connection to the boston marathon bombing. it is unclear what charge could be filed or what their role might have been. boston police have tweeted there is no threat to the public. this weekend several lawmakers said police were still looking for what they called persons of interest. yesterday the president praise the the fbi's work both after the bombing and before it. >> i think that all our law enforcement officials performed in an exemplary fashion after the bombing had taken place. based on what i have seen so far, the fbi performed its duti duties, the department of homeland security did what it was supposed to be doing. but this is hard stuff. joining me today editorial director of "the national journal" ron foundier. karen finney, contributing editor at "new york" magazine

benjamin wallace wells, and hugo lindbring. with us is michael isikoff. michael, i'd like to go to you first for the latest. this is obviously a fluid situation, but give us, if you might, any information you have as far as who these suspects might be. >> reporter: we do have new information here. at least two of these three people who are now in custody had been detained earlier by i.c.e. -- immigration and customs enforcement two saturdays ago, but in connection with this investigation, they were kaz acstudents, students from kazakhstan, friends of dzhokhar, and suspected of removing evidence after the bombing. a third one has been taken into custody as well. so three students in custody, all three friends of dzhokhar,

and what i'm told is that there's a sealed -- sealed charges against them right now relating to obstruction of justice. so it's not just immigration charges now, it is obstruction charges, and it relates to removing or destroying evidence after the bombing. one critical question we don't know the answer is when they destroyed this evidence, or removed the evidence, was it -- was it before dzhokhar tsarnaev was publicly identified? so therefore they certainly would have known his connection to the bombing, or was it before that? and that will make a huge difference in terms of the severity of these charges and the degree to which they could be linked to this plot. i should make it clear and maybe my wording was mistaken. there's no evidence they had any knowledge before the bomb are or they participated in the bombing

at all. this is all after the fact events, removing or destroying evidence after the fact. >> michael, we have heard a lot about the search for this missing laptop that blopged for jo scare tsarnaev. do we think there's a link, the fact that it might be in the landfill somewhere, and the involved of these students? >> we don't know that. we do know that authorities were looking for a missing laptop of dzhokhar tsarnaev. they were looking for fireworks receipts, and other evidence that they simply couldn't find. that's why we saw those images just a few days ago of the search going on at the new bedford landfill. we're told that's what they were looking for. how that relates to these charges against these individuals accused of removing evidence, we're going to have to wait and see, but certainly they seem to track the same theme of evident that the fbi has not been able to find. >> michael, thank you, as

always. i want to swing over to our justice correspondent, pete williams. could you give us the latest on this? we know it's a fluid situation, in terms of these folks detained that are in custody. do we know anything about whether or not they knew of the actual bombing plot after the fact? >> no, we don't. there are a lot of good questions that we just don't have the answer to. let's say what we do know. we know that three roommates or suite mates of dzhokhar tsarnaev at the university of massachusetts dartmouth campus are now in federal custody, facing federal charges that relate to actions they took after the bombing. >> there's no indication, authorities say, that they had any knowledge of or participation in planning the bombings beforehand. this relates to an allegation by federal authorities that they were involved in removing items from dzhokhar tsarnaev's dorm

room after the bombing. my colleague michael isikoff is exactly right when he says the authorities assume there were things there that were taken away. they've been going through garbage dumpsters and the landfill looking for these materials since the bombing. they believe these roommates had some role in taking material out of the dorm room. what we don't know is what authorities claim was their state of machined when they took these things out. were they just helping a friend? were they acting because they were trying to cover something up? did they have suspicions? did they do something that they thought was wrong? we just don't know. >> nbc news justice correspondent pete williams, thank you as always. michael, do we know if catherine russell, tamerlan tsarnaev's widow is still considered a suspect in this? >> reporter: i don't think anybody has identified her as a

suspect. certainly the fbi was there at the home where she was living a couple days ago taking dna samples and other evident. they were seen removing bags of evidence from the house, but given that she was married to tamerlan tsarnaev, i -- it certainly would be logical the fbi would be combing over everything in the house, everything that she would have known about her husband. her lawyer has said she's cooperating with the fbi. it's unclear the degree of that cooperation, but at this point, nobody has said she's a suspect in this case or was complicit in the plot. >> do we have any sense, michael, of her interact with tamerlan in the days after the bombing, in terms of how much communication there was between the two of them, seeing as now we are -- we have three of dzhokhar tsarnaev's roommates in custody. i'm just wondering what kind of

