backed by our 100% money back guarantee. walmart are you in the mafia? >> am i in the what? >> whatever you want to call it. organized crime. >> that's total crap. who told you that? >> all due respect, you got [ bleep ] idea what it's like to be number one. every decision you make affects every facet of every other [ bleep ] thing. it's too much to deal with almost. in the end you're completely alone with it all. right now on andrea mitchell reports, remembering a giant. he played larger-than-life character tony soprano for eight seasons. friends and family remember james gandolfini as a gentle man

gone too soon. borer reform is full steam ahead in the senate after a bipartisan group reaches a key deal on border security but can it survive the house? >> it's essential we have the confidence of the american people and it's done the right way. supreme suspense. decision day comes and goes with no rulings on big cases addressing affirmative action, voter rights and gay marriage. court watchers are waiting and the anticipation is palpable here in washington. good day everyone. i'm kristen welker in washington. a curveball from the supreme court, four major cases ranging from same-sex marriage to affirmative action are still up in the air as the justices let another decision day go bay biwithout answers. pete williams is live at the supreme court. people, give us a breakdown of the largest cases we're still

waiting to hear and why haven't we gotten a major ruling today? >> reporter: beats the heck out of me about why. the simple answer is they're not done with those cases. they're still going back and forth. the majority and the dissent trading paragraphs and tweaking each other. the court has decided these cases. the justices know what the outcome is going to be, but they're still putting the final touches on their ops. kristen, you be very sympathetic. you've done many standups at the white house. they're mowing the lawn in the background. that's what's happening right here right now. we have three big issues and four cases. on same-sex marriage we have the question about the constitutionality of prop 8 which ended same-sex marriage in california. and also the defense of marriage act, the federal law passed by congress in 1976 that says the federal law can't recognize same-sex marriages even in the states where they're legal.

two other issues both involving race. the first is the future of the most important civil rights law ever passed in american history, the voting rights act. that's the law that says states have to get permission from the federal government if they've had a history of discrimination before they can make any changes in the way they do their elections. finally, what's to become of affirmative action in school admissions. it looks like we'll have a train wreck of a week next week. we can't rule out that the court might actually go into early july at the rate they're going now, kristen. >> all right. i know you will keep us posted, pete. i empathize with that noise behind you. i have been there many times. >> reporter: yes, sound familiar. >> thank you, pete williams. we appreciate it. the battle over the border security provisions in the senate gang of eight immigration bill has taken a positive turn for proponents of reform. two republican senators have entered the conversation with a proposal that could satisfy more members of their side of the

legislative aisle. as reported in nbc's "first read," the amendment could include increased border security in the form of 700 miles of border fencing and some compromises in the e verify program. let's bring in mark murray and alan gomez, immigration reporter for "usa today," live on capitol hill. alan, i want to start with you. i the senate tabled the cornyn amendment that clears the way for the compromise we just talked about. but the big question is how many republicans do we expect to support the hoeb bin and corker amendment who voted for the amendment that was just tabled? >> that's the big question. that's what this amendment is trying to get at. we're learning more details about what this amendment might look like. it could include up to 20,000 more border patrol agents at a cost of almost $30 billion. this is an attempt -- republicans like cornyn, many others in the senate, especially in the house, have been demanding that there is an incredible increase in border

security, and so they can go home to their constituents and say, hey, we finally got this figured out. it turns out a senator from north dakota and tennessee might have figured out this southern border strategy that we have here. >> alan, when do we expect that to be introduced today? >> within the hour. they were heading down to the senate floor, they said they should be introducing the amendment at about 2:00 today. >> mark, i want to turn to you, i'm going to play a sound bite from bob corker from earlier today and get you to respond on the other side. take a listen. >> for people concerned about border security, once they see what is in this bill, it's almost overkill. i think if that's the issue that people have, i think everyone working together have come up with a way to deal with that issue. >> so bob corker said today on "the daily rundown" that it's almost overkill. is that an accurate assessment? >> it's what a lot of republicans who might be on the fence want to be able to see.

