developing now on "news nation," a-rod reportedly the only one planning to appeal as he and dozens of other major league baseball stars are set to be suspended for doping. and searching for a motive. investigators try to figure out the motive behind a driver's alleged rampage on the venice beach boardwalk. plus, we're learning more about the young woman who was killed while on her honeymoon. plus, one of the most vicious, violent criminals ever to walk the streets just one of the ways prosecutors are describing mobster whitey bulger right now during closing arguments. but first, the "news nation" is following the new information on the global terror threat that is keeping more than a dozen u.s. embassies and consulates closed throughout the week. moments ago the state department

gave an update on this ongoing threat. >> we are going to keep evaluating information as it comes in, keep analyzing the various intelligence that we're getting in regard to this stream. that's why you saw yesterday we announced that some would be reopening and some would be -- additional consulates and embassies would be closing today. we're going to keep analyzing the information and making adjustments where we need to. >> despite the threat, more than half a dozen u.s. embassies have reopened today, including kabul, baghdad, and tel aviv. 19 outposts will remain closed until at least saturday. 15 of them were closed yesterday. four diplomatic posts were added today, including madagascar, rwanda. while speaking with nbc's chuck todd this morning, congressman adam shif, a member of the house intelligence committee who's been briefed on threat, stressed how serious the administration is taking this. >> there's a high level of

confidence in the sources of the information on it. we get chatter all the time. it's often very nonspecific, sometimes it's from less-than-credible sources. to take this kind of a broad action to shut down this many embassies over this broad a terrain, to have multiple briefings to the president in the course sometimes of a single day, that demonstrates a high level of confidence that this threat is real, that the attack planning is real. >> in addition, the state department's global travel alert remains in effect through the month of august. officials are being careful not to identify specifics of the terror threat, only saying it is connected to al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and related to the end of ramadan. bob, this all started on friday. people have been watching the developments over the weekend. we hear lawmakers honestly from both sides saying, and they cannot stress enough, how serious this is. what makes this threat different than others we've seen in recent memory? >> the key thing that we're

being told today is it's not so much what was said but who said it. in fact, that somewhere within the al qaeda in the arabian peninsula hierarchy, someone said something. that is what is driving a lot of this. >> but it would take more than i would imagine one someone here. >> it's basically -- the key thing is the one someone is so credible that they decided to move. now, it's been corroborated since and there have been some additional information. basically, still, we are at the same point we were the end of last week in terms of specificity. still no specificity on the type of facility. still no specificity on the location. still no real specificity on the explosives or weapons that would be used. so it is still based on what we are hearing from whom rather than the specificity. >> when you look at some of the numbers, 19 of the outpoests wil remain closed at least through saturday. when you look at the numbers and the changing number from friday,

some might think this is whack-a-mole. but there is stra teej ri, i would imagine, to this. >> certainly what you're looking at here is analysis as well as information. i mean, there's a historical analysis that can be done on these types of attacks and on the organization behind them. what they have done in the past, what they have targeted. so based on that analysis, decisions are being made about new facilities to be closed, facilities to be reopened, and what we're told is there will be at some point probably on the weekend a review of which facilities and the level of security. >> how much of this is about intelligence here in the u.s. and throughout the world showing al qaeda or its associates that they are able to track even the most minute to the most relevant chatter? >> i think the key thing here is al qaeda has been very, very good at lowering its profile online, lowering its profile in telephone communications, but

sometimes people make mistakes. sometimes channels that they don't realize we are monitoring, we are. so there's a lot of that that goes into what the targeting by the u.s. is. >> all right. thank you very much, bob. let me bring in nbc terrorism analyst evan coleman. i'm sure you overheard the conversation with bob here. what is your takeaway at this point, as we've seen an extension with some embassies and while others throughout the week will still be closed, some, including tel aviv, reopened today. >> once again, you're seeing this focus on a threat emanating from the arabian peninsula. we now get the idea that there was a senior individual or senior leader of aqap of al qaeda and yemen who was the source of this information. two names immediately pop up as potential sources. number one is the yemeni head of

