>> stay tuned to msnbc. we'll have continuing coverage on the missing plane as well as the developments in ukraine. two major stories that are ongoing and have especially in ukraine an impact on the world that we live in as we go forward. what time is it? when it's way too early, it's time for "morning joe." now, it's time for "the daily rundown" with chuck todd. have a great day. ♪ cold war weariness as pro-russian forces grab a naval base in ukraine. vice president biden tries to reassure nervous neighbors that crimea's course cannot stand. also this morning, one year after national republican leaders laid out a tough take on their own party's failings, the party says they've made some progress. chairman reince priebus is here. plus, amy katz is here with president obama's march madness bracket, and this year, there's more politics involved with those picks.

edwards coming on the show later. good morning from washington. wednesday, march 19th. this is "the daily rundown." we'll also, of course, have the latest on the missing malaysian plane, actual facts in just a minute. plus, more about louisiana -- why former louisiana governor and ex-con edward edwards believes he should come to washington. we begin with the breaking news on the crisis in ukraine. the fate of crimea now seemingly a foregone conclusion. the united states is drawing a line in the sand with russia. but what does that line mean, warning president putin not to go any further? this morning, vice president biden met with the leaders of lithuania and latvia in a sign of solidarity against russian aggression. >> president obama wanted me to come personally to make it clear what you already know -- that under article v of the nato treaty, we will respond. we will respond to any aggression against a nato ally.

>> well, we will respond, a nato ally, that usually means the military option is at play there. at the same time, secretary of state john kerry and his predecessor, hillary clinton, warned putin that he will face more consequences if this continues. >> there will be a cost attached to this. not because we want it, not because we're seeking confrontation, but because when people move unilaterally in this way to test the world structure, it is important for every country in the world's behavior that they understand that the law does mean something. >> this is a clash of values and it's an effort by putin to rewrite the boundaries of post-world war ii europe. >> hillary clinton, by the way, made those comments yesterday, giving a speech in canada.

as to what those consequences, though, may be, white house spokesman james carney told me the sanctions announced this week are just the tip of the iceberg. >> more is coming. >> when? >> i don't have timing for you. the authorities under the two executive orders are brought and give us the tools we need to take appropriate action. >> meanwhile, russian lawmakers are making plans to ratify the treaty, annexing crimea, likely by the end of this week. in crimea, pro-russian forces seized the ukrainian naval base along the peninsula southeastern coast and raised the russian flag. as for what's next, all eyes are on eastern ukraine. putin says he has no intention of invading, but the u.s. at this point is not so sure. >> that would be as egregious as any step i can think of that can be taken by a country in today's

world, particularly by a country like russia where so much is at stake. >> nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in eastern ukraine now on the outskirts of donetsk, he joins me by phone, chasing some information on the ground. where are you headed to? >> reporter: we're headed to a developing story in eastern ukraine. this region is generally pro-russian, and a lot of people here are concerned that the russian troops would invade the country. that's not the only way that russia can exert influence here. we are heading to a ukrainian military base, and earlier today ukrainian troops were trying to remove ammunition from that base and send this ammunition to reinforce troops in kiev. as these ukrainian forces were leaving their base, they were blocked by a pro-russian militia, and there is something of a standoff there. this is another way that russia can try and weaken the influence

of the new ukrainian government in kiev, preventing it from exerting its full autonomy in eastern ukraine, let alone the situation in crimea, which has been taken over and now annexed. >> now, you just described this as a pro-russian militia. the more we've learned about how things worked in crimea, the so-called militias in crimea turned out to be special op -- operation forces that were actually russian. could this be the case in what you're headed -- what you're seeing right now in eastern ukraine? >> reporter: it's more complicated here. in crimea, there was a situation where you already had lots of russian troops on the ground, on russian sovereign bases that were in a land-lease agreement with the government of ukraine. the way they took over ukraine -- took over crimea, was to have these russian troops leave their bases.

