two things to tease. lewis is going to have a picture of this castration thing. >> yes, i'm not going to>> we d evidence. >> justine, we didn't do twitter today but kenya thing is blowing up. >> it's blowing up. i think they prefer yours cover to that cover. >> check it out. "way too early" is over for today. thanks, gang. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ >> jimmy carter was on the show last night, and he was traveling with these four guys. they belong to some party frat. secret service. man, those guys can drink! >> one of the agents had so much to drink during the a day of partying in amsterdam he

couldn't make his hotel room key work so he passed on the floor in the hallway. >> folks, i'm not surprised he was drinking. i mean, it is their sworn duty to take the bullet. folks, why do you think they are always running alongside the president's limo? they are too drunk to drive! good morning. it is thursday, march 27th. welcome to "morning joe." with us on set, we have msnbc contributor mike barnicle. very good day to have you in today given the news that is going on. former communication director for george w. bush and former senior adviser for the 2008 mccain presidential campaign, nicole wallace. and in nashville, jon meacham.

we have so much to get to this morning. right to what the president is doing in europe. he is wrapping up his audience with the pope. their first official visit and minutes ago, they arrived at their meeting in st. peters square. a long procession down rows of hallways. the two world leaders met and shook hands and posed for photos in frons t of rows of cameras a sat at the pope's desk where they spoke in english and the president told him it was a great honor and he was a great admirer of the pope. the president also briefly discussed his meeting with the pontiff's predecessor pope benedict. we don't know what they have discussed, but lately, the white house and the church have been at odd over reproductive rights. the pope also gave the president a book. >> really?

>> it was very symbolic. i love this pope on every level. he goes right there with everybody. so the conversation can actually start halfway through it instead of with the pleasantries of, you know, whatever is takes to back into a conversation, whether it be about gay marriage or bioethics or abortion. you can have a real conversation with this man and exactly what i think they are doing right now. joining us with more coverage of the president's visit with pope francis, nbc white house correspondent, peter alexander. peter? >> reporter: nice to visit with you. as you were just discussing president obama wrapping up that meeting with pope francis and started a half an hour ago and they are expected to spend about 50 minutes to go. this meeting is believed to be more ceremonial. a private company conversation between the two men. pope francis, unlike his two predecesso predecessors, his english is limited so they are speaking with the aid of translators. the meeting that will follow it is sort of viewed as where the

business gets done. a conversation president obama, his national security adviser susan rice and secretary of state john kerry will have with the vatican secretary of state. for our understanding that is where some of the wrangling may exist over some of the controversial topics that the vatican, this pope has had issues in in the united states as they relate to obamacare and cracking down on religious freedoms requiring employers to provide mandatory provisions, including contraception to their employees and the hot topic of gay marriage as well. but what is striking is what we are waiting to hear which is exactly what both sides in this conversation really want to emphasize. when the meeting wraps up, that is when we will get statements from both the white house and the vatican and that is really when we are going to see what pope francis and president obama want to focus on. the president certainly, the white house would like this

conversation heavily to focus on what is one of the signature issues of his agenda and continue the rest of his second term which is income inequality. >> peter alexander, live at the vatican, thank you so much. there will be issues with ukraine and can't imagine they won't go there soon. >> president obama getting his start in chicago politics at the church. did you read that? absolutely fascinating at the end. people surrounding the pope saying they welcomed barack obama back to the conversation of income inequality. >> they are smart like that, right? >> i guess so. >> yes. big issue. i think it's one of the issues of this generation and how to

attack it, how to address it maybe is a better way to put it, certainly as the conversation going on both sides. >> there is a huge amount of symbolism involved in this morning's meeting as well. two pivotal figures in history. the first african-american president in united states and the pope. the president's background in darthy day type social work in chicago gives him a basis of conversation that is important to the world, as well as the united states. and the differences that they will, obviously, have will be interesting for them together. >> i think their backgrounds leave the basis for a real connection potentially. >> i think the pope is always finding a way to connect to american presidents and back to the point you just made.

they are savvy like that. i think in seeking out and sharing this past of president obama's and the history of public service, the church was very much laying the foundation for some common ground to try to build some momentum for productive discussion on equality. >> the navigation of their offices. the president of the united states arrives in office in january of 2009 in the midst of a huge international economic crisis. the pope arrives in the seat of the holy sea at a time when the catholic church is going through tremendous turmoil because of the priest pedophile scandal. they have a lot in common, as well as disagreements. >> jon meacham, the president's visit comes at the end of a remarkable year for this pope during which he has said things and done things that have changed the way catholics feel about their own faith and -- >> in a matter of months. >> did he it so quickly.

>> pope francis had a much better first year than president obama did. so he might be looking for some pointers. i think this is the third time in the last 50 years where you have an -- you have a pope who has a particularly resonant role in the american political conversation. you had john xxiiird at the time when the potential culture was changing here and president reagan and john paul, ii initiating the last stages of the cold war. as mike just said, you have these two unique figures culturely in their own context to come together to see what they might be able to bring to the issues of common concern. the enduring relevance of the catholic faith to our political life is remarkable. >> it really is. you look at this pope, mika, who

has approval ratings that every american politician would die for. you showed it a second ago. 55%? >> just by living his life in a way that people are fascinated by and drawn to. >> he's a fascinating guy. i absolutely love him. i wonder what that says about his predecessors. or at least the church that he is taking small -- he is making, you know -- i'm not being negative at all. >> no, no, no. >> but it's just the soft touch that he has used and going out and doing the things and being far more christ like than a lot of people who had been running the church for years. >> some of his predecessors haven't been that good and some down on lower levels have pushed what has been a massive crisis of sexual abuse under the rug but there is one predecessor that this pope reminds me up and that is john paul, ii. he has a warmth and a kindness

and openness and a sense of inclusion that literally oozes from his very beam. when you are with him or you see him, you want to be with him and you want to be a part of his following. that's john paul, ii and everything from his physical appearance to the way he lived his life and even the way he died was an example for the world. >> nicole, there are also a lot of things that people are going to focus on that these two men sg disagree on and they disagree on a lot. catholic doctrine has not changed radically call since francis became pope. in fact, supreme court this week, is actually, you know, chances are good -- i heard an argument -- that will end up knocking down a pillar of obamacare. but, at the same time, these two men as you said are trying to figure out what to focus on and they agree on moving forward and

i think they agree on allot. >> i think what is endured is the appetite for people who han. i think obama at his best had a message about serving people in this country who were not reaching or achieving the american dream. i remember george w. bush meeting with john paul, ii when he was contemplating stem cell research and the pope had a very profound impact on his ultimate decision. that is is quite rare. they always influence a president personally. there's something about the power and the majesty and the humanity of the president sitting with the pope but whether they actually affect policy is always to me the most interesting thing to follow in the weeks and days to come. >> before arriving at the vatican, president obama spoke in belgium yesterday where he

made a steadfast declaration to stand by nato allies. russia's advances on ukraine saying the borders of europe cannot be redrawn with force. >> russia's violation of international law, it's assault on ukraine's softenerty and internal integrity, must be met with condemnation. not because we are trying to keep russia down, but the principles that have meant so much to europe and the world must be lifted up. understand as well, this is not another cold war that we are entering into. after all, unlike the soviet union, russia leads no block of nations, no global ideology. >> this was a strong speech, jon. a point-by-point rebuttal to what vladimir putin had said about the united states over the last couple of weeks, including the claim that president putin made how can america preach to

us going into crimea when they went into iraq. president takes that and say we didn't go in there and claim iraq and hold a referendum and annex that piece of land and i thought it was interesting he held iraq up as an example for his case. what did you make of his speech yesterday in europe? >> it's a real interesting speech and if folks have time, they should actually read it. it's a history lesson about the problems of the 20th century recurring in the 21st and an implicit admission, i think, there aren't many good answers here that we are appealing, to some extent, to principle and when you try, as the president said, to redraw borders by force the kind of aggression that gave us the terrible wars of the 20th century. i don't know -- you all may know on the reporting front -- whether the president was scheduled to go to the world war i battlefield before the speech

but if that was added late it certainly was a very important symbolic thing for him to do because he talked about how millions of lives were -- hundreds of thousands of lives were lost when figures in the european broader history of the 20th century tried to do what putin is doing, all of which left us with a question of what do you do about it when someone goes across a border and tries to exert influence in an aggressive way? and there weren't being good answers, but it was, in fact, i think a really important history lesson about what happens when appetite gets the better of good sense. >> well, we're also -- it's so interesting what happened over the past 24 hours because the president also took on claims of hypocrisy over america's handling of the iraq war,

though, he was a vocal critic during the invasion. >> reporter: i opposed the military intervention there but in iraq america sought to work within the international system. we did not claim or annex iraq's territory. we did not grab its resources for our own gain. instead, we ended our war and left iraq to its people. >> mike, also, he had a message for european allies. >> he did. after jon meacham accurately pointed out, it was a history lesson and a pretty good one. later in the day, the president addressed nato and suggested -- didn't suggest. he said freedom is not free and urged all of the members to increase their defense budgets

because many have roofed their defense budgets over the last ten years, and in order to deal with soviet aggression, russian aggression it would require them spending more in europe. >> not only the past ten years but, mied go god, since world war ii ended in 1945 we have been carrying western europe on our sojeds. everybody. whether it's western europe, whether it's japan people, you know, our allies now have been acting like history ended and they get a free ride off of us. i'm tired of people getting a free ride off of this country. they love complaining about it, but everybody, as you know better than anybody, when anything happens in the world, everybody looks at us and says what is the united states going to do about it? i'm sick and tired of having to spend tax dollars because the germans and the japanese and others acted terribly 70 or 80

years ago. it's time that they spend their own damn money to defend themselves. it's time that -- we just -- we shouldn't have to defend the free world so they can spend money on building industry while we're spending money fighting wars. >> on awesome trains. they talk about how awesome their trains are. >> you can build trains from jfk to mid-town manhattan when you're not having to spend so much on weapon systems like we are. >> so i think that his message had an american audience in mind as well, obviously, based on your for a feelings about it. i think that the larger concern is that -- has president obama done ongoing damage to american credibility in the world by rendering an american red line meaningless? look. i think he had a day where people listen for a day, but

does that endure -- and i think underpinning that question is whether he has done lasting damage to american credibility by rendering the red line meaningless. >> it just depends. it depends on whether he is going to actually do something regarding syria, whether he is going to be aggressive. >> or even on this question. is he going to require them to spend more? i mean, what he said yesterday about spending more on defense was welcomed but does it mean anything? are they listening? i don't know the answer. >> i don't know that they are listening. he is just going to have to engage more than he has the last five and a half years. >> we will have a lot of time to hash this out and we have some guests coming up that might help us get some different perspectives on what exactly the president is doing. i don't think he has been ga engaged but you may have some points symbolically as well. >> i think he leads from behind

and that the united states is not going to be as forceful on the international stage and i'm not even talking about militarily. i'm talking about diplomatically. you just can't find many diplomats across the world that say the united states has not been as forceful of a leader over the past five years. >> i think if we look at what this secretary of state is doing, i think we might be glossing over a little bit. but we can talk more in the coming hours, because there are, obviously, long-term impacts of foreign policy decisions and diplomacy and i think we're selling them short. i really do. coming up on "morning joe," father james martin. david axelrod and senator chuck schumer and tina brown. and talking to two stars from "the grand budapest hotel." today, we are introducing the morning jolt quiz. do you think you'll pass?

