tv Andrea Mitchell Reports MSNBC July 29, 2013 10:00am-11:01am PDT
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the secretary of state says if it were easy, it would have happened a long time ago. >> i know the negotiations are going to be tough. but i also mow that the consequences of not trying could be worse. anthony weiner says today he won't be scared off by pundits or apparently by that retired schoolteacher who read him the riot act on the campaign trail. >> had i conducted myself in the manner in which you conducted yours, my job would have been gone. >> after that, wiener's weekend went from bad to worse. his campaign manager quit and the criticism piles on. >> but at this point it's absurd. he is not going to be the next mayor of new york. he is wasting time and space. >> he may still be in the race wi when this campaign is over. >> he disqualified himself though not just because of these scandals -- though that certainly has. he didn't have the qualifications when he was in congress. and the summer of '63.
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only four months before tragedy. rare archival footage gives us a close-up look at the kennedy family at play vacationing off of cape cod exactly 50 years last weekend. last summer of president john f. kennedy's life. good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington. table for two at the white house. the white house hosts an oval office lunch with his former secretary of state, currently the top democratic choice if she chooses to run for president. advisor to the president and the former secretary are on the same page today calling it just a chance to catch up but that will not quiet the speculation. joining me for our "daily fix," chris cillizza and ruth marcus. so, chris, what do you think is the first topic? probably saying what do you think they're all talking about us today? >> yeah. >> we are. >> golly, andrea. i would kill to be in that room. but my guess is, look, they are
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two substantive peel who are probably talking -- my guess, maybe middle east policy. that's obviously something that's on the tip of everyone's tongue at the moment. do they talk poll six itics is always wish i knew but i think that's by far the most fascinating component of all of this. there has been a little bit of trickle from the obama campaign to hillary or the ready for hillary effort. i think it will be fascinating to see sort of how that plays itself out in the future. >> ruth marcus, you could think of the middle east or how do deal with vladimir putin. the president now has to decide do we after snowden and after everything that's happened do we do the bilateral talks an how do you deal with putin? there is a lot of foreign policy. egypt. but also what's happening in new york. that's got to be at least alluded to. >> oh, my goodness.
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how about, please pass the salt? this fish is lovely and how's your summer going? i find it a little hard to imagine that either one of them would broach the topic of what's going on in new york. painful i think for the secretary of state and not dangerous for the president, but not necessarily -- he knows she doesn't want to talk about that. so i don't think either one of them is going to bring those up. i would venture to guess that the elephant or donkey in the room, her prospective possible almost-certain presidential race is also not going to be a topic of conversation. there are some things that just don't need mentioning. >> and you know what could be mentioned since they both have long experience is what to do about the fed and how will women, including hillary clinton, respond if he does not choose the first woman, the vice chair of the fed, janet yellin, to replace ben bernanke after his two terms are up since all
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the signals are that he is not going to ask for another term or seek another term or wouldn't accept it if offered. so there's a lot of sort of female politics involved in that. i've never seen a campaign like this where you've got "usa today's" front page and the "wall street journal's" front page and "the new york times" and all of the papers weighing in as to yellin versus larry summers. >> fascinating. i'll just say, for someone that follows this from the outside, i think it is fascinating in that for the most part, you don't cover these things typically like an election. it is sort of, well, it is going to be this person, it is sort of decided behind the scenes. that it is playing out as publicly as it is, i think to your point raises the stakes if he does go with larry summers. there is going to be a lot more people aware of it than might have been otherwise and with the critique, that still kind of lingers in the obama administration. they've done a lot to address it. still lingers that there aren't you enough women in positions of
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real power and real authority. that narrative would come i think back sort of at them if he went with summers. >> getting back to the whole subject of wiener, he did an interview with "the staten island advance." >> i argue this. i argue this. i'm going to be a successful mayor because of it. because it's going to give me a level of independence -- look. people are saying to me, well this guy's not endorsing you, that guy's not endorsing you, this person's saying a nasty thing about you, that person's saying a nasty thing about you. well, i'm not constructing a campaign around the approval of my peers. i'm constructing a campaign around the aspirations of my neighbors. >> that's a novel approach. >> well, i'm not his peer but i am not giving him my approval and i thought one of the most outrageous things in that interview was somebody asked him about what he would say to his son and his answer was -- well, he's going to get to grow up in
