those i'm throwing back. [ female announcer ] olay total effects. nourishing vitamins, and seven beautiful benefits in one. for younger-looking skin. so while your life may be ever-changing... ♪ ...your beautiful skin will stay beautiful. total effects from olay. your best beautiful. these movements are consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane. >> you heard that. deliberate action. good afternoon to you all. i'm t.j. holmes in for craig melvin. you are watching msnbc. the mystery of what happened to flight 370 deepens now. if someone on the plane flew it far off its intended path, the big questions now, where did they go and why?

russia cannot change the fact that moving forward in blatant defiance of the international rules of the road will have consequences. >> the ball is now firmly in russia's court. >> very tense times in ukraine today amid rumored russian troop movement and diplomatic roadblocks at the united nations. the world searches for a path to peace in syria. millions of children are caught in the middle. a look at the heart-wrenching conditions in which they are forced to live. it is wrong, deadly wrong to deny any of your fellow americans the right to vote in this country. [ applause ] >> plus, a look back at the speech which kicked off the push for the landmark voting rights act of 1965. also today's big idea is an offer of money to get people to save money. we'll explain that ahead. but we begin with the latest

on the disappearance of malaysia airlines flight 370. you heard the malaysian prime minister saying the plane veered off its flight path because of, quote, deliberate action by someone on the plane. nbc's keir simmons is in kuala lumpur. >> reporter: it was a sobering news conference here with the malaysian prime minister announcing that they are now confident that flight 370 was being controlled by someone before it disappeared. and after he spoke, we saw detectives arrive at the home of the pilot. reports say that his home was searched. they were there for around two hours. they then moved on and went to the co-pilot's house. they searched in there, it appeared. then they left with two men who reportedly or we are told were members of his family. now, the two pilots are sahiri shah, highly experienced.

lives in an upscale neighborhood and he has 18,000 flight hours under his belt. the co-pilot, very different, he is fareek hamad. he lives with his mom and dad. he is said to be engaged to be married. now, we've been speaking to the president's of the cabin crew union here. he makes the point -- remember, they have made clear that they are investigating everybody who was on that flight. he makes the point that there was a crucial moment in the first hour of the flight when a hijacking, if that's what happened and the prime minister made clear they're not confident that is what happened -- if it was, he says a crucial moment when that could have happened, the moment when the pilot and co-pilot are served drinks by the crew just after the plane has taken off and the seat belt sign is off. so a number of possibilities open still. and a number of questions for investigators to be asking themselves, who flew the plane,

what motivation did they have and where did they fly it to? they still have two possible directions that the plane may have gone in. a second news conference in which we were expected to be able to ask some questions here again was dramatically canceled today. they said they weren't going to hold that. a note of caution, though, it may be that they are holding back information. but this is amongst other things now a police investigation. there may be good reason why they don't want to reveal some of the information they have as part of the inquiry. back to you. >> thanks to nbc's keir simmons in kuala lumpur. let me bring in captain john kopp, a veteran airline pilot with 25 years of experience does it make sense to you, this investigation needs to be at the pilot and the co-pilot, given the communication systems were turned off? >> well, i want to be very careful that we don't overstep what we actually know. in the case of the transponder, we know it was inoperative. it may have been switched off, it may have failed or lacked

electrical power. the one that is more telling is a communication system known as acars. for the acars system to be active and still interacting with the satellites but not broadcasting data, to do that requires special knowledge, specialized knowledge. so i think that's one of the first real telltales, one, the airplane did have electrical power on it or the acars system couldn't have been powered and secondarily, the power stream was switched off. so this had to have been done by someone with knowledge. but we need to be very careful about making sure that we stay where the evidence is and not speculate too far. >> another thing now, we see there's a search corridor now that goes from the border of kazakhstan, turkmenistan and that i would and from indonesia down to the south of the indian ocean. it's hard to miss if this plane went down on land, be pretty

tough to miss. are they focusing -- should it be focused in water instead of on land right now? >> i think the higher likelihood is that it is in water somewhere. the two projected paths, i think, will slim down over the next few days to being one primary and then one not so likely scenario. the fact that no other military radar picked the airplane up makes the northern one a little bit less likely but certainly one that needs to be evaluated. the one thing that's good is we've got 14 countries working together to try to find this airplane. the international cooperation is extremely good, and i think in reasonably short time we will find the debris field and the wreckage of this airplane. >> certainly hope so. captain john cox, thank you so much. we're not going too far away from that story. when we get updates, we'll pass them along. back to washington now and the president's national

security council meeting right now at the white house about tensions in ukraine. secretary of defense chuck hagel and secretary of state john kerry both there. also a short time ago, russian veto. we saw this in the u.n. resolution. it was introduced by the united states declaring tomorrow's crimea referendum a violation of international law. 12 other council members supported that u.n. resolution. china abstained. crimean citizens will cast their vote on the country's future. but the outcome may have been determined by facts on the ground. ian williams in crimea with the latest. what is happening on the ground there now? >> reporter: we're still trying to piece together reports of a russian troop incursion across the crimean frontier and into ukraine proper. according to the ukrainian government, six russian helicopters flew to a spit of

land that separates this peninsula from ukraine and tried to take control of a gas facility. the ukrainian governments say they were confronted by ukrainian troops and then withdrew. it is the case that crimea depends upon mainland ukraine for its gas, power and oil supplies. so it is in that case very vulnerable. so this would seem a logical extension of the russian operation. the russian occupation here. at the same time, of course, we've got this build-up, 10,000 russian troops close to the east ukraine border at a time when there have been flare-ups, violence in big cities in the east. so it is a very menacing backdrop to this referendum which is now just a few hours away, t.j. >> tell us about the mood and any preparations taking place getting set for this referendum. >> reporter: it's a strange mood. there is a sort of superficial calm on the streets here in

simferopol. you can see the parliament behind me guarded by a number of irregular forces. but human rights watch is one of many who have put out a warning this weekend saying there's been a great deal of intimidation, threats and violence against ukrainians and against dtatars who oppose the move by crimea to join russia. one gentleman that we spoke to a couple of days ago who runs a military hospital here, ukrainian, we interviewed him in his hospital which has been raided by irregulars, he was picked up last night by three gunmen according to witnesses and disappeared. so a pretty worrying backdrop. the arrangements for the vote are going ahead. the ballot papers are ready. the polling stations are ready. they'll open at 8:00 tomorrow morning. and it does seem against this backdrop that there's little real doubt about the result, t.j. >> ian williams for us in crimea, thank you so much. coming up next, the big p.r. push for the so-called young

invincibles to sign up for health insurance. is that going to work and what will they have to pay if they don't sign up? also, later, you're not going to believe how many hardcore criminals are on the loose in this country and what's worse, the law doesn't have time to chase them down. this is msnbc. i'm randy, and i quit smoking with chantix. as a police officer, i've helped many people in the last 23 years, but i needed help in quitting smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced the urge for me to smoke. it actually caught me by surprise. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking, or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental-health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away, as some can be life-threatening.

