if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." very good afternoon to you. i'm in for craig melvin on this sunday. here's what's happening right now. he did not walk to the podium for an impromptu address to the nation. he was pushed to that podium. >> he walked to the podium. he wasn't pushed to the podium. >> new reaction to the president's unscripted comments on race relations on friday. what role will the president play going forward. plus, detroit's decline, days after the biggest municipal bankruptcy in u.s. history, where it could go now. and preparing for the pope. today's security and celebrations ahead of the pontiff's first visit to brazil.

first off, strong reaction this afternoon to president obama's comments on race in light of george zimmerman's acquittal. and not all are in agreement. >> the president is the right person at the right place at the right time to do more. i am 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 these very difficult issues. >> the reality is that we're expecting all these things from barack obama, as if he's the man who can do it. there's a congressional role, there's a judicial role. >> we agree on that. >> it's not just him. >> kristen welker at the white house this afternoon. you know, kristen, the talk of the town right now president obama's comments on friday. and the question is, how he might pivot in the coming days from what happened on friday. >> reporter: richard, i expect that we will continue to hear president obama call for this broader conversation about race, to sort of reiterate some of the

themes that he mapped out on friday, particularly the need to review state and local laws. also the need to foster stronger african-american teens and men. this is something we typically see this president do, give a broad speech and then in smaller follow-up speeches, sort of point out some of these sub points he mapped out in the first discussion. that's something that we can anticipate. but the big question is, what role will he play moving forward in terms of fostering this conversation. you heard the president say on friday that he doesn't necessarily think this is a conversation that should just occur among politicians, among lawmakers, that this is something that should happen at the grass roots level. i expect the white house officials are trying to decide how to proceed, because remember, this was a decision that president obama made -- he announced it to his staff on thursday and then came out on friday and gave those remarks. this isn't part of a broader strategy, this is something president obama decided to do on thursday. so i anticipate over the weekend

and in the coming days they will continue to map out what comes next, and how much of a role president obama will have in terms of fostering that dialogue. >> kristen, along with the discussion on race as well as the aftermath of the acquittal, there are the issues of the economy. we understand he's going to be returning to immigration, going to the midwest. all an interesting mix here. >> reporter: that's right. this week on wednesday he's going to be going to illinois and missouri to focus on the economy. a bit of a pivot, if you will, indeed. he's going to be talking about the importance of investing in infrastructure as well as pre-k education. those are some of the themes he mapped out in his state of the union address. i also expect you will hear him tout what he will argue is the economic benefits of immigration reform. of course, right now that has stalled to some extent in the house. he's also going to make a trip on friday to florida, where he will again talk about the economy. a big focus on the economy in this upcoming week. richard?

>> nbc's kristen welker on a sunday live at the white house. thank you so much, kristen. >> reporter: you bet. moody mills adviser for lbgt policy. we've got meg, a political reporter for the los angeles times. and matt welsh from "reason" magazine. you know, as we look at this, let's go to some of what the president said on friday. and i'll get your reaction. >> when trayvon martin was first shot, i said that this could have been my son. another way of saying that is, trayvon martin could have been me 35 years ago. >> so, you heard us talking about this about the pivot. how might the president pivot on what he said friday, how might this affect the race relations and discussions across the country? >> i think we should all just

take pause and realize that the first black president of the united states stood in the white house and had some very candid comments to make about race, in a very personal way, talking about his personal experience, is historic. in fact, i would say it's ipic. i think this is a huge precedent that he set for himself and the rest of his administration about how he's going to have to continue to have real talk. i think this is going to be the start of a lot more conversations. i also think that this is going to be the start of some real deep thinking about the implicit racial biases that play out in our public policy system, which is, quite frankly, the part he has the most control over in addition to leading this cultural conversation. >> meg, you know, the president's comments received mostly positive response over the last two or three days. but here's what pbs host tavis smiley said on "meet the press" this morning. >> on this issue, you cannot lead from behind. what's lacking in this moment is moral leadership.

