and "dancing with the stars." hillary clinton finds her latin beat in colombia, yes, at a popular night spot called of all things cafe havana. is that a policy preview? >> i'm andrea mitchell live in denver. in our daily fix today, we are kicking off the tour of eight battleground states determining november's election here in colorado, obama won colorado by nine buttons 54% of the vote. the unemployment rate here is 7.8%, well below the national average. chris cillizza is an msnbc contributing editor and managing editor of post politics.com. and joins me from washington. a lot is focused on the west and particularly on colorado. what are the prospects here for team obama versus mitt romney assume he's the nominee? >> what's interesting, so in 2000 and 2004, george w. bush won colorado. president obama won it convincingly in 2008.

in the 2010, we note 2010 very good election nationally for republicans but democrats, including the guy you're going to interview, john hickenlooper, when he won the governship, michael bennett won re-election. so it was a little bit of a counter weight in the west because nevada the same way. good democratic wins in nevada. so we don't know the is the answer. i think suburban denver, jefferson county, we're going to be looking closely at it. but you are in the right place because i think if you're talking about the swingiest of swing states, even if you cut that list that you just showed down, i think colorado makes that be final cut. we're going to see millions i think spent by both sides there. >> while we're talking about colorado, in palm beach, mitt romney was at a big fund-raiser, a closed door fund-raiser. garrett haake was one of the two reporters who was there and actually overheard what went on inside. one of the things that he did is preview what he would cut.

and he said things like housing and urban development which my dad was head of, might not be around later. so he was much more honest with these big dollar contributors than he has been publicly what would be on the chopping block. >> first of all, props to garrett haake for careful listening. you can never underestimate the importance of that in reporting. but yeah, i mean, i think what you're seeing here is ha romney has been very resistant it out really saying much of what he would do if he wins the white house. why? because they want to try to keep the focus 100% on what barack obama has done while in the house, andrea. i think at some point as we get closer to the election, there's going to be a demand for okay, well, let's say you get elected president in a month or two months, what are the things you'll do. we'll see more fleshing out at that point. the romney campaign essentially say he was spitballing ideas. this is nothing -- these are possibilities of things that

might happen, nothing is set in stone. he hasn't gotten there yet. he's going to have get there at some point and put meat on the bone. >> and then ann romney spoke as well at that fund-raiser. today is her birth day and she said regarding rosen's comment, it was my early birthday present for someone to be critical of me as a mother and that was really a defining moment and i loved it. that's a pretty honest response because they did love it. they thought it was a gift. >> yeah, the truth of the matter is, it was politically a gift for the romney campaign. they had been playing defense for months on women's issues. this gave them a way to play some offense. it does not close what is a wide gender gap. i don't think it's going to sway a lot of women voters but it allowed them to take the initiative which they had struggled to do and push back effectively at least for a couple days on that obama narrative. >> chris cillizza, thanks so much. sue you later. meanwhile, scandal in cartagena.

11 agents, officers and supervisors have been suspended for allegedly soliciting prostitutes while they were supposed to be securing security for the president's arrival in colombia. >> my committee will see whether there should be changes in procedures. >> pete williams is nbc's justice correspondent and joins us now. pete, what's the impact of this? you know the agency. it had been transferred to homeland security after long being in the treasury department. is there some question about oversight? because this is an elite group. i know it well from the inside and the outside. so many years of covering the white house. and there's never been any kind of personal scandal that i know of attached to the secret service before. >> no, it's a new thing for them to deal with, and the rank and file are all furious at these people in colombia who have now given the secret service an enormous black eye. the secret service is conducting its own internal investigation, some of those people that were down there have been

reinterviewed. they were all brought back. it's important to point out, andrea, that no one is saying all 11 who were brought back were involved. instead of trying to figure out who was in it and who wasn't, they pulled the whole component out and sent new people in before the president arrived. now they're trying to sort out exactly who was responsible, who did what, and what punishments to give them. >> and according to mike isik f isikoff's reporting, we'll talk to him in a bit, this in fact also included the elite counter-terrorism force, the -- >> yeah, there's no way it gets any better for the secret service. it is what it is. it's a huge embarrassments. it's incredibly boneheaded. i think what bothers the secret service as much as anything is number one, what they did, but secondly, who was involved. the fact that wonderful to supervisors were apparently there and at least knew about it or condoned it or allowed to happen, the fact that they were there and didn't immediately