they were also backed up by these civilian militias, which were working in very close coordination with russian troops, and then russia, on mostly civilian flights, kept sending more people here. some of them soldiers. some of them civilian volunteers. so help reinforce its takeover of crimea. it does not have the same situation in the east, but there's a lot of border. it would be very easy for russia to send over sympathizers, perhaps even to send over troops who are not in uniform, to help organize local militias. there are many tools that russia can use to recruit men who carry weapons, who are acting in moscow's interests without necessarily breaching the berms and then sending tanks over that long border. >> all right. there's richard engel in eastern ukraine, a developing situation. ukrainian troops, as richard is just reporting, trying to move some weapons to ukrainian troops in kiev, being blocked by a

pro-russian militia. he'll, of course, when he has more information, we'll make sure he shares it with you. thank you, richard. let me bring in jim maceda from moscow. jim, you heard -- you heard some tough rhetoric from vice president biden, and he brought up the nato treaty, obviously beingan states, they are members of nato. drawing a line in the sand, is it one that will be heard by moscow? >> reporter: well, the nato line in the sand for moscow goes much further west, and it's putin's -- it's putin's worst nightmare to see -- which is why he probably got involved in ukraine as he did in the first place -- to see a country like ukraine taking over with these so-called ultranationalists in charge, taking over the crimean peninsula, taking over the black sea fleet, effectively kicking

the russians out of that area, geostrategically, and then joining nato to see, as he suggested in his speech yesterday, walking to -- waking up in sevastopol and seeing nato ships offshore. that for him is the problem with nato. there's been no specific reaction at all at this point from the kremlin on biden's comments, besides the warnings of countersanctions from sergey lavrov, the foreign minister, in response to the promises of more, stronger sanctions coming from western officials. but, chuck, despite all the sabre-rattling, we are seeing over the past 24 hours both sides sending out signals. take them for what you will. but these -- those seem to suggest that both sides now, especially the russian side, wants to button this up diplomatically. and just in the past -- just mention one, i think, is important. the past 24 hours, we've heard

ukrainian prime minister yatsenyuk try to allay russian fears saying ukraine had no intention of becoming a member of nato. why is he doing that? because he knows that that is putin's worst nightmare, that ukraine become a nato member and that because it's a nato member, it has -- it can be protected as biden has suggested by the united states. back to you. >> all right. jim maceda in moscow for us. jim, thanks very much. that is an important development from the acting ukrainian prime minister. let's turn now to the new developments and actual facts in the investigation into the missing malaysian passenger jet. malaysia's defense minister says someone recently deleted files from the pilot's home flight simulator. malaysian investigators have searched the pilot's and co-pilot's homes twice now. they confiscated one of the pilot's flight simulators over the weekend, and tech experts are trying to retrieve the deleted files. of course, it could be just simple files being deleted, so

you have to be careful here overhyping a development like that. we also learned the plane's u-turn was preprogrammed in the cockpit before the plane's automated system sent its last transmission. now, this morning in kuala lumpur, the frustration boiled over among family members of the 239 passengers and crew that are on that missing plane. their loved ones vanished 12 days ago, and they still have so little to go on. nbc's kier simmons joins me on the phone. obviously, the emotional part of this is taking a huge toll? >> reporter: yeah, it really is. beyond frustration. some cases fury, i think, on behalf of the relatives who describe themselves as feeling like they're in prison in a hotel waiting for news and not hearing very much. and we saw that here today. before that news conference where crucially they said that -- as you say -- that they

have found some files deleted on the flight simulator. before that, some chinese relatives arrived here, and they appeared to want help from journalists, brought a sign saying we're not getting clear information. and they were led away by officials. the sign was taken away. it's not clear whether or not the officials were wanting to protect them or silence their protest. but it was very distressing. one mother who said, i just want to see my son, almost collapsing in tears. a real sign of what these families are going through, chuck. >> keir, very quickly, why did the malaysian authorities -- they didn't seem to have much to say today. they're still doing daily updates. are they simply doing it because they feel they need to say something every day? >> reporter: i think the unhappiness would be even great fehr they weren't actually coming and saying something, chuck. and there are -- every day a little bit more information, and peel are so desperate for information that they feel like

they can -- they do have something to say. you ask a good question going forward, because, you know, perhaps there might be a moment when there is -- when there is nothing new, and we're not quite there. the families are hoping they won't be there. they're hoping they'll find the plane. the extraordinary thing, chuck, we're 12 days in. >> that's right. >> reporter: and there's not even been a sign of this plane. >> not even floating debris or anything. anyway, keir simmons on the phone in kuala lumpur. thank you very much. turning now to domestic politics. red-hot race that's emerging out of tuesday's illinois primary, meet bruce runner, a multimillion air, venture capitalist, first-time politician, and now in the run for illinois governor. the win sets up what's likely to be one of 2014's most bitter and expensive governor's races in the country against perhaps the most vulnerable incumbent