the country is begging for it, they're craving it. president officials can occupy this pace. >> looking for it, craving it. do people look forward to elected officials for this leadership on race? >> i think the conversation has changed now, and the president really did change the conversation when he came out and talked about it. but there were a lot of people who were disappointed that he waited six days to come out and have more of a discussion about this. so there are certainly people on the left who are disappointed. at the same time, talking about it in such a personal way was really powerful, and did potentially, you know, have an effect in terms of persuading people across america to think about this issue differently. what the next step will be, i think is much more of an open question. clearly, the president said that he wants this conversation to go on in living rooms and churches.

and didn't suggest that he would necessarily be taking some legislative role on these issues. i think that's what we'll be looking for next. >> as we try to dive deeper on this question of how does government deal with bias on a large level, is it this sort of situation where you have a prominent leader coming forward in an emotional way, in a very, if you will, personal way describing how to move forward? >> i think that's probably the most effective thing he can do, aside from making actual policy changes, that actually help the federal government not act in a way that is biased against racial minorities in the criminal justice system, which we have now in prohibition in a dug war, which essentially guts inner cities across the country. the president made the point you shouldn't look for leadership, this conversation shouldn't be convened by politicians, he's right. we actually have better conversations about race in this country outside of the realm of politi politics.

politicians are self-interested creatures. they'll spend however way they want to help their electoral needs. that's not necessarily a healthy way to deal with race relations. i think some of that is seen in the way politicians have reacted to the trayvon martin case itself. i think what is more interesting is how we deal with each other outside of two-party politics. >> also this weekend, we had the rallies across the country. and organizers of those want federal civil rights charges brought against george zimmerman. the president, though, seemed to downplay that. >> i know that eric holder is reviewing what happened down there, but i think it's important for people to have some clear expectations here. traditionally, these are issues of state and local government. the criminal code. and law enforcement as traditionally done at the state and local levels, not the federal levels.

>> george zimmerman was found not guilty, and they're saying that should be the end of the case. >> no, it shouldn't be the end. there is a boy, there's a child who is dead. and there is no one who is being held to account for that. so certainly this is not the end. i think that this is a bigger conversation that the president's implication that we should all from a cultural narrative in our churches and barbershops, et cetera, should be a discussion. we are at a critical time when we are searching for the soul of america. these conversations about race are far bigger than certainly the president. and the trayvon martin incident has reminded us that this is about who we want to be as a nation. do we want to allow the death of a child to go unchecked for no one to be held accountable for that, and do we want to continue to allow racism to exist in this

country. >> we'll have to leave it there. thank you all for now. they'll all be back later with more on what's happening in washington, and across the country. so stick around for that. coming up, tearful testimony, katherine jackson breaking down on the witness stand. what the weeping mother told the court about her son. and this -- >> i wanted to share this story with another generation. young people with children, with teachers. >> yes, a congressman at comic-con. john lewis comes alive as a graphic novel. weekdays are for rising to the challenge. they're the days to take care of business. when possibilities become reality. with centurylink as your trusted partner, our visionary cloud infrastructure and global broadband network free you to focus on what matters. with custom communications solutions and responsive, dedicated support, we constantly evolve to meet your needs. every day of the week. centurylink® your link to what's next.

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this is drawing that line saying, it's not going downhill. if we hadn't declared bankruptcy, every single day detroit would have gone further downhill. even more importantly, longer

term, i'm very bullish about the growth opportunities of detroit. >> that was michigan governor rick snyder today trying to sound upbeat while filing for bankruptcy. once the heart beat of manufacturing, and the country's fourth largest metropolis. today the motor city owes $18 billion while bleeding residents and revenue to boot. the city's mayor, dave bing, said he had not yet asked for any federal assistance. >> i've had some conversation already, i'll be more specific in the days and weeks ahead. i'm not sure exactly what to ask for. >> joining us now is professor thomas sugrew, a detroit native, author of the book "origin of urban crisis in post-war detroit." thank you for being here today, thomas. if you could do anything to fix detroit, what would it be? is bankruptcy the silver bullet here? >> bankruptcy is not going to be

a silver bullet. detroit's problems go back at least 60 years. they have to do with combined effects of long-term disinvestment from the city, intense hostility between detroit and its suburbs and the state of michigan at large. and a steady withdrawal of state and federal support. >> what would you do then? >> well, in the past, when major cities have faced the precipice of financial collapse, the federal government stepped in. whether it does or not in detroit, i think it's a fairly dubious problem position. but ultimately, it's really hard to take a city of 700,000 poor and working class people and a diminished tax base and tell them to solve its own problems. >> if the federal government did come in, what would they need to do here? >> the federal government in the past, say in new york in 1975, provided substantial loans for the city to allow it to begin the process of rebuilding.