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policies. republican scott brown one step closer to making a bid for the u.s. senate. the former massachusetts senator announced friday he's forming an exploratory committee for the senate race in new hampshire where he now lives full-time. brown would run against the democratic incumbent. and senator kelly ayotte is set to campaign with minority senate leader mitch mcconnell in kentucky on monday. mcconnell is facing a tough reelection challenge there. here we go. let's get this out of the way. what did you come here to plug? >> first of all, i think it's fair to say that i wouldn't be with you here today if i didn't have something to plug. have you heard of the affordable care act? >> yeah, heard about that. that's the thing that doesn't work? >> that, as many of you know by now, president obama made an apersons on the spoof talk show with zach, the show is "between two ferns". it went viral.

trying to convince young americans to enroll in the nation's health care plan before the deadline of march 31st. those who miss the deadline will face a penalty. but do you even know how much? let me bring in the president of enroll america, a nonpartisan group with the aim of signing up people for the nation's new health care law. hello. you tell me, are there numbers you can point to to suggest that the white house is going to hit their stated goal of having 40% of the enrollees be the young people? right now, it's only at about 25%. >> well, we know we are on our way. you compare the numbers of young people that enrolled in the fall compared to what we've seen in january and february. there's about a 65% increase among young people. we always expected young people to wait toward the end to enroll. >> isn't the difference -- in the fall, the people signing up were about 24% were the young folks. this year, january and february, hasn't it just been 27%, a bump, yes, but is that enough?

>> well, as i said, we're expecting people to come in at the end. but what's really important to know is when we're talking to young people, three out of four young people say they want health insurance. what's prevented them from getting it in the past is they can't afford it. many young people still don't know they can get financial assistance to help pay for their plans and half of young people can find a plan for under $50 a month. compare that to what they're paying for a cell phone or cable bill, people are getting pretty interested in their options. >> getting interested. but you would need a huge bump, a "washington post" article says the result would be fatal for obamacare if the proportion does not increase significantly. one month left to do this. what gives you hope that those numbers are going to go up? i know you're making the pitch to young people. but you have a month. >> what gives me hope is when i'm out -- today i'm here in ohio, my home state. we're about to launch on monday morning our countdown to get

covered bus tour here in ohio. last week, i was in texas. i was out there talking to folks. you see what this means to people. the peace of mind that comes with having health insurance. that's true not only for older folks but also for young folks. young parents or even young individuals who know that a broken bone could lead to bankruptcy. when i'm out there talking to people, i'm seeing a lot of interest. our biggest challenge right now is people don't have all the facts. they don't know that financial assistance is available to them. and so we're encouraging them to check out our website where they can use a calculator to see what kind of financial assistance may they actually get. >> we see the bus there. we had some video of it. you talked about what they don't know and one thing that's important right now because -- we're going to put some graphics up. but the penalties, if you don't have your health insurance by march 31st, you could be hit with a penalty. everybody's throwing around this $95 penalty. yes, $95 or 1% of your income, whichever is higher.

we have a family of four earning $25,000. between the kids and the mom and dad not being covered, it could be a total of $285. a lot of folks not sure about what that penalty is. another one, a single person earning $250,000 a year could be hit with a penalty close to $2,400. should you emphasize more to young people that this could take a real chunk? nobody wants to pay a penalty. should you emphasize that part a little more? >> we are. when we're out there in communities, we're making sure that folks know if they don't enroll by march 31st, they'll face a fine and you still have to pay for all your health care costs. but we want to talk to people about the opportunity. when we let them know that not only can you find a quality plan, it's likely you can also get financial assistance to help pay for it, there's a lot of interest. we know that 83% of the people who have already enrolled in coverage have gotten financial help to pay for their plan. >> full steam ahead now but were you always waiting till the last minute?

you're making a last-minute push but i guess why not make all this push a little bit earlier on? i know you've been out there. but the bus and the president on "between two ferns". >> we've been doing this work for months. and a lot of folks are waying more attention to it. but right now, we are all hands on deck making sure that by march 31st, as many folks as possible enroll in coverage and that they know they can get financial assistance likely to pay for it. >> the bus is on the way to ohio. we appreciate having you. 20 minutes past the hour now. coming up next, the latest on the missing plane. malaysian officials say someone deliberately cut off communications and flew that plane possibly for nearly seven hours? but where? [ male announcer ] sponges take your mark. [ female announcer ] one drop of ultra dawn has twice the everyday grease cleaning ingredients of one drop of the leading non-concentrated brand...

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♪ nothing says, "you're my #1 copilot," like a milk-bone biscuit. ♪ say it with milk-bone. let's get you up to speed on the search for that missing

malaysian flight 370. malaysian officials say the plane went off its flight plan by someone on board. they're focusing on the search on two massive areas, the northern corridor that stretches from the border of kazakhstan and turkmenistan to northern that i would and the southern search corridor which stretches from indonesia to the vast southern reaches of the indian ocean. nbc's kerry sanders joins us live from washington. a lot of people are -- you hear people speculating, you have all these conspiracy theories. all this technology, how can you not find this plane? but give us some perspective. just how large of a search area are we now talking about? >> reporter: so the continental united states is 3.7 million square miles. let me take you on the map here and take you down here to the indian ocean here. that's 7.8 million square miles.

and, remember, we're talking in three dimensions here because you have up to 2.5 miles down to hit the bottom. so there might be something on the surface. but then again, it may be something that's now hidden down below. when you come up further north up here to kazakhstan, up here into the bay of bengal, we're talking about a tremendous area to search. it's not as if the world has not united here to try to get all of the best technology in place. but it literally is trying to find that needle in a vast haystack. >> is there -- there are a lot of countries involved. is the cooperation where it needs to be at this point? and is there a lead country right now? >> reporter: there is no real lead country. by the mere fact that the malaysian government has been holding the news conferences and sharing the information such as that this was a deliberate act, they are essentially the lead. but when it comes to the search

here, everybody's playing a role. and according to those officials that i've spoken to from the u.s. navy, it's remarkable at how well everybody is working together. for instance, the u.s. navy has dispatched p-3 and p-8 anti-sub ra me submarine aircraft out of okinawa. and they're going to kuala lumpur. the range is 1,000 miles. but they can search 10,000 square miles on each mission. they're flying as many hours as they can get up and sort of -- because they haven't found anything, what they're doing is eliminating areas where they have not found anything. by the same token, the japanese have also launched their 3 p-3s. and those planes are searching. you have the indian government, the malaysian government, all these different governments working together. and nobody's going to bump into each other because it's such a huge area.

>> kerry sanders, thank you for the update. you've been all over the story. thank you so much. >> reporter: sure. up next, the syrian civil war tore so many children from their homes, they could fill los angeles and more. their story next. also, how bloody sunday sparked the call for the landmark voting rights act of 1965. so our business can be on at&t's network for $175 a month? yup. all 5 of you for $175. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line, anytime, for $15 a month. low dues, great terms. let's close! new at&t mobile share value plans our best value plans ever for business. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans

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can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath? [ exhales deeply ] [ male announcer ] well there is biotene. specially formulated with moisturizers and lubricants, biotene can provide soothing relief and it helps keep your mouth healthy, too. [ applause ] biotene -- for people who suffer from dry mouth. the bottom of the hour here now, developing story, secretary of defense chuck hagel and secretary of state john kerry have joined the president's national security council at the white house. they're having a meeting to discuss the situation in ukraine. the president, however, not at this particular meeting. it looks like secretary hagel going into the meeting. aides tell nbc news the president is being briefed. we wanted to give you that update. we'll pass along anything else as we get it. as world powers go back and forth talking about the plans for peace in syria, millions are

getting caught in the crossfire and way too many of them are children. more than 140,000 people have been killed since the syrian conflict began. it's now about to drag into a fourth year. at least 10,000 of those killed are children and there's no end in sight to the despair. nbc news chief medical editor nancy snyderman has this special report from lebanon near the syrian border. >> reporter: the refugee camp where we find 28-year-old miriam is isolated, bitterly cold and the conditions, deplorable. it's the worst i've seen. she shares a small tent with her family, now five children, including the baby boy born yesterday. it's a mud floor and it's wet. there's no insulation. it's just plastic. and this is how people are living, in between their homeland and a country that is housing them but they're still not citizens.

