>> every day our civil servants do their jobs with professionalism. protecting our national security and delivering the services that so many americans expect. as we've seen again in recent days, it only takes misconduct of a few to further erode the people's trust in their government. >> joining me now, former pennsylvania governor ed rendell, attorney, columnist and contributor, and politico correspondent anna palmer. my thanks to all of you for joining us. governor rendell, we'll start with you. lois lerner has been put on paid administrative leave. what happens now? do you think she'll be called back to testify? >> i think they'll attempt to bring her back to testify. the fifth amendment can be aasserted at any time. often a witness in the middle of their testimony, if a difficult question was asked, the witness asserted the fifth amendment and it was always upheld by the jfl

there is no timing on it. a specific question can be incriminating and the witness has the right to assert it at that point. so if they bring her back, i don't think it will do anything. they can hold her in contempt of congress but she would appeal that to a federal court and i'm sure the appeal would be upheld. >> raul, what are you hearing about her apparent refusal to resign? what is your take on first of all, the fifth amendment that she pleaded and what do you think about her reportedly she refused to resign. what are you hearing? >> in terms of that, she is a civil servant. she has been there for decades. that's why she is on leave but being paid. it is very hard to remove someone like that. that's why in a sense, that's why the civil service was created, to remove it from the politics. i'm not defending the conduct of her employees. i think at the worst thing you can say about them, she was inaccurate. the best thing you can say, she and her employees were incompetent. so she is not in a good position there. as a federal employee, it is hard to fire people like that. and with regard to her taking

the fifth amendment, there's been such an outcry on the right and from conservative lawmaker saying how dare she and she is before a committee. she must be -- it is called a right for a reason. even when she gave that opening statement, there is such a thing as selective invocation. she has the right to do that. she could have even gone further. you can go into court and legal scholars are pretty much in agreement on this and say i will testify on this and not this. that's known as selective invocation so she is well within her rights, like it or not. that's where we stand. >> interesting. what's your take on all of this? what do you think about the fact she refused to testify? and the talk about her refusal to resign? the bottom line is, there is so much that we don't know. the bottom line is, people want answers and we're basically not getting them. >> i don't think anybody was surprised that she decided not to testify. certainly republicans smelled blood in the water and they're not going to let this issue go away any time soon. they'll try to bring her up

again. the chairman of the committee has said that. they will try to bring this up for as long as possible. >> i want to move on to a different topic. sexual assault in the military. i want to go to you next. first the president spoke this morning about sexual assault in the military. let's listen to what he said. >> and yet we must acknowledge that even here, even in our military we've seen how the misconduct of some can have effects that ripple far and wide. in our digital age, a single image from the battlefield of troops falling short of their standards can go viral and endanger our forces and undermine our efforts to achieve security and peace. likewise, those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong. that's why we have to be determined to stop these crimes. they have no place in the

greatest military on earth. >> recently, a couple weeks ago, a report came out that i think shocked the entire nation. that there were reports of about 26,000, 26,000 reports of sexual misconduct and sexual assault in the military. there has been a flood of new legislation presented to try to stop this kind of abuse that came as a result of that. what are the hurdles ahead, do you think, for these bills? >> well, i think it is something that whenever there is a new study or a new report out that often has outrage, but actually getting this across the finish line will be a longer process. it will take several months. certainly there has been a lot of senators, they are taking had on as a key issue. >> raul? what do you think about that report and the legislation that people are working toward coming out of it? >> i think you're right. people were appalled. >> i was blown away. >> the flip side of that. not only do we have these

tremendous numbers that when you narrow that down to the actual number of cases brought and prosecution, the prosecution, successful prosecution's number in the hundreds. i think it is not just the sense of shame. outrage that it is going on. >> this whole concept that people can be pardoned after being convicted, can be pardoned and then the, a person who has been assaulted has to salute their assaulter. >> right. and the fact, the framework of our military. military is by definition, it has to be a very secretive culture. it is about honor and duty. >> and trust. >> and trust. i thought the president was right on in that he appealed to those values. he did not scold them so to speak as though he could have. he really appealed to their personal sense of duty and responsibility. and i think that is the way to go. this type of change with this deeply entrenched culter, it has to start from within. i think it is going to be very tough to do it all from the outside. we need the voices from the