and it was a sign of a public commitment to the city and to its future. realistically, we have to look at what's going to happen, how are we going to work out a negotiation between the two interests battling over the bankruptcy on the one hand, and city pensioners and residents on the other. >> what is what's happening in detroit tell us about the rest of the country, as we watch the list of bankruptcies since 2010 reach eight or nine or so? >> detroit is the extreme case of a problem that's been affecting cities all over the united states. some of them are teetering on the brink of solvency as we speak. it has to do with long time disinvestment for many of these northeastern and midwestern cities. and intense hostility. it's a problem that's not unique

to detroit, although i think detroit is the extreme case. >> to that point, not too long ago, a wave of cities across the country was predicted would file for bankruptcy. causing hundreds of billions of dollars of losses. are we in the middle of that? is that happening? or this is something that will never happen? >> we've had some bankruptcies already. we've had stockton, california, jefferson county, alabama. i think overall, it's in the interest of cities, their debt holders, and the stakeholders and city residents to avoid a bankruptcy if at all possible. detroit got so bad, that many believe there wasn't any alternative there. but other cities are trying to work out alternatives to keep them from going over the brink. >> you know i love cars. as i was watching the big three come back, in the q-1 they had the profitability of $400 billion. q-2, probably looks good for the

rest of the year. the big three, should they do more? because did they get to these profits that we're seeing on the backs of detroit? those that are in detroit? >> the big three rose on detroit. but essentially right now, the auto industry is not the most important employer in the metropolitan area anymore. city government employs many more detroiters than general motors and chrysler. there's only one plant fully within the boundaries of the city of detroit today. chrysler's jefferson road plant. there's a plant that straddles between detroit and one of its suburbs. >> what can they and should they do for detroit? this is motor city. >> the auto industry continues to have much of its white collar work in the city. general motors is headquartered downtown. but ultimately the auto industry is not going to be the savior of detroit. yes, it should invest more in plant and infrastructure in the city. and maybe it will.

because the jefferson avenue plant is very profitable right now. in the end, the solution is going to have to be bigger than reindustrialization, which is not likely to happen in the near future. >> we are both lovers of the great city of detroit. i thank you for your perspective of what they might do going forward. thank you so much for your time today. >> thank you. parasailing, post-its and a justin bieber concert. the 13-year-old youtube makeup star died last week after a six-year battle with cancer. but her fans are carrying out her last wishes. her family posted the 74 item bucket list on talia's facebook page that is garnered already more than half million likes. fans are posting photos of themselves filling her dreams, getting a tattoo, and going diving. and keeping with talia's motto, just keep swimming.

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singer michael jackson's mother returns to the stand tomorrow in the wrongful death lawsuit, after an emotional day of testimony friday. katherine jackson said she just wants to know what happened to her son. >> reporter: the jackson family arrived at the los angeles courthouse ready to support the family matriarch, katherine jackson, as she took the stand. the 83-year-old who has attended almost every day of the wrongful death trial since had it began april broke down in tears, and say it's hard to sit here and listen to all the bad stuff they're saying about my son. she wants to find out the truth about his death, and had no idea conrad murray had been hired as his doctor until after her son died. she said it was the concert promoter who was ultimately

responsible for the doctor in whose hands jackson died. but aeg live's lawyers say it was jackson who personally picked and directly supervised murray and there was no way they could have known about the dangerous injections of propafol. paris is still reportedly kept at a treatment facility, more than a month after being hospitalized, following a reported overdose of over-the-counter pain medication and cutting her arm with a kitchen knife. her grandmother told the court the 15-year-old has been especially sensitive about jackson's death. katherine jackson is scheduled to return to the stand monday with the plaintiffs expected to rest their case following her testimony. gina kim, nbc news, los angeles. >> chris, thanks for being here. let's start with this.

