jury deliberates a bombshell revelation coming from the jerry sandusky trial, that his son is a victim of sexual abuse as well. this allegation made by matt sandusky, who is seen here going into the courthouse this week. he went public just hours after the jury got this case, and his lawyers say matt was prepared to testify against his father. it's a huge revelation. and michael isikoff joins us now live from bellefonte, pennsylvania. michael, this is something that you and the team there were working on confirming the fact that matt was lined up as a rebut yacht witness if jerry sandusky had taken the stand. but explain the prosecution's logic in dropping this bombshell when the jury gets the case to deliberate and also has there been a response from jerry or dottie sandusky? >> reporter: well, a couple things, thomas. first of all, the prosecutors did not drop it. we reported it exclusively on the "today" show yesterday, and in part because we had been

doing reporting on this and our camera people here got footage of matt sandusky accompanied by state troopers entering the courthouse on wednesday morning. now, why this was so stunning is matt sandusky has been a stalwart supporter of his father throughout this. he was actually seen in the courtroom on the first day of the trial monday for the opening testimony by the first witness, victim four, and actually continued to stay friendly -- to stay on his father's side, was seen going to his father's house on father's day, but something about that testimony on that first day triggered a reaction in matt sandusky and caused him to contact prosecutors telling them he had relevant information for this case. he couldn't be a witness in the case-in-chief as it were because all the witnesses had already been lined up, they had to inform the defense of it, but when it came down to whether or

not jerry sandusky was going to take the stand, prosecutors informed the defense they had this bombshell witness, matt sandusky, ready to testify against the father. >> the big revelation in the fact that matt was going to testify it's not so much about things he had seen but it's about the fact he says he's a victim, too. >> reporter: exactly, and that became clear when the -- when matt sandusky's lawyer put out the statement late yesterday afternoon saying that -- confirming that my client, matt sandusky, says he is a victim of jerry sandusky's abuse. and, look, this has been long suspected by many involved in this case. matt sandusky's mother has suggested publicly on multiple occasions she believes her son was abused by jersey sandusky while he was under foster care originally in the second mile program, then gets adopted boy jerry sandusky at the age of 18 and investigators had looked at

this very closely for a long time, but something broke, something triggered a reaction in matt sandusky's mind. we don't know exactly what, but watching that testimony the first day that caused him to have this dramatic turnaround. >> michael isikoff reporting from bellefonte, pennsylvania. thanks so much. keep us posted if there are developments from the jury. joining me is former prosecutor and civil attorney john q. kelly. john, as we understand it, the jury is getting readback testimony right now on mcqueary, coach mcqueary's testimony about what he witnessed in 2001 when he alleges having seen jerry sandusky in the shower with a young boy in some type of sexual altercation. explain when we talk about matt sandusky why he would not have been incorporated as a witness and only be used as rebuttal? >> well, i think he had come forward too late for the prosecution to actually have charged his stepdad with the sexual abuse charges.

this was a last-minute thing. i think they chose to hold onto his testimony and use it for rebuttal if sandusky did testify and say didn't happen, didn't do it, it's all fictional. >> so that really did put water or dampen the fact of the defense actually putting sandusky on the stand. it didn't happen. they rested their case. the jury is now deliberating. does that mean that prosecutors will then move ahead potentially to formulate new charges on the basis of matt sandusky's testimony and charge jerry sandusky in a whole new case? >> i think they will wait and see what happens with his case. if sandusky is convicted and he receives a life sentence or life-plus, "x" amount of years, i don't think they might choose to prosecute him on additional charges. >> would the judge -- >> if he was acquitted, they might reload -- >> would the judge then take into account if he's found guilty on these charges, take into account matt sandusky's claims and maybe lump that type of accusation or what's alleged into how he rules?