>> no. >> oh, our first question of the day was -- oh everyone knows this. what was the brand of shoe that i broke in our original digital because i tripped? head over to morningjolt.msnbc.com. i would never buy shoes this expensive, not ever in my life. that's a hint. >> you're watching "morning joe." we will be right back.

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the owner of a vehicle, with a bumper sticker, "turrible" your lights are on. you wanna get that genius? not mine. on the passenger seat, there is a collection of charles barkley highlight dvds. must be a big fan. and the license plate reads "sir charles." i'm gonna get some drinks with my capital one venture card. be right back. earn unlimited double miles with no blackout dates from the capital one venture card. forgetting something, sir charles? what's in your wallet? ♪ great shot. let's take a look at the morning papers, she with? the houston chronicle a construction worker is speaking out after this incredible video showed him dramatically escaping

a fire. the man was dangling from a ledge as flames tore through the building. he escaped with seconds to spare with minor injuries but he says all of the attention is not warranted on him at least. >> i'm not the hero or nothing. i was just saving my own skin. heroes are the firemen who risk their lives to help us and under save our property and they are the heroes. i'm just a guy who is caught in a bad situation trying to escape. >> and speaking of heroes. "the boston globe" reports on two boston firefighters who are being remembered this morning after they were killed battling a fierce fire yesterday. the fire chief says it was the fastest moving fire he has ever seen likely because of strong winds. the fire caused an explosion creating panic for those standing nearby. 13 firefighters sustained injuries but everyone who lived in the building escaped unharmed. mike barnicle, that was part of that terrible weather front that went through yesterday. obviously the winds took a terrible situation and made it

much worse. >> joe, the two firefighters who died i knew one of them. will not ed walsh. three children. all under 10. mike kennedy, the other firefighter. the firehouse that responded first was their firehouse, engine 33 in the back bay of boston and it is literally 200 yards from the finish line of the boston marathon. they were first responders a year ago to the marathon bombing and we should all of us in this country should take a moment to realize that every time the bell rings for people like this, they -- you just don't know what is going to happen but they respond. >> thank you, mike. we move on to the seattle times now. the number of people missing after saturday's catastrophic mudslide in washington has been lowered. officials in snohomish county say 90 people is missing now, about half of the initial estimate however, the status of 35 other people is still

unknown. officials found another body, bringing the death toll, at this point, to at least 25. from the "usa today" a new study from the cdc says about 1 in 25 patients going to contract an infection during their hospital stay. that number is down from the nearly 2 million reported infections in 2007. despite a decline, the cdc estimates 200 americans die every day due to health care associated infections and it's a real problem. it certainly happened to my father, he picked up an infection when he did in the hospital and a doctor we know said, don't know how long your dad is going to live but he will die because of that infection and, ultimately he did. >> the "new york post." males in north korea are about to find out what they would look like with kim jong-un's haircut? >> north korean men have been ordered to get the same

hairstyle as their leader. >> it's a good looking hairstyle. >> it is. >> willie, what year was it we both decided to go in and support that hairstyle? >> that was '74. >> exactly. and it made us a huge hit at studio 51. >> when we landed as jfk, they went crazy. >> the girls inscreaming. the next two or three years it was jagger, bowie followed our lead and show the "new york post" there, if you can. >> 12th million of his countrymen get this haircut. >> really? >> yeah. >> i think you'd look good with that haircut. >> that's a power move right there. wow. >> okay. >> quite a plethora of different news. >> from the san jose mercury news.

they have nicknamed biden. a frozen pink dwarf planet. >> i have no idea why that. maybe it will provide clues how our solar system performed. >> or what is behind joe biden's personality. >> willie is going to talk to him now. >> joining us now with a look at the political playbook, the editor in chief. we went way up the ladder this time to mr. john harris. good morning, john. >> good morning. >> so you've got a piece up about sheldon adelson and it's all to meet with him in vegas. he poured almost a million dollars of his own into the 2012 campaign and got behind newt gingrich single handedly and kept him in that race. who is he looking at this go round?

>> four days in vegas at sheldon adelson's hotel. jeb bush will be out there kicking things off at a dinner tonight and chris christie, a lot of attention as to how damaged he is going to be in the eyes of these big donors including adelson. scott walker is also heading out out there. it's the republican jewish congress which is heavily dominated by adelson's money. two years out an event like this would be sponsored by the party and shows how weak the party is and how powerful the rich people like adelson are and look at what he is looking for in these candidates and other big money. a lot of talk in recent days, "the washington post" had a good article yesterday he is now looking for electability. >> if adelson looked at newt

gingrich last time who will he look around this time? word he will not pour so much money into a leader who can't lead. >> he may fi jeb bush appealing. i think one of those articles i mentioned was talking jeb bush. he will look for candidates with an ability to move beyond the base. that is one of romney's problem he couldn't move around the base. john kasich has also shown that leadership in ohio. >> also some chatter whether facebook sheryl sandberg could be president. you have a piece up on that. is this real or just fun to talk about? >> i think it's more something fun to talk about but the chatter got started by rob cox with reuters breaking news. he makes a good point which is

normal attention about sheryl sandberg and a cult hero with her book "lean in" and a billionaire from facebook but he says it's time for her to lean out of facebook. if she wants to be a political leader she has to run a company and not coo as she is at facebook. she has to be ceo and start positioning herself as top dog. >> she is an impressive accomplished and see if she will join politics. two of the best nba teams played a lot of the night likely a preview of the eastern conference finals. we have your sports next. salesperson #1: so again, throwing in the $1,000 fuel reward card

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time for some sports now. even if you're not a fan of basketball, last night's heat/pacers game was must see tv. both teams likely to see each other in the eastern conference finals because the conference is terrible after these two teams. the third period. what seems like a harmless play under the hoop a scuffle breaks out between dwyane wade and

lance stephenson. they exchange words and a preview of things to come. lebron james a big game. 38 points. step-back three over paul george. but paul george will respond. >> george stepping around james. oh, how do you do? >> in a word, explosive. paul george with a big dunk over lebron or past lebron. he finished with 23. fourth quarter things testy now. lebron takes a hard foul from luis scola and cotton up the schnauz. on the other end, james sticks his elbow in roy hibbert's face and hibbert had trouble standing up on his own after the play. this is true playoff basketball. west a dagger from beyond the arc. pacers beat the heat and heat struggled down the stretch. let's go to football. a ruling that could begin to

change the way we talk about college athletes in the ncaa. the national labor relations board has ruled a group of northwestern university athletes can be considered employees and allowed to unionize. they can hold a vote whether they want to be represented. the group that brought the case to the board said after the ruling, quote, the ncaa invented the term student athlete to prevent the exact ruling that was made today. the reality is players are employs a employees. the ncaa expressed disappointment as you might inspe expect. >> hopefully, this is the end of the hypocrisy of the ncaa. >> it is a factory for the ncaa.

it's schools we all cheer for. >> just because they profit so much. >> oh, my god! they profit so much! >> millions and millions of dollars. >> the players get nothing. >> figure out something. yes, figure out something at least some way to take care of these kids and they are great examples. these kids are great two or three years. their legs get snapped in half. >> sacrifice the academics. >> at the end of the day work at gas stations the rest of their lives. they need to figure something out here because they are making so much money off of these 19-year-old kids. >> guarantee their scholarships until they graduate. if they get hurt and can't play any more, they don't get thrown out on the street and you have to pay them millions of dollars. either stipened or let them get jobs. >> a guy who is great player,

let's say, at the university of georgia. his parents live in california and they are poor and never seen him play live? really? you can't figure out he is making millions and millions and millions of dollars for your institution? he can't figure out a way to get his parents to fly back? he doesn't have enough money to have them come see the game? it's ridiculous! >> there are universities that have professors that kids go for free. why can't they help kids that make them shine. >> the minute they jump out of the way, the ncaa comes in and snaps them. >> ohio state thing is still one of the most ridiculous things i've ever seen in my life. >> travesty. >> they are trading jerseys for a tattoo? >> it's their jerseys. crazy. >> give me a break. they make so much money.

they are not treated like students. >> right. >> you know? they need to be taken care of. >> amen. let's go to baseball. chicago fans haven't had much to cheer for in recent years. the cubs and white sox not so great but the white sox front office giving fans another reason to come to the game. a 12-scoop, 3-pound banana split sundae. >> yes! >> offered by vendors at the stadium. >> wow! >> oh, my gosh. a full sized batting helmet! and it costs -- >> that is a full-sized batting helmet, willie! >> remember the little batting helmets you would get as a kid? that is a game batting helmet. >> holy cow! >> that looks delicious! >> it looks great! $17 that will cost you! the sox vp. sales and marketing said it should feed a lot of people. we think people will go home and with and remember their time at the ballpark. >> i feel sick. >> sure. a couple of fans will try to

crush it alone but we are hoping it's for a family. that is from a spokesman of the white sox. white sox have a long tradition and this might be in their favor. >> this is a good one. finally, a tradition to have the winning teams in each sport to visit the white house and congratulated by the red sox. the boston red sox will show up in style. this is a picture tweeted out by the red sox. the patriotic blazers were ordered by jonny gomes, a player on the red sox. it appears he may have ordered one, in fact, for president obama himself. the red sox are scheduled to visit the white house next tuesday. >> they are? wait. >> they may be rocking those. >> i'm calling valerie. i want to go. >> you're going? >> of course he is! >> yes. coming up next, more coverage --