stop it is also deeply troubling to the secret service. >> pete williams, thank you so much. and michael sis cough, we were just mentioninging is nbc's investigative correspondent. michael recent first of all, you've also been covering this story and vin new details. >> right, as you mentioned before, andrea, three members of the counter assault twreem involved in this incident. and that's significant because they're full-fledged secret service agents. . that's not just uniform conviction. they're an elite squad part of any presidential motorcade. these are heavily armed special agencies whose job it is to according to the secret service website neutralize any potential attack on a protectee with overwhelming force. and you see them just a few cars back, part of any presidential motorcade. what makes this really serious is all of these agents and

supervisors would have had access to the president's schedule, in fact, i'm told by a source that the schedule was distributed to all of them. they were in the hotel, that schedule. the nonpublic schedule was in the hotel room of every one of them who brought back these prostitutes to their rooms. so there's numerous potential security breaches here why some people are saying this is far more serious than anything we've seen any can dal we've seen in the secret service before. >> and we should point out, you were covering the nra convention, as well. and just got back from that. the brady campaign today is touring capitol hill calling for lawmakers to sign a pledge to promise to try to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons, terrorists and the mentally ill. you were at the convention and saw all the republicans led by mitt romney sort of paying their homage to the nra and that powerful group. are we going to see guns again as a wedge issue in this campaign? >> the nra was really flexing

its muscle in st. louis at its annual convention there as you mentioned, wasn't just mitt romney although he was the star attraction given that he's the presumptive nominee. you had newt gingrich, rick santorum, senator blount from missouri, a whole lineup house majority leader kantor, a whole lineup of top republicans there and one thing i was told there is that the nra is planning to spend as much as $40 million on this election to defeat barack obama. that's a record amount. they've got -- get out the vote efforts. second term is critical. their view is that obama has been laying low on gun control during his first term for political reasons but their argument is give him a second term and he's going to go to

stop it. >> of course, the gun control advocates also complain that the president hasn't been strong enough because he permits -- he's now permitting people to carry weapons in national parks which had not been permitted before. thank you so much, mike. here in denver, the first stop on our on the road tour featuring a teacher town hall last night and conversations about innovation in schools and the role that will education plays in job creation and job readiness. colorado governor john hicken loop ser here with me. thank you for your hospitality. we're here in this beautiful museum about to open. we're launching it. governor, what about the role of teachers and some of the proposals here in colorado which is to require special tutoring for third graders? what is the importance of third graders. >> certainly we know first and foremost that great teachers make great students make great kids make great adults. there's nothing more important to a group of kids than to get

great teachers in front of them and get them the tools and at early as possible make sure if kids are having a struggle learning how to read we intervene and not wait till the end of third grade. >> that's when we start losing them. >> our whole system su learn to read and thereafter, you read to learn. this whole third grade or what we call erl early literacy is focused on getting to kids in kindergarten and first and second grade and using the latest type of teeks. let's get their mind working in the right pattern so they will learn to read, that they're not struggling for the rest of their life. >> you in a commencement speech and in other talks, you talk about the importance of being open minded and trying different things and following your passion. and you are a perfect example of it. you started as an english major and then you became ageologist. angiology is what brought you and a lot of other people from the east and west coast to

colorado because this is where the energy sector was booming. and then it went bust. and then what happened? >> well, like so many people -- our company got soshlgsd everyone got laid off. i couldn't find a job. i was lucky i had had a great education, great teachers, a good liberal arts an education at wesleyan university. so i had learned how to learn. when we had the idea we were going to open a restaurant that brews its own beer, which in those day is a very new thing, i went to the library, i researched. i was ageologist. so i had to start from scratch and really with a couple partners, a chef and brewer, figured out how to create this new creature. and it was very illuminating for me. >> and it worked boy, did it work. >> marvelous to wonder, it did work. but it was amazing to see that a, it took us a couple years to raise the money because people hadn't seen it before.

