>> life size rock 'em sock 'em robots. and they say barbie dream house. >> listen, we have a lot of barbie ones. they're a little house. >> we got a lot of barbie ones, and it's disturbing. this one from toughy monkey. my sister's barbie. and he said go and find one tonight. and he says, thanks "way too early." my personal had to be the big wheel. it would be phenomenal with the side brake on the side and the spinout. thank you viewers of "way too early." "morning joe" starts right now. great kate wait. >> the great kate wait continues. >> will it be a boy? will it be a girl? >> the uk is abuzz with excitement. the u.s. is abuzz with excitement. >> the whole world is abuzz? the whole galaxy is above?

kate the great is three days late. i just can't wait for her to dilate. i mean, when, when, when? you know the hospital will have the finest horse drawn gurney. when you see the kchanging of te guards in front of the birth canal, and dumbledore will be there. >> good morning, it's wednesday, july 17th. when dilation happens, you'll be the first to know right here. with us on set, former white house press secretary, robert gibbs. also senior political editor and white house correspondent for the huffington post sam stein. columnist for bloomberg view, margaret carlson. and politico's executive editor, jim vandeheid.

some political news out of wyoming. stand in line. what line? there's no line in politics, but liz cheney has decided to go after a very popular incumbent. are we going to see the sort of followup on tea party versus establishment? >> it's tea party versus tea party. this is an extremely conservative guy who won in an extremely conservative state. >> what's liz cheney's argument? >> she's ambitious. she's younger than he is, and she wants to be a senator. he happens to have the job she wants. she has every right to run. you look at the cheney mind. most people in the state don't want her to run. she just moved there yesterday. she spent the bulk of her time in virginia for the last 20, 30 years. she's not a wyoming resident. she comes in with a ton of baggage. but she is a cheney. she's going to raise a ton of money, have her father's network behind her. it's good for us. >> and this comes with approval

ratings for congress at record lows and the senate's top leader threatening to go nuclear. "the new york times" nate silver saying republicans have a running start in their push to win back control of the chamber. nate silver, we've always -- we're like this. his predictions are always right, kids, except sports. nate silver is predicting the gop is likely to have 50 to 51 senate seats after the 2014 midterm elections. this is the republicans face an interparty fight with liz cheney, daughter of the former vice president, and she is now running for the u.s. senate in wyoming. >> i'm running because i believe it is necessary for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate. i'm running because i know, as a mother and a patriot, we can no longer afford simply to go along to get along. >> and liz is going to be challenging longstanding

republican senator mike inza. he and dick cheney have been friends for years, for the better part of three decades. when asked in an interview about his relationship with his new competition, he replied, i thought we were friends. robert gibbs -- >> sounds like a country song. >> if you want a friend in washington -- >> buy a dog. >> do you gagree? i'm just not a big believer in lines in politics. this whole let's wait. liz cheney has every right to do what she's doing and go for it. >> she certainly has every right. it's fascinating because, as jim said, the leadership in the state, the junior senator from wyoming, has already lined up with his mentor mike enzi. state leadership is not real big on divisive primaries. i think it's interesting because there's no single issue, there's no rallying cry, there's no vote that mike enzi made that has

outraged republicans in wyoming, it's just, as joe said, liz cheney wants the gig. >> isn't this what happened with mike lee? >> maybe, but liz cheney isn't some out of nowhere figure here. she's the daughter of dick cheney. what's going to be interesting is there's like 600,000 people in wyoming, and a primary for the universe of republican voters is going to be basically a competition for those who actually go to the polls. i mean, i get you. i get where you're coming from. she doesn't want to wait. it's just i'm curious what her candidacy is going to be based on. the one vote that people are looking at is senator enzi supported a tax on internet sales. that's small pickings. national journal related. they had a slide show of more conservative senators. he was fourth. >> why wasn't he first? >> because your boy tom coburn was first. he's got a few people to compete with. it's not like there's much to work with here. the one place you might have a

difference is foreign policy. she's a true believer in the neo-conservative foreign policy. you saw rand paul come out quickly and take some jabs at her, mocking her for living in virginia. that's mostly concerns about the reintroduction of the bush-cheney foreign policy. >> we have that going on. we have the nate silver predictions. and, of course, yesterday senators harry reid and mitch mcconnell ended their bitter dispute over the filibuster, agreeing to terms which are going to decide the future of several obama nominees as part of the bipartisan deal. they agreed to a ban on the so-called nuclear option, which would allow all presidential nominees to be confirmed by a simple majority vote and rereserved the right to revisit the simple majority vote at a different time. here's when harry reid had a different perspective on the nuclear option. >> as long as i'm the leader, the answer is no. i think we should just forget

that. that is a black chapter in the history of the senate. i hope we never, ever get to that again because i really do believe it will ruin our country. >> ruin our country. that was then, of course. this is now. as part of the agreement, president obama pulled two of his nominees to the national labor relations board, but the other five nominees are going to be moving forward. margaret, of course, that was then a dark chapter in history. now it seems like a pretty good tactic. >> things are darker now, in fact. there is that. we believe what we believe when we believe it at the time. majorities shift. notice that weapons have not been laid down permanently here, that they are reserving the right to come back because everybody knows they won't be in the majority forever. >> isn't that the danger here? they go nuclear in 2013, they lose control of the senate in 2014, they set themselves up for a miserable few years at least.

>> massive, massive, massive. let's just wait a moment here and say good-bye to these poor national labor relations board nominees who spent -- >> we hardly knew ye. >> we spent probably $20,000, $25,000 on legal fees and ship boxes of documents, and you are just flicked away in this little bargain. it's hard enough getting people to come into government now. >> i wonder if the bus was going fast or slow when they threw them off. >> speaking of that, elizabeth warren, who's going to be heading this consumer protection agency, she got thrown under the bus, and then they get the jeopardy guy, and he got appointed. >> he got appointed. this was a huge victory for democrats. >> this was big for democrats, and conservatives are ticked off. >> and john mccain, back to the old john mccain, trying to cut a deal. >> he's so the old john mccain. >> republicans feel they got played here. we all knew how this story was going to end.

nobody thought they were actually going to do the nuclear option. we threaten this each and every year for five or six years, they get to the brimpg and cut a deal because neither party wants to live with the precedent. if there's one thing we know about washington politics, politicians behave like children and do unto someone else that did it to them. they're always going to cut a deal. this deal looks great for democrats, and it kicks the can until we have the next fight over nominations. it doesn't change the nominations process or change the divisive nature of it. >> in fairness to harry reid, there are basically three nuclear options. defcon 1, defend defcon 1a, and defcon 1b. as the legislative process for presidential appointees, let this be a call, in terms of what margaret was talking about, of how much nominees pay to go into

government and for legal fees, we ought to have and pick up what senators alexander and schumer tried to do years ago, minimize the sheer number of people that have to go through senate confirmation. every assistant secretary for a department you've previously never heard of doesn't need to go through senate confirmation. do the national labor relationed board and cspb and secretaries? yes. but there are 1,200 to 1,400 positions that go through senate confirmation, and is it any wonder the top 15 positions of dhs are open because so many have to go through senate confirmation. >> i think it's a great story that john mccain has become this weird power broker for republicans, and he and chuck schumer have a thing going on where they're talking and making deals now. >> why is he doing that? >> i have no idea. i think he's now in sort of his swan song term here. i don't think he's running for re-election, and he's got another four, five years to go. maybe he wants to be the guy who cuts deals. >> conservatives are angry. did you see fred paez of "the

washington post" talking about stand your ground. eric holder went down to orlando, gave a strong speech, talking about the need to get rid of these laws. >> this was an echo of gene robinson's column, which you talked about yesterday, where we don't know how parents feel. we all feel this way about our children when they go out the door, but we don't feel the way that eric holder and gene robinson feel when their kids walk out the door. their teen-aged sons are presumed guilty. eric holder talked about having been stopped after he was a prosecutor just for driving while black. this is something that -- >> by the way, people -- you say this, and there are people on twitter that will say race doesn't matter. if you're in america and you don't know somebody who has been stopped late at night for driving while black, then you just don't have any black friends. it's that simple. >> yes. >> it's that simple.

it happens at one time or another, and if you're driving, especially up and down 95, mee mika was telling a story yesterday, she had a co-host she worked with at cbs. she had a 45-minute commute in the middle of the night. the guy just once every month or so said, i know i was going to be pulled over. i knew i had to turn the lights on. i knew i had to get out of the door. i knew i had to put my hands on the car. i knew i had to say yes officer, no officer, and i had to sit there going i cannot believe this happens. and he said he knew, just like gene robinson said, and just like michael stills said, he just needed to keep his mouth shut and get back in the car. it is -- again, for people that don't understand the realities of it, they just hang out.

>> if you don't believe it happens, all you had to do on yesterday was look at another column in "the washington post" by richard cohen who basically said, look, trayvon martin was wearing a hoodie, and we know that's what people who are engaged in crime wear. this wasn't -- >> there was another column saying -- >> i didn't see that. did he really say that? >> yes. >> tens of thousands of people wear hoodies. it's now a fashionable thing to do. >> you know what, i wear hoodies. we've been wearing hoodies -- you do. you put on sweats. you put on hoodies. >> it was sort of an insane column, to be honest with you. >> was it really? >> to be, as you said, on the same one as the sort of passionate, eloquent column that eugene wrote yesterday is startling. >> if shg happeomething happens it's one thing, but to your child. eric holder is a big boy now. the one thing that struck me is i didn't think i would have to observe the tradition that my

dad did by talking to my son, that we've gone further, but we haven't. >> and this is what we're talking. this is what gene talked about yesterday is united states has made extraordinary leaps and bounds over the past 50 years. there are extraordinary changes, and there have been in race relations in just about every area. but when it comes to this one area in law enforcement, there are pockets of this area where -- and by the way, i had a friend of mine last night say, hey, it's not just the white officers. i had some black officers growing up that had white partners that were shoving me into the side of a car and banging my head just trying to send a message. >> and holder's point here was that, yes, that happens occasionally, but with the stand your ground laws, what you're essentially doing is allowing anyone to play that role of a profiling officer because they feel threatened by a black

person, and they can brandish a gun and say it's for purposes of self-defense. >> at least withstand your ground, it's a debate -- you can't overturn what happened with the jury in trial. >> which, again, was baseded on self-defense and not stand your ground. >> much more nunanimity that florida has a law they should be debating because that was the total predicate for the ruling you ended up getting, particularly in the confines of the state law. >> particularly since we know the police, when zimmerman contacted them, said, look -- >> back away. >> don't stand your ground. stand down. he didn't hear the stand down part. >> if anybody watching this show believes, or seeing this on replay online, believes that a black guy in a similar situation, if he had chased a white guy through a

neighborhood, got into a fight with him, was told to back away, and ended up shooting him, if anybody watching this show doesn't believe that that black guy would not have been convicted, then you live in a different world, in a different reality than the rest of us. 50 years, i'm a conservative guy, but i've seen it happen time and time again, and not just in the southeast, in the northeast, everywhere. here's eric holder from yesterday. >> it's time to question laws that so senselessly question self-defense and conflict in our neighborhoods. these laws try to fix something that was never broken. we must stand our ground to ensure that our laws reduce violence and take a hard look at laws that contribute to more violence than they prevent. trayvon's death last spring caused me to sit down, to have a

conversation with my own 15-year-old son, like my dad did with me. this was a father-son tradition i hoped would not need to be handed down. it is my responsibility, not to burden him with the baggage of eras long gone, but to make him aware of the world that he must still confront. >> i'm waiting for a republican to step out and actually talk about this in a meaningful way. we'll see if that happens. all-star game last night. did you guys stay up and see? >> i did. kind of a snoozer. >> this guy did not. >> jim vandehei? >> i did not. >> we're going to have that coming up. hang onto your seats. >> we can still snap a towel joke. >> as sam stein said, it was a wowzer. also coming up, senator chuck

schumer. also, senator kirsten gillibrand. we're going to ask her what it was like to actually hang out with ted froos and her push to crack down on military sex assaults is gaining momentum from the other side of the aisle because of people like ted cruz and rand paul. and we're going to talk to nfl star larry fitzgerald and best-selling author and friend of "morning joe." i think he was the first person to watch "morning joe." we've had three more since then. look at that collar, daniel silva, he learned that from me. first, bill karins with a check of the forecast. bill, when is it going to cool down? is >> not until the upcoming weekend, joe. the heat wave is expanding. we already watched it moving back to chicago. now it's just gripping much of the country. look at boise. even the intermountain west was amazingly hot. this was the peak of the heat wave. from here we'll watch it slowly retreating, especially in the northern half of the country.