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gracie mansion so stop complaining. i think it's just appalling to expose your child to having your father's business paraded around like this. >> that's a real window into the value system. that's all about getting to live in gracie mansion which, mike bloomberg didn't live in. >> i would rather live in his house! >> what about the mcdonald's? we haven't talked about this in a while, chris slcillizza. this is not a question of legality now, it is a question of propriety for the governor's wife had run up charges on the political action committee tab which is apparently okay in the very lax virginia campaign finance rules. >> right. $10,000 almost spent on clothes from his political action committee which, as you point out, is not illegal. to be honest, very little of what has been reported about what bob mcdonnell accepted or what his family accepted, not the vast majority -- the is not
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illegal under virginia law so my feeling is that that will be changed in the near future to make some of these things a little more clear. but it is just amazing to me, this year started with people including -- talking bob mcdonnell is potential 2016 candidate. right now he is clinging -- clinging to an office that he will be term limited out of come january of next year. >> this was bob mcdonnell speaking from afghanistan to wrc. >> i served the people of virginia for 22 years now and i am deeply sorry that those things that have been done either by me or my family have created a problem for virginia government and have caused some embarrassment. i thought it was the right thing to do to make those loan payments back and to begin to heal the trust that might have been broken between me and the
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people. >> ruth, that just -- $120,000 nearly in loans apparently? >> only the start. hayes given back the rolex? where's the money coming from? this isn't a question of legality, as chris correctly says. it is a question of judgment. and just because you can get away with it doesn't mean you should do it. and you know, hello, the front page of the "washington post" test. he has failed it massively. whatever happens to the final months of his governorship, his political career, i think is over and that's really a shame because he was quite a good governor. >> other than a few things. >> thank you very much. today the fbi announced a nationwide undercover operation successfully rescued 105 teenagers this weekend in a crackdown on sexual trafficking network or networks that operated from coast to coast. nbc justice correspondent pete williams joins us. pete, what are the details here? >> well, this is an operation --
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the fbi has done these before but they say they've actually found more people this time, partly because of better preparation and intelligence. you mentioned the number of children that were rescued. the fbi also arrested 150 people they call pimps that were in charge of these young women. these were operations that went down in 76 cities. these are almost all young girls. they are trafficked in internet sites, at truck stops, at casinos, on the street with, in motels an they say that the people who prey on these young people take advantage of the fact that there are about 290,000 children in america who are considered to be at risk. some of them are runaways, some of them are what they call throwaways, some of them are abused at home. they are enticed by people who offer them some kind of attention but they prey on children with low self-esteem, many of them in foster homes or group homes. and they say that the young people who were preyed on here cut across all racial lines and
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incomes. couple interesting things that we were told about today. one is the fact that while this operation didn't involve it, that they do find that these young people are moved around from city to city. they don't tend to keep them in the homes where they -- in the areas where they come from, and they say that, unfortunately, this tends to happen a lot at big sporting events like the super bowl or the ncaa final four because that's where the money is, that's where sort of frolicy atmosphere is and that's where the men are. >> that's really appalling. thank you and thanks to the fbi. of course, the next question is what happens to these young people and how can they rebuild their lives. thanks so much, pete williams. america lost a great lady over the weekend. 97-year-old lindy boggs passed away in her suburban washington home. she was born on a louisiana plantation. she became a key political
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advisor to her husband who first became elected to kong in 1940 and rose to become the house majority leader until he was lost tragically in an alaska plane crash in 1973. lindy boggs was re-elected to serve nearly 18 years. later president clinton sent her to the vatican as the u.s. ambassador to the holy see where she used her same southern charm and diplomatic skills that had made her such an effective politician. for years congresswoman boggs was the only white member of congress representing a majority plaque district, a distinction she earned by her life-long commitment to civil rights and to her community. when women first got equal access to bank loans and home mortgages, that was all lanks to lindy boggs' service on the house banking committee. our thoughts today are with her daughter, abc's cokie roberts and the entire family of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. lindy boggs, truly one of a kind.
