and that? that would be big. grab your friends and family and start a team today. register at alz.org the family of an australian athlete murdered in oklahoma wait for his body to returning home as police report one of the teenager suspects thought the crime was, quote, one big joke. 35 years, the sentence for bradley manning for the biggest breach of classified data in u.s. history. one of his biggest advocates will join me live with her reaction. plus, president obama joins the fight for pit bulls. why the white house says laws that ban breeds considered dangerous are, quote, a waste of resources. but first, the "news nation"

is following two developing stories in syria and egypt. first, stern new reaction from the white house following reports that in the past 24 hours, the syrian government has killed more than 1,000 people using chemical weapons. now, the attack centered on ten towns it and villages near damascus. we want to warn you the video that's come in has been very disturbing. anti-government forces say more than 1200 people have been killed, many of those reportedly children. the video provided by the rebels and not verified by nbc news shows people struggling to breathe as rescuers scramble to save lives. it also shows rows of bodies on the ground. the syrian government denies any chemical weapons were used. the white house says it is deeply concerned and trying to get more information. >> there actually happens to be a united nations chemical weapons investigative team on the ground in syria. they were just granted access to

the country yesterday, i believe. so given the reports that we've seen overnight about what may or may not have taken place in syria, we think it's important for that investigative team to be given access to that area. meantime in egypt, a court has ordered the release of former president hosni mubarak, who's been in custody since he was overthrown more than two years ago. his attorneys say he could be released from prison tomorrow. we begin our coverage with nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker. kristen, what else is the white house saying about syria and these reports and of course this video that's been coming in, streaming in all day? >> reporter: couple of headlines coming out of today's briefing, tamron. first of all, the white house saying they have no independent verification at this point that the syrian government did, in fact, use chemical weapons. as you heard, deputy press secretary josh earnest said the white house is strongly urging the syrian government to allow that u.n. inspections team into the area of question so that

they can gather information so that they can begin to corroborate these incredibly disturbing reports that are coming out of syria. we also know that there is going to be an emergency u.n. meeting of the security council later on today. the white house, the administration in contact with its counterparts in the region. the question is, what happens next? what leverage does the white house have? here's a little bit more of what josh earnest had to say. take a listen. >> there are a range of things we've done already. in terms of additional assistance that could be provided, i certainly wouldn't rule that out. but again, that's something that we are considering on a pretty regular basis. the conduct of this investigation, the results of this investigation, or the efforts by the assad regime to inhibit this investigation will certainly impact that calculation about possible additional aid. >> reporter: so you heard josh earnest there talking about the potential for additional aid to syria. so far the u.s. has sent

additional weapons to the rebel forces. president obama has said the use of chemical weapons is a red line. of course, there were reports corroborating use of a red line earlier, tamron. that's why they sent those additional weapons to the opposition forces. but the big question mark is, what can they do now? it's not clear. bashar al assad doesn't seem to be losing any traction. in fact, things seem to be getting worse by the day. tamron? >> all right, kristen. now let's go to nbc's ayman mohyeldin. he's live in cairo, egypt. the clock is ticking, but as we understand, hosni mubarak should be released perhaps in the next 24 hours. what else can you tell us? >> reporter: well, we understand at this point it's simply a procedural matter, as long as the prison affairs department here gets all the paperwork in order. it's just a matter of time before his release. there was some questioning as to whether or not the country's general prosecutor was going to appeal today's decision.

