it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ robert ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. race in america, new and surprising reaction today to president obama's comments about the killing of trayvon martin a day after big rallies across this country. deadly ride. new details today on a tragedy at one popular amusement park. how could someone fall out of a 14 story roller coaster. living on minimum wage salary, how a new suggested budget by the folks at

mcdonald's is stirring controversy and why the fast-food industry says it's not what it means. breaking bad, a television revolution that's happening right before our eyes. hello, everyone. high noon in the west, welcome, i'm alex witt. we have news to share about a woman who fell to her death from a roller coaster in tech. they have identified rosie esparza of dallas visiting the park for the first time. live in arlington tech texas. charles, good day to you. what else do we know about the victim and the circumstances. >> good morning, alex. according to investigators, rosie esparza, this was her first time to the park according to family members. they say she was having a pretty good time. now investigators are focusing in on the first few moments of a thrill ride that turned deadly

within seconds. investigators today are working to answer tough questions at six flags over texas in arlington, a day and a half after the woman was ejected from the texas giant roller coaster. >> the guys behind the lady said right after the first bump she flew out. >> reporter: witnesses revealing terrifying moments and possible insight into the cause of the accident. brown told news she expressed concern about the security of her security belt. >> she asked them to check her more than once. they said as long as you heard it click you're okay. >> reporter: they issued a statement to say, it would be a disservice to the family to speculate regarding what transpired. this is the second deadly accident at the park since its opening in 1961. in 1999, a woman drowned and 10 others injured in a rafting

accident. the texas giant is one of the park's biggest thrill rides with a height of more than 14 stories and a drop of more than 147 feet. for now it remain closed as officials figure out how the ride went from thrilling to deadly in mere seconds. six flags is open today but the ride is at a standstill until investigators can figure out exactly what went wrong. alex. >> i want to confirm reports that this woman's children were riding with her. they saw their mother fly out of that ride. >> the children were in her 20s and they were riding with her. they did see her fly out of the car in the first curve of the roller coaster. >> pretty awful. incredible. thank you so much, charles hadlock. >> lets go from there to washington and president obama's surprising reactions to his comments on race. >> this town has been spinning a story not all together true.

he did not walk to the podium for an impromptu address to the nation. he was pushed to that podium. a week of protests outside the white house, pressure building on him inside the white house pushed him to that podium. >> i disagree in a profound way. president obama has been talking about race and doing things about race for a long time. the reality is that he walked to the podium, he walked to the podium. he wasn't pushed. he walked to the podium. he's been trying to have this conversation. this was the event in the criminal justice that pushed him over the level. >> good day to you kristen. do you think this is what the white house expected? >> reporter: well, alex, good afternoon. i certainly don't think the white house is surprised by those two reactions. the president, the white house has been paying close attention to the reaction to the george zimmerman verdict every since it was handed down last weekend, both within the african-american community and across the

country. some african-american leaders have been speaking to the white house directly urging president obama to speak out on the issue of race in the wake of this verdict. so the white house, the president well aware of the fact that there are heated emotions, there are deep divisions even within the african-american community about what role president obama should play moving forward. remember, alex, the president was not only speaking to african-americans, he was -- i think he was to some extent validating the heated response to the george zimmerman verdict but he was also speaking to white americans helping to explain why we saw such a strong response to the verdict. the other interesting point, alex, for all of the fireworks this morning on "meet the press" and other morning talk shows, there seemed to be broad agreement and bipartisan agreement that there should be a review of state and local laws, particularly the stand your ground law, which, of course, helped jurors come to their verdict. john mccain today on cnn says he

believes it's worth reviewing that law. it exists in some form in 30 states across the country. take a listen to what president of the urban league had to say on "meet the press." >> the most important thing is that the stand your ground law is one of the things that incited and ignited i believe this movement across the nation, which i think, david, is the beginning of a new civil rights movement. >> that's really a powerful idea, alex, that this might be the start of a new civil rights movement. it is something, an idea that was echoed yesterday when we saw protesters span out across the country, 100 different cities and saw trayvon martin's parents engage in two of those event. i think there's going to be a lot of focus on that. the president and legal experts have downplayed the idea that the attorney general would be able to file a civil rights lawsuit. alex. >> okay. kristen welker at the white house. thanks so much, kristen.

meanwhile parents of trayvon martin say they will keep fighting for their son in a day thousands rallied across the country. crowds justice for trayvon martin called for civil rights charges against zimmerman for the shooting death of the teenager in florida. spoke atrialies. >> trayvon not hear to speak for himself. very important as parents, godparents, aunts, uncles, you speak up for these children. >> one of our biggest missions is to make sure we advocate against senseless violence. senseless violence is a disease. >> joining me now, msnbc contributor and managing editor of the goldie taylor project and tremain lee. welcome to both of you. i'll begin with you, tremain. these rallies are labeled

justice for trayvon. do you think there's more to this and more to it than just looking for the government to bring civil rights charges against george zimmerman. >> certainly those calling for the justice department to get involved making sure doj looks further into this. part of this is galvanizing all the energy, all the support around the country and not only standing up for the main trayvons who have been stereotypes or not but pushing back against stand your ground laws, laws that seem to embolden some who are vigilantes. it's much bigger than justice for trayvon, it's a movement, trying to galvanize politically. >> may be the start of another civil rights movement, not necessarily reflected in the white house but talking that way. to both of you, i want to play a portion of "meet the press," first tavist smiley, followed by harvard law professor charles ogilvy, here it is. >> this town spinning a story not all together true. he did not walk to the podium

for an impromptu address to the nation. he was pushed to that podium a week of pressure outside the white house, pressure inside the white house pushed him to that podium. >> i disagree with tavis in a profound way. president obama has been talking about race and doing things about race for a long time. the reality is he walked to the podium. he wasn't pushed to the podium, he walked to the podium. he's been trying to have this conversation. this was the event that pushed him to the level. >> goldie, to you first. this was a conversation the president had, 17, 18 minutes from the podium, no notes. he spoke from the heart by all accounts. who do you think is right in that assessment? >> i think professor olgivy is right. president obama has been at that podium on these and similar issues since the moment he was sworn in as president. so the very notion he was pushed anywhere, that he was forced to put his american story on the table is simply ludicrous.

