on the ground. >> if we do not address the chemical weapons compromise in syria and end this war before the chemical weapons flow out of syria, not only will israel be in the cross hair of radical islamist with weapons of mass -- >> there are calls for the u.s. to increase engagement from allies of the president, the most high profile, bill clinton, who implied president obama would be weak if we didn't ask, and says the u.s. is headed the the right direction. >> the white house has made it clear they intend to do more. they don't want to talk about the details and i don't blame them, the less they talk about the details, more likely increased assistance is likely to be effective. >> what remains to be seen, what the white house amping up will

mean. >> obviously if the united states puts its thumb on the scale with lethal aid to the rebels, that means something. if you talk about air strikes, that means something. >> what's the syria end game after assad leaves, and until someone can give him an answer, that's why he is hesitant. >> and you have covered syria and the entire region. we have been talking about this, we have confirmation from the administration saying the assad regime used chemical weapons against its own people, including sar in gas. is this confirmation of what was needed to get people moving in washington, d.c.? >> this is, you know, a very difficult question to answer. they never kind of go in with significant or massive casualties early on. when the revolution and protest

starts, when the chemical weapons are used, it is interesting to see how the international community reacts, it will be interesting to see what u.s. policy changes there are. i think the rebels and free syrian armies on the ground say it is too late from the administration, but they have to find a way to stop the killing. >> so syria is continually pushing the envelope, and senior officials say they will give unspecified support, "the new york times" says it could include small arms and ammunitions or tank, but not anti-aircraft weapons. is that enough, can the rebels be trusted with that hardware? >> that's difficult to assess. the regime is relying on superior air power. that's what's given them the ability to pound these areas.

i don't think from the eyes of the rebels it will tip the balance in their favor. that's the key, they need things to tip the balance of the fight in their favor, i don't think they'll get that. >> that conflict described as a proxy war with the regime supported by hezbollah, fighters from lebanon, backed by iran, holding presidential elections today. russia also providing sophisticated weapons to assad. mean whewhil meanwhile, the ones being helped by the u.s., does the assad regime have enough outside support to defeat the rebels? u.s. military and others want to help the opposition, but assad has friends. >> yes, the assad regime has support. and iran looks at syria as first line of defense. since the beginning of this revolution, iran stood by that assad regime, now russia and china, hezbollah and lebanon.

no doubt the assad regime is not alone, that's why it is a proxy war if this continues with the u.s. helping and arming the rebels, you have the u.s. against these countries, depending which side wins, major ramifications for the united states global standing and the region stability. >> thanks so much, ayman. let's bring in angus king of maine, a member of the senate armed services committees. and four star general barry mccaffrey. gentlemen, great to have you here. senator, i want to start with you. the latest nbc news, wall street poll, americans are war weary, 15% in favor of action in syria, 11% in support of supplying arms. do you think the president is doing the right thing in supplying these types of weapons to the opposition? >> well, mark me in that majority category. i am reluctant and cautious about this because i want to

know what the end game is. we've done this before, three or four times before, and it's just not so easy to go in with some kind of surgical strike or something like that and the question is once we get in, how do we get out? what's our mission? this is a really complicated situation in syria. it is a civil war within a civil war, and even if assad goes, then there's going to be another civil war between sectarian groups that are already fighting amongst themselves. there's no clear leadership of the opposition, and the other piece is the chemical weapons. i don't know of any way to secure those chemical weapons without troops on the ground, and i don't think that's anything that we want to do, so i guess my feeling is we should be cautious. we keep learning, you can't just go in with a light touch. once you go in, you're committed

and it becomes deeper and deeper. i just hope the administration if they are going to take further action has a clear idea what the mission is they want to accomplish and what the exit strategy is. >> you have been on the record saying you prefer a cautious approach when questioned about that back in april. as we think about where it stands now, the u.n. says yesterday 93,000 have been killed in this two-year-old conflict, 152 people killed by chemical weapons that the administration is confirming. if the red line has been crossed, isn't it subjective to think whether the line was crossed minorly or majorly by uses of chemical weapons? it has been crossed now, doesn't that force the hand of president obama? >> i think, i don't know if it forces the hand. he is the one that created that so-called red line. i am not sure it forces his hand, and whether or not it does, whatever the reality is, i just think we need to go in here

