and the white house as well as get you an update on voting rights. but we start with the latest on missing malaysian flight 370. today, there's a particularly difficult development for the families of the passengers and crew. as malaysia's prime minister and airline officially declare that all onboard have been lost. even as crews in australia wait for daylight to renew the search for possible debris. the prime minister of malaysia informed the world that based on new analysis of data, the plane did fly south in the direction of the search area. and that it did, indeed, go down in that area. >> this is a remote location. far from any possible landing sites. it is therefore with deep sadness and regret that i must inform you that according to

this new data flight 370 ended in the southern indian ocean. >> the prime minister broke the news to the families prior to his public statement. the families also received a text message from malaysian airlines that read in part, the ongoing multinational search operation will continue as we seek answers to the questions which remain. alongside the search for 370, there's an intensive investigation which we hope will also provide answers. searchers aboard australian and chinese planes have spotted new debris in the search area. meanwhile, and the chinese release satellite imagery this weekend of possible debris. however, there's no confirmation that the debris is from flight 370. in anticipation of finding wreckage, the navy has put the black box locater on a flight taking off from new york's jfk airport.

keir simmons in kuala lumpur. what was the scene like for the family when they got that news today? >> reporter: incredibly difficult. good afternoon. i think the feeling amongst families is disbelief. some of them staying in the hotel where i am and other hotels around kuala lumpur. and we actually watched one small group of relatives behind me here get the news by watching the prime minister on television. meanwhile, across in beijing, families were briefed, if you like, before the announcement. incredibly emotional scenes there where just relatives crying out, very painful, one relative carried away on a stretcher. really anger there. there's been anger in beijing amongst those relatives for some time questioning officials. and now, with this news just utter emotion bursting out. a different scene here, joy, with the relatives that we were with here. they were much more quiet, just

taking in the news, the father of a 29-year-old. he was stoney faced. he sat with his sons -- his son's stepmother, his wife, and she was in tears as the prime minister made the announcement. and then because he can't speak many words of english, the statement was in english. so then a relative had to lean in and explain to him what the prime minister just announced. and his name is omar. he just got up and simply walked away. but incredible dignity from his father. he said to us, look, give me a while to collect my thoughts and think about this. and came back an hour later and gave a statement to the media and said, i want to know more. i want to know more about why they've made this announcement. i have many, many questions. i think many relatives will have questions all around the world. he said we're expecting more details in the next 24 hours.

he said i want to hear that. for these relatives, joy, this is one thing for the prime minister to say this. but their questions will still be where is the plane? is the debris spotted connected to flight 370 or not? because there are few things as painful as losing someone close to you. one of those might be losing someone close to you and not knowing what happened or where they are. joy? >> indeed. thanks so much. and robert hager is an nbc news contributor and retired aviation correspondent. and anthony ramon is a former pilot. it's a lot differently, in theory, thinking about what happened to this plane and getting the news. the finality of it for the families. >> it's sad news for the family and all of us who have been following and analyzing this terrible tragedy. you know, the satellites are extremely reliable information

gathere gatherers, a portion of which is designed to track aircraft discreet communications. we suspect this was the continued ping from the acar's system that they were tracking, piced up and then there was finality there. ten space satellites in orbit about 22 miles up. and with ten, they can cross reference, triangulate the position fairly accurately. they probably have a darn good idea as to where this aircraft went down. and it's very interesting. because the prevailing winds and currents where the aircraft is, is believed to have gone down would drift some of the debris right into the search pattern where everyone is currently looking. >> and i want to get back about this text message thing in a

minute. i think for the families, given all that we just heard. given all that anthony just said, then i think if i'm the family, i'm wondering, why can't they show me the wreckage? why do they keep on having these false starts where they say there's a satellite image here and there. with all of that data, then why can't they find it? >> yeah, well, you know, that ping that the satellite gets is only one time an hour. and it's not a precise location of where the plane is. calculation of how long it took it to get up to the satellite. but the satellite doesn't know exactly where that is. so it's an imprecise locater. it tells you it's in the middle of nowhere that's why they concluded the plane did go down. but it doesn't tell you just where along that pattern the plane hit. we hope, it mean, there's enough sightings by satellite of something out there to hope they're in the right area for actually seeing wreckage which