i think we have to begin to check the motivations of the people talking like that about this president in this time of healing. the fact is this is more than about trayvon martin, although that is a big issue in and of itself but about african-american men and boys and their plight in this country. do they wake up in the morning aspects in do they have the same economic opportunities as their brothers and sisters in this country? i think it is about time we do have a brand-new civil rights movement that focuses on them and people who share their plight. yes, i take issue with tavis smiley and anyone else who wants to convey that sentiment. we need to be careful who we give license to. >> in regard to the two sound bites you heard, who is right, also based on what goldie said. she's outlining a multi-layered complex problem some would say

is in the bloodstream of america. can one person like the president be successful at cleansing this bloodstream, if you will. >> on one side you have people saying the president isn't black enough and aggressive enough in addressing needs and frustrations of black america. on other side you have people call him a racist. daily in dignities in general and black men face. beyond petty slights but surfaces when dealing with law enforcement, in the criminal justice system and throughout society. so do we need action apparently? of course we do. that's the way people around the country are galvanizing around issues. for the leader of the free world for president obama to come out and address the blackest moment of his presidency addressing those needs it goes a long way. so many people emboldened by his election in the first place. to hold the mirror and say are

we doing enough to make sure plaque men and black boys feel part of this nation, are we going far enough. not only a dialogue in the black community but white america, white households. >> you both agree with professor ogilvy not tavis smiley? >> i do. tavis in the past has done a good job of trying to hold president obama's feet to the fire. at some question we have to question what's going on here. >> sfwg from tavis smiley, said the president is the right person at the right place at the right time and he must essentially seize the day. is that fair? >> no, i don't think it's fair. i think, again, we have to understand what's happening here. i think there are some history that is still unfolding between tavis, at least as tavis sees it and this president that undergirds all these unfortunate remarks he continues to make.

certainly there is nothing perfect about this perfect and this presidency. we all have our share of things we would like to see done better, more aggressively, certainly. but to take the daily potshots you hear from tavis smiley, his cohort brother cornel west, at a time we ought to be together about the same mission of add advancing the plight of black men and boise find it tragic. >> here is more, goldie, about what the president said. >> when i talk to malia and sasha and i listen to their friends and i see them interact, they are better than we are. they are better than we were on these issues. that's true in every community i visited all across the country. >> must we rely on the passing of generations to make things better.

he says things are better. is better good enough, if we have to wait for time to help amend itself? >> i think there are things we have to do here and now. i think in generations past there were obligations they had to act on, execute on and i think they did it and did it well. the fact of the matter is, as our generations grow and move about this planet, they learn more about one another, connect more fully together. i do think generations coming tend to move the values and morays of a society. i think our young people once again, just as they did in the civil rights movement, they are leading the way. >> do you think tremain that racism is an issue, that no one group of conversations can fix, it is just the passage of time, education, understanding, empathy? >> it's going to take more than conversation, i'm not sure where empathy is a partisan issue. until black men in general and

black men specifically adopt have to struggle with internalizing fears, stereotypes and finding value in that, we're always going to struggle, always that separation and division. every turn we take, seems again there's another hurdle and having to deal with the way people see us. it's a struggle. >> tremain, thank you for your time. goldie taylor, you in atlanta as well. appreciate it. >> thank you. getting by on the job at mcdonald's, new controversy over a budget plan suggested by the fast-food giant. could you survive? f." 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. vietnam in 1972.

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a new debate flared over minimum wage spurred by an unlikely source. fast-food giant mcdonald's, it produced a suggested plan for minimum wage employees but the sample budget filled out by mcdonald's is drawing attention to low in come struggles, particularly the second line on this work sheet that makes a

provision for a second job. critics are calling it proof that it's nearly impossible to survive on a single minimum wage paycheck. others are saying thought so fast. joining me here, the staff attorney at the national employment law project. thank you for being here. give your assessment of the sample budget from mcdonald's. >> looking at the budget i had two immediate reactions. first, there's no line in there for things like food, clothing, gas. >> child care. >> child care. so mcdonald's is essentially conceding in order for a minimum wage worker at its fast-food store they have to rely on publicly funded subsidies like food stamps. you are subsidizing rock bottom wages we're paying our workers. the second thing, highly revealing. you know what, we know you can't get by on the paycheck, you have

to get a second job to make ends meet on laughable budget. >> this is a 35-hour a week paycheck and they are saying you have to get another 40-hour a week paycheck. >> more and more americans in our economy are working fast-food jobs and other low wage jobs. these are adults, not teenagers. they say these are teens, entry level jobs. no median age for fast-food workers in this country is 29 years old. in general 88% of workers make less than $10 an hour are adults. a third have some college education, many of them are supporting families. these are not entry level teen jobs mcdonald's and other big corporations would like you to believe they are. >> i want you to read something from the huffington pors. the employee is supposed to get another job to bring home san diego,000 in additional funds. how much is allotted for child care while such people are toiling for 70 and 80 hours a week? zero.

that is a valid point. they expect people to work around the clock and not sleep. >> basically people are not human, just machines. at $7.20, that's $15,000 a year assuming one fulltime job. that is nearly not enough to support yourself let alone a family in high-cost cities. the problem is our minimum wage is so low, it has declined in value every 40 years because it only goes up when congress can get its act together to pass an increase. >> they are saying a sample budget. by no means is mcdonald's telling employees this is how we're going to pay you and this is how to spend the money. >> they are acknowledging you can't make it on fast-food paycheck. >> business insiders, here is what he says mcdonald's does not mean, you need a second job to survive, simply providing a budgeting tool where one individual works multiple jobs or two individuals are employed, perhaps they are thinking these

might be two in come families, young kids rooming together, sharing expenses of rooming together, which is totally reasonable according to gus. your reaction to that is? >> even if that's the case, what mcdonald's intended, it's still not enough to make ends meet. what mcdonald's and others could do is raise pay, raise it so workers can survive, they don't have to rely on subsidies. there were fast-food workers going on strike across the country, some living in homeless shelters, working fulltime jobs and living in homeless shelters. a lot had higher paying jobs. >> i need to read the statement mcdonald's has given us they say in part. as part of the program several resources developed including sample budgeting journal, interactive website with information. the samples on this site are generic examples to provide a general outline of what an individual budget may look like.

so your thoughts to that. they are not taking ownership saying this is what you must do, here is one way to look how to pay you. >> the only way the math works, which mcdonald's has implicitly acknowledged putting forth these calculators, either you have to work two jobs or rely on taxpayer funded subsidies to make ends meet. mcdonald is an incredibly profitable corporation, other low wage workers like walmart, young brands, they are enjoying profits, in some cases higher than they were before the recession, absolutely afford to pay more. it is bad -- it is not good for economic recovery to build a recovery on these poverty wage jobs. >> you make a good point. thank you for the conversation. >> thank you. it is a television phenomenon you might miss, involves a lot more than breaking bad. the author of a new book tess all. ♪