>> well, they could. the judge could take additional prior bad conduct in consideration in sentencing, but i think whether you had matt sandusky's, you know, testimony for sentencing purposes or not, he's facing a life sentence. >> let's go over some of the background because there are signs of matt sandusky being in some trouble when he was living with the sanduskys. apparently he tried to commit suicide four months after going to live there. a newspaper interviewed matt's biological mother who says she tried to get him back from the sandusky home. the paper reporting say, quote, last spring she cold grand jurors she witnessed stalking behavior and suspected something was wrong based on a change in her son's attitude. she asked matt if sandusky had tou touched him and he answered i don't want to talk to about that. however, matt supported jerry after his arrest, however matt and his wife are the ones that filed paper to not have their

children be able to sleep overnight at sandusky's house during this trial. so just want to remind everybody about that. it's just so mind-blowing and baffling to everybody that's watching this to think that this young man or -- and he's now 33 years old, having been in court and watching this trial and something, a straw that broke the camel's back that made him go to prosecutors. >> and it could have been mrs. sandusky's testimony or something like that where he just said, enough is enough. you know, i have got to step up and support these victims, and he knew what they had gone through and realized that he had to, you know, not stay silent any longer. people just have to understand, sexual abuse victims, everybody is going to struggle with whether to come forward and go public or not. each one of these victims that testified, it's clear that it was two or three interviews before they could admit the fact that they had been these type of victims, and people i think understand it's not something you easily confront and admit.

>> it's absolutely hellacious. john g. kelly, the jury is getting this read back about mcqueary's testimony and they could come back at any time. they've been working on this case since yesterday afternoon but we'll continue to follow it. thanks. coming up in just over two hours, president obama will address the largest gathering of elected latino officials in the country. the president is going to speak before the national association of latino elected and appointed officials. the principal for rum or candidates to address latino politicians and their millions of constituents. mitt romney vowed to fight for more comprehensive immigration reform. it's not what romney said but what he didn't say that's the isn't of a new ad by the obama campaign. the campaign saying romney never addressed how he'd handle the president's new policy on deportation. >> i'm very disappointed because i want to know what my life is going to be like when he gets elected. i want to know what my family's life is going to be like when he

gets elected, if he gets elected. >> so let's say good morning to our political power panel. we have ken vogel, senienior reporter, karen finney, nbc column, and danny vargas, former chair of the republican national hispanic assembly. it's great to have all three of you here. danny, i want to start with you. four years ago the president promised to be an advocate for the latino community. i want to remind everybody what he had to say then. >> you can trust me when i say that i will be your partner in the white house and i will be your champion when i'm in the white house. for eight long years washington has not been working for ordinary americans and has not been working for hard-working latino-americans. >> danny, we fast forward to today and now we have the president's recent announcement on the executive action concerning immigration. more importantly though the promise of these temporary work permits for the youth who qualify for that. is the president finally

delivering? >> well, so much for a champion and a partner in the white house. frankly, since president obama took office we have had 2 million more hispanics in poverty. we have 11% unemployment among the hispanic population. he spent the first 2 1/2 years he was in office when he promised that he would address immigration reform, he did absolutely nothing to move forward a legislative solution and he comes out five months before an election with an executive order that doesn't have the force of law behind it as a way to pander to the hispanic vote. absolutely the dream act, young people see this as an encouraging sign but they also know this is a temporary solution. it's a band-aid approach. it's not a solution that gives us any concrete certainty to people who are looking for a solution they can hang their hat on. governor romney when he gave his speech yesterday, he says he will move forward with real concrete solutions working in a bipartisan ways with leaders of

congress to move forward the agenda that these young people and all americans want to see, and that includes making sure we have an economy that creates jobs and helps folks in our community find jobs and seek -- >> karen, i think you're chuckling there. but i want -- >> look, i think a couple quick things. i mean, you know, how disrespectful is it that romney would go to the conference after in the primary having talked about self-deportation and not think that that audience deserves some kind of explanation. instead, they got more platitudes and a lot of what he was express something what we have heard from republicans. i think what the problem is that romney seems to forget and danny i think is kind ever rewriting history here a little bit, from day one president obama has been a supporter of the dream act, but remember in congress it has been jammed up by who? the republicans. the president got to the point where he said there's not going to be legislative action. congress can't get its act together, this is what i'm going to do. at the same time i think most