there was some confusion about that. a short while ago, he said he couldn't appeal the decision, which effectively means this is now final. this was the last legal hurdle that would clear the way for president mubarak's release. it does not mean he's acquitted. in fact, he has a trial date already set on august 25th, but what the decision means is that he does not need to serve anymore time in prison, given the fact he's done all of this pretrial time in detention. so we are expecting the paperwork to get filed tomorrow morning and as early as tomorrow et evening or friday, perhaps, the former president will be released from the prison. >> as i understand it, he will be restricted from traveling. he's 85 years old. beyond his release, we're looking at the impact that it could have on the already unstable climate in egypt. >> reporter: absolutely. in fact, you know, it will probably galvanize what are known here as the remnants of the old regime. these are people who were very loyal to president mubarak, who were the pillars of the regime he once oversaw. for the past three years, a lot

of people have been very critical saying there's a counterrevolution in egypt that was effectively run by the loyalists of the former regime. the fact that president mubarak will be released -- and as you mentioned, he will have a travel ban. his assets are frozen. but the fact he's out, he can make public comments and meet with whoever he wants to meet. these will be sign as a sign that the old regime in some ways is back, perhaps even bolder. that may enable them to try and rebuild the authoritarian regime that existed when he was in power back in 2011. >> incredible developments there in cairo. thank you very much, ayman. joining me now here in studio, new york democratic congressman elliott engel, a member of the house foreign affairs committee. thank you for your time. a lot to discuss here. i would like to start with syria here. your first reaction to these images that have not been verified by nbc news. the white house also says it is attempting to verify. what is your gut reaction to these initial reports? >> certainly it's horrific.

secondly, i don't doubt for a moment that assad has used chemical weapons against his own people. it's not the first time he's done it. he did it last time. there were very little consequences as a result. i think he probably calculated that there wouldn't be many consequences this time. i think that we cannot allow, we cannot stand on the sidelines. when i say we, i mean the world. not only the united states. and allow assad to continue to murder his own people, innocent men, women, and children. something has to be done quite quickly to make it impossible for him to do so in the future. >> this is not just about the u.s. reaction. it is the world. the u.n. security council will hold an emergency meeting regarding syria at 3:00 p.m. eastern time. if this is verified, to your point, this is the second, this would be the second crossing, if you will, of this red line that the president referred to. what, then, are the options? if this warning was ignored the first time and now the intensity -- again, if these numbers are correct, 1200

people, many of them children and women, what then is the next step? >> i think whatever we do needs to be done in conjunction with our allies. but there are, in my opinion, things we can do. first of all, we could destroy the syrian air force. he's using the air force to kill his own people. we could use cruise missiles to destroy the runways to make it impossible for aircraft to take off that would be used for gas and other things to hurt his own people. we could be doing that. we could destroy his ammunition depots. there are things we could do without getting troops on the ground or anything else. i think the world cannot continue to sit aside and just watch these horrific things happening. >> but the complexity of this -- i mean, you know better than anyone else. you received a letter from the joint chiefs of staff chairman general martin dempsey regarding the rebels. in this letter, he said in part, syria today is not about choosing between two sides but

rather about choosing one among many sides. it is my belief that the side we choose must be ready to promote their interests and ours when the balance shifts in their favor. today they are not. basically, he believes that these rebels are not ready to put the interests of the united states in conjunction with their own in front here. >> well, look, there are lots of bad choices. there are no good choices. one choice i know that's very important is we should not allow people, innocent men, women, and children to be gassed by assad. we need to make sure he's debilitated and cannot do that again. tipping the balance in the war against him is another issue. the immediate issue is preventing him from having the ability of using these weapons against his own people, gas and other things. i just think that we cannot stand on the sidelines anymore. >> but whthat transitions me to egypt, where it's seen the

united states does have some influence. we all watched the arab spring, the transition to democracy. at this point, if we're grading, it would get an "f." the man who led that country for so long now out of prison when the president elected is behind bars. what's the next step for egypt? >> the next step for egypt, hopefully, would still continue to be a partnership with the united states. i think we need to keep nudging them towards restoring democratic principles. >> does that mean with aid money? >> well, i'm not for cutting off aid money for egypt. i think that would be cutting off our nose despite our face. we have had close military to military ties for 35 years between the u.s. military and the egyptian military. i think we need to continue to have those close ties. you know, friends won't always agree with friends, but i think we need to keep pushing them in the right direction. i think cutting off aid would be the most ridiculous thing that we could do. >> but watching the developments as we have for these last few weeks, do you believe the u.s. has influence in egypt right now? you say our friends, but we are

