hello, everyone. high noon here in the east, 9:00 a.m. out west. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." here are the first five stories trending on the web this hour. george zimmerman takes the stand, smart or not? new presidential polls? actress sideline mystery. media hitting tonight and why are gas prices so high? that and more. but first, developing now in florida, george zimmerman could walk free on bond at any time as he awaits trial for second-degree murder. now we hear from zimmerman for . here's what he said to trayvon martin's parents and the response from their attorney. >> i wanted to say i am sorry for the loss of your son. i did not know how old he was. i thought he was a little bit younger than i am. i did not know if he was armed or not. >> it was devastating that he got to give a self-serving

apology to help him get a bond. they were very outraged at that. >> kerry sanders is live for us in sanford, florida. any sense when zimmerman might leave? >> reporter: the timetable is really not set in stone. he will eventually leave the $150,000 bond appears to have been arranged. i think what's really going on is his lawyer and the team that will assist him in his departure are trying to figure out where we h will go. at the same time, the sheriff here is going to be responsible for the ankle monitor that will go on him. that is set up to show where he goes. it's hooked into a gps and the sheriff and the company that provide that is just wanted to make sure that it couldn't be hacked by somebody who might want to try to find out where he is but to make sure it did function if he left the state. those are the sort of things that are in place. as you know, there are some

other restrictions that most people have when they bond out. among the restrictions that george zimmerman will have is that he'll first have a curfew from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.ç no alcohol, no illegal drugs, unless it's something prescribed to him, of course. no firearms, no contact with the victim's family, which of course is important especially when we hear what benjamin crump was saying. he said they felt the apology was insen sere and self-serving and they are outraged that he did get a bond. but the defense attorney, mark o'mara, says to understand what a bond is. his client is not convicted of a crime, he says. he is simply being released leading up to a trial, a trial that could be a year away. and so why should he be punished inside the jail here for a year?

rather, put up a bond, allow him out and mark o'mara says he needs him out to help gather evidence and to put together what will ultimately be their defense. and one defense that i think is going to lead here because it's been talked about since the very beginning is that "stand your ground" defense a rather fleak law here in the state. >> i want to back up to what you said about right now how they haven't let him out for a number of reasons yet. but one being they want to make sure his ankle bracelet, gps device, is not hackable. to that extent, how serious are the concerns to the threat for his safety? >> reporter: very serious. i know the fbi actually launched an investigation into claims of people putting a bounty on his head. and, remember, with anybody ivç just takes one lone person to try and go out and do something. so there has been a fair amount of anger. there's been a fair amount of a

sense that there are two different types of a system in this country. that's what led to the attention on this, that it appeared to some people that the justice system treats one group one way and another group the other way. yes, the idea of security is paramount. >> kerry sanders there in sanford, thank you, kerry. how unusual is it for a defendant to speak at a bond hearing and can zimmerman's statement be used against him at trial? the state's investigators says he doesn't know who started the fight. we're going to pose those questions to our legal panel coming your way at the bottom of the hour. the latest on the secret service scandal. today, three more secret service employees have been separated from the agency following an argument at a colombia hotel last week. mark potter is in cartagena, colombia, with the latest. mark, hello. >> reporter: hi, there, alex. once again, the prostitution scandal which unfolded at the

hotel behind me has led to some fallout. three more agents from the secret service are leaving now as the investigation and the political defense move forward. on capitol hill, secret service officials made the rounds friday, trying to contain the damage from the growing prostitution scandal in cartagena, colombia. they told senate staffers there was no evidenceç of illicit dr use by agents. and the scandal occurred because the agent claims he didn't know she was a prostitute. facebook pictures have appeared of the woman that may be involved in that disagreement. but because there's no official confirmation, nbc news is blurring her face. a well-known kargt attorney says he now represents her and that the woman is trying to sell her story to an american tv network. he also told reporters she's

left town but is willing to talk to investigators. on cell phone video, police can be seen arriving at the play club where u.s. officials say some of the agents involved in the scandal picked up prostitutes. this man sells food outside the club. he says several police officers told him the play club and three other clubs were being raided that night in an attempt to find and question women identified in the scandal investigation. meantime, david cheney, a secret service supervisor who has put in for retirement in the wake of the scandal, faces even more scrutiny. this vote reportedly surfaced on his facebook page showing him on sarah palin's security detail. a comment posted there said, i was really checking her out, if you know what i mean. thursday night, the former governor fired back. >> check this out, bodyguard, you're fired. and i hope his wife sends him to

the doghouse. i've had enough of these men beingç dogs and not being responsible and not being able to allow us to trust what these boys are doing in washington. >> reporter: now, a source tells nbc news that among other things, investigators are poring over security camera video from the hotel behind me as the secret service and the u.s. military try to determine the scope of this case and to find all who are involved. >> mark, thank you very much, live from cartagena, colombia. before this controversy, most of us didn't know that much about the secret service. it is supposed to be secret, after all. but in the last week, we've certainly heard a lot about the agency that protects the president and six employees have been strated from that service. earlier today, i got an interesting perspective from a man who was on the inside. andrew o'connell told me what it's like.

>> sometimes you have 12-hour, 13-hour, 16-hour shift because it's a high-risk environment and your worried about getting everything done before the president get there is. >> you're talking about the shift time. but when you're overseas in a foreign country, are you on the job 24/7? you know where i'm leading with this? >> yes, in theory, you're on the job 24/7 no matter where you are, in the united states or overseas. you're given a firearm. you have a badge and credentials that identify you as a federal agent. you're always on. but in reality, agents work a shift and they're allowed to have timeç off, that is to go have dinner or to go out and to see and experience the culture of the different countries or cities they're in. >> but o'connell says secret service agents have to always be on the lookout for foreign intelligence agents. let's go to front-page politics now.

jeb bush is silencing rumors about being a potential vp pick. according to bloomberg business week, he sellsed a statement saying, quote, i'm not going to be the veep nominee, lay that to rest. meanwhile, senator mccain introduced mitt romney in scottsdale, arizona, all in an effort to unite the party. >> barack obama believes that government creates job. mitt romney knows that business creates job. >> i found him to be a nice guy. i think he's a nice person. i just don't think we can afford him any longer. i don't think the american people can afford to have barack obama as their president. >> new campaign cash numbers to share. federal records show president obama's reelection campaign had ten times more money at the end of march than the romney camp. $104 million, to be exact. the obama camp and the democratic party raised a combined $53 million in march. romney raked in $12.6 million in the same period.

joining me now, reporter abby phill phillip. two new polls we're going to look at. in ohio, president obama has a six-point lead over mitt romney. in florida, the president has a two-point advantage there.ç of course it's still very early. but how is the white house reading numbers like these in these key swing states? >> well, they're certainly not jumping for joy just yet. this is just the beginning for them. in these states, they're going to be looking at the individual numbers, looking at specific constituencies, like latino voters, working class white males, like women voters. these are going to be groups that the president has to make inroads with and outstripe mitt romney. two points is simply not enough, especially in a place like florida where a lot of electoral college votes are at stake for the president.