katherine jackson here, how has she been handling the testimony so far? >> she's been pretty strong. i think she was the best person to call on last. the last person in the prosecution's case right now. she has the most clean and wholesome image of the family. her going on there and crying and kind of, you know, just being vulnerable and talking about michael jackson is not only the star we knew him on but as a child. she was talking about as a little boy he was sitting on her lap and watching his siblings dance. and she talked about the darker side of the industry, that when he coupled up with aeg, he was too sick to do all these concerts. they were basically wearing him to death. >> her concern, so she is saying, she wanted to be there, because michael jackson could not be there to defend himself. some of the things being said outside the court as well as cross she wasn't happy with. >> yeah. michael jackson even said in one of the lines, to hear my son being called a freak.

michael jackson to this day, his legacy is in question, in terms of whether he molested those young boys, in question whether he was using drugs, and conrad murray was giving him illegal substances that he was requesting. we're still questioning whether or not michael jackson hired conrad murray or aeg did. >> that's the key question. and for the defense, how ugly might this get? how far might they go? there's, what, how many billions at steak? >> there's $40 billion at stake. it could get really ugly. we don't know who aeg is going to call on. >> 40 million is this. >> $40 billion. it could get really bad. >> the defense is about to start their side. >> we still have one more day of katherine jackson. tomorrow she'll head back to the stand. she had to leave friday because her lawyer said she only slept three hours thursday night. we'll see her back in court for testimony tomorrow.

and we might hear another side of this thing that might win the case for the prosecution. the defense is going to come out swinging. they might do some cross-examination and bring her back to the stand and question these statements she's made so far. >> monday, we'll see what happens. chris witherspoon, thank you very much. >> thank you. the royal baby is still not here. crowds of well wishers and media continue their stakeout at the hospital where duchess kate is due to give birth there. at least two british publications are now live streaming the hospital entrance. boy, you've got to have a lot of time there. twitter is getting in on the action with a new #great kate wait. brings new meaning to the duchess old nickname waity katy. 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. here's a quick look at some of the top stories making news right now for you. authorities in ohio are investigating a possible serial killer. in the last two days, police in

east cleveland have found three female bodies wrapped in plastic bags. now they're looking for more victims. a 35-year-old registered sex offender is in custody. police in texas say there are no signs of foul play in the death of a woman who fell off a 14-story roller coaster at six flags over texas. the victim had been identified as rosie es parza. a witness tells the "dallas morning news" she expressed concern after her safety restraint, before the ride took off. according to that witness, they told her she would be okay. northeastern ohio is sifting through the damage today after a powerful tornado cut through the campus of a college there, uprooting trees and damaging buildings. part of the athletic center even collapsed. fortunately no one was seriously injured there. well, you know, tomorrow pope francis arrives in brazil, home to the largest catholic population for a week-long trip where he will attend several events marking world outday. the 76-year-old pontiff's desire

to leave his bulletproof popemobile is causing controversy. for the latest on that, nbc news correspondent claudio. >> reporter: hey, richard. everything is ready here ahead of the pope's arrival tomorrow. a massive stage was set up on the copacabana beach right behind me. the pope will be meeting on thursday night about 1 million young pilgrims here. the sentiment is growing. nevertheless, security still a major issue. thousands of policemen, army officers deployed in what one official is calling the biggest police operation in the city's history. and yes, the biggest concern here is the pope's decision of going around in a pope mobile that he's not protected, an open roof. instead of the bulletproof glass

version that his predecessors used to use on international trips. now, the first threat that pope francis faces here in rio is the protesters. we've seen throughout the month of june, protests all across the country against widespread corruption in this country. [ inaudible ] none of the protests are against the pope, but there is still concern. they will highlight their concerns. >> claudio, thank you very much. great report, despite helicopters, i see, whether police or not hovering in the area. >> reporter: flying overhead. >> right overhead. thank you so much there in rio. appreciate that report. has president obama's candid comments on the aftermath of the