there's always resistance to change and b, if i hadn't gotten laid off, i thought i was a good geologist. it turns out i wasn't such a great geologist. by getting laid off, i found something i loved. a couple months running the restaurant i knew this was something i was much happier. my whole life was much more joyful. >> when we speak about that because here in colorado we've got a native born coloradans who are much less prepared than a lot of the people like yourself who came in with college educations for the jobs that are the jobs of the next decade. >> right. >> the jobs of today really. >> you look at it they're saying by 2030, 70% of every new job you'll have to have some degree of higher cakes. >> there's a real gap in the population here between those who are born and raised here and those who came with better educations from outside. >> we've called it the colorado paradox of we attract so many --

colorado is one of the top two states in terms of the percentage of adults 0 who have a college cakes or advanced degree. within our own system, we haven't done as good a job as we need to of getting kids newspaper college and succeeding at higher education. >> let me ask you about immigration. i know you care about it a great deal. mitt romney was overheard telling an audyns laience last in the palm beach warning recent polling showing that hispanics are breaking in huge percentages for president obama "spells doom for us," after he took very hard line positions in arizona on the arizona immigration law which he said was a model for the country which is deeply offensive to a lot of latinos. can he recapture that? because hispanics are a big part of the colorado vote coming forward in the general election. >> he's going to have his work cut out for him. he was sharply critical and many hispanics felt that he was

offensive. that he was really insulting the way he talked about it and they felt he was dismissive. >> president obama has not shown tremendous leadership either. >> it's a tough situation. personally, i think we should depot lit size it. >> what would you like to see what? >> it's worse than prohibition. we've got a large chunk of the communities that are not obeying the law and people living in the shad doze with no identification. i've been trying to find some sort of a national comprehensive solution that baby we don't talk about a pathway to citizenship or you know universal amnesty. let's put those off to the side and do the things we're already doing, secure the border. let's get an i.d. system that works, drivers licenses in all the states but make sure that's rigorous. make sure we hold businesses accountable so we don't slip back into this the lawlessness we have now. also, let's have a guest worker system where we can make sure we

don't tear families apart. everybody gets an identification while they're here or get a year or two years 0 prove what they can do. and let's move towards a solution instead of having this kind you have lim bowl. i can't tell you how many kids all over the country they can't take a job, can't get on an airplane. they don't feel like they can go back and visit their family in south america or asia or wherever. it's not workable. >> john hickenlooper, president obama going to win colorado? >> you know, coloradans generally respond to pragmatic you know people that find solutions. i think president obama has been working very hard. i think it's going to be a very close race but i feel pretty comfortable that he's going to win colorado. >> thank you so much for the hospitality and for being with us. thank you. and coming up, the lavish government spending spree heating up capitol hill and still ahead, u.s. ambassador susan rice joins us on new action coming out of the u.n. security council today on north korea. you're watching "andrea mitchell

reports" live in denver only on msnbc. [ male announcer ] drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition?

♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve the most rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? here's your invoice. arrival. with hertz gold plus rewards, you skip the counters, the lines, and the paperwork. zap. it's our fastest and easiest way to get you into your car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

lawmakers and congress are expressing outrage over the scandals at the gsa and the embarrassing reports of misconduct by secret service agents who went ahead of the president's trip advancing that to colombia. congressman blake farn haul serves on the government oversight committee which is holding a hearing on the scandal in a few minutes. what do you believe you can unearth about how this happened at the gsa? because it's really been pretty shocking to people in both parties. >> we've got to the look into how it happened it, why it happened and make sure it doesn't happen again. we've got a culture in some parts of this government of

let's just spend it. it's not our money. that's not the way we need to be thinking when we're struggling to find ways to save the taxpayers money. >> what were they thinking with this las vegas resort and do you think that this was an isolated incident or that they have other conferences and other expenditures that were as really inappropriate as this? >> well, the government oversight and reform committee, be chairman issa has sent a letter to all the agency headses asking them for expense reports for all of their congresses back through 2005. we're going to see if this is a systemic problem or if it's an isolatednent in just one or two agencies. >> and let's talk about the secret services situation. i have to tell you i've covered a lot of white houses and they are the elite, you know, the creme de la creme of the enforcement teams. they have that reputation deservedly. >> i've seen them from both the inside and the outside. i think people were really shocked and saddened at the