being blamed, the united states, by both sides for what has erupted there now. >> we do have influence. we have given egypt billions of dollars every year. some people say that's paling in comparison to what the saudis give. >> and they've threatened if we remove that aid, they'll fill the gap. >> but our view of what's going on in that part of the world is not much different from the saudi view. the saudis don't want the iranians to be the pre-eminent power. they don't want the muslim brotherhood to prevail. neither do we. i don't look at saudi arabia as being in conflict with us. >> a lot of developments. congressman, thank you for your time and insight. >> thank you. still ahead, calls for a presidential pardon just hours after a judge sentenced bradley manning to 35 years for leaking classified u.s. documents. we'll talk with one of manning's most vocal supporters. she even visited him in prison. and the family of that college athlete murdered in

oklahoma now waiting for his body to be returned to australia as we learn more about these three teenagers now charged in connection with his murder. and join our conversation on twitter. you can find me @tamronhall and my team is @newsnation. asional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues... with three strains of good bacteria. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'.

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the family of the murdered australian student studying in oklahoma is waiting for his body to return to australia. three teenagers have now been formally charged in this chilling crime. authorities say the three decided to kill 22-year-old christopher lane, quote, for fun. lane was attending college in oklahoma on a baseball scholarship. he was shot and killed last friday while out jogging in

duncan, oklahoma, where his girlfriend and her family live. >> this is where his final moments were. so it means a lot to me that people care. >> it's the fact that somebody we all love so much is not going to come home, but, you know, you can't change the circumstances. you can't change the history. you just have to gather together as a family and hold on. >> the 15, 16, and 17-year-old suspects are being charged as adults. the two on the left are charged with first-degree murder. the individual on the right is charged with accessory to murder for driving the car used in the shooting. speaking to the people of australia, the prosecutor said this is not duncan, oklahoma. >> this is not something that we see happen here, and i'm going

to do everything that i can to ensure that we see these three thugs pay for what they did to christopher lane. >> nbc's randy mcilwane joins us from duncan, oklahoma. what more do we know about these three individuals? i've read a couple articles from their parents. one of these individuals admitted to the crime. the judge said that he needed to stop talking at that time for representation purposes. they've at least, according to police, admitted to what happened there. >> reporter: yeah, the prosecutor says the 17-year-old, mr. jones, did admit to what happened, identifying the 16-year-old as the shooter in this case. basically saying they were bored. they decided to shoot christopher lane shortly after he jogged by them in his girlfriend's neighborhood. what we're hearing from family members is a lot of remorse, a lot of regret, and a lot of handering about how this all

happened. they can't wrap their heads around the fact that these boys, from what we're hearing, hadn't been in much trouble. had no connection to drugs or gangs or anything like that and committed an act of violence like this simply out of boredom. that's what this entire community is trying to wrap their heads around at this hour. >> randy, if these allegations are true and these confessions are real, this sounds like a thrill killing, some kind of sick thrill kill by these suspects. the congressman who represents the district released a statement saying, there are no words that will help us make sense of the tragic loss of chris lane or truly express the sympathy felt by those living in oklahoma. it's heinous crimes like these that shake our state and nation and leave our hearts broken. the people you've talked to who live in and around there, i can't imagine. they're rendered speechless by these details. >> reporter: this is a city of 25,000 people. it's a tight-knit community. murders do not happen very often in duncan.