is what they want, the investigators. >> and it also doesn't tell you what happened, right? that's the other big missing piece i think the families desperately need to know. okay, we've got all this data that gives us the general area where it is, but that doesn't tell the families how their loved ones lost their lives. >> no, it doesn't, i'm afraid. we're still with the same initial facts that we had at the beginning that we've reviewed several times already. plane made a left-hand turn, they've added a new dimension to that. that it went down to 12,000 feet immediately after that turn. that in any pilot aviation scenario would suggest a number of things. primarily, it would be a high-dive to altitudes where the passengers could breathe suggesting a catastrophic decompression, perhaps a cockpit fire which the aircraft has had a recent history of.

and -- but hard answers, who programmed these additional points after that point? we just don't know. >> could the pilots have programmed something that in? programmed a turn because there was a fire and wanted to put it on autopilot for a time and people passed out? is that a logical scenario? >> well, the first priority would be suppress the fire, stabilize the aircraft and turn it back to the nearest suitable airport to land. so, yes, it's possible. what's not explained here -- what's not explained is why those additional standard navigation way points, that's not explained. and frankly, still offers the hint of something nefarious. >> why not communication? and bob, i have to get back to this text message thing. you've covered this industry for a long time. i've covered a lot of natural disasters. this era of mass text, does that feel wrong to you? >> well, that's rough.

but i'm not going to criticize them for it. because i don't know, you know, what their situation is there. where these families are, how hard it is to get in touch with them. and i think they've been under such international criticism to put out what they know. so they have this new information, they want to put it out. they sure don't want the families to hear about it after it's been put out. so they're trying to, you know, notify the families and then put it out, getting late at night, 10:00 at night over there. so, you know, i don't want to -- i don't want to knock them without knowing more about it. >> yep, bob hager, tony roman, thanks to both of you. to washington state now. and the continuing search for people who could be buried under a massive mud slide. at least eight people are confirmed dead. more than 100 people are missing or unaccounted for. without warning saturday, a square mile of mud demolished some 30 homes. search and rescue teams are

digging through up to 15 feet of mud. meanwhile, a flash flood warning is in effect throughout the end of the day. meanwhile, check out these stunning pictures out of chicago. incredibly 32 people suffered only minor injuries after their commuter train plowed across a platform and scaled an escalator at o'hare national airport. the ntsb is joining in the investigation today. and coming up, tons of new developments in ukraine as the senate gets ready to vote on an aid package. president obama visiting europe right now as world leaders meet to deal with russia. have they finally come up with a way to contain vladimir putin? and the first lady's trip to china getting massive response on social media. that's got all of you readers out there speaking freely, too. (dad) well, we've been thinking about it and we're just not sure. (agent) i understand. (dad) we've never sold a house before. (agent) i'll walk you guys through every step. (dad) so if we sell, do you think we can swing it?

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president obama is in the netherlands for a two-day nuclear summit. and while the meeting has already produced agreements with several countries on the removal of plutonium and enriched uranium, it's russia's annexation of crimea which now commands the attention of the president and the assembled g7 leaders. >> europe and america are united in our support in the ukrainian government and the ukrainian people. we're united in imposing a cost on russia for the actions so far. >> earlier today, president obama said he will raise the topic of ukraine when he speaks privately with the president of china. back in the u.s., the senate this hour is back in session and is expected to vote a $1 billion aid package to ukraine. lisa cook is an assistant professor at michigan state university. so, lisa, i want to start by

asking you about these already imposed sanctions on individual members of vladimir putin's inner circle. a, how effective will that be at curbing his behavior, and b, how strongly is europe following suit? >> so, i think to answer the first question. these individual sanctions could do some damage to individuals. we've seen capital flight already of about $60 billion more -- or rather, $70 billion in the first quarter. and it was from russia. and it was $60 billion all of last year. so, clearly, investors are taking seriously the possibility of widening sanctions. so it seems as though they are taking seriously the ones that are in place. it seems as though the eu is trying to do something similar to the u.s. that they're going

to be many different concerns that the eu has that we don't have. we don't have that much trade with russia and germany is quite dependent on it as is italy. the french are quite dependent on it for arm sales. so -- so it's a much more complex matter. if you compare the list of individuals sanctioned or individual entities sanctioned, you'll see that we have on our list, this is a bank in st. petersburg, considered to be the bank of putin's close circle. this is not on the eu list. so there are some differences. i think there are meant to be complementary and try to erode putin's inner circle. >> this being your sort of area of specialty. how likely do you believe it is that vladimir putin will actually try to annex more of ukraine? >> well, that's -- i think it's a really good question.