communication we know was ecchangesed between catherine russell and tamerlan tsarnaev. >> reporter: what we were told is she was the working mom -- remember they had a 3-year-old daughter. the initial accounts is she was working as a home health care aide around the clock. tamerlan tsarnaev was the stay-at-home dad caring for their 3-year-old daughter. that did seem like a bit of a stretch to match that image with his activities planning the boston marathon bombing. so i think there's a lot of questions about the accuracy of that account and what exactly tamerlan tsarnaev was doing both before the bombing and after the bombing. we've had very little information on that, very little information about how much he saw his daughter, how much he communicated with his wife. there's some reason to believe they were separated at the time. so i think we're going to just have to wait and see on that

front before we reach any conclusions, but clearly huge questions about source of funding. we know they had been getting massachusetts -- well, the family had massachusetts welfare through 2012 that had been discontinued by this year, so what was the source of funding for tamerlan tsarnaev beyond the work his wife was doing? we just don't know the answer toss that. >> one more sort of procedural question. pete williams mentioned these are sealed charges that have been levied against the three roommates. obstruction of justice is in there. is there a point at which those charges will be unsealed? >> i'm told they may be unsealed this afternoon. there may be an initial appearance at the federal courthouse this afternoon in boston. we're waiting to see that. nothing has formally scheduled, but the advice i got from a federal law enforcement official is watch the court hose this

afternoon. >> thank you, michael as wells. well be sure to report on any new developmented. after the break with nearly two thirds of detainees on a hunger strike, president obama once again pledges a new push to close the prison. how wide is the gap between promise and action? we will discuss next on "now. requests mom always got good nutrition to taste great. she was a picky eater. well now i'm her dietitian and last year, she wasn't eating so well. so i recommended boost complete nutritional drink to help her get the nutrition she was missing. and now she drinks it every day. well, it tastes great! [ male announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones, and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. and our great taste is guaranteed or your money back. learn more at boost.com [ dietitian ] now, nothing keeps mom from doing what she loves... being my mom.

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. 199 individuals who have passed through the walls of guantanamo bay since, 166 remain. today, may 1st, marks exactly two years since the u.s. killed osama bin laden, and a decade since president bush announced the war in iraq was mission

accomplished. most of gitmo's current occupants have been there to mark both, without trial. after a dispute in february over conditions at the prison led to an armed clash, a six-man hunger strike that began on march 4th has grown to involve as many as 100 inmates, four of whom have been hospitalized the cries haz guards for-feeding them by strapg them to restrained chairs and forcing nutritional supplements. one detainee, samir described what it's line -- i will never forget the first time they passed the feeding tube. as it was thrust in, it made me feeling like throwing up. there was agony in my chest, throat and stomach, i would not wish this cruel punishment on anyone. on monday at least 40 medical reinforcement arrived to assist in the crisis, which has prompted sharp criticism from the american medical association. in a letter to defend secretary

chuck hagel, it says force-feeding violates core ethical values of the medical profession and every competent patient has the right to refuse medical intervention, including life-sustaining intervention, as of today conditions at the camp have never been worse. carol rosin burg described the current conditions. >> virtually every detainee down there is under lockdown. one man to a cell, kept inside as many as 22 hours a day, can be all day if he refused recreation. now, to leave that cell and go to a recreation yard, he has to be shackled at the hands and feet, and let with a guard on each side, and put into a cage. we have not seen that for the majority of them for years. something has gone terribly wrong. >> if the hunger strike has done any good, it is at least returned the issue of gitmo and what to do about it back to the

attention of one man with the power to do something about it. >> i continue to believe we have to close guantanamo. i'm going to back at it. i've asked the team to review what's currently being done, everything we can do administratively and reengage with congress to try to make the case that this is not something that's in the best interests of the american people. president obama promised to close guantanamo as soon as he arrived in office, but the pace of detainee transfers has slowed dramatically. according to "new york times," in 2009 president obama's first year in office. 49 prisoners were transferred from the facility. in 2010, it was 24. that number dropped to just one in 2011, and four in 2012. so far this year, no one has left gitmo. while congress has barred the administration from moving prisoners to u.s. soils and passed complex laws, the administration is not without

options. the white house is reportedly reconsidering the january decision to close down the state department office tasked with reviewing detainee cases. under waivers granted by the 2012 national defense authorization act, the administration also has the power to move many of the 86 low-risk detainees who have been cleared for release since 2010. but the question remains, if president obama has the power, does he have the will? joining us is charlie savage washington correspondent for "new york times." thanks for all the great reporting you've down on this very subject. >> thank you. >> i thought it was a moment yesterday that the president spoke about gitmo for the first time in a long time. he said he would use every power in his administration to deal with the issue, yet it doesn't seem as if he has. >> well, that's true with some caveats. one thing to remember is his plan for actually closing the prison was not to release everyone who could not be tried, which is the vast majority of those 166 detainees.