as alan was just explaining, if you're going to republicans saying i want more border patrol agents, a lot of reformers in this corker hoef vin amendment are saying, here, you get it, here is all the money you're going to get. if you're opposed to the immigration bill for other reasons, make that clear. if you're just opposed to the fact that it doesn't have enough to secure the border, here is an amendment that goes that way. there are so many republicans on the fence and people who you -- you're talking about people like bob corner and john hovan, if they vote for this, you get to the magical 70 number. that's why this amendment is so significant. >> let's talk about that, the calculation is to get at least 70 votes in the senate and put the pressure on the house to pass this. house speaker john boehner has an adamant. he's not going to bring to it the floor unless he thinks he has a majority of the majority. does this work? does it get the house to vote on this and to pass it ultimately?

>> supporters of this legislation have always said first things first. let's pass this with as big a majority as possible and see how the 3res sure goes. that's their strategy. it's very possible that republicans say, look, this hasn't happened in the majority of our caucus, we're not goings to bring it to the floor. if there are house republicans who say you know what, what bob corker is doing, what john hoef vin is doing, i approve of that. that's putting resources on the border, you could get a majority of house members supporting it. the first action on spurring them to action would be the senate vote. >> could this drive democrats away? >> democrats have always been interested in the pathway to citizenship. the way i understand this amendment to be, that doesn't necessarily impact that pathway at all. that would begin once the money is deployed, once the resources are deployed. essentially what this security does, it puts the gang of eight legislation, all their security

provisions on steroids. but it doesn't really impact that pathway to citizenship. >> alan, i want to go back to you. this has gotten a pretty icy reception in the house so far. do you think this gives republicans enough political cover? >> well, as mark was just talking about, one of the things that they are really interested in is requiring that certain measurements of border security are reached before anybody can get on the pathway to citizenship. john cornyn, that's the essence of his amendment that was just tabled a little while ago. that's something that republicans in the house are demanding. yes, this does flood that zone with border patrol agents the way schumer described it, you can put a border patrol agent within 1,000 feet of each other along the southern border with the numbers they're talking about. the fact they never have to reach any measurement, any certification that the border is, in fact, secure before the undocumented immigrants can get their green cards and start applying for citizenship, that may still drive republicans away, so it's unclear.

>> we saw a rally yesterday outside the capitol, tea party members saying they're just not going to support this. there's a theory the longer this legislation stays out there, the harder it gets to pass. alan, is that a big concern for supporters at this point? >> if we start talking about this thing going into 2014, absolutely. harry reid has said he wants this thing passed, out of the senate by the july 4th recess. this possibly gives the opportunity to do that. over in the house there's been an immigration group trying to work on a bill for years now. they still haven't been able to file theirs. i think the big question is going to be how long it takes the house to get this thing moving. if it starts stretching into next year and people are facing elections, that's when you really have to star worrying. >> alan gomez, mark murray, thanks for joining us this afternoon. >> thank you. coming back, looking back at the life and legacy of james gandolfini, the gentle jersey guy who portrayed one of tv's most memorable conflicted

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a 200-point loss wednesday and big red numbers across the board today on wall street. what's causing this late of the market spiral?

cnbc's steve leisman joins me now. thanks for joining me this afternoon, steve. >> good to be here. >> yesterday ben bernanke said later this year he expects to ease some of the bond buying. is that what is drawing what we're seeing in the markets, is that what's causing what we're seeing in the markets? >> i think that's right. i think the market is becoming accustomed to a new reality. before it was the fed saying we'll be out there buying bonds for an indefinite period of time and bernanke put something of a timetable on it, saying if the forecast for the economy goes as planned, we'll start reducing the amount of -- combination for the economy by the end of this year and we'll end it next year. he tried to go to great, great lengths to say, you know what, that doesn't mean we're tightening on the economy, just we're not stimulating the economy as much as we do before. >> we've seen the market drop even lower today. there is some thought that that might actually have to do with what's happening in china as well. can you talk a little bit about that? >> i think that's a piece of it.