democratic governor in the country, pat quinn. >> this is about shaking up springfield, ripping the construction out at its roots by getting term limits on everybody in springfield. you look at our signs and hear our message, it's also about bringing back illinois. let's bring back illinois. >> we in the democratic party and all across illinois, we respect our workers. we understand that there's some who do the hardest jobs in our society. and that's why we intend to raise the minimum wage in illinois this year. >> rahner broke state record by pouring $6 million of his own money into the race. he won more narrowly than expected. he only got 40% of the vote ahead of the second-place finisher, by less than 23,000 votes. unions spent millions targeting rauner and boosting republican opponents, most notably kirk

dillard. it's interesting, you have 70% of the republican vote went to the more moderate candidates. interesting there. governor quinn easily won his primary. he got 72%. general election, though, has already begun. quinn aired his first ads last night, and they hit rauner on the issue of minimum wage. it's a line of attack that he heard loudly as perhaps was heard a bit in the ad. quinn's add asked this, when you see billionaire rauner on tv, ask yourself, who is the real bruce rauner? in the republican senate primary, perennial candidate and multimillion air, also known as dairy magnet, jim overvice, lost two bids, bid for governor and house seat in 2002, at least won something. despite raising eyebrows by disappearing to florida for a week shortly before the primary, he is now the official underdog facing democratic senator dick durbin. in the house, a couple of notable primaries. adam kinsinger easily held off a

tea party activist, winning 78%. again, a pretty moderate electorate that turned out. rodney davis also held off a challenge. this one from a former miss america. and, well, now dddc ann callis will actually be one of the closer house races in illinois. one more thing. just three of 47 statehouse republicans voted for a bill last fall to legalize same-sex marriage. neither of those three lost. tom cross easily won. for state treasurer. ed sullivan won renomination, and in the 81st district, it's too close to call, but he's up by 153 votes. meanwhile, before we go to break, a little more developing news on a deal between toyota and the u.s. justice department. it was just announced that toyota has agreed to a

$1 billion settlement over customer complaints that its cars would suddenly and unpredictably accelerate. officials tell nbc's pete williams that in return for the $1 billion settlement and toyota making commit manies about future behavior, the justice department will agree not to bring criminal charges against the japanese automaker. we're expecting the official announcement in a few minutes from now from attorney general eric holder and transportation secretary anthony fox. we'll bring you any developments as they happen. as always, you're watch iin "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. co: i've always found you don't know you need a hotel room until you're sure you do. bartender: thanks, captain obvious. co: which is what makes using the hotels.com mobile app so useful. i can book a nearby hotel room from wherever i am. or, i could not book a hotel room and put my cellphone back into my pocket as if nothing happened.

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back now with more of my "first read." a year ago, after the sting of

the 2012 defeats, and with republicans ringing their hands about tanking approval ratings, party leaders launched an internal audit hoping to find a prescription for rebranding. a year later, how have they done? the rnc argues they've made progress on what was in their control, mechanics. building a permanent ground game by putting most of the rnc political staff in the field instead of in washington. hiring new field staff to reach out to african-americans, hispanics and asian americans. and launching parabelom labs, a tech start-up of the rnc, as a sign to be better on the data. david jolly's victory in the competitive florida special election last week is a sign of their investments on the ground are beginning to pay some dividends. and after a painfully long 2012 primary season for the presidential race, the rnc has also voted to move back the republican convention to june or july, shortening the primary process and allowing them to tap into general election money

before late august or early september. so that's the mechanical fixes. but here's the question. will improvements in mechanics make a difference if the republican party doesn't fix its messaging problems? joining me is reince priebus. good morning to you, sir. >> good morning, chuck. >> and i do think -- and i know we've had this discussion before when we've talked about this on what you set out to do with this report, this internal audit, and on the messaging front you would argue you don't have as big of a role as you do on mechanics. do you still believe that to be the case? >> well, here's what i recognize, chuck, and i think people have to understand the differences in two different types of elections. we've got a party nationally that has a hard time losing midterms and a hard time winning presidentials. why is that? you look at where i'm from in wisconsin. if you're a republican running for town board or governor, you have a pretty good chance of