today's forecast, just like yesterday, 90s everywhere. what's interesting, it's actually hotter in the northern half of the country than the southern half. warmer in areas like new york city or even dallas or orlando or atlanta. as far as when will the heat wave break, the northern plains, the hey wave ends for you on friday. cold front comes through. there will be strong thunderstorms. behind it, less humid, and the temperature will drop about 20 degrees. by the time saturday rolls around, we'll watch the cooler air beginning to head into areas of the ohio valley, and that's where we'll track the strong thunderstorms on saturday, including the northeast saturday night. by about sunday, the heat wave will be over for many in the northern half of the country. one of the hottest spots over the last couple of days has been washington, d.c. it doesn't look like many clouds to block the sun today. nice sunrise, hot morning. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. "i'm part of an american success story,"

"that starts with one of the world's most advanced distribution systems," "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers," "eliminating costly markups," "and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. "dedication: that's the real walmart" [ tap ] ♪ 'cause tonight [ tap ] ♪ we'll share the same dream

♪ ♪ at the dark end of the street ♪ ♪ ♪ you and me ♪ you and me ♪ you and me ♪

in o'clock lapped, protesters vandalized a men's warehouse store, and that wasn't the equivalent of george zimmerman. they were angry about the firing of wearhouse founder george zimmer because, unlike george zimmerman, he does like the way you look. so that's it. >> is time to take a look at the morning papers. "usa today," a new study shows those that retire later in life are at a lower risk of developing alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. researchers say that working keeps the brain sharp, promotes physical activity, and keeps people socially engaged. each additional year of work

reduces the risk of dementia by 3.2%. that makes sense. "chicago tribune," beginning next week, at&t are going to launch new options that allow customers to upgrade their devices every year. instead of a long-term contract, the system is going to allow the users of iphones with a monthly finance plan. after 12 months, they'll be allowed to upgrade their device or keep their current phone or tablet and make payments an extra eight months. and the san francisco chronicle, coca-cola is reporting a second quarter loss of 4%. the beverage giant cited poor weather conditions and flooding in parts of europe for the drop in sales. overall, soda consumption has been on the decline for years in part due to health concerns and mika's nonstop nattering. "the washington post," an italian astronaut is about to abort the space walk. yesterday after a water leak left him unable to speak or hear, the leak may have sprung

from the cooling system of his suit. the astronaut was not hurt. and "the new york times," google is reportedly working on creating an internet-based cable tv service to stream over the web. if successful, the service would be direct competition to current subscription-based cable packages from companies like comcast and verizon. and the front page of "the new york post," candidate christine quinn placed an angry call to police commissioner ray kelly yesterday after it took 31 minutes for help to arrive on the scene when an intern fainted during a news conference in brooklyn. the young woman collapsed in the 90 degree plus heat. according to "the post," the emergency system was overloaded, impacting response times. quinn called the delay inexcusable. so was that one of her interns? >> i guess. >> presumably? okay. >> i don't know that you make that call.

>> she needs to get into the news. she's got some competition. >> it's a council intern. yeah, she probably has to make that phone call. jim vandehei, how are you doing today? >> i'm great. >> what is in your mighty playbook that all the kids are reading? >> we have a piece of what he calls a quickly aging obama presidency. when he was on the campaign trail in 2012, this partisan fever would break, but while he was saying that, behind the scenes there was a discussion that the partisan fever had no chance of breaking, that they knew they would inherit a washington that was almost ungovernable, so the bulk of the time was put into how do you recalibrate the staff and move people around in the cabinet, and there wasn't a tremendous amount of thought of how do you actually have a successful first year of a second term? which you see now, he's not had a successful start to a second term. there's no solution out there. >> that's because gibbs is gone. >> and in the piece they're

saying that, he calls it the robert gibbs factor. >> if only i was there. >> it was blind quote. >> exactly. you talk there, jim, about the curse of answered prayers, the curse of second terms. this has been a miserable time for the president, just not being able to get anything through congress. >> i'm curious from robert. what did the president used to say about this? you hear about this frustration privately, great, i get blamed for a dysfunctional washington, when washington is effectively ungovernable. i don't think that is just an excuse. i think he could meet with every republican for every night for dinner, for drinks, for dessert, he wouldn't change a stinking thing. i do believe that. we always rant about meet more with people, and surely he should have met more with people. they come from a different world. look at immigration reform. house republicans don't care what marco rubio has to say,

much less barack obama over dinner. >> jim vandehei, you're going to be invited to the white house for saying that. the president is going to love you. >> it's true. you look at a guy like mike enzi. >> socialist. >> right. so if he cuts a deal or goes into a negotiation with the white house, comes over for drinks and dinner, that's certainly not going to help him right now. it certainly wouldn't help him. look, i agree with you. we are at a point in which -- and it must be enormously frustrating for the white house -- there's very, very little they can do. there are very few levers they can push on something as central and important, in their belief, in a lot of beliefs, in terms of immigration reform. there's just not a lot they can do. >> so as the president of the united states, who has been elected twice, is incapable of doing anything of note in washington, d.c., even with -- i'm not being combative here. i'm just saying -- no, let's just stop. this is a pretty remarkable

moment. if we have the president of the united states with a democratic senate not being able to get anything done in his entire second term? >> simple case, fiscal cliff deal, gun control, immigration, he's gotten squat. he's not going to get squat on any of those, and it's because of the reality of washington. >> if you go back to the very beginning of the year, obviously, the tax deal was a big win for him. the question, i guess, is was it such a big win, quite frankly, that it recalibrated every other republican's view of whether we're going to enter into any deals or negotiations for the rest of the year? i think that certainly is up for some discussion. but what's the president going to do to put pressure on house republicans for immigration reform when less than two dozen of them have any appreciable hispanic population? they're all insulate sd.

>> i've been saying all along, oh, immigration is going to pass. no, it's not going to pass the house. citizenship is not going to happen in the house. >> when do you declare it dead? >> a couple of months ago. >> just to rewind for a minute, didn't senator mitch mcconnell lose some altitude yesterday? he's lost some of his own people. john mccain's come out. and i think the friendship that's grown up -- you say it doesn't matter much. you can't be friends in the senate anymore across the aisle, but senator mccain and senator schumer have formed a way of working together. if not a bond, a way of working together. mccain pulled some people over. mitch mcconnell didn't get what he wanted. and once you wound the king -- >> i think, if we step back for a second -- first of all, i would be hesitant to call immigration reform dead even though it has a lot of challenges. >> in the house. i think it's kind of dead. >> ten minutes ago we were talking about what a huge victory it was for the president to get these executive nominees

confirmed. that shows how dysfunctional this town is. those nominees should have been confirmed several months, if not years ago. the cspb one, for instance, has been vacant for several years now. if those are being counted as major trick tris fvictories for president, we should look -- >> doesn't every president have this problem in recent years? clinton had it. bush had it. i think obama has only had four of his selections actually voted down. >> it's the time they've been delayed. >> every president has had similar problems. it does tend to get worse. what's different about moderate washington is there just aren't moderates in other party left. >> jim, you and i have been here a long time. you were covering me 20 years ago. it has gotten -- has it really gotten that much worse over the past five years than it was over under bush? how bad is it? >> it's much worse now. >> it was? >> you were in congress in 1996. there was a group called the

lunch bunch. the moderate republicans who met once a week. there were 40 to 50 people who went to that meeting. if you had a lunch bunch meeting right now, it would be a lunch box, one person sitting there with his lunch box. that's how many moderates there are left in the house. they just don't exist. so the house is ungovernable. the senate, i would actually say, is the one bright spot in the political system now. i think there's more diversity of thought we've seen in the senate the last couple of years, and they are showing progress. they did an immigration bill. that was tough. you've got 14 republicans, all democrats, onto a bill. they negotiated this compromise. i agree, it's small ball. they got a deal. they've had significant talks on trying to figure out how do you mitigate this problem in the military with sexual assaults? it's all been bipartisan. >> are we saying in effect, if the president doesn't see his party win the house of representatives in 2014, which is an uphill battle, but it can

happen, that he's going to be ineffective for the next three years. >> except when there's a massive trigger deadline that happens, which could be with the debt ceiling. outside of that, it's done. >> there needs to be a compelling action or compelling force to get the house to ask. they calculated the 2012 elections would be that compelling force. with respect to immigration reform, i don't think it's going to be necessarily. outside of that, i don't really see what happens with a republican controlled house. >> so, robert, then if i'm the president, i'm doing absolutely everything i can to make sure that the democrats win the house in 2014. is this president going to do that? >> i think he will because i think he has to, we've basically had wave elections in 2006, 2008, and 2010 that did wash away anybody really in the middle. then we cemented in 2010 on both sides congressional gains through redistricting. we have the number of people that represent districts, the results of which are so

disparate from a national electorate that is much closer to 50-50, puts people all in their corners. i think it will be an enormous challenge. look, this is true for anybody to govern this town. i think yesterday actually wasn't such a big loss for republicans because eventually they'll have a white house. they'll want their nominees. it also preserves both sides' ability to have a robust filibuster. nate silver said it's entirely possible the democrats could lose control of the senate. they're going to want that filibuster. yes, harry reid got votes on these nominees, but at the same time, mitch mcconnell, i don't think, lost as much as some people on twitter might think. >> okay. coming up -- we really do care what they say. coming up, fans at citi field give an emotional farewell to baseball's greatest closer. brian schactman is going to take us through last night's all-star

game that sam stein said was one of the most riveting things ever broadcast on american television. you can see the thrills, you can feel the chills, coming up next in sports.

at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what?

customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. mhandle more than 165 billionl letters and packages a year. that's about 34 million pounds of mail every day. ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer? millions? tens of millions? hundreds of millions? not a single cent. the united states postal service doesn't run on your tax dollars. it's funded solely by stamps and postage. brought to you by the men and women of the american postal worker's union.

now pitching, number 42, mariano rivera. >> sam stein was right about the game, but two things that made watching the all-star game remarkable. first of all, every fan on their feet for the greatest closer in a.l. baseball. players didn't even take the field so he could have the field all to himself to start the eighth inning. he started the eighth inning. he didn't close the game out because, if the national league took the lead, he wouldn't be able to pitch at all. that's why he was in there in the eighth inning, and he actually choked up a little bit as players from both sides paid their respects. the actual game itself, the 84th

annual all-star game, had a little new york tension and drama. new york mets pitcher matt harvey hits yankees second baseman robinson kay know in the knee in the very first inning. cano left the game. midgame we found out x-rays were negative. harvey would get out of a jam, pitching two scoreless innings and striking out three. american league, chip away at the n.l. top of the eighth, jason kipnis hits a double, driving in for a three-run lead. the most exciting play came in the ninth inning. >> and he does. in the air to right, coming to get it, gomes. he can't. this play backed up by matt carpenter, the second baseman, and prince fielder is going to motor all the way around to third. >> 275 pounds, even big mo liked it. prince fielder huffs out a triple. the american league earns home field advantage in the world

series with a 3-0 win. it's the second year in a row there's been a shutout in the all-star game. last year the a.l. was on the losing end. and a fan learned a lesson, always listen to your momma. this idiot code name dylan ran onto the field before getting taken down by security. earlier, dylan tweeted this, 1,000 retweeted, and i'll run across the field. he didn't just get 1,000, he got over 3,000. before he went through the dumb stunt, dylan's mom got wind of it and warned her son not to do it via text message. i don't care. you better not. quote, i'm not kidding. i don't want you getting hurt. and finally, you could get arrested, if not worse. please don't be ridiculous. guys, listen to your mom. the shenanigans. he'll get a trespassing charge and tens of thousands of court

fees. that is that for dylan. apparently, college football coaches don't mind holding grudges. yesterday at the s.e.c. media day, florida coach will muschamp was asked about ohio state turning the gators in for alleged rule violations. muschamp got a little snarky and said, "we appreciate our friends from ohio state making sure we're compliant with ncaa rules. they certainly know a little bit about that subject." of course, ohio state's head coach is urban meyer who led the gators to two national titles from 2006 to 2008. of course, johnny manziel talk, alabama talk, a lot going on in the s.e.c. >> a lot going on. robert gibbs, will muschamp. >> i love that. >> runaway beer truck. >> the last thing anybody at ohio state university should do is lecture anybody about playing by the rules in college football. i mean, what is it, we've got an arsonist for a fire prevention class. >> it's unbelievable.