with our eyes open and understand that this is a very complicated situation. i don't think it is libya where there was clear opposition, there was an opposition group, air cover is what they needed, and it tipped the balance in a straightforward way. this is more like iraq. i think it is even more complicated than iraq, and you know, we could topple assad tomorrow, then our troubles really begin, as you say. we have got russia and iran involved in this. not saying we should ab did i indicate responsibility, but i don't see good options now. >> let's talk about that responsibility. general mccaffrey, let me ask you, critics are charging that the u.s. supplying arms and ammunition to the rebels doing it now is too little, too late. what do you think? >> first of all, i think the senator got it entirely correct. i am sympathetic to the administration. there are no u.s. vital national security interests at stake on the ground. it's a tragedy, it's getting worse. the rebels clearly are starting to lose. so if we wanted to make a

difference, we have to go in with substantial u.s. air power, patriot missiles, go after the armor on the ground. 90% weren't killed by helicopters and chemicals, they were tanks and machine guns. there's no easy solution. the problem is the war is spreading. you now have 5,000 hezbollah fighters out of lebanon making a crucial difference, you have the iranians with a major impact on the ground with iranian revolutionary guards, and israel security, and the sunni, muslim world are increasingly concerned. the administration is taking half hearted measures that won't make a difference, it is hard to imagine a good outcome as senator mccain points out. >> if we talk about the long range outcome as the senator pointed out in trying to ascertain the amount of chemical weapons and take control of

those chemical weapons, it would mean boots on the ground. >> i cannot imagine trying to secure the chemical weapons without a substantial u.s. military intervention, probably with brits and french. this is not a dozen special ops people going in. we would have to intervene on the ground. we're not going to do that, by the way, so we have a real problem coming up in the end of the first stage of the war, when assad is gone. i think eventually he'll be brought down. at that point, the thing gets even messier and more dangerous to the israelis in particular. >> senator angus king, general barry mccaffrey, thanks for joining me. appreciate it. i know his family loved him. i know they did. and i think that he probably had just started getting in with the wrong crowd. >> still ahead for you, picking an impartial jury in the george zimmerman murder trial. are there really people that haven't formed an opinion in one

way or another about this very high profile, racially tinged case? the potential juror answers offer interesting insight. our agenda panel coming up. and syria going chemical, should the u.s. take military action. chime in on facebook or tweet me. spokesman i have to look my so bbest on camera.sing

whether i'm telling people about how they could save money on car insurance with geico... yeah, a little bit more of the lime green love yeah... or letting them know they can reach geico 24/7 using the latest technology. go on, slather it all over. don't hold back, go on... it's these high-definition televisions, i'll tell ya, they show every wrinkle. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our history matter to you? because for more than two centuries, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. ♪ and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ i'm going to dream about that steak. i'm going to dream about that tiramisu.

what a night, huh? but, um, can the test drive be over now? head back to the dealership? oh, yeah. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. [ wife ] sorry. [ male announcer ] but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a passat. that's the power of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com today. on any new volkswagen. i gotta go deposit a check, transfer some money. so it's your uncle's turn. what? wait, wait, wait... no, no, no, wait, wait. (baby crying) so you can deposit a check... with the touch of a finger. so you can arrange a transfer in the blink of an eye. so you can help make a bond... i got it. that lasts a lifetime. the chase mobile app. so you can.

so it is day five of jury selection in the george zimmerman murder trial. today, the judge brought in 23 possible jurors already questioned, told them they could go home and come back tuesday. more potential jurors are being questioned now. more than 200 have been brought in throughout the week. 85 have been dismissed so far,

and yesterday brought the most blunt answers yet. >> your opinion what was it? >> that george zimmerman should go home. >> in other words, you believe he's innocent. >> i do. >> you have not formed an opinion at this time whether he is in terms of guilt or innocence of mr. zimmerman, is that correct? >> um, for my belief? >> yes, sir. >> nobody can take nobody's life. >> zimmerman pled not guilty to the shooting death of trayvon martin, he claims self defense. martin was unarmed. zimmerman has sued nbc universal for defamation and the company strongly denied his allegations. joining me now, faith jenkins, an attorney with no affiliation to the trial, has certainly been a legal eagle as we talk about this. how hard is it to whittle down these people, some who demonstrated strong opinions. this is why there's a wide net