>> i'm calling her right now. we have to go to that, joe. are we busy tuesday? >> the president's visit with the papal. president jonathan martin will join us on the set. here is our second quiz question of the day. what was the name on joe's alarm clock on morning jolt? watch the full video at morningjol morningjolt.msnbc.com and tweet your answer. we will be right back. ♪ does anybody know what time is it i can't imagine we all have time in to cry ♪ ♪ i was walking down the street one day ♪

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a live look at the vatican as we cover the president's visit abroad. joining us now with more on president obama's historic trip

to the vatican, father james martin. author of the new book "jesus, a pilgrimage." a pleasure having you on the set covering this for us this morning. >> thank you for having me. >> this pope is amazing. >> he and president obama seems to enjoy him too. he said i greatly admire you when the two met. all smiles. >> before we talk about the pilgrimage that obama made, let's talk about your book and they are selling a lot. >> the life of jesus christ, it's an epic journey. tell bus your journey putting this book together. >> it's a life of christ and pilgrimage, i took them to the holy land and historical

reflections what this means to your life so i put them altogether in that new book. >> talking about jesus's pilgrimage. remarkly lived to be 33 but the ministry was only three years, and it was in an extraordinarily limited area geographically. yet no one man has changed the world more. >> that's right. he starts his ministry late in life. spends the first 18 years of his adult life as a carpenter in nazareth and 30 was pretty old back then. the most important man who ever lived and christians believe still lives. >> what impressions of jesus christ do you think are out there, father, that you want to maybe not change, but reshape or clarify? what should we know about jesus? >> that's a great question. i think god pretending to be human or a human pretending to be god. i want to remind people he is fully human and devine and

something we have to grapple with. >> he is a jesuit. there are elements of this pa r papacy that reminds us of pope john 23rd. what are your views of today's meeting and the importance of this pope with this president? given the president's background as a catholic social worker? >> i think that is a very good analysis as "time" article pointed out he had his roots. two first's, you're right. first latin american pope and first african-american pope but we have a lot of common interests, for example, poverty and reducing war in different trouble spots but i think it's very significant and the fact they are all smiles i think means obama is happy to be there

with somebody who has such a high approval rating as well. >> jon meacham in tennessee, he can attach this to latter stages of the french and indian war. >> which is a very important point. >> he was about to do it! >> i'm glad you raised that because we have not talked about the empire this morning and i'm glad we have a jesuit here to bring some sanity. >> do you have a question, jon? >> i do. father martin, talk, if you would, about reagan and john paul, ii. president reagan and john paul, ii had common interests in european and cold war politics. how do you see the analogy with what is happening today? >> i think it's a good question. both worked closely together to end communism. before that you have john 23rd working behind the scenes to

help work with the cuban missile crisis. i don't think pope francis has been in office that long to develop a strong relationship with the american president. but they have common interests in reducing violence in different trouble spots. i rath syria and ukraine will come up and on the other hand, it's today it was a 50-minute meeting and i think their time was rather limited and we will see where it goes. >> obviously, great differences between the two men. >> absolutely. >> but they are trying not sweep that to the side but focus on the things they still can work together on. but talk about how fascinating it is that pope francis has the approval rating he has, yet, theology hasn't shifted yet in the church. it's more of an attitude and open to see if his theology is the right now as benedict's and the popes that have preceded him. >> i think what will change is

his stance and his tone and the way he speaks, for example, to gays and lesbians to atheists and a change in stance and tone is a change. people feel more welcome. >> you mean the people other religious leaders cast aside? >> that's right. >> one of the great, you know, comebacks jesus had to the religious leaders of the day when he said, you know, i didn't come to heal the healthy. i came to heal the sick and to bring hope to the hopeless and those. isn't that what is so remarkable about this pope, that he captures the spirit of jesus christ's ministry that way? >> that's very well put. he is going out to the marginalized an not only that in the world and poor and forgotten but people who feel marginalized in the church. >> father james martin, thank you so much. the book is "jesus, the

pilgrimage." comeback. we would love to you you on. our next morning jolt quiz question is this. father, may you have the answer. how many different "morning joe" regulars are in the subway scene? head over to morningjolt.msnbc.com and watch the original video and send us your answers on twitter and facebook at #morningjolt. ♪ a can do optimism that helps me succeed. you know, maybe that's why i enjoy so many mornings where i don't hit a single red light going into work. once i'm there, everything is under control. ♪ >> we'll be there when you wake up. "morning joe," weekdays, 6:00 to

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councilmember what they a are -- do you know what they are doing here? won't let you transfer from apple to samsung. they try to own every part of you. >> it's a big mistake. >> i'm getting one this weekend.

>> they are pretty incredible. i kept trying to get my itunes songs i've been purchasing for years on another system and they made it so hard, i said, screw it. i went to rhapsody. i went online and went to these sites i never do but i wanted to hear it since i invested in the system, i couldn't do it. finally, apple made it so hard. >> if you force people to stay in a relationship, it breaks down. >> i was like to hell with it. i went to the music service. >> i got all of my sons movies on the ipad and it's the same thing. you paid so much money, you want to have it on a new system. >> they will figure out a way. apple is being too cute. i hope they enjoy it. >> coming up at the top of the hour, david axelrod will join the conversation. chuck todd is traveling with the president overseas. he'll with us too. we will be right back. [ male announcer ] this is jim.

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♪ as compared to 2010 the gop has done a better job at recruiting credible candidates. really? the republican had serious people like sharon engle and richard murdoch and a pair of google eyes. nevertheless this year, the gop has stepped up its game with even credibler candidates like

io iowa's joni ernst who is running on a platform everybody can get rined. >> i'm joni ernst and i grew up on a farm castrating hogs! >> joni, you had me at castration! >> she had me there too. i would like to book her. can we book her? she could bring some pigs. welcome to "morning joe." enough here. joining from us chicago is former senior adviser to president obama and director of the university of chicago's -- david axelrod. thank you for being with us. we were talking earlier. i think a lot of americans talk, if you about, will a guy who is a political adviser for some time, i think a lot of americans are like me whether they are republicans or democrats and they see the president telling europe to start carrying their fair share on the defense burden

and then they go, i remember something barney frank and i agreed with in the house of representatives. how much longer are we going to have the world's policemen what adolf hitler and the emperor did in the '30s and '40s? i'm sick and tired of europe getting a free ride to build their industries while we are building war equipment and the first time something goes wrong across the world they look at us and say what are you going to do? when we do it, they bitch about that too. >> can i draw you out a little bit on that, joe? i think you got a winner there. i'll tell you. i mean, this has long been an irritation to americans. we have got big burdens of our own and why we should carry those has been a real issue. we talked about in 2008. so, yeah, i think this was something that would resonate back here. but it's also in their self interests given what is going on in russia so hopeful those words

will mean something. >> we hear about this every time, mike, there is a bad actor on the globe, one of the reasons we went into iraq and why the french were sitting there blocking us every step of the way, we found out later, jacques chirac had dealings with iran. they have relationships with bad actors across the globe and something bad happens, we go in and our men and women who fight and die and our taxpayers who fund these wars and they bitch about it at the end of the day. enough is enough. build your armies and build your own defense systems. >> why isn't america doing more? where are the americans? >> when america does something, what do they do? >> if you travel to europe at all you see the rail systems which are state-of-the-art. you see their new airports. >> obviously what they spend money on. >> and the autobahn.

>> speaking of pigs. you got pigs like grazing on the front lawn and running through the concourses. >> that is a good one. >> those are the good runs! as the x-man just said, binge, i think we have a winner in terms of a topic here. >> enough is enough and i understand it after world war ii, david, yes, the german and the japanese signed agreements that stopped them from doing certain things, but it's time. it's time they build up. by the way, a strong japan with a strong military creates a balance of power in that region a lot better than american warship steaming over there every time north korea or china acts out. it creates actually a balance of power. the same with a strong germany and vladimir putin. woe look at the situation far differently if it wasn't just the united states against the world. >> well, the other part of the president's message that was important is -- goes to the other point you made which is

the economic integration between europeans and russia and they have to be willing to stand up and follow through if russia goes beyond where they are and into eastern ukraine and other countries. they need to be able to impose these sanctions. the u.s. is imposing tough sanctions but the president is limited if the europeans won't joan him so that was an important part of the president's message as well. >> mika, a lot of people in my party are saying now what has happened in russia proves that the united states has to spend even more money on national defense. i remind my friends, we spend more money in this country on national defense than the next 15 or 16 countries combined. the answer is not thate build more weapons to fight european wars because the europeans are spen spending their money on rail system and infrastructure and on beating us economically across the globe. the answer is let them also start building up their military

systems, because we're spending too much money on defense and we have been spending too much money on defense and that is because we are carrying the world on our shoulders. the president was right. enough is enough. >> so i can't agree with you more. could i respectfully challenge you a little bit on your party? >> you certainly can. >> because here is my question. to what you were saying at the top which made so much sense. >> i'll toss it to nicole and she will yell and everybody will tweet and we will have a great day. >> i'm serious. >> thank you for setting my role. >> better you take the bullets than me. i've been here seven years. go ahead. what is the question? >> it's about how you conflate with what you said with all of this criticism that republicans and even you in the past have given the president on issues of syria and ukraine and not being strong enough and the president, why isn't the president doing more? here he is calling out europe, because here he is saying on

issues like libya, syria and all of these world fires that need to be put out, we can't go it alone. we need collective effort. >> right. item >> it appears he is calling for that but a drum beat for months and months and months of republicans saying the president hasn't shown leadership. he should do more. let's go in and invade iran right now. i'm thinking of john mccain but also thinks that you've said. >> i'm glad that the president said what he said yesterday and i support that. when i can support a commander in chief certainly unlike harry reid i'm not going to insult the commander in chief when he is overseas. harry reid called george bush a liar. i think the president really touched on something that a lot of americans will agree with but just because i agree with it there, doesn't mean i agree with

his foreign policy the past three or four years and i will not be hyper critical about it but, nicole, you don't have to spend electrictrillions of mone weapons systems to stand up to vladimir putin. if you say assad must go and you draw three or four red lines. john mccain didn't put those words in the president's mouth and he didn't force barack obama to draw those red lines and back off. barack obama did that himself as commander in chief. that sends a message not just to assad and sends a message to putin and leaders in iran i consider to be our gravest threat with nuclear weapons being developed and a critique of his foreign policy. he has three more years and a lot can happen in three years. i'm hopeful we clean up some of the mess in the middle east.