his plan was to bring them to a different prison, a super-max facilities in thompson, illinois and continue to detain them there. congress has blocked that plan by barring for any reason the import of a detainee onto u.s. soil. even if congress were to lift that restriction and president obama were to succeed in miss plan to close guantanamo, we would still have the same issues that are roils the camp right now. detainees feeling hopeless they will never be allowed to go home. there's more that president obama could have been doing to resume the outward flow of the 86 prisoners who have been designated for potential transfers. he has not issued any of those waivers that you mentioned that he has the authority to issue, if he wants to, and that is sort of the focus now on what's going

to happen. >> why do you think he allowed the state 2ke79 office to close? now it appears that the white house is reconsidering that decision, but is there anything thinking, any analysis to why that happened in the first place? >> so congress shut down all transfers to countries with troubled security conditions in 2011. though these granted this waiver power starting a year and a half ago, which hasn't been used, the sort of endlying conditions about why the government, whether it's the executive branch or congress, has been reluctant to send a lot of they detainees remains, which is to say a country like yemen has an al qaeda insurgence, a weak central government. it's harder to envision the security assurances they're looking for, which is to say that receiving country will keep an eye on a released detainee and make sure he lives quietly and will sort of catch him if he trying to reengage in terrorism or block him from traveling

abroad. it's harder to have confidence in thoughs countries than in some of the other ones where detainee es went back earlier. there's great bureaucratic and political risk. if you let 100 detainees go home, some percentage of them, maybe as high as 10 or 20, might in fact engage in extremist activity. the other 80 or 90% with live quietly, based on past numbers, but no one will focus on those. if you're the official or president or secretary of defense that signed the waiver that said it was okay to send that person home, you will come under attack. that is why, even after the powter was granted t. things have remained jammed up. basically the high-level ambassador whose job it was to negotiate the, had no work to do. that's why they transferred him away and didn't replace him. >> charlie, i want to open this to our panel in new york. ron, in terms of this issue

being one that the president can actually act on. it would seem like that is the case for greater urgency in terms of closing gitmo, and at the same time probably a whole host of people that say this is further evidence you can't let any dangerous would-be terrorists go. where do you think he stands. >> first, i've never understood why the republican party is so dead set against these individuals coming on american soil to a high-max prison, except for just pure fear. aren't we, in effect, giving into terrorists when we tie ourselves up in knots over where we're going to put them. secondly, as far as the president, if you're a democrat, i think it's a sad piece of political theater yesterday, with the president going down a list of things he just can't get done because of that mean old republican party. this was one of them here. this is something he promised to do. he does have some flexibility he's not taken advantage of.

to put him in a position yesterday, where he's only taking action now because these alleged terrorists are on a hunger strike -- >> but he's not taking action. >> saying he's taking action. >> listening to him talk yesterday, what he basically did was express his own personal anguish, which felt genuine and real. on the other hand what's the new strategy, the new idea? if there isn't one, what are we talking about? >> he can go down the list under the reauthorization act, go case by days with each of these 86 detainees and say, okay, you get a pass. whether he will do that remains to be seen. karen, the reason we're talking about this is the hunger strike. these guys have been there for ten years awaiting trial. this is -- >> but think two things, number one, earlier in his first term -- the issue would have been political capital. if he was going to really do something on this, he would have

had to use more political capital. we can judge whether it was the right decision. he was trying to get other things done. where are you going to fight congress, or not fight congress? but now we're in a situation. we're the united states of america. we are force-feeding people, keeping them alive so that we can keep them in prison, and we've already two years ago said they are not a threat. that's disgusting. i mean, there's something about that that is -- and i think that's what you can see in the president. >> but you talk about it as a which is board, and that's the problem. everything becomes a prosecutiony for something else. and you're like, but then where do you eventually get, say, okay, we're going to solve this problem? >> i think this is an underlying substantive problem. we're 12 years into confronting