winning. but it's also a state that hasn't gone for a president -- republican president since 1988. and so, what i'm suggesting is that our long-term investments on the ground are more in line with what we need to be doing to win a presidential election, because i think presidential elections come down to how you feel about a candidate, who you like, who you relate to, and that kind of feeling is not something that can just be bought with 30-second ads on tv. and that's why i think having a huge investment on the ground in these battleground states for four straight years will pay off dividends in 2016. that's why i think it's related. >> well, let's talk about -- obviously, there's been messaging aids, and in the messaging issues, when you look at your report, you talked about figuring out better ways to talk to women. better ways to talk to african-americans, asians, hispanics. but here's the executive director of the texas republican party. let me play a sound bite of what

she said on the issue of equal pay. >> men are better negotiators, and i would encourage women instead of pursuing the courts for action to become better negotiators. >> and i know -- now, chairman priebus, i know you're going to say you can't speak and defend everybody's comments, but this is somebody representing the republican party in the state of texas. these things accumulate. >> well, both sides -- one side doesn't have a monopoly on these kinds of comments. when joe biden said, you know, whatever he said, we want to break you from these chains, listen, he's the vice president of the united states of america. you're pointing out some staffer at a state gop office. you know, i mean, the fact is -- >> well, executive director. it's person running -- this person is running for the state party of texas. i mean, it's not a small position. >> i brought up the vice president of the united states, chuck! you want to cherry -- >> okay. >> the fact is, here's my point.

37% of hispanics have self-identified as conservatives. my point to you is that's great. but if you're not in the hispanic communities across the country with people that are communicating with the folks that are self-identifying as conservatives, it's not going to make a difference when it comes to an election day. so what i'm suggesting is that our issues that i'm trying to fix are more fundamental than just top-line messaging. it's a matter of having a conduit in the community that's actually speaking on a long-term basis to help move the dial a couple notches each and every year. >> well, i want to read you a quote. doug salznick, wrote this memo in "politico" magazine, basically making -- it was sort of interesting, in some ways agreeing with what you said, how republicans seem to be able to do no wrong in midterms and do no right in presidentials. here was his big conclusion.

ironically, short-term tactics to pick additional seats, along with the rightward pressures of the primary process, will reinforce the public's perception as unwelcoming and out of step with the majority of americans. how do you fix that perception? because that feels as if that's where we're headed again. >> well, i don't think -- chuck, the fact of the matter is mitt romney won on the question -- on the message. he won on jobs. he won on the economy. he won on the question of who do you actually think would make a better president. but where he lost was on the question of who cares about you? and that's a matter of familiarity. it's a matter of communication on the ground. that's how we're going to fix it, chuck. and the fact is, i think if we fix these problems, you put a candidate on the ballot that people want to sit down and have a beer with, i think that we can win. and we're not talking about carpeting the world here in two years, but what we're talking about instead of getting 37% -- excuse me, 27% of the hispanic

vote, if we work like dogs, can we get 35? you know, instead of 5% in the african-american community, can we get to 9? and i think if we do that and then slowly improve over time in these national elections, i think we can win. i mean, in spite of -- go ahead, sorry. >> no, no, finish your thought. >> i was going to say, look, mitt romney, in spite of really not having a big national party presence, no technology, no data, no built-in hispanic, african-american, asian engagement effort, he still, to an incumbent president that spent a billion dollars that half the country liked, he still came within 240,000 votes in four states away from winning. >> do you think you can -- >> these are margins. >> i understand that. do you think you can fix immigration in the report a year ago it called for comprehensive immigration reform. and i know yesterday you said, well, there's different definitions of what that looks like. there's a disagreement with what that looks like.