acquittal of george zimmerman planted a seed for race relations discussions. the latest issue, asks what's next after trayvon. zeke, a new facebook post from a middle-aged white man, you may have heard about it, it went viral. in that post, he proclaims this type of injustice will continue until enough guys like me, guys who are not trayvon martin, have had enough of it, and finally say, no more. is bob right here? is that what's needed here? >> certainly i think that's something that the president alluded to his remarks on friday. you know, that every successive generation is better than the prior one. that really is here -- it requires the older generation in the united states, the generation maybe that was younger during the civil rights struggle, thought maybe it was over. it's not clearly. there's more discussion to be had. there is a need for national discourse. that's why the president's remarks got blown up over the

weekend and really has jump-started this decision. >> part of that jump-starting here, zeke, as we go to that message i was just describing, it's received over 122,000 likes, over 50,000 shares on top of that. will the president's message on friday create more folks like bob shay, do you think? >> i think that's certainly what the white house was intending, it remains to be seen whether or not that is the case. certainly in washington, both sides are -- there's praise for his remarks. a desire to have that conversation, to jump-start it, and keep it moving. but the pattern with these, even the pattern with this case, the month and a half of outrage when george zimmerman wasn't arrested last year, then it sort of faded from the public view until the trial started again. now there's no trial ahead, maybe the jub tis department will investigate this, maybe they won't. maybe there will be a civil trial.

the question will be, you know, is there enough oxygen left here, enough will power to continue the discussion moving forward. i think that's still an open question that the white house will decide how much they want to be involved and do they want to lead it moving forward and not. >> that is the question, whether there's enough oxygen now, and before. did the president do enough before. this morning on meet the press, npr host said the president didn't go far enough in his comments on trayvon martin. let's take a listen. >> i don't know how the president argued he doesn't believe he can have a role in leading us in a moral conversation. this is not a political issue, this is a moral issue. i don't know how he can't lead us in a conversation on this, but he can on gay marriage? he can on a litany of other -- >> what is this? >> let's just say the president is listening to tavis smiley, he does decide to do more. what does he need to do, talk more about race or class?

>> i think it's a combination. it's hard to separate the two issues. this has become such a difficult issue for the president personally. this case really did hit him personally, according to white house officials. but he's very uncomfortable talking about the subject. i think that's sort of why it took him so long to address this trial, and waited until friday when the verdict came down saturday night. i think he's going to try to frame this in terms of clafs. that's the way he's always tried to address this in the past. race has been uncomfortable for him to address as president. >> what is next on this topic? seech miller for "time." thank you for your perspectives today. >> thank you for having me. >> you bet. struggling to survive. we catch up with a detroit pastor. we talked to him 25 years ago. now he's trying to help the people when the city cannot. trail blazers helen thomas from the press corps died this weekend. we look back at her career

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detroit may have just filed for bankruptcy, but the financial drain has been felt in the city's neighborhoods for quite some time. in 2010 the detroit news reported that the new bethel baptist chump which once boasted 10,000 members, like detroit itself is struggling to survive a dwindling population, and onslaught of bloodshed, blight and despair. back in the '80s robert smith jr. sounded optimistic about the city's future. >> the reverend robert smith and members of his new bethel baptist church congregation are buying real estate in the neighborhood. they've torn down two dozen abandoned buildings, and are now urging other legitimate businesses to move back in. >> if we can believe that things are going to get better, if we can believe there's a brighter day, that's a cause for not rioting. that's a cause for not going to the extreme. we can believe in the system. >> joining me now is the

reverend robert smith jr., pastor of the new bethel baptist church in detroit. remember that, reverend? maybe a couple more grays, but you still look good. >> about 100 pounds ago. >> what else has changed in the last 25 years? >> well, we did bring a shopping strip and new tire company to the lynnwood community. we did get new curbings, and lighting at that time. i think what has changed, we don't have the cooperation that we used to have when mayor young and governor milliken, when they worked together in the first years to make things happen there in the city of detroit. ed mcnamara relationship at both tigers stadium and lions stadium, back to detroit. but we haven't had that kind of cooperation lately. and it seems as though detroit was left in a deliberate path to

