legacy? how are they reacting to all this? >> the family did release a statement them release ad short statement yesterday. it came from patricia houston, whitney houston's sister-in-law. her former manager as well. one line. they were saddened by the findings of the toxicology report but they were pleased to have some closure. that was the statement. as you noted there, whitney houston's struggles with drug addiction have been known for some time. she admitted over the course of the year, she admitted to using marijuana. she admitted to using cocaine. she admitted to having a problem with pills as well. but she also said very recently that she essentially cleaned up her act and her family thought that there were no drugs, no drug use going on. the family was very surprised that this is how it all ended for whitney houston. >> craig melvin in los angeles

for us. thank you. coming up, how the makers of etch a sketch are saying thank you to the republican candidates for putting the classic toy back into the spotlight. plus -- "hunger games" and its debut at the box office. but it is the film's political message that has fans buzzing. e- mcallen, texas. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere, is always headed somewhere. to give it a sense of direction, at&t created a mobile asset solution to protect and track everything. so every piece of equipment knows where it is, how it's doing or where it goes next. ♪ this is the bell on the cat. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ but don't just listen to me. listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. i was worried it would be hard to install.

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two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world.

a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. health care showdown two years after president obama signed health care reform. the supreme court is set to he at a up the legality of that law. etch a sketch politics. how the makers of that classic toy are saying thank you to the gop candidates for putting that toy back on the map. and wild weather turns out 2011 was one of the warmest years on record. we've got the details. plus -- >> if something inappropriate was happening in school, that they were all hugging and it was leading to something

inappropriate, i have to trust that they're making the right decisions to keep my children safe. >> no more hugging. that is the new policy at one new jersey middle school. the principal says the school has a responsibility to teach kids about appropriate interactions. what does your gut tell you? we'll tell you all about that coming up. we begin this half-hour with the test run of a new program aimed at keeping struggling homeowners inside their own homes. bank of america says it will offer the option to rent their home for less than the money than mortgage. the program will be test in the new york, arizona. if it is success tfl bank tells the new york time it can be expanded. real estate correspondent diana olick joins me from washington, d.c. explain to us how this program will work. it will obviously take folks from a mortgage into a leasing program. again they get to stay in their own homes? >> yeah. that's the idea. they want to help people stay in

their own homes but they cannot afford to pay the mortgage. what they're offering. this is a pilot program. it will be less than 1,000 people can't be offered this. you can't apply for it. they're saying if you trade in the deed to your home, they will offer you a rentback. a rental lease as if you were renting anybody else's home and you can stay in the home. eventually they will sell the home to an investor if this program works out, if they widen the program out. the biggest question is how many people will really want to do this. a lot of bad feeling about the bank foreclosing out. do you really want to rent back from the bank? in states like new york where the foreclosure time lines are really long, three years, a lot of folks have been sitting in their home without paying a mortgage payment for up to two or three years so why would they want to pay rent now? we spoke to some executives. they say this is a pilot program them want to get the answers to these questions. >> how do people qualify for this if there are certain people throughout where their ears are perking up to a program like this. how tough will it be to qualify?

>> again, it will be an by invitation only program. i'll give you a couple. your bank has to be owned by bank of america. you have to be delinquent for more than 60 days and you have to have exhausted all tries to modify the home and alternatives like short sales. you have to have a high balance on your loan in relation to your current property value so you're at risk of foreclosure. no junior leans. you have to still be living in the home and you have to have adequate income to make that rental payment. if you meet all those, you're good to go if they ask you. >> thanks so much. just passing along to everybody, don't forget to check out diana's blog. you can do so at realty check.cnbc.com. the start of the pope's six-day trip to mexico and cuba tops our look at stories around the "news nation" today.

pope benedict xvi is heading to mexico right now. while speaking on the plane, he denounced drug violence in mexico. he said idolatry of money is behind the cartel related deaths. the pope will meet with government leaders before leaving for cuba on monday and he is already urging cubans to abandon the decades old communist system first imposed by fidel castro. he said he is willing to help cuba become a peaceful nation. the meteorological group says 2011 was the 11th warmest year on record. it came despite the heavy rains and one of the strongest la ninas in years. michigan lawmaker have approved a bill that would exempt breast feeding mothers from jury duty. a nursing mom could get an exemption if she has a letter from a doctor. legal experts doubt a state law

is needed since courts already have the right to excuse jurors. >> so today marks two years since president obama signed his landmark health care overall into law. the president himself did not mark the anniversary with a public event, while republicans including senate minority leader mitch mcconnell took square aim at that law. >> it's a mess. this law is a mess. it is the single worst piece of legislation that has been passed in the time i've been here. >> now the supreme court is about to consider whether the health care law is constitutional. the justices will hear a nearly unprecedented six hours of oral arguments starting on monday. nbc justice correspondent pete williams will be reporting on that all next week and he joins us now from washington, d.c. the justices will be hearing challenges to the law filed by 26 states and others, correct? >> 26 states. the national federation of independent businesses. the key question that will be argued on tuesday is whether the