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we leave on the east coast, meteorologist here with more. you said it was going to be cooler. it's not cool. come on, it's summer. >> it's certainly not cool. mid to upper 80s, but not mid to upper 90s with that feels like temperature above 100 degrees. we are seeing improvements. in fact in new england it is nice and comfortable. 77 in boston, 76 albany, new york is 84. washington, d.c. is still up around 90 degrees. the cold front trying to move through the area right now. it's a 17 degree temperature difference than where we were 24 hours ago in boston, about 5 degrees cooler in new york. it is more humid. that's what makes it feel more refreshing and comfortable. trying to move through the mid-atlantic, has showers and storms with it. also down across the gulf coast states we have moisture, tropical moisture producing days and days of rain. 18 of the last 20 days in

atlanta had seen at least a trace of rainfall. we are going to see perhaps an inch over the next 48 hours. for today temperatures much more manageable. still in the 80s and 90s. it is still summer. tomorrow we are looking for temperatures to stay in the 70s and 80s across the northeast. that's going to stick around all week long. >> we love you for that. thank you very much. all good. in today's number ones, travel websites listed, america's most overrated cities may be for tourists, ranks big apple as the fourth most overrated city calling it expensive, loud and rude, asheville, north carolina fifth, top three, las vegas gets ripped off for cheesiness, l.a. for lacking substance. miami is most overrated for being the most vein city in the country. new study of the leading economies, u.s. most innovative country, britain second, germany

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[ crowd cheering ] oh, he's down in flames and now the ice-cold shoulder. one last play... no, game over! gps take him to the dog house. [ male announcer ] make a powerful first impression. the all-new nissan sentra. ♪ welcome back to weekends with alex witt. time for headlines at the half. police investigating a possible copy cat killer case in east cleveland, ohio. three bodies have been found. all appear to be female wrapped in plastic. a 35-year-old registered sex offender in custody. police say he's obsessed with convicted serial killer accused of killing 11 women in cleveland in 2011. a hard landing in oregon balloon event, crashed into a canal and then a field. journalist with nbc affiliate was aboard the balloon and that

crash and recorded this video. everyone was okay. brazilians awaiting arrival of pope francis. rio de janeiro, first pilgrimage in his papacy, meet with people on the beach, and prisoner. brazil is the world's largest catholic country. new reaction on president obama's surprise address on friday when he discussed trayvon martin and race in america. on "meet the press," host tavis smiley argued the president has been leading from behind on race. >> the president, again, is the right person at the right place at the right time to do more. i'm not a part of that anything is enough generation. i want the president to step in this moment as coleman just pointed out and lead us in a complex conversation about difficult issues. i don't want him to shrink from the calling of this moment historically and regret this later on. >> joining me now is hillary shelton, naacp vice president for advocacy and policy.

hillary, welcome. nice to see you. >> nice to see you. >> tavis said comments too little too late, the president was pushed to the podium. what do you think about the comments of tavis smiley. >> it's important the president was at the podium. it's important we have conversations about this issue, life or death, in this case the death of a 17-year-old teenager kid, unarmed with nothing but candy and a soft drink. it's important we have the conversation regardless of the lateness of the time of day. >> in terms of the president's contribution here, is it enough for him to enter the dialogue on race or do you think there's some sort of substantive changes he needs to promote? >> he needs to get to the dialogue. our nation needs to get to the dialogue on race. we have the situation where policies in place as flawed and deeply in need of change as they are, it's in the context of what's happening in our country. here you have a jury that decided because of this person was african-american and because they were unarmed, somehow or

another it gives some advantage to the latino person shooting him through the heart. in this case we have to have a conversation on race as well. if we look at the impact of stand your ground laws across the country, what we see in the state of florida, one of the first states to do this, we've seen a 300% increase in so-called self-defense related homicides, disproportionately people of color, disproportionately african-american. in that context, what we're saying is a weighing of life. somehow or another we've decided african-american life has less value than white american life, can be taken so easily with no one having to pay the charges. we have to talk about this openly and thoroughly and we have to move in that context to utliize the power of the bully pulpit of the president to change state laws as well. >> a few words i want to listen to you from harvard law professor on "meet the press." >> people make him the black

president. he's the president who happens to be black. he can do for all of us but not simply focus on one issue. >> what is the expectation of this president. in those words there, do you think there's an unfair expectation of him. >> i don't think it's unfair. as a matter of fact, if you go back and look at one of the most open dial ocean the country had on race was because of president clinton. president clinton created a race commission. the job was to look at issues across the country and impact on race, whether it was housing, whether it was education, employment or in this case whether it was criminal justice. indeed, that dialogue began there. it was very healthy and helpful and that dialogue needs to continue. the extraordinary thing is the context in which we're having that conversation. our nation has come a long way to the point many americans, as a matter of fact, most americans elected an african-american president. let us continue to have that race in this new context. >> do you think this is a watershed moment for america?

do you see evidence this may be the beginning of a second civil rights movement? >> i think in many ways it is. it's like in sports. the question is the team that's always viewed as the winning team, won the game, the question is asked and commentators begin to look at how they managed the transition. our country is going through a major transition now. we're seeing that as more americans participate in political process. look at 2012, more americans turned out and voted because they have a stake in america. it's important our leaders lead and recognize, whether we win or lose, when our nation becomes depends on how we manage this transition. >> naacp's hillary shelton, thank you for being with us. >> we begin with chief foreign correspondent richard engel reflected on his thoughts while being held captive in syria last year. >> of course it was fright think. it was fright think.

but what was more disturbing intellectually was that i thought to myself, all right, this is it. my wife is going to be over and it's going to be ended by these people for a conflict i'm not part of. i'm going to die in this dirty little room or outside against a wall, i have other things i want to do. these guys are going to be the ones to determine this, this person in a ski mask. war was bringing out a side of their humanity, a very dark side of their humanity i think is in all of us. >> half of the people who say they are for background checks, they assume we do. >> it makes sense. >> wy wouldn't we? many people are very busy and their lives are very busy. most people i think do not -- definitely do not follow poll continues to the intensity of

somebody like me who does it for a living. >> lame duck is as lame duck acts. i think -- i don't know president obama well. i know him a little bit. i don't think he's going to be a lame duck in his own life for any day of the eight years. >> you get within your own community, you're not trusted because you're a republican. you're an uncle tom. you're a sellout. you have whites who look at you inside and outside the republican party, democrats included, look at you suspiciously. >> putting this show together, we just started. it's an intense process. it's a much more rigorous process. it's the nature of two hours on the weekend versus one hour on weekdays. >> who takes up the most air time. >> i don't know, alex. i don't know.

i don't count minutes. >> do you also co-founded air america? >> i did. >> why do you think it ultimately did not survive? was it timing or what? >> it ultimately didn't survive because there was kind of creepy people who started it that didn't have the money they said they had. >> what do the kids think when they saw mommy on tv? >> they thought it was great. >> really? you're going on tv again? >> mike tyson, your brother-in-law. what is that like? >> it's cool. mike tyson is a gem. he and my sister have known each other and had known each other a long time before they married. they were married for about five years. from that union, two beautiful kids were produced. >> i read you are the great, great, great-niece of general robert e. lee. >> yes. >> that's my mom's side, the lee

society, interesting history. my father's side we're descendants of slaves. >> i speak to my mother every single day. >> my father taught me you're always loved but never entitled. . >> we were campaigning in the italian market in the 1992 election. remember president bush had made the remark that he hated broccoli, so we were holding up broccoli. >> this beautiful picture of our entire family. >> you know he is enemy of joy. >> he's cute. new office politics, lawyer and celebrity star jones will be my guest. the government program that can monitor your every move. do license plate reading cameras cross the line of privacy? [ male announcer ] frequent heartburn? the choice is yours. chalky... not chalky.