her husband yasser takes us inside the tent where we find miriam lying on a thin, damp mattress. lying next to her is her newborn. miriam describes being cold, exhausted and just lousy. her husband's bought medicine prescribed by one of the doctors. there is no happy ending here. just reminders everywhere that in this ongoing crisis, children's lives are on the line. over the past 48 hours, we've seen great emotional highs and lows, like the newborns in this warm nursery and yet outside tonight, a cold, drenching rain, which reminds us of the depth of the suffering of so many of syria's refugee children. i'm dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news. >> syrian refugees at the camp there, being charged $400 a year to live. might not sound like a whole lot here in the u.s. but that's an astronomical price for people who have already so little. for more on this massive refugee crisis and how it's affecting kids, let me bring in carol

stern, president of the u.s. fund for unicef. you were there last year. i read your blog post today. on your website. and i was in tears in the newsroom reading it. i want to throw some of the numbers for you here, overwhelming, 9 million syrians displaced, 5.5 million are kids. if this goes on too much longer, what are going -- what's going to happen possibly to these children? >> we're going to have an entire lost generation if we don't respond and react really quickly. these kids are being orphaned, maimed, being forced into soldiering and they are bearing witness to horrific trauma. >> we see the pictures here. i was struck by the pictures i saw on the blog post about your visit. they look like kids. they look like just smiling kids, not really -- i can't say they're not aware. but they looked like any kids you would see in the streets of new york. >> kids are amazing. i've had the privilege to travel to over 26 developing nations in my job. and i always say that one of the

things i find everywhere i go, kids are always playing with a ball. doesn't matter where you are. kids are kids. but at the same time, as they watch all this violence, as they're forced to participate in this violence and kept out of school, we're going to lose an entire generation. >> and these are some of the pictures from your trip in particular. another story you told that was really striking and a lot of us -- it helps give perspective here. folks who end up in some of these refugee camps were middle class folks who just ended up losing everything. >> it was horrific to hear some of the stories. i sat with a man who told me his story of having been an attorney, a successful attorney in syria who was defending some of the protesters. and it was not welcomed. his home was blown up. he lost relatives in the explosion. his daughter was injured. no one would help them. he literally threw her on his shoulder and walked for three days with her on his shoulder to get across the border to iman. turned out, she had a cracked skull. he was able to get her health care until his dollars ran out.

then he was living on the street when he was found. >> one last thing here and this is important because you all and other agencies are trying to do this work. you just told me before we started here, you don't have the funding you need. you all are so short, i would assume many other agencies are short as well. why is there a gap, a void in getting the dollars you need to do your work on the ground? >> i wish i had a great answer for that. the american people are usually extremely generous and we're hoping they will be again because only about 8% of the funding has been raised. we're going to continue to work. unicef is going to be there on the ground. millions of kids have been vaccinated. hundreds of thousands are getting supported through this trauma by unicef. but significant dollars are needed. >> is it too far? are we too disconnected from the conflict? has it been going on so long that there's a fatigue? like you said, you don't really know. >> i'm sure some of it is donor fatigue. but it is easier in the united states to go about your business every day and not have to focus

on what's going on there. but having been there, i can only say, there but for the grace of god because these are people living lives like mine until this started. >> thank you again, we appreciate you. we have to try to keep this story to the forefront. when you see 5.5 million kids affected right now -- thank you so much. if you want to make a donation to unicef, visit their website. you see it up there on the screen. unicefusa.org/syria. also a phone number, 1-800-for kids. and you can text the word "syria" to 864233. a quick look at the other stories making headlines right now. workers in new york city have removed half the debris from the deadly gas explosion in harlem that brought down two buildings on wednesday. eight people were killed. more than 70 others injured. they're trying to reach the

basement levels at the site for definitive clues as to what may have caused the blast. general motors facing what appears to be the first class action lawsuit related to last month's recall of 1.6 million vehicles. a faulty ignition switch is being blamed for multiple deadly crashes. the lawsuit filed in texas claims gm knew about the problem since 2004. plaintiffs demanding compensation for the loss of vehicle used. a gm spokesman says the company has apologized for how it handled the recall but did not comment on the lawsuit. and a fugitive who's been on the run 37 years is behind bars today in florida. james roberts you're seeing there -- james robert jones escaped from a military prison back in 1977. he was serving a 23-year sentence for premeditated murder and aggravated assault. he was arrested thursday after authorities ran the photo from his fake driver's license against an old prison photo database. how many countless movies, tv shows have you seen out there

where criminals try to get away and they just try to get to the border, get to state or county line? sounds fictitious. but this is a real problem. many suspects are avoiding felony charges by simply fleeing to different states. for example, police in philadelphia, atlanta and little rock tell the fbi they won't pursue 90% or more of their felony suspects that enter another state. that means that just crossing a bridge from philadelphia into camden, new jersey, might mean those suspects could get off scot-free. joining us now to talk about this remarkable practice is brad heath who broke the story in "usa today." a lot of people are wondering why. and the answer is infuriating. why are they letting criminals go? >> it's time and money. they lack the resources in some cases or don't want to expend the resources to go chase them into other states either because they think it will cost too much

to send somebody to go get them or because they think the legal process to get somebody back across a state line is too cumbersome. >> that sounds like to a lot of people and i'm sure the victims of some of these crimes ridiculo ridiculous. a lot of people here thought, is it a law, something complicated about extradition? you're saying, if you are a criminal in pennsylvania, flee to not a neighboring state but head over to arizona because they're not going to take the time and spend the money to come get you? >> yeah. and even in pennsylvania, we found thousands of cases in the city of philadelphia where literally you could go to camden, new jersey, and they wouldn't come get you. a lot of these guys went in and out of the camden county jail within eyesight of the philadelphia courthouse and they didn't go get them. >> let r you all crunched these numbers. a lot of research you did for this story. there it is. more than 180,000 felons in the u.s. avoiding prosecution because they have fled to different states.

3,300 of those are accused of sexual assault or homicide. these are the numbers you have. is it possible there are more than this? >> we think this is fairly significant understatement of what's going on. >> wow. >> these are just the cases that people actually reported to the fbi. this guy is wanted but we're not going to leaf the state to get him. there are other cases where in chicago, in detroit, the police will put somebody in the fbi's fugitive database and say with a code, we'll take him wherever he's found. but if you talk to sheriffs and police officers in milwaukee, in toledo, just down the road across the state line, they make the call all the time and are told, no thank you, we're not going to come get him. and another class of people never end up in the database at all. once they leave a state, nobody even knows they're wanted. >> we're not talking about folks that they don't know where they are and on the run and looking for them. in some cases, these suspects have been held by one police department, call the police

