killed at least nine. that's the number confirmed, fatalities. families in anguish are now lashing out at government officials in the aftermath of this disaster. heartbreak there. today korea's herald newspaper reports that relatives threw water bottles at the prime minister as he visited them this morning shouting how dare you come here with your chin up? this morning, the captain of that vessel apologized for what happened. [ speaking foreign language ] >> there the captain covering his face saying, quote, i am really sorry and deeply ashamed. his face hidden there by a gray sweatshirt. he addeded, i don't know what to say, and this 6-year-old girl alone and crying in a hospital bed separated from her family. her parents and a brother have not been found.

passengers, most of them students are sharing video of chaos inside the ship as it was sinking. some say they were told to stay in their cabins as a fire -- as the ferry was tilting to the side. others texted their parents including one who wrote, mom, in case i don't get a chance to speak to you, i love you. the u.s. navy is now helping in the frantic search for survivors. joining -- >> as we are tasked to do search and rescue which we are still doing we still remain optimistic and we hold out hope that there will be some survivors throughout. >> that was lieutenant arlo abraham, a u.s. navy spokesperson and joining me from seoul is jeff king, senior correspondent from global post. jeff, first, the families waiting for answers and just unimaginable grief there, quite a bit of confusion and what is the latest information on this rescue effort?

>> reporter: good morning, tamron. the rescue effort has been quite slow today. the government is reporting that the tides are strong and water is full of soap. so there are all these divers in the water, but they can't really see anything and this is posing a problem because they are getting to the hull of the ship, but they're basically feeling their way around and trying to figure out where they are and what they're doing. the relatives of the passengers who are missing are angry at the government. they feel that the government hasn't been doing enough here, but the government responded that the conditions are simply not good enough to stage a rescue operation. >> jeff, we spoke with you yesterday in the early hours of this and it was unimaginable at the time to believe, but we are hearing from multiple sources that people were told to stay in their cabin. i should point out a lot of the individuals on this ferry were high school students going off to a popular destination, a

popular resort destination there. we heard the captain apologize. what else did he say in that apology that might shed light on what went wrong here? >> reporter: he didn't say a whole lot. he mostly said that he fells a shamed that this happened and he wasn't revealing his face at that press conference. right now the company that owns this ship isn't offering many comments to the press. they say that they also haven't gotten access to the captain because the authorities haven't given them access so we're still waiting for more answers on that part. >> thank you very much. i appreciate you giving us the latest information and we have a couple of other stories developing and we'll keep the audience up-to-date on the events in south korea. developing, as well. president obama and vice president joe biden welcoming veterans. those veterans are participating in the eighth annual wounded warrior project soldier ride, the four-day cycling event is

designed to help wounded vets restore their physical and emotional well-being. it's also helping to raise arc we awareness for physical and psychological damages from being at war. let me quickly bring in nbc news kristen welker. we're expecting to hear from the president this morning, but this is the symbolic start of the event, right? >> reporter: that's right, tamron. white house officials tell me this is particularly emotional for president obama because he has visited some of the wounded warriors in the hospital who are going to be at today's event. so this is really a celebration of their journey, their strength and their heroism and that's really what's at the root of this four-day ride. shining a light on the nation's wounded warriors, on all that they have accomplished and also, by the way, raising money to help wounded warriors and it's not just the physical damages that they're suffering, tamron. it's estimated that one out of

every three returning veterans from iraq afghanistan will suffer from ptsd and that is also an incredibly important component of this ride as well. it's worth noting that this was started several years ago by a long island bartender named chris carney who wanted to shine a light on this issue, who wanted to help wounded warriors, president obama joking at one of these events several years ago that it's one of the better ideas that has come out of a bar. so it certainly is. it is something that this administration holds particular meaning for this president and takes place in 11 cities throughout the country. >> here is the president now. >> welcome to the white house. thank you to rick for not just a nice introduction, but more importantly for your outstanding service to our country and for your service to our veterans, and fellow wounded warriors. i also want to mention that our vice president here has been

relentless in his support along with our spouses, michelle and joe biden for military families and we're very proud of everything that joe has done. this is now the fifth time that i've had the honor of welcoming the soldier ride to the white house, and i have to tell you, this is one of my favorite events of the year. first of all, you know it's spring when -- or at least it's supposed to be spring when the soldier ride comes around, but mainly it's because those who participate are such an incredible inspiration to me and to our country. to the riders, you look outstanding especially after biking 17 miles yesterday. you're doing another 17 miles tomorrow, another 17 miles after that. all told, nearly 60 miles. today we want to come cheer you on, and i think we have folks from the army here. is that right?