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end of next career the mission is focused on training and equipping afghan military. part of that plan includes buying a billion dollars worth of russian helicopters for afghans. it is a controversy brewing in washington, though, because that money is going to the same state arms dealer supplying assad regime in bloody syrian war. pentagon watchdog says afghan military can't even use these helicopters. joining me now is democratic oncongressman. thank you for being here. this is a complicated story. i'd like to lay it out. it's a russian export, russian state-owned arms dealer. united states has three contracts with them for mi 17 helicopters. this equipment totals a billion point one dollars. you've passed future amendments to ban contracts.

why? >> first of all, we're looking at purchasing helicopters from state russian arms dealer as you pointed out. and the issue is that these are no good contracts here. this is also the arms dealer that is supplying syria with missiles and other weaponry. and we have passed, in fact, an amendment. you rarely get a vote in the house of representatives, 423-0 where we have voted. it was my amendment that would prohibit the sale of those helicopters, those contracts. >> i do want to say, here is what a defense department spokesperson said. it's in the public's and national security interest to keep the u.s. drawdown on track and they have to get these helicopters and russia is the only one that has them and manufactures them.

>> i think this is a hyperbole. we have one, aircraft, an opportunity to bid on that. >> that's true, no bids. these particular helicopters are designed specifically for afghanistan. there is a lot of altitude and a certain kind of lift in thinner air. apparently russia state arms dealers, russian contracts are the only ones that make this helicopter. >> i find that hard to believe, i truly do, since that, as he said, we have very competent helicopter manufacturers in the united states. i think that they could deal with the altitude. we've had plaque hawk helicopters in afghanistan. they have been in iraq. there are several. it is not just in my state. that's not the issue. the issue is first of all we are

purchasing helicopters from an arms dealer that, in fact, is supplying syria, where we've seen over 70 or 90,000 people who have been killed. >> ma'am, there's another opponent i want to make here, because we understand that the u.s. inspector general for afghanistan i should a report saying the afghans aren't even capable of flying or maintaining these helicopters. the pentagon i will see is strongly disagreeing with that. doesn't that say there are huge challenges here. >> very serious challenges here. in addition to that, the fact is this arms exporter has not even complied with the defense audit commission that is out there. there is so many issues here where quite frankly the department of defense -- by the way, what they did after that

423-0 vote in the house of representatives prohibiting them from doing this from one pod of money, they went around that. >> exactly. >> so i think this is so disingenuous. recently i organized along with my colleague kay grainger, this is a bipartisan issue. we have over 80 members of the house of representatives. we've written to secretary hagel asking why is this a national security issue, the syrian issue there, the no bid issue. we can maintain -- we can build these helicopters. they are built. they can be sent. it would appear the afghans can't fly, we can certainly train them to fly these helicopters as well. >> certainly this is a very meaty issue here. we'll have to head back another time. quickly before we let you go, issue you and speaker pelosi, when women succeed, america succeeds. what's the mission here?

>> economic agenda for women. women have been the most hardest hit in this economy, this recession, particularly unmarried women, single, widowed, separated, enormous pressures. women are paid $0.77 on the dollar, two-thirds of women are minimum wage workers. they are likely to be able to afford child care in order to be able to work. very simply it says there's three areas, pay, paid leave, and child care. what we want to do is women are struggling. what they need to do is raise their in come, make sure they get equal pay for equal work, same pay, same job, raise minimum wage, provide women with educational opportunities. the reason why, so that they can succeed, that they have the economic wherewithal to support themselves and their family and to give them a better chance at

life. that's what this is about. >> both these front we've discussed, best of luck with both of them. thank for your time. come see us again. why america loves bad, bad men. julie! hey...guess what day it is?? ah come on, i know you can hear me. mike mike mike mike mike... what day is it mike? ha ha ha ha ha ha! leslie, guess what today is? it's hump day. whoot whoot! ronny, how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? i'd say happier than a camel on wednesday. hump day!!! yay!! get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

2013 prime time emmy awards right around the corner. nominees announced this week. for the second week in a row, no snow broadcast for coveted best drama, most shows are like homeland, banking on a winning formula of unhappy morally compromised characters as leading men. difficulty men, inside complicated men responsible for bringing hit shows into our living rooms and lives. joining me now gq author of the book. i find it interesting you describe in the book the era in television, the art form of the first decade of the 21st century. explain that. >> i think it's become clear to everybody who pays attention to

culture that what used to be the vast wasteland or boob tube is where you go for adult storytelling these days. it used to be common to brag you didn't own a television at all. anybody who said that now would be laughed out of the room. a large part of that has been this rise of anti-heroes that have us rooting for murderers and thieves and adult remembers and nasty men. >> don draper from "mad men," for example, how does he fit into this? >> in some ways don draper, even though he's not out there killing people, he very much is the same as tony soprano is. the mortar i believe things he does, the more reroot for him, the more ambivalent we feel about that. these are characters testing the viewer often, asking ourselves why are we -- why do we want don

to get away wit. >> you're right inside my head. i'm at this point, at the end of the year, maybe not so much rooting for him next year. we'll see what happens with that. you talk about the sopranos, the show that kicked off this genre. >> it's hard to remember now how radical it was to have a hero like tony soprano. in 2001 he kills a man on screen right in front of us. even hbo inclined to take risks, that was considered a step too far. they really had a huge fight about it, as i detail in the book, about whether the audience would stay with tony after that. obviously we did. it really opened the door to this whole new world. >> what do you think it says about us as a society when we root for these brooding anti-heroes, men like don draper or walter white even? >> sure. first and foremost we like good

arc, more complicated storytelling than heroes and vil answ -- villains. we are capable of seeing both sides, relating and dismissing somebody and hating somebody at the same time. >> the book is "difficult men" you are the author brett martin. thank you for joining us. great book. >> thank you very much. new information about the victim thrown from a roller coaster to her death. i need to redeem some venture miles before my demise. okay. it's easy to erase any recent travel expense i want. just pick that flight right there. mmm hmmm. give it a few taps, and...it's taken care of. this is pretty easy, and i see it works on hotels too. you bet. now if you like that, press the red button on top. ♪ how did he not see that coming? what's in your wallet?