>> maybe i deserve the twitter hate because i will ruin this cumbayah here. i think they make a good point as bob gates and former secretary of defense wrote in "wall street journal" that obama's response has been anemic. my question for david axelrod, do you acknowledge or do you see any connection between the president's unwillingness to enforce his own red line and what is happening in syria? >> what happened in the ukraine is that putin overplayed his hand and tried to -- and made 15 billion dollar bet he could buy ukraine rae from the europe union. the president took the deal and the ukrainian people rebelled and it got to the point where he became anxious about crimea, which is essential to russia and he rolled in there.

he overplayed his hand and improvised when it all went haywire. didn't go into crimea because of syria. i don't believe that for a second. let me just say one other point about leadership, okay? because i travel the world with this president when he painstakingly worked in bilateral meeting to get them to join in sanctions on iran. everybody is around the table and everybody is a big fan of sanctions. >> let's hear bvert heack and f here, david. >> a arm for my party has reported on president obama's lack of foreign leadership. s do you think it makes putin more skaed or less scared of the american president because this president refused to enforce red lines that he drew? >> first of all, i'm not going to sit here and say syria was

handled flawlessly. obviously, there were problems there and i'd be the first to suggest i don't think putin is acting because of what happened in syria. i think putin is acting because of his own national imperatives or as he sees his national interivs. >> i agree with you and -- listen. i'm trying to get beyond -- i'm just asking you from this moment forward, do you think that putin is more or less inclined to respond to a threat or an ultimatum from america after the president refused forces on his own red line or do you think it bears nothing at all on what putin does or thinks? >> i think the threat that putin that the european leaders follow the president's lead and takes strong economic steps if putin goes farther than he has and ratchet up the sanctions and strangle the russian economy and what putin has to fear. the president is doing the right

thing and taking the right steps in ratcheting those sanctions up. >> real quickly, nicole. didn't putin interject himself into the syrian situation so the president didn't have to cross the line? >> i agree with what the president is doing on sanctions and should do more of it. but the criticism is that we are weaker on the world stage because the president refused to enforce a red line about chemical weapons being used. >> nicole, here is what i know. here is a president who negotiated the biggest nonproliferation treaty in decades with the world. here is a president who said he was going to go after bin laden. joe mentions the middle east.

it's this president and this secretary of state who are driving this peace process right now. so i think his leadership is pretty clear in the world. >> what peace process, david? i'm not being facetious. what peace process? egypt is an absolute mess. you have the ambassador to the u.s. saying he needs to get more engaged with the peace process and dr. brzezinski is critical we are not engaged enough in the peace process. >> let me answer. the core problem in that region -- >> this is a president -- let's just say since we are going into this and i didn't start this but let's just say it. that this is a president who was hypercritical, hypercritical of the last commander in chief and how the middle east has hajsndl. you go around the middle east right now, it's a far bigger mess with far fewer friends of the united states today than there was when george w. bush flew back to texas. >> is there no doubt that autocrats have fallen.

there are movements that have taken twists and turns that are difficult and complex, but you asked me what process. i'm talking about the israelis and palestinians at the core of a lot of the tumult in that region and has been for decades. this president is driving that profits and languished for years under the past president and we have a glimmer of hope we can reach some resolution there only because of the determination of this president and this secretary of state to keep that alive. >> it's time for prayer in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit. joining us from vatican city, host of "the daily rundown." and somebody backpacking on spring break through europe. >> i understand that we are going to ask the questions in english and he is responding in latin. this is very exciting. he's an expert. >> you guys are not going to get me to crack jokes on holy ground

like this, okay? don't even try! after that little heated exchange between nicole and david, i want to say, some to st. peters square and take a deep breath and look up and enjoy the sights and everybody calm down. >> light a candle for us, chuck. what is going on in vatican city? >> i'll light a candle for everybody there. >> i need it. >> chuck, what is going on there? >> reporter: right now, the president actually is still here at the vatican. he a meeting that lasted for a little less than an hour, a private meeting with the pope. after that meeting was concluded, he and the larger american delegation met with the larger delegation from the holy sea with the secretary of state of the holy sea and where the more political and pointed conversations were taking place. my understanding in talking to somebody very close to the church's inner workings says the private meeting between the president and the pope is more

the pope acting like pastor and they would have general conversations, obviously, the president wants to talk about what they agree on and the pope might not necessarily whether the church disagrees. it's my understanding in this business meeting, if you want to call it that, that is taking place right now, that is where the more pointed conversations and uncomfortable political conversations between the two sides were going to take place. the vatican put out a press release yesterday where they emphasized this is a complex time between the vatican and the united states. that's not the way president obama sees it. he loves this pope's mecssage o income inequality. >> i think the pope gave the president a book. he gets right to the point on things. we should turn to jon meacham. he has a question. he does fashion himself to be a theologian. >> he is that of sorts. theologian, historian, warrior.

>> hot theologiatheologian. >> you had a question for chuck todd? >> as mika knows, outcoresman as well. that's important. >> yep. >> chuck, one of the big things that is happening demographically in the next 10 to 15 years we will become a protestant country. the catholic interest in the united states is becoming ever more important. how much of the white house's interest in engaging with the pope has to do with the domestic base here in the country? >> reporter: i think it's almost -- i think this is actually the -- going to be the most domestic day of the president' trip. he had an interview today with an italian newspaper. when the newspaper asked him the question what was he looking forward to speaking to the pope about, he went into a stump speech it felt like about the minimum wage and income

inequali inequality. you bring up a separate interesting point i think in the long term is going to make it so that i think a lot of politician are going to want to get close particularly to this pope. latin american pope, because the catholic population in the united states, it's big already. it's growing and it's growing because of the growing hispanic population in the country. you're seeing a demographic change of the catholic church inside the united states among american catholics that i think is going to make this pope somebody that a lot of politicians want to get close to. i do get the sense this white house believes this was the most important symbolic part of this trip for their own domestic politics. >> hey, chuck, do we know if the president had the opportunity to discuss the pope's bracket with the pope? >> okay.

>> reporter: are there any catholic schools left? they are all gone, right? creighton is out and georgetown didn't make it and no b.c. >> gone. >> villanova, gone. this is not a good year for catholic school basketball. >> chuck, i just was wondering if you've been spending any time with the secret service? there is more details emerging for the secret service after three agents assigned to president obama's european trip were sent home from the netherlands for drinking. supervisors reportedly already concerned about bad behavior after two agents were involved in a car accident when president obama visited miami. >> chuck's hometown. not a surprise. i think chuck is involved. chuck is in the netherlands. secret service guys on the hotel floors. >> amsterdam and -- >> south beach. >> what is the common thread here? >> reporter: i was going to say, these guys -- >> go ahead. >> reporter: well, look.

in all honesty, nobody is excusing this behavior but it appears it could be a problem inside specifically these counterassault teams. they are not the guys that are part of the personal details of the president or in charge of the security when the president is there. it does seem as if there is now suddenly a concern that there is a pattern of behavioral issues at least in this one unit in the counterassault unit and seems to be what we are learning more about. is it -- i've had some people say they are not so ingrained into the new secret service culture as the rest of the agents have been moved into. so i think more exploration of how to deal with this and what looks more not like an isolated incident of what took place in the netherlands. >> our thanks to david axelrod and chuck to do. we will be watching "the daily

rundown" after "morning joe." coming up, senator chuck schumer joins us to break down the democrats plan to keep control of the senate. we have some responses to our morning jolt quiz question. disturbing. our first question which was which brand of shoe was i wearing? erin got it right, louboutin. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there?

oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪

♪ the city streets are empty now ♪ >> we respect to pass a number of bills to improve manufacturing and energy and other things. we want to work with our

colleagues but we also are going to make crystal clear whose side each party is on. democrats are fighting for a fair shot for everyone. while republicans are doing the bidding of the koch brothers, the wealthy and huge corporations. those people already have a fair shot. middle class people need a fair shot. that's the distinction we will draw in november. >> that ask new york's senior senator, democrat chuck schumer yesterday. he joins us now from washington, d.c. here in the studio, the founder of next month's women in the world summit, tina brown. >> yes! i'm so excited about this. >> so glad you're going to be with us. >> i am doing a panel with rashida jones. thank you. senator, you guys unveiled a game plan for 2014. certainly much better than calling the koch brothers un-american. let me ask you how difficult is

it going to be for the democrats to maintain the senate, given the fact that so many of these seats that you guys are fighting are in red states that mitt romney won comfortably? >> the agenda we put together is for all time zones and all states. when you're red state, purple or blue, the middle class people are hurting. they worry about the future and their incomes are declining and what about good paying jobs? we believe that the fair shot agenda we have put together aims right at their concerns and if you still have that old-fashioned belief in politics that say positive things that make peoples lives better will make a difference this is the right agenda. i believe it will become the most important thing in 2014. >> so, obviously, as you know when you run 30-second commercials or even when you're on the campaign stump, you don't have that long to sell your program. so tell us in a minute or less, what is the key component of this package that you think middle class americans, swing voters, independents will most

relate to and believe that this will give them a better shot at the american dream? >> the average american even if he or she has a good paying job has a rough time paying for college, paying for child care, worrying about their retirement. the american dream, that torch is flickering. we are going to restore it. >> how? >> you need it restored. >> give me out. >> make college more affordable. 30 million people paying 8% loans and allow them to refinance and guess the rates of 3%. we are going to bring back manufacturing jobs here by taking away the tax breaks that create jobs overseas and giving tax incentives to bring the jobs here. we are going to provide some tax incentives. this is a republican idea, for child care. it's become so expensive with single families or double families with both people working they need to pay for it. these are things that average americans talk about around the coffee table, how am i going to pay for college for my kids and what kind of child care am i

