involving affirmative action and college admissions. plus, stocks slumped to a two-month low over fears of the fed's stimulus. but first, the news nation is following what some would consider the shocking start to opening statements in the george zimmerman second-degree murder trial. prosecutor john guy opened with frank and profane language about the night trayvon martin was killed. the state's lead attorney quoted what he says george zimmerman said to police during his nonemergency call before the shooting. >> [ bleep ] punks. these [ bleep ], they always get away. those were the words in that grown man's mouth. >> defense attorney don west began by saying the evidence will show it's a sad case, but sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. he then started off with a joke.

>> knock, knock. who's there? george zimmerman. george zimmerman who? all right, good, you're on the jury. nothing? that's funny. after what you folks have been through the last two or three weeks, let's get on to however this serious of business of why we're here. >> the judge began the day with ruling that some members of the families would have ho leave the courtroom because they're potential witnesses. joining me live from sanford is msnbc's craig melvin. i'm curious what the reaction has been so far to it the opening statements. >> reporter: you know what, you showed that knock-knock joke there. the jury came back at about 1:30. don west, the defense attorney for george zimmerman, he started by apologizing for that knock-knock joke.

so it's unclear at this point whether someone said something to him or whatever, but he started by making sure that the jury knew that there would not be anymore attempts at humor. we also should note that today for the most part it's really been a tale of two openings. the state's opening was about 32, 33 minutes. right now you're taking a live look. this is a live look at don west. he is entering his third hour, the third hour of the defense's opening statement. much of that time has been spent taking a look at these detailed maps, these detailed diagrams of the crime scene, detailed look, an overhead look at that gated condo complex. at one point he was showing the jurors precisely where trayvon martin's cell phone was, previcely wheprevice -- precisely where the body was. he also played that four-minute phone call george zimmerman made. he played that phone call for the jury not once but twice.

just before he played it the second time, trayvon martin's mother got up and left the courtroom. one of the things that's really caught our attention so far this morning, the 19-year-old young lady that was on the phone with martin the night of the shooting. today was the first time that we've heard that name in court. she is, by all accounts, she's going to be the state's blockbuster witness. >> okay. all right, craig. thank you very much. i'd like to bring in criminal defense attorney john burress, msnbc legal analyst lisa bloom, and "the washington post" jonathan capehart. let's start off with don west coming back from the lunch break apologizing for this joke he chose to tell in his opening statements. let me play what he said as the apology. >> no more bad jokes, i promise that.

i'm convinced it was the delivery, though. i really thought that was funny. i'm sorry if i offended anyone about that. >> with all the complexity of this case, the seriousness, how do you assess or -- i don't want to say rate his performance there, but that really is what it is at this point before the evidence and other details start to come out. why open like that? >> well, it was clearly a mistake. i think he knows that. probably his co-counsel during the lunch break told him that joke did not fly. you have to come back in and apologize for it. he's been going over two hours now. i would say for the most part, the rest of his opening statement has been very methodical. he's very calm. he's trying to bring down the passion that the prosecution brought in their opening statement, trying to encourage the jury to be part of the investigation with them. he often says, this is very intriguing, this is curious, this is interesting, as though this is all just a puzzle that the jury has to figure out. >> and to your point, he did try to bring things down, but keep it in context saying that this is a sad case, of course, a young man has lost his life and

saying that trayvon's parents have the right to grieve, they have the right to feel the way they feel, balancing, of course, the context of there's a family who's lost a child but knowing his job is to defend george zimmerman and beat this case for him. john, let me play what prosecutor john guy said this morning describing what trayvon martin was doing the day he died. >> on that day, trayvon martin spent the day with 12-year-old chad joseph doing what kids do. they watched tv. they played video games. they just hung out. >> obviously, the strategy, john, it seems here is to let the jurors get to know trayvon martin. >> absolutely. and that he was really a young man, frankly a young teenager who in fact was doing the kind of things that teenagers would do. that is go to the store, buy skit skittles, talk to his girlfriend