department in the other state and say, i've got your guy and they say, forget about it. is there anything the federal government can do, the federal agencies can step in and do anything? >> the federal agencies are reluctant to help with the transportation. the transportation does get expensive. and they don't really have this problem. the feds can move people from state to state, no sweat. but the u.s. marshals service will do a lot that help locate fugitives. the only deal is you have to say up front, if you find him in another state, we'll go get him. so that really knocks out a lot of the people we're looking at because they don't want to go to that trouble. >> we reached out to the justice department, waiting for a comment possibly back from the fbi on this. but, folks, it is an interesting and fascinating and in some ways a scary read from "usa today." brad heath did an extensive investigation. we appreciate you coming on with us today. >> my pleasure. 40 minutes past the hour now. 49 years ago tonight, president lyndon johnson went to capitol hill to deliver a 45-minute

speech which in some ways defined his presidency. >> the president of the united states! [ applause ] >> johnson came before a joint session of congress to propose what would become his landmark voting rights act. and he borrowed a phrase from the civil rights movement within his speech. >> even if we pass this bill, the battle will not be over. what happened in selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section and state of america. it is the effort of american negros to secure for themselves the full blessings of american life. their cause must be our cause, too. because it's not just negros, but really, it's all of us who

must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. and we shall overcome. [ applause ] >> reference there to selma in that clip from president johnson. it had been just a week before that police had attacked some 600 protesters at the foot of a bridge which became known as flood di sunday. it took president johnson nearly five more months over the summer of 1965 to do all the wheeling and dealing necessary to get the voting rights bill through congress. he signed it in august with dr. martin luther king by his side. p every room i walk into. [ female announcer ] olay presents the new regenerist luminous collection. with skin energizing complex. renews surface cells to even skin tone. and reduce the appearance of dark spots. ♪ now see bright pearlescent healthy looking skin,

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the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. [ telephone rings ] [ shirley ] edward jones. this is shirley speaking. how may i help you? oh hey, neill, how are you? how was the trip? [ male announcer ] with nearly 7 million investors... [ shirley ] he's right here. hold on one sec. [ male announcer ] ...you'd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. kevin, neill holley's on line one. ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪ we continue to update you on the breaking story we've been following all afternoon. malaysian officials now saying an intentional act by someone on the plane contributed to the plane veering off its flight plan. the malaysian prime minister announcing this morning that

someone on board flight 370 deliberately shut off the plane's communications and tracking systems, turned the plane around and flew possibly nearly seven hours after it vanished. just minutes after that announcement, investigators searched the homes of the plane's pilot and co-pilot for any clues into the investigation. we'll have more on this missing jet in just the next few minutes. many low income people can't afford to save money every month. but offering them cash prizes as an incentive could be the solution. it is today's big idea. it's a project called save your refund by the group doorways to dreams. the goal is to help families that are otherwise struggling to make ends meet build some kind of financial security by possibly saving at least $50 of their tax refunds, participants are entered into a lottery that allows them to win the grand prize of $25,000 or a series of $100 prizes. timothy flacca is the executive director of doorways to dreams.

did i explain that right? is that how it works? you give people money to save money. >> you've pretty much got it. maybe i can go home now. >> no, not just yet. we want to understand. we talk about the big per $25,000 prize but there are also smaller prizes within there they could also win? >> yeah, that's right. we have 100 prizes. and the key thing here is that for most of us, saving money is is not the most fun thing. it can be hard to get started. we're trying to say, sometimes saving money can actually be exciting, it can be unexpected, it can be fun. that's what's behind this. >> when they sign up for this, do they have to have a bank account in a certain place with you all or they can still use their current accounts? >> glad you asked that. the idea is to help people save wherever they want to. if you already have a savings account, you can use that. if you have an i.r.a., you can use that. if you don't have any, though, turns out the treasury department will issue you savings bonds, if you want them

to, and that's actually a really grae great way to save if you don't have that account set up or maybe you don't have it with you when you go to file your taxes. >> when people sign up -- they're signing up hoping to win some cash, maybe even the grand prize. when they're not enrolled, when you find that people leave your program, do they still do a good job of saving or does it kind of fall off and they go back to some of their old ways? i say that meaning that that incentive isn't there, so they're not as diligent about it. >> well, tell you what, i think for most of us, we all want to save. we all kind of know that would be a good thing to do. the trouble is really getting started. and it turns out that tax time is just this amazing opportunity to get started. the average person in this country receives a federal refund of more than $2,000. if you're living on not a lot of money, that could almost certainly be the biggest financial event of the whole year for you. so if we can help you to think about putting even 50 bucks or

$100 or $500 or whatever you can do into savings, maybe we'll move from that, i'm not a saver to now i've started. i think we've got reason to be optimistic. if you get started at tax time, you can keep going other times of the year. >> what can you point to? do you have some numbers to show the program works, it's been effective? >> yeah. i'll pick one. we work with a great group in minnesota, accountability minnesota. they've doubled the number of their tax clients that have saved this year. so far, $1.2 million in savings. >> all right. the program here, if you want to sign up, it's called doorways to dreams. it's called, save your refund. by all means, check them out. we all could do a better job of saving. good to see you. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> do you have a big idea that's making a difference? tweet it to us or you can also e-mail it to us. the e-mail address is on your screen. a year after hurricane sandy,

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101 years old, joe newman certainly knows a thing or two, which is why he is running for congress, yes, the centenarian lived through the great depression, graduated from notre dame, got a job working for the federal government spreading awareness about a new program, it was called social security. joining us now in sarasota, florida, the man himself. that's a young-looking 101 right there. that's joe newman. he's running as an independent candidate. thank you for being here. tell me, can you at 101 years old -- that's a demanding schedule for a congressman. do you have any concerns about if you are elected, keeping up with the demands of that schedule? >> of course there are concerns. but if you think you can do it, i think you ought to do it. >> why now? why didn't you do it when you were a little younger? maybe 80 or 70 or younger?

why did you wait until 101? >> that's a good question, i suppose. i don't know why i waited. probably had the antipathy towards politics as everyone does. and finally decide that you've seen things bad enough that if you can have any effect on correcting it or doing something about it, you should do it. >> that's a pretty big statement there. you've seen a lot in your 101 years. and you're saying that at this point now you're finally seeing things so bad you felt you had to throw your hat in the ring. what's one thing you are seeing now that's driving you so crazy that you wanted to get involved? >> well. the j., you mentioned the one when you started. here i am 101, that seems to be an oddity in itself. and so for a person who's 101 to step out and try to take part, perhaps i can get people to

listen a little bit more than if i were 80 or 70 or 60. >> this is a write-in campaign. you say you're an independent. why a write-in campaign? >> it's a write-in campaign because you want to be able to criticize all parties. and take what you think is a proper view of how we can improve our society or get it back to where it's improving itself. at present what we see is we are tearing ourselves apart with differences, differences that we highlight rather than looking at the things that we need to do to bring us together and improve things for everybody, to focus on a future that's going to help all rather than just a few. >> last couple of things here, a couple of things on a personal note here. i see here, you have -- your

family, but you have a girlfriend. what was her reaction to you wanting to get in this race? >> she's with me. >> she's with you. >> yes. she's worried about the fact that i am 101 and what effect it will have on me and the same question you asked, whether i'll be able to withstand it. but whatever i want to do, she is with me. >> sir, i am glad we got a chance -- we've been trying for the last couple of weeks to get you on. the write-in campaign for joe pneumoen in florida. good luck to you. >> thank you. coming up, a u.n. vote we watched a few hours ago, a last-ditch effort to fight an impending referendum in ukraine. this is russian troops now moving towards ukraine. we'll go there live. also, the mother of slain teenager jordan davis reacts to

news out of florida on the retrial of michael dunn, the man who shot and killed her son. she joins us live. stay here. i'm beth... and i'm michelle. and we own the paper cottage. it's a stationery and gifts store. anything we purchase for the paper cottage goes on our ink card.