al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. another one is a former guantanamo bay detainee who was released, went back to yemen and joined al qaeda and is one of the prominent public spokesperson for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. he's more charismatic. supposedly he was also the target of a drone strike last week in yemen. he's certainly someone at the top of the list as potential sources of the information that we're looking at right now. >> we've heard a number of lawmakers, including richard bloomenthal who said this is the most serious chatter heard since prior to 9/11. i want to pray what richard hoss, the president of the council of foreign relations. he was on "morning joe" referring to the so-called new normal in these types of events. let me play what he said. >> this is not an exception. this is in some ways the inevitable result of a middle east that's increasingly careening out of control where

the problem is not strong governments but it's weak governments who are not in control of large things that go on within their borders. >> evan, do you agree with that assessment? >> yeah, absolutely i do. look, it used to be that al qaeda was a centralized organization. it was a centralized threat. it was a single network. that's not the way it works anymore. now there are a variety of different al qaeda networks based in a variety of different countries. it's become decentralized. these guys are looking for open space. they're looking for places that they can thrive where there is a lack of central government control. where have they found it? they found that in iraq. they found that in syria. they found that in yemen. they found it in mali. somalia as well. unfortunately what we see is, even though al qaeda's central leadership has suffered terrible casualties and has taken terrible blows, al qaeda, the philosophy or overall movement, as received tremendous new injection of energy and enthusiasm and personnel as a result of these kind of ongoing conflicts in places like yemen, syria k and iraq. >> but evan, i've got to get

your thoughts on there's been a back and forth, of course. we'll talk more about lawmakers and what they've said regarding the administration's prior assertion that al qaeda was on its heels. we've talked about al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and parts of africa that need to be a focus as al qaeda and its affiliates become more attractive to nations in turmoil. what about this debate of whether or not al qaeda is broken? is there anything relevant in forwarding the conversation as it relates to the concerns of our safety with the terror threat? >> yeah, just because the fact al qaeda has threatened to target an united states embassy, that doesn't mean al qaeda is the next big boogie man. it was a threat before and it's going to remain a threat. if there's anything reassuring, it's the fact we believe the target is overseas. the target is in the arabian peninsula. this is al qaeda's home territory. this is their home turf. the idea they can launch a strike in that area against us

is not a great shock. what we should be concerned about is al qaeda in the arabian peninsula launching attacks on the u.s. homeland, something they have done in the past, something they would still like to do, but something that for now they seem to be unable to do. it's hard to say whether that's simply weakness on their part, success on our part, but we want to keep it that way. >> all right. thank you very much, evan. i want to bring in now nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel, who's live in cairo. richard, i've been watching your reports over the weekend. you've discussed at least some of the reaction from state department officials and diplomats who are concerned they are being -- in cairo, you show the visual of the huge cinder blocks blocking the embassy there. what have they said to you about this threat? >> reporter: those cinder blocks in front of the embassy have been there for about a year. what we've been seeing as richard hoss was talking about and bob and evan were just discussing is a break down of the nation state across the middle east where you have a free flow of weapons and

fighters moving in egypt and across the saini, moving into sudan through libya into syria. and where you have really no control. what that has resulted in is not only the attack on benghazi, on the consulate there, but an increasing tendency for the u.s. diplomatic community to create small compounds, to make fortresses for themselves in this chaotic environment that they are now operating in. when you have to fortress yourself in behind barricades and giant cinder blocks like they have barricaded themselves here at the u.s. embassy in cairo, then you can't do your job. you can't go out and meet people. you can't be in touch with the changes that are going on in society. and you, at the end of the day, can't make accurate recommendations for u.s. policy, which is why they are at these diplomatic outposts in the first place. >> all right, richard. thank you. i want to take our audience to it the daily briefing. jay carney taking a few