central part of this law, the requirement that all americans buy health insurance, the so-called individual mandate, whether that is constitutional. the constitution gives congress the power to regulate commerce. that's the phrase. what the opponents of the law say is, if you don't have insurance, you're not engaged in any commerce so how can the congress possibly regulate you and require to you buy insurance? the obama administration says, no, the law doesn't regulate insurance. it regulates the health care market and everybody is in that. everybody gets emergency care or they get health care one way or the other. they're going to need it whether they get it now or not. so everybody is in the health care market and congress has the right to regulate that. that's tuesday. that will be the main event. on monday, a threshold question. the court hear this case now or has it come too early, should it come back in 2015. and then on wednesday, two other questions. if the individual mandate is

constitutional, can the rest health care law survive? and finally the states are challenging the additional requirements they have under the law to change that the law makes the medicaid program expanding the coverage. >> justice correspondent pete williams. thanks for that. i want to turn to some breaking news. charges have been filed against sergeant robert bales, the u.s. soldier accused of killing u.s. soldiers. what's the update from there? >> the u.s. forces in afghanistan put out this release moments ago that says, criminal charges under the uniform code of military justice were formally preferred today against staff sergeant robert bales. he did with premeditation murder 17 afghan civilians and assaulted and attempted to murder six other civilians. now, it goes on to talk a little about possible penalty. it says under the ucmj, the maximum possible punishment for

premeditated murder conviction is a dishonorable discharge, reduction to the lowest rank, total for fit you are of pay and allowances and death. and that is if capital murder charges are eventually filed. we have to emphasize here that these charges have not been formally filed but only proffered at this point. it is the rt at aing off point for any prosecution. as we understand it, sergeant bales and his attorneys should already have the charge sheets themselves which go into far more detail than we're learning here today. we do know, however, that any subsequent legal activities will be conducted, not in afghanistan, not in ft. leavenworth but ultimately at ft. louis mccord. >> at the pentagon for us. thank you. one of the most popular parts of president obama's health care plan bars insurers from denying coverage because of

preexisting conditions. that doesn't go into effect until 2014. until then, people can get coverage through a special program. but those premiums are expensive. fewer than 50,000 people have signed up so far. this sunday, "dateline" takes a look at some companies now claiming that they will cover everyone even if they're already sick. joining me now, chris hansen who is confronting people who may be promising coverage but selling something else. what were you able to find out? >> when you think of medical insurance, you think of a comprehensive major medical plan that covers all your expenses except the deductible. our hidden cameras found companies selling a product that left people disappointed and deeply in debt. keith moore had a serious heart problem. a preexisting condition that prevented him from getting major medical insurance. >> you had to get insurance. >> yeah. i was hitting rock bottom. i done used up all my money. >> but there was help. hospitalization. icu. surgical, prescriptions. accident protection. >> a company selling insurance

that seemed to appeal directly to people like keith. so he got on the phone to make sure he was eligible. >> and in, i've had heart problems and i got preexisting. >> he said he was told, no problem. >> you're telling me, if i take this insurance on, i'm covered for everything to do with my heart. he said anything to do with your heart. >> so keith signed up. months later he was in the hospital but he was in for a shock when he called the insurance company. >> she said we don't have you on record. >> you knew you had been taken. >> oh, yeah. i knew i had been wronged good. >> that might be an understatement. in the end, keith was left with bills totalling more than $100,000. >> they're taking my dignity from me is what's happening. and i thought i was getting a product that was going to help me. and -- >> this is hard for you.

>> yeah. it gets real hard. >> what exactly was that it keith bought? the answer lies inside this nondescript building behind this barbed wire fence. it is what some call a telemarging boiler room. >> good morning. >> we're about to today undercover with our hidden cameras. this woman may sound like an insurance agent. >> you are approved for medical insurance. >> but she is not. >> all preexisting conditions are accepted. >> the game here is sales. keep watching. it might be your best insurance against being taken. >> how revealing is this material that we've obtained? >> this is incredible. >> our investigation also found, thomas, that these people are targeting the most vulnerable. the 50 million folks without health insurance for whatever reason. they're out of a be jo. they cannot afford it. they have a preexisting condition. >> the example of the one

gentleman who said he went in and he called. they believed, he believed he was okay. he had the card and the hospital accepted it. >> so whether you're going in for heart surgery like he was or we talked to another woman who was going in to give birth and found out she was not covered at all. >> pretty amazing. everybody can catch this. be sure to watch. chris hansen's report on "dateline." 7:00, 6:00 central. the politics of the "hunger games." first there's a lot going on today and some of the thing we thought you should know. the makers of etch a sketch are sending a big box of their toys to the presidential campaigns to say thanks for the publicity. they pounced on the candidate who, romney said he could shake up his campaign and start again like an etch a sketch, changing

his positions for the fall campaign. meantime, the makers. etch a sketch said the sales have skyrocketed. and the publisher said that's to add additional could not ten. american grown, the story of the white house kitchen garden and gardens across america was originally set to be released next month. it is now scheduled to hit store shelves may 29th. profits will be donated to charity. those are the things we thought you should know. wheeeeeeeeeeeee! whee! whee! wheeeeeeeee! ah heads up.

