in the shooting death of martin claiming self-defense. machine was unarmed the night of february 26th. the defense don west in his opening just a short time ago. take a look. the day began with the judge ruling temporarily that some members of george zimmerman's family and the martin family attorney, benjamin crump would have to leave the courtroom for opening statements because they are potential witnesses down the line. however, before court opened, martin's parents made their own emotional statement. >> i ask that you pray for me and my family because i don't want to any other mother to have to experience what i'm going through now. >> as we enter the courtroom today, and seeking justice for our son, we hold on to his smile, which strengthens us. >> joining me live from sanford is msnbc's craig melvin. already we're seeing drama unfold in this courtroom. obviously the defense is still

in their opening remarks but the prosecution came out not holding back. >> no. not at all, thomas. in fact, you just played a snippet of that stunning opening and you take that and contrast it with what we've been watching over the past 10 or 15 minutes, don west, the attorney for george zimmerman, he started his opening statement with a knock knock joke. and then after the knock knock joke he moved into an aerial display of sorts. he wanted to show the jury what the complex looked like. so you had two very interesting starts to the opening statements. again, john guy for the prosecution, came out fiery. right now don west, as we take a look, it's been quite the different approach if you will. he did start by saying that this is a sad case. ones man lost his life.

another is fighting for his. and he also, he explained why zimmerman's family was not seated directly behind him. that was one of the first things he did. but again as you alluded to the judge could decide during the lunch hour to allow benjamin crump to come back in and also decide to allow zimmerman's family to come back in as well. that's something that's going to be reviewed in the next hour or so. that's what's happening right now inside the courtroom behind me. again, 200 witnesses are on the list. we, of course, do not expect all of those witnesses to be called. but the state did give us -- they gave us somewhat of an indication of the witnesses that we could see. of course the first officer who responded there. the emergency workers who tried to revive trayvon martin as well. but again, right now, the defense is about 15 minutes into their opening statements. we'll continue to watch this thing. >> msnbc's craig melvin reporting in sanford, thanks so much. i want to bring into the conversation now, attorney faith

jenkins a former prosecutor who has no connection to the trial but is just our legal here. you've been watching this and that opening statement by co-counsel john guy really came out of the gate strong. >> yes. >> and was it effective in getting the jury's attention? >> it was so compelling. the defense comes into this case with a huge advantage. there were only two eyewitnesss to that pivotal moment where trayvon martin and george zimmerman meets. one is dead and george zimmerman is the only person left to tell his side of the story. they don't have the emotion behind a high school student trying to walk home with no weapon, snacks and a phone yards away and when he's spotted and killed by george zimmerman. this prosecutor today brought that emotion full force in front of this jury which consists of five mothers. that's going to resonate with these jurors who are mothers who expect to be able to send their child to the store and believe

that they'll make it home okay. >> so the attorney for trayvon martin's parents, benjamin crump gave a statement saying he believes it's a simple case that will show jgeorge zimmerman is responsible. take a look. >> the facts in this case. number one, george zimmerman was a grown man with a gun and number two, trayvon martin was a minor who had no blood on his hands. literally no blood on his hands. >> faith, give us a sense of what each side is laying out here. we've heard from george zimmerman, his brother robert before, saying that the state is going to have a hard time proving its burden. >> now we know. we've seen. the state gave example of example of inconsistencies in george zimmerman's only story and his own statements to the police. they're now going to take his words and use them against him in this trial. for example, very powerful moment in the opening where they say george zimmerman claimed

that trayvon put his hands over his mouth and over his nose and he was bleeding but there's no evidence of blood or zimmerman's dna anywhere on trayvon martin's hands. >> under his finger nails. >> huge inconsistency there. they're going to take this jury step by step from his statements and show george zimmerman simply was not telling the truth. taken these self-defense classes knows the law and tailored his story to comport with the law. >> one thing a lot of people following this found interesting the judge ruled against the expert testimony about who may have been screaming for help in the recording of the 911 call the night of the shooting. the judge has said the methodology was not reliable. however, these calls are still going to be heard in court but not with the expert testimony to back up whose voice they could be aligned with. >> right. look at how the state argues. they argued that the moment the shot goes off, the screamer is silent. it is apparent. they're saying use your common sense. it is apparent that the shooter and that gunshot silenced the screams and we all know who was