questions on this terror threat. let's listen in. >> -- does not reflect a new stream of threat information, but is more a reflection of taking necessary precautions. >> i just want to clarify, you say this is largely contained to it the arabian peninsula but also beyond that. does beyond that include americans in the u.s.? >> i think that the threat from al qaeda and affiliated organizations to the united states and to the american people has been a reality that we've talked about for a long time now. >> but this specific threat -- >> again, i'm not going to get into specific intelligence matters. i can tell you that, you know, we have taken the action we've taken out of rather an abundance of caution. we have issued the warnings that we've issued in order to make sure that the american people are aware of the potential threat, the potential threat that has always been with us, but which is heightened at this

time. and we will provide more information as we can, mindful of the need to, you know, maintain our security. >> and then, word of these embassy closures and the threat followed the meeting between president obama and the president of yemen. is there anything said there that contributed to this decision? >> we read out that meeting. i don't have anymore for detail for you from that meeting. it's certainly the case we cooperate on counterterrorism with yemen and have for some time. but this specific information reflects what we've gathered, broadly speaking. and that's what we're reacting to. the meeting between them, you know, centered on a variety of topics, including our counterterrorism cooperation.

yes, jeff? >> jay, should americans in the u.s., to follow up on what julie asked, be afraid? >> jeff, what i can tell you is that we face an ongoing threat from al qaeda and its affiliates. there are individuals and organizations out there that are focused on doing the united states and the american people harm as well as doing harm to our people. now, the statement that we put out has made clear that our current information suggests that al qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond. our information suggests that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of august. what, you know, we know is that the threat emanates from and may be focused on occurring in the arabian peninsula, but it could

potentially be beyond that or elsewhere. so we cannot be more specific, which is why we've taken some of the actions we've taken and made the statements we've made. >> what does this say more broadly about the strength of al qaeda in general? >> we've made clear, as i was saying earlier, that as al qaeda core has been diminished through the efforts of the united states and our allies, affiliate organizations including in particular al qaeda in the arabian arabian peninsula have strengthened. we have here in washington identified aqap as a particularly dangerous threat for some time now, a number of years. as you know from this very podium, john brennan, the cia director and the president's counterterrorism and homeland security adviser, spoke specifically about the rising

threat from aqap. that's something we've seen in some of the foiled attempts that aqap has been engaged in. and it is -- has been a focus of attention of our national security apparatus for some time. >> again, we're listening as jay carney answers several questions on this latest terror threat as more embassies remain closed throughout the week in parts of the middle east as well as africa. we'll keep you up to date on the latest information as it is updated. meanwhile, the other story far from what we're discussing today but still certainly part of the conversation, the story regarding -- well, still ahead, we're going to take a look at the politics of the terror threat. our first read team says, quote, it was interesting to watch the weekend chatter and see many members of congress and others use the terror warnings to advance their own agendas. "time" magazine's michael crowley will join us to continue the conversation. as i mentioned, developing right now, the final negotiations

underway on the likely suspension of alex rodriguez. the noon deadline has been moved to less than an hour from now. we are expecting to hear an update and find out if he will, in fact, play tonight against chicago. and the world's first test tube burger was unveiled today and tasted in london. the question is, price aside, would you try it? it's our "news nation" gut check. join our conversation on twitter. you can find us @tamronhall and my team @newsnation.

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developing now, new information as we await major league baseball's expected suspension of new york yankees star slugger alex rodriguez and dozens of other players for their alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. the announcement has been

expected. it was supposed to come down at noon, quite honestly, but it's been pushed back to a little later today. nbc sports reports a-rod will be the only player to appeal his suspension. the other 12 players are said to accept 50-game suspensions. a-rod is baseball's highest-paid player with nearly $100 million left on his contract. if he's suspended through 2014, it could cost him about $35 million. if he appeals, he will be eligible to play for the yankees for the first time this season tonight in chicago. nbc's katy turr joins us from chicago. do we know why this has been delayed another couple hours? >> reporter: we do not know that as of now. we believe it could come as early as 3:00 today. we're still waiting to find out why it got delayed. he is expected to play tonight against the chicago white sox. joe girardi said he's pencilled in. the suspension was supposed to be at noon. maybe it'll come around 3:00.