latinos remember that this debate really goes back, you have got to go back. remember the tone in 2005, and that's when the republican party started to lose a lot of latinos. then remember that john mccain, who was once a champion of comprehensive immigration row form, completely turned his back on that when he was running for president in 2008. so the history suggests there is no reason to believe that mitt romney will be any more successful in passing comprehensive immigration reform and, in fact, he wants to go back. >> a new latino decisions poll conducted partly after the president announced his new policy showing him with big leads over romney in battleground states with latino population growing. >> ken, immigration certainly an important issue for latino voters but so is the economy right fou and a lot of people need that issue addressed. unemployment among the group as danny bricks up rose from april to may ending at 10.4% last month. is this a key chance though for the president not only to come in basically book ending what

his executive action was in discussion on immigration but to play clean up, so to speak, about mitt romney being there yesterday, but a redo of his economic message from ohio and to hit stronger on that? >> sure. i think we'll see him address that again just because it is not only the message that they're trying to push right now in addition to this criticism of mitt romney on immigration issues, but it is to an extent an acknowledgment if he does address it that he didn't really drive the message quite as hard as he intended to or as his campaign hoped he would in ohio. i don't think he's going to get a free pass though here. some of the points that danny made are, in fact, valid and they are on the minds of hispanic leaders who we talked to who say they are disappointed that he did not invest more capital in comprehensive immigration reform of the sort he promised during his 2008 campaign. they are dispointed under his administration deportations are rising and depending on who you talk to at a record high. so, yes, they're happy with the

executive order, yes, that executive order puts romney in a box, but, no, i don't think he has, as mitt romney said, i don't think that he can take the hispanic population voter bloc support for granted. >> less than 24 hours after mitt romney's speech, the obama campaign released the new ad we showed in introing all of this. romney saying yesterday he would work for more long-term solutions, but did he clearly and krisc ckris it will cleacry what would happen? >> it isn't a solution, it's a band-aid approach. the only way to get to the point where we provide some relief to this population that i think we all care about is to be able to come up with a legislative legal solution and not side step the congress, not side step the constitution. we have to be able to make sure we hold president obama accountable. he's asking hispanic voters now to be able to think, don't pay

attention to what happened over the last 3 1/2 years, don't believe your own lying eyes, trust me things will get better e eventually. >> danny. >> the fact is his policies have failed the hispanic community. we have folks going into poverty in droves and we have a mountain of debt that our kids and our grand kids are going to have to deal with. so -- >> can i just -- >> we have to look forward to a future that's more hopeful where jobs are being created and where there are concrete legislative solutions to the big problems we know we have to face. >> if we're going to have a conversation about the economy, i'm going to point you to two important stories out today. one in "the wall street journal," not a bastion of liberalism, that suggests that under a president romney that the economy would actually constrict and under president obama and the policies he is ed a -- advocating the economy would grow. that's the kind of information you will use when you're making a decision. who is going to continue to create jobs and grow the

economy? a second story in "the washington post" showed us today that mitt romney is all about outsourcing jobs to overseas. he did that when he was at bain. did he that when he was governor of massachusetts. that is not the kind of strategy that is going to build a good economy in america with good jobs, good paying jobs, nor is a grown card solution which is not right for all workers. we want good jobs for all workers with good benefits and we need to crackdown on the companies hiring people who are here illegally, not just victimizing and attacking those immigrants who are here illegally. >> thank you for your time. ken, karen, danny, again, i appreciate it. to learn more about the issues impacting the latino community head over to nbclatino.com. thanks again. fast and furious, the political war of words over attorney general eric holder's contempt vote reaching a fever

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do you really think this has reached the stage where eric holder should not be holding his job? >> i do. i don't take this stuff lightly. i was asked a question today and my opinion is we've reached a point of no return. >> marco rubio joining the growing number of republican lawmakers calling for his resignation. >> when he returns from denmark, the controversy surrounding a

looming house vote will be waiting for him. what is the best and worst scenarios for the ag and the administration in general? kelly o'donnell joins me with more on this. the department of justice has been firm when it comes to their terms on this issue. can eric holders avoid the house vote? >> at this point it looks like it is definitely headed to that vote with a big caveat. both sides are saying that there is still time to try to work something out. will that happen over the weebewee weekend or into the week. we don't have a set schedule for a contempt vote. maybe a cooling off period. speaker boehner still says that he believes that the justice department needs to turn over these documents. republicans also say they do respect the right of a president to assert executive privilege. however, they do want to take a careful look at those documents to see if they do, in fact, qualify. so that's part of what we have to see happen here. there will be a chance to resolve it. will it happen? we're just not sure yet.