but if the republican party is seen as being the ones holding up immigration going into 2016, how does that fix your hispanic problem? >> well, i mean, for one thing, if you're not in the community on a long-term basis, it won't fix any problem at all. because you have no conduit to deliver a message. it doesn't matter what the message is. that's the first thing we need to fix. secondly, i think you are seeing, though, chuck, a consensus within the party. that very serious immigration reform has to take place. rand paul, i think it was a year ago today, i might be off by a day, went to the hispanic -- national hispanic chamber and rand paul is the one that called for comprehensive immigration reform. so you have people at all spectrums in our party saying we need to do this. you know what? it takes two to tango, and you need partners in the white house. you need partners in the senate. you need to find a way to get to some reasonable consensus, and unfortunately it's not possible with a lead -- with having a

leaderless white house and, you know, harry reid that doesn't want to act. >> well, reince priebus,ly leave it there. the senate did produce a bill. right now, it's the house that hasn't produced a bill, which is led by the republicans. i will leave it there. chairman reince priebus, thank you for coming on on this one-year anniversary of your big report. >> thank you. forget the republicans and the democrats. an important trend is continuing. voters who say they're independent are not affiliated with any political party are making political news in today's databank. the number is 1,134,243. that's how many independent voters are unaffiliated, major party voters, that arizona secretary of state recorded in his latest count. here's what it means in arizona. independents are now arizona's biggest registered voting bloc. in fact, arizona said those identifying as other has jumped 10 times. the republican ranks have thinned by a thousand and democrats have reportedly lost

twice that. independents now outnumber republicans and democrats in arizona. arizona now joins eight other states that have more people registered as independents than either inside the republican or democratic party. that's all according to analysis by the third way of the states where partisan registration and data are available for 2013. it's a big trend, it's an important one. we'll be right back.

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well, he's one of the most colorful figures in louisiana political history, and that's saying something. it's louisiana we're talking about. now, three years after his release from federal prison, the 86-year-old silver fox is launching a comeback. 23 years after he was last on a ballot, former governor edwin edwards announced on monday in baton rouge he plans to run for congress in the 6th district of that state. the 6th is a heavily republican district that bill cassidy is leaving to run against mary landrieu. if edwards pulls off this longshot victory, it would be his second time in congress. he represented louisiana's 7th district nearly 50 years ago. from 1965 until '72 when he was elected governor for the very first time. and served for two terms. he was re-elected again in 1983. and then, during the '80s, that's when he had his first brush with the law, standing trial for charges in a scandal involving hospital licenses. he was not convicted, and in 1991, made a comeback bid for a

fourth term. well, he ended up drawing a lucky draw. former klu klux klan leader david duke was his opponent. some supporters even sported bumper stickers that said this, vote for the crook, it's important. in 1998, edwards, a renown gambler, was convicted for rigging casino boat licenses, and spent nine years in federal prison. now, edwards has always been known for his color way of putting things. >> he really, i think, is afraid that if i get elected that somehow i'm going to steal something. and i told somebody, listen, if we don't get that fellow out of there soon, there won't be anything left for anybody to steal. >> he once described an opponent as so slow it took him an hour and a half to watch "60 minutes." in his 1983 campaign against incumbent governor trend, he declared the only way i can lose this race is to be caught in bed with a live boy or a dead girl, and he said that in 1991, during that campaign, the only place where david duke and i are alike

is we are both wizards under the sheets. last year, he taped a short-lived reality show for a&e, and he acknowledged monday there are good reasons i should not run. but there are better reasons why i should. >> forgiveness, understanding, second chances are important in life and in politics. i intend to spend more of my time and my effort organizing the campaign and getting a message across as to why i think i should be governor -- congressman of this -- freudian slip -- [ laughter ] -- why i should be congressman from this district. >> well, the former governor, edwin edwards, joins me now. governor edwards, good morning to you, sir. >> good morning. >> well, boy, here's what the louisiana republican party put out about you -- edwin edwards is known for all the wrong reasons. his antics may be feet for a reality show but not public office. the edwards administration

brought louisiana higher taxes, increased gambling and a culture of corruption that's harmed our image and business climate for decades. what say you? >> well, first of all, the increased gambling came under buddy romo, a republican governor, not under edwin edwards, although that's a common misconception. the only form of gambling in louisiana for which i have any responsibility is the one standing casino in new orleans. now, having said that, i'm not interested in doing anything at all except to tell you that the republican party in louisiana is not the republican party of the national country, nor is the democratic party representative of the national democratic party. we are a different people. i have great friends in the republican party here. it's a great party, and people with great people who have an interest in doing what's best for louisiana and the state. i'm married to a republican. i have no animus to republicans.