in a basic way, and we don't have a very good way of either discerning or talking about what the actual risks of -- you use air quotes even when you were talking about it, you know, some person with extremist ties going back to their country. like, what does that look like? you have these intelligence assessment. >> 15.9%. >> yeah, but what does that actually mean? what are we contesting? the president has certainly not engaged on that level, nobody really has, and i think that is not -- kind of an ambiguity there. >> we don't fundamentally understand what makes a terrorist. >> exactly. >> they actually had them under -- is it. >> not only that, but there's been all this talk about 2011 encounter between the fbi and tamerlan tsarnaev. imagine what that looks like. the fbi gets a call from the

russian security agencies and they say not this man has engaged in activities to try to damage your government or ours, but we think this man is being radicalized and participating in increasingly radical circles, so the fbi goes to talk to them. what do they ask? about his state of mind? about his associations? that's a long way from normal law enforcement. >> charlie, congress issal intransigent these days, it seems, but on this particular issue they haven't tried to solve the problem. dianne feinstein wrote a letter on april 25th saying i believe it would be prudent to reconsider the decisions. maureen dowd with mitch mcconnell who has been a leader

in the offshore movement. do you have any sense that consequence will be more willing to play ball given the developments under way? >> i don't think mitch mcconnell is going to be any more accommodating. just yesterday we asked him for a response and this is right after president obama said the reason this is so hard is because it's to easy to demagogue this issue. a spokesman immediately said president obama's goal is to tend terrorists to american towns and cities. it's a very easy issue to win political points on. there's multiple layers here. which is still another issue, sending them home to places like yemen. it's true, for all the ability

of administration defenders to say it's congressional restrictions that's -- it was actually president obama who self-imposed a ban on all further repatriations there about a year before the most stringent congressional restrictions. it was right after the attempted underwear bombing of the detroit-bound plane on christmas in 2009. at the time many in congress bipartisanly said that was a good idea. dianne feinstein was among those so it was significant last week she as head of the intelligence committee was publicly saying it's time to reconsider that ban, and maybe some of the detainees who have been designated for transfer may get out. numbs number of tim"new yor savage, thank you, and thank you for the reporting. up next, are the reports intended to move the rebels,

syrian regime or american public opinion? we'll discuss it when rich and engle joins you live from the middle east everybody just ahead. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy. so i can't afford to have germy surfaces. but after one day's use, dishcloths can redeposit millions of germs. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to a fresh sheet of new bounty duratowel. look! a fresh sheet of bounty duratowel leaves this surface cleaner than a germy dishcloth, as this black light reveals. it's durable, cloth-like and it's 3 times cleaner. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to new bounty duratowel.

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about any conditions, such as kidney, liver or bleeding problems. ready to change your routine? ask your doctor about once-a-day xarelto®. for more information including cost support options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. the arc of history is long, but bends toward justice. so goes the battle for equality for gale and lesbian americans. evolution is happening, but as paul ryan showed us earlier this week, there is movement. >> i would vote differently. i think that was a vote in my first term in 1999 or 2000. i do believe if there are children who are orphans who do not have a liven person or coming, i think if a person

wants to love and raise a child, they ought to be able to do that, period. but he still doesn't believe they should be legally formally allowed to love each other forever till death do they part. >> i believe marriage is between a man and woman. >> opponents of marriage equality argue that somehow marriage equality would harm the fusion of marriage. in fact in 2004 paul ryan voted for a federal ban on same-sex marriage. at the time he said -- i support this evidence to amend or constitution to protect marriage, but according to ryan's former running mate, mitt romney, raising children is the bedrock, the whole idea, whole enchilada. he said to the national review -- marriage is first and foremost about nurturing and

developing children. paul ryan's point would seem to complicate that a lot. if he believed they provide loving families, how much longer can -- after the break, the white house suggests an increased u.s. response to the syrian crisis. we'll discuss it when richard edge the joins us next on "now." r ford c-max hybrid. c-max one. c-max two. that's a super fuel- efficient hybrid for me. and a long range plug-in hybrid for you. now, let's review. introducing the ford c-max hybrid and the ford c-max energi plug-in hybrid. say hi to the c-max hybrids.