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getting to this resumption has also taken the courageous leadership of prime minister netanyahu and president abbas, and i salute both of them for their willingness to make difficult decisions and to advocate within their own countries an within their own leadership teams. >> senator kerry this morning heralding the long fought achievement of the six trips to the middle east getting negotiators for the israel and palestinian leaders to sit down with each other for the first time in three years. joining me now, state department correspondent for bbc news, and aaron david miller, senior advisor in the past for arab-israeli negotiations at the state department under many administrations. aaron, first to you on what you think the prospects are.
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we you a the appointment of martin indig, one of your friends to be a special envoy. this is not top level leaders, it is mid level negotiators. what can they accomplish? have they cleared away any underbrush? >> that's where it starts, andrea. the bad news is if you ask me right now is a conflict ending agreement between abbas and netanyahu possible in which the five core issues that drive the israeli-palestinian conflict, border, security of refugees and recognition of israel as the nation state of the jewish people? i would say the odds of achieving that are slim to none. could they, assuming they build a stake in these negotiations? identify the borders of the state of pal liestine and core r security arrangements? absolutely. on the other two identity issues, jerusalem refugees, think in terms of the grand canyon.
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it is going to be extremely difficult on those two issues. but kerry's achieved something and the signs are really quite remarkable. the radio silence around these negotiations is virtually impressive. i tried to get a conference call for the wilson center last week. my friend wouldn't do it because he said he promised secretary kerry he wouldn't talk about this. nobody in israel is talking about it either. that's a testament to kerry's effort and efforts maybe -- maybe -- just the beginnings of an indication of the seriousness of the process. >> kim, this is the most remarkable thing as aaron was just saying. the fact that nobody in israel is talking about it where you have an explosion of leaks usually in the media. that's pretty significant. netanyahu doesn't have a peace cabinet but he forced this prisoner release of 104 palestinian prisoners through which is what the palestinians were demanding since they were giving up their precondition that settlement construction be stopped. >> it is easy to be jaded and to
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be cynical about the peace process in the middle east. we've seen. with being many failures in the past but it is important to keep trying because it is impossible to continue watching this region in the situation that it is, not just with the uprisings in the arab world but also a continued lack of peace between israelis and palestinians. on the other hand, the stakes are high but there is very low bar for success. we're starting with procedural talks here in washington. there's so much that has to be set aside that they have to first agree on the format, on the schedule, the locations, they'll have dinner tonight, some more talks them, then going back to the region and perhaps there will be a next round of talks in the region soon. i think that what john kerry is doing is diplomacy by attrition. he just kept going back to the middle east again and again and talking to netanyahu, talking to president abbas and trying to get them to the table.
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this was the one goal that john kerry had his heart set on when he took the job of secretary of state and that does work in his favor. >> aaron, at the same time there's so much else going on. he had to spend a good part of the weekend worrying about egypt. we are going to be talking to ayman muhyeldin very shortly about that where he warned the egyptian authorities that they were on the brink. so can he keep his focus now on these middle east talks or is the rest of the world also blowing up around him? >> it's counterintuitive, andrea. the fact that the middle east is in chaos, civil war in syria, political violence, dysfunction in egypt in a strange way has left the israeli-palestinian arena the most potentially positive area for american engagement. we are not going to intercede in the syrian civil war and there's very little frankly we'll do to create a democratic equality in egypt. we do, on the other hand, have a fair amount of influence and
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experience on this other problem. that's point one. number two, i think that to a degree, kerry's willfulness has brought the parties to this point but they really are going to have to own it. he can appoint the special envoy and martin will do a good job but in the end, kerry has to ride this process. because if he ultimately doesn't and doesn't ultimately invest the president in it, you won't get the high level decisions or attention that need to actually reach an accord. >> in fact what the state department officials are telling us, kim, is that the president's been very involved. they want the president's buy-in to be telegraphed. he gave that speech to the students and that he's been on the phone with kerry -- in fact, i was told he was on the phone with kerry on the outcome here in the moments before he was in to the briefing room and talked
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thoughtfully but without notice about trayvon martin. so the president has invested a lot of personal time in this behind the scenes. >> but he also invested a lot of time during his first administration and those talks didn't go anywhere. in fact it was the shortest round of direct negotiations we've ever seen perhaps between israelis and palestinians in september of 2010. now president obama is perhaps invested behind the scenes but he's not out there in public. i think that what the white house is doing is letting john kerry take this away and if he gets somewhere, they will step in and claim some credit and if he fails, then they will distance themselves from it. but it is absolutely important as aaron was pointing out for president obama to be invested in this at the crucial moment if there is -- if the moment does come when it is possible to get some kind of deal. perhaps not a final agreement that ends the conflict, but
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something close to that if they indeed make enough progress. one thing to point out is that i was intrigued by israelis saying that they think the talks will go on for months. certainly past september. september is the date of the general assembly at the u.n. and the palestinians were planning to go to the u.n. general assembly to unilaterally call again for an independent palestinian state. there is a lot of -- there is a game going on on both sides as well and everybody has to remain skeptical but optimistic about what the motivations are of the two parties as they come to the table. but neither side wants to be pla blamed for the failure. >> kim, thank you very much. aaron, as well. thank you both. for something a lot more glamorous but nefarious, in cannes at the french riviera. a real-life masked robber walked right into the lobby of the carlton hotel and grabbed $53 million worth of jewels.