on the telephone. basically, be nondescript. he has a situation where he's unarmed. this case is about one kid who was unarmed and a grown man who is armed with all the other circumstances surrounding it. so obviously, the objective is to humanize and play down that he is a grown man, that he was just a kid, a regular kid who went to the store and winds up dead. >> lisa, let me bring you back before i talk to jonathan on this. is this a usual strategy in something you have such high emotions and people in some cases feel they know one or the other involved in this case just by what they've read and as they watch from home. >> and i think what this is going to come down to ultimately is not the emotion present in the courtroom today at the beginning of the case but the forensic evidence. both sides have stressed that the forensic evidence helps them. each side has argued there's scientific evidence, there's dna evidence that supports their view of the case. jurors love dna evidence, blood. they want to see that in this

case. ultimately, that's what's going to decide it. >> absolutely. that's an excellent point, lisa. as i bring in jonathan, this trial, the beginning of it today is the time to -- you can't erase emotions. we know when you see the parents of trayvon martin crying in the courtroom, we know the reality of it. it does boil down to evidence and what the jury sees as credible information. so let me play the nonemergency call placed by george zimmerman. it was played as craig melvin pointed out twice today. let's play it. >> that defendant at that same time was upright walking around preparing, preparing to tell law enforcement why it was he had just profiled, followed, and murdered an unarmed teenager. ladies and gentlemen, the truth about the murder of trayvon

martin is going to come directly from his mouth. >> i can't see him. i don't want to go out there. i don't know what's going on. >> do you think he's yeling help? >> yes. >> what is your name and phone number? >> there's gunshots. >> that's the 911 call where you hear the screams in the background. the nonemergency call was actually placed by george zimmerman to report trayvon martin's suspicious behavior. in that, jonathan, it says, something's wrong with him. he says, yep, he's coming to check me out. he's got something in his hands. i don't know what his deal is. just let me know if he does anything, okay? and the officer says -- he says to it the officer, just get an officer over here. now we're starting to hear these calls and put them in context. >> right. and what's interesting here is remember the prosecution started out first with its opening statements, and john guy made a

big deal of talking about how we were going to hear -- we were going to hear the 911 call and we were going to hear from george zimmerman's mouth, but it was the defense in its opening statement, which as you've said twice now, played the 911 call twice. i found it curious why would the defense -- >> the nonemergency -- let me clarify, the nonemergency call placed by george zimmerman. >> yes, the nonemergency call placed by george zimmerman. i wonder, why would the defense do that when the prosecution has set it up as this make-or-break call? it came back to me, obviously, via folks on twitter who have also been watching this very closely that it could possibly be the defense's way of owning that call and being proactive about characterizing what was happening in that call for the jury. >> okay. and lisa, we heard for the first time the name rachel. she's the 19-year-old who craig melvin reported just a short time ago was actually on the

phone with trayvon martin at the time of the shooting. her testimony, obviously, will be one of many, but this one, i think, will have people glued and the jury glued to hear her every word. >> you're right. because all of the run up to this altercation is documented by phone calls. trayvon martin on the phone with his friend or girlfriend. george zimmerman on the phone on the nonemergency police line for much of that time. we expect this young woman, rachel, to talk about trayvon martin following her, that he was concerned about that. she tells him not to run. although, she's going to have credibility problems. we know she said she didn't go to his funeral because she was in the hospital. it turns out she was not in the hospital. it will be very interest direct and cross examination. >> absolutely. john, as we saw benjamin crump, the attorney, who was on the front line, if you will, in getting the attention of the media for this story, he was told to leave court as well as zimmerman family members because

they may also be called as witnesses. >> yeah, that's true. typically people who are going to be witnesses should not be in the courtroom. everyone understands that. i don't know if mr. crump has real testimony to offer in this case. at best he was part of the investigation process afterwards. i have seen this. it has happened to me before, where the other side would want the defense lawyer or the lawyer who's close to the family to be out of the courtroom. it's more of a strategic ploy from their point of view, i think. >> john, lisa, jonathan, thank you all for your time. we really appreciate it. we'll have more on this trial coming up in about 20 minutes. still ahead, the supreme court sends the decision over affirmative action back to the lower courts. we'll have more on what this could mean for not just public universities but private universities as well. and the intense new back and forth between the white house and china over hong kong's decision to let nsa leaker edward snowden leave the country. plus, a report from a hong

kong newspaper that snowden took the contractor job for one reason, to collect evidence on the u.s. surveillance program. we'll get into that report. and join our conversation on twitter. you can find us @tamronhall and @newsnation. lots of options, huh? i can help you narrow it down. ok thanks. this one's smudge free. smudge-free. really? and this one beeps when you leave the door open. upgrade your laundry room and kitchen appliances during red white and blue savings. thank you! more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. your choice, maytag or ge washer, now just $399 each.