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reverend al sharpton joins us. how could it happen? a woman falls from a speeding roller coaster as her children watch. a live report ahead. held, welcome, i'm alex. here is what's happening now, fresh reaction in washington today to president obama's personal and revealing comments on race that took reporters by surprise friday. two opposing views sounded onoff on today's "meet the press." >> this town has been spinning a story that's not all together true. he did not walk to the podium for an impromptu address to the nation. he was pushed to that podium. a week of protest outside the white house, pressure building inside the white house pushed him to that podium. >> i disagree with tavis in a profound way. president obama has been talking about race and doing things about race for a long time. the reality is he walked to the podium. he wasn't pushed to the podium, he walked to the podium. he's been trying to have this conversation. this was the event, the criminal

justice division that pushed him over the level. >> reverend al sharpton, ahead of the national action and host here. pushed or walked, what do you think? >> i think clearly he walked. the drive around the protest was around the criminal justice system. it would have been against the interest of the family and those of us that are fighting this for the president to act as though he was directing the attorney general to do something so the right wing could have said it's not objective, it's political. a lot of people that are just talking are just talking. those of us who are in this are saying, wait a minute, this cannot look like we're playing politics with a criminal justice manner. so when the president decided to make his statement, i, for one, who has organized a lot of these

protests said i'm glad the attorney general and others announced the investigations before hand so we are not faced with this family having to bear the burden of you got the president to make a great statement but you can't proceed because the waters have been muddied with politics. >> the comments weren't so much political but personal, which we all can listen to and have empathy for or witness situations. the timing, not in terms of relative to trayvon martin, did you get a heads up? did anybody have an idea the president was going to do this? were you surprised? >> i have no idea and i have good contacts with the white house. everybody knew since tuesday we were organizing these cities. i'm glad he did it around personal terms. i disagree also he ought to lead a conversation. >> you disagree? >> we need legislation.

the conversation should be had, but we need help in terms of how do we deal with the whole question of stand your ground, how do we deal with racial profiling. the president and congress ought to be dealing with legislation. i remember when president clinton had dr. john hope franklin lead a commission on a conversation. we need to go from conversation to legislation. just having nice conversation and leaving thins the way they are will only bring us back to this opponent all over again. >> how about this, though, do the comments by the president on friday, does that help energize this nation to get this legislation. lawmakers, they heard it? >> no doubt about it. i was glad he mentioned state legislation. we're preparing for 50th anniversary to march on washington, martin luther king iii organizing a whole continuation rally around that. don't forget the march on

legislation in '63 was to get legislation, jobs and freedom, led to the '64 civil rights act and '65 voting rights act. the move in '13 must be to get the congress in '14 and '15 to deal with preserving voter rights which has now been very much impacted by the supreme court and deal with stand your ground, stop and frisk and others. if all we do is come out of this with a conversation, that's good for commentators but won't be good for the community. >> how much do you think this is a national discussion about the civil rights aspect of this. that was the catalyst for 100 cities march but expanded to a discussion on race? do not you think? aren't the two inextricably intertwined. >> it has led to a conversation. a conversation many of us are having it, now all of america is

having it. i'll tell you why, alex, many of us questioning what's going on with law enforcement and shootings and all, when it became unto this case, became clear to this country we're now having laws where civilians can take deadly force in their own hands, a lot of americans never in the discussions are saying, women, we're not talking about law enforcement, we're talking about people with no authority. now authority to kill people. no, we need to really have this discussion? >> the discussion happening now. case in point, i had this discussion with my family at home, a discussion crossing racial barriers. >> exactly. >> how much does that give you hope there will be effective change? do you think there will be a second civil rights movement beginning? >> i think it's definitely a re-energizing of the second civil rights movement or a second civil rights. i'm happy it's not just black. one of the things i took notice

of what we did in the 100 cities yesterday, 101, to be exact, much of those that came were not black. >> i noticed that, too. >> even in new york, a large percentage of the people were not black. because i think people understand this as a civil rights, civil liberties issue. when you empower individual civilians with no training, no guidelines, you can use deadly force. >> what's interesting, you can extrapolate from the president's comments, he talked about malia and sasha, their friend, eavesdropping on their conversations, saying this generation is doing it better. do you think it's the passage of time and education of generation toss come that will help eradicate racism once and for all? >> i think the passing of time will make it better. every generation does make progress. i think we're at a better place than we were but not where we need to be, which is why we have to have legislation to protect us in the process.

we cannot depend on goodwill and good feelings to protect people. that's what legislation is for. to say we've not made progress is wrong. my daughters at a better place in their generation than i was. i'm at a better place than others in the generation ahead of me. every generation makes progress but you also need legislation to protect us. >> i just want to tell people as you were walking up to the set with no disrespect intended, hey, how did you sleep last night? because that's you slept in the harlem projects with democratic mayor. >> we had a forum earlier this week after the national action convention of local candidates for mayor. in the forum we talked about people in public housing in new york. everybody lives, including me, in these nice houses. public housing is in horrific shape. i challenged the mayor to spend the night with me in public housing and they agreed.

all the democratic candidates first time in history slept, we all were in the same building in molded apartments, apartments with huge holes, gaps in the walls, refrigerators not working, all in the same building, to dramatize in this city of wall street and sightseeing attractions, you have people living in these kinds of conditions all by the city. >> i want to know by 6:00 a.m., when you met in the basement or lobby, rather, on the first floor, what was that like? did you have astonished looks on faces? >> they were stunned. people could not believe these conditions happening in new york. you think new york, broadway, wall street, think people were living in that kind of condition. these people worked every day and go down in the offices in the skyscrapers that have to live, some with five years with no repairs in the house. it was eye-opening and i give credit to every one of the democratic candidates showed up and spent the night with us. >> keep it up, reverend al.

>> i'll try. >> no doubt about that. that you so much. our other big story we're following, house speaker john boehner not backing down, new and surprising about obama care. kristen we will ter at the white house. good day to you. what's the white house saying today? >> reporter: good afternoon. first of all, john boehner asked about the fact congress is one of the most unproductive and unpopular in history. he made some interesting comments, they shouldn't be judged on how many laws they passed but how many laws we repeal. of course speaker boehner making the case that government should be smaller. when it comes to repealing laws, the house has really had its eyes trained on the president's health care law. they tried to repeal it or change it almost 40 times now. the effort doesn't seem to be gaining much traction, house speaker john boehner says they are not fog to let up on the

action attachment a listen. >> you're going to see bipartisan votes come out of the house to begin to derail this thing. the democratic senators know this law is unworkable. they know it's not ready. max baucus, senate democrat chairman of the finance committee that said it's a train wreck. they know it's a train wreck. i wouldn't be so quick to suggest they aren't going to take this up. >> the white house gave fodder when they announced they would delay the employer mandate. however, the political reality, alex, is the senate is controlled by democrats. the president is not going to sign a law that repeals his own health care law. it's hard to see how this is going to get passed before 2014 elections. house speaker addressed that as well, the gridlock, the divided government that exists right now.