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he threatened the security staff with a pistol and just walked out the hotel with the loot. this setting is exactly where "to catch a thief" was filmed in the hitchcock classic. kerry grant played a reformed cat burglar alongside, of course, grace kelly. >> we were a very strong group. she knows you like no one else. and you wouldn't have it any other way. but your erectile dysfunction - you know, that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help
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schiff, member of the house intelligence committee, one of those expressing serious concerns about the invasions of privacy. you obviously disagree with the chairman of your committee, mike rogers. >> i do. to use the phone book analogy, there's a lot of obviously information, a lot of data that the government is gathering which i don't think the government has the need to gather and this is one of the critical questions. i think when we look at those nsa programs, we should be asking are they constitutional, are they getting effective results and are they structured in a way that minimizes any imposition on the privacy of the american people. certainly on that last criteria, is there a different way this program could be structured where it wouldn't be necessary for the government to get all those phone books. i think the answer is absolutely yes. and in fact just last week the director of the nsa disclosed publicly there was no technological reason why the telephone companies couldn't hold their own data and only be queried when we had reasonably that a number was connected with a terrorist plot. i think we can get the same national security results in terms of protecting the public
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without requiring the government to obtain all of that data. >> congressman, isn't it true that the phone companies have resisted that for -- because it is bad pr, it is bad sort of -- it is expensive. they don't want the legal liability associated potentially with it. how do you get the phone companies to do the record keeping? >> well, i think the phone companies have a mixture of emotions on this. on one hand you are absolutely right. they would rather say we've got a court order and we just gave them what they asked for. yes, it is a lot of data but we are just following the requirement of the government. at the same time, the customers of those phone companies would much rather i think have those companies hold on to their own data and only give up a specific phone number who it is connected to when there is reason to believe that that number is connected to a terrorist plot. i think their customers would like something different. probably at the end of the day i think this program will be restructured. the phone companies will retain their own data. they are going to probably either press for some form of
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immunity to do that so that they can protect themselves. but i do think it is a structure that would be more respectful of the privacy interests of the american people and i think the phone companies are coming to recognize that. >> you and others who agree with you in both parties came so close to striking down the funding for these programs. the closest that anyone has come. particularly because of the debate that has now ensued. what about some of your other proposals which would change the way the fisa court works? right now chief justice alone has assigned 11 justices to the court and there is no counter argument. do you think you have a better chance now of getting an authentically adversarial, if secret, procedure in that court so that there could be some real argument? >> i think there is a lot of momentum behind reforms to the fisa court that would provide for an adversarial process that would provide for different method of appointing the judges to the court.