>> the obama camp has a 10-to-1 lead over the romney camp. $104 million for the president, $12 million for romney. but do these amounts matter right now? >> absolutely, the head start the president had at the very beginning is no longer going to matter. mitt romney has run out of opponents. he's slowing down the amount of money he's spending and he's picking up the pace thoo he's raising money from his donors. the president has a lead at the moment. but he's going to have to continue to raise moneyóej3çó a very rapid pace. what we're looking at is more than $100,000 so far from outside groups like american crossroads. and the president doesn't have that kind of support on his side. his super pac has raised a tenth of that amount so far. that's really not going to cut it when we get to the general election.ç we're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of

outside ads. >> i want to talk about your latest article about the adelson family shells out so much money to the gingrich campaign? >> he said he was going to donate $20 million to newt gingrich's super pac. at the end of the day, that's exactly what's happened. even when the campaign was dying, sheldon adelson's wife donated another $5 million. you have to wonder what's going on there. but the gingrich campaign was really struggling. they could not raise enough money. they spent about twice as much than they raised that month and they have millions of dollars in debts. $4.3 million in debt owed to vendors. so the campaign, even though it's sputtering along, has these long-term problems of, how do

you pay back all of these staffers and these vendors who you owe these dollars? >> abby, thank you very much. will there be more departures following the secret service annual in colombia? we'll talk about it here on "weekends with alex witt." [ male announcer ] before the gold, silver and bronze... ♪ it's the red. it's the green and yellow. it's the red, white and blue. because at the olympic games, it's not the color you go home with that matters. it's the colors you came in. and when colors mean this much, you can only trust them to tide. proud keeper of the red, white and blue.

what makes us number one in motorcycle insurance? we love bikes. we love riders. and most of all, we love to ride. perfect hair every time. leading the pack in motorcycle insurance. now, that's progressive. call or click today. all at 150 calories or less, there's definitely a temptations for you. unless you're one of those people who doesn't like delicious stuff. temptations. it's the first jell-o that's just for adults.

five taliban might bes have beenç arrested after being caut with 22,000 pounds of explosives. officials say they were planning to carry out an attack in kabul. afghanistan, of course, with explosives that they purchased in pakistan. those explosives were hidden under 400 bags of potatoes.

officials won't say when the arrest took place. three more secret service employees are being separated from the agency. ed o'keefe of "the washington post" is joining me now. welcome, ed. >> good to see you, alex. >> will there be more departures as the investigation goes forward? >> it's likely. as they review the cases of those 12 agents and especially that they were there and they did something wrong, they then bring them in and tell them, you can either resign or be fired. yesterday, they added a 12th agent who they believe could be involved in this. that person won't be facing termination. basically, they have to build a case against each of these guy, establish that they were there. they make a decision and move

on. >> others may lose jobs. how about political fallout? is it likely to keep growing? >> i think so. absolutely. for one thing, as much as we like to think what the media does is important, tomorrow's sunday show appearances by several different lawmakers could really set the tone for what to expect in the coming weeks.ç you have several lawmakers expected to speak out tomorrow that have oversight of homeland security or the secret service. so far and i've been talking to lawmakers all week about this, they absolutely stand by secret service director mark sullivan saying he's done a phenomenal job of establishing what went on, quickly addressing this and professionally handling the investigation. they've said, if this is an isolated incident, let's have him fix it and we'll move on. but i suspect if there are cases similar to this that are revealed over the course of this investigation that it's going to be more difficult for him to hold on to his job. the other thing to watch is we've seen some republicans suggest that, of course, being that he is the president, the buck stops with president obama.

the white house has pushed back on that and said, look, there's no way the chief executive would know what these guys were doing before he got to colombia so you can't blame him. but add all the scandals going on in washington and it suggests the president doesn't have control over his government. >> has the investigation found out anything about jeopardizing presidential security? >> there was no reason to believe that his protection would have at all been compromised partly because these agents wouldn't have had all the details of his security plans just yet. this happened wednesday night. they were found out thursday morning and basically put on a plane home by frizz morning. the initial security briefings for the trip wouldn't have started until that thursday night. and because these 11 guys had already been rounded up, they wouldn't have been at any of those meetings. on top of that, it's*q&ieved they didn't have any of the documents detailing this. they didn't have any maps or

weapons in their rooms when they brought these women back. so generally it's believed the president's security was not compromised. >> ed o'keefe, thank you very much for the update. now number five on our first five web stories, a drop in gas prices. according to aaa the national average is $3.87 for a gallon of regular. experts say the prices could drop another nickel or more next week. i should be arrested for crimes against potted plant-kind. [ clang ] my house is where plants came to die. ♪ but, it turns out all i was missing was miracle-gro potting mix. it's got what a plant needs. even plant food that feeds them for up to 6 months. you get bigger, more beautiful plants. guaranteed. who's got two green thumbs thanks to miracle-gro? uh, this gal. boom! everyone grows with miracle-gro.

[ male announcer ] strip away the styling. strip away the rearview monitors, tv screens, bluetooth... and even the cup holders. you know what's left? the only suv's with american-built f-alpha truck frames. the ruggedly capable pathfinder, xterra, armada. ♪ receive up to twenty-five hundred dollars cash back on select nissan suv's. ♪ so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life, but with advair, i'm breathing better so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day.

people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, take the lead. ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. durn'it, this thing's runnin' slow. bet you think you're pretty quick? yeah, i guess it is pretty quick. jesse?!? jesse? jesse?! much obliged. suddenly, everything else seems old-fashioned. ultrabook. inspired by intel.

how math and science kind of makes the world work. in high school, i had a physics teacher by the name of mr. davies. he made physics more than theoretical, he made it real for me. we built a guitar, we did things with electronics and mother boards. that's where the interest in engineering came from. so now, as an engineer, i have a career that speaks to that passion. thank you, mr. davies. a spectacular show in the sky, tonight all compliments of a meteor shower. you will be able to see 180 meteors per hour streak across the sky and maybe a few fireballs. it will peak overnight tonight and before dawn. the meteor shower happens each year. but because there's a new moon, the meteors will be more visible. let's get right now to the

list of today's number ones. first up, "time" magazine's ran rankings of the fastest growing industries in america. the fastest growing is making video games for online social networks. but analysts are projecting a huge (@islowdown going from 12 growth to 2% over the next five years. and the top free facebook apps. cityville is the second most popular. yahoo! social bar, third. ♪ he is more than justç a music maker nowadays. the wrap super star now known as diddy tops the list as the wealthiest hip-hop artists.

jay-z is second. and topping the list of hardest working towns in america is columbia, missouri. the unemployment rate is just 6%. and those are your number ones. wake up! that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. today i own 165 wendy's restaurants. and i get my financing from ge capital. but i also get stuff that goes way beyond banking. we not only lend people money, we help them save it. [ junior ] ge engineers found ways to cut my energy use. [ cheryl ] more efficient lighting helps junior stay open later...