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despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, i wish to be very clear. we are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused mh-370 to deviate from its original flight path. >> deviated, what's more, they say the plane was flown off course deliberately. hello to you all. i'm t.j. holmes. craig melvin is off today. you are watching msnbc. right now, the questions, who else on board that flight -- they're still trying to figure out, those are the big questions we have right now.

what was the purpose if someone did fly it off course? if the plane was hijacked, where exactly was it going? we have a problem in crimea. the society is not [ inaudible ] -- we now see on the border of a war. >> just hours away from a vote in crimea. ukraine's defense forces, as they are, getting ready for what russia might have in store. back in florida, the man who shot and killed an unarmed teen gets his new day in court. coming up, the mother of jordan davis gives her first reaction to the news right here. why not try to level the playing field as much as possible? >> people are going to carry whether you restrict them or not. >> i don't necessarily think it's appropriate on campus. >> a new law allowing guns on college campuses provokes a provocative new question from a professor, when may i shoot a student?

plus, one more state gets closer to making pot legal as the push on capitol hill to legalize it gets stronger. first, we continue to follow the breaking story in the disappearance of malaysian airlines flight 370. a criminal investigation going on now. law officials searched the homes of the plane's pilot and co-pilot, looking for any clues that could lead them to what happened. this morning, malaysia's prime minister revealed the plane veered off its scheduled flight plan due to a deliberate act by someone on board. he said investigators believe that someone shut off the plane's communications and tracking systems, turned the plane around, flew it possibly for nearly seven hours after it vanished. the search is now focused on a different area. the northern corridor that stretches from the border of kazakhstan and turkmenistan and the southern corridor that stretches from indonesia into the vast southern reaches of the indian ocean. let me bring in nbc's kerry sanders. he's been following this very closely. right now, by land or by sea,

does it make more sense to be searching which? >> reporter: well, i'm not sure whether it makes more sense. it's actually easier to search land than it is the sea because you have three dimensions where you have the water. it goes down in the indian ocean 2 1/2 miles. if the debris has gone down, it's not going to be visible even to the high-tech equipment. let me show you what we're talking about in terms of an area. if you're looking at the continental u.s., you're talking about 3.7 million square miles. look here, this down here would be the indian ocean. that's 7.8 million miles. so you get an idea of how big of an area we're really talking about. sorry, i hit the wrong button there. what we're talking about is an area here that they're searching. now, the search area continues all the way up here towards kazakhstan in the bay of bengal. the area we're talking about is a huge area. while there's multination effort to do this, it's just the amount

of space that needs to be criss-crossed and looked at, it's just so vast even with many nations and a lot of equipment. it's a very, very slow process. >> we have 14 countries involved here, including the u.s. give some perspective here. folks are saying, you've got a signal from the plane. why is the area so vast? if you recorded some kind of a signal, shouldn't that tell us where the plane was? but it's not that simple. >> reporter: of course it's not that simple. here's the deal with the signal. there's a satellite here and there's a plane here and the signal bounces. so they have a general idea of the distance from the satellite to the plane. but the problem is, if you draw a line and then you hold it out there and draw a semicircle, it could be anywhere along that because they're measuring the distance to the plane. they don't have multiple satellites to triangulate. if they had multiple satellites with try angulation, they could say, we know exactly where it is.

sometimes people hear about local law enforcements to find cell phones to find someone, they're triangulating with several cell phone towers to find out where the cell phone is. in this particular case, they only have that one distance. you draw an arc, it could anywhere heading north to kazakhstan or down all the way to antarctica. >> great analogy to help folks understand. kerry sanders, thank you so much. we'll check back with you as we get updates. president obama being briefed by his national supreme court team at this hour on the situation in ukraine. secretary of defense chuck hagel and secretary of state john kerry entering the white house. earlier this afternoon, russia vetoed a united states-backed u.n. resolution declaring sunday's crimean referendum illegal. 12 other council members supporting the resolution with china abstaining.

crimeans cast their votes in a few hours. nbc's ian williams in crimea for us with the latest. we have some developments today. possible troop movements by russia? >> reporter: what we're hearing, t.j., is of a russian troop incursion from crimea into mainland ukraine. the ukrainian government has been pretty tough words coming out of kiev, accusing moscow of launching an invasion from crimea. what does seem to have happened, according to the ukrainians, is about 80 russian soldiers and four helicopters landed on a spit of land that separates crimea from mainland ukraine. they took control of one village. but according to the ukrainians, were repelled from another. we've also heard from other sources that this area also has gas facilities, which are fairly crucial to the supply of energy to crimea which relies upon

mainland ukraine, not only for gas but also for water supplies. but we're still trying to get confirmation of this and piece together precisely what happened. but it does come, of course, you recall at the same time as a significant troop build-up along the eastern border of ukraine. 10,000 or so russian troops involved in exercises there, although vladimir putin has said they have no intention of invading ukraine, although of course you'll recall he said a short while ago he had no intention of annexing crimea. so this is all very menacing against the backdrop of the referendum which is now just a few hours away, t.j. >> ian williams for us in crimea, thank you once again. to get more on this crisis in ukraine, we bring in reuters investigative journal david rhode. looking at what happened on sunday, but the big deal is what

happens on monday? >> yeah, it's a foregone conclusion there will be this vote. most people will vote for secession in crimea. does russia annex crimea, does the russian government declare crimea a part of russia? if they do, that puts pressure on european countries. they're the key here to carry out economic sanctions. europe exhorts $400 billion worth of goods to russia. we only do about $40 billion. does moscow provoke europe or not is the real question? >> a lot of people might scratch their heads, wait a minute, i thought moscow was behind the scenes anyway, this is what they wanted there, why wouldn't they make the move on monday? >> the cleverest move for putin is let crimea vote for independence and then step back because it would leave the story to die in the western media, it will die in the european media and the whole push for sanctions will, i think, dissipate. and that's sort of what he did in georgia after the war there in 2008. and he might do that again.

so it's not clear. even the other scenario that's even more dangerous is what ian just talked about, russian troops moving into other parts of ukraine. there are clashes going on that some people say are being caused by moscow. a couple of people died on friday. if he goes into even more of ukraine, that's an even larger crisis. >> what options does ukraine have right now? >> none. they don't have any military force. it's a very weak government. so, again, the key is the u.s. is pushing sanctions. it's europe and it's germany which is the key trading partner that can really hurt putin. and it's, what does europe and germany do on monday? >> and this ballot -- they're given two options tomorrow. if you've been watching the story, they're given two options, go with russia or stay with ukraine? not necessarily the case. the ballot was released. we saw it from the bbc. there it is. the way one is worded essentially saying, do you want to join russia or do you want to join russia later?

what sense does this make? >> that's the problem with this referendum. it's essentially ridiculous. there is no option for voters to stay part of ukraine. there's thousands of russian troops all over crimea, so that's what makes this situation so laughable and so dangerous because it sets such a new and low precedent for taking new territory and making it part of russia. >> whoever put this ballot together, why keep that option off the table? >> because they want to make sure they get a 99% turnout. there's been real intimidation on the ground in crimea, the people who might oppose this vote have basically been threatened and may have left. this is going to pass, there's no question, again, does russia recognize it and make crimea formally part of russia. >> i watched the u.n. security council meeting today. riveting stuff, not usually. but today there was an obvious tension to watch the u.s. ambassador to the u.n., to watch the ambassador there, the russian ambassador also sitting there trading these barbs back and forth.