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i'd like to see a presidential nomination and senate conif i recallation didn't confirmation so those judges can be vetted on those views. i think there is a lot of mom t momentum around declassifying some of the fisa court opinions. i think at the end of the day, the issue will be where will that adversary come from? will it be from an attorney who works in the department of justice who's appointed for are that purpose? or would it be someone who's selected by the privacy board that's at least has some independence and distance from the government, both of which would have to have the security clearances necessary to be able to access these issues and speak in an informed way to the court. but i think the court would benefit and we are seeing former fisa court judges, two of them now come out and say that they would benefit from the opportunity to hear the opposing view, to hear how other case law
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may suggest a different conclusion than what the court is arguing. as a former prosecutor, i think that the arguments in court are always improved when you have the benefit of both sides and the work product coming out of the court would be improved. >> congressman, i want to ask you about one of your former colleagues. until last year, bob filner was a member of congress for two decades and now he has, by his own acknowledgement, had behavior since becoming mayor of san diego which -- sexual harassment in any way you describe it against former staff people, against constituents, leading business people, a rear admiral, was none of this behavior apparent in all those years you served with him in the california delegation? >> well, none of it was apparent to me. i didn't work closely with him and i'm not the kind of person that he would have approached in the manner that he did or harassed in the manner that he did these women. i agree with those that have asked him to step down. think he really will have to
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step down and it is sad to see. it's terrible to learn about these actions that he's taken. it reflects poorly on the office and i don't know how he can continue in that office given all that has been alleged now. but, no, i never saw any indication of it and the only thing that we did see because it was quite public was a run-in he had at the airport when he was alleged to have shoved one of the personnel there and i think ultimately accepted responsibility for that. but this comes as a big surprise to a great many of us and it is quite sad to see it all take place. >> thank you so much, congressman. thanks for being with us today. rare new pictures now show fidel castro over the weekend meeting with venezuelan president nicholas medora. the former president is looking at art related to the revolution. aging communist leader's failing health has kept him mostly out
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♪ the white house has condemned egypt's military's bloody weekend crackdown on demonstrators but has not taken steps to cut off aid. dozens of people have been killed and hundreds injured in egypt in the last few days nearly a month after the ouster of president morsi. joining me now from cairo with the very latest, ayman muhyeldin. what's the situation behind you there in tahrir square? >> reporter: we got two fronts kind of developing. on one hand you have the sit-in protest that's been really encamped ever since morsi was ousted. every night they're holding their kind of symbolic marches through various facilities, destinations here in the capital. we expect them to make a similar march today like the one they made over the weekend that ultimately turned violently when they clashed with police but they are expected to make a
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march shortly. behind the scenes there are diplomatic efforts to try and diffuse the situation which is this tense standoff. the eu foreign policy chief is in town. she's been holding meetings with both the military commanders of this country as well and the interim civilian government and she's expected now to be holding meets with representatives of the anti-coup coalition which is the umbrella coalition opposed to the out ster of president morsi. >> we had calls over the weekend from secretary kerry, secretary hagel to their counterparts. also kerry talking to katherine ashton and basically warning the military there that they are on the brink. that this is a pivotal moment for egypt. there's been a lot of patience i think shown, and a lot of criticism of that patience by the u.s. side, in not
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discontinuing contracts with which they have actually very little control but at this point they are really getting concerned that this is going over the edge. >> reporter: that's absolutely right. in fact, one person diplomat i spoke to here described the general's comments last week when he called for the protests as they were spooked by his comments. so it gives you a sense of anxiety sometimes that u.s. officials and other officials have when it comes to how the military has been conducting itself here on the street. the concern in the coming days is really about this protest. the military has not backed down. they've continued to arrest senior members of the muslim brotherhood and other prominent politicians. yes, they are saying this is as a result of criminal charges. but the growing concern is that the military and the police at some point will try to break up this massive sit-in of 5,000, 6,000 people on a good night, and that is only going to lead to more bloodshed. there is those within the interim government making a push to try to resolve this
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politically and with some diplomatic efforts but right now it does not like like that's the case. police and the military seem to have the upper hand and it is really a matter of time as to which way that situation will be resolved. >> one of the people really in an awkward position here, mohammed el bar day wed elbaradm a different diplomatic backyard. when i say they don't have control over those contracts, they can cancel the contracts but the contracts are left, they're still going to be paid or at least the american taxpayers are going to still have to pay for those weapons systems, whether or not they ever get to egypt. amman mole deyman muhyeldin, th the latest from cairo. monitoring a developing situation in philadelphia this hour. rescue crews are combing through rubble in several homes in south philadelphia after an explosion at a row house in south philly earlier today. brick showers on to the street, houses on either side of the building have been badly damaged. a private contractor was working in the basement of that building at the time of the explosion.