[ junior ] and serve more customers. so you're not just getting financial capital... [ cheryl ] you're also getting human capital. not just money. knowledge. [ junior ] ge capital. they're not just bankers... we're builders. [ junior ] ...and they've helped build my business.

on december 21st polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space. which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd, and you still need to retire. td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans? developing now, george zimmerman could leave jail on bond at any time now because officials are busy working out the conditions of his electronic monitoring device. and zimmerman's family has to pay 10% of his $150,000 bond to secure his release. let's bring in our panel, rebecca ridland and seema. let's talk about this with the surprise, first off, that

zimmerman took the stand. >> i know. it's so bizarre. don't you think it's bizarre? >> yeah, he's setting himself up for failure. everything he said yesterday could be used against him. probably will. >> my interest is also, what are they doing in florida here with the bail hearing making it a mini trial? we don't see that in new york the way we're seeing this in florida. and some of the things that came out are not good for the prosecution. if i were the defense attorney, i'd be saying, no problem, bring it on, let's see all the evidence you have because this isn't adding up to what they have charged. >> i want to know how you would have doneç it differently. >> well, i was a prosecutor. i don't want the whole state of new york freaking out that i'm predendi pretending to be a prosecutor. i'm a defense attorney. but the thing i thought was favorable for the prosecution was the defense was really giving us a little tidbit into

their strategy with the father testifying about george zimmerman's injuries. now we kind of have the defense set up so we can get ready for trial and even prepare for the deposition because we know we don't have depositions here in new york and florida does. >> but do you think the prosecution dropped the ball when given the opportunity to cross-examine zimmerman that they said they're going to wait till trial -- >> they said they're waiting till trial. i'd like to know if they're fully prepared yet on their charge. i think they overcharged. i think the second-degree murder in florida, the way it reads, is an overcharge in this case. >> can you throw that out there and say, you may cross-examine the witness now without giving them the heads-up that they could do that? >> prosecutors always drop the ball when cross-examining defendants. they are never prepared. they get flummoxed and they

don't know where they're going to go and they drop the ball. >> i think that they have some issues in the case and i think that they're trying to protect their preparation and that's their claim. but i'm very concerned that the objectivity is remaining here that we see that this man is justç arrested. he is not guilty yet. they have to prove that. and there's a couple of issues in the law in florida that -- there are hurdles they're going to have to overcome. >> i want to play some tape here. in court yesterday, zimmerman's lawyer questioned the investigator about the language in the affidavit. here's that. let's listen. >> why did you use the word profiling rather than noticed, observe, saw or anything besides in a very precise word "profiled"? and by the way, was that your word? did you come up with that word. >> i don't recall. this was a collaborative document. >> so you just went like this.

what was the significance of that question? >> i think it's very upsetting that an investigator would use the word "profile." that already puts the case into a racist bend when we don't know if that's what happened. that is a conclusion for a jury and judge to make, not an investigator. how does he know that zimmerman profiled mr. martin? i'm not saying he didn't. i'm saying, let's wait. that's a subjective discussion to be had with a jury. >> do you agree with that? >> i agree with your analysis of it. but i do see where they got the word "profiling." the word -- and mr. o'mara was trying to get this out, that profiling goes with racial before that. these two things go together. and like he was giving some questioning like, what goes with peanut burt butter, jelly? it's a legal term of art used by conduct which incites law ne enforcement to act. you're correct in your analysis.

i don't agree with that. but i do think this was very favor to believe the defense to bring it out. >> i don't think so because in second-degree murder in florida, they have to prove some sort of malice. and that racial profiling in an investigative report leads to that determination without a jury making that decision. and that's my concern. >> speaking of the investigative report, the investigator said, i don't know who started the fight between trayvon martin and george zimmerman. let's get to part of what he said in court. >> do you know who started the fight? >> do i know? >> right. >> no. >> do you have any evidence that supports who may have started the fight? >> no. >> so, seema, can the state prove its case? >> of course they can prove their case. this is just one investigator making one statement that he doesn't know, perhaps trying to protect the integrity of the prosecution by not leaving it all out there by saying, yes, he said this, and then the prosecutor is tied to that. but absolutely, they can prove

their case. this is not indicative of anything. this is just protection. >> girls, thanks so much. for more information and analysis on the trayvon martin case, head to thegrio.com. nbc's political desk has two scenarios that show the florida primaries may not be as important as they've always been thought of.ç we have with us now ed rendell. ed, when are you going to invite me over to your house because i was at our other guest's home recently. >> that's another story for another time. >> polls showing an extremely close race between president obama and mitt romney. what issues does president obama have to focus on to widen his lead there?

>> i think lease got to continue to press not only the fairness issue -- i think if they only run on fairness, they're making a mistake. i think they've got to press the jobs issues because that's still a huge issue in ohio and florida, as it is in country. and president obama has put together a plan that would work to create jobs in this country and he didn't get a republican vote in the congress and governor romney has come out against his plan. in return, the only thing the republicans come up with is, let's cut tax and it will all trickle down. that didn't work when president bush did it. it's not going to work today. i would hammer that and say, look, here we are, i need not only to get reelected but i need a democratic congress back so we can get this jobs program moving, we can repair our infrastructure and be energy independent and do all the things we need in research and development that will get and create good jobs for all americans. that's the issue that i think wins the day in states like ohio

and florida. >> larry, here was some interesting stuff. if likely romney voters were actually voting for him or just votingç against president obam then in florida, 52% of the romney votes are just anti-obama votes. in ohio, the number is even higher, 53%. traditionally, doesn't that sound like a way to get elected? is it a way to get elected? >> well, if you look at the history of american elections, often people are elected because they're not the incumbent president. i don't think jimmy carter won as jimmy carter. he won because he wasn't gerald ford and richard nixon. same with ronald reagan. i don't think he was elected as rond reagan. he was elected because people want add change from jimmy carter. that isn't surprising especially for a candidate who's emerging from a very tough primary process, which mitt romney is. however, he does have to generate more enthusiasm in the

base because this is going to be a battle of the bases, a battle for turnout between democrats and republicans. >> i want to run through with both of you, these are a couple of possible scenarios from swing states. the nbc news battleground map has 227 electoral"x votes goingo president obama, 197 votes going to mitt romney, of course, 270 votes are needed to win the election. here's our first scenario. it has president obama taking colorado, nevada and new mexico with the hispanic vote. if the president also takes pennsylvania and virginia, which could be likely, he can then lose ohio, florida, the rest of the swing states and still take the election. governor rendell, how strong is president obama's hold on the hispanic vote? >> i think('s very strong. i think governor romney dug himself a hole during the primary that's going to be very hard, if not impossible to get out of, even if he puts marco rubio on the ticket.

i think that will pick him up among hispanics but not very much. if governor romney can't bridge the gap in hispanic and women voters, there's no way -- you can do all the electoral math i want. i saw chuck todd do it and i think he should be institutio l institutionalized with some of his analysis. but it doesn't matter. if he can't overcome and shorten these gaps, there's no way he's going to win any of these key states. can you win without ohio and florida? yeah, president obama could. but i sure as heck wouldn't want to try. >> larry, this next scenario i want to share with you, if mitt romney wins all of the states that john mccain took in 2008 plus north carolina, your state, virginia, nevada, new hampshire, he still has to take two of the big three, ohio, pennsylvania and florida. do you see that happening? >> well, i think it's very unlikely that that would be the scenario that unfolds. i love playing these games with

the electoral college, too. i do it all the time. most of what we come up with doesn't happen because it's divisive for the country. governor rendell knows pennsylvania so much better than i do. but to me, that's the least likely one that romney would carry. ohio, no republican's ever been elected presidenthwithout winning ohio whereas two democrats have been elected without winning ohio. florida, that's the most likely one of the three to go to romney, but we'll see. the early polls have president obama doing a little bit better than romney or in a statistical dead heat. >> governor, looking at these scenarios, are we seeing a demographic switch in america where the traditionally important states for each party are no longer that important? >> they're still important. but you are seeing a demographic switch. the fastest growing voting bloc in america is hispanic. you talk about the states that have a predominant number of

hispanic voters but in pennsylvania our hispanic registration is up to 8% or 9% of our voters. that can be a swing that could be decisive. the demographics of america is changing rapidly. we're no longer a white majority country. and that's something that the republican party is going to have to deal with in this election and in elections down the road. >> larry, quickly, do you see this changing how presidents campaign in the future? >> it has to because both parties to have a shot of winning have to be diverse. democrats already are. republicans are trying to do something about it. they're electing more people from different racial minorities and across the gender gap. but they've got to do a lot better than they have so far. >> okay. larry and governor, nice to see you both. we're going to go now to number three,ç gabrielle union

dwyane wade banned her from sitting courtside. >> i don't sit courtside. that got killed when i became as vocal -- >> you got asked to move -- >> yeah, he said. we're going to need you a few rows back. >> what were you doing? >> i'm like dance mom. i'm like mrshpliet and air ball! >> you're not yelling this at him, are you? >> oh, sure. who's going to tell him, if not me. >> she admits she tries to be fair and yells at members of the other team, as well as the referee. [ e ngine revs ] [ male announcer ] strip away the styling. strip away the rearview monitors,

tv screens, bluetooth... and even the cup holders. you know what's left? the only suv's with american-built f-alpha truck frames. the ruggedly capable pathfinder, xterra, armada. ♪ receive up to twenty-five hundred dollars cash back on select nissan suv's. ♪ on select nissan suv's. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy?