>> nbc's kelly o'donnell reporting from washington. we'll all wait and watch. thank you. house speaker john boehner is warning the republicans if, if, the supreme court overturns the president's health care law, details ahead in the pol y side bar. plus, humanity at its best and worst. a community and the world rallies behind an elderly bus monitor who was bullied by a vicious group of teens. [ dad ] i'm usually checking up on my kids. but last year my daughter was checking up on me. i wasn't eating well. she's a dietitian and she suggested i try boost complete nutritional drink to help get the nutrition i was missing. now i drink it every day, and i love the great taste. [ female announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to help keep bones strong and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. your favorite patient is here! [ dad ] i choose great taste. i choose boost.

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welcome to hotels.com.d. summer road trip, huh? as the hotel experts, finding you the perfect place is all we do. this summer, save up to 30%, plus get up to $100 on us. welcome to hotels.com. i'm sorry, that's the message coming from the bullies caught on camera brutally taunting their elderly school bus monitor. meanwhile, support continues to pour in for the woman at the receiving end of those insults and taunts which have been heard by millions now online. nbc's craig melvin has more from greece, new york. >> you don't have a family because they call killed themselves because they didn't want to be near you. >> reporter: when they were done taunting, cursing, and

threatening karen klein, one of the searchth graders posted it online. more than 2 million have watched the 13-year-olds bully their 68-year-old bus monitor. now, three of the four boys and their parents are apologizing. in statements released through police, one student writes, i am so sorry for the way i treated you. when i saw the video i was disgusted and could not believe i did that. i will never treat anyone this way again. a parent says, quote, i would like it if he could do some work for you or help you in some way. i am embarrassed, angry, and sad about the awful way he treated you. the same video that's triggered so much anger and disbelief has sparked nearly as much compassion and generosity. >> i saw what those kids did to you and it nearly had me in tears. i want you to know how many people are here for you. >> reporter: letters, calls, and flowers have poured in. some of the support is emotional

but much of has been financial. >> never have we seen a campaign raise this much money this quickly in less than 36 hours. >> reporter: more than 21,000 strangers have logged onto indyagogo and donated more than $440,000 to send klein on a dream vacation and help her retire. >> i mean, i get chills, you know. >> reporter: at thursday news conference, school officials said they were still vuthing and wile they wouldn't give specifics, promised strong disciplinary action. police said the bullies are now being harassed. >> their families have been threatened, their brothers and sisters have been threatened. >> reporter: police say criminal charges are unlikely partly because klein doesn't want to prosecute. she wants a private meeting instead. >> i would like to find out if they really realize how serious this is h you know, and why -- i want to know why they had to do

that, why they don't respect elders. >> that was nbc's craig melvin reporting for us. romney's big retreat, big money, big donors, and big name republicans all gathering in utah to discuss strategy for the presidential election. we'll bring you up to speed on that. plus, want a pair of free pearl jam concert tickets? all you need to do is spot a certain politician. we'll bring you the details. and going under the sea. an underwater exploration that would no doubt make the jacques cousteau and his family completely jealous. ♪ under the sea, under the sea ♪ ♪ darling it's better down where it's wetter take it from me ♪ [ female announcer ] did you know the average person smiles

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republican heavy hitters for a thre three- three-day retreat. nbc news senior political editor mark murray is in washington. garrett, i start with you, the people coming into this retreat calling it republican palooza. >> you have donors from all 50 states coming in for this, as many as 300 of the rain makers in the republican party. basically if you were able to pony up a check of $50,000 or more for the xanl campaign or y were a bundler, you got an invite. the attraction is not just the face time with the candidate but also an opportunity to sit in and learn from and listen to folks like karl rove who is going to be holding a panel about media, john mccain, condoleezza rice talking about foreign affairs. that's one of the big draws for the sort of rainmaker top class of republican donors.