inside. >> there needs to be a whole sale change. i think that's what we're hearing. let's move on to politics. 2016. a new quinnipiac poll finds marco rubio and rand paul are no match for hillary clinton, at least in eye wax listen to. this matched up against florida republican rubio, iowa voters picked clinton 48% to 37%. that is quite a margin, really. the margin is tighter if mrs. clinton were to run against kentucky senator rand paul. she is ahead 46-42%. what is your reaction to these number? do you think that she'll run and do you think these numbers truly reflect the way the nation feels about her? >> well, the numbers are basically meaningless this far away. look, right now, hillary clinton is the most popular political figure in the country with the possible exception of her husband. she would be any way. the auction is not held in 2013. it is held three years down the road. so many things can happen. hillary was the odds on favorite

three years before the 2008 election. so you can't, if you're hillary clinton and her supporters and i am one of them, you can take great soleace from these numbers. i think that if hillary decides to run, she will have an unusual occurrence. i think she will preempt the democratic field. i think we'll see virtually no democratic primary. that will be a tremendous asset going forward. i don't think she can be beat in november of 2016. but again, there are so many different things can happen. it depends on the popularity of the president down the road. i mean, so many variables. it is too early to make any judgments. >> it is a while off. what are your final thoughts? >> well, i think what you see is the clintons have spent a lot of time in iowa. she has great name recognition. where as the senator, particularly rubio hasn't pen a lot of time there. >> and your final thoughts, raul? >> i have to say for hillary clinton, the good news looking

ahead, she has come through a rough period with all the benghazi scandal going on and she is maintaining her high levels of approval. 62% according to the "washington post." and i think for marco rubio, he has been for the most part, the republican face of immigration reform. in iowa, in the heartland, he is out in front. that shows that he can be part of immigration reform as a conservative and still be a winner. >> my thanks to all three of you. enjoy your holiday weekend. >> in moore, oklahoma, officials just announced they believe 1,100 homes were destroyed. the governor is about to sign into law $45 million into disaster aid. plus the legislature has just approved tax breaks for property and car own here's suffered losses in those storms. and now more for us today, what is the latest on the extent of the damage done there? what is being done right now to help all the residents as they try to pick up all these pieces?

>> reporter: good day to you. obviously you know these parts pretty well. you know how strong these people. are they're pretty used to living with tornadoes. not so much dealing with this kind of storm damage. the governor assigning this emergency declaration bill into law that will free up about $45 million to flow into places like moore and other communities. just remember on sunday, the day before all of this around the shawnee area, there was a tornado, a killer tornado there that killed two people. so money will be flowing in there as well. fema money is starting to flow. about $1.5 million distributed. some 3,100 people have already registered and fema was out in some of the neighborhoods to meet with some people to try to make this a little easier process for them to get into the system to start to get that emergency aid going. the insurance commissioner, this is something that i'm not sure it has gotten around town just yet. today says that anybody who had insurance that was close to being lost, that the insurance company for nonpayment or didn't

get reissued, if that process was already started, those notices were in the mail. remember the post office has to deliver thought mail to people. that they will be ensured. their loss will be insured even though they may not have been current on their premiums. they will to have get current for those losses to be paid. and he gave some tips to people about the unscrupulous folks who might show up here looking to do some contractor type work. all in all things are starting slowly to move along. it feels like day 40 for a lot of these folks. they're starting to get the power back online which should help the traffic problems we've seen over the past three or four days. one more thing, milissa, the transportation director is asking folks coming down i-35 to try to find, if they don't need to come through this stretch of moore, find other ways. it is really hampering people trying to get in and out of the area. back to you. >> that is all incredibly relieving news, i'm sure for all those homeowners. to know they're being taken care of. today we got a new look at an

area moore that had been previously closed to the media. tell us what you're seeing there. >> reporter: pretty much the same. just widespread devastation. one of the good news that has come out of the past couple days is the fact that they lowered the number of homes destroyed to about 1,000. 1,100, 1,200 from 12,000 to 13,000. that's good news. one of the homeowners who lost his home moved here from denver. he said he will probably go back. he just cannot accept, he is not ready to accept that he's lost everything here. take a listen to what he had to say. >> it is hard to comprehend. i'm staying with my niece and nephew. and we'll talk about something and i'm thinking, yeah, mine is out in the garage or in the attic. and i think, no, it isn't. no, it isn't. and so it is, you really can't put it all in one word. >> reporter: his niece was able