there was a story about urban meyer and the number of gators that were arrested. >> oh, my gosh. >> that he recruited. that guy, it's just a shocking number. >> it's something like 30 to 40 gators arrested during his tenure there. >> during his tenure as head coach. ohio state should probably just keep their head down and try to avoid the death penalty. >> just make sure kids are going to class and not selling their jerseys and let us know how things go. >> how is auburn going to be this year? >> we're looking up. we have to see. i think everybody's excited. >> coming up next, mika has jetted in, of course, once again from the south of france, this time wearing a very pink dress. she's going to be reading -- have you picked him out yet? >> friedman. >> tom friedman straight ahead. >> what was that, nattering? >> an "a" bomb of negativism. we'll be right back with "morning joe."

discover card. i asked my husband to pay our bill, and he forgot. you have the it card and it's your first time missing a payment, so there's no late fee. really? yep! so is your husband off the hook? no. he went out for milk last week and came back with a puppy. hold it. hold it. hold it. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card with late payment forgiveness.

f-f-f-f-f-f-f. lac-lac-lac. he's an actor who's known for his voice. but his accident took that away. thankfully, he's got aflac. they're gonna give him cash to help pay his bills so he can just focus on getting better. we're taking it one day at a time. one day at a time. [ male announcer ] see how the duck's lessons are going at aflac.com

another hot one in washington, d.c. a look at the capitol at this hour. we're going to start with the nrbg times. thomas friedman writes, if churchill could see us now. whenever we go into a political drift as a country, optimists quote winston churchill's line that america will always do the right thing after they've exhausted all other possibilities. i don't think that's true anymore. churchill never met the tea party, and he certainly never met today's house republicans, a group so narrow-minded and disinterested in governing and the necessary compromises that go with it, that they are ready to kill an immigration bill that is manifestly in the country's economic, social, and strategic interests.

proving churchill at least half right, we have foolishly ignored immigration reform for years, but today finally we found a coalition of senate democrats and 14 senate republicans who have courageously compromised on a bill, though not perfect, it still spends too much on border defense, opens more opportunity for the high and low-skilled immigrants we need to thrive and give those already here illegally a legitimate pathway to citizenship. yet it appears that brain dead house republicans and their -- margaret? >> pusilanimous. >> thank you. are not looking to do the right thing and pass a similar bill. we've exhausted all other possibilities and are still stuck. that is how a great country becomes ungreat." ouch. >> margaret, what do you think? >> i think, as robert said earlier, you have these districts where house members are doing what their districts

sent them to do, which is not to have an immigration bill because they're gerrymander districts, majority white voters, older, and for them, immigrants are people in hoodies. they classify them as we don't want them. they're going to lower the wages. there are not going to be enough jobs. they're taking our jobs. so these house members are going to vote that way, and they're going to pretend like it's because the border is not secure enough. we're spending billions on the border. more people are getting in through jfk airport than are getting across the border now. >> the thing is -- as robert was talking about during the break, it is logical for a member. they're not pusillanimous or obsequious or whatever. they're not california, they're

not texas, they're not georgia, they're not arizona, they don't have a lot of immigrants coming in, and it doesn't make ha lot f sense for them to support these bills. we are a big country, and it's just, again, in their district, there's not an urgent call for them to support this legislation right now. it's not because they're evil. it's just not in their self-interest. it's not in their district's best interest. >> they're insulated from, in many ways, the national political environment, which is much, much more closely divided than it is in a lot of these districts. now, i think the point that thomas friedman is trying to make, though, is that you come -- or you should come to washington to put aside the narrow interests of your district and look at what is clearly the great ef good of the country. i just think that is awfully hard when you run for re-election every two years. >> by the way, i remember george will writing sometime in the early 1980s that our government will always be dysfunctional, jim, as long as we have members

of congress whose world view is limited by two years and one congressional district. this has been a complaint for a very long time. this wasn't invented with 2010 with the tea party. this wasn't invented with john boehner. again, republicans can fret and say we've got to pass immigration reform or we're going to keep losing national elections. a lot of these members are looking at their own election. >> a lot of republicans i talk to in the house, their main objection is not necessarily we don't want a pathway to citizenship, it comes down fundamentally to their distrust the government. they look at the senate bill and say, great, we're going to spend gobs of more money, and second, we're going to have to rely on the federal government to enforce the mechanism to secure the border, which is the piece of the bill they like best. they don't trust government on anything. >> by the way, that reminds me one other thing that, i think, tom friedman may be missing in this column, in my opinion, is

there are people like bill christal, who are aggressive supporters of the kennedy-mccain immigration bill in in '87 because they think it's too universal. they want it to go more piecemeal. it seems that is a logical, conservative approach to take, even if you support immigration. >> but jim's point is a valid one. it's the distrust of government that gets them opposed to this bill. that's the predicate for opposing any bill because government does have carry out the functions of executing the bill. >> coming up, news you can't use. a local fisherman suffers his own mini sharknado off the coast of nantucket. >> i did this a couple weeks ago. i wrestled a shark with my bare teeth. it's unbelievable footage. news you can't use coming up next. keep it right here. >> is that you? >> that is me. that is me. [ tap ]

[ tap ] ♪ 'cause tonight [ tap ] ♪ we'll share the same dream ♪ ♪ at the dark end of the street ♪ ♪ ♪ you and me

♪ you and me ♪ you and me ♪ [ male announcer ] clearly this isn't one of those speed-eating contests. that's a hebrew national hot dog. a kosher hot dog. that means we're extra choosy about the cuts of beef that meet our higher kosher standards. and only a good, old-fashioned slow-motion bite is gonna capture all that kosher delight. and when your hot dog's kosher, that's a hot dog you can trust. hebrew national. that's a hot dog you can trust. so you can capture your receipts, ink for all business purchases. and manage them online with jot, the latest app from ink. so you can spend less time doing paperwork.

and more time doing paperwork. ink from chase. so you can. where over seventy-five percent of store management started as i'm the next american success story. working for a company hourly associates. there's opportunity here. i can use walmart's education benefits to get a degree, maybe work in it, or be an engineer, helping walmart conserve energy. even today, when our store does well, i earn quarterly bonuses. when people look at me, i hope they see someone working their way up. vo: opportunity, that's the real walmart.

take a picture. record a video. hey, it's regis, playing with

the google. derek jeter update. how's he feeling? >> it says regions bank. android apps on google play. >> i'm getting my coffee. nice meeting you guys. good luck with this little mickey mouse thing you've got going, but it's not working. i've been playing with it for about an hour and a half now. i haven't gotten one return, one message. i don't know what jeter looks like anymore. i hope he's okay. >> time for "news you can't use." that was regis philbin testing google glass for "the wall street journal." again, i don't think google glass can -- it's not jeeta, it's jeter. that's probably his problem. plus he doesn't like getting yelled at. this isn't snarknado, but pretty phenomenal. elliott hooked this man eater after a 45-minute fight. he pulled it out of the nantucket ocean. that's not a sand shark. that's not a dog fish. that's a 7-footer, guys.

>> why are you dragging the shark? >> he's got a hook on it. it's all right. you can do that, i guess, if you want to. >> joe, he caught a blue fish and then baited the blue fish, threw it back, and caught a shark. he says he's caught like a hundred of them. >> i do that all the time with my bare hands. that's pretty remarkable, isn't it? >> we need a bigger boat. >> remarkable is not the word i would have picked. stupid? >> wow, that's unbelievable. next we're talking -- we're going to be talking about this richard cohen op ed that we just -- we find to be a bit stunning. >> yeah. >> and you say that richard coh cohen, politico contacteded him, and he's standing by this article. >> he's standing by it. >> but he did add billionairs to those who wear hoodies. >> we'll talk about what we're

talking about. coming up next live, "the washington post's" bob woodward, nbc's andrea mitchell, and senator chuck schumer going to be with us. "morning joe" back in a moment. ♪ [ acoustic guitar: upbeat ] [ dog ] we found it together. on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you.

vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

a live look at washington,

d.c. i think it's going to be a hot one. i ran again. only one out there. welcome back to "morning joe." robert gibbs is still at the table. joining us now, pulitzer prize winning associate editor of "the washington post" bob woodward. nbc chief foreign affairs correspondent and host of "andrea mitchell reports." andrea, we should call each other next time. and democratic senator from new york, senator chuck schumer, good to have you on board this morning. okay. >> we've been talking about how washington doesn't work, senator schumer. you have thomas friedman writing that winston churchill had it wrong. the united states doesn't always exhaust all other possibilities and finally get around to the right thing. he said, this time it doesn't look like we're doing it because washington is so dysfunctional. we had robert give just an absolutely depressing statistic about the realities. we're talking about this does not happen because the tea party is evil and because people in one party or another are

extreme. this is happening because everybody isn't doing what is logically in their best political interests. talk about really quickly the statisticses here. >> i've got to give credit to nate silver. it's a column that he wrote at the end of last year, which demonstrates the sheer dwindling number of the swing congressional districts. in 20 years, we've gone from 103 to 35 congressional districts that were within five percentage points of the national vote. so if barack obama is getting 52% these either republicans or democrats -- >> only 35 out of 145 where people got between 47% and 57%. so 90% of the people on the left or right have no reason to try

to move to the middle. >> in fact, they moved to the other side. the primaries usually come from the further right. >> i don't think that's a big national trend. that's a big aberration, a decade long aberration because they learned how to draw districts. >> four or five states have now rebelled for that and says, we're putting in a commission in new york state. our congressional districts were drawn by a cord, much more geographic than before. look at the senate where we don't have redistricting. we've had a better bipartisan year than we've had in a long time. >> so things are working in the senate. >> they are. you have a group of republicans, 15 or so, and a larger group of democrats who want to come together and compromise. obviously, the immigration bill, but the agriculture bill, the violence against women act, the

water in -- something as mundane as the water and sewer act. we have had -- and just what happened with the fiscal appointments, where you had 15, so the senate is working in a much more bipartisan way. i think the house will have to move back. i still believe winston churchill is right. >> look what's happened over the past year. you had background checks, 90% of americans support that. we couldn't get it through the senate. it certainly wouldn't get through the house. immigration is surely going to die in the house. >> looks like it. >> this president, robert was just saying, this president may stumble through the year, not being able to get anything done because jim vandehei saying he could have house members all the time, and they would never support his legislation because it's not in their best interests. >> senator schumer and i were talking about this before we came in. people have got to listen. and what you and senator mccain did in the senate, it's a baby step. it's not a solution, but you

reached agreement, and actually some appointments got voted on, and people are actually going to hold the positions. >> how long has it been to get the consumer financial protection bureau with a leader? this is ridiculous. >> we all know senator mccain. he is a workhorse. he will workday and night on something, and aparparently you and he spent hours together. >> yes. >> and you reached some sort of agreement. and what happens? >> who's the john mccain, and who's the chuck schumer in the house? >> that's right. >> look at the way boehner is looking over his shoulder at eric cantor. i don't see -- who's the marco rubio on immigration in the house? >> there are some. >> i don't see who these people are. >> there are some. i believe we'll pass immigration in the house, and here's why. the meeting last week was good, not bad. i watched you. i disagreed with what you said for two reasons. first, boehner, cantor, and mccarthy -- and each one is always looking over his shoulder