shot. it was trayvon martin who lost his life that night. >> do you think george zimmerman will testify? >> i don't know. now we know through the state's opening they're going to put in his statements so his claim of self-defense is now going to be put before the jury. he could not do that in the defense but the state can do it in their case. they've chosen to do that. i think his attorneys want to do everything possible to keep him off the witness stand but with this emotional opening and the way this case is going to play out, i think he has to take the witness stand and try to convince these jurors he acted in self-defense. >> faith jenkins great to have you here. >> i want to get to more of the breaking news that we've been following from the supreme court where a ruling on the affirmative action case has come down. that ruling sent back to the lower court by a 7-1 vote with one justice recusing herself. the court sent a case about the university of texas's admissions policy back to a federal appeals court for review. the case was brought by abby gal fisher who applied to the university in 2008 and denied

and claimed her constitutional right and federal and civil rights were violated. joining me from the supreme court, tom goldstein. we've been waiting on pins and needles for a lot of these rulings to come down. we got one today. the court ruling that the schools must prove no workable race neutral alternatives would provide the educational benefits of diversity. explain what that means. break it down for us. >> the bottom line here is that while the challenger to the affirmative action program did win in the supreme court, civil rights advocates are really breathing a sigh of relief around here because there was the potential that the justices would issue a major ruling headed in the conservative direction eliminating affirmative action. they did something more modest. if you're going to have affirmative action in higher education admissions you have to come up with a good justification that the courts are going to scrutinize carefully and this program wasn't looked at hard enough by the court of appeals. the court of appeals simply

assumed it wasn't enough for texas to admit the top 10% of every graduating class and get diversity. that's part of texas' plan. the supreme court said you need to, texas, justify to us why it is you have to explicitly take race into account and they punted down the road to another day the final ultimate question of will they eliminate affirmative action. >> it was interesting because of this case some questioned whether abigail fisher was suitable plaintiff on this and there's been curious questions about standing before the supreme court because as noted on sko tus blog, fisher wouldn't have been admitted to the university's freshman class under any circumstances regardless of her race because of her academic credentials they weren't strong enough. does this mean the supreme court has given -- they've said it had the standing well enough to be there but they want to push it back to texas. >> that's right. there were all kinds of fights and arguments on both sides about whether she was the right person to bring this case.

the supreme court found no difficulties there at all. her case is going forward. they believe she has a legitimate challenge to the affirmative action program. what it did not do is answer the ultimate question everybody thought we might be getting particularly because this case was argued way back in october and we went to today and we got a 7-1 ruling very short, has very little controversy, and it looks like inside the building there were a whole bunch of negotiations to come up with a compromise which is a modest ruling that actually just sends it back to the court of appeals and leaves the issues for another day. >> as you say it's modest but been said this morning's ruling raises the bar for use of affirmative action by schools and universities moving forward. would you agree with that? >> i think it does raise the bar but doesn't raise it to the moon. that's what got left for another day. the supreme court saying we are going to order the lowers courts to take a rigorous look at these programs but if they satisfy that look, show us they really do need these programs there

isn't a race neutral way of getting diversity in higher education for now at least the programs are constitutional and you can use them. >> i have to ask you your gut feeling about where we're going with voting rights, prop 8 and doma. down the wire until thursday? >> i doubt it. i think the justices will try to spread out the few remaining cases over the course of the week. they're going to be back tomorrow as you all have said at 10:00 in the morning. i wouldn't be surprised if we got the voting rights case tomorrow and say same-sex marriage on thursday. but, you never know until they let you know here at the supreme court. >> all right. we've got you on standby as well. tom goldstein, thanks so much. more reaction to this coming up from the naacp's julien vaughn. nelson mandela taking a turn for the worse. a live report from south africa for the latest on the condition as he lies in a hospital on critical condition. plus this. >> if he believes he did something good he should get on a plane, come back and face the consequences.