when i was looking back at the crime rate statistic, they've only had fewer than ten murders since 1999. this is something that is very out of the ordinary for this community. they do not like the depiction of being a town where a tourist could actually get murdered. especially some of the international coverage that's happening as a result of this. we have learned that christopher lane's family will not be traveling to the united states to retrieve his body. his girlfriend and her parents are going to be taking his body to australia ultimately once all the paperwork is signed off on that will allow them to travel with his body internationally on a commercial airline. in the meantime, there has been a memorial that has been set up for august 24th at 1:00 at oklahoma city university in edmond, oklahoma. that's well north of this area, but they have set up a memorial for that time. it's also going to serve as a fundraiser to help the harper's get enough money to make that trip to australia. >> randy, thank you so much. still ahead, closing arguments in the ft. hood shooting trial set to get

underway tomorrow. this after nidal hasan rests his case without presenting a single witness. and the white house comes out against legislation that bans certain breeds of dogs, saying it's, quote, largely ineffective and often a waste of public resources. what does your gut tell you? we're going to talk with tia torres of the new animal planet show "pit bulls and parolees." first, in today's money minute, a look at how wall street is faring today. [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. it's great. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. at&t mobile share for business. one bucket of data for everyone on the plan, unlimited talk and text on smart phones. now, everyone's in the spirit of sharing. hey, can i borrow your boat this weekend?

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right now supporters of bradley manning are preparing to gather outside the white house to protest his sentence that came down just hours ago. a military judge sentencedmanning to 35 years in prison for the biggest classified leak in u.s. history. manning had no visible reaction

to the decision but after the sentencing, supporters called him a hero and said they'll keep fighting. manning will be reduced in rank and forfeit all pay and will be dishonorably discharged. this afternoon manning's defense team asked the president to intervene. >> the time to end brad's suffering is now. the time for our president to focus on protecting whistleblowers instead of punishing them is now. the time for our president to pardon pfc manning is now. >> let me bring in jane hampshire, an advocate for bradley manning, even visiting while him in prison. let me get your reaction. first, i want to read what wikileaks has said. they call it a significant strategic victory in the bradley manning case. julian assange said, his

treatment is sending a signal and this strategy has spectacularly backfired. what's your take here? >> thanks for having me, tamron. i think what julian is referring to is the fact that the government failed to prove its case that bradley aided the enemy. i think that this verdict is still of great concern or should be of great concern to all americans. whistleblowers have a very important part in our government. president obama campaigned on protecting whistleblowers. it's one of the only checks that we have on the government protecting its own corruption from the public and the public's right to know. bradley manning, the information he made public, has been tremendously valuable. it led us to pulling out of iraq earlier. it led to it the uprising in it the arab spring. it's had amazing value, particularly the collateral murder video that showed the story that the military had told about the death of two reuters reporters was, in fact, not true. i understand that people have to balance this. not anybody should be able to

determine what government secrets get made public. but in this particular case, the judge said that manning's release of information had caused damage and people had been injured as a result of it. yet, that information wasn't presented in open court. i think we should all be concerned about a government's ability to protect its own criminal actions and sentence a whistleblower, whose information has manifestly had value to the public to a prison sentence and not make it clear what damage they're basing this decision on. >> well, he could have faced 90 years behind bars. prosecutors asked for 60. he's at 35 and could be released if these numbers are correct in nine years. the aclu also released a statement, jane, which i'm sure you're familiar with. they say in part, this is a sad day for bradley manning, but it's also a sad day for all americans who depend on brave whistleblowers and free press for a fully informed public

debate. that's ben wiseener, director of the aclu. with that said, you have a small group of supporters of manning who will be at the white house, gathering to protest, yourself included. you don't see this huge outcry, this ground swell of outcry from average americans. why do you believe that to be the case? >> i think it's the collective build that's happening with the edward snowden case, with david miranda, glen greenwald's partner having been detained at heathrow airport. it's becoming increasingly apparent that the government is becoming more and more secretive and heavy handed with people who would make its criminality known to the public. i think that people -- you see that the president's poll numbers are falling as a result of it. you also see more and more people have come to believe that edward snowden is a true whistleblower. bradleymanning is part and parcel of that. it's the drip, drip, drip of this that's starting to have an impact on the public consciousness. >> thank you for your reaction to the sentencing. again, 35 years for bradley manning today.