sources tell nbc news it could go through the 2014 season, all on drug accusations related to the biogenesis deal. why can he play tonight if he's likely going to be suspended today? well, he's allowed to appeal that decision. he is allowed to play during the appeal process because this is only expected to be a drug policy violation. now, the suspension, if it goes through the 2014 season, if it's upheld and remains that way, a-rod will be 40 years old when he's allowed back. he's 38 right now. there's a lot of questions of concern about just how effective a 40-year-old can be when he comes back. it may not be a lifetime suspension, but it could end up being that way in terms of his career. if you talk to fans it out here, a lot of them just say they want him out of the game. there's no place for a cheater. others are saying it's the

yankees that are struggling. they don't have jeter right now and need a-rod back in the lineup. >> all right, katy. thank you very much. gentlemen, thank you for your time. greatly appreciated. dave, let me start off with you. before we get to the announcement, which we're all waiting to hear. i think we pretty much know the story line by now, how this is going to play out. a-rod could play tonight in chicago. make sense of that for us. >> no, absolutely. the only way a-rod would not have been able to play tonight would have been if major league baseball commissioner bud selig had enact the the best interest of the game clause and said that alex rodriguez playing while appealing his suspension would not be in the best interest of the game. now, this is rarely, rarely used by the baseball commissioner. it would have been seen as a very confrontational tactic towards the major league baseball players association. right now the players union and the commissioner have the best relationship they've had in

decades, if not ever. clearly bud selig did not want to anger the union, so a-rod will be allowed to play while he's appealing his suspension. >> bob, is that what this boils down to, the power of the union? we've all read the reports. some of this stuff confirmed. others perhaps will never be confirmed. there is at least smoke, fire, and everything else around alex rodriguez. he still plans to fight this or appeal. >> he does, tamron, because he thinks if he has a suspension through 2014, you know, he'll be 39 1/2 years old. he comes back, he may not be able to play anyway. he figures, what do i have to lose in this thing? he's got 20 days to be heard before an arbitrator. the arbitrator has 25 days to make a decision. so we should have the official announcement sometime in mid-september. >> let me play a little bit of what a-rod said saturday in the postgame news conference after

he play eed in a major league rehab game. >> i plan to set my girls down with cynthia. we're going to have a lengthy conversation. i'll have an opportunity to tell it all at some point. i'll have that platform. when the time is right, i'll tell my full story. thanks, guys. >> bob and dave, you know a-rod better than anyone. certainly more so than i. i hear this guy bring in his kids. i thought about lance armstrong, when he told oprah about how difficult it was to tell his kids. you know the things your dad is being accused of. but this i will have my chance to tell my story, bob, is this consistent with his personality? >> it is. i mean, he's trying to get some people to get some sympathy here saying, hey, i could have just quit. i could have walked away. everybody would have been happy. the yankees could have got their insurance money. i would have been staying away from the biogenesis investigation. in his mind, he thinks i can play good enough here with the yankees make the playoffs, i can be a hero. in the meantime, the comments he

made, he believes that major league baseball and the yankees have been in cahoots together as far as this investigation. prch >> dave, what do you make of this? i don't want you to personally attack the guy, but he's bringing up his daughters. he knows if he's read anything recently, he's not too well liked by the fans anymore, if ever. >> no, this is someone who was once nicknamed the hollow man because a lot of people meet him and just think there's not a lot of there, there. he doesn't have the kind of go to hell shabby integrity of a barry bonds. he's just sort of alex rodriguez, somebody who is thinking about his own personal brand from the time he was a teenager and wondering if there's anything else there. the quintessential alex rodriguez picture is not of him crossing home plate in the world series. it's either him knocking a baseball out of bronson arroyo, the red sox pitcher's hand, it's