allegations at least if they are proved. what do you know about it and what do you want to know about it. >> again, i think it's a question are we developing a culture within the government that values and dollars don't matter nim in the risk associated with this behavior of the secret service is unbelievable. anybody's who watched a spy movie knows you go in with the girls, you plant the bugs you compromise the agent. what were these guys thinking? >> and the pentagon press secretary assistant secretary george little said today he does not know how many of the military teams were actually involved. the initial number was reportedly five member. do you know anything more about that? >> we haven't been briefed on the numberses yet. we're doing some investigation at the saf level on the government oversight and reform complete on that and see if there needs to be a hearing specifically on the secret service. our pen and women in uniform, our secret services are ambassadors of the united states when they are outside of had

country. you've got to behave. >> well, it's clear, i mean, it could be they didn't break any laws because prostitution is legal in parts of colombia, but that's irrelevant to the larger question of their code of honor. >> they certainly broke common sense. it's common sense says you just don't do that. >> congressman, thanks so much. i know you've got to run to the hearing. thanks for stopping by and giving us a preview. coming up, dick cheney is showing no love for president obama even with his new heart. the political briefing next right here on "andrea mitchell reports." [ crowd chatters and groans ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] hunger getting to you? grab a ritz crackerfuls.

made with real cheese and whole grain, it'll help keep you satisfied until your next meal. get hunger before it gets you. j.d. power and associates has ranked quicken loans "highest in customer satisfaction in the united states." call or go to quickenloans.com to discover for yourself why we're engineered to amaze. to discover for yourself ♪ [ acou[ sighs ]ar: slow ] [ announcer ] all work and no play... will make brady miss his favorite part of the day. ♪ [ upbeat ] [ barking ] [ whines ] that's why there's beneful playful life, made with energy-packed wholesome grains... and real beef and egg. to help you put more play in your day. beneful. play. it's good for you.

you know, those farmers, those foragers, those fishermen.... for me, it's really about building this extraordinary community. american express is passionate about the same thing. they're one of those partners that i would really rely on whether it's finding new customers, or, a new location for my next restaurant. when we all come together, my restaurants, my partners, and the community amazing things happen. to me, that's the membership effect. i wish i could keep it this way. [ dr. rahmany ] after a dental cleaning, plaque quickly starts to grow back. but new crest pro-health clinical plaque control reduces plaque and is clinically proven to help keep it from coming back. new crest pro-health clinical plaque control toothpaste.

only three weeks after getting a new heart, dick kuehne was looking very healthy in wyoming but still show nothing love for president obama. this in sharp con taft to his old bush president bush. just watch. >> i have decided to stay out of the limelight. i had plenty of the limelight.

i don't think it's good frankly for our country to undermine our rez and don't intend to do so. >> i can't think of a time when i felt it was more important for us to defeat an incumbent president than today with respect to barack obama. i think he has been an unmitigated disaster for the country. >> john harris is editor-in-chief and co-founder of politico. thanks so much. >> hi, andrea. >> cheney was there with liz cheney in wyoming. boy, did he go after president obama. is that spiesing to you? >> not really except in the context of his health. he's obviously been gravely ill, a heart transplant is among the most dramatic surgeries that anyone could have. if anyone thought the new heart was going to lead to a transformation of his views they're disappointed. he was very strong and forceful in his appearance. he's not out of it post surgery but the mess and was very consistent with one that we've

associated with dick chainfully for more than a decade really while he was pressing his views within the bush administration and of course, he's been very vocal throughout the obama years. >> liz cheney has also been very vocal was tweeting recently the best answer to all the challenges we face is let's make barack obama a stay-at-home dad. she has been as tough on this administration as her dad. and i mean, there's even talk in wyoming of a political future for her. we don't note what comes next for liz cheney who has a lot of political experience and worked in the state department and has been very active and working on her father's book. >> i don't know liz kuehne well. there are some people here who know her pretty well. i do get the sense there's a dynamic between father and daughter. both very partisan people. very strong views. i think liz cheney has an ability to kind of get her father worked up and in the fight. and he stayed in the fight in a