bankruptcy. >> you were talking about that program, in that report in 1987. you were buying up properties. you were also trying to bring in new businesses all together. does that still work there in detroit? is that what you think will push the city forward? >> it certainly will. as i said, build it and they will come. every area that's being rebuilt, every area that's getting new stores, like whole food just moved to detroit. big myers has just moved to detroit. there are areas that are prospering greatly. one of the things that happens in every television show i've seen, they show all their abandoned housing, while under mayor young, we built 120,000 new family units, under dennis archer. there were new estates created. jefferson village, morgan

estate, herb estrada has created two whole new villages with many single-family housing, condos, and apartment units. so there's some progress being made. it's just that the help that detroit had for many years from outsiders just happened not to be there anymore. >> let's talk about your church. a good indicator of where detroit is going. you heard in the introduction, 10,000 back in the '60s, is the list of your membership. it went down to about 300 in 2010. how is it now? how's your church? >> we're pedaling along. we're at about 450 in regular attendance each week. we had to prove that to our lenders not long ago. that's a paradigm shift in church. i'm sure you've read the articles from princeton university on the death of the black church, and the black church searching for identity. a church born through slavery,

pushing through voter rights, that was afrocentric for a moment. now it's in a transition. >> what's the transition going to? >> i really can't say. all i know is, i'm trying to do enough to hold on to people who want some truth. many of the churches that do have the great attendance, even there in detroit, they've got a whole new way of things. it's no facts, just fantasy. or no -- you know, reason, just a whole new esoteric revelation. just feelings instead of faith. a lot of those things, we just can't do. but there are churches in detroit that are doing well, have really, really good crowds, and as we come more in line with what people are seeking for now, there's a book, i think the

author's name is martin lynn called "the promised land" and it talks about economic transition, and its impact on culture, from the steam engine, to the electric light, to the automobile, and everything. and i think detroit is kind of behind in the transition period. but by 2020, 2030, we'll be there. every city has their multirail systems up now. mayor young fought for them for a long time. but you know, the power of general motors, we didn't get it. >> reverend, if you look at all those different problems that are out there, what would you say is the single biggest problem that detroit has? and what's the fix? >> well, i wish i did know a single problem. i know that it's not 40 years of black corrupted politicians, as i heard commentate on another network last night. that is simply not the truth. the fix, i think, is educating

our people to the jobs that are called for now. there are a couple of million jobs out there, but we have to import people from india to fill those jobs. we've got to train people for the jobs that are now. the auto industry, the assembly line jobs, that's never going to hold us up again. but i think new leadership is going to take us in the right direction, and detroit will be fine by 2020. >> and you'll be part of that. reverend robert smith jr., pastor of the new bethel baptist church in detroit, thank you for your time today. >> thank you, sir. >> you bet. we'll be right back. (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.

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we are back with our brain trust. we have mave ruston. matt well, editor in chief at reason magazine. thanks all three for sticking around. matt i will start with you. what's your headline? >> who's going bankrupt next? it is not just detroit.

we have seen a cascade, or beginning of cascade of bankruptcies in california. san bernardino, rhode island. we have tax revenue and how much we are spending and how much we are promising and so we will see more. >> you heard michigan democrat congressman calling for congress to look into this. should the federal government -- should congress be involved as well as the president in this? >> only in terms of setting and defining what types of bankruptcy law is available out there. i don't think that congress has a role if bailing out cities or states or anyone for making bad decisions. >> outside of that, state to state, do you see state legislators looking at what is happening in detroit, in michigan, and saying, we better do something like wisconsin? >> this is happening more the last five, six years in places like new york, illinois and california. particularly blue states, blue on blue politicians, saying, look, the pie is getting smaller here. we can't make these huge promises to sector unions or

whoever we are making promises. we are seeing people who make the conversations long before detroit. >> you think it might be brought up in the future? >> for sure. >> meg, your headline is more spiritual, share with us. >> well, is there a hash tag to heaven? we have had the vatican this week saying they were going to offer indulgences to people who followed the pope through social media during his visit to rio. and i just was wondering if that brings a whole new level of power to facebook and twitter and what people actually might get in return or what they can expect. >> it is interesting there. what do you think, aiesha? >> well, you know, i think that as organizing tools, it is powerful to see, you know, how spirituality will take over in our discourse. we were talking about the battle for american soul and i think we are going to take to the internet around these conversations around trayvon