at the other -- all agreed we had to do a bill. my worry was they'd say no bill. they know they have to do a bill because of the future of their party in general and because we have assembled such a large coalition, not just the usual liberals, but business, high tech, evangelicals, growers, catholic church. >> so if that bill, though, is heavy on border security and doesn't go towards citizenship -- >> but it will. there's legalization. here's the good news, the other good news, not only do they have to do a bill -- >> only in the senate? >> we need a path to citizenship. we do. here's how we're going to get it. there are 40 or 50 republicans who won't vote for any bill because they're afraid of a conference. to get any bill done -- and remember, they said they have to do a bill -- they need to get some democrats. that's going to temper their bill. here's our strategy. we are going to republican after republican and say -- i was upstate new york. i was district of the most conservative republican in upstate agriculture, meeting

with farmers. saying we've got to get a bill. i said, what about your congressman? is they said, he won't vote for it. what if you went to him and asked him to go to boehner and say, i can't vote for it, but put the bill on the floor. he said, i could do it. i asked the head of our republican party in new york state, could you get all six republicans from new york state to do it, and he said definitely. our strategy is not going to be -- you're right about your analysis of the districts. not to get these people to vote for it themselves, but to change the ether in the senate away from the hastert rule, which says you need a majority to put it up, rather to have these people to say put a bill on the floor, mr. leader. >> and you're going to pass it with democrats? >> yes. >> and we've done it with fiscal cliff. with sandy, i had lots of people in new york call eric cantor and say, please vote for sandy. they were his supporters. we will get it done that way. if you ask to get a majority of republican votes, no bill. if you ask to change the tone in the house, please let a bill go through because my farmers, my

high tech business, my church is complaining. >> we'll see what happens. >> i think we'll get it done. i'm an optimist. >> good god, thank you for that because we're not. with approval ratings for congress at record lows and the senate's top leader threatening to go nuclear, "the new york times'" nate silver says republicans have a running start in their push to take control of the chamber. he predicts the gop will have 51 to 53 states after the mid term elections. this in the midst of a republican primary fight. this as the daughter of the former vice president, liz cheney, is running for senate in wyoming. >> i'm doing this because i feel it's necessary for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate. i'm running because i know, as a mother and a patriot, we simply can no longer afford simply to go along to get along. >> and cheney will challenge longstanding republican senator mike enzi.

enzi and dick cheney have been friends for the better part of three decades. when asked in an interview about his relationship with his new competition, enzi replied, i thought we were friends. other lawmakers have circled around the incumbent, wyoming's other senator, john barrasso, backed enzi as did rand paul. the state's only member of congress, cynthia loomis, called cheney's announcement bad form. the congresswoman jabbed her for only moving to wyoming recently from virginia, adding that it may have worked for hillary clinton in new york, but wyoming is a different story. what do you guys think? she wants to run. >> if you know her -- >> she moved. she has five kids. she moved there sometime last winter, and she did go to elementary and middle and high school there. she's got roots. i think the cheney money, the cheney name in wyoming, it's going to be very tough. loyalty matters, but does it matter in politics, guys? >> let me answer that for you. no. >> here's the deal.

mike enzi had been led to believe she would let him know, and she would not run if he was planning to run for a fourth term. he then got wind she was going to announce today in a fly around the state, and therefore, he announced quickly yesterday, and she then rolled out the video, which was supposed to be rolled out today. congresswoman lummis is actually not happy about it. senator barrasso is going to be on "the daily rundown" this morning and talk about it. this is not the kind of thing that happens in republican politics because you're talking about two conservatives. >> this happens all the time. it happened in presidential politics. 2008 was hillary clinton's year. just wait in line. >> others disagreed with that. >> just wait in line, senator obama, it's hillary's time. >> they weren't all friends, and nobody promised anybody anything. >> but this is politics, and there are no waiting lines. >> i do think this will be interesting to watch. whoever wins the primary, republican primary, is going to be the senator from wyoming.

what i think is an interesting dynamic, if you look over the past election cycles, we see divisive republican primaries in what we see the national political environment for republicans be picking the far more conservative nominee in places like delaware or colorado, and they have a much more difficult time running in the general election, and even though -- >> that's not this case. this is more like utah. >> i do think -- look, this is not an isolated incident. this is -- again, the dynamic in this town is republicans aren't going to compromise, and their only fear is challenged from the right. >> right. >> if you have in the states that are up in 2014 the political turf certainly leans in many places towards republicans, but, again, if they tend to nominate the people that are more to the right and a little farther out of the mainstream, it's much more difficult to win those seats. i think mitch mcconnell and john cord and others believe they would have five more republican

senators right now in washington -- >> is no doubt about it. >> if -- >> christine o'donnell. >> and a lot of others. >> nevada. more like utah, you said. >> i think what you have, though, is it will be interesting to watch whether or not this is really, again, the tip of the iceberg in terms of a younger, more ambitious generation that isn't worried about whether or not there's a pecking order or a line. >> or worried about friendships. that gets set aside. >> exactly. and by the way, men don't worry about that. they call it business. and i take issue with -- i think it was a woman who said it, but with this being called bad form. >> is she wanted to be senator herself. >> it may be interesting. >> liz cheney has a father named dick cheney and mother named lynn cheney, and if they have something in common, it's kind of the never say die gene. they are tough, both cheneys,

she's inherited that, and she's going to lay down a marker. >> can i just point out one thing? >> no one can say she's not qualified. >> dick cheney is sitting there smiling on the steps as big as he's ever smiled. >> we encourage more of these. >> let me say this about liz cheney. no one is saying this woman isn't very qualified, given her experience at the state department, given her experience in law. she is really one of the rising stars of the republican party. >> i don't agree -- >> is it's where she's choosing to run and when. >> i don't agree with anything she stands for, but i like her a lot, and she's extremely tough and ready. >> boy, she is tough. by the way, she is just as tough privately as she is on tv. >> oh, yeah. >> is she is her mother's daughter, her father's daughter. >> i learned that firsthand. >> she'd do better in a big state than a little state. in a small state like this, which is almost a congressional district, a lot of loyalties do build up, and i do think they matter. >> okay, let's move on.

the focus placed on the george zimmerman trial is now shifting to the controversial law at the center of the deadly shooting. u.s. attorney general eric holder spoke about florida's stand your ground law yesterday, saying it encourages, quote, violent situations to escalate. >> it's time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods. these laws try to fix something that was never broken. we must stand our ground to ensure that our laws reduce violence and take a hard look at laws that contribute to more violence than they prevent. trayvon's death last spring caused me to sit down to have a conversation with my own 15-year-old son, like my dad did with me. this was a father-son tradition i hoped would not need to be

handed down. it is my responsibility, not to burden him with the baggage of eras long gone, but to make him aware of the world that he must still confront. >> so he touches on the conversation that we had throughout the day yesterday with almost everybody we came in contact with, and that is the father-son talk that you'll never have with your son, that most white americans do not have to have with their sons, but black americans do. it's amazing. >> we talked about it last hour, and it is so depressing. what else is depressing? richard cohen, who wrote some columns -- >> let's just read this. >> this was pointed out to us -- i don't know if it was robert or who it was. >> just a couple of highlights about -- >> "the washington post" columnist. >> good for the conversation. racism versus reality, by richard cohen. i'll just read a few sections. "i don't like what george zimmerman did, and i hate that trayvon martin is dead, but i

also can understand why zimmerman was suspicious and why he thought martin was wearing a uniform we all recognize. i don't know whether zimmerman is a racist, but i'm tired of politicians and others who have donned hoodies in solidarity with martin and who essentially suggest that, for recognizing the reality of urban crime in the united states, i am a racist. the hoodie blinds them, as much as it did zimmerman." >> i don't -- >> i don't get this at all. >> who wants to defend richard cohen? >> he's a friend of mine. >> and i like his columns, but to suggest that a hoodie is a uniform of crime? >> yeah, but he likes to be provocative. >> it goes on. >> there are certain lines you shouldn't cross. >> he's crossed a line here. >> just like the old days when you said, well, if you're black, you're going to commit a crime. it's wrong. that is what racism is when you say, because of your race or

because you wear something that people one race wear, you're more likely to commit a crime than somebody else. you just, in america with our long tradition, you have to push back against that. i don't like the column. >> he wrote a column, andrea, that said that, if you were black and you wear a hoodie, that is the uniform of crime. >> it's a really shocking column. i don't get it. i simply don't understand it. >> did nobody flag it over there for him? did somebody say, hey, richard -- >> we just had the attorney general of the united states speaking to the naacp and talking about how he was stopped in georgetown running to a movie when he was a federal prosecutor. >> we shouldn't be surprised at racial profiling, it just happened on "the washington post" opinion page because richard cohen basically said, if you wear a certain thing -- >> and you were black. >> -- you should be stopped because you're going to be a criminal. >> it's beyond fathom. >> look, everybody loves being provocative. we like to think about the things that are put in front of

us. if you said this in my home state or your home state, it's called racism. >> it is, yeah. >> and it's called racial profiling. >> and some would say that racial profiling happens and that it makes us safer. there's a big story in new york city with stop and frisk, which i think the coverage of it over the past year or so came on the side of, well, we've got to do it because it makes new york safer, and new york, if you look at the numbers, is safer. i think we'll be looking at it again. and richard writes, "those statistics represent the justification for new york city's controversial stop and frisk program, which amounts to racial profiling at large. after all, if young black males are your shooters, then it ought to be young black males whom the police stop and frisk. still common sense and common decency, not to mention the law, insist on other variables such as suspicious behavior, even still raises a factor. without a doubt, it would be senseless for the police to be

stopping danish tourists in times square just to make the statistics look good." >> wow. >> i can only say i'm thankful he's a writer and not a policeman. >> so he is saying the shooters are black. >> and he doesn't carry a gun. >> richard cohen is just saying the shooters are black. so police officers should stop and frisk young black males. >> that's what's happening in new york. >> the inverse is not true. even if this shooter is black, not all blacks, not even a high percentage of blacks are shooters. so you don't stop every black. >> you work at "the washington post." you will now defend richard cohen. go. >> i have no responsibility for the op-ed page or richard cohen, but i've known him for decades, and i mean that, he likes to be provocative acti provocative, but he's also capable of taking back a column, and he has done this in the past. he might in this case. >> the post would be good to

give him the space to take it back. i will say -- look, again, provocative is fine. look, if we're going to have a conversation on race, we're going to have to -- it's going to be uncomfortable at times, but this is, especially juxtaposing this with what eugene robinson wrote on the same page yesterday, is not being provocative. it's something much bigger. >> and one of the things that really comes to mind is the interview that cnn had with the juror and realizing that this was an intelligent, very expressive, clearly troubled person who had gone through an emotional experience and had paid a lot of attention. we believe in the jury system for a reason, but the fact is this person, and i presume the other five jurors, had no empathy, no understanding as to who trayvon martin was. there was such a cultural divide that that case was really decided -- you're a lawyer, senator, i'm not -- but that

case was decided with jury selection. this woman, from her interview at least, had no understanding of the person who is dead. >> and kept talking about george. >> george is a good person. he went too far, but he really is a good person. >> i think it's important, when we have these conversations of race, to see we've gotten a window into the soul of the juror, richard cohen. i was watching a show the other night where somebody said, quote, didn't he take one to prom? talking about an african american. >> seriously? >> and this is these in washington, what do they say? a gaffe is when you accidentally tell the truth, when you get the window into the soul of a lot of these people, and they are stuck in the 1950s, and it is utterly depressing. >> i think richard cohen would agree with robert. it's a good thing he's a writer and not a police chief. >> yeah. i think a lot of african

americans across america would also be glad of that. jim, you did a lot of work on the stop and frisk. >> it's very controversial in new york. a lot of people in new york think it works. mayor nutter in philadelphia said, i need new york gun laws, and i need stop and frisk in philadelphia to bring down crime. >> is there are numbers that back up the fact -- the argument that you could make that it works. there are also long lines around courthouses with innocent people who were doing nothing, who have to go through all this paperwork, who have to go before a judge, who have to have their time wasted, and quite frankly, their self-respect and dignity impaired. we have a problem. i'm telling you right now i predict this will come back as a big racial issue in new york city and beyond before it gets to mayor nutter's city. >> we'll see. >> chuck schumer, thank you. >> thank you so much. i appreciate it. >> bob, stay with us, even though we clash.