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then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. coming up at the top of the hour, as president obama addresses the trayvon martin shooting, we'll dig into the controversial law that at least until now has protected the shooter. plus, the presidential candidates are campaigning in cajun country. a moment made for reality tv. kim kardashian meets the business end of a flower bomb. take a look.

>> an amazing contest today. >> this happened thursday night as kardashian was in the lobby of a west hollywood hotel at a party for her new fragrance. she was escorted to a private room where she brushed herself off but later brushed off that incident on twitter, calling it crazy. now to what could be a record setting weekend at the box office. people are movie theaters across the country as the highly anticipated film, "hunger games," open in theaters. it has already raked in nearly $20 million from its midnight showing. check out this clip from the movie so that many people can understand what so many are hungry for. >> this is the time to show them everything. make sure they remember you. >> i just keep wishing i could show them that they don't own me. if i'm going to die, i want to still be me. >> i can't afford to think like that. >> let's get the scoop from

nbc's gabe gutierrez who joins us now to talk more about this from outside a movie theater in new york. i understand that this is the third, correct me if i'm wrong. the third biggest ticket seller of all time. what is being predicted as far as the box office sales as far as the opening weekend. we already know what it's done since midnight. >> reporter: industry experts think this film will rake in more than $100 million and some people think it could be as high as $150 million. but the editor of entertainment weekly is a little skeptical. he thinks it will be less than that. if the fans we talk to outside the theater that we talked to are any indication, it will be a huge weekend. >> it was not too gory and it wasn't too romancy. just the perfect combination. and it totally fitted the book and how the writer wrote it. it was just so good. >> it was amazing. i think all the actors were like spot on. it was like a really good

casting. the sets were incredible. and it was just really, really good movie. >> now some critics worry that this film does have too much violence for its target audience but parents we talked to don't seem to mine. this plot does involve kids targeting other kids and trying to kill them for sport. this film is rated pg-13, however. >> it does draw up a lot of red flags for certain people but parent have also, not just the kids, parents have become fans of reading the book trilogy. when we talk about diverse fan bases, this has it. explain to the politicians, they're jumping on board, too? >> reporter: that's one of the strange things about this movieful everybody is jumping on the bandwagon. on the internet, what is getting a lot of play today, there seem to be something for everybody in this movie. liberals are watching things like, they seem to claim that the gap between rich and poor and the problems that that can,

can arise from that, and conservatives seem to think the overreach of government and the problems that can arise with that. a very interesting piece in the hollywood reporter about this. a lot of comments back and forth online. the fans we talked to, they don't seem to care much about politics. they want to see a good movie. >> the 1 percenters against the 99 percenters. >> it makes our school look like we do more than hug but we do not. >> a middle school principal bans hugging on campus. this decision sparked outrage among students and parents. details in our "news nation" gut check next. and join us on facebook. [ male announcer ] this one goes out to all the allergy muddlers. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word. you have yet to master the quiet sneeze. you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts. well, muddlers, muddle no more.

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the prab of a middle school

in new jersey is saying no more hugging. this comes after incidents of quote, unsuitable interactions." reporter pat battle from wnbc has more from that story. >> can i get a hug? >> she is a big believer in the power of the hug. >> it is nature at its best. your emotion. you can't suppress your emotions. >> if her son or any other student at the middle school needs one, they're going to have to wait until the school day is over. the principal here has instituted a no hugging policy. a rule most students would like to kiss goodbye. >> it makes our school look bad and it makes our school look like we do more than a hug. >> it makes someone feel better. when they really need one, i feel like i can't because i don't want to get in trouble. >> but her mother said the new policy is totally appropriate. >> i cannot go to school with her. if something inappropriate was happening in school that they were all hugging and it was leading to something inappropriate, i have to trust that they're making the right decisions to keep my children

safe. >> what most parents were upset about was that they had to learn about the new rule from their kids. >> i was like, what? >> hope that maybe they'll change their policy. >> we're a very social family. so we hug everybody. >> arthur's family circulating a petition. >> students are the main body of the school. so they have to at least take our opinions into consideration. >> there is no written policy. so the punishment for hugging is still unclear. kids say they'll to have settle for a smile. >> the school superintendent says the issue is being blown out of proportion saying there is no policy specific to hugging and we have not, nor will we be suspending students for hugging. so do you agree the school principal who told his students, no hugging? what does your gut tell you? you can go to facebook slkt/newsnation. that will do it for "news nation." you can catch "news nation" every weekday at 2:00 p.m.

eastern with tamron hall. and don't go anywhere. karen finney is sitting in for market bashir. all right, let's decide what to do about 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... [ male announcer ] aarp is bringing the conversation on medicare and social security out

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good afternoon. i'm karnt finney in for martin bashir. we start with a look at the stand your ground laws that played a part in the murder of trayvon murder. it has become a topic for both republicans and democrats and the president weighed in very personally today. >> i think all of us have to do some soul searching to figure out you how does something like this happen. that means that we examine the laws and the context for what happened. as well as the specifics of the incident. if i had a son, he would look like trayvon. >> trayvon was an unarmed young man brutally gunned down. but he now lives as a symbol of the true impact of the stand your ground laws