jason varitek hitting him in the face. or it's him kissing his own picture in the mirror. this is not someone who's put a positive stamp on the game overtime. it's ending in really awful fashion. i think that's why he wants to play so badly now at 38, as bob said. the one thing he thinks could get him back in the public's good races is a dinger in the pennant run. >> i remember my dad glued to his set watching the cubs, despite he lived in texas. he revelled in the love of baseball like so many people. i appreciate that, but when folks say that this will, again, darken the game, and it will hurt the game, are people numb to that now? what is the real talk on that? >> you're right, tamron. people are numb to it. but they believe major league baseball has spent more money on this one investigation than all the investigations in the sport's history. they want to clean it up. and the players do too for the first time. we saw players openly attack ryan braun after he accepted

suspension. i'm sure they'll attack a-rod too. >> all right, bob, thank you. dave, as well. we're supposed to get this update in about a half hour. right now, investigators working to figure out why a driver would plow into a crowded california boardwalk as we learn more about the young woman he killed while she was on her honeymoon. trayvon martin paralleled emmet till. in my mind, same thing. >> oprah opens up about the trayvon case in a new interview. it's one of the things we thought you should know. we'll play more of it. ♪ i'm a hard, hard worker every day. ♪

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new information on a deadly hit and run over the weekend at the famous venice beach boardwalk. a los angeles man is being held on suspicion of murder after police say he drove into a crowd. this is some video of that incident. a young italian woman who was in the u.s. for her honeymoon was

killed. she was walking on the boardwalk with her husband when the car plowed into them. witnesses say the car was driving at 35 to 40 miles per hour. now, police say 38-year-old nathan lewis campbell turned himself in after about an hour. nbc's miguel almaguer has more. as i understand, "l.a. times" and others have reported a few more details about this man's background. >> yeah, we spoke to police a short time ago who say it appears the 38-year-old had been living out of his car. they're not sure if he's a tran see yent or what staid he resides in. had does appear he's been living out of his car. of course, this incident took place on saturday. he's been arrested for connection to murder. investigators not at this hour saying he was the driver, although it certainly appears that way. it was a saturday afternoon, a summertime along the popular venice beach boardwalk when a car plowed through a crowd of unsuspecting pedestrians.

it hit 12 people, fatally killing one woman, a 32-year-old who was walking, strolling along the boardwalk with her husband. the two were celebrating their honeymoon. she later died at an area hospital. her husband is suffering from minor injuries. today one person remains in serious condition at ucla medical center. as investigators continue to search for answers into this collision, they have no motive yet, no reason why this incident happened. as you can see, this accident was caught on several different angles. police using all of that video to try to piece together a timeline and what exactly happened at the boardwalk over the weekend. >> all right, miguel. thank you very much for those new details. up next, the battle in the bluegrass state. >> i intend to run straight over the top of mitch mcconnell and right into the u.s. senate. >> if the doctors told senator mcconnell that he had a kidney stone, he'd refuse to pass it.

>> senate candidates from kentucky are now on the trail after a weekend face-off. how this election could decide who controls the u.s. senate.

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the power of the "name your price" tool. only from progressive. while the government's response to the global terror threat has been direct, the state department stresses it is out of abundance of caution, but our first read team notes it appears some lawmakers have been using the embassy closures as an opportunity to advance their own agendas, whether that's attacking the administration or using it as a talking point in the ongoing debate over the nsa surveillance programs. >> this is, to me, a direct consequence from what we saw in benghazi and the general program that this administration has, which is not being aggressive. >> the good news is that we picked up intelligence. that's what we do. that's what nsa does. >> michael crowley joins us live. michael, thanks for your time here. >> thanks. >> obviously, we didn't hear a lot of some of the partisan bickering we've grown sadly