in today's "then and now" rising interest rates, they inched higher this week after hitting historic lows this winter. but these numbers are nothing compared to 1994. here's tom brokaw on the "nbc nightly news" with one of the boig stori big stories that was popular. >> it is worse news for the housing industry and there is no immediate relief in sight. here's mike jensen. >> reporter: at 8.4%, mortgage rates have shot up to their highest level in almost two years. since january, 30-year fixed rate mortgages are up 1.5ç percentage points. for a typical mortgage, that's $103 a month more in interest payments. the treasury secretary says,

don't worry. >> we hope the long-term rates may drop back to more normals. >> by december, mortgage rates climbed up to 9.23%. the current rate today, a much less painful number to look at, 3.88%. a couple of new releases and a popular book are what's trending in the world of intachlt do you want to know what's worth taking a look at? first up, the new comedy "think like a man." >> you make a decent living. i think it's time to invest and make this a real home with matching dishes and glasses and a coach. >> what's wrong with my couch? >> amy palmer joins us with a closer look. does it live up to the hype? >> it does and then some. first of all, the twitterverse is going crazy over this film

saying it's the best film of the year. it gives a glimpse into the mind of a man and what he's thinking on the dating scene. all the ladies are loving it. the men are loving to go see it. and the theater i was in was cracking up from beginning to end. must see absolutely. >> how about the new one "the lucky one"? thisç great romantic drama. >> it's a boyfriend and a girlfriend nightmare. this is "the notebook" turned wrong. we were in a packed theater and people were laughing at scenes that weren't supposed to be funny, which is the kiss of death. zach efron who is so handsome does an okay job. but the chemistry between him and his co-star, i didn't believe it. the girl i was with, too, said, i don't think they could be in love in real life. unfortunately, i would say rent this on a rainy day.

don't go out and see it this weekend. >> what about the novel phenomenon, "50 shades of gray"? >> this is the third book in the trilogy. 49.3% of women are in the -- >> i opened the book, you guys. >> this is giving permission for women to not be in charge. i thought, how am i going to talk about this book with you? 49.3% of women are in the workforce today, taking care of the kids, putting food on the table. they want to escape into a fantasy where they don't have to do anything. there are so many levels you and i could go on in this book. but really that's the overall theme of it, not being in charge, letting the man be the man. we have fought for so long to be taken seriously as equals. but our dna has not changed, alex.

we might beç making a bigger paycheck than our man. but our dna has stayed the same. that's what this book is. >> movie coming, right? >> it's coming. >> will it be rated "x"? >> probably. we'll be talking about this for years to come. >> thank you so much. imagine a world with a 94% tax rate, what one author has to say about that. pull on those gardening gloves. and let's see how colorful an afternoon can be. with certified advice to help us expand our palette... ...and prices that give us more spring per dollar... ...we can mix the right soil with the right ideas. ...and bring even more color to any garden. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. lay down a new look, with earthgro mulch, now three bags for just $10.

♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. we believe the more you know, the better you trade. so we have ongoing webinars and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our dedicated support teams help you know more so your money can do more. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our teams have the information you want when you need it. it's another reason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade.

now to the ongoing dispute over iran's nuclear program. a new report claims oil prices could rise 30% this year if the country's exhorts are halted. but there are signs last weekend's negotiations between iran and global leaders could put all sides closer to a resolution. my next guest has a new op ed in "the washington post" that says the stage is set for a teel deal with iran. joining me is david ignatius.

welcome to you, david. >> hi, alex. >> saw that headline thinking to myself, could it be true? what makes you say that? >> the readout that i got after the first negotiating session which was a week ago today, saturday in istanbul, was that the iranians appear to have come to bargain. and the shape of the deal on which the bargaining will take place would be an iranian agreement to limit enrichment to low levels and to send higher enriched uranium outside the country for enrichment to the level they claim they need for medical isotopes. but that higher enrichment would not be done within the country. and u.s. officials feel that that would satisfy their concerns about not giving iran the tools with which to make a nuclear weapon. >> if this isç legit, david, wt has prompted the change? >> i think two things. first, the iranians are already

feeling the bite of the economic sanctions the u.s. has led with international support and they know much worse sanctions are coming july 1. and they're really going to hurt the iranian economy. it's possible their oil exhorts could be cut very significantly. the sec thing is president obama during his meetings with israeli prime minister netanyahu is prepared to use military force down the road if iran does not agree to halt what we regard as a program heading toward nuclear weapon. u.s. officials thought the iranians were prepared to bargain. they came away from this meeting quite waup upbeat about the prospects for a final round. >> thursday, the iranian oil minister threatened to cut oil exhort. does this conflict with your assertion that there is progress in the talks? >> i don't think so. i think you're going to see a

lot of jockeying over the next few months. the iranians will threaten to counter cut off and the u.s. and europe will threaten additional sanctions. it's going to be a game of chicken that's going to be played along to to a deal, if a deal can be released. the basic framework is that it will step by step, that is to say a series of incremental moves. andç it will be reciprocal. they're going to keep up their bluster and we'll keep up our talk of additional sanctions. >> but what about this week when a little earlier when benjamin netanyahu made comments about -- we're going to listen to this. here it is. >> well, my initial impression is that iran has been given a freebie. it's got five weeks to continue enrichment without any limitation, any inhibition.

>> any credence to that claim? >> i think it's entirely understandable and appropriate that israel keep on the pressure, netanyahu saying, he didn't get anything yet for the agreement to continue negotiations. i do think the israelis understand and except that the united states is seeking a negotiated settlement that avoids military conflict. i think that's actually in israel's interest. but israel wants to keep up as much pressure. you'll see statements from netanyahu, warning, expressing concerns that the con kecession from iran are not enough. >> if these talks prove successful and the next round which starts on may 23rd, does this mean the possibility of a military strike against iran is off the table completely? >> no, you can't say it's off the table. what you can say is that as of today, after this first round of resumed negotiations, military

action between israel or the u.s. and iran is less likely than it was a few months ago. that's not to say that the s gone. until we have a deal, an announcement, an acceptance of that deal by everybody concerned, you have to remain nervous. but it's less likely than it was. >> david ignatius, thank you. >> thank you. office politics with rachel maddow, why she thinks we should not delve into the personal lives of candidates? that's coming up next on "weekends with alex witt." [ male announcer ] with six indulgently layered desserts, all at 150 calories or less, there's definitely a temptations for you. unless you're one of those people who doesn't like delicious stuff. temptations. it's the first jell-o that's just for adults.

who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor

if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant or are breast feeding should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month for androgel 1.62%. what are you waiting for? this is big news.