way that your opening sequence rather vividly illustrated the contrast between george with everything bush and dick cheney. dick feels like he's got views and going to share them and not going to observe any decorum or protocol about laying off the successor administration and doesn't see why he should. >> it certainly is going to fire up the base. thank you very much. thanks for joining us today. and coming up next, we'll dig into the ground game here in colorado. plus, the latest on the deadly wave of attacks in afghanistan. this is andrea mitchell reports live in denver only on msnbc. ♪ [ man ] when i went to get my first new car,

my dad said to get a subaru because they last. ♪ he drives a legacy, but i'm nothing like him. i got the new impreza. maybe i should have picked a different color... [ male announcer ] the all-new subaru impreza. experience love that lasts. ♪ is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain. two pills can last all day. ♪ oooh, what's her secret? [ male announcer ] dawn hand renewal with olay beauty.

improves the look and feel of hands in just five uses. [ sponge ] soft, smooth... fabulous! [ male announcer ] dawn does more... [ sponge ] so it's not a chore. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. [ sneezes ]

topping the headlines right now on andrea mitchell reports, "clean-up efforts stretching across the midwest after more than 120 tornadoes ripped across four states this weekend. in hard hit wordward, oklahoma, at least six people including three young girls were killed. officials say the tornado siren system in the town had been knocked out by a lightning

strike. the world bank has now confirmed korean american health expert dr. jim yong kim as its new president, former president of dartmouth. unlike previous decisions, this is was not unanimous and raised a lot of questions about representation within the world bank. a group affiliated with al qaeda known as the haqqani network is reportedly behind those deadly coordinated attacks on the u.s. embassy and others in kabul this weekend. american officials are praising the response though by afghan security forces. but this latest wave of violence assumptions highlighting the cages facing afghanistan as the u.s. prepares to withdraw all combat troops by the end of 2014. the colorado state legislature is considering a controversial new proposal to intervene within third graders who are struggling with reading skills. and that proposal would also make it more likely that some kids would be held back a grade if they are not up to speed in

time. nbc's chief education correspondent rahema ellis is in did he ever. have you been hosting these town hall meetings with teachers, with parents. civic groups, hours of programming here for education nation over the weekend. you're the expert. this is controversial. i touched on it briefly with the governor earlier but what are the pros and cons of this proposal? >> it's very controversial because no one wants to hear that their child will be held back. it just doesn't fit well with people. but the point of this is that you have to understand educators say that from birth to third grade, children learn to read. after that, you read to learn. so if you go into the fourth grade and are you struggling to read, how is that child going to be successful? many of those children then end up dropping out because they become so frustrated over their inability to grasp the material. that's one of the reasons why they're proposing this. >> what we've seen in all of the data that the compare u.s. achievement with other countries

is that from zero to fourth grade, we're competing. we're doing well. from fourth grade on, our kids start falling behind. >> you are so right. this is the kind of information that people here are looking at very critically and saying, they cannot allow their children to fall behind. and so if they're struggling with reading in the fourth grade they say, let's give them a gift. hold them in third grade until they up that efficiency and proficiency in reading. and then move the child along. we used to have what they call social promotions. we still do. we just don't say that's what it is. because we have children in this country and even in denver in the seventh, eighth and ninth and beyond who cannot read well. denver is proposing to stap it at the critical point of third grade. >> there are other budget implications for this. we're also focusing on here the jobs gap, an the skills gap where people graduate and don't have the skills they're going to need for current jobs and certainly not for the jobs for the future. >> absolutely.