we got negative data out of china that was a bit of a surprise. there's concern about the chinese central bank there, the people's bank of china clamping down on bank lending there so maybe you'd have what you call a hard landing where things would stop a little more abruptly than had been anticipated. the data out of the u.s. was a mix. we're kind of feeling our way along here. i think the real concern for the markets right now is does the fed make a mistake here? does it end up withdrawing the stimulus from the economy before the economy is ready and really the jury is out on just how strong growth is right now. >> earlier this week president obama seemed to signal that bernanke was going to leave. bernanke seemed to confirm that in his remarks yesterday. what are you hearing? >> i think the story is the president probably misspoke but probably was late more honest than he wanted to to be in the sense that i believe the market believes bernanke is leaving at

the end of his term at the end of january next year. i think that's been the anticipation out there. the president really kind of confirmed that. he tried to walk back the idea that he was insulting and disrespecting bernanke, but they didn't in the background conversations walk back that bernanke is leaving. i don't know the market is incredibly spooked by that in that there seemed to be a number of people that could be considered that would probably continue the policies of the current chairman. >> steve leisman from cnbc headquarters, we appreciate it, thank you. three naval academy football players have been charged in the sexual assault of a woman, a fellow student at an off-campus party in annapolis, maryland last year. two of the men are charged with rape and sexual assault. the third student is charged with making a false official statement. the senate armed services committee has been working to address military sexual assaults. senator claire mccass still voted for the proposal to force changes in the military justice

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president obama says any possible negotiations between the afghan government and the taliban won't be easy. the recent comments from hamid karzai coupled with the taliban claiming responsibility for four american troops in eastern afghanistan underscores that message, putting the u.s. delegation in a very difficult position. nbc's dunn gan goal skon any is

live in kabul. we know the u.s. wants to begin peace talks in the next few days. is that going to happen? >> reporter: it might do because late today our time president car sigh said he would send delegates to qatar, but first waiting for formal assurances from the united states. this goes back to how the announcements were made on tuesday. back then it looked like a major diplomatic coup, the united states and the taliban sitting down for the first time for open negotiations and peace talks. but president karzai was immediately angered by two things. first of all, the idea that it wouldn't be afghan-led. primarily it looked like the united states and the stall ban would start the negotiations. the second thing is how that announcement was made. it was at the opening of the taliban's first overseas office in qatar. they had the white taliban flag

flying. they also had the flag for afghanistan when they ruled up until 2001. it angered president karzai because in his view it made the taliban look like some kind of government in exile. since then, since a number of calls from secretary of state kerry, it seems he has been reassured. this is such a complex process because there are many players with different motives. for example, take the taliban. they say they are in this because they want to end what they call the foreign occupation of afghan land. they want to talk primarily to the united states. but that angers the afghans. the taliban also say they want high-level taliban detainees to be free. today a spokesperson said they would release a u.s. soldier who has been held for four years, sergeant bo bergdahl in return

for five high-level detainees at guantanamo bay. those are their demands. the one thing they haven't done is renounce violence. within hours of launching their office in qatar where peace talks a meant to happen, a rocket was fired into bang ram air base killing four u.s. servicemen. that's the latest in a string of attacks. we're well into the taliban's spring offensive. there are attacks every couple days killing international troops, killing afghan soldiers and killing afghan civilians them sells. that undermines confidence on the streets, undermines the afghan government. no wonder president obama said this is going to be a bumpy road ahead. krits ten? >> duncan, you said you believe at this point karzai may have been reassured. is that in part because the taliban has agreed to take down the sign and basically cast it as the new leader in that area?

>> reporter: well, it seems both things might have been addressed. we know the flag has been lowered so it's not in view of the offense in qatar. we also know that the wording behind them, the islamic emirates afghanistan has been removed. secretary kerry made a series of calls trying to assure president karzai about his role. we know he's hanging on for what the afghans are calling formal reassures. we don't quietly know what that is. >> what is the mood there, duncan? are the afghanis at all hopeful this process will move forward and the peace talks will be successful? >> reporter: well, you know, we were out filming the other day at a kabul tea shop and i was talking to local students. i said do you think the taliban are ready to negotiate, to talk about peace? one of the students said if they're ready to talk about

peace, why do they keep blowing us up? why do they continue with this violence? it's going to be a long road ahead, building confidence with ordinary afghans on the streets that the taliban really mean business and are really serious about this. >> a long road indeed, duncan golestani, thank you for that report. we appreciate it. a new world fire in southern colorado is growing rapidly. people were forced to evacuate to a local high school for shelter. the east peak fire has burned timber below the spanish peak. there's zero percent containment, bone dry conditions have fed the flames. near denver, another wildfire spanning 500 acres is causing health concerns as thick smoke is filling the air south of the city. more than 100 people have been evacuated from their homes. we'll be right back after a quick break. stay with us. ready?

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welcome back. joining me now is andrea mitchell who has been wearing her other hat this afternoon, and reporting for nbc news at the state department. andrea, good afternoon. i understand there is news on syria this afternoon. >> first of all, as you know, the secretary of state was on the hill today, kristen, speaking behind closed doors to the house intelligence committee and trying to make the case forearming the rebels. now, i understand that senator ted cruz and others have gone to the floor. there is a lot of opposition from rand paul, from ted cruz and others against, of course, john mccain and those on the other side who have been arguing for more weaponry and for the president's policy and for the president to do more. and what secretary kerry is now

saying is that there is absolutely an imperative for doing more for the rebels because it is in the strategic interest of the united states. kristen, joining us now is jeffr jeffrey goldberg, national correspondent and ann guerin, diplomatic correspondent at "the washington post." jeffrey, you had reporting on disagreements from the cabinet, from the pentagon verses kerry, at the principals' meeting, martin dempsey arguing against air strikes, kerry arguing in favor. state department officials say it was not as much of a disagreement as has been reported. let's have your background. >> i think it's a substantial disagreement. it was a friendly disagreement. they weren't screaming at each other. but the pentagon is adamant in its opposition to air strikes and to a no-fly zone. they see people in the administration and outside the administration arguing for an

intervention without an exit strategy and, of course, given recent history, they're adamantly opposed to that. the secretary of state, on the other hand, has been adamant in favor of doing more to, not only help the rebels, but send a signal to the assad regime that the u.s. is all in or at least part of the way in, that it is going to stand in opposition to their plans. furthermore, the secretary of state is adamant that peace talks or compromise talks will only work if the rebels are in a better position. the assad regime right now has no incentive to come to the table now that it seems to be winning on the battlefield. >> in fact, what secretary kerry has just told some of us is the administration believes we need to change the calculation of assad, which is exactly what you're speaking to, and that we have to increase the calculus because we have strategic interests here in the region to make it important to support the opposition that represents all of the syrian people.

as you know, that's how long it had been for him trying to negotiate a broader coalition, a broader opposition coalition that does represent -- i think they're there now. as he says, that they have to continue because of the pressure on jordan and the rest of the region, the refugees, as you know. this is really the strategic interest of the united states and we have no option to be more involved. ann gary rin, you have covered every step of the way these negotiations. it's very clear when secretary kerry first proposed another geneva peace conference and tried to get russia and the rebels into it last january, the situation was better, the opposition was gaining ground and assad was pretty much on the ropes. now the calculation is different. assad is gaining and hezbollah is all in. it was the iranian engagement that we've been reporting, it's

a rand involvement n iran's involvement that has improved kerry's argument that we have to be doing more for the rebels. >> yes. the timing of the u.s. announcement that it would switch strategies and begin to supply lethal aid was hinged to the chemical weapons determination. in reality it's a decision that it had been in the works for weeks if not months and had a lot more to do with exactly the dynamic you refer to, the fact that the assad forces backed by iran and hezbollah were on the offensive gaining ground and the western and arab-backed rebels were losing it. and kerry was one of the louder voices within the administration saying that we had to do something and we had to do it now or essentially it would be too late. >> what is the latest situation, jeffrey and ann, now on

afghanistan? we know that kerry has been on the phone trying to walk back what the taliban had done, which was a violation of their agreement when they raised their flag. >> i'll take a crack of that. he's going to go to cut tar in a few days, presumably right in the thick of it. we don't know if he's going to go and visit the office. it would be pretty interesting news if he did. >> i think that's unlikely -- >> he's going to try to get everybody back into line, into the position that the state department thought they were in last week before the announcement was made, which is that the taliban was ready to say uncomfortable things for it in order to get the office open. the karzai government was willing to swallow its pride to an extent and have the u.s. be the main negotiator and the u.s. was willing to at least consider the release of these five prisoners in exchange for the

u.s. prisoner of war, essentially getting back to square one from where the negotiations were even a year ago. it got very messy in the last 24 to 36 hours and kerry is trying to fix it. >> i think, by the way, from what i'm hearing here, it's very unlikely -- he's not going to go to the taliban office, but they're expecting that the afghan -- that the karzai taliban representative, negotiations will start. what about sergeant bergdahl. do either of you have any sense that we're closer to the release of bergdahl. ann or jeff, does anyone think we're actually going to get sergeant bergdahl back? >> there are a lot of rumors floating around. you're dealing with a very unpredictable group of people in the taliban. i wouldn't get your hopes up too high on that one. i wouldn't get your hopes up too high for this entire encounter, in fact. the larger question for me,

andrea, is which negotiation, which set of negotiations is the secretary least looking forward to? the syrian negotiations which seem to be dysfunctional, the afghan negotiations? remember he's also trying to bring israel and the palestinians together. he's got an incredible number of dysfunctional problems on his plate right now. >> in fact, as you know, he's leaving tomorrow and will go first to take the lead on these taliban negotiations and also pushing very hard, more than any of the other emirates that has in the past armed the front and some of the more radical regimes. john kerry feels absolutely passionately about the time -- the clock running on the viability of getting israeli-palestinian negotiations back on track. you know better than anyone, jeff goldberg, how difficult that's going to be. but he believes, and he has said this publicly a number of times, that if you don't do it this

year, that the whole future of israel as a democratic state is in jeopardy just because of the demography of the region. >> i'm broadly sympathetic to the goal he has of trying to bring these two people together. making apocalyptic statements like that doesn't seem to be helpful. if negotiations don't happen this year, there will be another year and another year and another year. the stream doesn't run out forever. by trying that he was trying to focus the attention of the parties on the dilemma. i don't know how that language is particularly helpful. >> you're ooh right on a number of points including the fact that secretary kerry's trip is going to be very difficult. there are no easy negotiations. his view and the view from the state department is if you don't have diplomacy, what other choices are there? there's only the choice of war. the american people are war weary so diplomacy has to be pursued. speaking of problems in

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i'm sorry. that's just the way it is. >> let me talk. >> no. it's not the prozac. i dream about you. i think about you all the time. i can't get excited about any other women. there's nothing else to say. i love you. >> he wasn't your typical wise guy. complex, brutal, tortured by self-doubts. tony soprano somehow made us care about him, and that's because of the extraordinary acting skill of the great james

gandolfini. gandolfini sat down with james lipton on "inside the actors' studio" to talk about his transition from character actor to leading man, a role he was never entirely comfortable with. >> how did tony soprano come into your life and into ours? >> i got the script and i remember reading it and i was laughing out loud. i said there's no way i will be able to do this. i've said that before. i really thought that they would pick someone different than i. >> how different? in what way? >> suave, good looking, mafioso guy, you know, just somebody a little more leading man type. >> best-selling author bill carter coffers the television industry, of course, for "the new york times" and joins us by phone. bill, you knew him well, you interviewed him often. what made him so different, those of us who were viewers and

fans didn't have the technical knowledge that you have, of the acting skill that went into all this. >> i think he had an unusual capacity to be scary and vulnerable at the same time. there was something about his physical presence because he was an enormous guy, a physically big guy, but an incredibly expressive and sensitive face, especially his eyes. he acted extremely well with his eyes and conveyed this humanity to this character that made you feel like, yes, he's brutal and he has all these really scary aspects, but he also is a family guy, cares about his kids. he's loyal to his friends and you wanted him somehow to win despite his obvious criminal background. >> david chase, of course, his collaborator, the author, the creator of all of this wrote in a statement he was a genius, anyone who saw him, even in the

smallest of his performances knows that. he is one of the greatest actors of this or any time. a great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes. i remember telling him many times, you don't get it. you're like mozart. there would be silence on the other end of the phone. for debra and michael and lilianna, this is crushing and bad for the rest of the world. he wasn't easy sometimes. but he was my partner, he was my brother in ways i can't explain and never will be able to explain. david chase, there's so much in that statement. you mention his eyes, bill carter. >> yes. >> was that, that sense of something that was ominous, the sense that he was about to explode at any moment, but the sense of every man. >> yes, that was there. that sense of menace was there, and that vulnerability was there and that twinkle was in the eye. this character was also very funny. the show had enormous humor and he was able to capture all of that. i think it took a lot out of him. it was a dark portrayal.

he often would be in his trailer before an intense scene and people would hear him throwing things and yelling, just trying to get himself ready. it really was a taxing performance. he was on camera so much, in so many scenes. but i think he basically was a devoted actor. he didn't like celebrity, but he really was proud of this kind of dramatic performance. >> edie falco, an extraordinary actor herself. her statement, i am shocked and devastated by jim's passing. he was a man of tremendous depth and sensitivity with a kindness and generosity beyond words. i consider myself very lucky to have spent ten years as his close colleague. my heart goes out to his family as those of us in his pretend one hold on to the immense and beautiful time together. the love between tony and carmela was one of the greatest i've ever known. that really took me back. the fact that after all the conflict, physical conflict,

betrayal, sexual and otherwise, the fact that she refers to this i think correctly from a viewer's standpoint as a love, a profound love between tony and carmela. >> it was an extraordinary pair. she is an amazing actress and he was so good. when you saw the scenes when they had conflict, i saw it online today, one of their huge battles, when she confronts him over his infidelity and he comes at her, it was an extraordinary scene. you'd think it was from a play on broadway. i know because i talked to edie as well, that she did feel this incredible connection. he was a very generous guy, by the way. there was a period of time where he had a contract conflict and he held out for a lot of money t. production was shut down and everybody was losing work. he finally came back. when he came back, he quietly called people into his trailer

and wrote checks to all of them. >> that is an interesting insight that i had not heard before. >> leon panetta was portrayed began gan most recently in "zero dark 30." he issued a statement talking about what it meant to be portrayed by him. and i'm not sure that we have that yet. okay. james gandolfini was a friend and a great actor. he wrote me after portraying me last year which was a great thrill and honor for former secretary of defense leon panetta. one of the things less known is his commitment to our troops and the war in afghanistan and ptsd. though best known for his role on "sopranos," he had a passion for telling stories that may otherwise have never been told. in 2007 he produced the powerful hbo documentary "a live day

memories." nbc's brian williams spoke with gandolfini and some of those veterans about the film. >> if you survive getting blown up in iraq, that day becomes your alive day. >> alive day is the day you escape death. >> what is yours? >> january 2nd, 2005. >> june 19, 2004. >> january 21st, 2006. >> january 3rd, '05. >> it's the day they were hit and lived. four veterans brought together by one actor. their injuries vary. two are missing legs, one is missing an arm. one suffers from the aftereffects of combat beyond his physical wounds. they are four out of the 27,000 or so wounded, and they're in a new hbo documentary that came about because james gandolfini visited iraq and came home believing their stories needed

to be heard. >> jim, you and i talked about iraq when we met during the filming of the last year of the "sopranos." i knew you were working on this. i knew this had become a passion of yours. what have you learned doing this? >> i went there. i came back. i was struck by the silence of what's going -- you know, here in this country about what's going on over there. when i talked to these soldiers, i was struck by -- you can be cynical on both coasts, wherever you are, honor, duty, loyalty to your country. it hit me. i guess some people forget about that or don't think about it. and i think -- >> i understand. >> just talking about the project brings out real emotion. talking about the war does the same.

>> you say in the documentary one of your guys apologized to you for not welding more armor onto the humvee. >> though the documentary has no political point of view. >> jim, you were careful carefup politics a mile away from this documentary. why? >> i wanted to hear what they had to say, and i think sometimes when something is political, half the people will shut down immediately and not listen, whatever side it's on. >> that shows much more of the real james beggandolfini. bill carter, more thoughts as we look at the diner and the table for the last episode? >> i think he made a pilot for another hbo series that i saw, actually. it would have been a fantastic new role for him. it's too bad because i think he had a lot more great performances in him, and we're being cheated of those.

>> he forever has changed television, he and david chase and the whole team. thank you so much, bill carter, for your remembrances today and we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] made just a little sweeter... 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.

also available you can reuse almost anything. paper bags. soda bottles

handcuffs i'm just saying. so see what you can reuse. you'll reduce what's sent to landfills. the more you know. and rejoining us now, kristin welker and msnbc editorial writer, jonathan. christ t kristin, i know you talked about immigration. jonathan, we'll hear from the senators on the gang of 8 and what they've accomplishinged. >> yeah, andrea, this vote that's about to come up is very significant. they're all looking for some pathway, if you will, to get to a magic number in the senate, anyway, of 70 votes, and hoping that 70 vote approval of the senate will put some pressure on the house to pass an immigration bill, but as we've been talking about for weeks now, getting an

immigration bill to come out of the house that could then get the approval of the senate is going to be a pretty tall order. >> andrea, it is going to be a tall order. i've been talking to white house officials who say they're hopeful the president keeps his distance so he doesn't scuttle or get in the way of the talks that are going on right now. >> kristin, going back to syria for a moment. you hear all of this debate on the floor. the state department under pressure. secretary kerry leaving tomorrow on a trip. our own kathryn chomiack is with him. this is a pivotal point on the administration. they have to prove what they are proposing is enough and not too little. >> it is because they have gotten a lot of criticism that arming the rebels is not enough, that it is too little too late. a lot of questions about what the president's strategy is moving forward. >> kristin welker, thank you so much for everything. >> thank you. >> that does it for us for this edition of "andrea mitchell

reports." tamara hall is next on news of the nation. >> hi. new information on the murder investigation tied to patriot tight end aaron hernandez. we'll have much more on the evidence police say that links him to the investigation and also very interesting day where helicopters literally were following this guy across boston. plus, two senators speaking on the floor of the senate on what could be a break through for comprehensive immigration reform. plus, despite all the controversy over the hpv vaccine, a new study reveals it actually works better than expected. we'll have those details next on "news of the nation oifrmt."

right now "news nation," new details surface into what connection patriots' player aaron hernandez may have to a murder scene less than a mile from home as news helicopters

follow his every move today. and happening right now on capitol hill, an amendment to the senate's sweeping immigration bill on securing the border. the process being drafted. will it seal the deal to get this measure passed? plus, withdrawals on a controversial treatment. the cdc showing hpv infections fell by half in teenage girls who were vaccinated. will it convince more parents to get their kids the shot? those stories first. first breaking news from wall street. stocks are plunging for a second straight day after fed chairman ben bernanke said the fed is likely to start scaling back its economic stimulus plan this year because the economy is improving. it could also mark the beginning of the end of historically low interest rates. right now the dow is down. you see it on your screen, 227 points after falling 206 points yesterday. cnbc's kayla joins us live. kayla, the