longest war. under cover of night, the commander in chief carried out another secret mission, swooping in for a surprise visit to afghanistan and signing a pact with president hamid karzai, seizing the upper hand in a political battle over the one-year anniversary of osama bin laden's death. >> my fellow americans, we've traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war. yet here in the predawn darkness of afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon. >> under the agreement, u.s. troops pull out by 2014, but we continue financial support and military training through 2024. the men and women on the ground spe spent about an hour with the president. he thanked them for their sacrifices. michael steele, msnbc political analyst, and former rnc chairman, and chris cofinas, former communications director for john edwards during his presidential run. gentlemen, good morning. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> let's talk the politics of all this. here's what howard kurtz wrote.

so, michael, what did the president get out of this? >> he got a lot out of this. i think this is the victory lap of victory laps. the president clearly has been focused and determined for some time to put a definitive mark on foreign policy. he's done it with the killing of osama bin laden. he's done it again by showing up and now carving out this agreement with karzai. the problem, though, is that this is an endless proposition. 2024? i thought the president said we'd be out of this thing by 2012. i mean, you know, the reality is, the campaign of 2008 is not the reality of 2012 and certainly not 2024. so the political fallout from this is going to be i think a little bit more long lasting than even obama may want it to

be. but for right now -- for right now, it works. >> it's going to be interesting to watch because this month the gallup poll is showing his approval rating is up, 47% to 45%. that's the best since may of 2011 when he got bin laden. what are the chances of another bin laden bump or is this a fraud like michael says? >> i don't think you get another bump. you have to killing of bin laden and effectively the ending of two wars. there's a long-term commitment in afghanistan which i think does pose, you know, a bit of a political problem because public opinion has clearly turned. but the reality is the republicans want to stay longer so i'm not sure that really costs the president that much. but when you look at the scope of the accomplishments in terms of foreign policy, in terms of fighting terrorism, ending wars in iraq and effectively ending it in afghanistan in capturing killing bin laden, that's a pretty good foreign policy

record. the republicans are not going to be able to combat that or kind of beat down. >> howard fineman had what i thought was a terrific column in t"the huffington post" today, michael. he wrote obama is a democrat executing the gop media playbook better than bush did. it sounds like it might be positive but he was also criticizing him. he says just because you can take things over the top doesn't mean that you should. but do you think that's the way it's being perceived this morning? >> yeah. i think there is a little bit of the obama/bush kind of combination here where particularly in the foreign policy area where the president has been very effective at doing what bush started doing and then augmenting it. so i think for a lot of the folks on the left, you know, there's consternation galore because this was not how this was going to play out, gitmo would be closed, afghanistan and iraq would be things of the past and we'd be moving on to more heady things like, you know, health care. but the reality of it is this is

a good drum beat for the president right now. the problem, though, is that the visual that you talked about, chris, is kind of murky with the political posturing with the commercials that sort of go after romney unnecessarily, saying what he would have done or wouldn't have done in this situation. that kind of projection i think diminishes the ultimate success of what the president has done, and that's something that can come back to bite him later on. >> you know, you're making a couple points here. one is the optics of it. the other is the reality of what we're doing there. i want to bring in former assistant secretary of state for public affairs, jamie rubin, currently advising governor mario cuomo. nice to see you. >> nice to be here. >> "the new york times" wasn't so crazy about the president's speech last night. today they called it a missed opportunity. here's part of what they wrote. "we have long supported the war in afghanistan as a painful but necessary fight to ensure that al qaeda does not again have a

major launching pad for attacking the united states. but we are increasingly concerned that mr. obama does not have a clear policy to ensure that the country does not implode once the americans are gone." do you think there is a clear plan here? he just didn't necessarily detail it last night or -- >> well, i think there is a general plan, yes. the plan is that over the next year and a half u.s. combat forces will slowly leave the count country at the end of 2014 from will be a supporting role only and not combat forces. >> can i put those numbers up? 88,000 u.s. troops approximately are there now. 23,000 will come home by september so do the math. 60,000 plus will still be there in september. >> right. by the end of 2014, those -- in theory, those 60,000 will be gone. and here's the issue "the new york times" editorial was raising. up until now, the strategy