>> peace may break out. >> exactly. can the signs of bipartisanship continue in the senate. democrat joe manchin and republican dean eller have thoughts on that. also, a surprising new study says delaying retirement can ward off dementia and alzheimer's. dr. nancy snyderman will be with us in just a few minutes to talk about that. "i'm part of an american success story,"

"that starts with one of the world's most advanced distribution systems," "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers," "eliminating costly markups," "and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. "dedication: that's the real walmart"

look at him. >> 15 minutes. >> joe, alex says this segment has to be five minutes. looking at the three of you, that is not happening. >> we can't even talk about alabama football in that time. >> joining us, democratic senator from west virginia, senator joe manchin, and republican senator from nevada,

senator dean heller. >> go trojans, baby. are you guys going to do better this year? >> i sure hope so. lou hopes we do too. >> he's crazy. >> i have a lot of confidence in that coach. >> joe, how are you doing? it's great to have you here. >> everything's fine. >> is how are we doing with background checks for criminals? >> we're still working. we really are talking to everybody to make sure people who have misunderstandings. there's people with a comfort level of working together. so we're still talking. >> and i understand there's people who worked on it before who want tweaks and changes. >> i'm willing to sit down and talk to them, absolutely. >> and you guys always sit down and talk. >> we do. >> how is that working for you? is >> is that working for you? >> we've been friends since we were secretaries of state back in the '90s. joe and i have been friends for years. i just have a question. do you have to be named joe to get on this show more often?

is >> we're going to nickname you joe. >> it seems to me there is a theme going on today that maybe the house is having problems. we're hearing more and more from republicans and democrats. the senate starting slowly but surely. like starting to work together. things might start happening in the u.s. senate. >> monday night was a magical night. i've been there a little over 3 1/2 years. >> you haven't said that about any night since you've been up here. >> it's been a frustrating, disappointing time, i'll say that. monday night -- dean was sitting behind me, and we were kind of watching it, republicans and democrats sitting together 3 1/2 hours in this historical chamber, and just so much history was coming out as members spoke, and you can tell they genuinely want to make it work, they really do. they sense that. and leadership and everybody has

to come together for the common good of this country. i feel we really have a chance. you've got to put your country first. i've said this before. my friend and my colleague here, in west virginia, i don't call you my friend one day and go out and raise money and try to beat you the next and then come back on monday and then ask you to sit down and co-sponsor a bill with me and let's work together. >> one of my favorite senate quotes, senator heller, over the past month has been mitch mcconnell going to the floor and saying my good friend may well be the worst majority leader in the history of this institution. i don't want those kinds of friends. it's kind of weird being here as opposed to being an attorney general, where democrats and republicans have to work together to get things done. >> they can argue either side, either side. in fact, i saw some clips that you guys ran earlier this morning on what senator reid was saying exactly the opposite of what he's saying today.

this thing may flip again in another 18 months or so, and we'll be having the same argument, but the opposite sides will say the same thing again. it is absolutely incredible, depending what side of the aisle you're on or who's in leadership. >> but is john mccain the republican setting up kind of a leadership within the party to set himself and a group of republicans against mitch mcconnell, who's formerly the minority leader for the republicans? >> it's hard for him to do. >> but that's what he's doing. >> i think for him to sit down with chuck and solve these problems and issues. i think it's important for him to have that kind of leadership. i think mitch, it would do him well to do the same thing. >> lamar stepped to the plate. lamar is just -- of course, i'm partial to former governors, you understand. >> let me ask you about the background checks. i was recently interviewing gabby giffords and mark kelly,

and i was surprised when mark kelly said he's disappointed with the leadership the white house has shown, that he doesn't think they've worked the legislative side of this hard enough, that they're still deeply disappointed that all these months after newtown, there's no progress legislatively. >> you know, andrea, when you say working, the white house basically, the democrats, we have 55 votes, we had, when that was voted upon, and we had 4 democrats for whatever purpose and whatever reason didn't vote with it. that's their prerogative, and i respect that. the only thing i said was what would help me is to get the facts out about the bill. get the facts out. what it does for the second amendment. i'm a defender of the second amendment, a true believer in the second amendment, but there's a responsibility. i'm not going to sell my gun to a stranger. i'm not going to sell my gun to the village idiot. >> could the president do more? >> doesn't the president need to go one-on-one with the democrats

who are on the other side of the fence and explain how important it is to vote correctly on this. >> that's already gone. the only thing with gabby's group and the mayors group that are working sxwh everyone's working in what's best, i said, we're not at a political war right now. we should be an information war trying to get the facts out. it would help me a lot more than getting everybody backed up into position. >> but senator, mika's -- where is the president in this? the idea that he does not have relationships with those four democrats where he can call them up and say, i am now calling in a chit. i need your vote on this. max baucus, chairman of the finance committee. >> not even running again. >> not even running again. >> i'm smiling because i know exactly what i'd say to max baucus without saying it to max baucus. i would have somebody say to max baucus, you know what, max,

you're not going to be in this chamber next year, but i'm still going to be president. i would never say that myself, but somebody might say that to him, and you're probably going to want to work in this town. >> the shocking part of this story is that the president couldn't get those four democrats to vote. i know it's not going to get you to 60. >> i need people to vote who come from a gun culture like i come from to see the benefits of this bill. it really enhances and strengthens your second amendment rights. it asks for the responsibility when you go to a commercial transaction -- >> but offices from montana, which is a gun state -- >> the president does not come from a gun culturement of the president doesn't come from it, and that's not where they are. so for the president to come out and convince -- this is one time he might not be that person to bring that fight to -- >> is the bottom line is the only way this passes is i'm not going to -- if i'm the president -- >> i need five republicans to vote. >> i'm not asking for this vote. he's from nevada. i'm just saying -- >> he did. we had that conversation.

>> but let's be realistic about where we're going to be getting these votes. you can get kelly ayotte if you get the other four democrats, and there's some modifications to the bill. i don't mean to speak for kelly, but i'm just saying she would seem to be in a position with john mccain wanting to pull her into it, and also those voters are -- >> do you think the president is the person to go to kelly ayotte? >> no. i think the president gets his four democrats, and then john mccain talks to kelly ayotte and says, what do you need to pass this bill? >> the bottom line is i want to make sure that my -- and these are truly my colleagues and my friends on the republican side can find their comfort zone. that's all. to find their comfort zone and make sure they protect -- >> is that's why gabby giffords and her husband are campaigning in red states. >> he is a coach. i think usc should hire joe manchin. >> i'm happy in west virginia.

i'll stay here. >> he has learned. >> that's my buddy. >> how's usc going to be this year? you feeling good? >> i hope they do well. they need to do well. it's a tough year. they're still on probation. they've lost a lot of scholarships. it's going to take a good coach to pull them through. >> what do you pull for when usc -- you know where i'm going -- plays nevada? are you one of these goofy politicians that has a hat with bills on both sides? >> always nevada first. >> it's a smart move. >> are you in your comfort zone? are you good? >> i'm good. >> he's always in his comfort zone. >> i'm ready to go, yeah. >> senator joe manchin, senator dean heller, thank you so much. >> thank you for having us. >> is nice to have you on. [ dad ] so i walked into that dealer's office and you know what i walked out with? [ slurps ] [ dad ] a new passat. [ dad ] 0% apr. 60 months. done and done. [ dad ] in that driveway is a german-engineered piece of awesome.

that i got for 0% apr. good one, dad. thank you, dalton. [ male announcer ] it's the car you won't stop talking about. ever. hurry in to the volkswagen best. thing. ever. event. and get 0% apr for 60 months, now until july 31st. that's the power of german engineering. mhandle more than 165 billionl letters and packages a year. and get 0% apr for 60 months, now until july 31st. that's about 34 million pounds of mail every day. ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer? millions? tens of millions? hundreds of millions? not a single cent. the united states postal service doesn't run on your tax dollars. it's funded solely by stamps and postage. brought to you by the men and women of the american postal worker's union.

"stubborn love" by the lumineers did you i did. email? so what did you think of the house? did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok? ...but what about when my parents visit? ok. i just love this one... and it's next to a park. i love it. i love it too. here's our new house... daddy! you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. i don'without goingcisions to angie's list first. with angie's list, i know who to call, and i know the results will be fantastic! find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

up next, it may be the best rope yet to put off retirement. working late in life can reduce the risk of alzheimer's. dr. nancy snyderman has the details when "morning joe" comes right back. i think farmers care more about the land

than probably anyone else. we've had this farm for 30 years. we raise black and red angus cattle. we also produce natural gas. that's how we make our living and that's how we can pass the land and water back to future generations. people should make up their own mind what's best for them. all i can say is it has worked well for us.

the beach on your tv is much closer than it appears. seize the summer with up to 50% off hotels at travelocity.

vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

joining is live in new york city, nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. a couple of topics we want to go through. let's start with preventing dementia. the new information that's come out makes sense, but there are studies that back it up now. >> big studies. the biggest one now looks at 420,000 people in france, where they keep phenomenal medical records, and they looked at people who retired and looked at elements of dementia, and they accommodated every variable you could imagine. what they found was that for every year you put off leaving the work force, your risk of developing alzheimer's goes down 3.2%. so what it means for all of us, i believe, is that these arbitrary deadlines to get out of the work force, these arbitrary retirement ages are just dumb. not only do people need to work longer economically, but our brains are plastic, and the more we stay in the work force, the smarter we stay. >> makes a lot of sense. also, information out about taking an aspirin every other day, especially for women.

>> another good study. they followed women over the age of 45 for over 18 years and found that women who take low dose aspirin every other day had a 20% decreased chance of colon cancer, and women who stayed on it even longer had even more protection. little bit of a downside, some women had a little gastric irritation and could have a small risk of bleeding. i think the jury is really in for the fact that aspirin protects for colon cancer, in addition to heart disease and stroke. >> finally, a link between the obesity gene and the hunger hormone. i find this fascinating. explain it if you could. >> you and i have talked about this so often. i think increasingly we recognize that, while americans need to push themselves away from the table, there's a genetic influence as to why some people are chronically hungry and why they crave things that aren't necessarily good for them. and the more we learn about the human genome, the more we'll be able to map out brain chemistry.

this really shows for some people there's a switch that turns on hunger, and it's hard for people to feel sarbia iasat. and while they may eat foods that aren't great, and you and i can talk about fruits and vegetables ad nauseam, it's really tough for people. just like there's a genetic kick for exercise. not everyone can do it well, and for some people it's painful. >> you said it's hard to eat correctly. how would you characterize it medically? >> medically, they can't get full. they're chronically hungry. but we've sort of fed into this also with an abundance of bad food. we're looking at a real critical storm. we have an abundance of bad fat, bad carb food that is very, very, very cheap. we now recognize there are genetic predispositions for some people, where they are genetically predisposed to be thick around the middle, predisposed eto be hungry and

they can't get full, and we have the fact that we have gutted, we have raped the american education system, taking out physical education. we've created these neighborhoods without sidewalks, and we have the perfect storm, and now we're reaping the real problems of obesity. and if you're going to go back to alzheimer's, we know that people who are fat have increased pressure around their brains and long-term -- they have increased risk of dementia. so this is a problem that's still going to play out, i think, over the next 15, 20 years, as we learn more and more about our genes. >> my takeaway, when you look at obesity, it is genetics. it is our environment. it is not discipline. we have to stop thinking that way. >> it's the perfect storm. we have to stop the shame. it's time to get to the real medical -- the causes of all of this. >> dr. nancy snyderman, thank you very much. still ahead, senator kirsten gillibrand of new york joins us here on set. up next, it's a football statistic that is far more important than touchdowns. on average, there were nine concussions or head injuries every week last season. wide receiver larry fitzgerald

joins us with new information on how the league is addressing this. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer ] the wind's constant force should have disrupted man. instead, man raised a sail. and made "farther" his battle cry. the new ram 1500 -- motor trend's 2013 truck of the year -- the most fuel-efficient half-ton truck on the road -- achieving best-in-class 25 highway miles per gallon. guts. glory. ram.

achieving best-in-class 25 highway miles per gallon. always go the extra mile. to treat my low testosterone, i did my research. my doctor and i went with axiron, the only underarm low t treatment. axiron can restore t levels to normal in about 2 weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. ask your doctor about the only underarm low t treatment,

axiron. all this produce from walmart and secretly served it up in the heart of peach country. it's a fresh-over. we want you to eat some peaches and tell us what you think. they're really juicy. it must have just come from the farm. this right here is ideal for me. walmart works directly with growers to get you the best quality produce they've ever had. what would you do if i told you all this produce is from walmart? wow! is it really? (laughter) find fresh peaches and all your quality produce. backed by our 100% money back guarantee. walmart.