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the pope has returned home after a trip to brazil that showed that this is a very different kind of pope. his outreach to brazil's poor was unprecedented and now on his flight home he's touched on the once taboo topics including grey priests and women in the church. nbc's anne thompson was with with the pope on this historic trip all the way and the flight back to rome where she joins us now. what a whirlwind trip and what an amazing visit. first of all twauk about what he said on the flight home about gay priests. >> well, he was asked a question about the so-called gay lobby here at the vatican, andrea. and in responding, he said, if someone were gay and they were searching for the lord and they have good will, who am i to
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judge? and that was genuinely striking. he went on to say that gay people should not be marginalized and that has been part of his mission, a mission of mercy, if you will. he is always trying to reach out to the people who society seems to mornarginalize but his outre to gays is significant because it is something the catholic chu church has not done. >> he also spoke about the issue of women in the clergy and i guess he said that the issue has not been studied enough but he didn't dismiss it out of hand. i'm not sure what your takeaway was from that. >> here's my take on it. first of all, he said that women need to have a deeper role in the church and he said that women are important in the church. he said mary is more important than the apostles. she was the mother of christ. she's more important than the apostles or any of the priests. but when it comes to women
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priests, he said, no, that issue was settled by john paul ii long ago. so clearly it's not an issue he's going to revisit. the ordination of women. >> we are just looking at some aerials of some of the 3 million people on copacabana beach. i don't know what the high point was for you. perhaps it was that vast array of people and the energy. >> i think there are so many highlights from this trip. certainly the mass yesterday and you had more than 3 million people on copacabana beach. i was out there in the midst of them and it was very peaceful, very solemn and very respectful service. you think 3 million people gathered in one place, it's got to be a little zany. but i was struck by how during the pope's homily the people
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were quiet. the other thing, andrea, i will tell you, what happened on that plane last night, you would have loved every second of it. the pope came back, he spoke for an hour and 20 minutes, never used a note, took every question that was asked. didn't try to dodge anything. he laughed, he was animated, he was expressive and he talked about a variety of subjects, everything from the so-called gay lobby to the vatican bank scandal, to the -- what's even in that balack briefcase that he's carried everywhere. if you are wonder, it is a razor, a day planner, and a book about his favorite saint. he appears to be so ordinary. he's really trying to keep his feet on the ground as he leads this gigantic church. andrea. >> ann, your coverage has been amazing. you've just painted such a vivid picture of how different this is. thank you so much for being with
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us today. safe travels, my friend. just moments ago, the white house said that former president jimmy carter will indeed be traveling to north korea on a personal mission. president carter's spokesperson though and the state department are not confirming that information. over the weekend in north korea it was all pomp and celebration to mark the 60th anniversary to the end of the korean war. nbc's ann curry was juan of the rare journalists granted rare access but limited, to see this massive show of force. ♪ >> reporter: an all-star gala, north korea's top cork storches performing last night before an elite audience of government officials, war heroes and foreign diplomats. tenors and sopranos were singing musical selections like "the song of the sniper," and "my song in the trench." while on the big screen behind,
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battle footage. in this concert, the final act of the four-day commemoration marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the korean war, a war often forgotten in the u.s. but ever present in north korea. there seems no escaping war here. the threat of war. real or imagined. especially from the u.s. binds everyone from old to young to the ruling kim dynasty. a widow tells us if american soldiers invade she would fight herself. a new father who wants his baby son to grow up to be a soldier. and a 10-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a scientist so she can make satellite to protect her nation. 30-year-old kim jong-un is a third generation of kims to rule north korea. totalitarian control has kept the family in power for more than 65 years. even through a famine killing 2 million people in the mid 1990s. food is still a big problem today. the world food program reports two-thirds of north koreans
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struggle to find enough food to eat every day. 27% of the children are stunted from malnutrition. still, in this country of 24 million, some signs of change, mostly in the capital -- pyongyang -- where the country's elite live. 2 million north koreans now have cell phones and even though government crackdowns attempted to stop smuggled foreign dvds and books from coming in, 70% of north koreans have seen a video or reading so from the outside world. the biggest change may be the black market thriving around the country. >> once you let in the market, once you let in cell phones, they never go away. they only grow. so one hopes that this will eventually have an impact certainly on society but also how the politicians and the leaders deal with that society. >> reporter: just this saturday during a speech before the parade, the country's top military officer said the armed forces must support the urgent task of rebuilding the economy and improving living standards.