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weapon use, you've got to make sure you've got the facts. despite president obama's reluctance to outline any specific actions his administration might make, "the washington post" is reporting that -- the post quotes a senior white house official say that even as the administration is moving forward with caution, quote, we are clearly on an upward trajectory. we've moved over to assistance that has a direct military purpose. though the white house is reportly edging toward this move for several months, it would represent a significant shift with you now is richard engel. my first questioned is this approach seems to be two-pronged, moving forward very carefully. on the other side they seem to be testing the waters for

greater engagement, specifically military, on the issue. >> reporter: in terms of the caution, i think that has to do with the red line issue, the chemical weapons, there is a lot of reports and rumors about chemical weapons. there's something of a panic among the opposition in syria regarding the use. an anecdotal story, just the day before yesterday there were reports of another chemical weapon attack inside syria. there was an attack and people on the ground started claiming they saw green smoke. there was a lot of confusion. it got to the point as people were streaming across the border here into turkey, turkish hospital officials were wearing chemical suits and wearing gas masks, because they thought they potential had to be dealing with people who had been exposed to chemical weapons. so there is a real sense of crisis and chaos on the ground,

a feeling that the situation can't continue forforever and there's a growing consensus that the united states needs to do more, more of a leadership role in organizing the opposition. if not heavy weapons, tanks and artillery, perhaps some strategic things that wouldn't necessarily be obvious. so i don't expect we're going to see americans -- american tanks suddenly rumbling across the border driven by syrians or driven by anyone else, but there could be more intelligence and things that could help the military opposition in syria topple the article al asa. >> we know there have been hundreds of thousands pouring over the border. can you give us a sense of what that sensation is like, and what the feeling might be star the united states and its involvement on this issue?

>> reporter: just the official numbers are 1.4 million refugees. that number is growing by about 200,000 every single month. just today the jordanian government said this is a burden it cannot shoulder alone. international efforts to pay for all of these refugees are only funded by about 50%. richard engel, with the latest in istanbul, 1.5 million refugees with an estimated 200,000 coming across the borders every month. thanks as always. please stay safe. paul kevin curtis can breathe a sigh of relief and not just because he's found his dog. we'll look at the case's new suspect, coming up next.

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from nepal to pain, lebanon, to india, greece and bangladesh, workers are gathering to rally higher pays, and advocating for immigrant rights. here in the u.s. they're no less important. there's the issue of fairness, mainly the stagnation of wages despite huge gains in product activity. there's the workplace safety. each day 150 workers die from job injuries and occupational diseases. there is the fact that last year, more than 3.8 million workers were injured on the job. there's the reality that a full-timeworker, with two children, earning the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25, lives below the poverty line, and that nearly 1 in 3 working families now live in poverty, and of course there is also the shrinking income of the middle class, something that's happened directly in proportion to the

decline in union minneapolis. >> thank you for joining us. what should workers be fighting for most today? >> we're still fighting for basic worker rights. that's why our community allies are all coming together this mayday. we're having events in over 50 cities, big cities like chicago, new york, san francisco, and los angeles, and little cities like duluth and concord, and places like that action to talk about workers' rights and immigrants' rights, to make sure they're front and center of the community. >> richard, i wonder if you think we've sort of lost the bead on the american worker in the last 20, 30 years. we look at what happened in west, texas, last week amid news

about boston, but 14 people killed, due in large part because there were no safety regulations in place at the plant, yet that story was not picked up at all. there's no pressure mouchbting on congress or the government to take better care of american workers. why do you think that is? >> you know, we question that. if you look at what's happening in the country, as you mentioned 150 workers die every day of injuries or occupation all diseases. 14 workers die every day from silicosis, from silica exposure, it's like we've become oblivious to the plight of workers. how long do you think the american public would tolerate 150 citizens getting killed by terrorists each day? probably not one day, right? yet we do it day in and day out. that's what we're trying to call attention to on mayday and other

days as well, that workers need basic protection, immigrants need the same protections, because they get shut out. when they get shut out, every worker in the country ultimately loses. >> i think a lot of people were fist pumping at that moment, because it's highly underdiscussed. in 1968, the minimum wage was equivalent to $10.47, in today's dollars. we're not talking about a small part of the country that works in low-wage jobs. which is about the same rate as 20 2010. >> these aren't teenagers, these