>> we'll talk a little bit about the money, about the president and the money efertihe was able raise last month. is his campaign in trouble? as we look at the numbers, apparently president obama and the campaign burning through more money than what they're pulling in. "the new york times" writing this week about the differences though, the stark differences, between mitt romney and the president. when we talk about big donor money opposed to the small donors works is doing better? >> thomas, as far as like who is doing better right now mitt romney is. it's important to note mitt romney just two months ago became the presumptive republican nominee, so he can start getting these $5,000 or $75,000 contributions garrett was just talking about because a big chunk of it goes to the republican national committee. so while president obama has been doing this for the past year, mitt romney's now starting to catch up and he's going to a lot of the low-hanging fruit, a lot of big republican donors, big mitt romney doan yoonors wh

cut these types of checks. this is first time where the obama campaign actually spent more than they brought in, but it's important to note they still have more than $100 million in the bank and what this money is going to is running tv advertisements. you can count on the fact they will be spending nearly $20 million or $30 million per month over the next four months running tv ads in key battleground states. >> we will go back to utah because florida congressman marco rubio is not there. he's in florida right now speaking to the same conference where mitt romney and where the president will speak later today to all the leaders there that are meeting, but marco rubio has been mentioned nearly all the time in potential -- the circles for a running mate for mitt romney. some other veep potentials in utah, jeb bush, tim paw lenny, paul ryan, robby jindal. condi rice is supposed to be there. have we gotten any more insights

from beth myers who is heading up the vetting? >> you know, it's funny, thomas, there's really no tougher nut to crack in the romney campaign than beth myers and that's why she got this job. she does not talk to the media. and ironically enough the only person who anyone in the romney campaign has officially confirmed is being vetted for vp is marco rubio and he's really one of the only people on sort of the conventional wisdom short list who won't be here. he and chris christiee being the two exceptions to the rule, but romney's comments publicly have always been he wants somebody ready to go, could be president on day one, and he said he sort of prefers the ideas of governors because those folks have experience and know how to run things. of the folks here today, you have to think tim pawlenty and potentially jeb bush are on that list. >> doesn't it make sense if marco rubio is somebody high up on this list, doesn't it make sense for him to be at a different event carrying the romney message, especially at

the conference? >> i would argue his speech today is very important, but there is a question of just how high marco rubio is up the mitt romney list and one of the reasons why mitt romney had to come out and say that rubio was being vetted came after reports that either he wasn't being vetted, hadn't turned in the vetting materials, or wasn'ting vetted as high as some of the other folks like former -- tim pawlenty and rob portman. that's a big question. >> so just to clarify, marco rubio -- i think we showed the podium where he will be speaking coming up, but from a beautiful park city, utah, our thanks to garrett and d.c. doesn't look so bad especially if you're inside, mark murray. >> thanks. senator rubio will be a guest sunday on "meet the press" so make sure you tune in. right now three federal judges in washington are considering how to rule on controversial changes to florida's voting laws. lawyers for the state of florida faced off with the u.s. justice department for six hours on

thursday. now, at issue is whether fewer early voting days and closing presinks on the sunday before election day placed an unfair burden on florida minorities. david, let's run through exactly some of the changes that ared a issue here. voting hours cut down the time they're open for early voting from 96 hours per week to as few as 48. they cut down on the number of early voting days from 12 to 8. and closed precincts on the sunday before election day. the justice department is arguing the case in court. explain on the broader impact why there is such concern for what this does to minority voters in florida. >> absolutely. well, the idea is that in the 2008 election, many voters in florida took the opportunity to use early voting as a way to ensure their votes were counted. there were a dispronortiportion

number of for instance american that vo -- african-americans that voted this way. the state passed the law designed to reduce the hours and make it harter for minority voters in florida to participate in the electoral process. my organization, the naacp legal defense fund with several other civil rights groups, are litigating the case on the same side as the department of justice. >> you talk about pushback. let me read you a quote from the spokesperson representing florida's secretary of state. making sure an ineligible voter can't neutralize the vote of an eligible voter is a key part of upholding the integrity of florida elections. race and party don't play any role in the process whatsoever. how can the state of florida's concerns over voter fraud be actually squared with concerns over voter suppression? is there a middle ground to be met so both sides are happy? they always say a good