where are we in relation -- if anyone would watch this and we heard the words cold war thrown out a couple of times, how bad is it between the two nations, us and russia? >> it's not that bad. >> not that bad? >> it is not -- not talking about a new war or a military conflict. that's complete exaggeration. there is a real serious issue here about how does the west respond to putin or, let's say, assad in syria, when there's a leader that's defying the international system who will use force and deploy troops, we don't have an answer. we're not ready to send the 82nd airborne into crimea at this point. we have economic levers. and that's the real test. there could be sanctions. will they cause putin to back down or not? but we have a globalized economy. can sanctions curtail someone if they want to be crazy and use force? it hasn't worked in syria. assad is staying there, he's winning and putin is playing the same game. >> david, always good to have you. >> thank you. 11 minutes past the hour.

a judge in florida has set a date for the retrial of michael dunn who shot and killed teenager jordan davis. sentencing also has been delayed. up next, we speak to jordan davis' mother about her new battle. plus, the business of marijuana. why some lawmakers say pot is just good business. we talked to one of those congressman coming up as well. i. her long day on set starts with shoulder pain... ...and a choice take 6 tylenol in a day which is 2 aleve for... ...all day relief. hmm. [bell ring] "roll sound!" "action!" when my son was born, i remember, you know, picking him up and holding him against me. it wasn't just about me anymore. i had to quit.

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a florida judge has set a new trial date in may for michael dunn on first-degree murder charges. on november 23rd, 2012, dunn shot and killed 17-year-old jordan davis in a dispute that started over loud music. davis was in a car with some friends parked outside a convenience store. dunn claimed he was acting in self-defense, even though no gun was ever found in davis' vehicle. he was convicted last month on

multiple counts of attempted murder. but the jury couldn't reach a verdict on first-degree murder. and a mistrial on that count was declared. michael dunn remains in jail. lucia mcbath is the mother of jordan davis. he's now a national spokesperson. good to see you once again. let me just have your reaction now to know that dunn, in fact, is going to be retried on that first-degree murder charge. >> we're very, very happy with that. of course, it's the principle of the matter. we've been excited about the charges that have formally been brought against him. but it's the principle of the matter because the message that we're sending the country has to be that we're not going to stand for senseless gun violence. so we're looking forward to retrying jordan's charges. >> are you ready to go through this all over again because this just ended a short time ago. and now we're a couple of months

away from another trial. >> probably better prepared this time than we were the first time. we know what to expect. i think it's not going to be any easier. but just a little bit more tolerable. >> a little more tolerable. something here i'm going to put up for our viewers, a tweet, you and trayvon's mother have become close after this. two mothers forever bonded together fighting the good fight of faith, justice for jordan is justice for trayvon. are you hopeful and what is it about this case? is something going to be different that makes you a little more hopeful that you'll get a different outcome? >> well, we believe that there will probably be a little bit more insight for the jury in terms of the instructions. we think that will be something that will have to really be looked at. we're not really sure at this point -- i'm not really sure if there will be six jurors or 12 jurors. but we do expect there should be

something a little bit different. what we do know is that michael dunn's attorney, corey strolla will no longer be trying the case. so dunn will have a public defender. >> i want to get your reaction -- something you've been doing. you're among those that turned out in tallahassee monday for a march against florida's "stand your ground" law, the law that allows individuals to use force to defend themselves without attempting to retreat that we've heard so much about. this is your thing as a spokesperson for "mothers who demand action" on gun violence. what are you seeing? we're seeing a lot of states that are thinking about, georgia included where you are, a lot of talk in the legislature about expanding "stand your ground" laws, not actually restricting them in any way. >> what has been happening in georgia is very, very dangerous. we have one of the worst kill bills, i call it, in the country. bottom line, hb-875 would expand the scope, dangerously expand

the scope of the use of "stand your ground" here in the state of georgia. it's a very dangerous bill. and so moms demand action for gun sense in america, we are fighting this tooth and nail. >> you all are fighting in a lot of places around the country. i was telling you before we came on that i just mentioned i had you on the air and i got a lot of messages and tweets from people who are upset at what you all are doing, essentially saying you're directing so much of this at legislation that it's not going to do anything about criminals but actually it's going to restrict the rights of gun owners. and something on your website says, we support the second amendment. so i guess, do you have the right target, i suppose, in your mind that the laws are what we need to be going after or do we need to be educating people a little differently about just humanity and maybe even gun safety and things like that? >> it's a combination of both. we have to educate the public as to what's happening individually in each of their states, make them more aware of how the laws

affect their families and their futures and by doing so, then they become more actively involved in knowing what their legislators in those states are voting on these measures for "stand your ground" and gun violence. so if we educate them, make them more aware of what's happening, then they're more viable to be able to make a change by talking with their legislators, speaking out and crying out about the injustice of the law. >> we will of course continue to follow the efforts and we have another trial coming up. something a lot of people were amazed with at the end of the last trial, after there wasn't a first-degree conviction, you came out and said you were praying for michael dunn, that you felt sorry for him. a lot of people couldn't believe you came out and were able to put that together. are you still praying for michael dunn and have you talked to him and would you like to? >> i am still praying for michael dunn. i will always pray for him. of course, i would not be honest if i said at times i'm not angry. i am human. but we have not spoken with him.

i do not intend on speaking with him. i'll have an impact statement to give at sentencing for him. but there in that statement, i will let him know directly that i have forgiven him. >> lucia mcbath, it's always good to talk to you. >> thank you. >> but thank you so much for taking the time. i know our paths will cross again. thanks so much. >> thank you so much for having me. >> 21 minutes past the hour now. coming up, a new push to allow students to carry guns on their college campus. that sparked a heated debate to say the least. we'll get into that ahead right here on msnbc. huh...fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. yep, everybody knows that. well, did you know the ancient pyramids were actually a mistake?

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some people sell you marijuana is smart business. activists took to capitol hill asking lawmakers to remove some of the obstacles their businesses face, including limited access to banks, being forced to operate on cash and being victim to a tax code that bars pot sellers from claiming tax deductions on normal business expenses and adds a financial burden. dana rohrabacher met with the group. he joins me now. sir, thank you for being here. two things you're fighting for. if the state says it's legal, then the federal government should recognize the state and shouldn't criminalize marijuana and also the other thing is you want businesses to be able to take credit of these tax incentives. why is that part important to you? >> first of all, our founding fathers thought that criminal

justice -- things that should be illegal or legal in local communities -- should be determined at the state and local level and not by the federal government. and if the people of a state vote to have marijuana legal item rather than trying to waste enormous resources on using police and your judges and your criminal justice system and your penal justice system, we're talking about lots of money that states have to do -- if they have to use if they're going to make it illegal, let's give the states the right to make it legal just like alcohol or other things that may not necessarily be good for you but we recognize people's freedom to make choices with their own lives. if that's what a state wants to do, the federal government shouldn't step in and supersede state law. if state law says it's legal and it's a legal business, they

should have the same type of business taxation and regulation that for example people who sell cigarettes or people who sell alcohol which are demonstrably bad for you as well. >> and in colorado, tax revenues, the state collected nearly $3 million in total tax revenue in january. what are we learning? are we learning things -- are you learning things from what has happened in colorado that maybe is helping you shape your opinion a little differently than maybe you saw before? i guess we need to be clear here. are you for legalized marijuana for recreational use nationwide? >> i'm for permitting the states to make that decision and not to have the federal government step in and alter that position. so if every state wants to do that, it wouldn't bother me at all. and the fact is that we know that alcohol used to be illegal.