but i think anybody who claims to know the answer is a better fortune teller than i. and i think that it could be possible. certainly we know that these troops are being massed on the border with ukraine. but it also seems he could stop now and he would've done the saber rattling that he needed to do and to strike fear in the hearts of people who try to play with russia or try to diminish what putin thinks is the position that russia holds right now is sort of the leading country, sort of making everybody jump and everyone saying how high. it's difficult to know. i think he's in an unpredictable phase. but one thing we have to note about russia in general, and when i was working at the white house, i saw this. russia has a deep ambivalence, it seems, about operating in a

multi-lateral universe. it wants to call the shots, or let's say putin does. it wants to call the shots for the rest of the world. so it's hard to know what his next move will be. >> all right. lisa, really quickly, do you think there's any chance that china gets involved on the side of sanctions against russia? >> china and russia are two very pragmatic countries. whatever will suit china will be what it follows. it decided to about stain from russia from condemning crimea. i'm sure the russians were hoping that it would also veto the proposal put forward in the security council. but it's really hard to know. whatever it turns out to be, most pragmatic for china is what china is going to do. >> all right. leave it there. thank you. >> thank you. and to egypt now where a court sentenced 529 members of

the muslim brotherhood to death today. the ruling is the largest mass death sentence to be handed down in history. inciting violence and damaging public and private property. the muslim brotherhood was removed from power last year and has since been labeled a terrorist organization and banned in egypt. we'll be right back. in the nation, it's not always pretty. but add brand new belongings from nationwide insurance... ...and we'll replace destroyed or stolen items with brand-new versions. we take care of the heat, so you don't get burned. just another way we put members first, because we don't have shareholders. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪

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coming up, we read between the lines on how the supreme court is courting controversy with some huge cases involving religion and corporate person hood. but now it's time for the stories you can't stop buzzing about in a segment we call we the tweeple. in a note, this is not one of my shows, but one that you apparently love, or at least you used to love. last night's episode of "the good wife" has many of you going through the five stages of grief. okay. are you ready?

okay. twitter lit up yesterday after the star-crossed connection between alicia florrick and will gardner came to a tragic end on the show. you send thousands of tweets when gardner was shot to death. some of you compared it to the shocking red wedding in "game of thrones" sending tweets of mourning like this one. everybody is alicia florrick today and everyone is crying for him for her for them. show runners responded with a statement. we're always looking for these turning points the creators tweeted. some of it midway through the season that will spin everybody's lives in new directions. these turning points help keep the show from slipping into a numbing sameness and keeps the characters fresh. freshness. from tragedy now to comedy. many of you could not stop laughing this weekend at the new movie "muppets most wanted." take a look at the supervillain. >> it's not easy being mean. >> no, that's not kermit the

frog, it's his nemesis evil constantine. of course, muppets most wanted was in development when russia annexed crimea. but that hasn't stopped millions of you enjoying the cold war undercurrents of the film which opened at number two in the box office. this latest muppet caper is full of gulags and goofy soldiers. g7 leaders are meeting at this very moment over russia taking over crimea. for the rest of us, laughter might be the best medicine. and so is diplomacy which is perhaps why first lady michelle obama along with her daughters and her mother are taking social media by storm with their good will trip to china. the obama crew has been taking in sights like the warriors and sharing great photos on social media. this picture was tweeted over 2,000 times. fabulous.

you picked some winners today and we can't wait to see what you get into next. msnbc.com and keep telling us what's important to you. and up next, a bush and a clinton share the spotlight today in texas. could this be a preview of 2016? and if so, should someone tell rand paul? what does an apron have to do with car insurance? an apron is hard work.