♪ here with us now, wide

receiver for the arizona cardinals larry fitzgerald, the national spokesman for usa football's 2013 football tour. there's the actual playing, present tense, developing young players, ways going on in the nfl. what's going on right now with this whole protection football program? >> it's all about safer activity, safer sports. with the help of aig insurance, there's free tours all around the country that are teaching proper fittings for helmets and shoulder pats, concussion education and also proper tackling techniques, which is so important at the youth level. >> football, it's dangerous. there's a threat of concussion no matter what. there's only so much padding you can be put in a helmet. what needs to change in the

culture? >> even since i started playing football, over the last three or four years, the teaching techniques have changed. commissioner goodell and the nfl have done a good job of implementing rules to make the game safer. you see it kind of trickling down to the youth level. going out there and providing the knowledge and information for parents that may be concerned about their kids playing football. to be honest with you, more kids get concussions and are injured on bicycles than in football. >> you're a wide receiver that's not afraid to go over the middle. do you think the penalties the nfl has instituted have had an effect on sort of the head hunting of a linebacker or free safety in the nfl? >> i'm an offensive guy so that's more of a question probably for a defensive guy. i definitely hear in the locker room guys talking about the fines being levied weekly. i think they're conscious of the

ramifications of taking high hits and hitting guys above the shoulders. >> it's hard though to change football player's mentality. i mean, they want to get to the ground. it's almost like telling a lion they can't go after a live animal. >> these guys have been doing this for a very long time. for them to be able to play football and to keep money in their pocket without getting fined, they have to change. it's the nfl guys that are leading the way with it. >> now, sam stein was a huge linebacker in high school. >> sam, you look a little small other there, i don't know. >> i've slimmed down since my heyday. >> he played for dartmouth. >> he was at least five pounds heavier. >> first of all, thanks for your help on my fantasy team, really appreciate it. on a serious note, bob and i were talking off set. one of the things we were wondering, you have a son, i believe, would you advise him to go into football at a young age?

would you be worried about him playing football knowing what we know now about the head injuries? >> no, i'm like any parent, i'm going to support my child in whatever he wants to do. i'm going to make sure he's equipped with the best equipment as possible, educated on the proper ways to play the sport. i'm going to watch him and make sure any time he's tackling or being tackled that he's normal and does nothing wrong. if he's enjoying himself, i'm going to support him. football teaches many other life skills from team work, to being able to be coached, to working with groups. things that lead to being successful in the working world. >> for more, visit their website, the address is on the screen. larry fitzgerald, great football player, classy guy, we really appreciate you coming on the show today. >> up next, liz cheney enters

the race for senate in wyoming. why many fellow republicans aren't so happy with the former viles president's daughter. also, eric holder's passionate response to the george zimmerman verdict. the speech. the attorney general says he had to give to his son. looked nice?

soft would be great, but we really just need "kid-proof." softsprings got both, let me show you. right over here. here, feel this. wow, that's nice. wow. the soft carpets have never been this durable. you know i think we'll take it. get kid-friendly toughness and feet-friendly softness, without walking all over your budget. he didn't tell us it would do this. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, get whole-home installation for just 37 bucks. [ babies crying ] surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises? now you can get all the online trading tools you need without any surprise fees. ♪ it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade.

[ tap ] ♪ 'cause tonight

[ tap ] ♪ we'll share the same dream ♪ ♪ at the dark end of the street ♪ ♪ ♪ you and me ♪ you and me ♪ you and me ♪

good morning, it's 8:00 a.m. on the east coast, 5:00 a.m. on the west coast. a live look at washington. the latest reading at 8:00, it is 173 degrees. back with us on set, robert gibbs, sam stein, margaret corelson and jim vandehigh, who makes sure it's always cool inside. political news. stand in line? what line? there's no such thing in politics. liz cheney has decided to go after a very popular incumbent. are we going to see a follow-up on sort of tea party versus establishment? >> it's tea party versus tea party, isn't it? an extremely conservative guy. carried 76% of the vote last time. >> what's liz cheney's argument? >> she's ambitious, she's younger than he is, and she

wants to be a senator and he happens to have a job she wants. most people in the state don't want her to run. she just moved there yesterday. she's not been a wyoming resident. so she comes in with a ton of baggage. but she is a cheney. she's going to raise a ton of money. >> still there, what's interesting, this comes with approval ratings for congress at record lows. the senate's top leader threatening to go nuclear. "the new york times" nate silver also saying republicans have a running start in their push to win back control of the chamber. nate silver, you know, who always -- we're like this, his predictions are always right, kids, except sports, but predicting that the gop is likely to add 50 seats after the 2014 midterm elections.

this is of course the interparty fight with liz cheney, daughter of the former vice president, and she is now running for the u.s. senate in wyoming. >> i'm running because i believe it is necessary for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate. i'm running because i know as a mother and a patriot we can no longer afford simply to go along to get along. >> and liz is going to be challenging long-standing republican senator mike enzi. he and dick cheney have been friends for years, for the better part of three decades. when asked in an interview about his relationship with his new competition, he replied, i thought we were friends. robert gibbs. >> sounds like a country song. >> if you want a friend in washington -- >> buy a dog. >> buy a dog. do you agree? i'm just not a big believer in lines in politics. this whole let's wait and -- liz cheney has every right to do

what she's doing and go for it. >> i think this will be fascinating because as jim said, the leadership in the state, the junior senator from wyoming, has already lined up with his -- he said his mentor, mike enzi. state leadership is not real big on divisive primaries. there's no single issue. there's no rallying cry. there's no vote that mike enzi made that has outraged republicans inp wi s in wyoming. liz cheney wants the gig. >> isn't this a replay of what happened in utah a couple years ago with mike lee? i mean, bennett wasn't exactly a socialist. >> maybe but liz cheney is not some out of nowhere figure here, she's the daughter of dick cheney. ways goi what's going to be interesting, there's like 600,000 people inp with weyoming and the primary i going to be basically -- >> those who actually go to the polls. >> i mean, i get you.

she doesn't want to wait. it's just i'm curious what her candidacy's going to be based on. the one vote people are looking at is senator enzi supported a tax on internet sales. that's sort of small pickings. national journal -- they had the slide show, most conservative senators, he was fourth, you know. >> why wasn't he first? >> because your boy tom coburn was first, okay, he's got a few people to compete with. it's not like there's much to work with here. i think the one place you might have a difference is foreign policy. you saw rand paul come out quickly and sort of take some jabs at her, mocking her for living in virginia. i think that's mostly concerns about the reintroduction of the bush/cheney foreign policy. >> we have that going on. we've got the nate silver predictions. and of course, margaret, yesterday, senators harry reid and mitch mcconnell ended their bitter dispute other the filibust filibuster. agreeing to terms that will decide the fate of several obama

administration nominees. the senate majority leader agreed to abandon the so-called nuclear option that would have allowed all presidential nominees to be confirmed by simple majority vote. he reserved the right to revisit the filibuster reform at a later time. remember this in 2008 when senator reid had a different perspective on the nuclear option? >> as long as i'm the leader, the answer's no, i don't -- i think we should just forget that. that is a black chapter in the history of the senate. i hope we never, ever get to that again. because i really do believe it will ruin our country. >> ruin our country. that was then, beiof course, th is now. as part of the agreement, president obama pulled two of his nominees to the national liberation, board but the other five nominations are going to be moving forward. margaret, of course, that was then, a dark chapter in history. now it seems like a pretty good tactic. >> things are darker now, in

fact, there is that. we believe what we believe when we believe it at the time. majorities shift. you know, notice that weapons have not been laid down permanently here, that they're reserving the right to come back becauser kn everybody knows the won't be in the majority forever -- >> i mean, isn't that the danger here? they go nuclear in 2013, they lose control in 2014, they set themselves up for a miserable few years at least. >> oh, massmassive, massive. let's say good-bye to these poor national labor board nominees. >> we heardly knew you. >> spent probably $25,000 in legal fees and accountants and you shipped boxes of documents and you were just flicked away in this little bargain. it's hard enough to get people to come into government now. >> i wonder if the bus was going fast or slow? >> speaking of that, elizabeth

warren was going to be heading this consumer protection agency. she got thrown under the bus. and then they get the jeopardy guy. and he got appointed. >> he got appointed. this was a huge victory. >> big for democrats and conservatives are ticked off. >> and john mccain -- >> oh, he's so the old john mccain. >> republicans feel like they got played here. we all knew how this story was going to end. nobody thought they were going to actually do the nuclear option. we've threatened this. they always get to the brink and cut a deal because neither party wants to live with the precedent. if there's one thing we know about washington politics is politicians behave like children. they do unto someone else because someone did it to them. they're always going to cut a deal. this deal looks great for democrats. it just kicks the can till we have the next fight other nominations. it doesn't change the nomination process. >> in fairness to harry reid, there's basically three nuclear

options. we'll call it def con 1-a and def con 1-b. the nuclear option for legislation, for judges and this is just simply for president's appointees. let this hopefully be a call, as margaret talked about, in terms of how much nominees pay to go into government and for legal fees. we ought to have and pick up what senators alexander and schumer tried to do. minimize the sheer number of people that have to go through senate confirmation. every assistant secretary for department you've previously never heard of doesn't need to go through senate confirmation. do the national labors board, do secretaries, yes. but they're between 1,200 and 1,400 positionings ths that go senate confirmation. is it any wonder the top 15 positions are open because so

many have to go through confirmation. >> the great story is john mccain has become this weird power broker for republicans and he and chuck schumer have this thing going on where they're talking, they're making dealings now on immigration. >> why is he doing that? >> i have no idea. i think he's now in sort of his swan song term here. i don't think he's running for re-election. he's got another four or five years to go. maybe he wants to be the guy twho cut who cuts deals. >> conservatives are angry. see about stand your ground, eric holder, went down to orlando, gave a strong speech, talking about the need to get rid of these laws? >> well, this was an echo of jean robinson's column. which you talked about yesterday. we don't know how parents feel. we all feel this way about our children when they go out the door, but we don't feel the way that eric holder and jean robinson feel when their kids walk out the door, their teenage sons are presumed guilty.

and eric holder talked about having been stopped after he was a prosecutor just for driving while black. i mean, this is something that -- >> by the way, people -- you say this and there will be some people on twitter who say, oh, race -- if you were in america and you don't know somebody that has been stopped late at night for driving while black, then you just don't have any black friends. it's that simple. it's that simple. it happens at one time or another. if you're driving, especially up and down 95, and, you know, mika was telling story yesterday, she had a co-host she worked with at cbs, and, you know, she had a 45-minute commute in the middle of the night. the guy just once every month or so said, i know i was going to be pulled over, i knew i had to put my hands on the car, i knew

i had to say, yes, officer, no, officer, and i just had to sit there going, i cannot believe this happens. and he said he knew. just like jean robinson said and just like michael still said. he just needed to keep his mouth shut and get back in the car. it's -- for people that don't understand the realities of it, they just -- >> if you don't believe it happens, all you have to do yesterday was look at another column in "the washington post" by richard cohen who basically said, look, trayvon martin was wearing a hoody and we know that's what people engaged in crime wear. >> i didn't see that. did he really say that? >> tens of thousands of people wear hoodies. it's now a fashionable thing to do. >> i wear hoodies. we've been wearing hoodies. that's what you do.