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right now, a simmering global battle over who is harboring nsa leaker edward snowden is heating up. just over an hour ago, the white house fired back at accusations out of hong kong that edward snowden was allowed ee eed to that country over an incomplete u.s. arrest warrant. >> we are just not buying that this was a technical decision by a hong kong immigration official. this was a deliberate choice by the government to release the

fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant and that decision unquestionably has a negative impact on the u.s.-china relationship. >> as for russia where snowden landed over the weekend, white house spokesman jay carney says the obama administration hopes russia will do the right thing after recent intensified dealings with russia after the boston bombings. >> we are obviously in conversations. we are working with them or discussing with them. we do expect the russian government to look at all the options available to them to expel mr. snowden back to the united states. >> joining me now on the phone is "the washington post" foreign correspondent. thank you for your time. we hear -- at least some people have interpreted there may be some wheels turning, there may be something worked out with russia from what jay carney is saying. what are you hearing there? >> it's still a tantalizing and rather maddening mystery.

snowden has not appeared in public since he arrived yesterday. the fact he was not an expected flight out of russia to savannah today certainly raised questions about why he missed the flight. and it's quite possible either that the russians wanted to talk to him and find out a little bit more about what he knows, or that they were considering turning him over. it's really impossible to know at this point. >> and as it was reported there earlier, he was at least traveling with one individual from wikileaks, right? >> yes, and by all accounts, she is still with him. that would be sarah harrison, who is a researcher and part of their legal team. >> i want to play what john kerry said in an nbc interview regarding snowden and at least his assessment of how things are

going right now. let's play both of what he said, please. >> we have returned seven criminals that they requested for extradition from the united states over the last two years. we have very high hopes that the russians who have said they want to cooperate and have a strong relationship with us will understand that this is important. this is a man who has been accused publicly now with the complaint that's been filed against him of three counts of espiona espionage. he's a traitor certainly to the oath he took, to the promise he took to his fellow employees, to the place that he was employed at. >> kathy, that's a new interview. i wanted to let our audience see with secretary kerry. you hear him there outline some of the details of the relationship with russia and perhaps what the administration would be leaning on if there is some kind of negotiation happening. >> the bottom line with russia

is they act in what they consider their own interests. they don't -- they usually don't do favors. for them, the whole idea of extradition is a sore point. they've been angry for about three years about the conviction in new york of the russian foreign arms smuggler victor boot, who was sentenced to 25 years in jail. they've been repeatedly asking the u.s. for his return so he can serve out his sentence in russia. the u.s. has resisted that, so i wonder if that's an undercurrent here. >> that's a good point, kathy. thank you very much for joining us live from moscow on the phone. stocks tumbled out of the gate. right now you see the dow is down 70 points. it was the worst picture earlier this morning. at some point down over 200. this all amid worries the fed may start winding down its

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to the supreme court now and a ruling on a major issue of affirmative action in college admissions. in a ruling that many legal observers described as a punt, the court has allowed affirmative action to survive, but it has also applied a tough legal standard on the practice, putting the burden on schools to show that no race neutral admissions rule would achieve campus diversity. by a 7-1 vote, the high court sent a case brought by the university of texas back to

appeals court for review. the court ruled that schools can use race as a factor in admissions but only if, quote, no workable race neutral alternatives would produce the educational benefits of diversity. fisher said, quote, i'm grateful for the justices moving the nation closer to be the day when a student's race isn't used at all in college admissions. nbc news justice correspondent pete williams is at the supreme court. pete, we're looking at the impact of this, not just with public universities but perhaps eventually with private universities. >> well, in the short term, the university of texas can keep its affirmative action program, but it has to take another test. it has to defend it again in court, another legal round then with this new test applied. what the court said is when the government makes a distinction based on race, that's always legally suspect. so in order to justify that kind of a decision, a school has to

show that they couldn't use any race-neutral means to achieve the goal, the goal being diversity on campus. the court has long held that in the educational context, it's different. diversity benefits everybody, not just minority students. now, you noted the vote breakdown. it was 7-1. justice alaina kagan sat this out because she worked on this at the justice department before she came here. i should note that the court's only african-american member clarence thomas said she thinks affirmative action is never constitutional. he said, first of all, it stamps minorities with a badge of inferiori inferiority, to say they were admitted through affirmative action. secondly, he says citing studies, this was one of the argtds used by opponents, that students who are less well qualified, who don't get an education in lower schools, who are admitted in any way under affirmative action tend not to

perform as well. in any event, this leaves affirmative action alive, although with a tougher legal battle. this will undoubtedly invite more lawsuits. >> okay. more to come tomorrow? >> more to come tomorrow. we still have the biggies. we still have the two rulings on same-sex marriage. the very important ruling on the future of the voting rights act. we know we have two decision days left this term, this week. tomorrow and some of other day that we don't yet know. six decisions left, of which three of those big ones. >> all right, pete. thank you. now a professor of constitutional law at nyu. he joins me now. thank you so much for your time. your reaction to this decision today, or the punt. you believe -- do you agree with this assessment, that it is that? >> i agree it's a punt. i also think it's going to take a lot shorter of a time for this issue to be back in front of the court and that it won't be this case. there's a case the court granted review on coming out of

michigan. michigan banned all affirmative action within the state in higher education. that case is going to be before the court next term. before this case comes back, there will be another chance. >> and the justices would be aware of all of that. it's not a secret. >> exactly. i think that if you read the opinion carefully, you see the justices staking out their opinion. justice scalia writes basically a one-paragraph concurrence. that's an engraved invitation asking to overrule this case. we couldn't go there because you didn't ask for that in this case, but i'm open to that challenge. >> you noted an important figure in the audience, justice o'connor. >> absolutely. i was not in the court, but i heard justice o'connor herself was in the court along with justice sevens. justice o'connor wrote that opinion. she said she hoped affirmative action would be limiting. >> and the justices have made it

clear they want to weigh in on recess appointments. >> absolutely. they granted a bunch of orders alongside, which means the cases they're going to hear for next term. >> and why do you think they've decided to at least hear this case? >> the nlrb case? i think it's basically -- i mean, this has been around since george washington's time. it's a conflict in between the executive -- >> and it's been an ongoing conflict that's heated up. >> it's gotten hotter and hotter. i think finally the court has decided to weigh in. >> you heard pete say we're still waiting for the big three decisions of this term. do you compare this to anything that you can recall where you have such important decisions literally coming in the 11th hour? >> yeah, well, i actually think back ten years. if you think back to 2003, you had the case i was referencing earlier and affirmative action coming down on a monday. you had a big gay rights case come down on thursday of that week. i was down in d.c. that week. these cases are vividly in my mind. i'm hoping for the same thing.

we got good news on affirmative action today. we could get good news on same-sex marriage thursday. >> thank you so much. appreciate your time. >> always a pleasure. coming up, we continue to follow opening statements in the trial against george zimmermann. plus, an italian court finds silvio berlusconi guilty of charges that he paid a minor for sex at his infamous bunga-bunga parties. just one of the things we thought you should know. [ engine revs ] ♪ [ male announcer ] just when you thought you had experienced performance, a new ride comes along and changes everything. ♪ the 2013 lexus gs, with a dynamically tuned suspension and adjustable drive modes. because the ultimate expression of power is control.

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let's get you caught up on the second-degree murder trial of george zimmerman, where opening statements are still underway. defense attorney don west has just finished his opening statements. he's trying to refute the prosecution's claim that trayvon martin had no blood on his hands, even though he was seen with his hands under him,

clutching his chest. >> if mr. martin was clutching his heart or had his hands anywhere near his heart where he was shot, there would be blood, wouldn't there, if the medical examiner had done that part of the job? so to say there's no blood on his hands really can't be true. it sounds more like the medical examiner might not have paid particular attention or perhaps even washed off blood and didn't connect that up. >> joining me now, an msnbc contributor and attorney michael smerconish. it appears from that snippet we're hearing from don west, he's i think whebringing in som regarding how the medical examiner handled the situation, specifically examining trayvon martin's body. >> up until now, a lot of people

have said it's really a he said, he said. unfortunately, one of the participants isn't here to provide his story. of course, george zimmerman doesn't have to testify himself. i think what that clip re-enforces is how forensics will be very much a part of this trial and they will be arguing and they will be disputing blood evidence, meaning position or lack thereof of the blood. the wounds that were sustained, et cetera, et cetera. there will be a lot of aspects of this case that won't be entered through the mouths of witnesses but rather through forensic information. >> very different from the w whodunit style we see on tv. it's now listening as both sides try to present what happened. let me play what prosecutor john guy said in one of the last sentences of his opening statements, michael.

>> george zimmerman did not shoot trayvon martin because he had to. he shot him for the worst of all reasons, because he wanted to. >> he's going to have to, of course, prove that statement, michael. >> well, what he's really saying is this is a case about profiling, and as you know from a pretrial ruling, they were told not to use the expression racial profiling, but listening to that opening statement from the prosecution, relatively brief, by the way, i thought that was the take aiway. essentially they're saying that zimmerman hunted trayvon martin down, that he profiled him. i think the insinuation in part is for racial reasons, although clearly he did not say that. but think about the opening words. you know, "f'ing punks," but he said it in more descriptive language. >> right, and those words are what the prosecution say george zimmerman uttered in the nonemergency phone call that he made. let me play a little bit of what

defense attorney don west said regarding the motivation and what ultimately happened there. >> george zimmerman is not guilty of murder. he shot trayvon martin in self-defense after being viciously attacked. >> so we know, michael that, tees up the pictures that we've seen of george zimmerman after the incident. some of those pictures leaked out by his attorneys before the trial even started, of course. >> and in pain staking detail, the defense lawyer very methodical, maybe still going at this hour for all i know, but much more time spent on his opening statement. i think what he's trying to express is that george zimmerman didn't have is the demeanor of a murderer that night. that he was calm, that he answered all of law enforcement's questions, that he wasn't looking for an attorney. this is not the prototypical murderer which the prosecution

by second degree wants to make him out to be. i have to have say, i was absolutely baffled by that ridiculous joke that the defense attorney told at the outset of his statement. i don't get it, tamron. if i were a juror, i'd be sitting there thinking, he's telling me i'm a knuckle head because i'm on this jury and i must have gotten here by not having a sufficient level of knowledge of george zimmerman. how else can you interpret that? >> also, i think, michael, the thing is first impressions are lasting. your attorney really is, in some cases, at least in this beginning stage, an extension of you. we are talking about a murder trial. so visually, you have the parents of trayvon martin there openly weeping in court. i imagine the zimmermans also showing stress. this attorney choosing to tell a knock-knock joke. he's apologized for it, which is, i think, recognition that it was stupid. but nevertheless, that is how he chose to start. >> before i would make an opening statement, i would walk around my law firm and i would walk around my house and i would

rehearse. my wife would talk me off the ledge if there was something stupid i was about to say. i don't know how it got to that point without somebody saying, hey, wait a minute, man, that's not the way you begin a serious trial like this. >> you could actually, if you see the video again, look at the reaction from the other attorneys sitting behind him. i think they had the same impression. michael, thank you very much. greatly appreciated. >> thank you, tamron. stocks started the week at a two-month low. right now the dow is down. let's take a look. 43 points. s&p slightly down. nasdaq as well after tumbling almost 250 points earlier today, all a result of last wednesday's fed announcement it could soon start winding down its stimulus program. since hitting its all-time high last month, the dow has dropped now 800 points or more than 5%. joining me live now, "money" magazine's senior editor donna rizotto. >> happy to be here. >> a lot of folks started saying, is it a 201k, not a

401(k)? how are people to process this when they have money in the stock market? >> you have to remember that it's been a rough couple of weeks for investors. certainly understandable that after a four-year bull market run, we're seeing is the sudden drop in the market. you have to keep in mind, year to date, the dow is still up 12%. the overall market is still up 12%. this is not a time to panic. if you are a long-term investor, you shouldn't be making big changes. in fact, there might be buying opportunities for you here in the market. >> buying opportunities where, for example? >> well, you want to look at what has been most hit. you want to look at quality stocks, of course. you want to look over the long term. but there are other opportunities too. it's been really counterintuitive that the fed's message is the economy's getting better. that is a positive thing for the economy. the worry is that without the fed stimulus, the economy is going to slow down. you talk to most economists today, three out of four say

that the economy is strengthening. this is going to be good for the job market. this is going to be good for your home price. these are positives for the market. if you're a long-term investor, meaning you're looking at what to do with your 401(k), with long-term investments, this is not a time to panic. >> you say these are positives, but some people might say a positive never hurt so bad. at least in the last couple of days. you bring up the housing market, and that is a bright spot. >> it certainly is. the housing market prices are up. we started seeing that pickup in the last year. now you're starting to see bidding wars in washington, d.c., out in silicon valley. if you have been hanging on to your home mortgage, wanting to sell, this could be a good time for you. >> really? still in spotty markets? >> no, you saw the places where there had been a large number of foreclosures and a big depression in the stock market in florida and in phoenix. they're really picking up. prices are not above where they were at the peak of the market in 2007, 2008. but they're getting back to

pre-recession levels. this is a good time. one thing that has really scared folks is the mortgage rates have really gone up. again, people are jumping in. if people had hesitated, market rates are at 3%. those are historic lows. if i were looking to buy a home, i might want to jump into the market now. i wouldn't hesitate thinking that rates are going to go any lower. >> all right. donna rasoto, thank you so much. will the plan to tighten border security be enough to bring more republicans on board? we'll get the first read with mark murray. first, there is a lot going on today. here's some things we just thought you should know. republicans in the texas house have passed some of the nation's toughest abortion restrictions. the proposal bans abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy and requires doctors to have

admitting privileges a at nearby hospitals and limits abortions to surgical centers. the state senate still has to vote on the bill. former italian prime minister silvio berlusconi has been found guilty of paying for sex with an underage prostitute during his infamous parties at his villa, then using his influence to try to cover it all up. he was sentenced to seven years in jail and banned for life from public office. the ruling is, of course, pending an appeal. and pay attention, look closely. that's a red panda. he's missing from the national zoo. well, he's been found. his name is rusty. he disappeared from the zoo. i didn't know rusty had been found. when i came in, he was still on the lam. yesterday afternoon he was missing. they started searching for him. it quickly gained traction on social media. this afternoon, a resident spotted rusty in a nearby neighborhood, called authorities. now he's back on his way to the

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[ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings in every little bottle. in a few hour, the senate is scheduled to take a pivotal vote in the battle over immigration reform. right now the senate is debating ahead of the vote set for 5:30 eastern time on a bipartisan amendment that would strengthen border security. meantime, within the past hour, president obama made a new push at the white house before meeting with business leaders who support immigration reform. >> now is the time to get comprehensive immigration reform done. one that involves having very strong border security that makes sure that we're holding employers accountable to follow the rules, one that provides earned citizenship for those 11 million so they have to pay back taxes, pay a fine, learn english, follow the rules, get

to the back of the line. but ultimately can be part of the above border economy. >> now, even though the senate supporters now predict upwards of 70 votes in favor, immigration reform still faces an uncertain future in the house. >> it'll pass the senate, but it's dead on arrival in the house. the house is much closer to me. i think they think border security has to come first before you get immigration reform. >> joining me now, nbc news deputy political editor dominico montanero. this was all predicted in many ways you were going to have this difficulty in the house and should have been expected. >> oh, no question about it. i think any time we saw, you know, any legislation, it's very different than president obama's first couple of years where he was able to get through basically any bill he wanted in the house. now he's always going to have a group of republicans who aren't going to support what he wants.

look, they feel like they won re-election. so that's where they come down on this. that's why democrats and supporters who are republicans in the senate want this to get as close to 70 votes or more. john boehner already said he's not going to bring it up without a majority of his conference. we'll see if he sticks to that, if he can get something through with the house republicans. they're going to go piece by piece on this. they're going to have hearings on it and try to stitch something together with whatever the senate passes. >> getting that big number, as you pointed out in the senate, rand paul we just heard from s a key player there. >> well, rand paul, you know, has kind of been back and forth on this. you wonder how much it is 2016 politics at play, given that marco rubio is so strongly in favor of this. we know rand paul is going to need some way to draw a line, draw a distinction between him and marco rubio. he seemed very open to the idea of comprehensive immigration

reform. he hadn't read all the details of the gang of eight proposal. it was out there. he was sort of waffling on whether or not he would be for whatever comes of that, which kind of makes you wonder, you know, just what is it that he wants out of that and does it have to do with 2016 at all. >> all right, thank you very much. we'll keep an eye on the big-time 5:30 eastern time to see what happens with this amendment. thank you, sir. police in massachusetts have expanded their investigation into the death of a man whose body was found near patriots star aaron hernandez's home. that tops our look at stories around news nation today. officers wearing wet suits were seen searching a stream in a wooded area near hernandez's home. it's unclear what they were looking for. this comes after saturday's search when officers with dogs combed hernandez's house, yard, and suv, leaving with several unmarked bags. authorities are not giving details of their investigation into the death of 27-year-old odon lloyd, who is described as

an associate of hernandez. no suspects have been named in this case. german prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into a minnesota man believed to have been a nazi commander. they're trying to determine if there's enough evidence to charge and seek to extradite 94-year-old michael carcock. he had been living in the united states since 1949 and lied to american immigration officials about his role in the war. former south african president nelson mandela listed in critical condition for a second straight day. we'll have a live update for you. (announcer) scottrade knows our clients trade and invest their own way. with scottrade's smart text, i can quickly understand my charts, and spend more time trading. their quick trade bar lets my account follow me online so i can react in real-time. plus, my local scottrade office is there to help. because they know i don't trade like everybody. i trade like me.

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and updates now on 94-year-old civil rights icon nelson mandela who remains in critical condition right now. his condition deteriorated over the weekend. family members are asking the

nation to pray for him. what is the latest from there? >> reporter: hey, tamron. this is a very difficult time here. we may be able to see over my shoulder there the white along the wall there. that is good well messages now plastered across the front wall of the hospital. earlier on when the local networks were giving their news broadcasts, people were gathered around to try and hear news. what we have heard so far from the south african president jacob zuma is nelson mandela is still in a critical condition after he took that turn for the worst over the weekend after all that hope last week that he appeared to be improving. jacob zuma saying he saw him last night. nelson mandela. he says it was late and he was sleeping. one source tells us that nelson mandela is not able to breathe independently. now he's needing help to

breathe. the president's office isn't confirming that, but it is saying that, so the doctors are doing everything they can. nelson mandela's wife is at his bedside, as she has been for the last two weeks. we've also seen his ex-wife arrive escorted by police. that suggests she was in a hurry to get here. people just watching and waiting and praying, tamron. >> all right. thank you very much. and time now for the news nation gut check. as we mentioned to you, the supreme court today imposed a stricter test for affirmative action and college admissions while allowing the policy to survive for now. the court rule that schools must show there are no, quote, race-neutral alternatives to achieving diversity on their campus. the supreme court has also taken up another affirmative action case for next term. that case leaves open the possibility that the 308 si could be banned by individual states through ballot initiatives. so what does your gut tell you? do you think affirmative action programs are still needed for college admissions?

go to facebook.com/newsnation to cast that vote. that does it for this edition of "news nation." i'm tamron hall. thank you for joining us. at 4:00 eastern time, i will be joining executive chairman of discovery communications in the ringing of the closing bell of the nasdaq. quite an honor. i'm so pleased that they asked me to join. we'll send some pictures on our twitter and facebook. meanwhile, "the cycle" is up next. [ male announcer ] this is george. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ 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!

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i'to guard their manhood with trnew depend shields and guards. the discreet protection that's just for guys. now, it's your turn. get my training tips at guardyourmanhood.com straight ahead on "the cycle," just another manic monday. wall street claws back from its latest free fall. from russia with no love. does anyone find it ironic we need intelligence to find edward snowden? just saying. the nation's highest court sends an important affirmative action case back to the lower courts. we'll dig into the decision or indecision.

and i'm luke russert in for krystal this week. we're going behind the scenes of president obama's re-election campaign like you've never seen it before. >> nice one. plus, why it's worth paying attention to kanye's new album, and it's always worth paying attention to "the cycle." we begin with the trial of george zimmerman now underway. opening arguments began this morning. defense attorney don west just wrapped up. earlier the defense chose what some might consider an unconventional way to start the trial. >> knock, knock. who's there? george zimmerman. george zimmerman who? all right, good. you're on