>> where in the world is edward snowden. an update for you. michael isikoff joins me with the latest on this manhunt. the diplomatic fallout over his flight and that leads us to our question of the day for you. should there be repercussions from the u.s. towards russia and china for failing to assist in snowden's capture. weigh in on facebook or twitter. with the spark miles card from capital one, bjorn earns unlimited rewards for his small business. take these bags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjorn's small business earns double miles

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more now about the breaking news from the supreme court and a ruling on the affirmative action case by a 7-1 vote the high court sent the case back to a lower federal appeals court effectively raising the bar for the use of affirmative action in admissions. joining me live is former naacp chairman julien bond. chairman bond, great to have you here. i would like to get your take on today's ruling that colleges

using affirmative action plans are constitutional only if such racial preferences are the only way to achieve diversity on campuses. do you think this is setting up the stage for a lot more scrutiny for colleges around the country? >> obviously these colleges say we have to use race if we're going to have a diverse student body. seems to me they have to make the argument for it and i think they can make the argument for it. but what the court really did was just kick the can down the road once again. >> the decision, 7-1, written by justice anthony kennedy, saying that university of texased a austin's affirmative action plan could withstand constitutional scrutiny only if the university could prove that, quote, no work place race neutral alternatives, no workable race alternatives would produce the educational benefits of diversity. what other option did the court have here? as we heard from tom goldstein of the skotus blog, the court giving this ruling believed

abigail fisher and her case had the standing to be before them but they've sent it back? >> the universities have options. other things they could do but they won't create the diverse student body they want to create. there is no alternative to some kind of race test in affirmative angion. if you want to get beyond race as someone once said you have to get to race. if you want a diverse student body around the country you have to have some kind of race-based formula. doesn't mean race is the only thing you put in the formula to decide who's getting into college and who's not, but race has to be a part of that formula. >> so when we look at the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll support for affirmative action programs, they're at a low, just 45% believe affirmative action programs are still needed to counteract the effects of discrimination against minorities and with an equal 45% feeling the programs have gone too far and should be ended because they unfairly

discriminate against white people. is there a feeling that there is not a need for affirmative action anymore, that type of accountability is unsnesry in 2013? >> a feeling among some people that's true. you know, and the reason for it, i think, is partly the election of barack obama. people say we've elected a black president. race must not a problem anymore. race is a major problem in this country, a daily problem, but none the less enormous numbers think we have a black president, what's the big deal? >> is that the biggest misnomer so to speak that race is still an issue in this country, that we need that type of accountability and supervision to make sure that people are held accountable when it comes to diversity? >> absolutely. that's the reality. but the fiction is that these problems have gone away, dr. king solved them years ago, barack obama's election proves they don't exist and we don't have to worry about these

things. people who think about it with any seriousness know we have to think about these things all of the time and have to do all we can to make sure race is not a determining factor in how -- determining how young people get into college or how people get jobs. how people do this, that. we're looking at the same time look at this case in florida, about trayvon martin. if that's not about race, what is it about? >> chairman emeritus of the naacp thanks for joining me this morning. i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> absolutely. joining the conversation right now is the reverend al sharpton host of "politics nation." your reaction to this? >> well, i think that clearly we wish the supreme court had affirmed that race can remain a factor by sending it back they really ducked the issue. i think that clear ly the concen of many people, i'm here in washington as we announce the

march on washington, martin luther king and all of us announced it, and the concern of the civil rights community is that this court must affirm that race is a factor we have to deal with in our lifetime. we are not in a position where things are beyond race and that we are in an after or post-racial generation and for the court to duck this issue certainly is not what we wanted. it is better than saying no but it's much less than affirmation. >> as i was talking about with chairman emeritus bond, the latest poll, said affirmative action plans are at an all-time low, 45% believing these programs are still needed while 45% feel the programs have gone too far and as we look back to 1991 back then, 61% of americans supported affirmative action programs. we can see over the decades the erosion that's taken place

there. are you worried about that going forward? tom goldstein points out another affirmative action case will be coming up in front of the supreme court next year. >> i'm not worried about the erosion. think of where the public support was in brown versus board of education '54. the overwhelming majority of the country felt segregation was not only all right but it was normal. the court should rule based on law and based on what is needed, not based on public opinion polls. if we went by public opinion polls, blacks, latinos gays and lesbians, women, none of us would have made progress. we change public opinion. we don't respond and make law based on public opinion. >> i appreciate you joining me. watch you this evening evening, "politics nation" at 6:00 eastern. thanks again. still ahead, president obama preparing to make a major speech on climate change but already

republicans are pouncing. can he revive this debate in a way that's going to make a difference? our agenda panel weighs in on that. i'm the next american success story. working for a company