are american families tries to subsist. >> all those statistics are alarming. pull back the lens more, the american dream now is no longer about getting a house, maybe a second house and having your kids go to college. the american dream is now just clinging on, trying not to be pedaling alone. the irony is while this generational shift has been happening, while all those numbers took place, you mentioned a decline in union membership went down, the relevancy of unions has gone way down, the power of unions have gone way down. have unions done enough to adapt so they can help push back? that's what i wonder. >> there is this contention that unions aren't as, quote, relevant to younger workers' lives. i would probably contest that, but there seems to be a generational shift. i wonder if you think any fault lies on the unions' shoulders about that. >> unions are more than

relevant. we do survey after survey, as the general public does you want to know what happened? corporate america is getting more and more and more powerful. you have corporations that are getting more and more involved in politics. they're actually controlling politics. we need to grow, and this year we're opening up our membership to people who don't have a collective bargain, who can join us and we can start the debate. we need an economy that works for everything. >> richard brings up -- we've been talking about the fact that congress has worked hastily.

there's no urgency there. an inordinate power they have in terms of drafting legislation. the other piece of this, and i wonder if richard would agree with me, we have to remember there's been a concerted effort. i'm talking about the cops, those are labor guys out there in boston. >> i think wisconsin really showed the strategy where the governor was trying to pick off the cops by the teacher, so i think in addition to general railingsal changes to undermine the role of labor, to demonize labor.

which has not quite been the case. >> but also, if we talk about sort of means in society, then, the idea that fairness has been appropriated on the right as redistributionism and socialism. what we're talking about is raisings the level. >> providing basic workplace protections. >> i think what makes this whole debate is this geographic divide. so we have, you know, we see it now in the topics in the news. there are some ways in which they were able to more some part of the country to other -- wile some other part of the country

returns, and i think the way that the different states have dealt with labor and unions on workplace regulations was sort of a early warning sign that we would be moves -- and during the bush administration we used to talk about this problem of liberals and conservatives perceives different reality. because, you know, people who live in states that tend to vote blue have very different protections -- >> but i don't understand that there are some -- if you are living in poverty black or white, would not an increase benefit you? >> alex, that's the whole issue. they're not just attacking labor unions. they're attacking all progressive groups. after the 2010 election, a group by the name of alec brought

together 2,000 state republican legislators and said our goal is to reduce the progress i have vote be 10% in 20112. so they go after early voting, they go after mail voting, they go after student voting, after seniors, making it difficult for all progressive people to be able to vote. when they say this is about voter fraud, you say point out to us one example of voter fraud. they could. it's all about suppressing the progressive vote. so it is a concerted activity. now they're being more overt and open about it. >> richard trumka, thank you for joining us happy mayday to you. may the fight go on. thanks for your time. >> thanks for having us on. we will have more after the break, coming up next. okay. this, won't take long will it?

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that's all for now. thanks to our panelists today, ron, karen, ben and hugo. you can always catch us tomorrow at noon, 9:00 a.m. eastern. we'll be back with even more exciting news. "andrea mitchell reports" is coming up next. for your business travel forecast is dicey at best in the midwest. can you believe it's the first of may and we're dealing with a snowstorm? winter storm warnings from southern portions of wyoming, and minutefully, st. paul, expect 6 to 9 inches of snow. it's beautiful in the northeast and mid-atlantic, stormy in the southeast, and snow in the midwest. ridiculous. [ male announcer ] this is bob,

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or bleeding problems. ready to change your routine? ask your doctor about once-a-day xarelto®. for more information including cost support options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. breaking right now on "andrea mitchell reports," the fbi has three of dzhokhar tsarnaev's roommates in custody today, with xharges pending in connection with the investigation into the marathon bombing. officials say two of the young men have been in custody on visa issues. now investigators are looking at what they may have done after the bombing. and the 26-year-old man recounts his harrowing ordeal to nbc's matt lauer. >> he took up his gun and pointed to me, and said can you

show me how close the gun to you. >> to right at your head? >> yes. >> did in any way you think at that point this is the guy the fbi is looking for? >> no. the heated town hall conversation between senator kellie ayotte and the daughter of sandy hook's slain principal. >> i'm just wondering why the burden of my mother being gunned down in the has of her elementary school isn't as important. >> here hear senator ayotte's response coming up. >> the moral and security dilemma, and the hunger strike of more than half the prisoners. >> i don't want these individuals to die. obviously the pentagon is trying to manage the situation as best they can. but i think all of us should