accustomed to. nevertheless, it was still there over the sunday morning programs. >> sure, we've seen this now for a decade. when you have a terrorist event or a major alert, people rush in with their agendas. you know, and it's interesting. i thought rick santorum's criticism in particular was kind of off base. he was saying that the president is timid about calling islamic terrorism -- about using the word terror. rhetorically, he's gone soft on this stuff. the reality is we have waged a really aggressive drone campaign in yemen to the point there's a lot of concern that the drones are doing more damage with public opinion than the benefit we're getting from killing terrorists. the president is under a lot of pressure from the liberal base to scale back drone strikes. there's a sense he's gotten carried away with them. in particular in yemen, of all places, where this threat seems b emanating from. that's where obama has been the toughest. i think that one criticism in particular is off base. as to the role the nsa is

playing, that's not clear. >> let me play some of the back and forth. first up, senator jim demint on fox playing president obama's foreign policy for this terror threat or the state of where we are. let me play it. >> our attempt to placate parts of the world, whether it's russia or somewhere else, clearly not working. the perception of weakness in this administration is encouraging this kind of behavior. >> under the bush administration, we had the color-coated threat. he didn't answer to that. is he one of a few or maybe alone in this kind of attack? >> well, he's not alone. there is this refrain that the administration is showing weakness, that we're retreating from our leadership role in the world. now, i think there is a -- an interesting debate to be had on the question of how aggressive is our leadership internation

internationally. our allies have complained we're not doing more in syria. there are people who think we should be a little harder on russia and china. those are interesting questions. i think it's a non seq. weer it. that has nothing to do with it. these al qaeda affiliates, they don't really care about our diplomatic posture. in moscow, that's a question of their regional strength, the arab spring has created space for them to gain momentum and have territory that really doesn't have anything to do with what senator demint was talking about. >> back to the nsa angle. let me play what senator lindsey graham and adam schiff said regarding the nsa and its role or perhaps not role in some of this information. let's play it. >> al qaeda's on the ride in this part of the world. the nsa program is proving its

worth yet again. we need to re-evaluate where we're at in a lot of these threats. sequestration has to be fixed. if this happens a year from now, our intelligence community and military will be less capable. >> i don't think, although people have been a little sloppy in talking about this plot, that there's any indication that the meta data program played a role. it would be unusual for a bulk collection of domestic calls to be telling us about an aqap plot against foreign consulates. in this context and others, people have comingled several nsa programs to try to defend in particular the bulk meta data program. >> obviously countering thoughts. should lawmakers be more cautious here and that we don't know all the of the details regarding the origin of this threat? it appears certainly not to be here in the u.s. or on our soil. nevertheless, this is still unveiling or a developing story, michael. >> yeah, absolutely. some people who are privy to classified information maybe can speak with more authority. it doesn't sound to me right now

like it's possible to demonstrate a clear tie. i think that congressman schiff there was talking about the collection of phone records in the domestic united states. that seems like a reach. of course, the nsa does quite a lot of foreign surveillance of communications, e-mail, skype, that kind of thing. that very well could be playing a role here. but we simply don't know. i suppose that you could make the case, if you want -- if you are somebody who thinks we should have strong surveillance programs. you could say, look, this is a reminder that it the terrorist threat is not over. it's still very real. we still have to be vigilant about it. let's find out, you know, how did we learn about this threat? did it have anything to do with the nsa? i would say it would be very valuable for the administration once this has passed to give us more insight into how they knew. if they played a role, that's an important part of that debate. if it didn't, that's also an important part. >> all right, michael. thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. the control for u.s. senate kicked off this weekend at a

133-year-old church picnic in a small kentucky town. it was the fancy farm kentucky that senate minority leader mitch mcconnell spent his first real day on the campaign trail and faced his two challengers for the first time. mcconnell is being pressured from two sides. on the left is democrat allison lundgrimes. on the right, tea party favorite matt bevin, who is challenging mcconnell in the gop primary. >> if senator mcconnell had his way, his version of kentucky health care for our seniors, grandmother, would be to walk it off. let's just tell it like it is. if the doctors told senator mcconnell that he had a kidney stone, he'd refuse to pass it. >> i don't intend to run to the right of mitch mcconnell. i don't intend to run to the left of mitch mcconnell. i intend to right right over the top of mitch mcconnell into the