you put on sweats, you put on hoodies. >> it was sort of an insane column to be honest. >> was it really? >> on the same one as the sort of passionate eloquent column that eugene wrote yesterday was startling. >> because if something happens to us, it's one thing, but to your child, so eric holder's a big boy now. one thing that struck me, he said, i didn't think observe the tradition by talking to my son that we've gone further, but we haven't. >> united states has made extraordinary leaps and bounds. over the past 50 years, extraordinary changes, and there have been, in race relations, in just about every yr area. but when it companies to this one area in law enforcement, there are pockets in this area. by the way, i had a friend of

mine last night say, hey, it's not just the white officers. i've had some black officers growing up that had white partners that were shoving me into the side a car and banging my head, just trying to send a message. >> holder's point was that yes, this happens occasionally. with the stand your ground laws, what you're essentially doing is you're allowing anybody to play that role of a profiling officer because they feel threateneded by a black person -- >> at least stand the ground, debate -- you can't overturn what the jury decided in the trial -- >> which was based on self-defense and not stand your ground. >> there's much more unanimity. there's a law that florida should be debating. because that was the total predicate for the ruling that you ended up getting. >> particularly since we know the police, when zimmerman contacted then, said, look, back

away -- don't stand your ground, stand down. >> he didn't hear the "stand down" part. >> coming u on "morning joe," best selling author daniel silva. he joins us in just a few moments. up next, how democratic kirsten gillibrand is gaining support from some of the most conservative voices in the senate. her plan to tackle sexual assault in the armed forces. also, chuck todd joins the conversation. first, here's bill carins. he's got a check on the forecast. >> before i get to the heat wave, around the globe, there's still some crazy weather going on. one of those areas is in china where they've had some epic flooding. look at that, that bridge just washed right out. just torrents of water. people -- what are they doing? they're catching fish. in the middle of the road.

that's pretty crazy stuff. lunch for everyone i guess. let's talk about the heat wave here back in the states. we are already watching upper 80s. when you walk out the door in washington, d.c. and richmond, those are the hottest spots on the map so far. everyone's in the game. 48 out of 50 states. only two states will likely not hit 90 degrees today. la alaska's being one of them. areas of new mexico. we get the cooldown starting friday. sunday, the cooler air will arrive in the northeast. for areas in the west, the heat wave's going to remain for the foreseeable future. one of those spots today that could be about 105 on the heat index scale, st. louis, and one of the hotter days you've had in a while. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. every day we're working to be an even better company -

and to keep our commitments. and we've made a big commitment to america. bp supports nearly 250,000 jobs here. through all of our energy operations, we invest more in the u.s. than any other place in the world. in fact, we've invested over $55 billion here in the last five years - making bp america's largest energy investor. our commitment has never been stronger. vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote.

usaa. we know what it means to serve. all this produce from walmart and secretly served it up in the heart of peach country. it's a fresh-over. we want you to eat some peaches and tell us what you think. they're really juicy. it must have just come from the farm. this right here is ideal for me. walmart works directly with growers to get you the best quality produce they've ever had. what would you do if i told you all this produce is from walmart? wow! is it really? (laughter) find fresh peaches and all your quality produce. backed by our 100% money back guarantee. walmart. wi drive a ford fusion. who is healthier, you or your car? i would say my car. probably the car. cause as you get older you start breaking down. i love my car. i want to take care of it. i have a bad wheel - i must say. my car is running quite well. keep your car healthy with the works. $29.95 or less after $10 mail-in rebate at your participating ford dealer. so you gotta take care of yourself? yes you do. you gotta take care of your baby?

oh yeah!

i have to tell you, entering the committee hearing undecided, i was persuaded by senator gillibrand's exceptionally passionate and able advocacy. >> i always thought the motive was good for the bill but i think the bill's even stronger. i see no reason why conservatives shouldn't support this. the only thing i think standing in the way is just sort of the status quo. >> here with us now, democratic senator from new york, senator kirsten gillibrand. and nbc news political director

chuck todd. andrea mitchell and sam stein back as well. what does kirsten gillibrand, ted cruz and rand paul have in common? >> we're fighting sexual assault in the military and we're listening to the victims. >> peace breaks out. i mean, ways goihat's going on? we got them hugging each other. you've got chuck schumer saying john mccain -- >> the senate works swimmingly. >> everybody's saying the senate's working now. >> when you look at different things. this didn't surprise me at the rand paul front. end of the day, he's a civil libertarian, sort of his ideology of protecting somebody's -- >> what about cruz? >> about softening his own image? i assume he reads his own press clips. if he really does want to run for president seriously, these are the things you do.

you go find some ways to not look like you're a stereotype. >> congratulations, that's fantastic news. how did it happen? >> well, i spoke to each of them individually about the issues they had been focused on. ted came to the committee hearing undecided when we were debating this issue as a committee to decide the defense authorization bill. i made an impassioned plea about the 26,000 cases and the fact that only 3,000 are being reported and only 1 in 10 are going to trial and that what the victims are telling us is they don't trust the chain of command. they're not reporting these cases because they don't think justice can be done. of the people who do report, 62% are actually being retaliated against. so the command climate is not such that a victim can come forward without thinking she'll lose her whole military career. >> exactly. >> that was an argument, frankly, that ted cruz thought was very persuasive. they decided that commanders just aren't objective.

they may know the victim. they may look bad for a sexual assault in their unit. what our allies that we fight side by side with, such as the kumt and israel, have taken the decisions about whether to go to trial for felonies, serious crimes, out of the chain and give to trained military prosecutors. >> one of the points you've been making is that for people who are unjustly accused as well, taking the commanders out of this is a good thing, because you never know what biases might exist for a defendant, for someone who's been accused. >> correct. that's what the uk did. there was a murder trial and the defendant said i can't get a fair trial if the commander's making the decisions. they thought as a matter of justice, you needed that trained, you know, impartial objective review by trained military prosecutors. that's what we're doing. >> what i don't understand is the people would make the argument that keeping the commanders there is important for unit cohesion.

when you look at the numbers that you and even some of the allies on the broader issue like claire mccaskill who's not agreeing with you on chain of command, anyone who looks at this, looks at the numbers of reported incidents and prosecuted cases has to say unit cohesion isn't working with the current system. >> right, exactly. >> there are assaults of men and women. >> to make it clear, commanders are not off the hook. commanders are in charge of setting the command climate and making sure these rapes don't happen and if they do happen making sure there's such a command climate that that victim feels comfortable coming forward. in no way are they less responsible. they're more responsible as they've always been. we've heard from every secretary of defense since dick cheney was our secretary of defense that there's zero tolerance for sexual assault. they've been in charge for 25 years. there's not a member of congress would agrees today they're getting it right.

so we need a real reform that has a chance of giving our victim's justice. >> there's an interesting split. which is sort of -- you can call it generational or establishment. but it is interesting that who you're up against in this, who are against your bill, it's carl levin, it's people that have been in the senate a while, maybe more trusting of the pentagon perhaps or more established relationships. >> it's an old guard/new guard deal. >> speaking of cheney -- >> cheney. >> you brought up the name. liz cheney running. proving that in politics, friendship, plech. >> so in 2014, a bush from texas and a cheney from wyoming. this race is going to be -- is it about wyoming or ideology? if it's about ideology, she wins. >> what are the differences? >> i think it's going to be

temperament. i think it's generational. this whole confrontational style versus -- it's basically -- >> that's actually a fundamental divide in the republican party right now. and i've learned this through the years. ideology really doesn't matter. votes -- for instance on this show, i've been against obama care. i've been against the bailouts. i've been against stimulus. i've been against every major domestic piece of legislation. i've been very critical of the president's foreign policy on many fronts. but i don't hate the president. i like the president. i respect him as a man. i like the people that work around him. you know what i'm saying. it is -- it's not about ideology these days. for many people, it's about temperament. >> how does liz cheney prosecute -- >> first of all, do you agree with that? >> i completely agree.

there was no difference between ted cruz and david duhurst down in texas. it was more the confrontational style versus none. but the guy who the obama administration and a whole bunch of senator s were trying to get during health care. in enzi was the guy -- >> that's amazing, this guy would never voted for the billion -- >> bob bennett is the classic case, really good senator would got -- >> in liz chaeney's defense her, enzi has given off every hint he wasn't going to run again. >> also, let's not overestimate, andrea, you'll know this as well as anybody here, just how big the cheney name is in wyoming. this goes back, this is a guy who was a young guy, one of the youngest chief of staffs in white house history.

dick cheney for so many years has been their favorite son. he's done extraordinary things in the state, for the state. he's always gone back to the state. there's nobody that believes that dick cheney would rather be in washington, d.c. working politics instead of being home fly-fishing. >> absolutely. in her video announcing this, they points out that her great great grandparents, i think i have the number of greats correct, in 1907, they were pioneers in wyoming on both sides of her family. she's not a newcomer to the state. i don't think carpetbagger label can stick with her. she went to grade school and high school there. >> -- bad form that she wants to run for office -- >> you know ways interesting, we're getting a new group of young women interested in public service. this is something i think is very important for the long term and health and well being of the nation. what we find so much is the women of the senate are often the ones who find common ground and work on a bipartisan basis.

on the sexual assault issue, there were almost a dozen pieces legislation and almost every single woman senator was on at least one piece, if not two pieces. so i like the fact that more young women are finding it interesting to take on these tough senate challenges. we have allison grimes looking at running in kentucky against the republican leader. that is a big race. >> by the way, as mika said before, it's very fascinating, senator, when men decide they're going to jump into a race like that, boy, he's got verve, he's strong, he's going in, rough and tumble. liz cheney does it, it's, quote, bad form. >> she has more ties to wyoming than hillary clinton did to new york, let's remember that. >> what these women candidates are bringing forward is this whole image change, that i'm going to work to get things done, i'm going to be the, you know, honest broker. i think when we have these young candidates coming in, oftentimes as, really, the change agents, it can be very dynamic. we saw what heidi hidecamp did

in north dakota. a big deal. a very red state won by someone who the voters trusted. that we can see that in many of these races i think. we're looking for candidates in other states as well. stephanie sh reyolk, she may decide to run in montana, which can be extremely exciting. >> exciting to me that 46 years old is now being defined as young. >> thank you, you have no idea how much that means to me. >> you might be a little bit surprised. you can imagine the wyoming cutture where they just say get the government out of this issue, who care, right. >> that could be a social issue. as enzi choose to try to create that with a divide with her, to go to her right on something. >> senator gillibrand, thank you very much. and, chuck, we'll see you straight ahead on "the daily rundown." coming up, a north korean ship loaded with military equipment is busted after leaving cuba.

details on what was hidden under bags of sugar. >> it's not what you think. >> that's next on "morning joe." also, amazon calls it one of the best books of the month. author daniel silva with his brand-new thriller "the english girl." back in a moment.

american express credit card, every purchase earns you 2% cash back, which is deposited in your fidelity account. is that it? actually... there's no annual fee and no limits on rewards. and with the fidelity cash management account debit card, you get reimbursed for all atm fees. is that it? oh, this guy, too. turn more of the money you spend into money you invest. it's everyday reinvesting for your personal economy. i dbefore i dosearch any projects on my home. i love my contractor, and i am so thankful to angie's list for bringing us together. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

no-charge scheduled maintenance. check. and here's the kicker... 0% apr for 60 months. and who got it? this guy. and who got it? this guy. and who got it? this guy. that's right... [ male announcer ] it's the car you won't stop talking about. ever. hurry in to the volkswagen best. thing. ever. event. and get 0% apr for 60 months, now until july 31st. that's the power of german engineering.

authorities in panama say they found soviet missile radar components apparently smuggled aboard a north korean freighter that departed from cuba, if you can believe it. nbc's mark potter has the story. >> reporter: while it lacked the drama of some of the high seas encounters of the red scare years, it does appear two old enemies of the u.s. were caught red handed. panamanian officials said they first detained the ship because they suspected it carried illegal drugs. they found something entirely different. panama's president called it, quote, undeclared war-like cargo originating in cuba. he even tweeted a photo. the president said when the ship was boarded the crew of 35 resisted and the north korean captain had what appeared to be

a heart attack, then tried to commit suicide. what the panamanians found hidden under sugar containers from cuba were pieces of a lark weapons system, apparently part of an aging soviet era surface to air missile unit. >> this looks very much like an air defense system radar rather than the kind of ballistic technology that would pose a real threat or potential their pose a threat to other parts of the world. >> reporter: u.s. officials tell nbc news the equipment was likely headed to north korea to be refurbished and sold on the global arms market for cash. that would violate international sanctions against north korean arms trafficking of which there have been many examples in recent years. >> any shipment of arms or related materials would violate u.n. security council resolutions. >> reporter: u.s. officials left no doubt they are working closely with panama. >> we commend their actions. we are in touch with them. >> reporter: panama says it intends to search the ship

thoroughly to see what else it can find and to explain where the equipment came from, where it was going and why it was hidden on a north korean ship. >> there you go, lots of questions. speaking of international intrigue, joining us now in new york, "new york times" best selling author daniel silva. he's out with his latest thriller, "the english girl." daniel, it is great to have you back. >> daniel, you're there in your city. we got to tell everybody, if you hate me, if you hate "morning joe," if this is the scourge of your existence, you are now looking at the man you can blame. because the first morning we were on, both daniel and jamie gengel called bill griffin and said, if you don't keep joe and mika in their chairs, you guys are out of your mind. >> he was my producer briefly, volunteering to help us in decision 2000.