it's a critical thing you're going to be doing talking with business leaders about their involvement in education. we know that as we traveled around the country and around the world, one of the things that made people in finland so successful is that the business community got involved in education. they weren't running education. but they got involved in saying, it is critically important to business for us to have educated workers. in this state of colorado, they're paying very close attention to that. and recognizing that they will have to graduate an educated population of students who will then translate into the workers so that they can be of benefit to the manufacturing and to all the other byes that are existing here in colorado and to businesses that they want to attract to colorado. >> and what we're seeing from the education department, arne duncan as you know better than i, has been advancing apprenticeship programs was community colleges, with votech schools to get those kids who need these schools trained,

better rained and to have them you know, get a leg in with these business groups that then sponsor then. >> one of the things that's happening even here in colorado where they have a huge increase in the hispanic population, something like a 200% -- 260% increase and a number of hispanic children in colorado, 5% of the children in colorado public schools right now are hispanic. two years ago, they went to the federal government and said we need money for an english language immersion class for these children from first through eighth grade. guess what happened? they got 3500 children into that program and increased their math scores by an average of 23 points. >> that's incredible. >> it really is incredible. >> that's real progress. >> it is. the federal government is partnering with colorado and there's so many programs they're working on right here in the state to try and overcome the challenges because they're doing some wonderful things but had he have some challenges in front of them, as well. but they're addressing it head-on.

>> you had a town hall with the teachers last night. it was a little bit explosive. what were the teachers telling you? >> one of the things they're saying is they want a voice. they want a voice in the implementation of legislation in the state. particularly around the issue of teacher effectiveness. who should be evaluating teachers? legislate tors? milkmen, the guy who runs the fedex truck? teachers saying they want to be on the ground in the room when we talk about what kind of program should you have in place for evaluating teachers. one-day, two-day and who evaluates them? a master teacher or someone who doesn't know anything about teaching? so that was sort of a heated part of our discussion and everybody got involved. >> rahema, it's such a pleasure to be with you in person. thank you for everything you're doing with education nation. >> it's my pleasure. >> it's just a treat. thanks again. and coming up, battleground colorado politically. it's among the key swing states that are going to decide the

presidential election this fall but this state also reflects a broader transition in the mountain west, a region that was once a republican stronghold. it's now trending purple, even blue. read wilson is the editor-in-chief at of hot line. you've been looking closely at this. how do you see this change? is it partly the dem graphic change we saw rahema was just talking about, the influx of hispanic voters and people who generally tending to more democratic? >> yeah, andrea, the hispanic population through the nation but especially in the mountain west has changed so dramatically over the last decade, even the last several decades what was once red territory as you say is now really swing territory. take a look at states like colorado, nevada, new mexico, even arizona, even a state like texas, the hispanic population is becoming so huge that it's becoming a real political force. the interesting thing is that the electorate has not kept up with the population. that is, the number of hispanics actually registered to vote

haven't kept pace with that grow the of the electorate. a study out of texas a few weeks ago showed the number of hispanics registered to vote has fallen by about 500,000 over the last couple years since 2010, and that's a troubling statistic. that means that somebody is leaving millions of votes on the table just waiting to be claimed. >> and what about arizona? what are you seeing there? that's been a hot bed of this fight over the arizona immigration law and everything that's going on now with the governor, jan brewer. >> and president obama really wants to put that state in play. i mean, it's a state that again where the population shift has happened faster than the electoral shift. republicans don't believe that it's truly going to be in play this year. democrats think they can turn out and register enough hispanic voters to put the state in play. i'm a little skeptical of that will because they've got such a long way to go until the

electorate mirrors something that is going to look better for democrats. at the end of the day, this is still one of the few states that president obama didn't win in 2008 that he could put in play in 2012. as democrats look for more opportunities, arizona has to be at the top of their list. >> going back to colorado for a moment, one factor that would certainly be in mitt romney's favor is, there is a large population of mormons here in colorado. we're talking a couple hundred thousand voters, people who are committed votersen an you would think they would be firmly in mitt romney's camp. >> absolutely. those mormon voters in states across the mountain west turn out. they show up, this vote. and they're likely to do a lot of the work for the first mormon nominee for president of the united states. so it's -- that's going to be a big factor for romney. he's got a built-in base of volunteers that will help him in an area that republicans must do well in if they're going to get the 270 electoral votes they

feed. so there's a little benefit for mitt romney's campaign, as well. >> read wilson, thanks so much. coming up next, sarah shourd, the american hiker former little imprisoned in iran. we'll be talking to her next right here on msnbc. at aviva, we do things differently. we're bringing humanity back to life insurance. that's why only aviva rewards you with savings for getting a check-up. it's our wellness for life program, with online access to mayo clinic. see the difference at avivausa.com. thor's couture gets the most rewards of any small business credit card. [ garth ] thor's small business earns double miles on every purchase, every day! here's my spark card. and here's your wool. why settle for less? great businesses deserve the most rewards! the spiked heels are working.