u.s. senate. >> nbc's casey hunt was there. she's here with us now. before ashley judd said she was not in the race, mitch mcconnell's people were after her. so here these are two official challengers, and they don't seem threatened at all. are we seeing that same kind of push back from the mcconnell camp that we saw with ashley judd? >> absolutely. i mean, there was a tape that was leaked of a mcconnell meeting. one of the interesting things on that tape was that at the time they actually didn't have too much on grimes, who has since then announced she's going to make this run. the mcconnell folks at this point are particularly focused on bevin. while mcconnell is ignoring him in public, he didn't mention either one of his challengers by name in his speech at fancy farm, his campaign is already on tv. they're sending mailers out and going after bevin. a super pac is running newspaper ads against grimes. >> talk to me about the threat of bevin. he's a millionaire, right? >> we're not quite sure how much

he's worth yet, but yes. his company owns a company that makes bells, the ones you hear at the salvation army. he's already put enough in to sort of lay out the bare bones of a campaign. he's hired a consultant and printed up signs and t-shirts. we'll see when the first financial reports are filed how much money he's actually raising and how much he's loaned himself. he won't say exactly how much he's willing to put down from his own bank account at the end of the day. >> let me play a little bit of what senator mcconnell said joking regarding allison grimes, not naming her but certainly her father. let's play it. >> i want to say how nice it is to see jerry back in the game. like the loyal democrat he is, he's taking orders from the obama campaign on how to run his daughter's campaign. they told him to make a pitch on the internet for the women's vote. he sent a check to anthony

weiner. >> are those cheers or boos? >> both. >> i couldn't tell. >> that's why this event is so unique and why it's such a test of candidates' meddle. both sides pack this little arena with hundred, sometimes thousands of supporters. they all, depending on who they support, either cheer or boo through the whole speech of both people. so the struggle is just be heard. >> extraordinary. thank you very much. >> thank you, tamron. vicious, violent, and calculating. that's how prosecutors describe whitey bulger in the closing arguments underway right now in that trial. we'll bring you the latest from court today. [ metal rattling ] ♪ boo! i am the ghost of meals past. when you don't use pam, this is what you get. residue. [ female announcer ] bargain brand cooking spray leaves annoying residue. that's why there's pam. [ female announcer ] bargain brand cooking spray leaves annoying residue. iand we're talkingl time with maria about the walmart low price guarantee. you got your list? let's go. if you find a lower advertised price they'll match it at the register.

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pull out the paper and what? another article that says investors could lose tens of thousands of dollars in hidden fees on their 401(k)s?! seriously? seriously. you don't believe it? search it. "401(k) hidden fees." then go to e-trade and roll over your old 401(k)s to a new e-trade retirement account. we have every type of retirement account. none of them charge annual fees and all of them offer low cost investments. why? because we're not your typical wall street firm that's why. so you keep more of your money. e-trade. less for us. more for you. welcome back. both sides have been presenting their closing arguments today at the murder and racketeering trial for legendary mob boss james whitey bulger. prosecutors summed up their case in the eight-week long trial saying, quote, the evidence in this trial has convincingly

proven that the defendant was one of the most vicious, viability, and calculating criminals to ever walk the streets of boston. meantime, bulger's attorney countered by attacking the prosecution's key witness, who included a former hitman and another kill once loyal to bulger. the defense attorney asked, if they're so vicious and violent and our government knows about it, why are they out there right now? the jury is expected to begin deliberations tomorrow. joining me now, "boston globe" deputy editor. thanks for your time. so much of this was supposed to be whitey bulger's attorneys exposing the fbi. i believe their words were that they were complicit in whitey's career, if you will, as a mobster. >> well, this was a blistering closing argument for the prosecution. they spent three hours and ten minutes dissecting whitey bulger's role and the winter hill gang, pointing out where he stands in the criminal hierarchy, saying he ran a