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a surprising statement considering north korea spends about one-third of its gdp on the military, from maintaining its mall man-plus army, to nuclear arms development. but with an economy but with an economy battered, there may be a new reality, and few outside this isolated country doubt the kim regime will do anything to stay in power. ann curry, nbc news, pyongyang, north korea. >> and our thanks to ann curry for that. and family or golf? hunter mahan chose family on saturday. he had a two-stroke lead at the canadian open when he received word that his wife had gone into labor with their first child. he quickly left the pga tour event and his chance at the $1 million prize, hopped on a plane to dallas, and made it just in time to greet his new daughter. he tweeted yesterday, what a whirlwind day, but i'm happy to announce the birth of my daughter. thanks for all the support.
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the winner had a special message for the new dad. >> zoe will get a very nice birthday present, baby gift from me. i can't think candy enough for going into labor early. i don't know if i'd be sitting here if she hadn't. that's obviously a way more important thing than a golf tournament. i missed a golf tournament when my first was born. best decision i ever made. distribution systems," "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers," "eliminating costly markups," "and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. "dedication: that's the real walmart" humans.
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i don't take my cues on policy from the sunday talk shows is listening to pundits. i never have. i don't -- i don't take my cues from the headline writers in the newspapers. i never have. those are the very same people that didn't want me to run, that didn't want new yorkers to have this choice in the first place. i'm going to keep talking about the things important to this city. i don't really care if a lot of pundits or politicians are offended by that. i'm going to keep doing those things, and i think new yorkers deserve that choice. i'm going to let new yorkers decide. >> chris, anthony weiner today
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on the campaign trail. he's not listening to you, and he doesn't care what you say. >> i mean, look, andrea, that's fine. he doesn't have to listen to me, but he did this to himself. the reason the coverage is the way it is is because anthony weiner has committed these acts. we didn't make this up. we're not trying to distract. the coverage is such because of his actions, not anything the media has done. an important clarification, he's welcome to run the race as long as he likes. that's how democracy works. >> and the tabloids are very happy with all of that. thank you, chris. we should point out this afternoon that the president will hold meetings with eric holder on the voting rights act and what they're trying to do too work around the supreme court decision. more on that to come. and that does it for us for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." follow the show online and on twitter. tamron hall has a look at what's next. >> hi, andrea. in our next hour, in just a couple hour, john kerry will host a new set of israeli-pal
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tin january peace talks. at the same time, he's calling on egyptian leaders to, quote, pull back from it the brink after some of the deadliest protests yet in egypt. plus, fast food workers unite and walk off the job in more than a dozen cities today. they are demanding higher wages. many of these people still on the streets right now. this comes as an alarming new survey shows just how many people will face poverty at some point in their lives. and pope francis reaches out to the gay community saying, quote, who am i to judge? will his policies change the direction of the catholic church? it is our "news nation" gut check. hey mom, is there a dressing room around here? no. mom, check it out! energy drinks. no. hey mom! dare me to do a back-flip? no. 1, 2, 3, 4! no! it's rated for class five white water. no! whooooooo! no, no! no, huh? yes! [ male announcer ] in a world filled with "no",
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and i have a massive heart attack right in my driveway. the doctor put me on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go talk to your doctor. you're not indestructible anymore. right now on "news nation," thousands of fast food workers walk off their jobs in protest across the country as a new survey shows one in five americans earns less than $10 an
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hour. who am i to judge? the pope with what is being called break-through comments on the role of gays in the catholic church. plus, why the officer caught on this now infamous video pepper spraying occupy protesters at uc davis is now saying he deserves workers' comp. but first, the news nation is following two developing stories is involving the stability of the middle east. first in egypt today, thousands of members of the muslim brotherhood are ignoring calls by the military to stop their protests, risking more violent confrontations after a bloody weekend that left at least 72 people dead. it is the worst violence on the streets of cairo since former president hosni mubarak was overthrown in 2011. secretary of state john kerry called egypt's interim prime minister to urge restraint as the obama administration faces growing calls to suspend the $1.5 billion a
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