developing now, general motors' new ceo mary barra is preparing to face tough questions over gm's handling of a safety defect that gm itself blames for 12 deaths and 31 crashes. barra is set to testify at a house subcommittee hearing that begins in a couple of hours. in her prepared testimony today, she will say, quote, i cannot tell you why it took years for a safety defect to be announced in that program, but i can tell you that we will find out. barra had an emotional meeting last night with 22 family members who have lost loved ones in accidents tied to the ignition switches. family members will be at this afternoon's hearing. meantime, crash victims and other family members just held a news conference on capitol hill. among those speaking, the mother of amber marie rose, the first known victim of a chevy cobalt defect. >> we are the people left behind

when a loved one got into a supposedly safe car, gm car, a car gm knew for years was dangerous and defect iive. our brothers, sons, sisters, mothers, brothers, wives, and husbands are gone because they were a cost of doing business gm's style. >> and starting in february, gm began recalling 2.6 million cars for faulty ignition switches. that can be jostled out of position, potentially disabling air bag deployment and cutting power to the engine. that's at the heart of what's going on here. however, gm's own timeline shows it knew about the problem as early as 2001. barra, who took over as ceo in january, is expected to be asked if gm knew it had a problem, why wasn't something done to fix it? she did apologize to the families she met with last night. >> something went wrong wrong

with our process in this instance and something terrible happened. as a member of the gm family, and a mom with a family of my own, this really hits home for me. >> joining me now, automotive reporter for the detroit free press. thank you so much, brent, for your time. >> hi, thank you for having me on. >> i want to play republican congressman tim murphy of pennsylvania, the chair of today's hearing, he was on "the daily rundown" on msnbc just a few hours ago. let me play what he said regarding the questions that will be posed at this hearing. >> apparently, they knew there was a problem with the switch. they knew it was not meeting their own specks, but they accepted it anyways, and then they moved forward along these lines and replaced it in new cars but didn't replace it in old cars. something terrible went wrong within this company. >> bret, something terrible went wrong that resulted in lives lost. we saw that image of those family members on capitol hill

and heard the stories coming out on the nightly news, for example, families who want justice here. what can mary barra say today to answer some of these key questions? >> well, i think what she's going to say today, and you covered it to some degree, she's going to apologize. she's already done that a number of times and since february, the company has acted quickly to get a handle on this situation. mary barra's gotten pretty high marks for how they've reacted since february, but, of course, as you mentioned, the real key here is what did they know back in 2001, back in 2005, when one of their engineers proposed a fix to the engineering to the ignition switch and how high up did that go? if it was buried, you know, in the mid levels of one of the largest companies in the world, that will be one thing, but if it can be shown that very high level executives knew about this problem and hid it, especially during its bankruptcy in 2009,

then that will be very big problems for the company. >> we know, for example, david friedman, the acting head of the national highway transportation administration is expected to pose some serious questions. specifically, as you pointed out, around 2005 when gm had received numerous customer complaints related to the ignition problems. as i said before, mary barra is the new face of gm. many wonder if the company will essentially try to hide behind her clean slate or will this hearing and these investigations dig deeper into people who were actually there when these decisions were being made? >> right, and mary's tenure at gm is both a blessing and could pose problems for gm. she's an engineer and has been in product planning for a number of years and has spent most of her career with the company, so while she is the new face of gm and took over officially as ceo in january, she is also a

long-time executive of the company and many people are asking the question of what she knew and if she knew anything years ago. but again, the general motors is a very large company with many people doing many things, and to what degree they can pin anything on her will be an interesting thing here. >> i should mention gm issued another recall yesterday, 1.3 million cars that may experience sudden loss of power steering, resulting in higher risk of crash, the 2004 chevy malibus and five other recalls, but back to the heart of this hearing. we learn more about the process we've all hard of recalls, you go in, get the repair, and hopefully move on with a fixed vehicle here. will this peel back the layers for consumers to understand how these recalls are discussed and handled or mishandled by, in this case, gm? >> well, you know, i've reviewed the prepared remarks that mary

barra plans at the beginning of her testimony. that's not really going to cover or peel back those layers, as you suggest. however, that will only be the first five minutes or so of this hearing, and, you know, what's going to happen is, she will be asked to explain in detail the process that the company used. the other thing i think i'd like to mention is, i expect mary barra to be extremely well prepared today. again, she was with the company in 2009 and in 2008, the last time gm's ceo, rick wagner, was in congress, that did not go well for the company when they were there with the other detroit three executives, so the company remembers this. and i'm sure we believe they will be well prepared for very tough questions. >> we'll see what happens in that hearing. greatly appreciate you joining us with information and insight. thank you, brent. >> thank you very much. nbc news has learned enrollment for health care under the affordable care act act is

on track to hit or surpass 7 million people. that number was the original goal set by the obama administration before the website woes of october and in november. now, the new enrollment numbers come after a massive surge of customers yesterday with millions of americans signing up online, on the phone, or in person at enrollment centers around the country. now, according to the hhs healthcare.gov, registered more than 3 million visits just yesterday. the call center received more than 1 million calls. those numbers tripling the previous record. now, according to a new "washington post"/abc news poll, more people now support the health care law than oppose it, that's 49% to 48%. that's a nine-point reversal in favor of the plan from november. and now that enrollment has ended, the question in washington is, how the law is likely to play in the months leading up to the midterm elections. joining me now, nbc news washington correspondent, peter

alexander. first, response or reaction from any of the republican leadership as it relates to this number. >> obviously, this is the most decisive issue, health care remains the most divisive issue in politics today. they say there's still a lot of unanswered questions about the law and independent analysts say pretty much the same thing throughout. they've said the 7 million number isn't as important as the breakdown between young healthy people and older, sicker people. we're waiting for those numbers. it's unclear what impact will be on premiums or how many people enrolled, versus signed up. these are the unanswered questions, but around the white house today, this is a day of celebration, as one person described it. this is a major comeback story. a lot of people, obviously, had written this off, tamron, months ago. we'll hear from the president 4:15 this afternoon, he's going to come before the microphones in the rose garden today to make some remarks. they want to have some of the

more specific numbers in hand before he makes those comments. >> we just pointed out the president will address these numbers, but we might hear from the president, maybe not strong political language as it relates to the midterms, but, peter, listen, you've got bill clinton telling democrats it's time to embrace it. now they have polling numbers that show at least 7 million people certainly were in need of health care and willing to wait online, both physically and on the internet and on the phone to sign up here. so will we hear or are we expecting a stronger president with some of these numbers and details to back the need or at least the desire for this affordable health care? >> well, as a senior administration official told me early this morning, they wouldn't talk about this as some form of vindication after the early challenges they had, but they really found it to be rewarding, as it was described to me, that there is now this tangible evidence that millions of americans do want access to

affordable health care. i think that's the message that you'll likely hear from president obama today. tamron, be clear about this. even though this was a good day, good series of days for the white house, one official telling me a short time ago, the numbers were bigger yesterday than first thought. 4.8 million people going to the website, four times the previous record that they had held. this is still, as we noted, an issue that comes down to your politics. about 80% of democrats support the law, according to a new gallop poll, 75% of republicans oppose it, so a lot of this is already baked into the conversation as we approach the midterms this fall. >> peter, thank you very much. now to the search for malaysian air flight 370. the search wrapped up for the day, 19 planes and ships combined in the indian ocean. 1,100 miles west of perth, australia. meantime today, we learned of problems early that set crews

back for days. katy tur joins us from kuala lumpur, malaysia. what are the latest on the delays as it stands, katy? >> reporter: there was a report today that said there was confusion in the coordination between the countries searching for the plane that led to three days of searching in an area hundreds of miles off course. we also learned today with the last words officially out of the cockpit were, we reported to you yesterday, that the transport minister refused to confirm the last words were "all right, good night," because they weren't actually "all right, good night." they were "good night, malaysian 370." this all coming after a pretty contentious news conference yesterday, and, of course, this wall street journal report and all of this is adding to the mistrust of the malaysian

government, how could they get something as seemingly simple as the last words out of the cockpit incorrect and why it would take so long to get the transcripts from the radio transmissions from the cockpit. there's a lot of questions why it would take that long, it's leading a lot of people, especially the families, that says the malaysian government is not being as forthcoming as they say they are. this, as well as new security measures in the malaysian airlines planes, they are said to not be allowing pilots to be alone in the cockpit, just one pilot alone in the cockpit. if one uses the restroom or leaves the cockpit, a cabin crew member has to go into the cockpit. that would suggest they are having trust issues with their pilots. malaysian officials refuse to comment on that. so far, nothing new on the investigation into the cabin crew or the cockpit crew, the pilot or copilot or anybody on the plane. we haven't heard anything about that in quite some time, also the search, day 25, they've been searching 1,100 miles off the

coast of australia, and so far, just as every other day, they have come up with nothing. tamron? >> thank you very much, katy, and the governor of washington state is asking president obama to declare a major disaster in his state, so victims of the deadly mudslide can get quick access to federal relief funds. the request includes money for funerals and mental health care for survivors and first responders. financial losses of the mudslide have topped $10 million, and right now, at least 27 people confirmed killed. still ahead, a heartbreaking mug shot, a homeless mom with tears streaming down her face after being arrested on felony child abuse charges. she left her kids in a car after going to a job interview. some say she never should have put her children in danger, others say she had no choice. up next, a woman who's raised almost $70,000 to help her. plus, gop congressman paul ryan says he has a plan to fully

balance our budget in the next ten years. as today's first read points out, democrats are ready to pounce. the major overhauls proposed. and health officials are reporting more cases of mumps in ohio, now up to 111 and it's one of the stories around the "news nation." join the conversation on twitter. [ children yelling ] [ telephone rings ] [ shirley ] edward jones. this is shirley speaking. how may i help you? oh hey, neill, how are you? how was the trip? [ male announcer ] with nearly 7 million investors... [ shirley ] he's right here. hold on one sec. [ male announcer ] ...you'd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. kevin, neill holley's on line one. ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪

man: i don't know...i forget. makes senit last time?ng. scott: hello, neighbors. man: hey, scott... perfect timing.

scott: feeding your lawn need not be so difficult. get a load of this bad boy. man: sweet! scott: this snap spreader system from scotts makes caring for your lawn snapcrackin' simple, guaranteed. just take the handy, no-mess bag, then snap, lock and go. to see a demo of the snap spreader, go to scotts.com. feed your lawn. feed it! anncr: visit scotts.com/goyard for the chance to win a $25,000 backyard makeover.

a homeless mother of two just released from jail but does not have her children back yet after a choice that proves just how tough situations can get for moms looking for work and have very limited choices. police say shanisha taylor left her infant and toddler in a hot

car in arizona for 45 minutes while she interviewed for a job. when the boys were discovered, allegedly crying and sweating, taylor was charged with child abuse. for police, though, this was a tough one. a scottsdale sergeant told reporters, "this is a sad situation all around. she said she was homeless, she needed the job, so it's just a sad situation." some strangers apparently feel the same. a fundraising site was set up to help taylor, and one week later it's raised nearly $70,000, but that effort is also the target of much criticism, comments on the site say the mom made a dangerous mistake and should not be getting handouts for it. joining me now, amanda bishop, the 24-year-old stranger inspired to launch the fundraiser. amanda, thank you so much for your time. >> no problem. >> i'm not going to get into the legalities of this, you're not a lawyer, you saw the story and wanted to do something about it. what was it that moved you to say, i'm not going to judge her,

but i'm going to help her. >> like everybody else, i think it was the picture. the pictures touched thousands of people all over america, all over the country. once i saw that picture, i decided to look into it myself, i checked out her facebook and all i saw were pictures of her children, posts about her children, how happy she was to be a mother. that convinced me, she wasn't a bad mom, just made a terrible mistake. when i was reading through the news articles, there were people asking, how do i reach out to her, how do i help her, how do i help this woman, so i looked it up and tried to see how i could start a fundraiser or effort to help her out, and came across youcare.com and set it up for her. >> was there something about the story you identified with? >> to an extent. i think more so from her children's perspective, i grew up in a home with a struggling mother and family, aunts, grandmas, who, you know, sometimes had to rely on other resources to help us out. >> you needed to -- they had to do what they needed to do. >> had to do what they needed to

do in order to help us, sometimes making wrong choices in the process, but either way, they didn't mean wrong. >> as we understand it right now, the children are with family members, but we don't know if those family members were available to sit. we don't know a lot of the details at this point, but what we do know, the scottsdale sergeant who said this is a bad situation all around, and we're waiting to get more information from the prosecutors, but some of the people on the website on the fundraising website were critical, saying that, you know, this woman is a child abuser, she put the life of her children in danger. we all have an opinion, doesn't make it right, but what's your reaction to those who have been critical of you and the website for raising money? >> i think it's easy for people who haven't been in a position like that who have to make a decision, do i want to be poor and not have a job and not be able to provide for my children, or do i want to take that chance to try and help my children, and

instead of judging her, i think more so people should focus on the fact that how do we change this so people aren't in this situation to make such terrible decisions like this? i don't think -- nobody's saying she's right for, you know, her choice. nobody at all is saying that. it's just a matter of what is more wrong here, the fact that she did this or the fact there are so many people out there being put in a position to make this decision or to make risks like this? >> it's incredible what you've decided to do, again, raising over $70,000 to help a complete stranger and bringing the conversation to a bigger scale, not just about this one mom, but what many homeless parents and decisions they are forced to make. >> single mothers. >> thank you, amanda. it's an honor to meet you. you hear a lot of people talking, but they don't do much walking. we appreciate it. >> thank you, appreciate it. >> thank you. it's a major issue in the midterms, equal pay for women.

up next, tammy baldwin joins me to talk about why women are making 25 20% less than men and her proposed legislation. plus -- did you hear that? yeah, those were boos. mayor de blasio of new york gets booed at an opening day game at citi field. did he say something? and here's a look at what's going on today. rutgers board of governors meets for the last time before commencement. we're watching to see if they discuss the controversial decision to have condoleezza rice as this year's graduation speaker, despite protests from some faculty and students. congress is expected to pass an aid package for ukraine that also imposes sanctions on russia for its takeover of crimea. and this afternoon, the fda testifies about concerns over its proposed changes to generic drug labels. and a reminder, the president will speak at 4:15

eastern time regarding the health care numbers out. first, today's money minute. here's a look at wall street. dow's up 55 points. (dad) well, we've been thinking about it and we're just not sure. (agent) i understand. (dad) we've never sold a house before. (agent) i'll walk you guys through every step. (dad) so if we sell, do you think we can swing it? (agent) i have the numbers right here and based on the comps that i've found, the timing is perfect. ...there's a lot of buyers for a house like yours. (dad) that's good to know. (mom) i'm so excited. to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients.

ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health.

a week from today marks equal payday. and this year comes as democrats in the house and senate are ramping up pressure against their colleagues to pass the paycheck fairness act. the measure puts the heat on companies by requiring them to demonstrate that any wage gaps between men and women doing the same job have some type of business justification and are truly a result of factors rather than gender. it comes as new data shows that last year's weekly earnings for women represented 82% of what their male counterparts made. this afternoon, senate democrats are holding a hearing to investigate why the paycheck

fairness act has stalled. joining me now, tammy baldwin. senator, thank you so much for your time. >> glad to be with you. >> so just in your state alone, in wisconsin, the ratio that we're looking at is stunning and it's even worse than the national numbers. women in wisconsin make $36,350 compared to men, who make $46,898. that means for men, the representative earnings ratio of 78%, meaning women made 78% of what men were making and wisconsin's equal pay act was repealed by governor walker in 2012. why do you believe this conversation cannot move forward? >> well, i certainly hope this conversation does move forward and that we at the senate pass the paycheck fairness act. i think it's critical, because it's not only about the women involved who fall behind at 78

cents per every dollar that a man makes, but it's their families, and over a lifetime, over a career, if women face pay inequities, it can mean the loss of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars that affect their ability to care for their children, to save for their kids' college education, to have a secure retirement. this is actually an economic issue that affects everyone, but certainly, as long as we allow pay inequities to persist, we will not have an economy that provides a fair shot for everyone. >> to your point, in wisconsin, 229,000-plus households in the state are headed by women. and in this case, we're talking women who are caring for or are bringing in the significant income for their children, maybe their spouses or significant others, as well, here. there's a quote from "the washington post," a republican

pollster was quoted as saying, "republicans recognize that this is also the democratic party's latest attempt to cry squirrel, so women in this country who control two out of every three health care dollars that are spent are disproportionately health care consumers and providers to divert their attention from the unspooling of obamacare." basically saying that you can't focus on both here. >> well, certainly, we can focus on both, and we must. and the affordable care act is also very important in this discussion, because women, prior to the passage of the affordable care act, paid far more in premiums than men did. their gender was considered a pre-existing condition. pregnancy often disqualified people for coverage. all sorts of things were held against women, so if you think about it, on one hand you're getting paid less, on the other hand, you have to pay more for the premiums and this is actually a very important discussion and i'll engage the

gop on why the affordable care act and obamacare is so important to help women, at the same time as we battle for minimum wage, for extension of emergency unemployment benefits, and for pay equity, for the paycheck fairness act, because it's about our economics and helping families get forward. >> senator, you well know the major opposition was it would cripple the ability for private businesses to set their own pay scales based on merit. what kind of traction are you getting as far as support from your colleagues across the aisle? >> well, let me first respond to the criticism you just raised, because you noted in the opening that wisconsin had recently repealed its paycheck fairness act. it had only been enacted about three years prior to its repeal, but there was no litigation that they could point to. they were talking about the threat of future litigation. you know, this is ridiculous.

you have to be able to have evidence for such arguments, and i think that women need the tools when there is pay inequity and it is rooted in gender discrimination, they need the legal tools to fight for justice, fight for fairness, a fair shot for everyone. >> senator baldwin, thank you so much for your time, great pleasure having you on "news nation" today, thank you. coming up, they may look like ordinary guitars, here's a transition for you, lighten things up, but they help bring us hits from musicians like mick jagger, eric clapton, so this is a real treat today. we've got a first-hand look at a collection of rare vintage guitars that are going up for auction this week owned by some of the greatest and there's even going to be a guitar in studio with me. the question is, will i play it? and a live look at the white house, he's going to honor the red sox, more on that right after the break. go sox. ♪ [ woman ] the day of my first presentation?

i was 80% nervous. but with 100% odor protection, i had nothing to worry about. [ female announcer ] only secret offers clinical strength antiperspirant in your 2 favorite forms, with 100% odor protection. secret clinical strength. fearlessness. apply daily. secret clinical strength. you've reached the age where you know how things work. this is the age of knowing what needs to be done. so why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long- term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to you doctor.

some brokerage firms are but way too many aren't. why? because selling their funds makes them more money. which makes you wonder. isn't that a conflict? search "proprietary mutual funds". yikes!! then go to e*trade. we've got over 8,000 mutual funds and not one of them has our name on it. we're in the business of finding the right investments for you. e*trade. less for us, more for you. the fund's prospectus contains its investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other important information and should be read and considered carefully before investing. for a current prospectus visit www.etrade.com/mutualfunds.

got some nice developing news from the white house. this is a live picture, the south lawn, where president obama is about to honor last year's world champions, the boston red sox. today's event comes just one day after the mlb kicked off the new season. the red sox lost their season opener. let's listen in. >> everybody have a seat. have a seat. i've got a few things to say here. first of all, it's great to see, as we kick off the 2014 baseball season, now i thought i invited the red sox here today, but there must be a mistake, because i don't recognize all these clean shaven guys. there's one guy, you know, couple guys who decided they thought the beard was working for them. but beards or no beards, it is an honor to welcome the 2013

world series champion boston red sox to the white house. i have to say, y'all have some fanatical fans, and many of them occupy my administration and the white house. look at my white house photographer, he's been thinking about this day all week. i got my press secretary there. i am surrounded by red sox fans, and i know that all the members of congress, from the new england delegation, who are equally fanatic, you know, back in 2004, watching the red sox win the world series was a novelty. but over the past ten years, this clubhouse has the winningest championship record in baseball, three.

three world series titles in a decade under the leadership of john henry, tom warner, larry lucchino, and their partners, and since they won this one at fenway, the die hards can finally declare that the curse has definitively been broken. obviously, all the wins were sweet for red sox fans, but i think for the nation as a whole, there was something about this particular squad that was special and will go down in history. not just because they went from worst to first, but because they symbolized the grit and the resilience of america's, one of america's iconic cities during one of its most difficult moments. nearly one year ago, hundreds of thousands gathered on a beautiful spring day to run and

cheer the historic boston marathon, but a senseless act of terror turned celebration into chaos. and joy into anguish. four young people lost their lives, hundreds were injured, the city was rocked, but under the guiding hand of somebody who i consider one of the finest public servants that america's known, mayor tom menino of boston, who's here today, and his lovely wife, boston stood resolute. boston stood resolute and unbowed and unbroken, and as the smoke cleared, we gained inspiration from the injured, who gamely tackled their recovery. those who were running and walking again, including the young woman who's returned to professional dancing with a prosthetic leg. we took heart from the first responders, who put their lives

at risk and bravely ran towards danger. people like officer richard donohue of the transit police who was shot and nearly killed that night, after months of rehab, richard is walking again and keeping up with his 18-month-old son, so we're glad to have richard here today. give him a big round of applause. [ applause ] today our hearts are in boston again. we got the families of firefighters michael kennedy and lieutenant edward walsh, who gave their lives protecting others from a massive blaze last week, and their 5:00 sacrifice, like the sacrifice of those last year, remind us of the selfless courage of everyday heros, who put their lives on the line to help others. the first responders, the brave citizens, the resolute victims of these tragedies, they are all boston strong, and ultimately, that's what this team played for last season.

and every man behind me did his part to keep the team rolling. there was xander bogaerts, the upstart rookie, who took over at third base and didn't let up, the tested veterans like my fellow hawaiian, shane victor o victorino, and mike napoli, who came in during the off-season and shook off the rust and the injuries to secure win after win, lackey and lestere, the heart of a rotation who upped their game and started begging their manager, john farrell, to stay in for six, seven, eight innings, and, of course, the legend, the only man to play for all three championship teams, the biggest bat in the dugout, big papi. big papi. that's what i'm talking about. love this guy. even a white sox fan can appreciate these guys. but for all the big names, this was never a single superstar's team. if you look at the numbers, no pitcher won more than 15 games,

no batter hit more than 30 home runs, and yet they led the majors in runs scored, won the most games in the american league, had the second best e.r.a. in their hard-hitting division, so this team never lost more than three games in a row all season. they just had a lot of heart, and it was that consistency that brought the red sox into the postseason. but it was the drive to do more for the city that had their backs that took them on to win in the world series. with the rallying symbol of boston strong mowed into the outfield and sewed into their uniforms, the red sox took the field against tampa and detroit with the full weight of their city behind them. when they found themselves in game four of the world series down two games to one against st. louis, the faithful cheered as jonny gomes knocked in a three-run homer out of the park, breaking open a tie and giving red sox nation the signal they weren't done yet. big papi let it rip, earned the world series mvp.

[ applause ] ihara capped one of the best postseasons in major league history with his single that sank straight into david ross's mitt to win the world series four games to two. and koji looked so happy after every game, didn't he? jumping up on people. so they all stormed the field, readied the duck boats, but this was more than just a trophy and parade. with every game they played, the sons of fenway never forgot what it wore to wear a boston uniform, when they visited bombing victims in the hospital, played ball with kids getting cancer treatment, started a program to help wounded warriors to get treatment at mass general, these guys were saying, we're all on the same team, and i think big papi put it better and more colorfully than any of us could. i won't repeat his quote, but

the point is, boston and the red sox were one this season, and we knew last year, even as we mourned the loss -- the lost and cared for the wounded, resolved to carry on, that the moment would come when the sox would be champions again and the crowds would gather for a parade down boylston once more and that's what happened, and this team helped boston to heal and true to that spirit in just a few weeks, something else we resolved last year will come to pass, on the third monday in april, the world will return to boston and run harder than ever and cheer harder than ever for the 118th boston marathon. that will happen. [ applause ] bottom line is, i'm proud of these guys. as a baseball fan, i appreciate their comeback season, but more importantly, as president, i'm grateful for their character and

their embrace of the essential role they played in the spirit of that city. you know, sometimes sports seems like it's trivial, it's just an entertainment, and then every once in awhile, you're reminded that sports represents something else, and it has the power to bring people together like almost nothing can, and all of you should be very proud of what you accomplished. i know your fans are, and i'm grateful to you, as well. so, congratulations to the boston red sox and red sox nation, good luck this season. may the best sox win! >> obviously, the president having a little fun, may the best sox win, of course, his favorite team being the white sox, but an amazing remarks and speech from the president praising the boston red sox, not just because of what they do on the field and what they've accomplished in winning the world series, but what they did

for the boston community following the bombing tragedy and visiting the injured while in the hospital, raising money and awareness for the continued struggle of those who were injured that day. just a great example of at a time when we talk about heros and sports heros, especially, that these men that we're looking at here are more than the jerseys that bear their names, they are more in the boston community and represent the spirit of boston strong. so it's a great event happening on the south lawn. very nice to see that. even though the sox did lose yesterday, but it's great. love to see that. all right, from the movie "divergent" in theaters right now and seeing tremendous success at the box office to other sci-fi movies like "inception," the concept of mind bending is, obviously, popular with audiences. >> one last thing, as a matter of full disclosure, none of the secret life elements you chose can actually be true.

because irreparable conflict and confusion, it's how brains get blown. >> good morning, i don't have any secrets. >> the idea of telepathy may seem like fiction, a new book suggests it may actually be possible sooner than we think. the new book, "the future of the mind ", reveals secrets of the brain and how ideas that were once only found in science fiction are slowly becoming reality. michio joins me now, aside from being a best selling author, he's a professor of theoretical physics at university of new york and host of "sci-fi science" on the sci-fi channel. great to have you on. >> great to be on the show. >> you're a rock star, when you walk in, everyone wants to take a picture, but this takes it so next level for me in that when people ask what super power you would want if you were a super hero, they think telepathy or the ability to erase it all, and

you're saying the near future of what we do with our brains and the next evolution of our brains could involve some of these things. >> that's right. think of telepathy, recording memories, uploading memories, photographing a dream. we've done it. we've done it in the laboratory already. and there's so much interest in this. >> when you say we've done it, explain that. >> we have hooked up the mind, the brain, to a computer. the computer then deciphers the impulses in our brain and we can type, we can then begin to operate household appliances, laptop computers, we can send messages and we can even record memories now. the first memory in a mouse was recorded just last year, and we can now upload that memory and, bingo, the mouse learned it on the first try, and we're going to do it with primates next, and then we're going to get a brain pacemaker for alzheimer's patients, so they'll simply push a butt torn and ton and

immediately know where they live and who they are. after that, who knows, maybe uploading the vacation we never had. >> that one incredible to see, but the reality is, something in the lab happening and it being used in my lifetime or your lifetime and the human body, in our brains, that seems like an eternity. >> it's happening right now. >> it's happening right now. >> the pentagon is putting tens of millions of dollars to take wounded warriors from iraq and afghanistan, put a chip in their brain, bypass the spinal cord, and have them control mechanical arms and legs. at a soccer game in brazil, the person who will open the international cup games will be paralyzed, wearing an kpo skeleton controlled by the mind. >> this could revolutionize the way we communicate with stroke and accident victims unable to articulate their thoughts except through blinks of the eye. when we think of this as something sci-fi, the reality

is, it is life changing and life improving. >> that's right. >> that's what the science is, to improve the lives of others. >> in fact, president barack obama and the european union last year pledged a billion dollars to map the entire brain. this is the next big project of science, the genome project and now the project to map the connections of the brain. the short-term goal is to cure mental illness. that is one of the greatest afflictions of the human race, and we're clueless about where mental illness takes place, but even after that, if we do have our genome and connect-ome, they live on even after we die, so in some sense, some of us will become immortal into the future. >> incredible. this gives me goose bumps, of course, for many reasons, but thank you so much for joining us. greatly appreciate it and people should -- >> the book, number one on the new york times best seller. a lot of people are curious. >> it should be number one, as it is "the future of the mind,"

thank you so much, michio. it's being called the greatest collection of guitars to ever go to auction, and we've got one of them right here in studio. we'll reveal to you, can you guess who actually owned that beauty? we'll be right back. ♪ oh. let's go. from the crack, off the backboard. [ laughs ] dad! [ laughs ] whoo! oh! you're up! oh! oh! so close! now where were we? ok, this one's good for two. score! [ male announcer ] share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. they're gr-r-eat!

if you or someone you know is a lover of guitar, we have a treat for you. some of the most beautiful and valuable guitars in the world going up for auction right now in new york. the auction begins tomorrow. it features what some are calling the holy grail of guitars. a rare martin guitar made all the way back in 1930. only 14 guitars like it were ever produced. only be guitars previously owned and played by eric clapton, mick

j jagger. prices are from the low thousands to $2 million. joining me now the president of the auction house, thank you for joining us. before we reveal the history behind this beauty that we have here with me. people want to know how you get your hands on these rare items. what's the back story? >> for 40 years we have built this reputation of doing pop cultural auctions. elvis presley, jerry garcia, so there's not a day that don't go by that people don't come to us with these treasures. >> it is amazing. you have eric clapton and mick jagger, the list goes on and on. some of these things go for like $2,000. if you're a music lover, it may be worth it. >> for sure. guitars have been proven to be wonderful investments. but you buy them for love and

not everything is hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. they are instruments for a couple thousand dollars. what's unique about this auction is every instrument is custom made, handmade, has its own sound and is a treasure. >> some of the treasures, eric clapton, a gibson j 200. as well as an '87. tell e me about this one here. >> this it guitar was from 1930 to the 1960s had a studio in new york city's gren itch village where he was referred to as the stratvarious ofmakers. we have 11 in this auction. this one being the new york model. just magnificent. >> what's behind the jump in those available? what's behind the increase in the number that's available for sale?

>> the gentleman who assembled this collection over a 40-year period was passionate about his collection, dogged in his pursuit of getting the very best and relentness in seeking these things out and gathering them. >> what do you think this will fet fetch? >> that could be a few hundred thousand dollars. >> thank you so much. it's so intriguing. just to watch and look at them if you can't afford to buy them. thank you so much. >> my pleasure. >> that does it for this edition of "news nation." up next, andrea mitchell reports. for hearburn? yea. try alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heart burn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. alka-seltzer fruit chews. enjoy the relief!

right now on "andrea mitchell reports", a flaw. why did general motors wait eight years for the recall? the new ceo faces the heat in

congress. >> our daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, wives and husbands are gone because they were a cost of doing business gm's style. >> bargaining chip, the u.s. offers to parole spy jonathan potter if israel will e release palestinian prisoners. but is it too desperate a ploy? and another example of misinformation and poor communication that is delayed and confused the search for the missing malaysian airliner. with time running out, the odds are mounting. >> what we really need now is to find debris wreckage from the aircraft and that will change the whole nature of our search.