criminal empire that spanned the area, wielded incredible power. talked about him allegedly holding the gun to people's heads, firing, pulling the trigger, and also participating in up to 19 murders. they talked about his savageness, his cruelty. they said he was responsible for everything. took three hours and ten minutes in their presentation. the defense is up now. they are presenting whitey bulger. they say he's not an informant. they criticized the government for making too many deals with governments. also said there's a lot of widespread fbi corruption. and that bulger certainly was not at the head of it. >> mike, that bring mess to the point, it seems as if the defense is less concerned with fighting that he's a murderer and guilty of racketeering and trying to protect his images of mobster that he wasn't a rat and wasn't working with the fbi. >> yeah, it would seem they want to preserve his reputation, if you want to call it.

they say he didn't murder these two women. they say he was not an informant. they say -- you know, there was this effort to say that whitey bulger helped out people in the community. the government pointed out he was no robin hood. in fact, the government has a rebuttal this afternoon after the defense finishes. so this is going to go on for a good chunk of the afternoon. >> wow. this is incredible. we know it is movie-like, and there's been a movie inspired by it. that, i think, it sadly part of the fascination when you know real lives were taken in all of this. thank you, mike. greatly appreciate it. >> thanks a lot. well, the future of the food. the world's first burger created entirely in a laboratory. it's been unveiled today. it is pretty expensive, but price aside, would you take a bite of the frankenburger? it's our "news nation" gut check. oh, he's a fighter alright. since aflac is helping with his expenses while he can't work, he can focus on his recovery. he doesn't have to worry so much about his mortgage, groceries, or even gas bills. kick! kick...

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there's a lot going on

today. here's some things we thought you should know. in an interview with the grio about the new movie "the butler," oprah winfrey spoke out for the first time regarding trayvon martin's case. >> it's so easy during this time, trayvon martin, trayvon martin, parallel to emmett till. in my mind, same thing. but you can get stuck in that and not allow yourself to move forward and to see how far we've come. look at how far we've come. >> the movie also starring forest whitaker is the story of a man who served eight presidents as a butler at the white house. you can see more of oprah's interview on the grio's website. them battled san diego mayor bob filner is scheduled to begin two weeks of intensive behavioral therapy today at an undisclosed location. a tenth woman now has come forward to accuse filner of

sexual harassment. and time now for the "news nation" gut check. the world's first lab-grown burger was revealed today in london. the burger patty was created from stem cells taken from live cows. it took years of research and 330,000-dollar donation from google co-founder to develop the patty. two people volunteered to taste the burger today, and the reviews were so-so. the tasters agreed the meat had the right consistency and tasted like regular beef but lacked the juiciness of a real beef patty. the scientists who created it say the flavor can be tweaked and that in the future beef created in a lab will provide a cheaper, more humane and environmentally sustainable source of meat. the juiciness, though, could be the preparation, right? anyway, what does your gut tell you? would you eat a test-tube burger? go to facebook.com/newsnation to cast that vote.

i eat burgers pretty much every day. probably wouldn't eat that one. that's my two cents. that's it for this edition of "news nation." "the cycle" is up next. waiting to look younger? don't wait. [ female announcer ] get younger looking skin fast. with new olay regenerist micro-sculpting cream. the next generation with 2 new anti-aging ingredients. it penetrates rapidly. visible wrinkle results start day 1. and you'll see younger looking skin before you even finish one jar. ♪ new olay regenerist. the wait is over.

big news is breaking right now in "the cycle." major league baseball throws a strike at its highest paid player in history. today, a-rod is defiant and ready to play in chicago. i'm jonathan capehart in for toure. the state department takes extrord mare measures, so what are the rest of us supposed to think? how much of the administration's response been influenced by public opinion? and is this the new moral. it's no surprise who tops the new poll of america's hottest politicians. chris christie. >> how? >> but here's what caught us. which party is bringing that heat? "sports illustrated" and the most beautiful face of socialism, olympic gold medalist, katarina vit.