for those hoping to see immigration reform passed, a deal on the debt limit come easy, it is hard to see those things happening. i shouldn't say it's hard to see them happening, a long slog. lets put it that way. >> good way to put it. thank you so much. we're learning more about a woman thrown from a roller coaster in texas. relatives identified her as rosie esparza of dallas. she was visiting the park for the first time. charles live in texas. charles, lets talk about the investigation. where does it stand right now? >> reporter: they are trying to figure out what happened in the first few moments after the victim in this case rosie esparza of dallas got on board the texas giant, the largest and fastest roller coaster in the world. it's the tallest roller coaster in the world made of wood and steel. witnesses say when esparza got into the car of the roller coaster, she complained the restraint system was not working

properly. she asked an attendant to check it. the attendant said if it clicked once you're okay. as the car was leaving on the two-minute ride, esparza was nefbo o nervous and panicking. here is what another witness had to say. >> the guys sitting right behind the lady said right when they came down off the first bump and hit the first turn she flew out. >> reporter: and the ride has been closed until it is inspected by a number of people including lawyers. the state insurance board is also here. they are going to be investigating it. that is the closest thing texas has to a regulatory agency over amusement park rides is the texas insurance board. they make sure rides are inspected and insured and this one was. the ride remains closed but the rest of the park remains open. six flags has not commented on the accident other than to say

it's inappropriate to talk about it at this time. alex. >> what a story. all right, charles hadlock, thank you very much. a new startling report about police keeping a whole lot more information about you than you may think. that's next. but not energy or even my mood. that's when i talked with my doctor. he gave me some blood tests... showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% testosterone gel. the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman, which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are or may become pregnant or are breast-feeding, should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body,

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a new report from the aclu exposes the scale of a program by the government to monitor your every move. police departments across the nation are using license plate reading cameras to track your every move as you drive and they are sometimes storing the data indefinitely. the report shows the scale of the surveillance program for the very first time. joining me is director of aclu of massachusetts technology for liberty project. so kate, i'm glad you're here. can you explain how this works

for viewers? >> sure. law enforcement has been acquiring extremely small cameras. they look like small boxes. they are either affixed to the top of patrol cars or sometimes under bridges. manufacturers even make them at covert and go inside orange cones on the highway so you don't know they are there. essentially what they do is take pictures of not only each license plate they pass by or that passes by them but also the car itself. in each record these machines create there's a report not only of the license plate number but time and date and location where the photograph was taken. so these license plate readers can be used in a variety of different ways. the aclu doesn't have a problem with the majority or at least with some of the ways law enforcement wants to use this technology and has been using it, which is to say running license plates against hot lists looking for stolen cars, expired registrations. this is just an automation of a process law enforcement has done

for a long time. our problem is that law enforcement is oftentimes like you said storing the data for a long time. our records, we did a number of public records requests last summer, the results of this are in the report we put out -- >> kate, i have some of that. let me show some of the police departments you've highlighted in the report. first one, grapevine, texas, city of 41,000. 2 million plate reads. they store indefinitely. jersey city, new jersey, 8 million stored, delete after five years. minnesota state police that deletes the atta after just 48 hours and they have under 28,000 read plates stored there. i understand you take issue with the amount of time these plates are stored. how do these compare to the majority of police departments around the country? >> rules are all over the map. only five states that dealt with

legislation for license plate readers and even those statutes vary wildly actually. vermont requires that police delete data after 150 days. new hampshire all but bans the technology. the laws really are all over the map, where the laws exist. in most states, 45 states, there are no laws. >> what would you like to have? what would you like to see, changes? ? >> essentially this technology poses a problem, it enables if the data is not deleted and pooled as is happening in a variety of urban areas, law enforcement aroundeshan areas are pooling license plate data, again, 99% of which on completely innocent people against whom the government has alleged no violation. we don't have a problem with them catching stolen cars. the issue is they are keeping data on all of us even if they don't expect we've commit add crime. what that is long-term pervasive

mass routine location tracking warrantlessly. that's a threat to privacy, civil liberties and the character of our society. what we're saying, we're not asking law enforcement to throw technologies out. we understand they are useful. we think there should be a retention period of this data of days or weeks and not months or years. you gave a couple examples. in maryland their license plate leaders, housed at the fusion center, spy center, captured 89 million plates in one year, over 99% of which are were underogatory, information on perfectly innocent people. this the real threat. it's sort of a corollary to the nsa scandal with the metadata program where you have the government making an argument it needs to collect vast quantities of private information about perfectly law abiding people and use that information maybe in the future just in case.

the problem is that's not how we're supposed to do business in the society. innocent until proven guilty. >> it is an extraordinary thing. i'm glad aclu has done research and brought had to attention. thank you very much, appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> a personality test for ice cream lovers? what if you like mint chocolate chip? i'll tell you what that means. wait a sec! i found our colors. we've made a decision. great, let's go get you set up... you need brushes... you should check out our workshops... push your color boundaries while staying well within your budget walls. i want to paint something else. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. glidden premium interior paint, starts at a new lower price at $18.94 a gallon.

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and you'll see younger looking skin before you even finish one jar. ♪ new olay regenerist. the wait is over. talk about great timing, today is national ice cream day, perfect tonic for scorching temperatures. folks at baskin-robbins found an expert that matched flavors with personality types. people whose favorite is chocolate, firth arabs, dra malgts, mint chocolate chip, argumentative, reserved, cautious. those that choose rocky road,

good listeners, engaging, aggressive. they made need to chill out. i got one of those and it was totally wrong. in great britain the great kate wait continues. the united kingdom is waiting for kate to have her baby. jim maceda in london. good day to you. it's been a couple weeks, right? any idea when this thing is going to go down? >> boy, if i told you, if i knew the answer to that one, alex, i would be considered to be a seductive person, probably chocoholic here. i've got to tell you, you've got to recall there was a due date, july 13th. that slid to the right. that was pretty much media generated. the hospital behind me, a source cited the hospital cited this july 19th date. we think kate is overdue. we're not sure because we never

got an official date from kensington palace. we understand she has returned to the cottage at kensington palace for the stay with her parents. even that is not exactly sure. we believe she's there inside out of the heat off her feet so that it sounds like she is waiting as well close by to the hospital like you are, we are, the world is. one tidbit i think is interesting. kated mom carole middleton reportedly told a friend the baby would be a leo. you may know more about astrology than i do. they are born on or after july 23rd. that would make this it this tuesday. i say why not. >> i'm glad you brought that up. i said i know carole middleton said something. you cleared that up. anyway, jim, the great wait for kate continues.