to find in that rubble of his home his checkbook. and it was, the outside jacket cover was made by his wife who i believe has passed away but not in this storm. so things are moving along. the frustration is probably several weeks and months away. the hard part really is several weeks and months away as all of this gets moved out of here and people begin to try to process rebuilding. >> i know that feeling that they're so grateful to find anything from their personal lives before that kind of tragedy. even if it is a checkbook. ron mott, thank you so much. >> reporter: you bet. coming up, we'll hear from the jury foreman on the jodi arias case. the jury is deadlocked trying to decide whether she should be put to death. plus the new questions about a new jury. and the boy scouts allowing gay skous but not gay scout leaders. [ male announcer ] this is kevin.

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in arizona a jury couldn't decide on death or life in prison for jodi arias so the judge declared a mistrial in the penalty phase of this trial. only the penalty phase can be tried again. the judge said a retrial date for july 18th. it will require a new jury. the jury foreman spoke out today on "good morning america." >> until you're face to face with people that have gone through something like that, it is something you can't put into words. i'm six feet away from somebody talking about a horrendous loss. and if you cannot feel that, then you have no emotion, no soul. >> nbc's diana alvear is in

phoenix. tell us what the reaction was like when the judge declared the mistrial. this has gone on and on and on and on. >> reporter: i was inside that courtroom and i can tell you it was utter shock on all parts when we heard that it was a hung jury. i immediately looked at the jurors and i could see that many of them were very emotional. their eyes were looking downward. one either mouthed to the prosecutor, i'm sorry. you could see it had taken a toll on them having to make a decision and they just couldn't get there. in the end they were split 8-4. i looked at jodi arias. she seemed stunned that there was no decision in her trial. even the judge needed a moment to compose herself when she addressed the jury. she said i know this was so difficult for you and that i understand it was a difficult decision. travis alexander's family, i can't imagine what they're going through right now. i know they were crying. they left the courtroom almost immediately. if you were wondering why jodi arias's family was not there, now we know. we got an exclusive statement from her mother sandy. she tells us, i'm very upset that we were not called to be

there. the judge should not have gone forward without jodi's family present. it has taken a toll on them emotionally and financially but she said they stood by her through trial and they will continue to do so through the retrial of the penalty phase. we're hearing it will begin july 18th. and they have to find an untainted jury pool. that will be really hard to do considering how many headlines this trial has gotten. >> yeah. it is also very sensational. and it is really taken a long period of time. you said that everybody was shocked including jodi arias herself, the families, et cetera. what do you think people were expecting to hear? was there an expectation of where it would go? >> this is the kind of trial that played very well in social media. she deserved the death sentence and they were convinced that is what we would get. we knew we had signs of trouble on wednesday when we heard the

jury sent a note to the judge saying they could not come to a decision. it wasn't like this was a surprise but we thought we would get a decision and they just didn't get there. of course, this is the toughest decision for anybody to make. you have to decide that somebody's crime is worthy of death. in the end they couldn't get there. >> it's a burden. it really is. thank you so much, diana alvear. for more on the next phase of this case, let's bring in karen desoto. she is a defense attorney and a form he prosecutor. thank you for being here. this trial has been going on for months and people have been following with it great interest. it is the material involved is just, you know, horrible. what do you think is next? do you think the prosecutor will go forward with trying to find a new jury and trying to retry this penalty phase? or do you think the prosecutor will say, you know what? let's just put her if jail for life. >> that's what just happened in pennsylvania with kermit gosnell who was found guilty of murder

and manslaughter. instead of going forward, they said do life in prison and waive your rights to an appeal. that is an option. >> what would you do? >> i probably wouldn't have put the death penalty on the table to begin with. >> really! >> no. i think it should be saved for very heinous crimes, multiple murders, dismemberment, torture. that's what the death penalty is for. >> a lot of people would consider this a heinous crime. >> every murder is a happy us crime but the death penalty is supposed to be reserved for torture, dismemberment. you're talking about somebody's life. murder plus murder doesn't equal correct. >> do you think that people have a hard time in particular giving the death penalty to a woman? >> i think that people in general have a problem giving the death penalty to everyone, especially women. a lot of time you have, no matter what religion you are, it is thou shall not kill except for the government. it is a very serious thing. it is very dawning when you're in a courtroom.