thank you. closing arguments will begin tomorrow in the trial of the accused ft. hood shooter, major nidal hasan. hasan rested his defense today, presenting not a single witness. a 13-person jury will begin deliberating as early as tomorrow. the 12 days since the trial started, hasan, who chose to represent himself, has done very little to contest the charges against him or even challenge the prosecution's version of how and why he committed the deadliest mass shooting on a u.s. military base in history. that shooting spree left 13 people dead, more than 30 injured. nbc's charles hadlock is live for us in ft. hood. you've been covering this extensively. we've been talking with you every day. the idea he didn't call a single witness does not come as a huge surprise. now it's about the closing arguments and what happens then. >> reporter: well, what will happen tomorrow is that the prosecution will begin closing arguments. they'll probably have a couple of hours. so will major hasan, but given the fact that he has not put on any witnesses and not challenged any of the government documents

to speak of, it's not expected that he will have much of a closing argument to make. he may just simply say that, that's it, judge, it's over. he's already admitted he did this shooting. he tried to plead guilty, but because of military laws, they had to go through with this court martial. the penalty in this case is the death penalty. now, whether he's trying to get the death penalty or not is still a matter of debate. some people say it's a brilliant defense, hoping that maybe one of the 13 panel members in this jury will vote against the death penalty. maybe that's what he wants. we just don't know, tamron. it'll be an interesting thing to see tomorrow what he does. now, he'll -- if he does speak in court tomorrow, he will be in very narrow focus. he can only speak to the facts of this case, of which there's been a lot of testimony. 11 days of testimony, 700 pieces. of evidence, and 89 witnesses testifying against major hasan, including many of the people he

shot. >> all right. thank you very much, charles. we'll hear those closing arguments tomorrow and bring our audience the latest information. thanks, charles. police just releasing new information about the 20-year-old authorities say entered that georgia elementary school at this time yesterday armed with an ak-47 and other guns. plus, the question about how he was able to get into that school when there was security in place. and a texas county now considering whether to join a federal lawsuit against its state's own controversial voter i.d. law. we're going to dig into what's happening in texas. the end. lovely read susan. may i read something? yes, please. of course. a rich, never bitter taste cup after cup. 340 grams. [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] always rich, never bitter. gevalia.

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present photo i.d. to vote in person. it's one of the strictest in the nation. the law was passed in 2011 but has yet to be implemented because of a number of administrative and legal challenges, including one by the justice department. the stream court's decision this summer to strike down parts of the voter rights act cleared the way for the law's reinstatement. this joining me now, dallas county judge clay jenkins, who voted last night to join the federal lawsuit, and dallas county district attorney craig watkins. thank you for joining me. >> thank you for having us. >> glad to be here. >> judge, let's talk about the numbers here. how many people do you believe are affected by this? as i pointed out, it's considered one of the strictest in the nation. judge, how many folks are you talking about? >> well, we're in the process of drilling down to that, but we have 220,000 of our 1.1 million registered voters in dallas

county who on their forms thus far have not shown that they have any of these forms of i.d. that would make it acceptable for them to vote in person. that's why the d.a. and i decided that dallas county could not sit idly by while our state's republican leaders disenfranchised african-american and latino voters. >> attorney watkins, break it down to me in legal terms. there's a lot of emotion, obviously, involved in this as it relates to what's happening in dallas and what happened with the supreme court with the voting rights act. but this is about a legal challenge. how do you prove this case? >> well, you know, unfortunately our state elected officials chose to use tax dollars to disenfranchise voters, to take away their constitutional rights. we felt it necessary in dallas county that we restore those rights and we protect the citizens we represent in dallas county in the hopes that we're successful we protect all citizens throughout the state of