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welcome back to weekends with alex witt at half past the hour. here are fast five headlines. police outside cleveland arrested the man suspected in the deaths of three people believed to be women whose bodies were found in plastic bags. they are expected to search today for possibly even more bodies. one body found friday in a garage, the other two discovered yesterday in a nearby yard and basement of a vacant house. police chief says the man is a registered sex offender who has served time in prison. the nationwide heat wave taken a costly toll in wisconsin reporting a fourth heat related death. national weather service said it was a tornado that left a gymnasium in ruins. it downed trees but no one hurt. overseas, powerful tornado rocking england, structural

damage and power outages and injuries. i meant new zealand. also belgium king albert abdicated the throne signing over power to his son felipe. those are fast four headlines. lets go to brazil where catholics are awaiting arrival of pop francis, the first international trip since he was appointed. brazil is the largest roman catholic country. good day with that beautiful backdrop. talk about the mood in anticipation of the pope's visit tomorrow. >> really depends who you ask. of course there's a great sense of excitement from the hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims still making their way down here to rio de janeiro. everything seems to be ready for the popecabaopacabana, huge stage where the pope will greet on the beach thursday evening.

a number of giant screens lined up on the screen. the culture of the pope and on the beach where usually sculptures are of bikini clad women. i don't know if you can hear it. there's music, loads of people sunbathing. it is sunday, rio in its bestfestive mood. not everybody excited about his arrival. brazilian authorities if you're asked about if they are excited, they are more worried than excited, especially since the pope says he wants to drive around rio with his trademark popemobile that was flown right from the vatican without the famous bulletproof glass. well, of course, brazilian authorities have told nbc that there's still discussions on how they are going to draw the security plan. we'll have to see the rio de janeiro mayor told us this

morning he's calm about it, hs happy, and the pope can do whatever he likes, even riding a bike if he want. >> what about mass? the pope is supposed to deliver that to how many? >> well, about a million young pilgrims are expected to attend that huge mass next sunday but the pope might be up to a little surprise there. the organizers of the world youth day try to stage what they call the biggest flash mob in the world. they are trying to teach a million kids easy moves of a little dance over a song specifically written for pope francis. the name of the song is francis. they are trying to keep it a secret. the problem is they put out a tutorial on youtube trying to teach this from kids all around the world the dance move. well, you know, obviously we don't want to surprise the

surprise to the pope as well. just hope he's too busy to go on youtube or live shot. >> we are so taking that next sunday. i want to see that. that sounds like it will be great. we'll see you then. thank you very much from rio. lets go to the biggest development for possible middle east peace. secretary of state john kerry announcing israel and palestinians agreed to a new round of peace talks and israel says it will release a number of heavyweight palestinian prisoners. joining me now democratic congressman adam shift, member of intelligence and appropriations committee. welcome to you as always. >> thank you. >> lets talk about big announcement. what do you read into from israel and why now? >> it's very positive. i want to give credit to secretary kerry who worked hard to bring the parties back to the negotiating table. the prospects are tough. both parties will go to the negotiating table but very reluctantly. just in looking at the terms to get them to that table, there

doesn't seem to be a whole lot of agreement beyond what secretary kerry will say. the parties themselves aren't going to say very much. prospects are tough. fact is in that part of the world you're moving forward or sliding backward. the resumption of the peace process is a development. >> you're talking how tough it is. we know from past experience. has anyone changed since the last round of talk or the round before that? >> everything an nothing will everything in the sense arab spring changed entire environment all around. at the same time has there been a breakthrough between israelis and palestinians. you'd have to say no. in that respect not a lot that's been built upon since the cessation of the last negotiations. the fact the climate in the region has changed dramatically, put various precious on the body. some may be helpful. make may cut in the opposite direction. the reality is unless there's

strong american leadership like we're seeing from secretary kerry, there is no prospect for lasting peace. i think it's wonderful what's happening. we need to encourage parties to find a way to get -- >> what about plian president abbas, does he have the power to make these talks once they are concluded? gaza and hamas, issues there, can he appropriately influence the peace talks and put them into implementation? >> that's a really good question. he's a weakened party. it's hard for him to get the concessions he would need from palestinians, let alone from hamas and gaza to reach lasting peace. netanyahu has a difficult ruling coalition that doesn't want to make concessions. you can see how tough this is. at the same time you negotiate with your partner, the partner you have, not the partner that you want.

we have to find a way to get these parties to a lasting peace, a two-state solution. iron really the contours of that solution i think are much clearer to the parties than the steps that will get them to the negotiating table. >> before all this came out secretary kerry was in jordan, as you know. he was meeting with syrian refugees there. i want to bring up a picture. it's the camp he visited. 115,000 people living in tents in the desert. there was a woman there who asked secretary kerry, what are you waiting for? how does an elected or appointed official answer that question? >> it's a very terrible plight the syrian refugees are going through. i think we ought to provide as much relief as we can and continue to try to marshall the international community to get a peaceful end to this civil war. whether we should be drawn in as a party through the civil war

either through no-fly zones or providing weapons, that's a whole other story. frankly i'm concerned about us getting pulled into this civil war. i don't think we should get involved. i don't think a small amount of arms will make a difference on the battle field. we'll be asked further and fur, more powerful weapons, greater quantity of weapons to instill and enact no-fly zones. after two wars, little appear tied to get involved in another civil war. >> in part it's very difficult to figure out where lines are drawn between factions. deputy of defense said this war could last multiple years. it's already spilled over borders. it could drag other countries into this. another thing, he talks about infighting between rebel factions which he puts at 1200 different factions. >> that's right. a big part of the problem.

if we supply arms even to groups we vet, there's no guarantee they will stay with those groups. there's infighting among rebels, we have to assume a percentage of arms we supply will get in the wrong hands. we don't want to see shoulder-fired missiles or rpgs that can use them to shoot at our aircraft or our troops somewhere. it's very tough. we're so drawn by the humanitarian crisis, we want to do something. i don't think we want to be drawn into yet another civil war. >> always appreciate a conversation with you. thank you. for decades she was a ledge andiary figure in the white house press corps. helen thomas remembered in passing at 82. andrea mitchell reflecting on how thomas paved the way for other women to follow. >> miss thomas has a question.