the judge says this rests on you. you're going to put somebody to death. you're going to kill somebody. >> i've served on a jury, not in a case like this but i don't think i would want that burden. i think it would terrify me. >> that's why you don't do it except for very horrible, vicious cases. you're always going to have one holdout. religious convictions even if you're not a practicing anything, when you're then in a situation where you have somebody's life in your hand, you're going to go back to your own conscience. >> as a former prosecutor, you know what it is like to select this jury in the first place. you have to ask some extremely difficult questions. do you have it within you to give the death penalty to somebody? >> right. this is a long process because the case is so long. a lot of times what you wind up with is people unemployed and elderly people. depending on what your case is, that might not be the jury pool you want to begin with. >> thank you so much. >> take care. >> thank you. new information on the trayvon martin case.

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the log does not show who is tesking and who is spongd. i lost the first but won the second and third. oh, so it was three rounds? at least you won, lol. you need to stop fighting back for real. the defense believes that text about fighting is important because 29-year-old george zimmerman who is accused of shooting the unarmed martin claims it was the teenager who turned on him and began to beat his head into the cement sidewalk when zimmerman fired the fatal shot. >> it shows he has the propensity toward violence and was acting in a similar way previously than he acted on george. >> attorneys for martin's family say the photos are irrelevant and could pollute the jury pool. they said have the family said they know unflattering material could be part of the case. >> you have george zimmerman who is alive. you have trayvon martin who is dead and not here to tell his story. of course he's going to blame the victim.

>> it will be up to the judge to determine if a jury will ever even see this evidence. kerry sanders, nbc news, miami. still ahead, our "news nation" political post script, we'll get reaction to president obama's reaction to the rules of engagement when it come to terrorism. >> our systematic effort will continue. this war like all wars must end. the boys used double miles from their capital one venture card to fly home for the big family reunion. you must be garth's father? hello.

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the nation's attention has been focused on the tragedy in oklahoma it has been an eventful week in the nation's capital. there are new revelations about who knew about the irs targeting of conservative group and how that information was kept from the president by his own staff. yesterday, the president unveiled a i know ma shift in foreign policy looking to turn the page on a decade of war. and one of the administration's most important agenda items, immigration reform, cleared a major hurdle when the senate judiciary committee approved the

bipartisan bill drafted by the gang of eight. >> i will not answer any questions or testify about the subject matter of this meeting. >> she waived her right by issuing an opening statement. she ought to stand here and answer our questions. >> we don't trust the majority party on the other side of the aisle to come to conference and not hold to the fiscal discipline that we want to see happen. isn't that a little bit bizarre? >> senior senator from arizona urged this body to trust the republicans. let me be clear. i don't trust the republicans. and i don't trust the democrats. >> our systematic effort to dismantle terrorist organizations must continue. but this war like all wars must end. >> joining me live now, nbc news deputy political editor domenico, i hope you're doing

well. "the new york times" editorial page called the president's foreign policy speech, and i want to read it to you, the most important statement on counter terrorism policy since the 2001 attacks. a momentous turning point in post 9/11 america. you listened to the president's speech. did it exceed your expectations? >> i think a lot of people had billed it as a speech about drones and clarifying the president's policy on drones and it certainly was that. but lost in a lot of the shiny metal object stuff of the interrupter who had interrupted three time, anti-war protester, you know, this was a speech, i think historians will look back on it and say let's look for an obama doctrine. let's look for the parameters that the president of the united states set out for himself and for what the u.s. foreign policy to combat terrorism should be going forward. i really don't think we can overstate how important that speech will be in the presidency. >> do you think that he met

people's expectations when it comes to what you just described? >> i think it depends on where you're coming from. if you're somebody who thinks there should be more of an interventionist strategy, i think that's not quite what you got. what you got from this president was, something that was a defense of the use of drones, for example. how you would target even americans living abroad for the first time, admitting that they had killed an american abroad as has been widely reported. i think a lot of that is probably in the eye of the beholder. but i think it certainly was further than a lot of people expected. >> let's talk about the drones. speaking of which, the administration has really faced very, very vocal opposition to that drone strike program but a recent nbc news "wall street journal" poll shows a majority of americans, 64%, support those strikes. that's a very strong majority. >> it certainly is. it is nearly two-thirds of people and it is not at all