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an update now on 94-year-old civil rights icon and south african be president nelson mandela who remains in critical condition today. south african's president zuma said they're doing everything they can to keep the former leader comfortable. he's been in the hospital since june 8th and suffering from a recurring lung problem. keir, what's the update? >> hey, thomas, good morning. after all that hope over the last week or so he might be recovering people are worried about him now. president of south africa jacob zuma saying this morning he is still in a critical condition after he got so much worse through the weekend. jacob zuma saying he visited nelson mandela late last night in the hospital here. he says he saw him. he says he was sleeping.

one source tells us that nelson mandela has not been able to breathe independently and that he has needed help, although we don't know how often or when during the last 48 hours. doctors say that they are working hard to give him as much help as possible with his wife by his bedside as she has been for the last couple of weeks and other family members arriving at the hospital. meanwhile, one of his daughters is saying that the family are simply taking it one day at a time, thomas. >> as you point out when president zuma went last night president mandela was asleep. has he been conscious with other visitors. >> we have not been given those details. we have seen his ex-wife here accompanied by flashing lights, emergency vehicles, which was an indication i guess she wanted to get here more quickly than she

has on previous case. you can end up getting what these things mean. in the end, we know he is critical in the hospital behind me here tonight. >> nbc's keir simmons reporting from pretoria, south africa, thanks so much. want to follow this market alert. the dow dropping some 233 points, growing worries over a possible credit squeeze in china has produced this. again, the markets down. we've been watching this below 230 and the markets there as you see at 14564. we're going to keep an eye on that and back with much more. this is msnbc. untry is that we get to create our future. you get to take ownership of the choices you make. the person you become. i've been around long enough to recognize the people who are out there owning it.

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the global manhunt for edward snowden continues. the self-proclaimed leaker of classified u.s. secrets arrived in moscow over the weekend but did not show up for a flight to havana, cuba today. here's a picture of his empty seat on the plane. almost immediately snowden's empty seat 17 a had its own twitter account tweeting i feel

empty. from havana snowden was believed to be headed to cuba and venezuela and on his way to ecuador where he was requesting asylum on the advice of julian assange who has asylum at ecuador's embassy in london. hours ago, ecuador's foreign minister acknowledged the potential impact for harboring snowden but says that decision is a sovereign one based on his country's constitution. secretary of state john kerry confirmed snowden's felony accounts and canceled passport and struck a sar castic tone on snowden's choice of hiding places so far sdmoom i wonder if mr. snowden chose china and russia as assistance in his feud -- in his flight from justice, because they're such powerful bast yans of internet freedom. >> senators rand paul and chuck snumer weighed in on -- schumer and rand paul weighed in on the

russian factor. >> putin almost seems eager to put an eye in the finger of the united states whether it is syria, iran and now of course with snowden. >> for mr. snowden, if he cozies up to the russian government, will be nothing but bad for his name in history. >> let's get more on this, joining me is national investigative correspondent michael is sa cover. you've been listening to this conference call with the wikileaks people. what more were you able to glean about where snowden is and the plans for his travel. >> i have to say, the snowden story is shake up between a cross between "the bourn ultimatum" and casablanca. listening to julian assange and others describe -- answer some of the key questions about snowd snowden, quickly right now, where is snowden? assange said he's in a safe place and in good spirits but would not confirm where even what country, whether he's still in russia. so, we don't know where snowden is right at the moment.

how is he traveling given that the u.s. has revoked his passport? assange said he was given something called a refugee document of passage by the ecuadorian government, shades of casablanca there, in order to travel from hong kong. number three, where is he headed? assange said that he has applied for asylum status with ecuador, asylum, and other countries, which they -- he and others would not identify. and number four, who's paying for all this and one disclosure, who's paying for his travel and the legal help and julian assange of wikileaks says we are paying for those arrangements. so clearly an alliance. mr. snowden has been embraced by julgen assange and wikileaks. on the run, where he's headed we

don't know. this is it turning up as quite an international story of mystery at the moment. >> michael, why hasn't there been a reciprocity agreement reached between chinese officials and american officials or russian officials and american officials about apprehension of snowden? wouldn't there be diplomatic channels to make that happen? >> well clearly neither the chinese nor the russians were in any mood to assist the u.s. government with this. and on this conference call, michael ratner who runs something called the center for constitutional rights which is a well-known civil liberties group in the united states and represented guantanamo detainees and others accused in the war on terrorism, has said that as they've done the work on this, they've assisted assange with his own asylum application and they believe that his -- as a political refugee, as somebody in their view has exposed political wrongdoing by the u.s.