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'. developing now in florida, george zimmerman could walk free on bond at any time now as he awaits trial for second-degree murder. reaction pouring in after zimmerman takes the stand apologizing for the family of trayvon martin. kerry sanders is live for us in

sanford, florida. is there any idea on when zimmerman might be able to leave? >> reporter: [ no audio ] >> kerry, if you can hear me, your microphone may not be on? do you want to quickly check your pack and see if it's on because we weren't hearing you right there. all right. we're going to let kerry's audit yes get sorted out. we have been hearing from you, we've been asking you all day, what do you think of george zimmerman's apology to trayvon martin's parents? here are some of your response, i think it was courtroom theater and he should be sorry. another says, i think zimmerman's insincere apology was something that wasç said t achieve low bail amount. another says, i believe it was genuine.

i don't believe his intent was to harm anyone. unfortunately, the incident got out of control. another says, i felt it was the wrong time and place to make an apology. another says, it wasn't an apology, it was standard condolences. two difference things. and another tweet says, just a media play and very insincere, should never have gotten bond just a cold-blooded murderer. we're going to go back to kerry in sanford, florida. the question was, when might he leave? any progress on that? >> reporter: he could leave any minute now. really what they're working on is a final bit of the logistics. part of it is from the authoritative side. they want to make sure the ankle monitor they're going to put on him, that all of that software is functioning, especially if he decides to cross state lines. they want to make sure the gps is going to work beyond states and they want to make sure that nobody with hack into it. apparently there have been some concerns about that.

with such a high-profile case, they're doing the double checks. but at the same time, his defense attorney wants to make f their plans arewants to make set in place because they are concerned for his safety and they want to make sure that when he leaves the jail -- there's cameramen gathered around the salary port where he'll leave. they want to make sure he not only gets taken away but they can eventually put him into some sort of hidden location where people don't know where he is because they're concerned for his safety. >> kerry,ç who are the folks behind you there? some's media, i know. but what are those folks doing with the signs? >> reporter: do you remember pastor terry jones, the one who burned a koran in gainesville, florida? she's brought a small group of mostly college-aged kids out here today all wearing t-shirt that is say "take back america." and they have a picture of terry jones on their t-shirts and they're holding up signs that say "justice for martin, justice

for zimmerman." so i think it's as much a media event as anything else because there are more cameras there than that are participants. >> okay. thank you very much, kerry sanders there in sanford. how about this, can zimmerman's statement be used in his upcoming trial? we'll discuss that and more with our panel in about 20 minutes. the latest on the developing stair of the secret service scandal. the fallout of events from a hotel in colombia have resulted in three more employees being let go from the agency. mark potter is in cartagena, colombia. what's the latest on these departures, mark? >> reporter: we do apologize for that satellite delay. we're a long way away and there are some technical issues. but we think most people would understand.

that prostitution scandal which has sort of erupted here in the hotel behind me has led to the fallout you're talking about, the announcement vcáuq)day that three more secret service agents would be leaving the service, also yesterday some secret service officials went to capitol hill to brief senate staffers in an attempt to rein in some of the political damage. among the things they said are that polygraph tests are continuing as part of the investigation. there is no evidence of illicit drug use by the agents or of a big prostitution party here at the hotel as has been reported. as to that hallway argument which blew up the scandal, between an agent and a colombian woman over how much money she would charge him for sex -- they told the staffers said the agent did not know he was a prostitute at the time. facebook pictures have emerged of what may be the woman who was involved in that disgreept. but because there's no official

confirmation of that, nbc continues to blur her image. but a lawyer has stepped forward here saying he represents here and that he's involved in negotiating a big money deal to sell her story to an american tv network, not nbc news. he also told reporters she had left town but is willing to talk to investigators as the secret service and the u.s. military are trying to get their arms around this to try to figure out the scope of this problem and to identify all the people who are involved. alex? >> mark, thank you for that. let's bring in kristen welker at the white house for us. president obama has been briefed on the scandal. he had a meeting with secret service director mark sullivan. what have weruá meeting? do you know what the mood was like in that room? >> reporter: when these types of briefings occur, we get some sense of what the mood was like, what was discussed. the white house is being incredibly tight-lipped in this instance, not giving us any

details really about what specifically was discussed in that leafing yesterday. i suspect that's because this is still an ongoing investigation and because of the nature of this investigation is incredibly sensitive. what we do know is that that meeting occurred just a few hours before the secret service would announce that three more employees were resigning and effectively on their way out the door. so it's safe to assume that director mark sullivan briefed the president on that and on the fact that there would be more people leaving the department. but again, the white house not giving up a lot of information about what specifically was discussed accept to say that this meeting took place in the oval office yesterday afternoon. >> kristen, what about any reasoning offered out there for why it took the president a week to be briefed on something relative to his advance team's actions, allegedly? >> reporter: that's the question we have been asking all week. the white house says senior administration officials have been briefed throughout the day every day. i think part of what's happening

is that as you know, the details of this have been changing and evolving and have been so murky. i think that the investigation has really tried to get a grasp on what specifically happened that night. i suspect that director sullivan didn't want to sit down with the president until he had a clearer grasp of whatç actually happen and until he could say we are moving forward with this investigation swiftly and we have actually taken action. remember, that meeting took place at a moment that he could say, we are actually getting rid of six people at this point in time. so i suspect the director wanted to be able to have something to show for the investigation when he walked into the oval office. >> kristen welker, thank you. he's been mentioned as a potential vp pick for the gop but now former florida governor jeb bush is putting an end to all the speculation. bloomberg business week quotes an e-mail from bush saying, i'm not going to be the veep nominee, lay that to rest.

john mccain and mitt romney appeared together in arizona last night. both focused on president obama. >> he points out he did not cause the recession but he did make it worse. and he says, look, things are getting better. and i sure hope they're getting better. but that's not because of him. that's in spite of him. >> newt gingrich is out on the campaign trail today speaking just a short while ago at the faith and freedom coalition in wilmington, delaware. joining me now, political reporter for "the washington post," nia-malika henderson and reed. nia-mali nia-malika, you write about voters meeting at a picnic table with mitt romney this week. why doç they do that if it's a

recipe for awkwardness? >> they have no choice. they're looking at the same polls we're looking at which shows a pretty wide gap between obama and romney in terms of how voters feel about them, how much they like them, how comfortable they are with them and how much they think these candidates can reality to them and their struggles. you have mitt romney meeting with eight regular americans around a picnic table just in a pittsburgh suburb. and the first thing out of his mouth is that he insults these cookies, sort of a storm follows. and locals are sort of taken aback by this. so they've got to work on this. but it's also something that they have to do. they have to put him in settings where he's seen as bonding with and talking with regular americans because they know that in some ways, although he has this edge in terms of the economy polls show there is a huge gap they have to bridge with the president in terms of likability. >> reed, you have an interesting article about an incident at a

private reception for romney before the rnc speech. what happened there? >> mitt romney was down here at an rnc meeting. the meeting has an air of a coronation. this is the moment when romney is accepting the nomination. the rnc thinks they'll be able to declare him the presumptive nominee after tuesday's election when he wins five more primaries. but they have to march toward the number of delegates they need to clinch the nomination. part of that, theç only superdelegates the rules allow are these 168 members of the republican national committee. at a private reception, he was eliciting support from these voters. instead of starting a big incident, they were escorted back in later at a different event and they got their picture