surprising. if you were to give female option between using drones or putting boots on the ground, i think after ten years of war, most americans as you see in the polling would say that they would prefer the use of drones. i think there probably is a certain desensitization but it is something that gives a tool to the united states to be able to go in after people and places they might not have been able to get to previously. they don't have to put boots on the ground to do it. as the president warned in his speech that there are casualties of innocence sometimes that happened there. certainly that has been big a part of the vocal opposition. >> let's switch gears for a second and talk about guantanamo bay. what do you think is ahead for that? what do you think the administration needs to do to get help from congress? >> well, i think that this was something that the president still wants to do. it was something he campaigned on. like you mentioned congress, i think that the politics of this is very, very difficult. they have transferred out a number of detainees.

but the politics of congress, it is not in my backyard thing. how many members of congress are now going to say, you know, okay, nothing is really changed but now i'm going to change my mind and decide, yes, you can put them in my super max facility. it is something that is a very difficult political thing for them to explain to their constituents which is why they choose not to do it. >> it is very, very sticky. thank you very much. have a great holiday weekend. >> same to you. coming up, a big memorial weekend for the jersey shore as it reopen seven months after being devastated by super storm sandy. other areas in new jersey are still in recovery mode. we'll get a live report coming up. but first, there is a lot going on today and here's some things we thought you should know. about 15,000 federal workers have a long memorial weekend. they're not celebrating though. the irs is among four government

agencies if you afurloughing em. it is the biggest partial government shutdown in recent memory. what does new york governor andrew cuomo think about the response to a question from the syracuse post standard. he said shame on us. cuomo's spokesperson said the comment was a joke. the post standard is standing by its report. meanwhile, weiner caught some flak for a skyline which resembles a pittsburgh skyline. he has replaced it with pictures that look much more like new york. and oops, president obama forgot something on the way out. watch this. he made his usual stroll across the white house lawn. he boarded marine one without saluting the marine that was standing there. he caught himself though. he immediately realized that he had forgotten.

he walked back down the steps, shook the marine's hand, apologized and those are the things we thought you should know. what do you think? that's great. it won't take long, will it? nah. okay. this, won't take long will it? no, not at all. how many of these can we do on our budget? more than you think. didn't take very long, did it? summer's here, so are the savings. that's nice. post it. already did. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get memorial day savings, like 4 bags of miracle-gro® garden soil for just $10.

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new jersey's own pop band fun, love those guys. they played a free concert on the jersey shore this morning. the concert kicked off the "today" show summer concert series. the jersey shore reopens this memorial day weekend for the first time since hurricane sandy damaged the area nearly seven months ago. >> five, four, three, two, one!

governor chris christie was on the "today" show this morning, cutting a five-mile long ribbon on the beach. officially starting the summer tourism season but not all the beaches will be ready for summer unfortunately. the reporter is at the stretch of the jersey shore still on the rebound. what is behind the delay in the recovery where you are standing right now? >> reporter: milissa, would you believe we are only just about a mile north of where that ribbon cutting took place in seaside heights. still 300 home are waiting to be torn down from hurricane sandy. they needed an order approving that action from fema and that only came on saturday. so where property is municipally opened, where that funding is coming from, where that approval is coming from to rebuild and tear down, that effort is a little more straightforward. where you're concerning private and personal property, homes like the ones you see behind me, a lot more red tape is required to actually get that underway.

>> i'm shocked by what i'm seeing behind you. at how little progress, actually no progress has been made. i'm thinking about all these businesses in that communicate that really rely on the summer tourism season. >> reporter: all of these homes in a normal summer would have people in them. be it owners or renters. because they don't have the renters here or the large portion of the home still standing, those are people that won't be in restaurants and souvenir shops and along the beaches here in places. so those businesses will be hurting. we spoke with one realtor who said if business in the realtiy business is only down 30% this summer from last year, he would be doing cart wheels. he is now trying to convince homeowners of houses still in good condition to start discounting their home to get people who would rent them for the summer season. a lot of these towns up and down the coast that are not the business hubs like the seaside heights. a lot of them would be very

quiet. >> is there any help for these businesses? or are they being left out in the cold? >> reporter: they're not necessarily being left out in the cold but they saw it coming. a lot of those businesses had damage, too. instead of trying to go out and get more business, that realtor i just mentioned, his office opened weeks ago. for months he did not have an office. his first priority was not necessarily figuring out how to fill the houses. it was how to get back to the office. it is an unfortunate situation but it is one where, it is not really clear how you would solve it given how this area still looks. >> so you were in seaside heights listening to fun. that must have been cool. what do you think about how the recovery has been going the last several months and what do you think remain for a full recovery? that is really a hub for the jersey shore? >> reporter: it is. i think the prospect of a full recovery there is fairly strong. i will say that.

the concert this morning definitely brightened up what was a bleary morning. good as new. you walk down it, you smell funnel cakes, french fries, the shops are filling up their shelves and a lot of the sign say standing strong through the storm. a lot of it branding in terms of restoring the brand of the shore to withstand something like sandy. the beaches are thinner. there are no rides on the shore and of course, it is unclear how safe some people would feel getting into that water. governor christie at another ceremony on monday of this week said all the jersey shore should be restored by next summer. but the priority here is to get the businesses and some of those central hubs reopened so people feel like the shore, at least part of it, has returned to normal. >> i swear you gain like five pounds just down the boardwalk. just walking. you smell the funnel cakes. you smell it and gain weight. thank you so much. a tractor-trailer involved crash in atlanta top our look at

stories around the "news nation" today. a terrifying start for 16 people in atlanta. they are taken to the hospital this morning after the hotel shuttle bus they were riding in was struck by a tractor-trailer. police say it appears the tractor-trailer was attempting to make a u-turn. at least two people are in serious condition. none of those injuries are considered life threatening. an excessively tall load is to blame for last night's bridge collapse in washington them say the truck hit an overhead girder. the people were pulled to safety and are recovering. the bridge had been labeled as functionally obsolete. and there is word the syrian government could take part in a peace conference with russia and the united states. a spokes person for the russian foreign ministry made that announcement today. the date is undecided because officials are waiting to hear who will represent the opposition. more than 70,000 people have been killed. several million people displaced

and two years long civil war. a huge milestone or not far enough. it depends on who you talk to. we'll have reaction to the decision to lift the ban on openly gay scouts but not gay adult scout leaders. and be sure to like the "news nation" on facebook. we are at facebook.com/"news nation." [ female announcer ] doctors trust calcium plus vitamin d to support strong bones. and the brand most recommended by... my doctor. my gynecologist. my pharmacist. citracal. citracal. [ female announcer ] you trust your doctor. doctors trust citracal.

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we are following developing news. moments ago, president obama signed a bill awarding the congressional gold medal to the four victims killed in the 1963 birmingham bombing. it marks one of the darkest moments in the civil rights movement. it was 50 years ago when white supremacists planted a bomb at the 16th street baptist church

killing four little girls. last month by a vote of 420-0 the house voted to honor those girls with congress's highest civilian honor. it is time for the "news nation" gut check. after years of debate the boy scouts have voted to allow openly gay members but they are keeping the ban on gay scout leaders. those against lifting the ban called it a bad move and vowed that thousands of parents will take their sons out of the scouts because of it. gay rights advocates say it is a move in the right direction but it doesn't go far enough because it still discriminates against gay adults who want to be part of that conversation. joining me now, senior report he miranda and radio talk show host michael smerconish who is now heard exclusively. thank you both. you've done some great reporting on the story. tell house the vote came about

and how soon we can expect to see that new policy implemented. >> well, the vote came about actually, last year there was talk about that maybe there were talks in the boy scouts that this change was coming. and the boy scouts at that time said no, this is not coming. this is not going to happen. but in january, a proposal was floated that would actually include gay youths and adults in the program. at that time, there was such an outpouring of reaction from both sides. people on both sides of this issue that the boy scouts decided to shelf it. to include some questions about this kind of change in their biannual voice of the scouts survey and see what the feedback was there. and then put it to a vote of their 1,400 member national council which was held yesterday. and this will go into effect january 1st. but in a practical sense, since

a lot of these troops are operating on the school year, they're going to have to start making plan sooner in preparation for the fall. >> i want to give everybody a taste of the different points of view. many are sponsored by religious groups. the church of jesus christ latter day saints, the boy scouts' biggest partner is sticking by the organization saying sexual orientation has not previously been and is not now a disqualifying factor for boys who want to join latter day saint scout troops. willingness to abide by standards of behavior continues to be our policy. do you think the scouts are going to suffer a membership hit after this decision? or do you think it is a whole lot of nothing? >> neither of those. i think they would have suffered an enormous hit financially had

they not made this change. i don't think it is a whole lot of nothing. i think there were significant issues at stake here. and long term, i think it is in the best interests, not only of scouting but also in building their membership base. as you've pointed out, they're left now with this disconnect. they're saying to the youth, it is okay if you're gay or i was going to say lesbian burk gay for the scouts to be a participant but not for the adults. they have to resolve that. you can't have that inconsistency. i think part of the explanation lies in the fact some conflate homosexuality with pedophilia and think that one follows the other when that is not the case. >> do you think this change came about because of a change ultimately in american culture? do you think that the american culture reflects, do you think that they had to move on because american opinions on changing? >> i'm glad you've asked me that. i've been on talk radio for the last 15 or so years for the duration of this debate.

and there has been an absolute seed change. i discussed this for a solid hour and i was thinking mentally about a comparison between the phone calls that i took on air today as opposed to 10 or 15 years ago. remarkably the vast majority today are supportive of this change. if i had been on the air a number of years ago as i was, you would have heard something dramatically different. for what it's worth, anecdotally i tell you the american people have really shifted on this. >> i want to show what a former boy scout leader said after the vote. this is jennifer who was ousted from the scouts because she is gay. she is talking about her son. let's take a listen. >> how can they do that to kids? how can they tell little boys that the people that love them and adore them aren't good enough? >> they say they've entered the next phase, removing the ban on gay volunteers. do you think that's the next logical step or is that even a

bigger hurdle? >> i think that will be a bigger hurdle. i get thousands of e-mails on this topic every time we do a story. and i think that the, even with the vote, it was 60% to, i think it was 39%. there were a number of delegates who weren't present who didn't vote. so it would have made, maybe been a bit closer. that was for gay youthful it it will be, there's a lot of speculation. some of the gay rights activists think it could come sooner. others say they know it is a long journey. i think they do see it as the next step into full inclusion of gay youth and adults into the boy scouts. but just the timing will be, i think there will be a lot of opposition to having gay adults join the scouts. >> we'll have to leave it there.

my thanks to both of you. so what does your gut tell you? does the boy scouts' decision to lift the ban on openly gay scouts but not gay adult scout leaders, does it go far enough? go to facebook.com/newsnation to vote. that does it for this edition of "news nation." tamron is back on monday. "the cycle" is up next. [ phil ] when you have joint pain and stiffness... accomplishing even little things can become major victories. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. when i was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, my rheumatologist prescribed enbrel for my pain and stiffness, and to help stop joint damage. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections,

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where tonight we've switched their steaks with walmart's choice premium steak. it's a steakover.

it's tender. good flavor. it just melts in your mouth. mine's perfect -- man! we're actually eating walmart steaks. are you serious? fantastic! that was a good cut of meat. [ earl ] these are perfectly aged for flavor and tenderness. i would definitely go to walmart to buy steaks. walmart choice premium steak in the black package. it's 100% satisfaction guaranteed. try it. right now on "the cycle," not so fast. the first weekend will be tough for many because mother nature is playing back seat driver. >> i'm jonathan capehart in for toure and ari. yeah, i'm that good. the jersey shore is ready for its first memorial day since hurricane sandy. i wonder if snooki will be there. >> i'm s.e. cupp in washington. i am headed to west virginia this weekend to catch my body weight or the legal limit in trout. before that we're angling to keep you in the cycle, hook,

line and sinker. ♪ >> the boardwalk. an iconic part of many vacations. with the memorial day weekend hours away, the boardwalk in new jersey is open for business after being decimated by super storm sandy seven months ago. governor chris christie set a world record, cutting a five-mile ribbon of open beaches for the season travel additionally it takes states nearly two years to recover. things along the jersey shore, however, are moving along a little faster because tourism is so vital to the survival of these towns. 96% of state beaches and nearly all the boardwalks in the state are open. unfortunately though, that's not the case for every shore town. cnbc's