government, that trumps the arrest warrant by the u.s. government under something called the refugee treaty which is an international treaty. so a legal case is being made here to portray snowden as a whistleblower who deserves political asylum and that that supersedes the arrest warrant by the u.s. government. whether that holds up or not we'll have to wait and see. >> everybody playing hot potato right now. investigative correspondent michael isikoff, thanks so much. i want to bring in today's asdwren da panel, the managing editor for msnbc digital, edward is a contributing editor for the root and david kornacki, for mother jones nbc political analyst. it's great to have you here and catch me if you can with edward snowden right now. as i was asking michael there about reciprocity, it's been interesting to see especially the fact that he has a twitter account for 17a now. show that picture again of the empty chair on the flight that was supposed to be leaving from

moscow on its way to cuba. two seats empty there. but david, let me ask you, is this really russia and china trying to put a finger in the eye of tomorrow right now and saying we're not in a position to help you, nor are we going to go to any extreme measures to try to have you apprehend snowden? >> here's a question that julian assange can't answer in the telephone press conference. what is the u.s. doing, how much pressure has it applied particularly on russia in the last 24, 48 hours, to get ed snowden? i mean that's what i would like to know. that's what i would like to hear from the justice department or state department, what have you done, what requests have you put in, how much leverage have you pulled? how much of a big deal have you made this? and because assange says he's heading to ecuador doesn't mean he is. if i was doing an operation like this i may put out false information too. to some degree, it may be

difficult for the u.s. to put this guy on trial at some point as well, so i mean, just putting this out there, as pure utter speculation, how much do they want him back? >> well, obviously assange, who has a tight relationship with ecuador, he's been living for a year off their good graces and the london embassy for refusing the extradition to go back to sweden to face the sexual assault charges he's faced there. if he's any example for snowden, ecuador that would be a good place to seek asylum because it seems as if he's casting a wide net for places to get asylum. >> right. two interesting points here. one is for a guy who is so concerned about our country using domestic surveillance to target americans, he chose three countries so far that we know of. china, russia and possibly cuba. these are three places notorious for spying on their own citizens and that's, you know, where he's

sort of seeking, you know, help from, all these three countries. the thing about ecuador, i wonder, what is our relationship now with ecuador. really? i mean they're giving asylum to assange for a year inside an embassy and now they're coming out, they're -- they have diplomats at the airport in moscow, they're putting out statements. i mean why is ecuador suddenly our number one, you know, unfriendly place in latin america. >> it's interesting the u.s. has never gone after -- gone after julien formally. they were waiting to see what happens if he went back to swede. we're at this one-year mark. it's amazing to think as snowden is being labeled in many different directions for what his purpose was, whether it was noble or not or if he's a traitor now, it really is the best thing he could do is come back, get a good legal team and defend himself and state his case as opposed to hopscotching

around the world to countries that want to stick a finger in the eye of the united states? >> yes. i think the point that you make about julian assange is a key one because i think that set a precedent for this kind of behavior and what's also happening here is that the fault lines of this new cold war are actually starting to crack and we can see what's underneath. essentially you have a very cold war type relationship with russia that we've seen and not necessarily talked about as much since the boston bombings but the fact that of the sar nerve brothers were flying back and forth, highlighted by the fbi, going back and fourth to moscow, and now this we see moscow providing a hub for people who are engaged in espionage in the u.s. this is a real problem without a clear end. >> in the pictures from the g-8 with president putin and president obama they don't look like they're the best of friends and facebooking all the time. i'll say that much.