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with the malaysian prime minister's announcement today that flight 370 went down somewhere in the southern indian ocean, the question remains where? new satellite imagery from china as well as independent sightings from chinese and australian aircraft have spotted more possible debris in an area currently being searched. however, that's a remote area more than 1,000 miles southwest of perth, australia. and today, no confirmation that the debris spotted is, indeed, from flight 370. nbc's tom costello covers the aviation industry. tom, where does the search stand at this point? >> well, at the moment, of

course, it's dark. so we have naval ships moving into this area hoping that they can spot the debris that was spotted by both the australians and the chinese aircraft over the course of the past 24 hours. the chinese saying they spotted two objects that were on the periphery, if you will, of the search zone. by the way, i'm not giving you an exact location because i don't have the coordinates. but the point being it's just outside the search zone while the australians spotted debris inside the search zone. so now the challenge is to go out and try to actually find it with naval ships. now, they have gone in already and dropped buoy markers that transmit constant information on ocean currents and tides so that hopefully they have a sense of how far this debris might shift. but that is the challenge, of course, isn't it? through this entire region. you've got a very turbulent ocean. in fact, it's called a pinball machine. you've got so many swirling eddies and constantly shifting currents and waves. in fact, waves in some cases, 20, 30 feet high on a typical

day in the worst of the conditions. when we approach winter in about six weeks, they can get more ferocious than that. very close to the point where the south indian ocean meets the southern ocean. and all of this, all of this now circumnavigates, thesen currents circumnavigate the globe. this is a turbulent area to try to find anything in. and to, of course, backtrack and figure out what was the original location. because, of course, in theory, this has been sitting in the ocean for at least about more than 12 days. more than 15 days, right? at this point? to give you a sense of how big this is, we're talking about 20,000 square miles is the new -- the precision zone that the australians have identified. 20,000 square miles. how big is that? i looked it up and i was astonished to find out that means they're looking in an area

roughly the size of west virginia. roughly the size of west virginia. and they're doing this by air. so this is not a situation, of course, where you're hovering low like a helicopter, you're doing it from several hundred feet high, even 1,000 or more feet high. and you're scanning the horizon. this endless horizon of blue ocean, of waves and white caps looking for something that may be very small or in some cases, the largest piece we've seen so far identified on satellite was a piece that was somewhere in the neighborhood of, we believe, 79 feet or so. let me go back to this page and this page, 79, 72 feet or so. this was the piece identified by the chinese at about 72 feet. and the piece identified by the australians last week and they believe this one is 79 feet. all right. that's about looking for something the size of a tennis court in the area the size of west virginia. so slowly they shrink this zone, but it is a massive undertaking. back to you. >> a lot of ocean and a small

piece of potential debris. thanks so much, nbc's tom costel costello. turning now to 2016. yes, i know, it's a topic i've repeatedly said is only secondary important to a thing we call the 2014 midterms. and pretty much only naval gazing for the beltway. but some days you have to overrule yourself. days like today when two potential presidential candidates appear at the same event for the third time in the past year. the theme at today's event was higher education. but seeing jeb bush and hillary clinton on the same stage gets people riled up for 2016. okay. we know the hillary talk is not going away. but what if jeb decides mom's right and the white house doesn't need another one of her family members in the white house. funny you should ask. that's the scenario that the kentucky senator and rand paul is hoping for. he's been crisscrossing the country, putting together an eclectic constituencyconstituen.

not to mention lending a hand to a certain gop establishment silent screen icon from kentucky. but as the "new york times" points out, in rand's case, it's actually not too soon to get serious about 2016. according to the times, what worries some of paul's friends is that for all his early moves to cultivate donors, he's not doing enough to build the political network necessary to build a viable campaign. meanwhile, as paul looks to round up the estimated billion dollars needed for 2016 presidential run, democrats are firing back against the especially painful 2014 prognostication from nate silver. in the latest blog, 538 icon of his own nate silver predicts that republicans are slightly favorites to capture the chamber. cue the armageddon-like music. democrats politely pushed back giving silver props for the ground-breaking work but calling it out for using gop polling

results. and joining me now to talk about the next big thing in 2016. okay, robert, thanks for being here. and i want to start you on the jeb bush hillary thing. my understanding that the establishment in washington would love to see jeb bush run despite the fact that his last name was no too long ago seen as toxic. is that at an accurate statement? >> i think that's right. governor chris christie has been embattled recently dealing with the bridge scandal. there's a lot of establishment folks looking back to jeb even though he was last in the ballot in 2002. he won in '98 and 2002. they're looking for someone to bring the party broad appeal in 2016. i just wonder if the fire in the belly is there with jeb, if he wants to run. >> that's a good point, too, he's not on the circuit you would expect. if you want to be the nominee, you have to court the republican

base. has he been doing anything to start to court the donors, on the right, the part he would need ideologically to get the nomination? >> not so much. if you contrast rand paul's recent activities, a lot of explicit donor outreach, iowa, new hampshire and elsewhere, compare it to jeb bush. he's a creature right now of the consulting class, he's busy with his education foundation. this is someone who was looking to be called to run for president by the establishment. he's not, i think, adjusting to the current climate within the republican party. he's not building up the kind of relationships he needs to have with tea party activists should he choose to run. >> i'm going to get to rand paul in a second, but you mentioned chris christie. the "new york times" talks about an inquiry done by a firm with ties to the christie administration which says clears him. is chris christie doing anything to get himself back in the good graces? >> i spoke recently to ken

langone, looking to found a super pac for chris christie. they're very much still in his camp. they look at jeb and don't see someone angling to run. i think christie remains an establishment favorite. but is he going to be the power for the establishment that many thought? i think because of this bridge scandal, it's much more of an open question. >> let's get to rand paul because i sort of had this working theory that rand, what he's doing is helping the most establishment guy there could possibly be, mitch mcconnell, which would make mcconnell owe him. he's trying to court at the same time, evangelicals, young libertarians, liberal libertarians and put that cross-pollinated constituency. can that work given the primary structure the gop has in place? >> rand paul's blessing is also a curse. he comes into the 2016 conversation with his father's network, ron paul's network behind him. but i think one of the reasons

when i spoke to rand paul's advisers last friday, one of the reasons he's doing these trips to berkeley and elsewhere, he's trying to signal to the republican establishment that he can broaden his coalition beyond his father's base. it's not so much to have outreach to african-american communities, younger students and libertarians, he's really sending the signal to the wall street donors saying, look, i can build a bigger party, take me seriously, please. >> and i want to quickly say one of the things he's also doing is go hard against the clintons. i want to play you a bit of what hillary clinton had to say about whether she's going to run and get your response. >> if you don't represent women in politics in america as future president, who will? >> look, i am -- i am very much concerned about the direction of our country. give me your name and number -- obviously thinking about all kinds of decisions. and -- >> okay, robert. when she figures out what she

wants to do, who does the establishment believe is best positioned to run against hillary clinton? >> for a long time here in washington, veteran republicans have told me they think jeb bush or chris christie would be the best to go up against hillary clinton. but one thing rand paul has done. he's really gone after the clintons. he's gone back to the '90s, brought up past controversies and trying to show to the republican base he's willing to take on the clintons. he's not like mccain and others in the party who have recently been pretty friendly and cozy with the clintons. wants to draw a stark line. >> all right. i maintain my theory it is rand paul and not rand paul. i'm sticking to it. thank you. >> thank you. from the hot hair of politics to weather extremes in its annual state of the climate report, the u.n. finds dramatic weather events like drought, heat waves and floods can be blamed on climate change. the report confirmed that 2013 tied with 2007 as the sixth warmest on record.

in australia, it was the hottest year on record. according to the report, only a few places, including the central u.s. were actually cooler than normal last year. ho? ugh. that bad? i dropped 2 balls, mom. eye on the ball! that's all it is. eye on the ball. that's a good tip. i'll try it. by the way, bill... this is delicious! so many grilled tastes and textures. and all the nutrition i need. go on. no really. top notch. (laughing) there it is - there ya go. new american grill from kibbles 'n bits... go together like... food 'n family.

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visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. a short-lived honeymoon for same-sex couples in michigan. nearly 300 couples rushed to get marriage licenses saturday after a federal judge struck down the state's law banning same-sex marriage. but by nightfall, an appeals court put a temporary hold on the ruling until at least wednesday. that means, dozens of couples are in legal limbo. rick schneider's office says it won't commit either way until the court sorts it out. now to a federal judge's ruling on voting rights opening the gate for one more state to put another restriction on the franchise. alabama now plans to move forward with its requirement for proof of citizenship when people register to vote. that makes three states in the past week adding that extra layer of proof. last week, kansas and arizona

won the right to require new voters to show a birth certificate or passport when they register. alabama's secretary of state told the "new york times" that the judge's ruling, quote, has given us the confidence that alabama has strong rooting for the rules regarding proof of citizenship. that confidence is busting out all over the country. several states moved forward with restrictions. ten states where voters will have to show i.d. where they go to the polls this year. two other states are trying to implement those laws. meanwhile, republicans in ohio, wisconsin, and georgia are aggressively trying to roll back early voting. are you beginning to see a pattern here? yep, many of the states we're seeing more restrictions on voting are controlled by republicans. and this year many will see competitive races for governor and key elections that could decide the balance of power in the united states senate. and joining me now, president

and director counsel of the defense fund and former south carolina republican chair caton dawson. why not have people have to show a birth certificate when they register to vote? >> well, lots of people don't have birth certificates. i think we have to pause for a moment and recognize that we're at a really critical moment in this democracy when even i have to admit that we are in the 21st century. and there are individuals and groups in leadership in this country who don't want people to vote. we have still not yet seen any real evidence of rampant voter fraud to justify the kind of voter suppression tactics unleashed all over this country especially since the shelby county decision. the federal form for registration requires that you certify under penalty of perjury that you are a citizen. and that's been perfectly fine for many, many years. now you have states wanting to

layer on this requirement that an individual come with a passport or some other proof of citizen which an individual may not have, not immigrants, mind you, talking about african-americans, elderly who may not have birth certificates. now needing to bring this requirement in to register to be able to vote. where does this come from? and what justifies this? certainly not voter fraud. >> most americans don't have passports. i want to bring that question to you. there have been a lot of studies on this. there's a lot of studies that show literally you're more likely to be beamed up into a ufo than find in person voter fraud. why is it your party seems fixated on trying to go after early voting? trying to go after, you know, forcing people to bring a birth certificate. all things that just happen to impact minorities and people who tend to vote for the democratic party? >> glad to be with you. let me unpack it a little bit here and go back to 1993 when we had the motor voter -- yelling

at the top of their lungs, this was going to cost elections, add to the voter rolls. and the opposite is happening. the democrats are yelling that the republicans are trying to suppress the vote. i would contend right now that 34 states are enacting some type of integrity to the system. i had to show a voter i.d. to get in the studio today to buy whiskey last week to do a lot of things that are simple. and it becomes disingenuous for the argument and the integrity of the process to cash your vote that someone is being obstructed by having to require an i.d. or something to prove where they live. and i'll move past presidential politics and down to what really matters which are city councils, water commissioners where there are few people voting. so you need to know where they live and who they are. >> i have to push back. one second. you do not have any sort of a right, fundamental right to get into 30 rockefeller plaza or any right to get into the building you are. you don't have a right to

enter -- well, in the constitution we have to question how it's regulated b , but you have the fundamental right to choose your leaders. there have been people who have admitted. i want to play what a pennsylvania republican said back in 2012. very explicit. take a listen. >> voter i.d., which is going to allow governor romney to win the state of pennsylvania. done. >> members of your party are admitting that's why they're doing this. >> look, i understand that. and i certainly don't know who that legislator is in pennsylvania, and i'm not going to justify his comments by him representing the entire republican party all over the country. what i will tell you is that having run over 1,000 something elections being a party chairman, i watched it firsthand the confusion at the ballot boxes, the long lines, the argument on early voting, and i never once myself saw anything in the state that i live in that suppressed a vote.

i will tell you there is an integrity problem and a confidence problem in the voting process. >> well, let me -- >> is it a do right -- let's talk about getting in a federal courthouse. it's owned by the public. you've got to go through a metal detector -- >> that's because of another issue. the other thing that's about to happen is that republicans, whether they want to admit why or not are going after section two of the voting rights act and explain that to us and what the risk is there. >> i want to do two things. if in fact, republicans or others were concerned about voter fraud and that was really the issue, then they would be big supporters of early voting. the voter fraud occurs in absentee ballots. that's not really the issue. and you've hit on the point, joy. because last year when the supreme court decided to really

hallow o hollow out the voting rights act. section two is the provision that allows people like me and the naacp to bring lawsuits against voting practices that are discriminatory. and now what we see an article published weeks ago is the attempt to attack section 2 and prove that section 2 is unconstitutional. and when you combine this, the attacks on section 5, the attacks on section 2, the attacks on early voting, voter i.d., all of these, and you put together the picture, you know, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. there is an element in this country seeking to prevent people from voting because of who they fear those people may vote for. and this is, in my view, antidemocratic, this is not patriotic. we fought these wars in the 1960s to ensure that african-americans and others have the right to fully participate in the political process. and here we are now in the 21st century revisiting the same fights we thought we won.

you can dress it up in the pretty language, talk about integrity, but it's a solution looking for a problem. and the people who are going to be hurt are people who don't have a voice in the system. their voice is their vote. that's what these provisions are taking away from them. >> and we hope you'll come back -- >> i will. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thanks to both of you. and next, the intersection of law, religion and politics. we'll read between the lines on hobby lobby supreme court showdown set for tomorrow. and tomorrow, answering your questions on the affordable care act. any and all questions on the law or its impact on health care are welcome. join us right after the show. we will have an expert and you can submit your written or video questions on twitter, facebook or on our home page. ♪

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corporations are people, my friend. we can raise taxes on -- of course they are. >> corporations are people, my friend. those words spoken to laughter by willard mitt romney sound funny, but have an unfunny connotation. lawyers for the railroad argued that because states have different tax laws, making the railroad pay violated its 14th amendment right to equal protection. it was not a new argument. for 20 years after the 14th amendment was adopted in 1868 to protect ex-slaves, they tried to use it to get out of regulations and taxes, and they lost until santa clara versus the southern pacific railroad. the chief justice of the supreme court who ruled on that case was

morris morrison wate. his remarks before oral arguments that the court does not wish to hear arguments on the question on whether the provision in the 14th amendment to the constitution which forbids a state to deny any person the equal protections of the laws applies to these corporations where all of the opinion that it does. that was jotted down by the court reporter, himself a former railroad president. and according to radio host tom hartman, those notes became the basis for corporate personhood from 1886 until today. now, the most famous use of corporate personhood was citizens united, which opened the door to corporate people spending lots of money to sway elections. the new cases ask whether corporations are not just people, but people who can have religious beliefs. can the hobby lobby craft store chain and specialties of pennsylvania claim that covering contraception in their employees' health plans violates their rights under the religious

freedom restoration act, which says government can't substantially burden a person's exercise of religion? and can a new mexico photographer refuse to shoot a gay wedding through her corporate expression of herself? the obama administration is arguing that corporations are, in fact, not people, and that they can't shield themselves behind religious beliefs. the court that will decide includes six catholic justices, some of whom have not been shy about asserting their religion. and all of this is taking place as the country becomes more secular. even as the religious fight harder than ever to push creationism. and on science tv shows. and where the question has gone from whether the railroad has to pay its taxes to where the corporations can be religious people. the question is, do you trust this court to make those decisions? and that wraps things up for the "reid report," i'll see you tomorrow 2:00 p.m. eastern and be sure to visit us on

msnbc.com. and speaking of 2014, actually, "cycle" will be next speaking of that. see you tomorrow. 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. moonachie, new jersey, firefighters were still rebuilding their own house with limited funds for the most important necessities. ugh...this toilet paper's like sandpaper. [ male announcer ] that's when the charmin relief project came to the rescue. holy charmin. [ male announcer ] delivering over 10,000 rolls of bath tissue. charmin not only saved the day. charmin saved our butts. [ male announcer ] making a firehouse feel like home again. one more way the charmin relief project

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