texas. legally, this was challenged in a federal court of appeals, and a three-judge potentianel decidt the texas voter i.d. law was unconstitutional. unfortunately, our supreme court came down and made a different decision. we're going to challenge this from the standpoint of looking at the aspects of what is required to receive this i.d. you have to pay for a birth certificate. you have to pay for a passport. those things are somewhat of a poll tax. some people can't afford to do that. so unfortunately, our state leaders are attempting basically to deny certain individuals their right to vote. >> judge jenkins, dallas county commissioner mike cantrell voted against joining the lawsuit. in a statement, he says, it's a dangerous precedent to be committing the dallas county treasurer for purely partisan politics. what is your reaction to the notion by some that this is all about playing politics and the

fear that, perhaps, in the near future my home state, your home state, could, in fact, switch from red to blue, maybe purple sooner than that? >> only a cynical professional politician could believe that the right to vote is all about politics. according to the attorney general's own data, their own data, hispanics are 46% more likely to like this form of i.d. another independent group's data is hispanics are 120% more likely to lack the form of i.d. as many as one in four african-americans can be disenfranchised for lacking this form of i.d. think about this, tamron. under their law, a person with a concealed carry permit has an acceptable form of i.d., but a person going to college on a student i.d. does not. >> and lastly, craig, what is

the timeline we're looking at here as far as how this proceeds legally through the courts? >> well, we expect to have the defendant served on friday. there's a hearing set for september. there's already a trial date set for june of next year. so we're hoping -- we're going to go through the primary season without having this law, but hopefully when we get to november, we'll have a stay, and we won't be in a position where individuals will have to present a photo i.d. in the general election. >> judge clay jenkins and attorney craig watkins, thank you so much. greatly appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> thank you. well, texas is also at the center of another political hot-button issue. it is health care. texas senator ted cruz is doubling down on his efforts to defund obama care, urging conservative lawmakers to, quote, not blink in the fight. at a town hall in dallas last night, emotions boiled over as senator cruz was interrupted three separate times by hecklers who shouted their support for

obama care. >> gentlemen, thank you for sharing your views. you know, part of the first amendment is about respecting the views of others. sir -- >> but as our first read political team notes today, despite all the sound and fury over the issue, cruz's move to defund obama care has gone nowhere and serves as a reminder of the tea party's limits within the gop. joining me now, nbc deputy political editor domenico montanaro. many people, critics of senator cruz, see this as an attempt for him to position his political future as opposed to looking at the future of the party. >> well, there's no doubt that ted cruz comes from a very different wing of the party than the establishment has been used to over the last decade. with the tea party taking over

in 2010 and being able to help republicans take back the house, you sort of -- you've seen a stalemate with president obama's agenda but also among republicans and what they can agree on on what's going to be happening going forward. ted cruz certainly is somebody to watch for 2016. a lot of support, potentially, in iowa among evangelicals and more conservative tea party activists. definitely somebody to watch. we know this has highlighted the split among republicans when it comes to obama care, when it comes to, you know, immigration reform. you know, i think that's a big part of what we see going on. >> and you also cite other examples, at least of the limit of the tea party or the limitations the tea party has in front of it as far as a control for power. you point to senator lamar alexander in this op-ed he has. he wrote, quote, i believe that one good way to put our country on the right track is to send to washington a conservative problem-solving former governor who works well with others to get the results that put our

state on the right track. that is in contrast to what we heard from ted cruz last night, the whole don't blink theory. if you reach a compromise, you're somehow chicken and not effective. >> i think lamar alexander has someone in mind when he writes that. >> i think a couple people. >> well, he was somebody in the '80s who governed in tennessee and really was seen as an education reformer, one of the landmark class-size academic papers that's been written was because of a program that he created in trying to reduce class sizes. >> all right. domenico, thank you very much for the first read today. still ahead, celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of

the historic march on washington get underway in a couple hours. huge crowds expected to gather in our nation's capital for a week-long event. we'll talk with dr. king's oldest son, martin luther king iii will join us live. ♪ turn around ♪ every now and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ ♪ and there's nothing good around ♪ ♪ turn around barry ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ ♪ ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ "stubborn love" by the lumineers did you i did. email? so what did you think of the house? did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok? ...but what about when my parents visit? ok. i just love this one... and it's next to a park. i love it. i love it too. here's our new house... daddy! you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. that's a good thing,