and are you wrong when you say that it's heavily registered republican. that's incorrect. the district that i'm running in is half and half, republican and democrat, with a few independents and other parties involved, also. but we do vote conservatively, and that's good, because we need conservative government. however, we need conservative government with a heart for the attention and needs of the poor, the disadvantaged, the working men and women, and old people. >> well, governor, why should voters, though, sit there and say, you served time in prison. it seems that you've always had some form of corruption involving potentially profiting off of public service. in this day and age, why should voters believe you're not going to get caught up in another scheme again if you're in elective office? >> bear in mind i've never been charged with -- or even reported in all the media we have in this state -- of taking anything from the people of louisiana.

my conviction came a year and a half after i was governor, and unlike what you said, it had nothing to do with granting riverboat licenses. it had nothing to do with anything i did or didn't do as governor. and a republican governor, a friend of mine, was in office at the time all that happened. what happened to me was that people who had been my friends for reasons of their own testified that i had extorted them, not while i was governor but after i was governor, and that's a big, big difference. and i think people in louisiana realize that. >> so -- >> i was described four times -- >> they didn't tell the truth? they didn't tell the truth? >> of course not. >> well, it seems if a court of law believed them and a jury of your peers. >> what's that? >> a court of law believed them, a jury of your peers believed them. you know, i know most people that are convicted say -- >> let me tell you what -- >> go ahead, governor.

>> the government tried four times to convict me. when i had a fair and impartial judge, they couldn't get but one vote out of 36. this particular judge went out of his way to help the prosecution get me convicted. he went so far to kick a guy off the jury he found out was trying to acquit me. and when he did that, the rest of the jurors got scared and voted to go along with it. my point is simply this. i don't like what happened. it was unfair, but, okay, it happened. >> did you do anything wrong? do you acknowledge -- do you acknowledge doing anything wrong? >> well, of course. i've done wrong things in my life. i've made mistakes. but i can tell you this, i did not do what i was charged with and convicted of. let me repeat that. it's very important. it had nothing to do with my public service. it had something to do with my relationships with former friends after i got out of the governor's office. i wasn't bribed. i wasn't -- i wasn't accused of using the powers of my office

for improper purposes. it had nothing to do with being governor. and people here know that. >> did you support president obama in 2012? >> well, i'm sorry to say where i was there were no voting machines. >> yeah? well, would have you supported him? >> i was in prison. i probably -- >> you talked about you wouldn't have supported health care. you're for -- there's some things here you seem to disagree with him on a lot of issues. >> well, i certainly do. i probably would have voted for him, because i voted for republican presidents before, eisenhower being one of them, who i have twice supported. but i would have probably voted for obama, because i, like the rest of the nation, was caught up in his rhetoric and his promise of the bright future that should be available to us in this country. but i'm very disappointed in what he has done. the keystone pipeline ought to be approved. we have 20,000 people looking for jobs. i could take three or four good

contractors from louisiana and 20,000 working men and women from here, and in two years' time have the pipeline built and operational, and you couldn't find where it is. it's just that good under the -- under today's technology. now, i also -- >> all right. >> -- i disagree with some of the things on obamacare. i would not have voted for it had i been in congress, because it's too long, too technical, too involved, and it was subject to pitfalls between -- >> right. >> -- what we now now are just bad for the country. >> all right, governor, i have to leave it there. we'll be following your race for congress closely, and hopefully, we'll have you back. we'll talk some more. stay safe on the campaign trail. >> i'll be back. i'll be back, thank you. >> all right. >> listen, we are different down here. we are better. >> you got it. i think a lot of us know that about louisiana. thank you, sir. time now for the tdr 50 d a databank number, and one. how many republican mayors have been elected in the city of

chicago in the past 100 years. william hale thompson served two nonconsecutive terms between 1919 and 1931. the grover cleveland of chicago republican politics. since then, nine different democrats have been elected mayor. next up, we'll take a "deep dive" into the political machine that helped maintain one party rule in the windy city for over 80 years. the soup of the day -- salesperson #1: so again, throwing in the $1,000 fuel reward card

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are up next. but now, time for an earlier than usual takeaway. today, the white house unveiled the president's data climate initiative. it includes climate.data.gov and other tools to help communities to become more prepared and resilient toward climate change. it's calling on corporate innovative giants like google and microsoft and intel to use this federal data to develop new tools. ultimately, this gives the academic community, essentially, more access to federal government data to promote evidence of climate change. that's what this is about. and what it is really is just another administrative response to this issue -- not technically concrete action. for instance, let me throw this in here. climate change with this president has been more about p.r. since they can't get much done. there's no question that president obama has made a more concerted effort to bring attention to the issue. but in his first term, the president was criticized for not following up on many of his 2008 campaign promises to combat the issue. and while supporters point to