wow! who are you wearing? uhhh, his cousin. [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! wait! your boa. what's in your wallet?

or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers.

diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. hi, everyone. coming up in 15 minutes on "news nation," mitt romney's campaign now responding after the candidate is overheard discussing which agencies he would cut or eliminate. this all went down at a private fund raiser in florida. why would he make the comments in private and not to the public? michael smir con nish and conservative radio talk show host steve dash will join me. plus, we are learning more about the secret service agents accused in the sex scandal that happened in colombia. also now, more personnel from the secret service may be tied up in this scandal. just how many? a massive twister that tore through a small town in oklahoma

this weekend has claimed another ground and how the weather in the northeast has caused more than 4,000 people to sit out the boston marathon. >> and sarah shourd is one of three american hikers you recall were accused of spying held in an iranian prison. she was held for 14 months. her friends also were held for a much longer period. she is now working with united for iran.org. it is great to see you again. i shared the joy when you were released in september of 2010. then your friends shane and josh finally got out quite a long time later. another year they were held. but now you're concerned about your lawyer. your iranian lawyer, tell me what the story is and how he is being punished for what he did to get you free. >> yes, it's great to be here. well, for over two years, our iranian lawyer mr. massoud shafee did everything in his

power to defend our freedom and our innocence. and to work towards our freedom. within the parameters of iranian law. he did this through the proper legal channels and despite this, as a result of our case, he copies to be punished by the iranian government. >> how are they punishing him? >> he has been restricted from traveling outside of iran and prohibited from working as a lawyer. unfortunately, in december of 2010, mr. shafee's sister passed away. she was living in chicago at the time. and he was unable to be visit her before she pass or to attend her funeral because of the urgent work that he was doing on our case. as soon as shane and josh were freed six months ago, mr. shafee made plans to visit the united states where he has family and to also pay his respects to his sister. just as he was about to board

the plane in tehran, iranian authorities appeared on scene, confiscated his passport, told him he was not allowed to travel. the next day he was arrested and interrogated and released a day later. as far as we know, the investigation against him is still on going. >> do you have any contact with him? >> very little contact. and we're extremely concerned. unfortunately, this can practice has become common in iranis reg. ther a nazarene setuda who is currently serving a six-year sentence because of her human rights work as an attorney in iran. and she's banned from leaving the country for over ten years. once she's freed from prison. >> you know, the world community focused so -- i was just thinking that the world community focuses so intensively for obvious reasons about the nuclear program, the

investigation into that, the negotiation that were held this weekend in istanbul. and the prospect for some sort of threatened military action and we tend not to look at what's happening with human rights and the stifling of any effort at elections again or voting or students rights notice iran. >> exactly, andrea. and as hartening as the news you know, obviously the news from last weekend is very welcome, that the talks were encouraging on both sides and that they will continue, but the human rights issue in iran needs to be brought to the center of the debate around iran. by doing -- by punishing people such as our lawyer and nazarene satuda, the iranian government is sending a mess and to other human rights lawyers in iran that if they take on controversial or political cases such as ours, the same thing will lap to them and for this

reason -- the international community needs to really keep its eyes on the human rights situation in iran. sarah, a apologize for the slight satellite delay. thank you very much. and thank you for all you're doing and our best to shane and josh as well. the u.p. u.n. security council has strongly condemned north korea's failed rocket launch and warning the north against further provocations. with us now live from the u.n., u.s. ambassador susan rice. you were the president of the security council this month so the you led the way today. what is the impact of this? what is the force behind it? we know china signed on and china has been pyongyang's protector within the counsel so that is significant. what more could be done? >> this was a very important statement today. it was adopted with unprecedented speed and it was very strong. much stronger, in fact, than the similar presidential statement