of 500 people pulled. >> as you heard from these individuals, a lot of people can't put aside what they've heard and decide this case based on the evidence. that woman yesterday said you can try to convince me, but i pretty much already made up my mind, and you can't have jurors on the jury like that. it is not that people haven't heard anything about this case and that's what they're looking for, they're looking for people that heard things but can put those things aside and just base their decision based on the evidence. that's going to be the challenge here, and why jury selection will take a couple weeks. >> we heard from one about why she thought he was innocent. want to play that for everyone. take a listen. >> i knew that he was learning how to be a street fighter. >> who was learning. >> trayvon was. >> where did you come to that conclusion? >> just from the news. >> what news did you hear trayvon was learning to be a street fighter. >> nobody directly said that, it

was just pictures. >> are attorneys looking for people glued to the tv last year, say i say this, you have the legal mind through the process before, but i think my grandmother used to say if they've got the nerve to ask, you've got the nerve to lie. i think some of the jurors are telling little lies so they don't get cast and caught up in this jury, they know it is going to be a tough one with such attention, and who knows what it will do to their lives. >> and now we know they'll be sequestered. these people have to put their entire lives on hold as the judge referred to yesterday, up to a month, and do nothing but sit in judgment of george zimmerman for the remainder of this trial. so for a lot of people, that's a hardship, they're not going to be able to serve on the jury for that reason. for other people, they want to be on the jury, heard about the case, know what can happen after high profile cases in their own lives. at the end of the day, you want people that are open and honest

like the two individuals we heard because you want to get a jury that's going to be fair. and so i actually appreciate when people are open and honest. the facts about trayvon that the woman referred to, that won't be evidence in this trial, that has to be troubling for the prosecution for that reason. >> don't the attorneys need to read people, not just what comes out of their mouths, read these people. >> and the attorneys need to be experienced enough to determine whether they're telling the truth or not in the questions. >> thank you. appreciate your time. still ahead, uproar over the group trying to win protections for lgbt americans in the workplace. we will speak with the director of that group in a moment. the moment fans were cheering for their team, then fighting for their lives. the deck collapsed that they were standing on. how they're doing, injuries in

the news now. if you've got it, you know how hard it can be to breathe and man, you know how that feels. copd includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that helps open my obstructed airways for a full 24 hours. you know, spiriva helps me breathe easier. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. does breathing with copd weigh you down? don't wait to ask your doctor about spiriva.

hodoes your dog food have?s 30? 20? new purina one beyond has 9. the simplified purina one beyond. learn more about these wholesome ingredients at purinaone.com bjorn earns unlimited rewards for his small business. take these bags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjorn's small business earns double miles on every purchase every day. produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? [ crows ] now where's the snooze button?

turning to the gun control debate, it has been six months since the december 14 massacre in newtown, connecticut. ten mass shootings killed 44 people in this country since then. 86 state gun laws passed, some like in connecticut, colorado, maryland, they tightened access to guns, others like arkansas and mississippi eased restrictions. a proposal for background checks failed in the senate. joe manchin, gun enthusiast of the nra, now the nra is spending to run a political ad against him in his own state. >> now manchin is working with president obama and new york mayor michael bloomberg. concerned? you should be. tell senator manchin to honor his commitment to the second amendment and reject the obama bloomberg gun control agenda.