martin or voting rights or any issues impacting our country around race, gun laws, et cetera to determine where are we from a moral standpoint and how should we be moving forward in our conversations about our values a. >> as a nation. >> mave, are we going to see twitter and facebook be the new pulpit? >> i hope not. i think we all hope not. but it is interesting obviously the catholic church has been struggling on so many different levels. after all of the scandals we have seen. clearly they are trying to engage a younger audience through social media and get people interested in the church. i think probably a lot of catholics don't even know what indulgences are. so there is an intriguing way to draw people into the conversation about the pope's visit. and about purgatory and all of those issues that the younger generation isn't necessarily thinking about at the moment. >> so, matt, quickly to you here, what is your thought on

what the catholic church is doing? this is just the beginning really? >> everyone is using social media and will use it fundamentally social media is a conversation and the pulpit is a speech. so any time that someone of authority tries to use kind of co-op social media, they better learn they are in the middle of something and they are not there in a position to dictate terms to the audience. >> not surprising the catholic church is getting into this as we move forward. we are 2013 right now. to you, aiesha, what is your headline? >> battling for america's soul is my headline. the conversations we are having right new that are steeped in tragedy, steeped in divisiveness, are really asking us to determine whether we care more in this country about guns than we do lives. whether, you know, it is okay for black people to be born suspects simply because of the color of their skin. whether the wars on women are about reproductive healthcare an access or about something deeper than that. i think what is great about the president speaking out with his

own personal stories, like he did around race is that we are going to start to look and call into question what our own values are. i think that's powerful for as as a trun tcountry. >> how does this have to do with class? >> i think class and interracial are linked. we should have more conversations about poverty. when we are kicking food stamps out of farm bill, again back to our moral conscience about who do we really care about when we talk about the policies that make our country move forward. >> where do you see the light at the end of ttunnel? >> i think the democracy is the light. we had a hundred rallies for trayvon across the country p.m. people are speaking up and letting their voices be heard. that is the light at the end of the tunnel. >> i want to fin wisis finish w.

matt, you wrote about helen thomas how many years ago? >> 19. >> 19 years ago. you have a story to tell about her as well. let's share a little bit about what you wrote. i have a soft spot for thomas due to working and drinking with her in prague. >> she worked with upi international for a thousand years. bill clinton came to town and she came along. we worked for about 20 hours and they took me out to dinner and sat me down. i never met her before. just some long-hair. shows up in green combat boots, two bottles of wine and said, all right, let's talk about journalism. great classic old school type. very generous. and very patriotic about her approach to journalism back then. there's been plenty of controversy since 19 years ago. but it was kind of a wonderful experience and a warm and

interesting person. >> a great anecdote to finish with. you all three have a great weekend. thanks for watching this sunday afternoon. craig will be next weekend at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. first, disrupt with karen finney. have a great day. [ male announcer ] we all deserve a good night's sleep. thankfully, there's zzzquil. it's not for colds, it's not for pain, it's just for sleep. ♪ because sleep is a beautiful thing™. ♪ zzzquil. the non-habit forming sleep-aid from the makers of nyquil®. zzzquil. by earning a degree in the field maof counseling or psychologyth from capella university, health. you'll have the knowledge to make a difference in the lives of others. let's get started at capella.edu.

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bacon?! bacon? bacon! who wants a beggin' strip? meee! i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs! yum, yum, yum, yum, yum... it's bacon!!! mmmmm...i love you. i love bacon. i love you. [ male announcer ] there's no time like beggin' time. as america engages in a long-needed conversation and american city needs saving kids are showing us the way. >> the president moved trayvon martin up to be a symbol of racial profiling in america. >> remarkable admission sparked by divisive questions. >> he did not walk to the podium with an impromptu talk to the nation. >> i disagree. he walked to the pulpit, not pushed to the pulpit. >> i need it talk to more african-american organizations. >> gangs are increased by 40%