let's move on and talk about president obama because he's got a big plan coming up, the fact that he is going to be talking about climate change in this country. very interesting timing on his part to take on such a hot topic, literally, but take a listen to what we expect to come tomorrow? >> this tuesday at georgetown university, i'll lay out my vision for where i believe we need to go. a national plan to reduce carbon pollution, prepare our country for the impacts of climate change, and lead global efforts to fight it. >> david, congressional legislation is considered unlikely, done through executive orders. why would the president take on this challenge at this point? >> i think there's only one explanation. he cares about it. i mean i think he has shown his passion for the issue since he got into office, but he's submitted it to -- to political realities. there was the bill passed early on in the administration in the house, and all that, but fell apart. he's had trouble on the world stage at copenhagen a few years

ago in getting china and brazil and some of the big emerging economies to go along with a plan he'd like to see, and so he made, you know, made this a number one priority in the second inaugural speech a few months ago and now he's doing i think almost everything, mostly everything he could do under executive power, you know, except dealing with the keystone pipeline a decision later in the year, and i think that it just shows he's serious about this and we'll see the republicans can find ways to thwart him. >> as david points out, the president, you know, obviously caring about thins issue to use political capital at this point, but is that a safe bet and how bold can he actually be? >> right. i actually see this as part of a piece. i see this as part of the same commitment the president has made to close guantanamo. the same kind of conversations he wants to have on more transparency on national security. i think that the president is taking very careful, calibrated

steps to push issues of interest and who voted for him and climate change as a part of that. i think this is a situation in which he's willing to do it. >> is this a handout to progressives? >> i think it is. i think the president who has been committed to climate change as an issue, to environmentalist groups, we saw that with him holding up the keystone pipeline, but at the end of the day the president can't do but so much with executive order and he needs partners in the congress and we've seen nothing but obstruction there. republicans have been disingenuous saying that president obama doesn't have an energy platform but he does. it's a clean energy platform. >> we'll know tomorrow when the president releases the vision that he has for this. i want to say thanks to all of you, i need to move on to this breaking news we're getting out of italy where former italian prime minister silvio berlusconi has been convicted in a sex for hire trial. a court found him guilty of paying for sex with an underaged

prostitute during his infamous bunga bunga parties at his villa and using his influence trying to cover it up. he's been sentenced to seven years in jail and banned from life for holding public office. this ruling does not take effect quite yet, it's pending appeal. ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. ♪ i'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. ♪ so today, i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder symptoms. [ female announcer ] know that gotta go feeling? ask your doctor about prescription toviaz. one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents, for 24 hours. if you have certain stomach problems or glaucoma, or can not empty your bladder, you should not take toviaz. get emergency medical help right away if your face, lips, throat or tongue swells. toviaz can cause blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness and decreased sweating.

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weeks west then said they would get on to the serious business of why they were there. he pulled out charts showing the crime scene and playing the nonemergency call zimmerman made what he called suspicious activity made by 17-year-old trayvon martin. >> something is wrong with him. he's coming to check me out. he has something in his hands. i don't know what his deal is. >> okay. [ inaudible ]. >> the state gave its opening remarks first saying zimmerman profiled the teen as someone who is going to commit a crime and acted on it. >> george zimmerman did not shoot trayvon martin because he had to. he shot him for the worst of all reasons. because he wanted to. >> we'll have continuing coverage of the george zimmerman trial updates all day long right here on msnbc. this is a crucial day in the battle over immigration reform heading into a crucial week on that issue as well because late

this afternoon the senate is expected to take a vote on bipartisan. they hope to take a vote on immigration reform by the end of the week and the amendment offered by republican senators corker of tennessee and john hoben of north dakota would add 20,000 border agents and finish 700 miles of fencing. it was designed to bring more reluctant republicans on board. over the weekend pro pone thes of immigration reform in the senate estimated they are on the verge of reaching their goal of 70 votes. here's senator rand paul of kentucky. >> it will pass the senate but it's dead on arrival in the house. the house is much closer to me and i think they think border security has to come first before you get immigration reform. >> right now the house is taking a piecemeal approach. take a listen here's republican congressman paul ryan on "morning joe" today. >> we want to do this methodically, we don't want to rush anything. we want to get it right, secure the border first and foremost in this post-9/11 environment

that's really critical. >> all right. all this comes with the congressional calendar working against the house, completing immigration reform by the end of the summer. ro look right there. congress will be gone for almost all of august. joining me live is msnbc deputy political editor dough minco. as we look at the headline of the national journal saying time is up, immigration won't pass this year it is because of the house's approach on this and the fiscal issues upcoming in the fall, do you think that that's a fair assessment that as we look at the rest of the year, halfway through it, there's not enough time? >> no. i think that goes too far. i think it's difficult for us to know exactly what's going to happen to kind of make a broad sweep it's definitely dead on arrival. i think that it's no doubt has a very bumpy ride in the house and, you know, it's very difficult to see what pathway is. i think that's an appropriate way to frame it. john boehner, you know, does he bring it up if it gets 70 plus