appeared to have been to break the taliban's momentum that began a couple of years ago and build such strength that the taliban would come to the negotiating table so that before american forces left, some peace agreement, some national reconciliation could take place in order that when american forces left the country would not return to civil war. i think the problem now is that although the taliban momentum was broken by the surge in american forces over the last year, there really is no indication whatsoever that the taliban are interested in some sort of national reconciliation. and the guts of the problem, the root of the problem that the president -- both this president and the last president faced is the fact that there are safe havens in pakistan that will allow this fight to go on indefinitely. so -- >> and i think an exclamation point was kind of put on what you're saying yesterday just hours after the president left. the taliban is playing responsibility in kabul for an

attack that killed seven people. >> that's right. and i think we need to remember, yes, we've been there ten years, 11 years. it's the longest war by almost any definition. but we should also remember that we made certain commitments, we made sacrifices as a nation both in terms of lives and money, and i think it is dangerous to rush to the exits in an election season. and i'm not saying that's what the president's doing because i don't think that's what he's doing. but what i worry about is that having made this decade-long investment with all the sacrifices and all the money gone into it, we need to see it through to a reasonable conclusion. that means the 2014 deadline, but it also means not rushing the combat forces out before they get the job done. >> yeah, and i want to go back to the numbers for just a second because i think it speaks to what jamie said and what michael said, chris, because, yes, the

idea is 2014 the withdrawal is going to happen, but went you look at what's happening at election time, there will be double the 38,000 troops that were there in the country when obama took office in 2009. is there any way, chris, you read that as a problem for him? >> well, it's a problem because if you look at all the recent polling when it comes to the question of afghanistan, people have soured on the war. they want to get out. they're tired of the commitment. i think when you look at the realities of what's going on in congress, given the enormous fiscal liabilities we face as a nation and enormous cost that it's going to entail to continue in afghanistan, those pose political problems. it's not necessarily a clear win when it comes to afghanistan. the bin laden issue, i think, is a clear win for the president. that was an incredible accomplishment. republicans attacking for that makes no political sense whatsoever. but afghanistan, i think, poses a real difficult political problem for both parties because the american people i think have

moved in a different direction. and when you have that, i think that schism between public opinion and what the leaders of the country are deciding, that i think poses a real question, you know, and a real difficult question that i think is going to be answered in the upcoming months during the election. but, you know, here's the reality. this election is not going to turn on foreign policy short of some kind of dramatic event. it is going to be about the economy. >> well, you know, jamie, the president did emphasize that we're not building permanent bases there. however, when you look at the agreement, you realize whether he's re-elected or not, he's committing future presidents to this. he's committing multiple congresses to this. and i guess does he -- do you think he needs to make the case even more forcefully, not just that we're safer, which is the general agreement that we are, but there is a real reason for this long-term commitment? >> well, yes. and as you referred to "the new york times" editorial, i think their point was that the president hasn't talked about afghanistan in a long time and that when the country is paying

attention, that's the time, as they call it, the teachable moment is the new phrase everyone uses, that's the time to remind the country that there are goals that need to be accomplished, that there are good reasons why our troops are there now, good reasons why we're making a long-term commitment, because if we don't do that without this agreement that he signed last night in kabul, the taliban and pakistan will see the united states rushing for the exits and draw their own conclusions. and those conclusions will do grave damage both to the afghan government such as it is and potentially to the security of the united states. so this agreement and the policies going forward over the next year and a half are designed to keep the nation safe in the future, and it's not easy. as your guests have pointed out, politically painpainful. to the extent there is encouraging news from my standpoint as an analyst, it's that both parties' leaderships

realize, despite the negative poll numbers, that afghanistan poses risk to the united states, that we need to be responsible in making sure that all the work we've done over the last ten years to make sure that we don't have risk in the future is dealt with. >> you're right, that there there has been some criticism that the president wasn't talking enough about afghanistan, people like john mccain and joe leishman. although as we said, john mccain was very complimentary of this. i also, you know, want to go back in a sense to what the politics is because mitt romney, of course, also had to say something about this. he simply issued this statement -- i am pleased that president obama has returned to afghanistan. our troops and the american people deserve to hear from our president what what is at stake in this war. success in afghanistan is vital to our nation's security. is he essentially, michael, ceding this, saying, okay, this round, check, he's the commander in chief, he looked presidential, he won, let's wait for the job numbers on friday,

i'm just going to sit back until then? >> well, you're right on both those points. but with a little caveat. i think it goes to what jamie was talking about. i think what mitt romney has done is put a little marker down there and said, okay, we'll give you -- we'll give you osama, we'll give you the backdrop in afghanistan. but what is this mission going forward? i think that's the critical question. there is no definition here of what the future in afghanistan will look like. i mean, i think joe scarborough put it very good in a blog where he talked about the fact that what is obama and karzai going to do that, you know, the russians and the british and alexander the great couldn't do in that part of the world? so that's the historical problem here, is that you're dealing with a tribal people who don't conform to the western rules of engagement and nation building, so it presents a longer-term problem that i think the president admitted to last

night, and i think romney has put a little asterisk on yesterday's speech saying we will revisit this issue during the course of this campaign, but you're right, the job numbers come first. >> will this be a campaign issue, though, do you think, jamie? >> look, i don't think foreign policy is going to be a big area in this campaign, and that's because president obama's foreign policy is widely seen as popular. so i don't think there will be a big issue here. there will be some debate, there will be some disagreements on syria and some other things, but, i mean, i'm here really to talk as a foreign policy person. i don't think that's going to be a big issue in the campaign. >> always great to have you here, jamie rubin, thank you. michael steele and chris, gentlemen, appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you. the wife of john edwards' ex-aide retakes the stand this morning for a second day of grilling from the defense at the former presidential candidate's trial. cheri young defended her husband, andrew, in testimony yesterday saying he only

published a tell-all book because edwards wouldn't come forward with the truth. also expected to testify today the campaign aide who allegedly first confronted edwards about the affair. look, every day we're using more and more energy. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪ is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve.

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the new york cardinal being touted as having a shot at being the first american pope, timothy dolan, is taking aim at republicans over immigration policy this morning. never shy about wade sbhoog controversial political waters like the contraception debate, he has a warning for republicans. i spoke with the charismatic cardinal and asked him about the upcoming supreme court decision on immigration. >> catholics feel -- catholic bishops feel very strongly about that immigration needs reform. we're just upset where the loudest cheers in the campaign

trail for whatever candidate can say the most punitive or the most angry things about immigrants. the catholic church is -- we call our mother church, and she's traditionally welcomed the immigrant. we are a church of immigrants, so we're particularly sensitive to the rights of immigrants. >> but the republicans, you think, have gone too far on the immigration -- >> i would say if any republican asked my opinion, i'd say you need to get your house together when it comes to immigration because right now, fairly or not, you have the reputation of being very tough on immigrants. if a republican answered me, i'd say you better come up with a much saner, more civil, more just immigration policy. but, boy, when you have a policy that splits up families, when you have a policy that drives people underground, when you have a policy where now the government, whether it be in arizona or in alabama, is asking our soup kitchens to skr for documentation before they give people food or housing or clothing or medical care, that's

not right. that aegs not catholic. that's not christian. that's not religious. and it's not american. the bishops are adamant on that. >> you've been very outspoken against the obama administration's health care mandate, requiring employers to pay for birth control. >> you're right, i have been outspoken in this whole situation. we bishops have tried our best to make sure that we keep the conversation elevated to one of religious freedom. a particular part of that is the mandate to cover contraceptives. and what we find particularly odious, chris, would be what we would say would be an intrusion by a bureau of the federal government into the very definition of religious ministry and the extent of this church's service. so it's really that hhs intrusion that bothers us. it's not -- it's not the contraception per se, although you're right, we are opposed to that. but -- >> do you think catholics will vote on the birth control issue,

for example? >> no, i don't think they'd do that. and i think a good -- you are right, and many people are right, when they say bishops, i don't know if you've got your people with you on the specific issue of contraception. and i'd hate to say they're right. i don't think they do. we better get our act together there. we do have them with us under religious freedom. yes, there are some that think now the church hierarchy has become part of the war on women. i vigorously disagree with that. you'll also find catholic women to say, wait a minute, i'm tired of seeing my church stereotyped as a war on women. it would be tough to think of an organization in the world that is more on the side of women's health and care for women and children than the catholic church. >> let's talk a little bit about some criticism of american nuns, very specific reprimand by the vatican, in part because of things that they had said about things like birth control. we're talking about the association of american catholic nuns that represents about 80% of nuns in america.

vatican said the nuns pushed, quote, radical feminist themes. a lot of the reaction that i've heard has been going after nuns? really? cardinal dolan, going after nuns? really? in this very public way? >> yeah. this is -- this is an issue that's easily caricatured and that we can be guilty of superficiality. i don't know if i'd use the word repry manhandle. i find the congregation for the doctrine of faith saying, sisters, we relish our dialogue, and that document goes to great pains to praise the brilliant work of sisters. >> but they put oversight on the nuns, and it's been widely written about, including maureen dowd, whose interpretation after reading the document was that the message to nuns is shut up and sit down. >> well, i wouldn't interpret that at all. the very nature of the document is, sisters, talk to us, can you help us understand this, help us clarify things? keep in mind, too, chris, that some of the people that were

worried about some of the stances of the lcwr were women religious, who have been writing to the vatican, saying we're a little worried about the drift of this organization. so are we going to tell them to sit down and shut up? no. i think the holy see is saying we're trying our best to listen, sisters, we love you, we thank you, we appreciate what you're doing, we cherish our dialogue, we want it to keep going, can you bring your attention to some of the things we're worried about. >> do you understand why the nuns could feel that way, your eminence? >> yes. >> i certainly know in talking to paints that they feel tainted by the pedophile scandal and they will say the vast majority of us faithful to our vows, et cetera. >> yes. >> so does -- do you understand how this could feel like a -- >> do i ever. do i ever. and i really appreciate it when sisters share that with me, and they do. however -- >> giving you a hard time about this? >> i wouldn't say a hard time, but they're so beautifully honest that they would say, archbishop or cardinal, we have to talk to you about this. we're bristling about this.

help us work this out. and i appreciate that because i love them. i don't know what we'd do without them. >> you're the head of the u.s. conference of catholic bishops. you've been called america's pope. >> oh. >> you were "time" magazine's among the most 100 influential people in the world. in the world. how to you use that influence for these issues like religious liberty? >> well, i mean, i'm flattered by all that and all, but that all passes. i mean, if you count on that stuff tomorrow, that will be diminished. i think what you have to do is try to make sure that you're always on the side of truth. >> that was cardinal dolan. we will post more of my interview on our facebook page. meantime, in san francisco, about 200 people took over the building owned by the katrina -- catholic archdiocese there. two of the protesters on adjacent rooftops lobbed pipes and bricks at a line of police

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advantage for the walker family. now, you know, if my wife heard me say that, she'd say you're crazy. there is is no way there's any way this is an advantage. the reason it will be is they're going to win on june 5th. and marco rubio atoning for past sins to fox news, addressing why he charged personal expenses to a florida republican party credit card. >> sometimes it was just a mistake, literally just reached for the wrong card. but it's important people understand i did not bill personal expenses to the republican party of florida. i shouldn't have done it that way. lesson learned. >> and one of my favorite shows is kind of sort of doing a reunion. check out the cast of "the west wing" in this psa from funnyor die.com. >> oh, my. >> what's wrong? it's not dangerous, is it? >> not at all. >> is it too expensive? >> it's free. does it involve wearing leather gloves and tight pink

spandex? >> it could, but no. >> it's simple. >> it's walking. >> where i get all of my best ideas. thank you, charlie. come, friends! we're going for a walk. >> if you read only one thing this morning, i'm curious to hear what you think about my must-read story today. a woman throws away a lottery ticket. another woman finds it in the trash, turns out it's worth a million bucks. finder's keepers or should she give it back? a judge is deciding that. but what do you think? it's up on our facebook page. ox steakhouse in kansas city where we switched their steaks with walmart's choice premium steak. ♪ this is really good. like what i grew up with. only one out of five steaks is good enough to be called walmart choice premium beef. can i let you in on a secret? you're eating a walmart steak. no kidding. noooo! i promise. it's very tender. you could almost cut it with a fork. it is delicious! we need to start buying those at walmart. walmart usda choice premium steaks.

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the 2010 deadly duck boat crash, remember that, in philadelphia, have released a disturbing new video just days before trial. here it is. it shows a deck hand on the boat texting six minutes before the barge hit it. the ntsb found cell phone use played a major role in the accident. then the barge runs over the small tour boat. two people were killed. their families are suing the barge owner as well as the duck boat operators. a new jersey mom is due in court this morning accused of taking her 5-year-old daughter to the tanning booth. the girl's school called police because she had a sunburn and was reportedly overheard telling friends she went tanning with her mom. the woman says the whole thing is a misunderstanding. filmmaker tyler perry was out surveying the damage this morning after an overnight fire at his studio in atlanta. fire officials are investigating the cause. nobody was hurt. firefighters were able to limit the damage to one building. well, they spoke for 30 minutes, mitt romney and the

billionaire mayor of the country's largest city, new york's mayor, michael bloomberg, is is neutral in the presidential race so far, and one cannot ignore the influence of his endorsement. his picks often win. msnbc's richard lui joins us now. what everybody's talking about, who could get bloomberg, what would it mean. >> yeah. the biggest city, as you said, in the country. when michael bloomberg endorses he's more often right than wrong. 2010's midterm election is a really good example. 52% of new jersey governor chris christie's picks won. sarah palin's 54%, and michael bloomberg, 69% of his picks in the "w" column. this year, the independent is stuck in the middle just like 2008 when he did not endorse a presidential candidate. but with his third term ending, "the new york times" saying he may not worry about negative repercussions from picking sides this year. his choice is not obvious, at least for now. romney and bloomberg share successful business backgrounds and wealth but do not see eye to

eye on issues like immigration, gun control, and education policy. topics in their secret break it is a conversation yesterday. on the other side, the president has also been courting the media bloomberg. bloomberg had lunch at the white house and played golf with obama recently, but the president's drive tighten banking regulations may not sit well with the mayor. he continues his vetting on whom to lend his reputation as he did 29 times in 2010. of his 20 winning picks, democrats harry reid and michael bennett and republican mike kirk. of his nine losing nods. how did bloomberg's democratic picks do overall? 82% of them won. but if you're republican, caution ahead. less than a third of bloomberg gop picks made it to office, which is why, chris, a bloomberg embrace may not be one that helps romney. >> obviously, though, he thinks it will. >> for now. >> making a pilgrimage.

thank you, richard. that was fascinating. josh marshall and jackie kucinich join us now. you've got to imagine, josh, michael bloomberg is having the time of his life. >> i think that's the big story here. i imagine he's not going to endorse anybody -- >> you don't think he will. >> i don't think so. the thing with romney is on tax policy, they're pretty aligned but like on every other issue they're nowhere near each other. in a lot of ways, you know, michael bloomberg, if he were running for president, on almost every social issue he would be maybe too left to even run for president himself. it's hard for me to see how it works for romney, but i'd be surprised if he endorses anybody. >> but, boy, they're trying, aren't they, jackie. talk about the things he might bring to a candidate. obviously crossover credibility, links to wall street, obviously. he is a billionaire with lots of rich friends so, money. >> right. >> does he really bring all that to the table or is it wishful thinking? what do you think is going on here with the push to get

michael bloomberg's endorsement? >> yeah. i mean, i think, you know, you see both sides courting him and he's obviously loving it. but i think as far as who it would benefit more, i think it would benefit the president more because he endorses romney, he also brings, like we were talking about, he also brings a lot of the social issues. he gave $1250,000 to planned parenthood when that whole thing happened. romney says he's going to stop federal funding for planted parenthood. there's a lot of things that might not be as good for romney as far as for conservatives that it would be for the president. >> couple other things going on in politics today. richard grenel resigned yesterday, an uproar from anti-gay members over his appointment. the came pain didn't want him to quit but he said he felt he couldn't do this job. what is the impact of this, josh? >> i think in itself it's largely a washington story. most people are focusing on the

bin laden anniversary. but i think it's bad for romney because it signals a certain kind of weakness. it was actually a very good move for him coming out of the primary. he didn't have to change a policy, but by appointing someone to a major role, someone who's openly gay, that sent a signal that he wasn't owned by the republican party. >> you don't think he said to him i refuse to accept your resignation? >> i get the sense they really didn't want him to resign, that's what they're saying, but they didn't defend him in any vociferous way while he was being attacked and i think that's the story. >> let me just say that the president's plane is about to come in. i think it's early. from afghanistan. maybe he had a little bit of a political wind at his back or something. there he comes on air force one. obviously after signing that agreement with hamid karzai, but also those fantastic pictures politically of him with the troops in afghanistan. so we'll follow his movements this morning. i also want to talk to you about

romney's event with former new york city mayor rudy giuliani. he was actually heckled by a couple of occupy wall street protesters. let's listen. >> i think it's totally appropriate for the president to -- [ yelling in background ] -- express to the american people that the view he has and he had an important role. >> we should say the bleep you heard was a curse by a heckler. but romney's appearance with giuliani was described as awkward by politico, jackie. given their history from the 2008 election in particular, do you think romney's handling of the bin laden anniversary and the sniping with the president might have hurt him? do you think he maybe would have done better laying low? >> you heard that across the republican party. he did come out and say he did have -- he commented and said, you know, everybody did a good job here. i think it was either twitter or a statement. and he, you know, stopped short of being overly congratulate of the president.

but the republicans have taken this tact they made it overly partisan. at an event, if there's an occupy wall street protest around the corner, move it. >> my cabbies were not happy in new york city. >> i bet. >> what a difference, what, like a month or two make, because suddenly newt gingrich is dropping out today, we're barely talking about it, but he did put out a new video thanking his supporters. let's show a clip. >> a re-election of barack obama will be a genuine disaster. and all of us have an obligation, i think, to do everything we can to defeat barack obama. >> josh, what do you see his role in the republican party or more appropriately i guess the better question is in the romney campaign? anything? >> that video looked a little like a hostage video or something. i wonder if the romney campaign has him in some secret location. >> undisclosed location. a bunker. >> the romney campaign plans for him is for him to stay in a box somewhere for the next year and never talk to mitt.

this is like -- it's sort of like that scene with, you know, out of the "godfather" with michael and his brother. they don't want anything to do with him and they don't need him. >> this is a live picture of mitt romney. he is in chantilly, virginia, one of his events today. you know, we've been talking a lot about the fact he's waiting for friday, see what the job numbers brings and if he can get out of this whole thing with the president maybe winning some points in afghanistan. what do you think, really quickly, jackie, is there a role for newt gingrich going forward? >> yeah. i think quiet is going to be his role. i don't think -- it's not -- it's a negative for romney to have him with him at this point. also you've already seen the obama campaign rolling out some of gingrich's greatest hits in regard to romney. >> yeah. jackie, josh, great to have you both. thank you so much. >> thank you. facebook frenzy, ill's about to reach a fevered pitch going

public. mandy drury is here with what's moving your money. we have a date finally. i guess this is probably the most anticipated public offering maybe ever. >> yeah. you could possibly say that, chris. you know, the road show for facebook's ipo is scheduled to start on monday, which means the company's shares should therefore begin trading a couple weeks later, which would be may 18th, because road shows typically last about two weeks. yes, the founder and ceo, mark zuckerberg, will reportedly be involved in the road show. people say, well, why ipo? why does it need to? he's got big plans for the future and they need enough capital. >> how does facebook's public offering stack up with other big companies that went public? >> facebook is set to raise at least $5 billion. it will likely be the largest silly continue valley ipo ever, but certainly not the largest u.s. ipo ever and also certainly not the world's biggest ipo. in fact, facebook will only be the 12th largest ipo in american

history. so among those, according to "the washington post," that had bigger debuts, at&t, deutsche telekom, the $15.8 billion public offering of gm stock back in 2010, chris. it of course was performed in part to pay back the government. if you add in preferred shares, it came to over $20 billion. back in 2008 visa raised about $18 billion in its ipo. so facebook at about $5 billion or a bit more is definitely not in the top five. >> pocket change. mandy, great to see you again. thank you. >> thank you. tonight, speaking of lots of cash, one of the world's most recognizable works of art goes up for auction. one of four versions of edward mumpk's "the scream" could sell for $80 million or more at sotheby's. it is the only privately owned version of the painting and the $80 million price tag not surprisingly would make it among the highest ever for a piece of art. [ male announcer ] this is lois.

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could've had a v8. what has been hoped for for years now has scientific proof that cocoa is good for you. in a new study, a group of adults ate chocolate with 70% cocoa, others white chocolate with no cocoa. the group that ate 70% had lower blood glucose and lower levels of bad cholesterol. but mod ragts may be the key to unlock the benefits. this morning, hillary clinton confirmed that the blind chinese activist chen guangcheng left the embassy and has been reunited with his family. the officials say he wants to stay in china. chen has received assurances

from the chinese authorities about his future including the opportunity to pursue education. joining me is kerry kennedy, president of the kennedy center for the justice and human rights. great to have you here. >> great to be here. >> how good are these assurances? >> i think the main thing to focus on here is that chen was working on the china's one child policy. they have 35 million abortions in china every year. up to 35,000 a day. >> forced abortions and sterilizations. >> both of those and forced iuds, all of these terrible, terrible policies. and, you know, it's a complex issue. china is going to have to learn that they can't shut up the dissidents, they can't shut people up every time there's tainted milk or there's poorly built schools and they collapse on everyone. they need to be a strong country

that's going to understand dissent and allow people to speak freely. >> and obviously it's shining a light not just on the ability to speak freely but also on this issue, the one child policy. but does it change anything? >> well, i think that as they emerge in the world as a leader that they are going to see that they need to change these things. >> women's rights concerns are also being raised in light of president obama just signing an agreement in afghanistan. and we see him, he has just landed at andrews afb ofteir f e base, just got on marine one. one of the changes in afghanistan is with regard to women. women going back to work when i was there, talked to schoolgirls whose parents are illiterate, having that opportunity to go to school, get an education. one told me she wanted to be president of afghanistan one day. do you think this helps to preserve that? do you think it's still really dicey over there? talk to me about women's rights as you see them now in

afghanistan. >> well, as you know, before u.s. troops landed in afghanistan, there were only a couple hundred girls in school. there are now 2.4 million girls in school. >> unbelievable. >> 28% of their parliament are women, and they have equal rights for men and women. it's now part of their constitution. so there has been enormous, enormous change. of course there's tremendous fear that the taliban come back in and what happens to women's rights. so i think what we need to do is really keep the focus that president obama has said he's going to keep the focus on women's rights. we know that that's a great priority of secretary clinton, and that's what we all have to do is make sure that women's rights are not depleted by the pullout of the u.s. troops. >> people can find out more about this on your web site and also about an auction. kerry kennedy was here a couple days ago and everywhere she went

she was pulling people to get aukt items. where can people go? >> go to the rfkcenter.org website and bid on a chance to have lunch with you. >> and sit in the control room during "jansing and co." >> absolutely. >> some really great stuff on there. thanks for coming. >> thank you. >> today's tweet of the day comes from white house photographer pete souza who wrote heading back from afghanistan on air force one along with a link to a sloid show from the president's visit, including this picture of the president boarding at dawn. beautiful. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the personal attention

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good morning, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. president obama arrives back in the u.s. after visiting afghanistan. how are people reacting to the president's decision to keep america invested in afghanistan to at least 2024? mitt romney's recently hired spokesman on foreign policy is

out before getting started. was he replaceable because he is openly gay? and donating organs on facebook. the idea is a huge hit. we'll talk with one organization whose donations are up over 800%. chris? wow. thank you, thomas. jessica's big baby, beyonce's glam birth and twins. "down to the wire." jessica simpson is proud new mom to a baby girl announcing the birth of maxwell drew johnson on her website, 9 pounds, 13 ounces. they say this has been the greatest experience of their lives and thanked everyone for their love and support. beyonce apparently wanted to be gorgeous for the birth of her baby. she tells "people" before going to the hospital, she got her eyebrows wabced, her nails, feet and hair done and put on blue gloss. by the time blue ivy arrived, she barely recognized herself. in china, more than a thousand pairs of twins got together for a festival a lot in

matching outfits. triples and quadruplets were welcome. the mud carnival in china was held. the goal is to give best wishes to others by smearing mud. it began years ago when adults believed putting mud on kids prevented illness and death. and that wraps up this hour of "jansing & co." i'm chris jansing. thomas roberts is up next. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic.

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the year, 2024. that's how long president obama expects america to be invested in afghanistan. u.s. troops will be from in some form or fashion despite the drawdown. is that a reality the american people can stomach? newt gingrich's long good-bye coming to a close today. can he throw his full-fledged support behind mitt romney after the bitter primary fight? then mitt romney's foreign