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free at last, free at last, thank god almighty, we are free at last. >> tonight in washington, a prayer service will kick off a week-long celebration of the march on washington. august 28th marks the 50th anniversary of the day dr. martin luther king jr. delivered his "i have a dream" speech before some 250,000 people. more than a dozen events are being held to celebrate the anniversary top president obama will deliver an address this saturday on the very steps where dr. king delivered his remarks. dr. king's son martin luther king iii joins is me now. he just released his new book "my daddy, dr. martin luther

king." thank you for joining me. >> thank you for the opportunity. >> you recently had an op-ed in "usa today." it was your perspective on your father. you wrote, events of the last few weeks have made me revisit my father's vision. first, the supreme court essentially declared the voting rights act are no longer an issue in this nation. you say, in one decision, the supreme court invalue daylighted one of the crowning achievements of the civil rights era. then you went on to also discuss the george zimmerman court ruling in florida, saying it sent a frightening message to young people of color. i know that we often ask this question, and we ask it of you and your siblings. what would dr. king say about these times? i think you made it quite clear. some major events. are we processing this right? >> are we processing it right? the answer would be, yes, because there's been a lot of dialogue. somehow out of difficult sets of circumstances we have to make something positive come out of it, which is really to bring america together as opposed to

dividing america. we are nowhere -- we've not realized the dream that my dad envisioned. he talked about a dream of freedom, justice, and equality for all human kind. i think these activities show us we have more work to do. >> what do you believe is the first step in this work? i'm in my 40s. i've heard people say this over and over. we've not realized the dream. i remember having these conversations in college and early on in my career. why haven't we? or is that too simplistic of a question to sask? >> i think there are a number of factors, but we start with an education system that has serious challenges. when we allow so many young people to just leave the school system. at fifth grade, kids are dropping out of school, and we're not doing anything about it. we're trying, but we really aren't focused on it. we used to have one of the greatest systems of public education in the world. now we certainly have a great college and university system, but our primary and secondary

system is in trouble. that's the first step. the second thing is that when we see something of democracy called voting rights and it is decima decimated, that -- i mean, how in 2013 are we trying to keep people from voting? we should make this process so much easier, and we can. but people must speak. that's why we're having a march on august 24th, because this is a continuation of what my father wanted to see and others. a large coalition is driving reverend sharpton and i to engage in this demonstration. it's not a -- there will be a commemorative part, but the march is not commemorative. this is about serious business. >> and i know you'll be discussing jobs as well with the high unemployment rate in the african-american community and other issues that affect our families every day. thank you so much, sir, for your time. we look forward to hearing more of your remarks in this entire week-long events planned for all of us.

thank you so much. >> thank you. and we want to hear from you. tell us how you're advancing the dream. i'm doing it, in my opinion, by helping to advance the dreams of others. you can submit your picture to advancingthedre advancingthedream@msnbc.com. developing news within the past hour on the accused gunman who forced the evacuation of that georgia elementary school. police releasing information. they now say the 20-year-old suspect michael hill was armed with nearly 500 rounds of ammunition when he entered that school. police say he was able to bypass the school security yesterday and fire at least six shots by walking in behind someone else. so the school employee who eventually stopped him described exactly what happened. >> he said that no one loved him. i told him that i loved him and that it was going to be okay, that we were going to get out safely. i told him that if he would just

go ahead and surrender since he didn't hurt anyone, that i would stay there with him until they came to get him. >> she also said hill told her he had not taken his medication. those are the latest details. again, right now, authorities say 500 rounds of ammunition is what that individual had on him when he went into that school around this time yesterday. we'll be right back with gut check. hey linda! what are you guys doing? having some fiber! with new phillips' fiber good gummies. they're fruity delicious! just two gummies have 4 grams of fiber! to help support regularity!