>> he says unfortunately the nra leadership in washington is more concerned about political power than gun rights and gun safety. on the six month anniversary of sandy hook, the group led by michael bloomberg is launching a nationwide bus tour and it starts in newtown. >> if we can take that moment now, please. >> you're watching a moment of silence marking the six month anniversary followed by reading of the names of the victims. victoria was one of the teachers killed at sandy hook, her sister joins us. tell us how you and the rest of the families are doing this morning. i know this anniversary is certainly hard on all of you, but as you have been back and forth to d.c., is your resolve more hardened or softened

because of political stall tactics you witnessed? >> i can't speak for any of the other families, i can speak for mine. i feel that despite everything that's going on in d.c. that we still have hope, that we aren't discouraged by what's going on. something is going to happen. in due time i feel we will get everything we want accomplished, when it comes to gun control. >> you certainly have a big advocate in new york, michael bloomberg launching an ad campaign to urge new york donors not to donate to the four democratic senators that voted against extended background checks in april. you saw what the nra is doing, they're firing back against supporters of gun control with their own ads. who is winning public sentiment now in your opinion? >> i tend to feel the nra is winning, but they're only winning one piece of the puzzle. there will be several other fights we have, they could win three times, but i strongly feel

that at the end of the day when it comes down to it, we will win. we will win the vote to have gun control and have universal background checks and assault rifle ban and lower magazine size. the nra has the money now. they have the numbers because they have been around so long. they have been doing this for so long, but mayors against illegal guns, newtown action alliance and all of the other organizations that have formed and mayors against illegal guns have been around six years that are fighting. our numbers are growing pretty rapidly, pretty fast. we're going to win. we have a strong group of people who aren't willing to give up and who will continue to fight until we get safer gun control laws passed and we feel safe in this country again. >> jillian, we know we covered this week that newtown families were in d.c. earlier to meet with our elected leaders. were you and your family part of that, if so, how did the meetings go? >> we met with senators

yesterday when we were down there, me and my younger sister and younger brother, and we were hopeful. we talked about one of the bills that was up and talked about where they felt we needed to fix things and why they weren't supporting it because they don't agree with certain parts, what they would rather see in it, and you know, it is hopeful to know that, you know, if something did happen that they feel if you change this one line in this, they would support it, and you know, i think that's what we need to do. we need to hear everyone's opinion so we can make a strong bill that's going to make everybody happy and make us safe at the same time, so rushing it isn't going to work. we have to take our time, hear everybody, and we'll get what we need passed and it will be stronger than ever. >> jillian, we send our best to you and your family. thanks for making time for me today, i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> that was jillian soto, sister of victoria soto, one of the

teachers killed at sandy hook. here are some of the stories topping the news. in florida, 24 people recovering after the deck of a sports bar they were watching the nba finals from collapsed in the bay. officials in louisiana looking into what caused an explosion at a chemical plant in baton rouge area. left one dead and 70 others injured. a sad discovery, one of the fires burning in colorado. two people found dead in the garage of a home consumed by the black forest fire. officials say there were clear signs they were preparing to evacuate. nearly 40,000 had to flee their homes, and more than 350 homes have been completely destroyed. a thumb drive, that's what officials say nsa whistleblower used to smuggle classified data he leaked to the news media this week, that's it, a thumb drive. they're supposedly barred from inside the spying agency. in south africa, winnie

mandela leaving the hospital where her husband is treated for a recurring lung infection. she and other relatives seen in and out of the hospital since his hospitalization saturday. tens of thousands of dollars in hidden fees on their 401(k)s?! go to e-trade and roll over your old 401(k)s to a new e-trade retirement account. none of them charge annual fees and all of them offer low cost investments. e-trade. less for us. more for you. [ male announcer ] moving object detection. ♪ blind spot warning. ♪ lane departure warning. safety, down to an art. the nissan altima

with safety shield technologies. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪

then goes home...ly goes big... innovation that excites. a mother sees the light... a son explores new worlds... and a father finds himself... face to face with himself...