we adopted in 2009, the last time north korea launched a missile. the significance is not only that china joined us, in can the fa, worked with us worked with us to craft this statement but it includes both a warning against any additional provocative actions, another launch, a nuclear test or any aggression against its neighbors. it makes it very clear that the council is determined to take further action, further appropriate action in the event of any additional north korean provocation. it actually imposes new attentions by contemplating the targeting of north korean companies for an asset freeze within 15 days. and it significantly enables us to tighten the existing sanctions. so indeed, we are finding ways to up the pressure. both in this instance on north korea and very plain if they do anything else, the pressure will

increase exponentially. >> there is obvious concern about the possibility of a nuclear test. do you fear that they will do something provocative to make up for the embarrassment of this abject failure of the missile launch? >> there is no predicting what exactly north korea will do. there have been a pattern in the past in 2006 and 2009 of north korea following attempted and indeed, failed missile launches with subsequent actions including a nuclear test. we think it would be extremely unwise for north korea to try that again. indeed, this statement is so powerful because it expressly warns north korea that were it to do that, the security council stands ready to take further action. that itself is a warning that they have not received in the past and that china was very willing to join us in issuing. >> briefly, we only have about 15 seconds left. ambassador, what about the failure of the cease fire to hold up in syria?

>> we're gravely concerned about that. on saturday, we're able to get the first of the united nations monitors in there. they can only do what the two sides permit. in this case the government has resumed its tremendous shelling, particularly in homs. it is back on the offensive and it doesn't look good. >> thanks so much. on a busy day at the united nations. thank you for joining us. the best part of any great meal? delicious gourmet gravy. and she agrees. with fancy feast gravy lovers, your cat can enjoy the delicious, satisfying taste of gourmet gravy every day. fancy feast. the best ingredient is love.

that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

what political story will make the headlines in the next 24 hours? we've got the buffett rule tomorrow and mitt romney heading to pennsylvania. does he really think, is he trying to put pennsylvania in play? >> i think they want to, the romney campaign. with pennsylvania, i feel like it is charlie brown, lucy and the football. that old cartoon where charlie brown always tries to kick the football and lucy pulls it away

at the last minute. republicans always talk about winning pennsylvania and they've lost the last five times in a row. fool me once, fine. fool me five times, it might be a little much. >> no one ever fools you. that does it for this special edition of "andrea mitchell reports." >> great to see you. a great show coming up. mitt romney's campaign within the last hour or so responded to comments that he made at a private fundraising event in florida. he talked about what he would cut and eliminate. why so specific in private but not in public? we'll have the official response from the romney campaign. and certainly not royal behavior, if you believe what the pictures indicate. coming up, why she is caught up in a controversy over who pointed a gun at a photographer. it is causing a big scandal in the u.k. ♪

hey, dad, you think i could drive? i'll tell you what -- when we stop to fill it up. ♪ ♪ [ son ] you realize, it's gotta run out sometime. [ male announcer ] jetta tdi clean diesel. the turbo that gets 42 miles per gallon. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ i was 18 years old before i had my first fresh bun. the invention that i came up with is the hot dog ez bun steamer. steam is the key to a great hot dog. i knew it was going to be a success. the invention was so simple that i knew i needed to protect it. my name is chris schutte and i got my patent, trademark and llc on legalzoom. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side.

four walls and a roof is a structure. what's inside is a home. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance, where the costs to both repair your house and replace what's inside are covered. and we don't just cut a check for the depreciated value -- we can actually replace your stuff with an exact or near match. and with the liberty mutual home gallery app, you can use a mobile device to easily catalog your belongings in advance, so you're always well prepared. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance, so your life can settle right back into place. to get a free quote, call... visit a local office, or go to libertymutual.com today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? mine hurt more!

mine stopped hurting faster... [ female announcer ] neosporin® plus pain relief starts relieving pain faster and kills more types of infectious bacteria. neosporin® plus pain relief. for a two dollar coupon, visit neosporin.com. sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve the most rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? here's your invoice. j.d. power and associates has ranked quicken loans "highest in customer satisfaction in the united states." call or go to quickenloans.com to discover for yourself why we're engineered to amaze.