getting and where will he find a great paying job. >> the past ten days the united states senate has gotten together and on the version of passing a package for ukraine to help defend the ukraine. in december, the united states senate began discussing an extension of emergency unemployment benefits that still has not happened. what do you do in the senate? take the word of urgency out of that bill? we now have a bipartisan agreement. this susan collins and dean heler and others stepped forward. we are going to pass it, either late this week or early next week. it shows if you keep at these issues as -- we will keep at our fair shot agenda we will get some republicans to come over because they resonate with the average american. >> nicole? >> senator, you've, obviously, got some dhaents are fielding questions from those voters that you identified, independents, women, people who are struggling to make end's meet and who vf

anxiety being kicked off of their health insurance plans because a lot of those same people are the ones whose plans have been cancelled. what the best advice for those feeling the heat from obamacare? >> about 85% of americans are not directly affected by obamacare. >> to the voter -- that is you -- to the voter that has anxiety. >> yeah, they have anxiety. it's drummed up by a lot of commercials that say they are going to be affected. >> so you just say it's not you? >> if you have -- if you have employer health care or you have medicare or medicaid you're not affected. that is 85% of america. that is why we think this agenda actually trumps health care. obviously, health care has got to be changed where it's not working but it is not going to be the dominant issue as much as our republican colleagues would like to make it by the time november rolls around if -- if -- if we do this right. >> senator, how much are you concerned that raising the minimum wage proposal is going

to result in even more people being sort of reduced to part-time labor? because this seems to be one of the big curses right now, the employment figures really are very misleading because so many people have their hours cut. >> employment is a big issue and income to middle class families is a big issue. the minimum wage is no longer just one person working. but many have two families working and one making above minimum wage, $30,000 and the spouse goes out and struggles on minimum wage and they can't barely meet end's meet. once you do that, that money goes into the economy and creates more jobs. so i believe it will be a job creator, not a job loser. >> senator, let me ask you about something i eluded to off the top of the show where harry reid is going on the house floor and

calling david koch un-american. you know new york city. you love new york city. i know you have a lot of supporters that know what david has done for the lincoln center and know what david has done for cancer research. talk all of the money he has given to this city as far as the arts go and as far as health care goes and as far as cancer research goes, it probably dwarfs his political contributions. do you associate yourself with harry reid's remarks that this man is, quote, un-american? >> well, let me say this, chuck -- joe. i know, chuck scarborough. what can i say? joe schumer. let me just say this. you know, when david koch does ads that say cut government and you cut nih, far more about cancer research is hurt than the good he does which he should get credit for giving to charity. private charity cannot deal with

the major problems we face as good and noble as -- >> but, senator, can't we have a disagreement how charity is funded without calling somebody un-american? because i don't believe money should be funneled through inefficient bureaucracies? can't we have an agreement ho to fund private charities without calling somebody un-american? >> let me say this. hin is not efficient. >> i'm talking about every american, senator. do you think david koch is un-american? >> david koch's commercials, which are huge amounts of money, i think they should is not be allowed. >> do you think he is undu undunn-american? >> the commercials he runs are not part of the american mainstre mainstream. no two people should have such a huge influence on our politics. that's not first amendment. >> a million dollars out of san francisco or move on dot org?

i'm asking a simple question here and i have respect for you. do you think david koch is un-american or should harry reid apologize? >> i think the commercials he is running are against the american grain and un-american, yes. i'd say that about -- i think what harry reid was saying was the actions are un-american and they are and they should change. >> so you think david koch's actions are un-american? do you think david koch is un-american? >> in running those ads, absolutely. in giving to charity, no. in running those ads, absolutely. >> well, that is clarifying. hey. congratulations on yesterday. and i hope that works out well for you guys. >> thank you. appreciate it. >> tina, listen. i disagree with so much that george soras has done through the years as far as his political giving goes, but

george -- there have been conservatives that have been visions attacking george soros. made the money. he has a right to spend that money in a way that he thinks is best. i would much rather him get involved in the political process than buy 300-foot yacht and sail around the world. what is wrong with this? whether you're on the left or the right? >> i think the koch brothers should spend their money exactly as they wish when it comes to free speech and doing what they doing and it behooves the other side to come back with very persuasive arguments. i think this bitter rhetoric is much more about people's frustration and rage in a sense of the domination of money in our political process. there is just a sense that donors own it and that donors own the media they can buy. they own the people that they fund and that, in a sense, a declining feeling there is any kind of freedom of speech or action because the donors own it and i think you're seeing

increased bitterness against individuals like koch. >> it's one thing if somebody shouts it out on the street or says it on a cable news show. it's another, if the majority leader of the united states is calling somebody un-american. joe mccarthy has revived all of these years later for calling people un-american. and, yet, this is an obsession with harry reid. nicole? >> listen. i would have preferred that george soros -- instead of pouring the money through george w. bush. we have freedom of speech in this country. i think when you have someone like harry reid he forces people like senator schumer to stand by him when he is uncomfortable. he was very uncomfortable answering your question. of course the kochs are not un-american. you may disagree with what they are doing but it's within their rights and within free speech in this country. >> isn't this -- you have people like -- others describing the

attacks on rich as hitler-like, the third right, talking poise with the third right. it's insane. the way that people talk about each other is all just about getting that cable flavor that goes on all the time. >> tina, can you stay one more block? >> sure. >> there is something else i wanted to get to you about. we will be right back. we need it right away! we cannot let the fans down.

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tina and i are talking about her conference, women in the world summit, that is coming up. first of all, i'd like to see a

piece with the show on it, can we? >> that is fantastic but the evolving content as we sit here. >> exactly. i don't know what you guys were talking about. nicole is probably be constructive. >> first of all, tell us who is going to be there and what is happening and i think you and i should -- >> next thursday hillary clinton and christine le guard together. we have the ukrainian pop star who is coming and she will be fantastic. the next day jon stewart moderating a great panel what happened to all of these women since the arab spring. saturday is showing models to young girls and mika -- >> i'm bringing my daughters and hope they will learn something. >> samantha powell will talk and she is a role model. so we have this incredible lineup which is a mixture between how -- who are our role models today is a big theme and

also it's very much news driven. we keep putting in new content as mika and i were just doing now. we have also pussy rock coming. i hate to say that word on the air but they are coming. >> seriously, hold on a sec. you have pussy riot appear yot concert? >> and merle streep is coming. >> that is incredible! >> so the ukrainian pop star? >> i want to bring her to the show. >> that would be great. can do you that? >> absolutely. she is a woman who actually was an mp before she was a pop star. she was part of the orange revolution and she sang to the protestants. that will be the diplomatic incident to have russia and ukraine. >> that might be a problem but we will talk about it later. coming up next, weeks away from the premiere of final season and "time" magazine has a look at the critically acclaimed

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♪ with us now to reveal this week's cover of "time" magazine one we love managing editor nancy gibbs. who is on the cover, nancy? >> we were able to send our great tv critic behind mad men as they get ready their last season. it is fascinating how you have television now acting in the way that literature once did that movies once did. this is really where a lot of the great energy is centered. he talked to the creator. he talked to the actors. it's a fascinating piece about how they brought this period to life in the way that they did. >> it's unbelievable. i've been following it since the

first episode. amc sent us the episodes and it's incredible. you, nicole, are obsessed? >> i am. i watched it shortly after it started. i may have missed the first season but i heard these guys talking about it here. i felt in love with "first detective" on hbo. i know "breaking bad" had a lot of followers. >> incredible. what lineup. >> unbelievable. >> it's the cast. i think it's the obsession with authenticity. i was amazed. jim explains when is there a stack of papers on someone's desk, those pages were typed on an actual typewriter. on the rolodex are actual rolodex cards with klondike numbers. if there is an episode that has to do with a certain date, they look at what the weather was like that day.

>> the television news coverage is always accurate. >> i keep looking at these pictures. mike, one actor or actress after another, i love them all. they are fantastic. and perhaps one of the greatest revelations through this series has been the young girl that has played sally. i've never seen a child actress come close to what she has been able to do. >> the acting and the writing and one of the more interesting elements of "mad men" the fact it points out, almost better than anything in show business, the fact that the culture of writers and actors is way ahead of the culture of executives of the film business, tv business, movie business, because mad men was on the boards for about 1998, '99. matt wineer couldn't get it produced or on. he went to work with david chase writing "the sopranos." that was the advent of television as we know it today with stories, full stories,

great writing, great acting that is buried commercial tv. >> and movies. burying movies. >> it changes the way we watch television now. >> yes. >> where now if you missed when it began, which in this case was just a few months after "the sopranos" went off air people will say i'll get lost in a series for a weekend and binge watch and we do that. if did you that you can learn which are important and worth your time. >> you look at that. show the clips again. you look at the changes have happened from season one through the season where now i guess maybe it's in '62, '63, through '67, '68 now. all of the radical changes culturally that happened throughout the 1960s. look. look at that look there compared to how they started. what is most fascinating is joni remains a character that is a rock who still dresses the same

and who still acts the same and who still ties all of these people together. >> yeah. i love it. i love what you just did, nancy. you looked at nicole and said, are you binge watching? i think it's a new condition. we are going joby preparing to jump off the mount summit. what's more risk? >> i'd rather sit down here, actually. for over a decade

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it's a pinnacle for me. i'm going to land it. boom, boom, boom. this will be the most sophisticated, the most complicated project in the world. 50 different ways to die on that rock, and pick one. and then there's the jump itself. you have to get it perfectly right and be willing to risk your life. this is the jump of all jumps. ha. this is everything. >> what are you doing?

stop! >> we got chills watching the promotional clip. that's for discovery channel's everest jump live that will capture joby ogwyn's jump life. he's jumping off the peak of mount everest, and he joins us now. tell us exactly what you plan to do in may. >> basically, i'm going to make an expedition to mount everest. i'm going to climb to the top. and then change from my big down climbing suit into my wing suit, and jump off and land at the base camp. >> you make it so simple. i'm going to jump off and land at base camp. >> couldn't a helicopter just take you up? >> i wish they could. >> this isn't a parachute. you're just jumping off the top of mount everest. >> the suit i have is different. it's what we call a tracking suit. it's a smaller version of the wing suits, but it's specifically made for my everest

project. >> how many times have youen institutionalized? [ laughter ] i mean, this is not the first time you've climbed mount everest. alone, you've climbed mount everest alone prior to this. >> three times i've gone on everest. and each time i've been really alone. i've done solo, like speed-type climbing. so this will be the first time i actually have a whole team and really supported. >> tell me about the danger or having to pay attention to the wind currents at the top of mount everest as you jump. >> well, i'm pretty lucky. the wind conditions lend itself very well to what i want to do. it comes from the same direction, and usually if it's good -- >> all the time? >> all the time. >> you'd hate to climb all the way up, and find out later it smashes you back into the rocks. >> yeah, trying to avoid that. >> that would be a bummer. >> yeah. well, you know, the mountain pierces the jet stream, so the jet stream is always coming in -- >> oh, okay. all right. >> joby, where does a guy from

shreveport, louisiana, get this edge to run up the side of mount everest and jump off? >> i think part of it is was such a flat state, i was looking for something different. >> you went the other way. >> yeah, i went the opposite. yeah. >> we hear people decide -- you know, trying to climb everest and people dying on climbing everest, because they're not prepared to go up. talk about the first time you went up there, and the challenges, and, i mean, again, doing it by yourself, that sounds insane. >> it does sound interesting probably to most people. the first time i went was in 1999. there were very few people climbing in those days. there were a few little teams. we didn't put in a lot of the infrastructure that you put in the mountain now. it was a very different type of climb. i had to battle my way up there. the oxygen systems they had were russian, didn't work very good. now, you have a lot more people climbing, which adds danger to it. there's a lot of people up there. every year, people die. >> yeah.

it's incredible. we were saying the average time to get up and down mount everest is about a week for the average person. >> how long did it take us? >> a month and a half. >> i got to say, we smoked the whole way up. it was -- you know what? with the air vent -- >> joby, correct me if i have the time wrong, went up in nine and a half hours. is that right? >> that's it. from the base of the summit to the -- >> that's a jog. >> did you -- >> he jogged up everest. incredible. i cannot wait to be a part of this. everest jump live will air on the discovery channel coming in may. joby, so good to have you with us. good luck. >> thank you very much. >> coming up next, full coverage of president obama's meeting of pope francis when we come back. mine was earned in korea in 1953. afghanistan, in 2009. orbiting the moon in 1971. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance

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♪ good morning. it's 8:00 on the east coast, 5:00 a.m. on the west coast, as you take a live look at new york city. we have mike barnicle, thnicoll wallace. jon meacham. the president is wrapping up his aud yenience with the pope. they arrived for the private meeting at st. peter square. secretary of state john kerry and the president followed rows of long hallways. they met and shook hands and posed for photos in front of rows of cameras.

they sat the pope's desk where the two spoke briefly in english, and the president told him it was a great honor and that he was a great admirer of the pope. the president also briefly discussed his meeting with the pontiff's predecessor, pope benedict. and while we don't yet know what they might have discussed, both have championed in the past income inequality, but lately, the white house and the church have been at odds over reproductive rights, so we can talk about that, as well. the pope, also, joe, gave the president a book. it was very symbolic. i love this pope on every level. he goes right there with everybody. so the conversation can actually start halfway through it instead of, you know, with the pleasantries of, you know, whatever it takes to back into a conversation, whether it be about gay marriage or bioethics or abortion. you can have a real conversation with this man, and that's exactly what i think they're doing now. >> there's a huge amount of

symbolism involved in this morning's meeting. he had two figures, two pivotal figures in history. the first african-american president meeting the first latin american pope. both of whom, their arrivals in office and in the papacy are historic and kind of surprising. barack obama's election, the pope's selection, and the background in dorothy day type social work in chicago gives him the basis for a conversation that is important to the world, as well as to the united states. and the differences that they will obviously have will be interesting for them to -- >> i think the backgrounds leave the basis for a real connection potentially. >> i think popes always find a way to connect with american presidents. it gets back to the point you just made. they're savvy like that. i think in seeking out and sharing this past of president

obama and the history of social service, the pope trying to lay the ground for it. >> in the navigation of their two offices, the president of the united states arrives in office in january 2009 in the midst of a huge international economic crisis. >> right. >> the pope arrives in the seat of the holy see at a time when the catholic church is going through tremendous turmoil because of the priest pedophile scandals. so they have a lot in common, as well as disagreements. >> jon meacham, the president's visit comes, of course, at the end of a remarkable year for this pope during which he has said things and done things that have changed the way catholics feel about their own faith, and the way noncatholics -- >> in a matter of month. >> -- and he did so quickly. >> pope francis had a much better first year than president obama did. he might be looking for some pointers. i think this is the third time in the last 50 years where you

have an american -- you have a pope who has a particularly resonant role in american political conversation. you had john xxiii who faced the times when the prevailing culture was changing, president reagan and john paul ii confronting the last stages, v initiating the last stages of the cold war. and now two figures culturally in their own context who are coming together to see what they might be able to bring to issues of common certain. the enduring relevance of the catholic faith to our american political life is really remarkable. >> it really is, especially you look at this pope, mika, who has approval ratings that every american politician would die for. >> oh, my gosh. >> we showed you a second ago, something like 55%. >> -- living his life in a way that people are fascinated by

and drawn to. >> he's a fascinating guy. and i love him. i absolutely love him. i wonder, though, what it says about his predecessors, or at least the church, that he takes -- he's taking small -- he's making small, you know -- i'm not being negative at all. >> no, no, no, no. >> it's just the soft touch that he's used and going out and doing the things and being far more christ-like than a -- >> as a catholic, i'll say what it means about his predecessors. some of them haven't been so good, and some of them down on lower levels have pushed what has been a massive crisis of sexual abuse under the rug. but there is one predecessor that this pope reminds me of, and that's pope john paul ii. he has a warmth, kindness, openness, a sense of inclusion that literally oozes from his very being. when you are with him, or when you see him, you want to be with him and you want to be a part of

his following. that's pope john paul ii, and everything from his physical appearance to the way he lived his life -- and even the way he died -- was an example for the world. >> and, you know, nicolle, there are also a lot of things that people will focus on that these two men disagree on. they disagree on a lot. the catholic doctrine has not changed radically at all. >> right. >> since francis became pope. and, in fact, the supreme court this week is actually, you know, chances are good -- heard an argument that will end up knocking down a pillar of obamacare, but at the same time, these two men are trying to figure out what to focus on what they agree on moving forward. >> and what's revealed is the enduring appetite, not just in this country, but around the world, for people who stand up against hypocrisy.

one of his most popular early moves was to take a stand against the opulence of the church, to live a more humble life and focus on the poor. i think obama at his best had a message about serving people in this country who, you know, were not reaching or achieving the american dream. but i would say, i remember president george w. bush meeting with pope john paul when he was contemplating stem cell research. and the pope had a very profound impact on his ultimate decision. that is quite rare. and so to see if -- they always influence a president personally. there's something about the power and the majesty and the humanity of the president sitting with a pope. whether they actually effect a policy is always the most interesting thing to follow in the days and weeks to come. >> before arriving at the vatican, president obama spoke in belgium yesterday. the president offered a full throated rebuick of russia's advances on ukraine saying the

borders of europe cannot be withdrawn with force. >> russia's violation of international law, its assault on ukraine on territorial integrity must be met with condemnation. not because we're trying to keep russia down, but because the principles that have meant so much to europe and the world must be lifted up. understand, as well, this is not another cold war we're entering into. after all, unlike the soviet union, russia leads no bloc of nations, no global ideology. >> john, this was a strong speech. it was kind of a point-by-point rebuttal to what vladimir putin had said about the united states over the last couple of weeks, including the claim that president putin made, how can america preach to us about going into crimea when they went into iraq? president obama takes that on and says, this is nothing like iraq. we didn't claim it, hold a referendum and annex that piece of land. i thought it was interesting he

held a rock up as an example for his case. what did you make of his speech yesterday in europe? >> it's a really interesting speech. and if folks have time, they should read it. it's a really -- it's a history lesson about the problems of the 20th century recurring in the 21st, and there's an implicit admission, i think, that there aren't many good answers here. that we are appealing, to some extent, to principle and to the idea that when you try, as the president said, to redraw borders by force, it's the kind of aggression that gave us the wars of the 20th century, the terrible wars of the 20th century. i don't know if you all may know on the reporting front whether the president was scheduled to go to the world war i battlefield yesterday before the speech, but if that was added late, it was certainly a very important symbolish thing for him to do, because he had talked about how millions of lives --

or hundreds of thousands of lives were lost when figures in the european -- a broader history of the 20th century -- tried to do what putin's doing. all of which left us with a question of, what do you do about it when someone goes across a border and tries to exert influence in an aggressive way? and there weren't very many good answers. but it was, in fact, i think a really important history lesson about what happens when appetite gets the better of good sense. >> well, we're also -- it's so interesting what happened over the past 24 hours, because mecham, the president also took on claims of hypocrisy over america's handling of the iraq war, though he was a vocal critic during the invasion. >> -- russia has pointed to america's decision to go into iraq as an example of western hypocrisy, and i opposed our military intervention there.

but even, you know, in iraq america sought to work within the international system. we did not claim or annex iraq's territory. we did not grab its resources for our own gain. instead, we ended our war and left iraq to its people. >> and, mike, also he had a message for european allies. >> he did. after jon meacham accurately pointed out, the speech was a history lesson and a pretty good one. and later in the day, the president addressed nato and suggested -- didn't suggest -- he said freedom is not free and urged all the nato component members to increase the defense budgets, because many of them have reduced their defense budgets over the last ten years. and in order to, you know, deal with the soviet aggression, russia aggression, it was going to require them spending more in

europe. >> the thing is, not only over the past ten year, but my god, since world war ii ended. since 1945 we've been carrying western europe on our shoulders. and everybody -- i mean, whether it's western europe, whether it's japan, you know, people, our allies now, have been acting, nicolle, like history ended and they get a free ride off of us. i'm tired of people getting a free ride off of this country, in order a defense budget -- they love complaining about us, but you know as better as anybody, when anything happens in the world, everybody looks at us and says, what's the united states going to do about it? i'm sick and tired of having to spend tax dollars because the germans and the japanese and others acted terribly 70 or 80 years ago. it's time that they get their own -- spend their own damn money and defend themselves. [ overlapping speaks ] it's just -- we shouldn't have

to defend the free world so they can spend money on building industry while we're spending money -- >> i think you and the president -- >> on awesome trains, right? how awesome their trains are. >> right. you can build trains from jfk to midtown manhattan when you aren't spending so much on weapons systems like we are. >> so i think his message had an american audience in mind, as well, obviously, based on your good feelings about it. but i think that the concern -- the larger concern is that, has president obama done ongoing damage to the american credibility in the world by rendering an american red line meaningless? i mean, look, i think he had a day where people listened for a day. but does that endure? and underpinning that question is whether he has done lasting damage to american credibility by rendering the red line meaningless? >> coming up on "morning joe,"

we'll check in with politico's mike allen, plus behind-the-scenes scoop from two of stars of the grand budapest. have you seen it, willie? >> yes, amazing. >> don't you think this could be his best? >> it's right -- >> amazing. >> a visual spectacular. [ overlapping speakers ] >> no. >> you're right. tannenbaum is amazing. ru rushmore is amazing. mr. fox. our family favorite. >> the next "morning joe" trivia morning jolt trivia question, what kind of vehicle was i driving on my way to work -- sort of obsessed here -- with -- actually, the most fantastic car you could ever have. it was given to me. >> the full video at

morningjoe.msnbc .com. you have a real problem finishing the teases. here's bill karins. he has a check on the forecast. bill, when will it get warm? >> probably this afternoon will be better in the new york area. but not until the weekend. then it rains. i don't have any good news for you at all. let's talk about the big, huge storm yesterday. the huge wind event from much of new england. but it hit our friends in the canadian maritimes the worst, and they're dressed like us. they send out the storm chasers and meteorologists into the storm. look at these two. >> that's what i'm looking for. it's almost subsonic -- if you've ever been to a concert -- >> and boom, down they go. that must have been 100 to 120-mile-an-hour wind gust up there in nova scotia yesterday. they're okay, and they're fine. so i guess we get to laugh about it. as far as the storm goes, it's over. it's gone. the wind chills are still brutally cold. the sun is out and it's still in

cold in late march. very rare. the big warm-up is under way through the middle of the country. the warm air going up to canada. so it's about time. we switch to winds from the south, and that means we'll be warmer, but in the spring, that means you'll get thunderstorms and severe weather. so we jump right from snowstorm weather to rain and thunderstorms. this morning, we got a cold rain from chicago mixed with snow in michigan. this afternoon, we get some severe weather. little rock, ft. smith, springfield, maybe isolated tornadoes. definitely large hail and damaging winds. we've had very few tornadoes this year. so let's hope we keep it that way. we're at a record low pace, because it's been so cold and snowy. now we're heading into tornado season. st. louis, you're one of the spots with rain overnight. you could see some thunderstorms later on this evening. but with it, you're finally seeing some warm spring weather. "morning joe" when we come right back. salesperson #1: the real deal's the passat tdi clean diesel

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♪ let's take a look at the morning papers, shall we? "the houston chronicle." a construction worker is speaking out after this incredible video showed him dramatically escaping a fire. the man was dangling from a ledge as flames tore through the building. he escaped with just seconds to spare, with minor injuries. but he says all of the attention is not warranted, on him at least. >> i'm not the hero or nothing. i was just saving my own skin. the heroes are the firemen who risk their lives to help us. you know, save our property, and they're the heroes. i'm just a guy who's caught in a bad situation trying to escape.

>> and speaking of heroes, "boston globe" reports on two boston firefighters being remembered this morning after they were killed battling a fierce phi. the fire chief said it was the fastest moving fire he's ever seen, likely because of strong winds. it created an explosion creating panic for those standing nearby. 13 firefighters sustained injuries, but everyone who lived in the building escaped unharmed. mike barnicle, that was part of that terrible weather front that went through yesterday, obviously the winds took a terrible situation and made it much worse. >> joe, the two firefighters who died, i knew one of them, lieutenant ed walt. three children all under 10. >> no, no. >> mike kennedy, the other firefighter -- the firehouse that responded first, their firehouse, engine 33, in the back bay of boston. it is literally 200 yards from the finish line of the boston marathon. they were first responders a year ago to the marathon bombing. and we should, all of us, in

this country take a moment to realize every time the bell rings for people like this, you just don't know what's going to happen. but they respond. >> thank you, mike. we'll move on to the "seattle times" now. the number of people missing after saturday's catastrophic mudslide in washington has been lowered. officials in snohomish county now say 90 people are missing. that's about half of the initial estimate. however, the status of 35 other people is still unknown. officials found another body, bringing the death toll at this point to at least 25. and from "usa today," a new study from the cdc says about 1 in 25 patients going to contract an infection during their hospital stay. the number is down from the reported infections in 2007. the cdc says 200 americans die every day due to health care

associated infections. it's a real problem. it certainly happened to my father, picked up an infection. and when he did, in the hospital, the doctor we know said, don't know how long your dad's going to live, but he will die because of that infection and ultimately he did. >> yeah. "the new york post," males in north korea are about to find out what they would look like -- >> this is important. >> -- with king -- kim jong un's haircut. >> it's a good-looking hair style. >> what year was it when we decided to sport that hairstale? >> it was '74. >> exactly. it made us a huge hit at studio -- you know, at 51. >> when we landed at jfk, they went crazy. >> the girls were screaming. throughout the next few year,

jagger, bowie, they followed our lead. >> it's the way it goes. >> '51, crazy. show the "new york post," willie, if you can. >> decreed that 12 million of his countrymen get this haircut. >> i think that's -- >> really? >> yeah. >> you'd look really good -- >> that's a power move right there. >> yeah. >> whew! >> okay. >> all right. quite a plethora of different news stories. astronomers have spotted a planet 7 billion from the sun, nicknamed it biden after the vice president. the name is a coincidence. it's a full -- its full title is 2012 vp-113. i have absolutely no idea why they named it that. scientists hope it can provide clues as to how the solar system formed. >> or what's behind joe's personality. >> i have no idea on either of the questions, but we know a guy who does.

>> absolutely. looking at the politico playbook, the editor in chief. we went way up the ladder here. to mr. john harris. john, good morning. >> good morning. >> all right, so you've got a piece up about sheldon addleson. there are many presidential hopefuls going to vegas, and it's to meet with him. he poured almost $100 million of his own money into the 2012 campaign, got behind newt gingrich, singlehandedly kept newt gingrich in that race. who is aidleson looking at this weekend? >> this weekend, four days out in vague as at his hotel, the venetian. jeb bush will be out there kicking things off at a dinner tonight. also chris christie, a lot of attention as to how damaged he'll be in the eyes of these big donors, including, obviously, addleson. to me, what's notable, the official man is not really the sheldon -- the addleson primary.

too me, what's notable about this, an event like this, two years like this, would ordinarily be sponsored by the party. it shows how weak the party is and how powerful really rich people are. and we're going to be watching, also, for kind of what he's looking for in these candidates and other big money. a lot of talk in recent days, "washington post" had a good article yesterday, about he's now looking for electable rather than ideological purity. >> so if he picked newt gingrich last time as the guy he was kind of going to get behind, do you have any sense for who he likes this time? there's been some reporting he won't pour $100 million into somebody who can't win. where does that lead him? >> there's been a lot of buzz he does find jeb bush appealing, one of his advisors, i think in "the post" article was talking up jeb bush. what he's going to be looking for is candidates with a demonstrated ability to move beyond the republican base, obviously that ended up being

mitt romney's problem, he couldn't expand the electorate. jeb bush has a demonstrated record. so do other. john kasich, not mentioned a lot, has also shown that in ohio. >> there's also some chatter about whether facebook chief operating officer sheryl sandberg could be president. you guys have a piece up on that. is this real or fun to talk about? >> i think it's more something fun to talk about. that never stopped us. and this chatter got started by rob cox with reuters breaking views. he makes a good point, which is there is enormous attention with sandberg, a cult hero with her book, "lean in," and a billionaire from facebook. he said it's time to lean out of facebook, because if she ever really wants to be a potential political leader, she has to run a company. not just be coo as she is at facebook. she has to be ceo and position herself as the top dog, something for all of the publicity she gets. >> john harris, thank you so

much. up next, a tell of zeros. f. murray abraham and tony revalore join us. we asked people a question, how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪ don't worry! the united states postal service will get it there on time with priority mail flat rate shipping.

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>> i'm zero, sir, the new lobby boy. >> zero, you say? >> yes, sir. >> i never laid eyes on you. who hired you? >> mr. mosser, sir. >> mr. mosser? experience? >> hotel kitchen boy. six months. hotel berlitz, three months. >> experience, zero. the pleasure's mine. >> fully agree. >> education? >> i studied reading and spelling. i started my primary school, i almost finished -- >> education, zero. >> good morning, cicero, call the plumber. not now. family? >> zero. >> that was a clip from wes anderson's latest movie. joining us now on set, academy award winning actor f. murray

abraham and tony, who both star in this spectacular film. it was incredible. >> we have two zeros here. >> oh, zero. >> zero plus zero. >> zero, then hero. >> zero, then hero. >> my goodness. >> very good. >> you know, i'm such a wes anderson fan. blown away by everything he did. this, though, my god, every shot. >> every shot must have taken three days to set up. >> i take it that while he is so fun to watch, his movies, it has to be very exacting. >> i can't tell you, i don't know where this reputation came from, but you should be on the set with him once. it's very easy. it's really -- >> is it really? >> i'm telling you the truth. i have no reason to lie. i don't care what the process is like.

if the product is this, who cares? >> right. >> but this was easy. >> so talk about the movie for people who haven't seen the movie yet. set it up. it starts in 1968, goes back to 1932. it's just extraordinary. >> it's like a confectioner's, like a light, delicious, deelectable pastry. when i saw it, i wanted to see it again. i haven't that way in a long time. >> talk about your character, if you will. we're not going to ruin -- we're not going to ruin the ending. talk about your characters introduced at the very beginning and -- >> this guy i play is a storyteller, but he's lived this extraordinary life, and ended up not being cynical, which is so important these days. we need that. >> again, we won't ruin it. the reason he stays there at the end is beautiful. >> yes. >> such a soft touch. >> it's all connected with this

man who plays me as a young, young boy. and his love for this woman. and that's what we're talking about. this finally is a love story. >> in the end. >> so talk about the entire process, what it was like working for wes anderson. i've got to say at the end, what was it like sitting down in the theater saying, oh, my god, being a part of this remarkable adjant? >> it was a wonderful process. he has these storyboard animations he creates. so he knows how the movie will be cut and how it's going to look. and so, it's wonderful to be able to work with a director who knows what he wants exactly. >> he knows exactly -- >> you can tell. >> every scene. every shot. >> the placement of -- >> every pen in that cup. or if you read the newspaper, he wrote every single article in that. and it's a real article that he created.

it's amazing how much detail goes into his movies. >> let me give you a quick example of his acumen, what he wants. when they first put my costume on, the first thing he said was, the pockets are too big. the pockets are too big. >> yeah. >> i love it that you were running away from the newspaper stand. again, this is just the crazy attention to detail. you're running away, and i let out a laugh, because this mythical country, zobrovka, newspaper of record, in the background, and just the details all over the place. >> yes. absolutely. it's wonderful to be working with him. >> i've got to say, the detail of young zero's character, you actually drew on your own mustache? >> i did. >> how did wes let you get away with that and not draw it on himself -- >> a part of him. >> exactly. it's a part of me.

we first had the makeup artist draw it on, and he says, no, no, let tony draw it on from every morning on. i drew it on myself. >> you see it in the movie. harvey keitel slapping you until you get it right might make you good, right? >> yeah. >> exactly. >> how does that happen? tell us about that. >> that was -- i didn't know he would slap me. they had been shooting in this prison, the whole prison sequences, and over there they talk about this scene when they're leaving and going to hijack the bus. he said, oh, when you say bye to zero, slap him. give him a good, hard slap. i wasn't there. on the day, we're there, on set, take one, clap, action, slap. and i saw -- the surprise on my face was so genuine, i didn't know what to do. i was -- i thought, you know, was this improvised, and then, wes is, like, great -- he said, wait, you knew you were getting

slapped, right? >> fantastic. poor thing. >> what kind of education is this for for the rest of your career to have a launching pad like this? >> it's much like a master class. to be able to work with amazing people, you know, a great director like wes anderson, someone as wonderful as bob yeoman on the camera, and my fellow actors, cast and crew, working with tilda swinton, or working with ralph fiennes, as well. we never got to shoot anything together, but it was great to see him on set. >> talk about, if you will, talk about the nostalgia of this movie. and your character specifically. i love what jude law asks you about why you stayed and was it talking about just the nostalgia for his world, and your line was just priceless. >> this is the kind of film you go through that terrible war that they did, and the world still survives, with style, with

verve and with adventure, with blood and pleasure. that's what this represents for me. it's very positive, with a cynical underpinning. but really, it says, go on, we can do it. we can make a better world. i believe that. >> the last time f. murray abraham was here, thomas, he brought his granddaughter. >> we heard. >> mika promised a dog. >> yes, did she get a dog? >> no. >> what? >> you're not saying it, oh, there she is. she is a natural, by the way. >> you're wearing the same shirt. wait a minute. >> consistency. >> that was, like, a year ago. >> this is the show i wear for your show. >> what a way to judge, because i wore the same sweater through november through march. >> you're like my dad. the brand, budapest hotel in select theaters now. f. murray abraham, thank you so much. we'll be back with more "morning joe" in just a moment. i've always had to keep my eye on her...

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and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. [ female announcer ] neutrogena® pore refining cleanser. alpha-hydroxy and exfoliating beads work to clean and tighten pores so they can look half their size. pores...shrink 'em down to size! [ female announcer ] pore refining cleanser. neutrogena®. [ female announcer ] pore refining cleanser. (knochello? hey, i notice your car is not in the driveway. yeah. it's in the shop. it's going to cost me an arm and a leg. that's hilarious. sorry. you shoulda taken it to midas. get some of that midas touch. they tell you what stuff needs fixing, and what stuff can wait.

next time i'm going to midas. high-five! arg! i did not see that coming. trust the midas touch. for brakes, tires, oil, everything. (whistling) yesterday, diddy announced is he changing his name back to puff daddy. >> what? >> it wasn't an easy decision for puff daddy, and he considered several other names. let's look at some of them. duff paddy. paddy diffie, laffy taffy.

"business before the bell" with michelle caruso-cabrera, one of the best names in tv, by the way. let's keep with the illiteration with the "cs." >> citi didn't pass the test. the fed says their plant plans aren't good enough. we'll have to see how the shares trade today. we'll be talking a lot about citi, because it's so widely held, one of the biggest banks in america. candy crush did not impress a game that went public. and a company that went public that makes games. the ipo did not impress, and there's a suggestion that we're seeing a real break in what we call the momentum stocks. things that, you know, you buy simply because you think they'll go up, because they're so hot at the moment. >> right. >> you know, stock like twitter is below the price it hit on its very first day of trades, so

we're seeing the air come out of the big, hot tech names. we'll be watching to see how they do. ukraine got the bailout from the imf. >> good point right there. cnbc's michelle caruso-cabrera. thank you. >> thank you. bob bowman is standing by. >> yes. >> coming into our shot right now. apparently, he will hook us up -- >> look at this. the greatest app -- >> -- with everything we need to know about major league baseball. new technology that will change the way you watch the game with your loved ones, kids. barnical's life has been changed just now. [ male announcer ] staples has everything you need

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fly ball, shallow left center, hayward coming, dives! did he catch it? yes! what a grab by hayward to end the game! >> holy smokes. >> so that was jason heyward making an amazing game-winning catch against the mets, but there's a whole new way to watch the game. take a look for yourself. >> look how far heyward had to go. >> completely laid out, right on the top of the turf.

a big league play. >> amazing. >> really is amazing. joining us to talk about the new technology, the ceo of major league baseball, the ceo. barnicle is about to jump out of his seat and pants for that matter. i'm trying to download it, but apple is telling me i forgot my password, typical. >> tell us all of the things available. you get the app, put it on your phone, stuff like that. what's available? >> this year, it will be more video highlights and the play tracking. what that play tracking does, if you go back to the heyward catch, the amazing thing was that jump, his speed of 18 miles an hour in 80 feet, but route of the ball, point to point, route to the ball was 97% efficient. he made no missteps. so we'll be able to show that to the fans, too. you and i as old baseball fans, we love defense. we love the leather. and so, watching that play and understanding, giving us more to fight about, argue about, who's

the better center fielder, the best shortstop, these statistics, the data will allow us to do that. >> all of the information you threw out about his track to the ball, running 18 miles per hour, that's all available now on this stuff? >> we've installed it in three stadi stadiums. citi field, minnesota, and milwaukee. they'll start making the data available to fans, so we give them more to argue about and have fun with. >> what do you have against camden yards? >> we have nothing -- we love every stadium equally. >> what about the orioles? why not at camden yards? >> american east will be one heck of a division. >> oh, look, it worked. i did it. that fast, as i remembered -- finally remembered -- >> you can watch games on it, too. >> you can watch the orioles right on there. >> excellent. >> spring training games. >> how will this help you tap into an already -- you know, the millennial generation, but barnicle is excited about it,

kids will be excited about it. how does it help you tap into the existing content but getting new fans? >> you know, look, the commissioner of the division, 14 years ago, that we should do something with digital media, long before any league, any media company, and putting it on the phone, whether it's a samsung or iphone, that's where teenagers are spending their time. the phone is with them 24 hours ada. for good or for ill, it's there. having content there, live content, unbelievable great video is where you need to be. that's where the kids will be. >> the app is free. we got the free app. but then there are ways we can yum grade to things? you can make revenue off of this at some point. >> yes, we can. >> all right. just wanted to make sure. i'm here for -- you know -- >> yeah, there's an opportunity to purchase the upgrade of the app for $19.99. same price for four years. so there's an opportunity to do that, and that's what most fans do in order to give live games. >> all right. tracking the orioles.

>> beat the streak is available? >> beat the streak is launching today. beat the streak, pick a batter, he gets a hit, you win $5.6 million. we've been doing it 13 years. and our press release says you're 5 trillion times more likely to beat the streak than you are to pick a perfect bracket. so we're hopeful, barnicle, you should play. >> i played last year. >> what was your highest streak? >> 32. >> good. bob bowman, great to have you here. what if anything did we learn anything, other than you need to download the free app? huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know bad news doesn't always travel fast? (clears throat) hi mister tompkins. todd? you're fired.

well, gotta run. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. is really what makes it slike two deals in one.he $1,000 fuel reward card salesperson #2: actually, getting a great car with 42 highway miles per gallon makes it like two deals in one. salesperson #1: point is there's never been a better time to buy a jetta tdi clean diesel. avo: during the first ever volkswagen tdi clean diesel event get a great deal on a jetta tdi. it gets 42 highway miles per gallon. and get a $1,000 fuel reward card. it's like two deals in one. volkswagen has the most tdi clean diesel models of any brand. hurry in and get a $1,000 fuel reward card and 0.9% apr for 60 months on tdi models.

there was a boy who traveled to a faraway place where villages floated on water and castles were houses dragons lurked giants stood tall and the good queen showed the boy it could all be real

avo: whatever you can imagine, all in one place expedia, find yours time now to talk about what we learned today. >> -- she's going to point at the camera. >> what's that sign mean? >> she's got. something we learned about today. mika, what did you learn? >> i learned if you go to morningjolt.msnbc.com, you'll see this thing we put together. i won't tell them about the other stuff. >> okay. >> yet. but joe wrote the music to this thing. it's amazing. >> well, thank you, mika. >> what he does, he keeps the conversation going. and then goes and makes musical. wait till you hear some of the songs coming up. >> how nice. she's being nice to me today. >> i learned that "time" magazine has some awesome pictures of my favorite show,

"mad men." >> what did you learn? >> we should read jim martin's book on jesus. >> yeah, we certainly should. thomas? >> i learned "mad man" joby will be excellent. the discovery project. >> only takes nine hours to get to the top of mount everest and ten minutes to get down. >> longer for us, like you said. >> cigarettes. >> a month and a half. we had the planes coming over. they had to pierce you down. >> chesterfields and -- >> chesterfields. stop for lunch. >> okay. wrap it up. i'm trying to be nice -- >> if it's way too early, it's "morning joe." who's next? >> kristen welker. it will change your life forever. "the daily rundown." i mean that. >>. >> the pope and the president. a historic meeting at the vatican for president obama, gifts are exchanged and smiles all around. but what did they say? we'll go live to vatican city. also t