with romney. these are voters at a convention who can be a little touchy, who can be a little high maintenance. but they got what they needed, they got that photograph. >> arizona's been a red state. is it really a battleground state right now? do the democrats have a shot in that state? >> democrats think they do. by looking at the population, you'd understand why. arizona has a booming hispanic population, better college educated -- the white voters out here are overwhelmingly college educated largely because they're coming from typically northern states. i'm from seattle. seems like everybody here is from seattle or lived there at one point in their lives. but take a look at the electorate that doesn't necessarily reflect the same as the population. nationwide, 60% of eligible white americans are registered to vote. among hispanics who are

eligible, just 51% are eligible to vote. that means there are about 10 million americans who aren't registered. a lot of those are in states like arizona and texas and georgia, states where democrats could have some advantage if they get those voters registered. they'su just not quite there yet. >> yeah. i'm going to ask my director to throw up the map of the five states holding their gop primaries on tuesday. with rick santorum out of the race, what's at stake on tuesday? >> well, there are about 230 delegates at stake. we of course know that mitt romney is on a steady march to clinch the nomination and get 1,144. he's got 650 right now. that's what's at stake. we'll see whether or not he's ready to really sort of embrace this role as the leader of the party. what does he say in that speech on tuesday? where does he say it? does he choose to go to pennsylvania? does rick santorum finally endorse him? is there a moment in these next couple of days where you see both of them on stage?

does newt gingrich drop out at some point given the fact that he has no shot of getting the nominati nomination, ron paul? i think that's what's at stake. does this race sort of finally end on tuesday as it looks like obviously mitt romney's going to be the nominee? >> anything else you're paying attention to, reed? >> already we're seeing a lot of cooperation between the romney campaign and the rnc, the committee that's going to spend a lot of money on his behalf. they're coordinating, sitting in the same meetings, working together behind the scenes, they were looking for a moment where they could say, he is our presumptive nominee. i think the process will be sped up and wrap up the last of the few remainingç loose ends. >> thank you both so much. with so much talk about raising taxes, you might think

only the rich have to pay more. wait until you hear what our next guest says. [ male announcer ] can febreze set & refresh make even this place smell fresh? [ facilitator ] what do you smell? takes me outdoors. sort of a crisp, fresh feeling. [ facilitator ] go ahead and take your blindfold off. [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] the febreze set & refresh. breathe happy for 30 days, guaranteed. [ male announcer ] the febreze set & refresh. like, keep one of these over your head. well, i wasn't "supposed" to need flood insurance, but i have it. fred over here chose not to have it. ♪ me, i've got a plan.

fred he uh... fred what is your plan? do i look like i have a plan? not really. [ female announcer ] only flood insurance covers floods. for a free brochure, call the number on your screen. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

the debate over the buffett rule has focused on how the u.s. tax code affects the richest americans who often pay a much lower rate than those earning far less. a new article takes a look at the history of the federal income takes and finds the rich didn't always have it so easy and it's often the middle class that gets pinched. joining me is linda killian, author of "the swing vote." linda, welcome. thanks for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> we're going to look at a graphic. if you take a look at this, the nominal rate for taxpayers making over $200,000 a year, it has historically been much, much

higher than the 35%. during world war ii, it was 94%. who has changed since then? >> well, you can understand why franklin roosevelt was not liked by the rich because as you said, taxes really exploded during world war ii to pay for u.s. participation in the war. and the top tax rate was incredibly high. when ronald reagan took office, the tax rate was 70% for the highest earners. that is unthinkable today in the wake of the decades that we've had over cutting taxes for the rich. it was during george w. bush's administration when capital gsins taxes really went down to about 15% and the rich saw a huge deduction in their tax rate. 60% of all americans polled show they think the wealthy should pay more, they supported the buffett rule and think the tax

code should be rewritten. >> you said in your article it's the middle class who pays most into the government and takes the most out. what programs are we talking about? >> well, of course medicare and social security. but also talking about tax breaks like home mortgage interest deductions, like not having to pay taxes on employer-provided health insurance, on not having to pay taxes on 401(k)s. these are part of the tax code that most americans take for granted. but they cost the government a lot of money. and if we are going to deal with the deficit -- and that's kind of a big "if" at the moment. both parties are sort of not dealing with that responsibility. but if we're going to do that, some of these tax breaks will need to be taken on. republicans say that cut taxes for the rich and they'll create jobs hasn't really panned out. democrats say, tax the rich

more, have government create jobs. so there's a fundamental difference in philosophy between republicans and democrats. what i say in my book "the swing vote" is that a lot of people are in the middle and they want to sort of split the difference. they want a mixture of plans and approaches toç deal with this problem. >> the book looks at the importance of independent voters. by all accounts, they are going to play a key role in the presidential election. is there any indication yet how independents will vote? >> well, they're split about 50/50. and i have no doubt that independents, that swing voters will decide this election in key states like ohio, like a new hampshire, colorado, virginia, north carolina, florida. i talk about these states in the book. they are going to decide the election. they are watching and waiting. there's been a lot of talk about women. women stay-at-home moms are actually swing voters.

they are not tied to either party. also another group that i really believe is in play this year is something we used to call reagan democrats. i call them america-first democrats. a lot of these voters liked bill clinton but didn't really vote for barack obama. they didn't go a majority for barack obama in 2008. but i think they're in play. i don't think mitt romney is their guy. i think his wealth, i think his aloofness, i think after the things he's said, his tax shelters in the cayman islands, i don't think he has natural appeal to them. i think these voters have been turned off by some of the au anti-union stuff by republicans. >> interesting conversation. thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me on. still ahead, stumped at the pumps.ç why are gas prices so high when the u.s. is exporting gasoline like never before? ts that i see that complain about dry mouth,

they feel like they have to drink a lot of water. medications seem to be the number 1 cause for dry mouth. dry mouth can cause increased cavities, bad breath, oral irritations. i like to recommend biotene. biotene has a full array of products. it's composed of some enzymes that you would normally find in your saliva, and it replenishes the moisture in your mouth. biotene definitely works. it makes patients so much happier.

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. with these new depend real fit briefs,untry

and today we are surprising pro football all stars. there's wes, clay and demarcus.what's up guys. now i know you don't need one, but would you try these on for charity and prove just how great the fit is? seriously? no way for charity? let's do it! yup... they're doin it. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. let's go drive, use the legs... nice teamwork! they tried on the new depend real fit. get a free sample so you can too.

aç new report from "usa today" is highlighting a puzzling trend at the gas pump. this report says the u.s. is producing more crude oil but also using less of it. the rules of supply and demand would suggest the price of gas would be going down. but the opposite is true. jenna gudreoux is here to tell us why. >> i wish we had more control than we did. the u.s. is producing about 10% more oil since 2008 and we're consuming -- 20%, rather and we're consuming 10% less. the prices are set globally. the demand from other countries like brazil, china, india, is going up. and the supply isn't meeting that global demand. >> so the u.s. is exhorting gas at record levels, according to

the u.s. energy information administration. >> we're the top oil consumer by fire. about half of what we consume is produced here. we do export some of our refined products like gas, like diesel fuel, to countries in latin america. that might ease the demand issues on a global scale to some degree but it's not really helping us yet. >> how about the sanctions being imposed on iran? does that at all affect the pricing? >> it does, quite a lot. one report i saw said it might add as much as 30 cents a gallon. and part of that is the fear if the conflict escalates there, it could interrupt the supply. >>ç prices have gone down a little bit of late. what do you attribute that to? >> well, the leveling off is definitely a good sign. we are doing some really good things here in terms of driving less, in terms of using more fuel-efficient cars. all of that is a good thing. >> also, this time of year, you hear about the things they're

trying to do in the summer blends and all that kind of thing. and the oil refineries shutting down -- how much does that factor into the price of gas as well? >> summer is always a difficult time for gas. some of the reports that i've seen say the prices might have already peaked. so that's really promising. >> good. there was talk it was going to go through summer up till labor day? >> i saw wild expectations of $5 a gallon or even more. they're starting to back off those a little bit which is great. we're thinking maybe $3.95 a gallon on average for the rest of the summer. >> is that going to be the lowest? $3.95 sounds a lot better than when you're pushing over $4 but it's still a lot of money? >> consumers are feeling that pinch at the pump. >> what are you going to do about it? jenna, thank you so much. up next, in the trayvon martin case, should george zimmerman have been granted bail? in politics, rachel maddow weighs in on whether candidates should be showcasing their families on the campaign trail.