2009 to show progress, including greenhouse gas limits for cars and billions in stimulus spending granted for clean-energy project, president obama was unable to pass a comprehensive bill to cap u.s. carbon emissions he had promised on the campaign trail. he essentially picked health care over cap and trade. well, in 2011 he called on congress to pass a clean energy standard and outline a new environmental plan. but that seemed to backtrack on many of his previous promises and in his 2012 state of the union the president only mentioned natural gas five times and oil ten times. by the end of his first term, president obama had seen the hottest year in history. hurricane sandy flooded new york city, the catastrophic b.p. oil spill, a nuclear disaster following a tsunami in japan and a near-record wildfire season.

he began his second term pledging to tackle climate change again saying that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. less than a month later he repeated that vow saying he would act if congress didn't. last june he outlined how he will address in the his second term and issued an executive order on climate preparedness. well, the bottom line is he is trying to push hard more on the. . r. front because there's still not many places to go legislatively. trivia time. you have to go back 6 a years to adlai steven son to find a democrat elected governor of illinois who did not serve time after leaving office. kind of a theme of today's show. congratulations to larry stevens. we'll be right back with a little hoops. . downy, and bounce. the sweet dreams collection has scents so relaxing so you can tuck in and turn off after a day oh so taxing. ♪ [ click ] thmortgage didn't start here.

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are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. >> out west i'm going with arizona and i know these are not imaginative picks but i think they're the right ones. well, the president tried to

add a new fly his yearly barackotolojy discussion on espn. white house.gov has launched a full court press on health care asking visitors to vote on videos related to the affordable care act. you see the basketball theme there and the president tried to press his health care message while filling out his bracket with my next guest, espn senior writer andy katz who's done this six years in a row with the president but how many times did he throw health care into the conversation with you? >> well, i mean, there was a couple. in terms of north carolina head coach roy williams who is producing a video for the white house so, i mean, it was related to that. clearly that's their initiative, they're obviously putting it on their web site. it's not surprise bug as we've seen, everyone is filling out a bracket. yesterday governor christie said

he was bigging florida to win the championship. >> his final four is conventional, my only one that's different, he's got michigan state, i've got north carolina. it seems like this is a popular at least three owe -- florida, arizona, louisville with everybody deciding on a different team coming out of the south bracket there. >> yeah. we've effectively called it the group of death, a soccer terms in terms of the midwest bracket. picking louisville is not a huge surprise although i think it's interesting that earlier this year he was in east lansing so i think tom izzo influence him to make sure he made the selection of michigan state. >> he went with harvard and north dakota state, those were his biggest upsets? >> the harvard pick not a surprise because they won last year when they beat new mexico. north dakota state a trendy pick up in that 12.5 matchup against oklahoma but that's as far as he went with the double-digit seeds

which i think most people won't go that far with double-digit seeds. >> you know what that means? most people are not going to win -- well, nobody is going to win warren buffett's billion dollars. andy katz, thank you, my friend. we'll be watching you a lot over the next three weeks. that's it for today's show. chris jansing is next with more on crimea and more on the plane. >> most of the country is looking nice and quiet today except for the western great lakes, the upper plains and midwest, that's where we'll see snow showers, especially through the morning but those will taper off this afternoon with about three to six inches of snow likely out of that whole storm system. in new york and washington, d.c., late-day rain showers, highs in the 40s. co: i've always found you don't know you need a hotel room until you're sure you do. bartender: thanks, captain obvious. co: which is what makes using the hotels.com mobile app so useful.

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they lived. ♪ (dad) we lived... thanks to our subaru. ♪ (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. president obama plotting his next move right now. the strategy inside the white house on how to handle ukraine and how tough to get with vladimir putin. another bush in the white house? new speculation jeb bush may want to be the republican's guy in 2016. another would be candidate, chris christie, recognizing none michigan and reclaiming that jersey swagger. >> i don't know how many times you can stand up there and give a speech and be wrong and continue to keep the microphone in your hand. and breaking news out of the justice department.