and people now have a business of providing alcohol to people, even knowing by the way that about 10% of our population has a real trouble with alcohol. but we think in our country, we're supposed to believe, number one, the states have certain jurisdictions over criminal justice and also the individual should be responsible for their own lives and not having the government tell us what to do in our personal lives unless it's harmful to someone else. >> does this help you in your -- again, you have a california district out there. is this something you found that has helped -- that can help you by pushing -- are you more popular in your district, i'm asking? >> well, i am a conservative republican. i was ronald reagan's speechwriter for seven years. i have a very conservative voting record in the house of representatives. but i don't look at issues myself as what helps me or hurts me politically. i always try to judge what's right and wrong and what is

consistent with what our nation is supposed to be about, or what our founding fathers laid out in terms of individual freedom and also in terms of separation of powers to the states and to the federal government. >> what's the status of your bill right now before i let you go? >> we need people to call up their congressman and say, support congressman rohrabacher's bill, 3707 which will leave it up to the states. it is a horrible waste of limited resources for us to be spending billions and billions of dollars at a time when we have to borrow it from china in order to put somebody in jail for smoking a weed. and basically if the people of the states recognize that and don't want to waste that money, why should the federal government step in and force the states to do this? >> congressman, we appreciate you taking the time today. congressman dana rohrabacher, we'll certainly talk to you about this down the road. thanks so much. bottom of the hour now, new

information out today in the hunt of that missing plane has expanded the search area even further. how in the world are they going to find it? on the st. patrick's day weekend, going green in the windy city. this is msnbc. [ female announcer ] late night? crazy morning? try new olay fresh effects dew over gel moisturizer to wake up skin with a burst of cool hydration, with a hint of powder to help absorb oil. for instant beauty sleep, no sleep required. new fresh effects from olay. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop.

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take a look at the photos from the city of light. look dim these days. smog in paris being called the worse since 2007. officials are making public transportation free for three days in an effort to combat the problem. meteorologists say the warm days coupled with cool nights have made matters even worse. i'm t.j. holmes in today for craig melvin. give you a look at some of the other stories making headlines. barry bonds -- not sure why he's in the show right now.

but jason collins signed a deal today to stay the rest of the season with the team. the megamillions jackpot jumped to $400 million. there was no winner in last night's drawing. the next drawing is tuesday, march 18th. after i win, i will not be at work on wednesday. it's chicago's tradition. thousands celebrating along the chicago river as you see the city dyed the waterway green ahead of the st. patrick's day parade. but not everybody joining in on the celebration. sam adams beer pulled its sponsorship from the parade in boston after learning organizers of the parade would not allow gay groups to march openly. heineken followed suit boycotting the st. paddy's day parade in new york city. let's continue to bring you up to date on the breaking news we have been following all afternoon. the disappearance of the missing malaysia airline flight 370. malaysian prime minister saying this morning the plane veered off its schedule plan because of a deliberate action by somebody on board.

the prime minister says the plane's final communication with satellites placed it somewhere in one of two corridors, to the north, that stretches from the border of kazakhstan and turkmenistan and to the south, that stretches from indonesia to the southern part of the indian ocean. that's where the search is now centered. captain tom bond is a retired airline captain and the author of "soar." let me get your reaction to the updates. what stood out for you today in what we heard? >> t.j., the fascinating information was the climb to 45,000 feet. that would be a strategy that the pilots could use to try to get control of the airplane back. also to me, it means the pilots themselves were not the hijackers. >> and we don't have -- we've heard so much information out there and some of the things we heard, we thought -- we're not sure. exactly what happened. give me your idea about this search now. they're paying attention to the pilot and the co-pilot. but this is such a vast area now

that they're trying to -- >> it's huge because the satellite that they received the engine signals from is -- can cover such a huge distance that they can't really narrow it down by using that satellite. now, that satellite was receiving signals from a system that -- whoever was in charge of the plane didn't know that that system was still operating and in fact we didn't know for a couple of days that it was sending out signals. >> but it takes a very -- you have to know how to turn those off. >> they would have to know about that. but that particular system is one that most people don't even know is on the plane. >> this plane could not -- some speculation it could have landed somewhere. you're not going to miss this plane -- if it crashed on land somewhere or you need a pretty big runway and airport to land this thing. >> yes, you would need a runway of at least 5,000 or 6,000 feet. a little bit smaller than a laguardia would do it. but it takes a decent -- >> it's been out there -- talking about winds and currents they have to consider and every

day that goes by makes it a little more difficult. if the thing is in the water, if it did sink, you might see a little wreckage. but talking about two miles down in the indian ocean. >> yeah, but if the pilot was able to put it in the water in a controlled way, it could float for days. >> it could float for days? >> yes. because the fuel tanks with empty fuel are buoyant. >> tom bond, this is a mystery that's captivated everybody. captain tom bond, we'll talk to you again. thanks for coming in. >> thanks, t.j. let me turn to the "brain trust" now. james patterson, jackie kucinich. i want to get you all's reaction to this. james, what jumps out at you? >> i feel the excruciating pain of the families of the alleged survivors right now. and the irony of this particular moment where we can fly

unmanned -- we can navigate unmanned drones into foreign airspace to fairly specific targets on a fairly regular basis, but a plane of this size can just end up being lost. it's just frustration and also just the irony of the technological advancements that we have and we can't figure out what happened to this plane. >> jackie, from what we're seeing right now, all the countries involved, they're getting along, to some degree, it appears publicly. but this is a huge effort. >> yeah. you've seen some frustration from the united states and from china that they're not getting enough information from the malaysian authorities. that will continue to play out in the coming days. one of the interesting things i read was sonar is how they found the air france flight that went down several years ago. if this thing is found, it's probably going to be using that method, if it in fact sank intact. >> congressman, from what you have been seeing in this story,

is there anything we should be surprised about, given we're in this post-9/11 age where so much was done and so many safety measures were put into place? what about this story has jumped out at you that's maybe surprised you that happened or could have happened on that plane given the post-9/11 era? >> just the lack of information sharing. how long it's taken the parties to come together to share information coming from a number of areas. and the difficulty, as time goes by, it's more difficult. you're finding a needle in a haystack. looks like they're finally working together. but it's going to take some time to get this thing sorted out. if you can information share and get together at the beginning, probably be a lot closer. >> up next, this story caught a lot of people's attention. a college professor asked this question -- when may i shoot a student? this bold move in parts of the country to allow guns on campus? we're looking at that next with the "brain trust." (vo) you are a business pro.