>> our policy of not bombing north vietnam has changed. what is our policy. >> she was the first lady of the press corps, covering 10 presidents making history herself. born of lebanese immigrant parents she landed a job with unitied press international, a pioneer woman in a man's profession not afraid of asking pointed questions. >> who was to blame? where did the buck stop. >> big claim with jfk closing with trademark thank you, mr. president. >> i saw mr. kennedy was in a bind trying to answer a question. he went on and on trying to find the answer. then i got up and said -- >> thank you. he said thank you. >> thank you, helen. >> i had taken him off the hook. >> in 1974 she was named a bureau chief. >> the first time in history a woman has been selected for that high post. we congratulate you. >> in 1971, thomas married douglas cornell at the rival

"associated press." >> now, i know nancy upstairs would die, shoes watching upstairs on the television, if i didn't call on you in that pretty red dress. >> clintons had suffered a lot and had chips on their shoulder in the press. >> later years she became more outspoken. >> your decision to invade iraq has caused deaths of thousands. >> i didn't want war. to assume i wanted war is flat wrong, helen, in all due respect. >> no longer daily journalism she drew criticism taking sides on israeli-palestinian conflict. by then she was already a legend. >> what do you want to have said about you in your time covering the white house? >> that she asked good questions, that she asked why. >> reporter: for "today," andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. it's a plea to the president to act now about problems about race in america but what can he

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it's time for the big three, today's topics growing reaction, where do we go from here and this week's must read. lets bring in panel, professor of political science jason johnson, editor of citizen jane politics and "daily beast" patricia murphy and bush senior adviser. welcome to all three of you. good day. >> hey, alex. >> jason, i'll start with you. pretty strong reaction the president made on race friday. first up tavis smiley followed by harvard professor charles ogletree. >> this town has been spinning a story that's not all together true. he did not walk to the podium for an impromptu address to the nation. he was pushed to that nation. a week of protest outside the white house, pressure building on him in the white house pushed him to the podium. >> i disagree with tavis in a

profound way. president obama has been talking about race and doing things about race for a long time. the reality is he walked to the podium, he wasn't pushed to the podium, he walked to the podium. he's been trying to have this conversation. this is the event in the justice system that pushed him to this level. >> jason, who is right, pushed or walked? >> a mixture of both. he stumbled out there. barack obama has been less than eloquent and forthcoming about race. anything he says about black people he has to sprinkle an element of blame and cultural chastisement. this is the point where he said, look, there are protests that are going to be happening within 24 hours in 100 cities across the country. if there was ever a time to say something and be candid it's now. there was internal pressure but a bit of him stumbling towards as well. >> robert, how about you. do you think pushed, walked or now stumbled to the podium?

>> jason and tavis actually really have a good point. when you take a look at history in this president and race, he's reactive when it comes to race. his comments in 2008, he reacted to jeremiah wright. he wasn't proactively talking about it, whether the beer summit in boston when that happened a couple years ago and obviously trayvon martin. president obama is uncomfortable talking about race from the bully pulpit. >> wait a second. did you listen to him? did you get a sense he was uncomfortable? i didn't. i got a sense he was speaking from the heart, talking about personal experiences and wanted to just talk to everyone in this country. >> what we saw last friday was someone unscripted, that clearly gave a lot of context and thought to this issue, someone that felt very comfortable talking about this topic. my simple point was, alex, this is something he does from a reactive, not proactive standpoint. to your point, he seemed to be

comfortable talking about this topic, almost in a philosophical way and kudos to him for doing it. >> how do you gauge the fallout, both the pros and cons to the president's speech? >> i think as you heard there was significant internal pressure on the president to go forward and speak. i don't know that he's reactive, i think he's reluctant to speak about race because it's so divisive and impossible to make everybody happy when he says something. the reaction to his remarks are an example of that. such a polarizing event, whatever he says can't make everybody happy. i do think he was speaking from the heart. i think he was advised now is the time to go say something. i believe he was going to say something. i think before the weekend he was advised, yes, now is the time to do it. how do you want to do it? here is what we recommend. when he went out he spoke very personally, one of the rare

instances he spoke as an african-american man. he makes so many efforts to speak ju as the president. at this point he thought it was important for white america to understand why the reaction from black america is so lead. regardless whether or not he's african-american, you have to lead. because you are the leader of the free world. you're the leader of all of us. even though it may not be comfortable or expedient, every single president, whether it's 9/11 or whatever the case may be, has to lead on these uncomfortable topics. that's what we're looking for the president to do. >> this is to all three of you. do you think it is easier for an african-american president or a white president, a la bill clinton, to speak about race? because when president clinton put his race commission together, and started doing the research and talking about having this national dialogue, there doesn't seem to to have been the same kind of pushback from the extreme side. who wants to tackle that first? >> i'll start. first off, we've got a sample

size of one. he's the first black president. it's going to be harder for him in general. let's be honest, this is a guy who people accuse him from being from kenya, lying his way through college, not being an american. if anyone understands what it's like to be racially profiled it's barack obama. he's attempting to be a leader on a subject that many people just don't ever want to hear anything about. so it's difficult for him to be proactive. but that's why i think in this particular instance it was so personal and so well received by a lot of people, not just in the african-american community. >> anyone else? >> yeah, i think it's harder for him because the expectations are higher. i think that people expect him to solve these problems, as the first african-american president, people think he should be able to do more than other presidents have in the past. so i think that he does more frankly than the white presidents have been in the past. he had a hard message for the

group of graduates at morehouse, in the role of men in the african-american society, the responsibility to raise their families. no white president has ever said that before. i don't think he gets enough credit. i also think the expectations are higher. he'll never be able to meet those expectations. >> robert, quickly, the second question is, where do we go from here? >> that's the million-dollar question. i'm not sure anyone knows, frankly. to my earlier point, someone has to reach this conversation. >> the man motown they're hoping will save the day. that's next. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ robert ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.

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we are back with the big three for this week's must-read. jason, we'll start with you. what's your must-read? >> killing in self-defense, you better be white. i'm a numbers guy. and this article puts in stark reality the empirical facts that stand your ground laws have the unintended consequence of basically making it easier to kill black people if you're

white than a black person does killing another black person. this is a problem. regardless of the initial intention of these laws. it needs to be changed and this is a great article that points it out. >> patricia, what's yours? >> mine is a profile in today's washingt"washington post" of ke a corporate lawyer and is now the new emergency manager for the city of detroit. he has incredible background, great credentials. reading this pro feel i thought detroit might be okay. i think they've got a good guy in kevin orr. >> robert, how about yours? >> a great obituary on helen thomas who passed over the weekend. talk about a pioneer, a trail blazer, who paved her own way just like barack obama. it's a must-read for anyone interested in journalism and fair equality. >> totally amazing. when you look at her life

through pictures, these ten presidents, she covered, extraordinary. thank you all so much. that's a wrap of this sunday edition of weekend with alex wit. up next, "meet the press." i'm alex witt, have a great sunday. all business purchases. so you can capture your receipts, 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.

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all along the way. it's part of our goal to inspire more than three million people to rediscover the joy of being active this summer. see the difference all of us can make... together. this sunday the president seeks to ignite a new conversation about race in america. >> that could have been me 35 years ago. >> the president's deeply personal remarks about the after afte after-effects of the george zimmerman trial, racial profiling and the plight of african-american boys in the criminal justice system and our society. >> if trayvon martin was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk? >> this morning, a special discussion about the race relations and impact of the president's remarks on the black community and beyond. with us,