votes, indications are he's not going to because he says that it has to have the hastert rule, majority of the majority of this conference. so i think that it's -- that it's difficult in the house. it clearly has momentum this week to pass the senate. you know, the august town hall certainly can be a difficult place, but let's see where it winds up going. i think it's going to be tough. it's going to be a piecemeal approach that the house wants to have, but we probably shouldn't make broad generalizations about the stuff when there's a lot left to be written. >> take a look at the "usa today"/pew research poll where 71% of undocumented immigrants now in the u.s. should be allowed to stay if they meet certain requirements however 77% say that legislation passed should also include increased border security and on the issue of undocumented immigrants should they be allowed to gain legal status, 49% say it's okay to do that while border security

improvements are made while 43% say they should have to wait until those improvements are made. it seems to show that americans are fairly conflicted on immigration reform. other than realizing there's a need to get it done? >> there is broad support for at least of path for legal status. but again just like we talked about with guns, i think it is fortunate realize the politics at play here. it is not a national election and it is not national ambitions that the house republicans have to deal with. they have to deal with their conference and with their districts and they're more likely to get a primary from the right than they are to be ousted because of large latinos in their district. >> thanks very much. i appreciate it. today's producer pick -- this was a team decision. a battle brewing between serena williams and maria sharapova at wimbledon. but it is not about what's on the court, it is about what's off the court. williams says that she has apologized to sharapova, but what started this fight in

general in get all the details by heading over to my facebook page, thomasaroberts. ♪ there's a new way to fight litter box odor. introducing tidy cats with glade tough odor solutions. two trusted names, one amazing product.

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so we asked, and you you answered. our question being -- snowden on the run. should there be repercussions for russia and china? "absolutely. let him be tried for treason. anyone circumventing the justice system of the u.s. should be held accountable." terry wrote, "no. leave people be. leave snowden alone." pamela said, "absolutely. hit them and hit them hard." the conversation continues on twitter and facebook. time for the sidebar. former senator scott brown will appear with republican gabriel gomez tonight for his final rally on the eve of the massachusetts special election. it will be the first time the two appeared together as gomez makes a bid for the seat vacate bid john kerry. brown lost his own senate race in the fall.

gomez's rival stood side by side saturday with heavy hitter vice president joe biden campaigning over the weekend with congressman ed markey. a new poll from western new england university gives markey an eight-point advantage ahead of tomorrow's vote. when president obama arrived in africa, the administration decides he'll skip kenya because of political upheaval in that country. 67 members of the congress joined a photo shoot for the no on hate campaign. among them democratic whip steny hoyer of maryland. you see him there with the thumbs down. everybody, that wraps up this hour for me. thanks for your time. "now" with alex wagner is next. joy ann reed is in the pilot's chair today. >> we have an action packed program did. first we'll ask where in the world is edward snowden. while the world looks for tsign of the nsa leaker's whereabouts,

we'll speak with chris hayes and more. plus, the supreme court finally rules on a major case. we'll ask nbc's pete williams and tom goldstein on the decision on affirmative action and what's left on the docket. attorneys in the george zimmerman trial get creative and colorful. we'll examine all the jokes and swearing with legal analyst lisa bloom. all that when "now" starts in a mere 180 seconds. plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day women's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for women's health concerns as we age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day 50+. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses.

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cuba and then on to ecuador. the country where he has requested asylum. according to wikileaks founder julian assange, ecuador granted snowden a refugee document of passage. but reporters waiting for snowden on a flight this morning from moscow to havana were greeted by an empty sewed. snow seat. "the new york times" reports the chinese government made the final decision to allow snowed ton leave hong kong. the white house said in a statement that it was "disappointed that hong kong officials let snowden leave the country. this morning secretary of state john kerry, who has called snowed an traitor to his country, had some harsh words for snowden and the countries involved. >> i wonder if mr. snowden chose china and russia as assistance in his flight from justice because they're such powerful