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guten tag.emale announcer ] today, talk to your doctor greetings earthlings. what's crackalackin? it's great we express ourselves differently. if we were all the same, life would be boring. so get to know people who aren't like you. you'll appreciate what makes us different. the more you know. time now for the "news nation" gut check. the white house is out with a new statement regarding legislation that restricts ownership of dogs by breed saying, quote, research shows that bans on certain types of dogs are often ineffective and a waste of resources. that statement comes on the heels of a petition that's

already gained more than 30,000 signatures seeking to have laws that target dogs by breed outlawed on a federal level. joining me now is tia torres, star of animal planet's "pit bulls and parolees." thank you for your time. i should admit i owned a rottweiler for many years. best dog i ever had. what do you think of the white house stepping in and the obama administration perhaps saying enough of these laws? >> for us, it's a huge, huge thing. this is what we've been waiting for. you know, i would have to say as being the largest pit bull rescue in the country, the majority of the calls we get where owners have to give up their dogs is due to breed-specific legislation. you know, the landlord won't let them keep the dog, insurance companies won't let them have the dogs. this is our number one give-up call. >> over 600 cities have enacted these breed-specific laws, some military bases also.

i've heard over and over, it's not the dogs, it's the owners. you do incredible work on your show on animal planet. your fifth season, i believe, now. why do you believe folks don't get it? that it's a bad owner to blame, not these dogs? >> it's a pretty easy statement for me to come back with. let's face it. the breeds that are being targeted are pit bulls, r rottweile rottweilers, boxers, german shepherds, bulldogs, mastiffs. between these breeds, there are literally millions of them in country. millions. if they're such bad dogs, why aren't we having millions of people being attacked? so that right there answers the question that it's not the breeds per se. you know, that's just kind of our statement on that. >> well, i appreciate you joining us. again, congratulations on the show and the success you've had in proving that there are not

bad dogs out there and the great love that you share, we really appreciate it. thank you, tia. >> thank you so much. >> so do you agree with the president and others who want to lift bans on certain breeds of dogs? what does your gut tell you? go to facebook.com/newsnation to cast that vote. i can't wait to see what you say about this one. that does it for this edition of "news nation." thanks for hanging with us. i'm tamron hall. we'll be back with you tomorrow. "the cycle" is up next. by about $110 a month. roll the dice. care act was passed, company to go down by about $60 a month. little guy rebecca: the law works. ...so you say men are superior drivers? yeah? then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...safe driving bonus check?

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silence. ♪ even superheroes need superheroes, and some superheroes need complete and balanced meals with 23 vitamins and minerals. purina dog chow. help keep him strong. dog chow strong. i'm ari melber. three words describe the show we're bringing you this hour. >> stop the instaanity! >> that's just the beginning. a mill their judge has thrown the book at bradley manning. his supporters are throwing a rally at the president's front door. have you heard about the nfl's new war on women? ladies, hold on to your purses. we'll also tell you about the war on boys.

what? who wrote that? crazy talk. consider yourself warned. >> it's a thing. ♪ president obama convened his national security team at the white house today. there are plenty of topics to speak about under that umbrella. we're told the conversation was egypt, mainly the $1.5 billion in aid we sent them. the administration is deciding whether to cut that off given the military's crackdown of supporters of deposed president mohamed morsi. meantime, the u.n. security council is convening an emergency meeting right now regarding the ongoing humanitarian crisis in syria. their focus is on reports that hundreds of civilians were killed near damascus when government forces used chemical weapons on them. the white house today condemned any use of chemical weapons. we're told the president is being updated about developments throughout