that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. i think we should see other people. in fact, i'm already seeing your best friend, justin. ♪ i would've appreciated a proactive update on the status of our relationship. who do you think i am, tim? quicken loans? at quicken loans, we provide you with proactive updates on the status of your home loan. and our innovative online tools ensure that you're always in the loop. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze.

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. ♪

george zimmerman could leave jail on bond at any time now. officials are busy working out the conditions of his electronicic monitoring device and zimmerman's family is trying to pay 10% of his $150,000 bond to secure his release. let's bring in christopher metzler and jayç fahy. >> this was his bail application. he had to get up and say something, he had to show the court and the judge that he was not going to be a danger to the community and he would be responsible for showing up at all the proceedings in the future. >> christopher, what about what he said? can zimmerman's testimony be used against him in the trial? >> sure. i'm not sure what there is to use against him. what i've been hearing is some

inconsistent statement about how old trayvon was and it goes to the whole question of profiling. sure, it can be used against him. i don't know to what end. i completely agree with jay on a few things. the interesting thing for me, was -- i don't know how you feel about this, jay. but i thought the prosecutor went a little hard against him. it seemed to me that the more the prosecutor went against zimmerman, the more sympathetic he seemed. i'm not sure what your view is on that. >> i agree completely. i think this is a proceeding where is bail going to be granted or not? it was preordained that bail was going to be granted. >> how can that be used -- given the salacious nature of all this and the just incredibly passionate views people have about this case, do you think that's going to really play off in the end, jay, the fact that the prosecutor came down hard on him to begin with? >> not really.

but if someone saw it and they were going to be in a jury pool, it might come back. but i want to say one thing about his testimony. his testimony was veryç limite. although it could be used against him, he didn't really expose himself too many places. his attorney kept objecting when the prosecutor tried to dig for more answers. >> that apology -- i put that in quotes because if you look, for example, my twitter report, overwhelmingly people are not buying it as an apology, rather as almost an excuse mechanism for himself. the sincerity of thatapology, how did you read that? >> i'm not sure that i read it one way or the other. look, i actually think except for humanizing him, it was completely irrelevant in the context of a bond hearing. and if they want to bring up the apology from the trial standpoint, the jury is either going to believe him or they're not going to believe him.

i'm not real sure what that adds. he was very careful. he didn't say, i apologize for killing your son. that's not what he said. >> but what he did say, the line right after that, he says, i want to apologize to the parents. i didn't know how old he was. >> i was like, so what? does that mean if you're 50 you deserve to be killed? what does that have to do with anything? i thought that was so incredibly awkward. >> i thought it was awkward and i think it's kind of the notion of putting him -- i don't know that i would put him on the stand at trial. and i'm not sure that his lawyer is going to do that. it was a bit -- kind of awkward, yeah, it was. >> any legal angle on that, jay? >> the only legal angle -- and it's a bit ofç a stretch -- at some point later on, if he takes the stand and h prosecutor says, you never apologized to the parent, did you? at least he can say, in the beginning my lawyers wouldn't let me but when i got to court the first time, i did it. but that's a very, very minor part. it was awkward and it was very

unusual. >> go ahead and finish up. >> i don't know what you think about it jash, jay. but the prosecution seemed to be caught with its pants down here. basically saying, i'm unprepared. i know he was under subpoena. but it seemed a bit weak and i think it plays into this narrative that, where's the beef here? >> i think the -- air force sense the prosecutor's heart wasn't really in it. to ask for $1 million bail in this case was ridiculous. a reasonable prosecutor may have asked for $250,000. >> i'm loving, chris, that you're asking jay the questions here. thank you very much. >> take care. a california man is enjoying his first day of freedom in 27 years. frank o'connell is out on bond after being locked up for a

crime he says he did not commit. a judge recently overturned a 1985 murder conviction citing mishandled evidence and investigator misconduct. next month, prosecutors will announce if they will retry o'connell. we continue our conversation with msnbc's rachel maddow. we talked about what she thinks about covering the personal lives of the candidates. but i beginç by asking if mitt romney will win or lose the election based on the women vote. >> the divide stays as big as it is right now, he can't win with women that against you. i think the underappreciated thing about the gap among women voters and their political preferences right now is policy. we cover these candidates so much as personalities, whether or not they have good late-night conversations with comedians, whether or not they're smooth in their speeches and when they meet voters out on the campaign trail. but the candidates also

represent their parties. and the actions of the parties matter. there's not much going on in terms of republican governments in washington. they're in charge of the house of representatives, but not anything else. so when people are looking for examples of republican governance, they're looking where republicans have governing responsibility and that's in the states. and the republican policy issues on women -- talking about abortion and equal pay -- it's been really intense since the republicans took over in 2010. and their policy, all these things, the contraception fights, it has an affect on what people think the party stands for. >> should we not go past a certain line when coveringútaese candidates, their personal lives, their families?

should we say substantive? >> i think in general we should avoid it. i feel like unless people are campaigning on policy that they want to pursue for the nation that's based on their superior family values, putting down other people's family choices, then unless it's a hypocrisy stlish, i don't really care. it goes to the intangibility factors of the candidates. the problem is, the thing you can't get around here is that the candidates keep putting their families on the political stage. they keep introducing their families has having political salients. i'd rather they didn't. you can't say, this is my family, this is how i interact with my family and that's why you should vote for me and also, don't report on my family. you put them out there, you're

putting them in the political sphere. >> you've said in the past you're not partisan. you lead a major network, the number one rated show on this network. how do you see your role playing out in the next five, six months? >> we are trooikt trying to increase the amount of useful information going on. here's what it might mean and here's what to look like. that's the basic and fundamental responsibility that we've got to our viewers every day. i'm a liberal. i'm not a partisan. i don't particularly careç abo individual candidates or individual parties other than using them to explain what's going on in the world. but i think we're in a position in the media about being able to say what your opinion is does not impede your ability to convey the facts of what's going on in the world to somebody. i'd put our coverage of what's happening up against anybody's in terms of its accuracy and its

value. >> when you get into the chair on the studio, a certain amount of pressure on you? you don't exude that. you seem so comfortable talking the issues as if it's just a conversation you're having for an hour in the american people. >> i don't feel any pressure to accomplish anything on the air, if you know what i mean. >> you don't have an agenda. >> i'm not trying to do something that somebody else assigned me to do. i'm not trying to change the world. i'm trying to explain the world. and the fun thing about an election year is that the pace of political news gets so fast. and the thing we've all got to decide every day in terms of choosing what to put on the air, what of these million things that have happened since i was last on the air are important? and what's fun to talk about and how much time do you spend on those? >> continues at this time tomorrow. we had a little bit of fun. here's an early look.

favorite spirit, what is it? >> rye whiskey. >> get out. i had whiskey down south -- i couldn't -- >> are you not a whiskey girl at >> no. i'm a tequila girl. >> oh, i knew i loved you. the big three is ahead with the three key voting blocs siding with president obama in a big way. so why is the race so close?

an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, if your car is totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. liberty mutual auto insurance.