compromise is where both sides walk away not being too happy. >> absolutely. well, the laws that we're discussing right here are not about voter fraud or voter suppression. early voting is for eligible voters and the votes only get counted if you're on the rolls. the other thing florida did is they narrowed the opportunity for people to register voters, and then we have seen recently a new effort to purge voters. so what we are seeing is a whole list of ways to block voters at every stage of the process, and to your point about making sure only eligible voters vote, there are many protections in the process, and there has been no or very minimal demonstration of any problems, and yet at every phase of the elections we see efforts to narrow the polls and not expand them. >> is this trying to find a solution to a problem that doesn't exist? read us between the lines here. what are we supposed to recognize. i think when we see the big uptick in minority participation and we see efforts to stop people from registering, from voting early, and making it harder to vote on election day

and then purging the rolls as an election approaches, it is an effort to make it harder to vote. our democracy is about a choice. it's about a choice of having a path to participate for inclusion or in the alternative to narrow it and exclude people. i think florida needs to make a better choice. >> thanks for your time. house minority leader nancy pelosi says the contempt vote for attorney general eric holder is political payback. republicans say he's covering up. melissa harris perry will be here to sond off. plus, take a lk this vessel looks like something straight out of sci-fi but it's not, it's real, and it's soon going to be exploring our oceans. we'll talk about that. but first, a very happy lebron james and team. they finally snagged that nba championship title. he's been chasing it for nine years. a ring coming his way. last night he led the miami heat

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now to sound off on this. we've been talking about voter suppression, the voter i.d. legislation we have seen across the country on the state level. eric holder uses speeches to talk about what is being seen as voter suppression issues around the country. is it fair for nancy pelosi to link what the republicans are trying to do, this contempt vote on eric holder on fast and furious, is that link too far of a stretch? >> i don't think so. i think it's reasonable for someone in nancy pelosi's position, one of the senior leaders of the democratic party in the house of representatives, to make this kind of link, right? do i think that that is the entirety of the story? no. clearly part of the story is the attempt of congress to push back against the presidency. but eric holder is so erholder' aggressive attempted to hold the 1965 voting rights act, to hold

the feet of those southern states to the fire of that act, has those states very angry. >> in a news conference right after pelosi, speaker boehner was asked about those comments by nancy pelosi. he avoided any direct discussion or link talking about voter suppression issue. we've seen the reports that house leadership not 100% satisfied and pleased with the spotlight that this conversation moves off of the jobs platform that it has. is there a whiplash effect that people are going to get and a kickback that the republicans might fear beco coming their wa because it will take the message off the economy and hurt politically mitt romney. >> i think what mitt romney is going to need to do is to in certain ways create some distance between himself as a candidate and what's going on with folks who are currently elected and holding office in the republican party and that's a tough thing to do while actually running for president. but he's got to be able to say, look, i'm here to talk about the economy. i'm the guy from the private industry who can make jobs. i'm a job creator.

i don't want to talk about voter suppression. i never did anything like that, for example, in massachusetts, but that kind of arm's length is a really tough dance in a presidential election. >> so let's talk about the shell game of what we're watching politically here because we see what's going on with fast and furious. that's about trying to get to the bottom, again, we lost a border patrol agent, brian terry, his life. but then we have nancy pelosi linking attorney general holder to voter suppression laws and then i'm down here and then i'm lost. >> that's right. >> and so by the time people that aren't wonky and following this day in and day out, they're like i don't know what the heck is going on, i'm fed up with washington. >> and then what you hear s is, oh, my gosh, there's all this in-fighting, there's no politician and no party telling me the truth. why should i bother to show up to vote. which is perhaps the best single voter suppression tactic there is, when voters feel like it