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idaho's governor has signed a controversial bill that would allow some people to carry guns on college campuses. the measure was overwhelmingly approved by lawmakers despite options by the presidents of every one of idaho's public colleges and universities. the new gun law has sparked a lot of debate and an eye-opening letter from one college professor. nbc's joe fryer joins me now. >> reporter: it was opposed by several police chiefs and leaders of all eight public colleges in idaho. now, before the governor signed the bill, the issue got national attention thanks to one professor's letter. >> i'm a biology professor, not a lawyer. i'd never considered bringing a gun to work until now. but since many of my students are likely to be armed, i thought it would be a good idea to even the playing field. >> reporter: at boise state university, greg is a dna expert

suddenly diving into politics, concerned about plans to allow guns on college campuses. he recent wrote a satirical letter to idaho lawmakers plushed in "the new york times" and headlined by a shocking question -- >> when may i shoot a student? >> reporter: when may i shoot a student? >> right. >> reporter: that's provocative. >> it's serious as well. >> reporter: mass shootings like virginia tech, newtown and columbine come to mind when discussing guns in school. but the letter focuses on how teachers might feel in a classroom where guns are legal. >> i always assumed when they reached into their backpacks, they were going for a pencil. but now i would like legal instruction in the rules of classroom engagement. >> reporter: he asks, if i'm working out a long equation on the board and several students try to correct me using their laser sights, am i allowed to fire a warning shot? do you have any concerns about

your safety if this passes? >> no. honestly, no. >> reporter: rather, he hoped his letter would draw attention to a bill in the idaho legislature that's opposed by the leaders of all eight public colleges. but supporters say those with enhanced conceal carry permits have a right to protect themselves within campus borders. >> it's more of an individual protection, not for the masses but for the individuals. >> reporter: the state representative has three kids in college including one who plans to carry a gun on campus. he's more worried about everyday criminals but school shootings concern him, too. >> i wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that i watched something so horrible and heinous happen and people were murdered and i had to lay down and hope that i wasn't next. >> reporter: with so many opinions, the professor opened up debate in class. >> a situation where when you're defending yourself, you are reacting to an attack. why not try to level the playing field as much as possible? >> people are going to carry

whether you restrict them or not. >> i have a concealed carry. i don't necessarily think it's appropriate on campus. i'm kind of torn on it. >> people are talking about it all over the country. >> reporter: and he says he just wanted his letter to generate opinions, something everyone has a license to carry. idaho is not unique. six other states already allow guns on public campuses in some form or fashion. this idaho bill bans guns from dorms and from stadiums. >> joe fryer, thank you so much. we return now to our "brain trust." james, jackie and former congressman tom davis. congressman, your home state of virginia, the site of the virginia tech shootings and a mother wrote to the governor urging him to veto this legislation. let's listen to her for a second. >> we know in certain situations, live fire ones in particular and active shooter

ones, first responders need to understand who the good guy is and who the bad guy is and we do not need to introduce more firearms into dangerous situations. we can rely on our law enforcement to do the job and more weaponry causes confusion. >> congressman, should the governor have vetoed that bill? >> i would have suggested he veto it. this is a cultural clash. there are a lot of different opinions. but i think a one size fits all standard coming from the state is not good. i'm on a university board. i've taught college. as you sit there -- a one size fits all standard for a state is politically driven. it has not had the appropriate level of dialogue. i lost three virginia tech students that lived in my congressional district. i know what their families went through on this. i think the chances of accidents occurring from this far outweigh the chances, i think, of being able to stop a shooter. >> to follow up there, you said not a one size fits all. but that size -- if that size was not guns on campus, you

don't think that fits all? you think there are some states where maybe it would work for them? >> i think universities ought to have that dialogue and make that decision. on an urban campus, it's good to be different. in rural areas, it is a different culture and people have different points of view. i don't think it's one size fits all at this point. i'm not ready to say never legislatively. but without consulting university boards, the professors, the students, it's a bad idea. >> jackie, any chance we're going to see the administration take up this issue of gun control? >> only 21 states ban this outright, concealed weapons on campus. 22 leave it up to the campuses and universities to decide on their own. so as far as the one size fits all, it's surprising how many universities actually -- or how many states actually don't have a hard-and-fast rule on this issue. >> james, last thing to you, we're seeing an expansion or proposed expansions of "stand your ground" laws in many states. why are we seeing this at a time

when it seems people have their minds on gun legislation, gun control? even if you don't restrict some of these laws, expansions? >> right, even the idaho case exemplifies this which is the politics and the lobbying and the interests of groups like the nra far outweigh the rational thinking about these. the same principles that suggest in the idaho bill that you shouldn't carry or have a concealed carry permit apply in dorm rooms and in stadiums is the same principle that should apply to the actual campus itself. it doesn't make any kind of logical sense. i work on a college campus. it's not a space where you want to introduce people who can carry concealed weapons. you have to think about the safety of the entire community. politics here and really lobbying and special interest is outweighing the rational thinking we need to apply to these kinds of situations. >> one last thing to the "brain trust" and that's their thoughts on the president's push for immigration reform.

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back to our brain trust now. jackie, i'm going to turn to you now. the president on thursday called for a review of deportation under his administration. there have been more than 2 million undocumented immigrants reporting. the president calling for that review after meeting with some members of the congressional caucus. the white house says it's been powerless to stop the deportations. is that the case? >> i think if he's able to chang policies, he might be able to slow deportation. when it comes to immigration reform, his hands are tied right now because of the situation in congress where they're not going to pass something he want right now. >> james, the president doesn't have to run for another election so what are his concerns about alienating possibly hispanic voters? >> he should have tremendous concerns just based on the principles of this. this administration carried out

these policies for record deportations based upon the sort of ideaology of we're just enforcing the laws on the books but the president conceded this week this is not a humane way to conduct immigration policy and that speaks to the ethics of his administration. >> and, congressman, if you were in congress right now, what would you do? what would you be trying to -- not to say he would listen to your advice -- but what would you advise the president or work with the president to get anything done or would you say we got mid terms coming up, this is not the right time? >> it's not just mid terms. then you get into the presidential cycle next time. you know on the presidential primaries, the rhetoric will be such that makes it even harder. this could be an issue for the lame duck. there are some things everybody agrees on, stapling a green card

to the graduation diplomas of people that come over here in science and math, instead of sending them back abroad to compete with us. the difficulty has been they try to put this into one big bill. we see that has been totally unsuccessful. so good luck. i'd love to see them get a comprehensive bill. but given the politics of this sufficient, i'm afraid they're set up for failure. >> last thing here and, james, we're going to start with you. we'll go through these quickly. let's fast forward two years. we're going to lock this in the vault and see if it comes back and you all are correct. you tell me what the headline is going to be years down the road on the president's legacy on immigration. >> the headline will be being humane about any proper policy about immigration reform. we need to bring people out of the shadows and have a fairs sensibility about the way they

attract immigrants into this country. >> i'm going to go with dream on immigrati immigration reform plan has dream realized. >> i'm with jackie, much adieu about nothing. i don't think they're going to get a bill through. >> thank you to my brain trust. good to see you all. thank you for being here. we're locking those headlines away and we'll see who is right a few years from now. thank you all for watching. we're getting close to the top of the hour. i'm going to be back here with you tomorrow starting at 3:00 eastern time, sitting in for mr. craig melvin who is enjoying some great time off i would imagine. but up first, i see her there, she's ready to roll, she's waving there. "disrupt" with karen finney. have a great saturday afternoon and enjoy miss karen.

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a new way to bank. a better way to save. ally bank. your money needs an ally. thanks for disrupting why are afternoon. i'm karen finney. in this hour, we have new questions about possible deliberate actions on that missing malaysia airline. we'll talk about the president's funny bone, paul ryan as the new jack kemp, the latest from the ukraine and a lot more coming up. >> malaysia's top official saying the disappearance of malaysian fly 370 was intentional. >> deliberate action by someone on the plane. >> he stopped short of calling this a hijacking. >> the focus turns to the crew and the passengers. >> it had to be somebody who had a very good, fundamental, intimate knowledge of the 777. >> police arrived at the pilot's house and there are reports they were searching the pilot's house.