>> really? >> let me tell you, dan, it's all your fault. do you know that he has such a fan base that people come up to me on the streets of washington and say, do you know dan silva. it's true. >> it's unbelievable. these books sell more than the guttenberg bible. why is it that your series keep getting bigger and bigger with every book? what a rabid fan base. >> i think it has to do with the unique aspects of his character and that he is an intelligence officer and a spy but also that he's an art restorer and the bifurcated nature of the character appeals to two different kinds of audiences. it's not a traditional male character that's, you know, some writers produce. so i frankly have a lot of female readers that a lot of guys don't necessarily have.

it's a reflection of the character itself. >> so talk "the english girl." it's a novel based on actual events from 2010. >> it was inspired by the fact that, you know, 25 years after the cold war, supposedly ended, we discovered in 2010 there was a network of russian spies, illegal russian spies, russians living here under false identities trying to gather intelligence and trying to recruit agents. it was a reminder to all of us that, you know, the cold war may have ended but we remain the primary target and the primary obsession of russian intelligence. and i think it should also be a reminder that as mika's father said on this very progress a couple of months ago, russia is not an ally of the united states, russia does not want to be an ally of the united states, russia sees itself as a rival of the united states. and it's about time that we sort of stop hitting reset buttons.

stop hitting reset buttons, accept facts as they are, and sort of approach russia realistically. i mean, john kerry went to moscow a few weeks ago to see vladimir putin to discuss syria and what did putin do? he kept him waiting in his ante room for three hours. >> unbelievable. >> is that something that a friend does to a friend? no. he's trying to humiliate our secretary of state on that occasion because, as mika's father said, so wisely, he is seething with resentment towards the united states. and what is he doing in syria? he is in effect siding on the say side of the syrian conflict as the assad regime and hezbollah and the iranians. is that where russia wants to be on its foreign policy? it's pretty striking. >> a lot of it is where russia wants to be though.

you talk about the 2010 development of spies in the u.s. but this is about the uk and britain so is it giving away too much to tell us how russia gets involved here? >> it would be giving away a little too much but i can tell you how the plot unfolds. that is there is a beautiful young woman at the beginning of the novel named madeleine heart. she is a rising star in british -- inside the british governing party. i very carefully don't say who's in power in britain at this time. but she works at party headquarters. and she vanishes while on holiday on the island of corsica. this presents a problem for the british prime minister because madeleine heart is his mistress. a ransom note arrives. she must be found before she can be killed. he has a difficult choice to make. does he go to the police and risk destroying his career or ask gabriel lawn --

>> and what do you do -- >> you hire gabriel lawn when your mistress gets kidnapped. >> one of the things about your books, you mentioned the kerry/put be meeting, you know more about foreign policy and intelligence, you are absolutely up to the minute. how do you balance the writing time from the reporting time? you are completely plugged in and that's what makes the book so authentic. >> because we -- you and i lead a similar life in washington, d.c. i mean, people don't really understand -- >> i think yours is a lot more glamorous. >> well, listen, we live for this stuff. we're focused on daily events and what's going on in news from the minute we get up in the morning till we go to bed at night. a big hunk of my time is obviously devoted to fiction but i am a former journalist. my day starts with "morning joe" for a few minutes on the way down to my office.

>> i'm sorry, you too? >> wake up 15 minutes earlier, come on. >> i've never been able to, you know, kick the habit of being a complete news junky. it's natural for me to base my work off what's going on in the world around me. i'm endlessly fascinated by the world we have right now. i continue to plan to write about it. >> we all love it. >> he lives this stuff and he also lives with the great jamie gengel. >> the greatest. >> who is also a great help to me in my work. she is there for me to bounce my ideas off. she's my primary editor. she reads all my manuscripts. and she's just been a terrific source of support for me all these years. >> the book is "the english girl." you can read an excerpt on our websi website. >> you know what i'm going to do? >> what? >> i'm going to read it for a few minutes before going to work.

>> just a few every morning. >> thank you, dan. >> mojo.msnbc.com. >> thank you for giving us your job. >> up next, today's business headlines with cnbc's kelly evans. i want to make things more secure. [ whirring ] [ dog barks ]

i want to treat more dogs. ♪ our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business? i need help selling art. [ male announcer ] from broadband to web hosting to mobile apps, small business solutions from at&t have the security you need to get you there. call us. we can show you how at&t solutions can help you do what you do... even better. ♪ should have disrupted man. instead, man raised a sail. and made "farther" his battle cry. the new ram 1500 -- motor trend's 2013 truck of the year -- the most fuel-efficient half-ton truck on the road -- achieving best-in-class 25 highway miles per gallon. guts. glory. ram.

thto fight chronic. osteoarthritis pain. achieving best-in-class 25 highway miles per gallon. to fight chronic low back pain. to take action. to take the next step. today, you will know you did something for your pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a pain reliever fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. anti-depressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not for children under 18. people taking maois, linezolid or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes.

tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. take the next step. talk to your doctor. cymbalta can help. welcome back to "morning joe" as you take a live look at times square. let's now go to cnbc's kelly evans. >> good morning, so much going on. in fact, it's hard to keep it all straight right now so i'll bring you what's happened. bernanke importantly releasing his testimony he will give to

congress at 10:00 a.m. he's releasing it 90 minutes early. the hopes is this gives people time to prepare relevant questions. the worry is it instead will allow some congressman to politically grandstand. here's the interpretation markets are taking from it. bernanke basically said he emphasizes that their current stimulus program depends on financial and economic developments. it can be increased. it can be decreased. it is by no means on a preset course. people are taking their cues from that to mean the fed still is flexible, still is accommodative. the ten-year has dropped. fupt urs have gone from negative to positive territory after those comments. we got a surprisingly weak home report on new construction last month. it doesn't necessarily line up with the other data we have been seeing. it just perhaps means a bit of a pause in june relative to the increase people were looking for. >> kelly, housing starts have been -- haven't they been pretty strong over the past several

months? >> they have. they jumped above the 1 million level back in march for the first time this cycle. remember, the level of home building activity has been at its lowest since the 60s. the pullback is surprising because home builder confidence yesterday was quite strong. the total number of units under construction that is in the process of being built did continue to rise last month so it may be just noise in the figures. >> thank you, kelly. comedian and actress jane lynch will be with us. still ahead this morning, stephen colbert takes on the absurdity of the royal baby watch. >> he talks about dilating. that's up next. (girl) what does that say? (guy) dive shop. (girl) diving lessons. (guy) we should totally do that. (girl ) yeah, right. (guy) i wannna catch a falcon! (girl) we should do that.

(guy) i caught a falcon. (guy) you could eat a bug. let's do that. (guy) you know you're eating a bug. (girl) because of the legs. (guy vo) we got a subaru to take us new places. (girl) yeah, it's a hot spring. (guy) we should do that. (guy vo) it did. (man) how's that feel? (guy) fine. (girl) we shouldn't have done that. (guy) no. (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

fso you're worried about housef fires? stop smoking. manage your wires. watch out for space heaters. clean the chimney. get one of these. cool the romance. and of course, talk to farmers. hi. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum♪

ever... she let him plan the vacation. "off the beaten path"... he said.

"trust me"... he implored. alas, she is beginning to seriously wonder... why she ever doubted... the booking genius. planet earth's number one accomodation site: booking.com booking.yeah! the great kate wait continues. >> will it be a boy, will it be a girl. >> the uk is abuzz with excitement. the u.s. is a buzz with excitement. >> the whole world is a buzz. the whole galaxy is a buzz. i mean, kate the great is three days late! i just can't wait for her to dilate!

i mean, when, when, when? you know the hospital will have the finest horse-drawn gurney. and i can't wait to see the changing of the guards in front of the royal birth canal. and the epidural administered by dumbledore while elton john on piano plays "placenta in the wind." in oklahoma, a vandalized men's wearhouse store. they were mad about the firing of the founder george zimmer. because unlike george zimmerman, he does like the way you look. so that's it. >> we'll be taking a look at the pros and cons of being a major league all-star. the baseball all-star game was played tonight at citifield in new york city. very exciting time for the players. we actually got a bunch of all-stars to help us out with tonight's list. justin verlander of the detroit

tigers. pro, seeing 68-year-old a.l. manager jim leyland in the dugout. con -- >> seeing him in the steam room. >> david wright of the mets. pro, smacking a dinger in front of new yorkers. here we go. con. >> as anthony weiner calls that, just another day at the office. >> all right. >> unbelievable. >> you see all those shots of the networks covering the royal baby stuff? it's insane. >> it's stupidity. >> they're doing betting odds on the baby's name. what if we took all this produce from walmart and secretly served it up in the heart of peach country. it's a fresh-over. we want you to eat some peaches and tell us what you think. they're really juicy. it must have just come from the farm. this right here is ideal for me.

walmart works directly with growers to get you the best quality produce they've ever had. what would you do if i told you all this produce is from walmart? wow! is it really? (laughter) find fresh peaches and all your quality produce. backed by our 100% money back guarantee. walmart. and you wouldn't have it any other way.e. but your erectile dysfunction - you know, that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready.

and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. since aflac is helping with his expenses while he can't work, he can focus on his recovery. he doesn't have to worry so much about his mortgage, groceries, or even gas bills. kick! kick... feel it! feel it! feel it! nice work!

♪ you got it! you got it! yes! aflac's gonna help take care of his expenses. and us...we're gonna get him back in fighting shape. ♪ [ male announcer ] see what's happening behind the scenes at aflac.com. and you know what i walked out with? [ slurps ] [ dad ] a new passat. [ dad ] 0% apr. 60 months. done and done. [ dad ] in that driveway is a german-engineered piece of awesome. that i got for 0% apr. good one, dad. thank you, dalton. [ male announcer ] it's the car you won't stop talking about. ever. hurry in to the volkswagen best. thing. ever. event. and get 0% apr for 60 months, now until july 31st. that's the power of german engineering. and get 0% apr for 60 months, now until july 31st. resoft would be great, but we really just need "kid-proof." softsprings got both, let me show you. right over here. here, feel this. wow, that's nice. wow.

the soft carpets have never been this durable. you know i think we'll take it. get kid-friendly toughness and feet-friendly softness, without walking all over your budget. he didn't tell us it would do this. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, get whole-home installation for just 37 bucks. welcome back to "morning joe." let's talk about what we learned today. i learned it is 18 degrees below zero in this portion of the studio. i'm not really sure why. i think we go right through that door and have the spacewalk. brian, new york, what have you learned? >> i'm lonely. i learned that loneliness is tough. i also learned, by the way, the sec should just branch off from the rest of college football. let's just have the nfl, the sec and everybody else. >> i like it. what have you learned? >> i learned if you watch this show, you shouldn't do what

daniel silva did and say you only watch a couple minutes in the morning. three hours or nothing. >> you've got to keep doing it. >> my day of being a princess is over. i'm going to go return this address to adrien now. it was fun, it was fun. >> it's if way too early, it is "morning joe." stick around. chuck todd is back. the trial is over and it is time to figure out what's happening in washington, d.c. right now. a personal perspective. attorney general holder tells naacp leaders action in the form of the zimmerman verdict will likely result in a review of stand your ground statutes. president putin's infamous airport guest prompts one top u.s. senator float the idea of the u.s. boycotting the olympics in russia. plus, a shootout