makes no difference. >> we will see you bright and early saturday and sunday morning which is a lot of fun. i got to be a guest last weekend and i loved it. didn't have to be a tie. it's a good time. you can see melissa's show right here weekend mornings 10:00 and 11:00 eastern time. the speaker of the house cautions his colleagues about a celebration in the end zone. he warned them against gloating if the supreme court overturns the affordable care act. speaker boehner wrote in part if the court strikes down all or part of the president's health care law there, will be no spiking of the ball. republicans are focused on the economy and under president obama's policies our economy is struggling. we will not celebrate at a time when millions of our fellow americans remain out of work. newly elected arizona congressman ron barber is heading home to host his first congress on your corner meeting. the same type and style ever

event that gabrielle giffords was hosting in tucson when both she and barber were shot. barber's event will be held at a safeway just miles from the safeway where that shooting occur. a spokesman from senator brown said he misspoke when he said he had secret meetings with queens and kings. he said he meant he had meetings with dignitaries. he is depicted with a fierce looking king kong and the burger king. jon tester wants to know request why his republican opponent canceled a debate for a pair of pearl jam tickets. ♪ he opens the door, she rolls over ♪ ally think brushing is enough to keep it clean?

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you recognize that music, right? the show "star trek" calling space the final frontier. for many scientists, the final frontier is right here on planet earth. 80% of all life on earth lives in the ocean and now a team of scientists have designed a ship that will explore the oceans in the same way that "the enterprise" explored space. it is' called sea orbitter and construction is set to begin by the end of the year. the project has been 12 years in the making and now it's finally becoming a reality. ariel fukes is programs director and joins us from washington, d.c. great to have you here. as i was saying, this is 12 years in the making. it's certainly not going to be a cheap project. explain to all of us how is it being funded? >> good morning, thomas.

it's a project that started ten years ago but it's really becoming a science project since five years. it's privately funded by private investors by private sectors people but it do has a lot of interaction with the science community and the education side is also very heavy on this project. >> we're seeing the images. it's absolutely a gorgeous piece of machinery that's going to work as a sea orbiter that floats below and above the surface as we're seeing right here. explain to all of us, though, what is the main mission of it? what do you hope it will accomplish? >> well, as far as design, it's come from a very well known architect in france who was very into the underwater history of men under the sea program and

the sea lab program so it's basically nomadic underwaterhouse drifting in the ocean, allowing explorers to understand what's below the surface of the water. we've done very little of the ocean at large so we've got a lot to explore. >> explain to all of us what type of team, how many explorers can exist on the sea orbiter at one time to be operating in full capacity and what type of experiments, projects, do they want to do? >> well, it's basically an 18-member crew that will operate the ship or vessel. seven of them will be operating members and the rest of it will be scientists, divers, aquanauts training under the sea and the range of science that can be done on board is very large from traditional oceanography to

biological marine sciences, plankton monitoring, sea interface exchange gases to better understand the effect of global warming. there's a lot of science to be done and related to that a lot of education. >> the design looks very sci-fi so explain to everybody what type of testing has been done to make sure that something like that could exist in the oceans, especially in major storms. >> yes. well, the design is an answer to people better living underwater. this vertical design is meant to be the safest platform for living under the sea. it's been tested in marine tech in norway, one of europe's largest facilities for testing ships and platforms in the sea. so it's quite safe. it's been tested a lot. >> certainly looks really cool. we're waiting for it to sail into an ocean near us. thank you, sir. appreciate it. >> thank you for your time. that's going to wrap things

up for me. thank you for your time. i will see you back here on monday at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. until then, follow me on twitter. don't go anywhere. "now" with alex wagner, she promised me she would -- she's here! she's across the room. we will have much more with alex coming up. summer in new york state has something different for everyone to love. discover what you love. visit ilovenewyork.com to plan your summer trip now. ♪

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summer in new york state has something different for everyone to love. discover what you love. visit ilovenewyork.com to plan your summer trip now. team romney is circling the wagons in utah as conservative power brokers fly in to talk strategy and hear the wisdom of the rove. in florida, president obama will be offering his thoughts on immigration, a day after his opponent worked the very same room. as they say, keep your friends close, keep the people who will actually vote for you even closer. it's friday, june 22nd. this is "now." joining me today, editor of politico's morning money