only smoother... epic shaves... epic picture... and epic fun... your destination for man of steel... walmart. tipping point, seer kwa crosses the red line with chemical weapons. what's the next step? lgbt fail, republicans balk giving same sex couples equal rights. and six months later, where's the action on gun control. those are the topics for our panel of writers. we are cheryl conte, dave weigel, msnbc contributor, steve bennett, producer for the rachel maddow show, maddow blog and msnbc contributor. great to have you here, gang, a lot to talk about. moments ago i had an opportunity to speak with senator angus king about his thoughts on syria. i want to remind everybody what he had to say. >> i'm reluctant and cautious

about this because i want to know what the end game is. we've done this before, we've done it three or four times before, and it's just not so easy to go in with some kind of surgical strike or something like that. >> all right. the senator sticking with the cautious approach, he is on the record saying he feels that's the necessary tact to go in with syria. we are learning ben rhodes, deputy national security adviser for communications and special assistant to the president for international and economic affairs is going to be at the white house briefing today, taking questions. he was on the conference call yesterday, telling us about the information on syria. it should be interesting to see how rhodes responds to reporters' questions. steve, this is an escalating issue. putting himself on the record saying they can't cross this red line. if the administration confirms the fact that they have used

chemical weapons, the president's hand seems to be forced. >> it is, but i don't yet think there's a clear end game. i think senator king raises an important point. start with humanitarian aid, move on to military aid. is the next step no fly zone, from there where do we go, is it boots on the ground. there's a great deal of ambiguity. we need additional clarity from the administration about what happens next. >> cheryl, the way that the u.s. could be drawn into this, this is not something we have been monitoring in weeks, this has been a couple years, is the problem that the u.s. can't confirm the intelligence? we could be drawn into a type of trap where we go in and haven't figured out that end game, the point steve points out. >> the end game is unseating assad and regime change. what's happening is that there's a huge humanitarian crisis.

the u.n. says over half syria's population will need aid by the end of the year, it has become a globalized conflict. one side, you have iran, russia, hezbollah, on the other, u.s., france, britain, saudi arabia. the question is whether china will get involved. they have been neutral to date, playing it very safe. i think if china gets involved, that puts pressure on iran and russia to perhaps back down. >> the white house says they have conclusive evidence that vladimir putin isn't accepting it, he says it doesn't look convincing. however, the mccains of the world feel convinced and say we need to do something. whether the red line is definable at this point or not? >> we don't look to antiquity of the sea they talked about this, two years ago, they and some forces in europe called for no

fly over libya, no troops on the ground, but something to nudge gadhafi out of power. they got that. later, sorry, in 2012, attack on the embassy there. didn't have a huge footprint on the ground, troops defending an embassy, that became a scandal of its own. you could see the train chugging closer to greater involvement in libya. asking basically for the same in syria with less certainty. libya we have an agreed upon regime, syria, you have a host of different interests. the difference with syria being we would -- i think americans prefer any regime to an assad regime, at least we think so. saying we have a light footprint, respond to the chemical weapon attacks, we have been there before, we don't know how that involvement ends. >> when you talk about americans, do americans really know anything about the assad regime? we leave it up to our elected

leaders, basically the president, the administration to know what's best. i don't think many americans know all that much about the assad regime. >> they don't. according to polling, americans don't want to intervene in any way. the mccain, grant position on this, or the occasional reluctant position is not popular. 30% don't want to intervene at all. compare it to mubarak, he was on our team in a pleasant way and assad hasn't been. if you were a fan of israel, you're not a fan of assad. >> mubarak was paid a lot for his loyalty. >> the weekly standard and others argued syria should be next from iraq, the next regime we should topple. the opinion in favor of that is way down, and the administration hasn't built a case for it. it is only conservatives that are angry about how we have a light foot print in libya, saying we need some footprint in

syria. >> the debate in washington, d.c. continues over immigration and where reform is going to be picked back up is anybody's guess. this is interesting, the think progress had a video clip of marco rubio about unemployment nondiscrimination act and whether or not gays and lesbians can be involved in the immigration bill. he said he would get out of it all together. listen to what he said. >> do you know if you'll be supporting that? >> i haven't read the legislation. by and large i think all americans should be protected, but i am not for any special protections based on or yen tags. >> what about race or gender. >> that's established law. >> so marco rubio going on the record that he is not interested, hasn't even looked at the unemployment nondiscrimination act, isn't interested in looking out for people based on sexual orientation. we have these tweets. we have jeff flakes, 15-year-old

son in arizona, tanner flake tweeting homophobic, some nasty things. jeff flake has come out to apologize for his son because of what he said. you can see the blurred out parts, the f word. then joe heck's son tweeting, he is a 16-year-old, joe is a republican in nevada, show that tweet. seems as if young kids on the right and all around for that matter, they're going to do silly things, make bad mistakes, but are we seeing, cheryl, an entrenched homophobia on the right, that they're not willing to recognize. there's a change in this country, the supreme court is considering doma and prop 8, should have that decision end of the month. are they just unwilling to look at how this country is changing? >> it is troubling to see that the gop isn't keeping up with americans. about ten years ago, most americans didn't favor gay marriage. now that has completely flipped

around and majority of americans actually support gay marriage. nine out of ten americans actually think it is illegal already to discriminate against gays and lesbians. so it seems like there's a double whammy here where the gop seems willing to speak immigration, which is important to latinos and asian americans and at the same time alienate gays and lesbians which also alienates younger voters. >> you talk about younger voters, get back to kids of the elected leaders, the dads are in washington, d.c., everything trickles down. you would hope and think that they're having a better effect on their kids to be more accepting and tolerant in society, but steven, when we look at the fact that now i am learning tanner flake's twitter account was locked, his dad apologizes, now they locked it. if he is tweeting that stuff any more, maybe it just goes to people that want to hear it, an

echo chamber on twitter. now they locked his account so you can't see the homophobic or racist crap this kid wants to put out. >> i think that's right. i think there may be an effort on part of some of parties to pretend it doesn't exist, lockdown certain twitter feeds, push it all off to the side. the reality is that the party has a real problem here. they published a report saying young people, voters under 30, want to see and expect to see the republican party become more tolerant with diversity and gay people, more accepting when it comes to abortion rights, and the party is just so locked into the culture war agenda. it can't break free. i think we're seeing evidence that shows that the party is on the wrong track, it is poised to lose an entire generation of voters. >> how much is the supreme court going to change that potentially? >> it will scramble everything depending what they decide. for rubio, he's playing a longer

game here, dealing with republican base, trying to get a bill passed is not like acupuncture where you want to poke a bunch at once. you can only irritate them on one topic. what he is doing is trying to pass immigration law being as conservative as possible. on obama care, gay rights, if a vote came up and was debated, i don't know how he would behave. if it happened now, he would have to be against it. his measure i wouldn't say is pretending, convincing republican base that immigration reform as he wants is conservative. that means jet sonning this as the bill is ready to pass. >> thanks to you all. appreciate it. >> thank you. all right. i want to show you my producer's pick. they let me pick this, about the cronut craze. it is a cross between a

croissant and donut. a pastry chef invented this, he makes about 200 each day as folks wait in long lines to get them. we were lucky enough to get three. we have one left. we're going to eat it in the break and tweet about it and let you know how it is. you can read more about the story itself on my facebook page. we're back after this. that's camera four. yeah. for his small business. take these bags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjorn's small business earns double miles on every purchase every day. produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? [ crows ] now where's the snooze button? [ crows ] help the gulf recover, andnt to learn from what happenedg goals: so we could be a better, safer energy company. i've been with bp for 24 years.

i was part of the team that helped deliver on our commitments to the gulf - and i can tell you, safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge safety equipment and technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all our drilling activity, twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. safety is a vital part of bp's commitment to america - and to the nearly 250,000 people who work with us here. we invest more in the u.s. than anywhere else in the world. over fifty-five billion dollars here in the last five years - making bp america's largest energy investor. our commitment has never been stronger.

overmany discounts to thine customers! [old english accent] safe driver, multi-car, paid in full -- a most fulsome bounty indeed, lord jamie. thou cometh and we thy saveth!

what are you doing? we doth offer so many discounts, we have some to spare. oh, you have any of those homeowners discounts? here we go. thank you. he took my shield, my lady. these are troubling times in the kingdom. more discounts than we knoweth what to do with. now that's progressive. all right. so the calendar might say we're in 2013, but today all signs are pointing to 2016. later this afternoon, republican governor chris christie will share the stage with former press bill clinton at the clinton global initiative conference on a panel, wait for it, about bipartisanship. his collaboration with christie one day after former secretary of state hillary clinton, another 2016 contender, made her debut kicking off the annual event. on morning joe, a more supportive message from former president clinton after criticizing president obama on

his handling of the crisis in syria. >> the president will be given the opportunity to talk to counterparts at the g 8 and let's see what happens. i do understand why they don't want to talk in a lot of detail about whatever they decided to do. >> joining me for why it matters, jim williams, msnbc contributor and senate insider. great to see you. want to remind the viewers, clinton's comments criticizing obama were made in a closed press event. nonetheless, not like former presidents don't criticize sitting ones. what's your take on that? >> it was a little unusual to see president clinton do that, and quickly this morning on morning joe he didn't really backtrack but gave full support for what the president's deputy national security adviser announced yesterday. he probably made good with the administration on that. i want to back up a minute. the whole idea of former presidents bashing or talking about sitting presidents, that's

something that we don't see often now. back in the old days, founding of the country through the 1800s, it happened all the time. it is just we in the press when we see something like this, we get all hot and bothered about it, we tend to report on it, make it a bigger deal than it actually is. mr. clinton did sort of change his mind if you will, sort of support the president's decision to go into syria with arms. >> we talk about this, could bill clinton be helping candidate hillary distinguish herself from president obama should she run for president? >> i think with former secretary of state's speech at the global initiative, she -- she might as well have said hi, i am running for president, i am hillary clinton. that was very much a campaign speech. anybody that can look at that speech and go no, no, she is not running for president is a fool. she may at the end of the day not run for president, but her husband, they're a team. there are myriad reasons they

could have gotten divorced over the years and they're still together, still a team. they just changed their foundation from the clinton foundation to the bill, hillary and chelsea clinton foundation. that tells you they're very much a family, a team, a packaged unit, and they're going to do everything they can to support her. the standing ovation she got yesterday that you're showing now is astonishing. people love this woman, want her to win. guess who else wants her to run? the republicans want her to run, want to attack her as we've been seeing. >> she's making money hand over fist now, isn't she? >> yes, a lot. she's with the harry walker agency, which is her speaking engagement agency, if you will, for all disclosure, mine as well. by the way, she makes a heck of a lot more when she speaks than i do, and she should. but she is making a ton of money. she's out there doing what she should be doing, running for president in a quiet way. >> you do well on your own. i will send you a cronut.

>> i want one of those. >> whatever it is, i got to have one, man. is it good? >> it's great. >> i got to have one! >> awesome. jimmy williams, why it matters. thanks for being here. stick around after the show. alex wagner will interview former president clinton. that will be great. nancy pelosi gets her groove on. the house minority leader cutting a rug with kathleen sebelius and lynda carter, backing up mary wilson at a ceremony honoring dingell. what would jesus do, speaking at the faith and freedom coalition lunch, senator rand paul made this case against excessive american engagement overseas. >> no utterance of jesus in favor of any acts of aggression. his message to his disciples was one of nonresistance. >> "the washington post" fact

check, chris christie slow jam with jimmy fallon, gave him two pinocchios about the upcoming special election. and shoutout, the democrats dominated the annual congressional baseball game. get this. the donkey took it 22-0. [ children laughing ] energy efficient appliances. you can get a tax write off for those. a programmable thermostat, very smart, saves money. ♪ cash money sorry. i see you have allstate claim free rewards, for every year you don't have a claim, you'll get money off your home insurance policy. put it towards... [ glass shatters ] [ girl ] dad! dad! [ girl screams ] noise canceling headphones? [ nicole ] that's a great idea. [ male announcer ] home insurance that saves you money for not having a claim?

that's allstate home insurance with claim free rewards. talk to an allstate agent... [ doorbell rings ] and let the good life in. talk to an allstate agent... [ doorbell rings ] [ dog ] we found it together.upbeat ] on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you.

eight lgbt rights protesters were arrested after staging a sit-in outside house speaker john boehner's office on capitol hill thursday. the group refused to leave after being denied a meeting to discuss the important non-discrimination act. meanwhile, the president was welcoming the lgbt community to a pride celebration at the white house where he urged members of congress to act on. >> in 41 states you can be fired because of who you are or who you love. that's wrong.

we have to change it. a bipartisan bill moving through in the senate would bab all discrimination in the workplace now and forever. we need to get that passed. >> the president rattled off a list of accomplishments for his administration and the lgbt community but ending workplace discrimination is a huge sticking point. heather, good to have you here. eight of your activists were arrested yesterday. another one of your members confronted the first lady at a recent fund-raiser in d.c. that created a backlash. the protester wrote an op-ed in the "washington post" saying time and again the first lady has come to our community and asked us to max out on our contributions to the d in. c despite the democratic party despite them happily cashing lgbt checks. is this disruptive approach the best strategy for getting your points across? >> well, look. what we found last week was that we were finally able to open a

national conversation about workplace discrimination, something that impacts every lgbt american in this had country. so what we're looking to do is not only to open that conversation, but to push that conversation forward. now we are looking to move from talk to action. so we're looking for the president to pick up his pen, make sure that he's not just talking, but moving us toward action, sign an executive order that would cover about 22% of the american work force, get us about a quarter of the way there, then show leadership for congress to pass the employment non-discrimination act after decades of languishing and finally make it illegal in this country to discriminate against people based on who they are or who they love. >> heather, senator marco rubio was recently questioned -- he said, "i haven't read the legislation. i think, by and large, all americans should be protected but i'm not for any special protections based on

orientation. what's your reaction to that especially if the president is relying on members of congress to do something with that before an executive order? >> it is not surprising that senator rubio said that. what is surprising is that he was willing to say it outloud. so with the republican party looking to senator rubio as the future of the party, it's clear that he's looking to take the party backward, not forward. what i'm hoping for is for the president to come out and say, actually, senator rubio, that's wrong and not only is it wrong, but i'm going to take action to correct it. i'm going to take action to finally and fully make it illegal to discriminate against lgbt folks in this country and to separate himself -- separate the democratic party from the republican party taking this country backward. >> heather kronk, thanks for your time. that wraps things up for me. have a great weekend, everybody. for all you dads out there, especially mine -- happy

father's day weekend. "now" with alex wagner is next and alex is live on location. >> hello, thomas! we are live in chicago with a great big friday show. up first, a wide ranging conversation with former president bill clinton. why he is slightly bullish on immigration reform and what he thinks about the culture of cooperation in washington. then i'll talk with another clinton -- chelsea clinton joins me to talk family, women and equal pay. plus, we will ask david axelrod about the white house decision to intervene in syria. and president obama's surveillance dilemma. all of that when "now" starts coming up right here from the windy city. want younger looking eyes that say wow? with olay, here's how. new regenerist eye and lash duo. the cream smooths the look of lids... softens the look of lines. the serum instantly thickens the look of lashes. see wow! eyes in just one week with olay.

see wow! eyes in just one week ♪ chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for boat insurance. geico, see how much you could save. bjorn earns unlimited rewards for his small business. take these bags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjorn's small business earns double miles on every purchase every day. produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? [ crows ] now where's the snooze button? [ crbefore i do any projects on on my own.st

at angie's list, you'll find reviews written by people just like you. i love my contractor, and i am so thankful to angie's list for bringing us together. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. otherworldly things. but there are some things i've never seen before. this ge jet engine can understand 5,000 data samples per second. which is good for business. because planes use less fuel, spend less time on the ground and more time in the air. suddenly, faraway places don't seem so...far away. ♪ suddenly, faraway places don't seem so...far away. join us at projectluna.com

because all these whole grains aren't healthy unless you actually eat them ♪ multigrain cheerios. also available in delicious peanut butter. healthy never tasted so sweet. president clinton is feeling bullish. mostly. it's friday, june 14th. and this is "now," live from chicago.

house speaker john boehner is running hot and cold on immigration reform. just days after saying there was no question two pass the house and senate, he issued this threat. >> immigration reform is a very difficult issue. but i don't intend to bring an immigration bill to the floor that violates what i and what my members of my party, what our principles are. >> earlier today, i sat down with former president clinton at cgi america here in chicago and asked him if he thinks legislation can get through congress. >> i mean i think that john boehner wants to do immigration reform and the first time will only probably be able to get a bill through the house that those of us who support immigration re