[ male announcer ] new lashblast 24hr with anti smudge power will last through all your drama. who knew lashes this big could last this long. [ male announcer ] new lashblast 24hr from covergirl. all at 150 calories or less, there's definitely a temptations for you. unless you're one of those people who doesn't like delicious stuff. temptations. it's the first jell-o that's just for adults.

today i own 165 wendy's restaurants. and i get my financing from ge capital. but i also get stuff that goes way beyond banking. we not only lend people money, we help them save it. [ junior ] ge engineers found ways to cut my energy use. [ cheryl ] more efficient lighting helps junior stay open later... [ junior ] and serve more customers. so you're not just getting financial capital... [ cheryl ] you're also getting human capital. not just money. knowledge. [ junior ] ge capital. they're not just bankers... we're builders. [ junior ] ...and they've helped build my business. it's time for the today's big three. our topics, key voting bloc, big swing states and new fallout from the secret service scandal. let's bring in the panel. morris reid, dana milbank and susan derl percio. thank you all for being here. first up, the key voting blocs. this new poll shows president

obama ahead of mitt romney among women, latinos as well as independents. how does mitt romney turn these numbers around? >> on the first two categories of latino and women, he's not going to be able to turn those around necessarily. he has to close the gap. it's unlikely he's going to win those two categories. however, on the independents, he has a lot of work to do because those are a group that he must turn around. i think we'll see him bringing the economy and bringing this referendum on president obama. >> morris, tell me why the white house should not be overly euphoric about these numbers? >> it's like on nba game, it always gets tight at the end. we need to stay really focused on the things important to the american people and don't get distracted. this white house has had a propensity to have a good week and shoot itself in the foot by getting distracted. just as the numbers are up, the numbers can be down just as

quickly. >> dna, to the latino vote where there was the largest disparityç does the gop stand to lose the latino for a generation and potentially cause a major demographic shift in terms of voters in traditionally red states? >> this is obviously what they're worried about. this is potentially a problem in this year's election. but it becomes the whole story in future years and decades because of the changing demographics of this country. presumably romney is in his worst position right now because it's been such a bruising primary where they were trying to outdo each other and who could be the toughest on immigration. but the democrats are trying to press their advantage here. there will be a hearing in the senate on tuesday trying to exploit the arizona law to the democrats' advantage. got the supreme court case coming up on wednesday. they're just going to keep reminding everybody about this, keep trying to get that dream act through to legalize young undocumented immigrants.

it's not going to pass. but it's going to keep the issue there on the fore. >> we're going to move on to the next big topic, swing states. chuck todd played out some electoral map scenarios on "the daily rundown." without florida, new hampshire, mitt romney could win both iowa and new hampshire. win ohio, florida and north carolina and because of hispanics -- that's specially what's going on here, he would be seven electoral votes short. that is a map problem like nobody's business. >> a math problem like nobody's business. what's the strategy for romney to win these crucial swing states, especially ohio and florida?ç >> i think when chuck touched on something there about the hispanic vote and where he has to do a lot of work -- i think that's where you're going to see marco rubio introduce his own dream act which will allow romney to come back more to the center than he was on the

primary. and that should really help him quite a bit. >> morris, we're going to take a listen to mitt romney who was in arizona, typically a red state, last night he was talking about president obama. here it is. >> i think he's a nice person. i just don't think we can afford him any longer. i don't think the american people can afford to have barack obama as their president. >> and morris when you look at the latest poll, the only issue president obama loses to mitt romney on is the economy. so what can the president do to counter this gop approach, especially when the economy is the number one issue? >> well, he needs to bring it home. he needs to get to the kitchen table, across the table from folks and really make the case that he was able to turn the economy around from where it was. i think he has to remind people that where i started and where we are now. the fact is that we were in a big ditch. we haven't made everything we're supposed to but we're headed in the right direction. the republicans missed an opportunity on this.

they had a window of opportunity with mitt romney to focus on this. the economy is turning. it's headed in the right direction. that's where the president is going to have to make the case, roll up the sleeves and be very focused on the economy. don't get distracted by other stuff.j"t this? do you think the right vp pick could change any of the dynamic for romney? >> it very rarely does change the dynamic in a favorable direction. it can do the opposite if it's not done wisely as we've seen in the past. the fact of the matter is this election is going to be decided on how the economy is looking this fall. doesn't really matter what the president is saying. doesn't matter what romney is saying. if people think things are not getting better or getting worse with, republicans are going to be in a strong position regardless of what they say in the polls now. if things continue to improve,

the president will be hard to defeat no matter what else happens. >> sit tight. next, the secret service sex scandal. will it cost president obama votes? with the capital one cash rewards card you get a 50% annual bonus. and everyone likes 50% more cash -- well, except her. no! but, i'm about to change that. ♪ every little baby wants 50% more cash... ♪ phhht! fine, you try. [ strings breaking, wood splintering ] ha ha. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. ♪ what's in your wallet? ♪ what's in your...your...

♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8.

this agent who was ridiculous there posting pictures and comments about checking someone out, well check this out, bodyguard, you're fired. i hope his wife kicks him to the dog house. >> that is sarah palin reacting to this facebook picture where one of the secret service supervisors out of a job joked he was checking her out as he protected her back in 2008. back with the big three. dana, the secret service fallout continuing. the gsa is under scrutiny for their expensive conferenceiyñçó vegas on the taxpayers' dime. how concerned is the white house about all of this? >> well, you know, they're

concerned to the extent it's taking away from things the president wants to be talking about. goes to have this important talk down in colombia on trade and economics and we wind up talking about the secret service and prostitutes. it's not a classic political scandal in the sense that these aren't political appointees. it does not appear at this point it reaches into the white house. that's still not known for sure, but assuming it doesn't reach into the white house, to political appointees, it is a malfunction of government as opposed to something the obama administration has done. >> at what point does it look like no one is minding the store and can republicans seize upon this as an organization problem or management problem? all the allegations coming from republicans here? >> the secret service, barack obama is commander of chief. that's like blaming the fire department for the fire. the secret service needs to handle this. the gsa handled it.

the white house needs to be focusing -- this is what i mean on staying focused on what's important. don't get disstrukted on things you have to do for the american people. stay focus on your job and let your team deal with these things that don't have anything to do about the economy. >> if the republicans make too much hay out of this, might they damage themselves by overreaching? >> well, never underestimate the republicans' ability to overplay their hand. that's what they've done in the past. hopefully they won't do that. these things are adding up. the response from the white house is, we don't directly control the secret service. we don't directly control gas prices. we don't directly control you name it. now it's becoming an image problem. the republicans shouldn't overplay it. >> i don't have enough time to go through your best and worst. does one person want to sayç i? s susan, you do it. >> white house for the reasons i just gave.

hillary clinton got the best week. her poll numbers are 26 and through the roof. >> who had the worst? >> worst week global trade. we are down meeting about trade and the folks are taking people's company. >> i'll have a bad week if i don't wrap this up. see you tomorrow noon eastern. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco.