in part because of his support for gay marriage. >> you should be able to give your kids the chance to do even better than you. no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like, no matter what your last name, no matter who you love. >> it certainly wasn't a focus of the president's remarks in seattle, but it's something he's already using to grow a contrast between himself and mitt romney. and it was a big hit at a fund raiser with george clooney later in the evening. contributor steve kornaki and karen hunter joining us right now. steve, i want to start with you. at that george clooney fund raiser, the president said this. quote, but the truth is it was a logical extension of what america's supposed to be. he continued going on saying it grew collectively out of this

difference in visions. are we a country that includes everybody and gives everybody a shot and treats everybody fairly and does that make us stronger? is it working for him right now this messaging? >> for me the most important thing is the response. i think back to 2004 when gay marriage became a national issue because of what happened with the massachusetts supreme court. they seized on that as an opportunity to make a referendum on gay marriage. rallying behind the we're against it side. it seems like mitt romney and john boehner yesterday, they do not want to talk about this. they recognize there's as much danger here, maybe more for them, as there is for obama. >> karen, why is there danger? gop members not coming forward. >> you're asking why is it danger for the gop to talk about this?

because they can't win. popular opinion is this is an issue that the president came out for that is absolutely right. then you have these states -- 32 of them have said no we don't want this. there's this conflict going on and they can't win this. at the end of the day they're viewed as the party of no. >> let me play this ad for you that the obama campaign just put out. >> same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> i indicated my view which is i do not favor marriage between people of the same gender and i don't favor civil unions. >> i don't think we should deny people rights to a civil union. >> now, karen, the romney campaign said they will campaign on this issue. will we see the obama campaign continue to beat this drum? >> absolutely. it does strike at the very core of the differences between these two men. one guy seems to be completely connected with one guy and

humanity. the other guy seems totally disconnected from that same humanity. for him to be to the right. >> it's interesting in the primary season mitt romney was against civil unions and not just gay marriage. but yesterday now he feels some pressure on this. he came out and said he's for the right of gay couples to adopt. >> that was a headline yesterday, yeah. >> that's a sign he recognizes the danger. 32 states have voted against this when it's been on the ballot. but so many of those states had referendums two, four, six, eight years ago. some are looking to bring it back that it would pass this time around. between now and six months it'll change more. >> this also bears a distinction. one person, mitt romney, is capitulating to what the public is saying or the climate is. this president came out when he didn't have to.

literally came out of the closet with this when he didn't have to. albeit biden pushed him out. this wasn't going to help him politically. now he's capitalizing. >> harry reid now on the record and steny hoyer supporting. looking to see if they can repeal. will we see legislative action? >> that's not something you'll see this year. republican control of the house so nothing will happen. look at the video you just played. between obama saying firmly where he stands and mitt romney flexing. what romney was doing there is what obama was doing until this week. biden put it out there and made everybody focus on it. if it's going to be a top issue in this campaign, it was important for obama to take a clear stand.

it creates the contrast. he took a stand. and mitt romney is playing the time here as this waffler. >> and romney is saying he's not going to see any evolution. stay with us right now if you can, karen and steve. i want to get to this. president obama isn't the only one who evolved on the gay marriage thought. jesse jackson has as well. joining me now is reverend jesse jackson. very good morning to you. >> to you, sir. >> reverend, let's start with this. you said the fight for gay marriage is like the fight for civil rights. to many, that's a huge comparison. >> well, we live on the one set of rules. in my lifetime, if a black man married a white woman in the south, it was illegal. but dangerous for him and wrong

for her. equality under the law for people of color, people of religion. >> if we look back to 2004 and perhaps your position has changed and evolved on this. you said comparing the struggle for gay rights to the struggle for civil rights is a stretch saying quote, gays were never called 3/5 human in the constitution. you said that in an appearance at harvard law school. what has changed since then for you? >> there's an appreciation of the fact you have -- you accept people who are gay as soldiers, as doctors, as judges, as lawyers, as family members. and they have basic civil rights under the law. we live on our faith. we live on the law. and the law requires we have one set of rules. that's why the president was bold in making his personal opinion felt. however, i think civil rights not reduced to states rights.

if you support the right to vote then throw it back to the states, the states may deny those basic rights. so i think that his evolution is in the right direction. for the humanity of all people. >> will the president's statement as you have heard in the discussions since he did come out and support same sex marriage, will this cause some african-american voters just to stay home? >> i hope not. this should not be a deal breaker. while this is a matter of very great and sensitive concern, on the other hand when he came into office we were losing thousands of jobs a month. the arrow is pointing up. soldiers are home now. he is fighting to raise student participation and lower student cost. even have obama care, many are being cared for that would be

dead today if not cared for. you have to put in broader terms and come up with his quest for human rights of all his reconstruction is in our interests to embrace. >> reverend jesse jackson, thank you. steve and karen still with us. another story we're watching is mitt romney. this came out overnight in the washington post. it's about an incident that happened when he was in high school. five classmates saying he was part of a group that tackled a student, held him down and cut his hair. the student was described as someone as different. here's mitt romney defending himself. listen to this. >> i don't recall the incident myself. but i've seen the reports and not going to argue with that. there's no question. i did some stupid things when i was in high school. and obviously if i hurt anyone by virtue of that, i would be very sorry for it and apologize

for it. >> what do you think of it? >> i'm kind of two minds on this. i don't like the idea of going back to somebody's teenage years. everybody has unflattering moments in their teenage years. when you look at the details of this one, this is more than just a prank. someone involved said this was an assault. this was something that was obviously seared into the memories of the victim and people that did this with mitt romney. the thing that strikes me about this isn't that he did it 45 years ago it's when he's asked about it, there's something disingenuous about saying i don't remember it. >> and the target was allegedly homosexual. >> at the time they said he didn't know. but he had long blond hair. i agree with steve. that jumped out at -- i remember every cruel thing i ever did --

that he couldn't something so cruel says he's vacuous, disconnected, or a liar. all of those make him not fit to be the president of the united states in my opinion. that cutting hair off is so cruel to me. he held someone down and cut their hair off because they were different. >> that was half a century. will every candidate be evaluated for their entire record of their entire life then? is it fair? >> that's why i'm uncomfortable with it. when this came out yesterday, if romney's response had shown some real genuine contrition like yeah, that happened or something like that happened and i'm horrified when i look back. and believe me, ask anybody i know, i'm not that way now. i'm happy to let it go. >> but have to put the dog on his roof that likes to fire people. he still makes all these

comments he says he might be that person. >> example of bill clinton said he did not inhale. even george w. bush and his drinking. these are other cases that may be in line with this. >> this is a clear path of change in a person. we all go through our metamorphosis as human beings. hopefully we're not the same as 20 years ago. but this man seems to have a complete disconnect -- >> this is 50 years ago though. >> but he's still a person that could put a dog on a roof and laugh about it, i like firing people. there's just this weird inhumanity that i think spells out with this case. so there's a correlation to me. it's not just 50 years ago. >> and it's coming at a time -- i mean, 2012 -- we are talking about this. we're talking about bullying. we're having a conversation we haven't had before. you would think politically romney would be attuned to not

only does this look bad but where the country is right now. >> there's also a statement that comes from the family that reads quote, the family of john lauber would like to state that the portrayal of john is factually incorrect and we are aggrieved that john would be used to further a political agenda. there will be no further comments from the family. we have to leave it there. i thank you both for joining us. a lot of talk about on a friday. steve and karen, thanks so much. the president is leaving la la land and george clooney. what happens at these $15 million event dinners? next. dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful.

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president obama's campaign coffers are $15 million richer

thanks to george clooney and supporters. most played $40,000 a piece for the uber-exclusive sold out dinner. names in assistance. tobey mcguire, robert downey jr., salma hayek, jack black. just to name a few. i want to welcome in howard. quite an event. sold out. 150 seats. question is, there's a lot of celebrities in tinsel town. who decides who gets in and who gets shut out here? >> well, first of all, it's a very steep ticket. it's $40,000 a person. that's not a couple. so there was money as a limiting factor. the second thing is george clooney, jeffrey katzenberg, very respected hollywood players who know who's who, who was there the first time for obama, and who deserves to be there the second time. let me explain something.

a lot of people think this was an amazing glitzy over the top event. certainly the guest list was. but 150 people is very intimate by hollywood standards. it's sort of a small bar mitzvah in our town which means people really had a chance to spend time with the president. he went to every table. and i can also tell you it wasn't over the top. it was very elegant and understated. and the white house was very concerned how this played in middle america and kept it purposefully low key. >> we're looking at some of the pictures. green table cloths, had some chandeliers hanging down. inside these events, what is it like? any business done or all just enjoying company? >> there's always business done. these people know each other. you have a great mixture of stars and insiders in the business.

agents, people who are running studios, so there's always business done. but people know each other. it's like a great cocktail party with everybody you ever wanted to have a cocktail with. >> everyone wants in on it. >> and again very intimate. two people did get in on it. while the hollywood crowd raised about $5 million, there was close to $10 million raised by a raffle. and anybody could donate $3 to the campaign and be in the raffle to get a plane ticket and invited to the dinner. and two ladies won. it's a new and novel fund raising technique. it works when you have george clooney and president obama. >> a science teacher was one of the winners. and very common people. a utility company employee from florida. kind of getting in on the action at a bargain rate. also what had happened there, the wave of the president's statement on marriage equality.

just the day before. how did that play out at the event? >> really interesting. this is a crowd that has been in the forefront of marriage equality particularly jeffrey katzenberg and some of the others involved. i know they were happy. but the word same sex marriage was never really said at the event. the president said i guess we made some news yesterday and there was pretty wild applause. but again it was down played. and the message he sent was this is going to be a very hard race. i appreciate the help. and he went back to his basic campaign message points about the economy, about the environment, about health care. some of the achievements that he's had that he really needs to resell. >> howard bragman, thank you so much for the insight. looking at what happened at that 150 seat high priced fund raiser. appreciate it. all right. it is graduation time. and the big name commencement

speakers are going back to school. first lady michelle obama will address students at virginia tech. and dr. jill biden is in iowa at southwestern community college. tomorrow mitt romney heads to liberty university. president obama will be at barnard college on monday ahead of his appearance on "the view." and oprah winfrey will be at spelman college. [ male announcer ] what's in your energy drink?

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backing off her dual swiss citizenship. she writes quote, i took this action because i wanted to make it perfectly clear. i was born in america and i'm a proud american citizen. the obama campaign is running six new ads in states. they tout the president's stance on jobs and the auto bailout. >> obama stuck his neck out for us, the auto industry, and wasn't going to just let it die. i'm driving in this morning because of that, because of him. >> and mitt romney said we'll see more of his personality on the campaign trail soon. >> i'll do a sing off. i don't think i'll play the president a round of golf, but i'll take him through a water ski course. we have different skills and different interests and different hobbies. i must admit that my kids and my grand kids are my hobby and consume a lot of my interest and

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authorities in mississippi are sharing new details about the dramatic end to a man hunt for a kidnapping and murder suspect. adam mays shot and killed himself after he was tracked down yesterday. officials say he was holding two young sisters from tennessee captive after allegedly killing their older sister and mother. the girls are safe. they were treated and released from a hospital. mays' mother-in-law reacted to the news on the "today" show. >> maybe he done it to have possession of the two children that he claimed were his biological children. >> do you believe that? >> do i believe that they were his children? >> yeah.

>> no. they were not his children. >> joining me now is nbc news analyst and former fbi profiler clint van zandt. good to see you. what have you learned of these latest developments, thousahow authorities tracked these guys down. >> there was a substantial reward. in a case like this you don't necessarily need a reward. we want them off the street. but law enforcement, they really cast a net. and in a case like this, this is not the type of person who would flee to california or new york. this is the type of guy psychologically he would stay in the area like a trapped or wounded animal. that's where profilers would say look for this guy. supposedly they saw a vehicle limpged to him parked. the authorities came in with a tactical team. they attempted to take him alive, and he shot himself.

>> what is this profile you're talking about? that he stays within the area you're describing. what is that profile. >> when you have someone who's a localized individual who has invested most of his time and energy -- as we know the victims' families were going to move west. he wanted to keep the two girls in that. all of this contributes to a profile of a person who's most comfortable especially in a fugitive status in an area that he knows where he can move around, knows the roads, knows the people, knows where to hide. this is not a guy who would run down to virginia beach or miami beach. he would stay in that area. that's where the authorities kept looking for him. >> which may have been a god send for the authorities there. clint, this just coming in from the associated press. it reads that the suspect here, there were allegations in tennessee earlier of child abuse and child pornography two years ago. was this known before?

>> i think the authorities knew this. this would have come up. look, richard, this guy had a fantasized relationship with these two younger children. he murdered the mother because it was the two younger children in his mind he wanted to possess. whether they were his biological children or not, that doesn't matter. the fantasy said i'm going to kidnap these two children and run to the woods where we will survive together. to us that's crazy. in his mind that's what he put together. and that, of course, is what brought about his ultimate demise is there was no furtherance of the plot. he had no funds to use or anything else. that's how the authorities were able to zero in on him. it took a few days, but this ask a guy who's not going to be on the run more than a week or two. >> so let's talk about that. biological children of the

suspect here or not and if so, how would that play here? his very own children. >> yeah. part of this is going to be trying to unravel. the suspect in this case now deceased was a family member, was related by marriage to the stepfather of these girls at this time. so this is going to be a challenge. it's going to take a wiring diagram to figure out who's related to whom. and the issue right now, the two girls are safe. and number two, charged with murder or aiding and abetting. and how was he able to stay a fugitive the past two weeks. has somebody been helping him in if so, they're going to be charged too. >> you brought up who may have helped him along the way. that is his ex-wife. some o saying she was there when

this alleged crime happened. what do you know about that? >> well, this is something a jury of 12's going to have to deal with. i have seen women who have been very traumatized in the past who if their significant other said to do something either because they feared for their life or because they had been so repressed and dominated, they went along. i've seen women go along with murder just because it kept the husband happy or it kept the husband's hands off of them. i'm sure she's going to make a case i had no choice. the jury will say you watched him kill and adopt children. and not once did you think about dialing 911. this is going to be some bizarre example of a stockholm syndrome where perhaps she was so intimidated, so frightened that she felt she had no choice. but a jury is going to have to

say did she have a responsibility to act outside of that or not. >> to get mays' ex-wife charged with murder and mother with kidnapping charges. those were the photos we were looking at a moment ago. the good news is the girls were found okay and are out of the hospital. thank you. >> thank you. some other stories making news this morning, day three in the murder trial of jennifer hudson's former brother-in-law. belfour is accused of killing her mother, nephew, and brother. got a big breakthrough in the fight against hiv. fda advisory panel has endorsed the first drug shown to prevent hiv in healthy people. it's for people who have high risk of contracting the disease through sexual contact. final decision by mid-june. the provocative "time"

magazine cover. it features a california mom breast-feeding her almost 4-year-old son to promote a story on attachment parenting. on "today," the cover mom talked about the controversy and how long she plans on breast-feeding. >> i'm hoping our fourth year, just for me, is going to be our final. he's self-weaning right now. it's a big commitment. and it's not -- you know, it's not right for everybody. and i think that that's the big thing. you need to do what's best for your baby and your own family. >> just a side note here, jamie says her mom breast-fed her until she was six years old. take a look at this. a controversial ritual in india. baby tossing. we'll explain what was going on here when we go down to the wire. president obama is in is state -- mortgage rates are at a

new risk low. at the same time, many are having a tough time refinancing. he will visit reno where he may help millions of homeowners get lower sbes rates. john harwood joins me now. >> morning, richard. >> what are we expecting to hear from the president? >> he's going to reiterate the item related to housing. that is to cut what he calls red tape and financing. the documentation lenders require. it has been difficult for a lot of people who would benefit by several thousands dollars a year from lower interest rates to get the refinancing. banks are reluctant to land in there because of the risks by the financial crisis. they're reluctant to take the steps to refinance. and the president's trying to help that along. unfortunately for him, the bill's not going anywhere in congress because republicans say it will be ineffective like

other policies proposed by the president. he's also trying to draw a contrast with the republican nominee who earlier in the year when he was out in nevada said he wanted the housing market to hit bottom and not get in the way of foreclosures because that would speed the recovery of the housing market. >> basically saying get the bad out so it can heal the housing market. when we look at these ideas that are being reemphasized by the president and we see that finish line of the election in november, could any of these ideas, any of these plans be implemented before then that homeowners could feel before november? >> it's not likely. i don't think that proposal is going anywhere. like other items on the president's to do list. we've got a real partisan standoff. both sides are taking their best shot. the president by traveling around highlighting this proposal is trying to draw a contrast he thinks is going to be beneficial to him.

mitt romney is going after the president on jobs and energy and other issues. >> take a step back for us. let us know if this does go through what it enmeans to the millions of homeowners if this can happen. >> well, wouldn't likely effect millions of homeowners. but some significant increment of homeowners if they were able to slash the amount of red tape that was required for some of these loans could get faster refinancing, better access to credit from banks and save several thousand dollars a rate. one of the tragedies of the current situation is with interest rates so low, there's so many who could benefit. some of mitt romney's advisers call for a mass refinancing as well. but it's difficult to get that done. it's difficult to get the banks to move and to get the congress to move to make this a reality. >> on that note here, the debate on the hill is gave all this money to the banks yet they're not releasing it. that was earlier on as you

remember. you see these low interest rates. what can the fed do to get the banks to release some of this money to loosen up the requirements. >> the fed has continued a policy of very low interest rates to try to make more money available for people to borrow, make it easier for people to borrow. but we've seen from the lack of deep impact of a lot of the president's housing programs that you haven't been able to get many banks to move. it's been very difficult. this is an intractable problem. and really economic recovery is the key to this where a lot of those loans under water wouldn't be under water anymore. people would be in a more solid position to borrow. >> i look at it as a push-pull situation we haven't seen more push at least for the moment. thank you so much. a stunning loss from the nation's biggest bank is giving new ammunition on lawmakers trying to prevent the type of risk that led to the great

recession. jpmorgan chase revealing it lost $2 billion and could lose a billion more after risky bet blew up in their face. jam jamie dimon explains. >> in hindsight it was poorly reviewed, poorly executed and poorly monitored. the portfolio has proven to be riskier more volatile than we thought. >> you know, this is some fresh fodder for the lawmakers who have been pushing for tougher banking regulations. >> it's really quite a surprise, quite a shock in fact, that jpmorgan is going to take this loss. and the co-author of the legislation included in the dodd frank act implementing the rule, it is strong mind for why regulators need to establish the rule. this is what the senator had to say.

the erroneous loss is just the latest evidence that what banks call hedges are often risky bets that so-called too big to fail banks have no business making. now, it's obviously a stock reminder of the need for regulators. he goes on to talk about how we need to protect the taxpayer from this risk. just to recap some of the things that happened. it's not just the monetary loss here. it's also a setback in terms of the reputation. finding the white shoes are scuffed. this is a bank that kind of came through the financial crisis a lot better off than other banks. in terms of its share price, it's viewed the best of bank stock. it is falling today and taking a lot of the other major financials with it. but is not effecting the overall market. >> we hope it doesn't effect other banks. for the everyday consumer, that is. let's switch to something. the largest ipo in a long time, we've been talked about facebook, right?

>> yep. >> and the founder of facebook, mark zuckerberg, going to these meetings trying to drum up excitement but he's wearing a hoodie. >> yeah. he's wearing a hoodie. and he's getting a lot of flack from it. it is his trademark, i get that. but these are really important bank sponsored meetings with potential investors during the road show for facebook. the reaction has been mixed, but some people have said he's showing the investors he doesn't care that much. he's going to be him. >> it doesn't make a big difference. he can show up in his swim trunks if he wanted to. >> he's got a billion dollars, buy a suit. i think it might be a mark of immaturity. whatever, he's going to be a rich young man. i'm not sure i care what he wears. >> and it is friday after all. thank you so much. >> thank you.

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corner, the news couldn't come at a better time. a potentially pivotal time in the john edwards trial with asking to dismiss corruption charges against etd wards just a day after the prosecution finished its case. edwards is accused of masterminding a plan to use secret donations from wealthy donors to hide his mistress in 2008. joining me is hampton dellinger. hampton, asking the judge to dismiss the charges, is this pretty routine? >> oh, it is a routine motion and it is routinely denied. but the lawyer clearly wasn't going through the motions this morning. he argued strenuously for more than an hour that this case does not include a shred of evidence at this point in front of the jury that edwards had the specific intent to violate the law. there were times the judge

looked skeptical. it's more likely than not we'll be back on monday. >> well, hampton, if they know that the odds are low, why would they do that? do they believe their case is weak then? >> i do -- well, that could be part of it. it's really the risk of a case going in front of any jury in a state of 10 million there's going to be 12 jurors that are going to decide the fate. if the judge doesn't dismiss the case today. this is the first of its kind, a prosecution different than any other in the political corruption context. i think edwards and his attorneys believe there's not the case that's been made of his intent to violate the law so far after three weeks of government's evidence. >> and having such notoriety. before resting the case the prosecution played a tape of a tv interview where edwards repeatedly lied about his extramarital affairs and denied being the parent of the baby.

how effective was the use of that video? >> i think it was very effective. the government thought it was the strongest piece of evidence. that's why they ended the case with the video yesterday. it was john edded wards not under oath by on tv in 2008 lying repeatedly about different aspects of the affair and the coverup. he never confessed to a crime, but it also puts the pressure on john edwards to take the stand. the jury has now seen john edwards, heard voice mails, seen e-mails. he took a huge risk taking this to trial. i think he'll take the stand if it goes forward. >> as it goes forward and i think you're saying it probably will, what will the defense need to do here? >> well, they need to further undermine andrew young. his credibility took serious hits on cross examination.

will try to take folks to try to take the stand and further undermine andrew young as minute this jury can trust. the big issues will be will edwards take the stand and will he call rielle hunter as well. >> on that note, they did give rielle hunter here what we understand immunity from prosecution in connection with this case. yet they did not call her to the stand. what's their thought behind this? what's their strategy? >> well, it came out so early in the government's case that so little of the money used to cover up the affair made it to rielle hunter. most of the money wound up in the money pit that was andrew young's dream home. i think for the government the last thing they want to do is emphasize that the mistress saw almost none of the money and the youngs their star witnesses took home almost all of it. >> thank you. today's tweet of the day comes from reporter zeke miller

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hello, everyone. i'm alex witt. here's what's on the agenda today. mitt romney and republicans anxious to turn the nation's attention away from equality and back to the economy. >> i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> this is an incredibly moving moment for america. >> the president, the democrats can talk about this all they .