and the navy. air force? marines. >> hoorah! >> oh, that was good. >> coast guard! [ cheering ] >> and we have some extraordinary families here today. [ cheering ] >> yay, families! by now everybody knows the story about how all of this got started. a bartender on long island, chris carney, who came up with the idea of riding his bike across america to support wounded warriors. chris couldn't be here today. he owns a gym now. i think you all inspired him to trade the bar in for some barbells, but today there are soldier rides all across the country and we want to thank everybody at the wounded warriors project for their incredible support. i know some of you are doing this for the very first time. some of you have ridden three or four times, some of you are riding in tandem with your parents, biking nearly 60 miles in three days would be a challenge for everybody, but for

a lot of you this is a bike ride and a mark of how far you've come. many of you are recovering from devastating injuries. some of you have had had to learn the basics all over again, how to stand again, thou walk again, how to run again and now you're here today because that's what soldiers ride is all about. seeing each other through the finish line. lieutenant commander john j. terry is here. three years ago, he was on foot patrol in afghanistan when he was hit by an ied and ended up losing his leg and reflecting on his service he said he'd do it all again and now he's in the best shape possible so he can play with his three kids and today he is here on his first soldier ride. you've got master sergeant luis alfonso ramirez, serving in afghanistan he lost good friends in a terrible ambush and he even assisted at the airport as they began their transfer home and later diagnosed with

post-traumatic stress and credits the wounded warrior project with helping him heal. he says you know that they've got you. this is now his fourth ride. sergeant major cedric banks is here. an explosion in iraq left him with injuries to his neck and his back and traumatic brain injury, but after years of rehab, cedric is focused on the future. he volunteers here in washington, helps mentor young men with the life skills they need to succeed. he calls himself now a warrior for society. this is his first soldier ride. major janet nieves ayala. when i first met janet at walter reed when she was recovering from an injury she received in iraq. as some of you know, when i visit the troops i often mark the event with handing out coins with the seal of the president. all men think your coins are the best. i don't.

i made a bet with them that there was a coin that can trump yours. i said what are you talking about? she said, i want the first lady's coin. the first lady's coin would be yours. it is true that the first lady trumps me, but janet says her proudest accomplishment is being appear mentor to other wounded warriors. she says that during her recovery i was definitely being carried. now i feel like i'm helping to carry others. i want to thank you, janet. this ride is first and foremost for these incredible riders, but it's men and women like john and luis, and cedric and janet and all of you who make the the ride so special for all of us because you inspire us, you inspire the country some of whom will be out cheering along your ride. you inspire me with your courage, your resolve, your resilience, your tenacity and

your optimism. it makes me proud to be your commander in chief and michelle and i treasure every moment that we get to spend with you and your families. every day i had the honor of serving as this country's commander in chief. as long as i had that honor i will keep fighting to make sure you and your families get the care, treatment and benefits that you have earned and deserve. when people ask of you to serve your country, to give your all to make your sacrifices, you've raised your hands. you've stepped up. you held up your end of the bargain and especially now as we're winding down the war in afghanistan, after having ended over a decade of war that we are standing up for you. our obligations to our veterans endure for your entire lives. that's our mission. that's why we're here, not just during this ride, but all year long. so with that the sun's out and it's a spectacular day.

the racers look like they're ready. i think it's time for us to get this party started. god bless you. god bless america. let's get this going. [ cheers and applause ] >> let's listen in some more as they kick off the event. let's listen in. >> all right. are you guys ready? are are you sure? >> yeah! >> you're sure, now? all right. on your mark! -- this thing always looks like bug spray. on your mark! get set! [ siren ]

>> with the official start of the annual wounded warrior project soldier ride kicking off at the white house, you see many of the men and women we are so proud of who serve this country, starting off on a four-day adventure. it it essentially the arrival today with the bike fitting took place and they've had an opportunity to have a meet and greet, but it's a four-day event to bring awareness and attention to those challenges both physical and psychological that many of these men and women face as a result of war. so the president kicking off the eighth annual ride. very proud to have covered this during this hour and we'll keep you up-to-date on the ride itself and how those men and women are doing again. we're looking at images from the south lawn and a pleasant day there. you see the sun and a more pleasant day when we are able to load on some praise to those who serve this country. we are also following more developing news. we'll have a live look inside

the jewish community center in overland park kansas where a memorial service are just beginning for the victims killed in sunday's deadly killing spree now being called a hate crime. attorney general eric holder is set to address what organizers are calling a day of unity and hope. several religious leaders will read letters from dr. william calparan, and meanwhile, as a community spends this morning remembering the people you see on the screen, there is growing outrage after the mayor of a small town not far from the shootings, this is the man suspected in the shootings, but the mayor of a town not very far away is quoted as saying he kind of agreed with the suspect here, frazier cross and his ideology. newly elected marionville, defended remark he made in a newspaper. he was known in the area for his views. joining me now, mike potock,

senior member at the poverty law center. first i want to talk about this community, before we talk about some of the hateful things should suspect has said and what he's accused of. here we are at a time when your research is to keep track of hate crimes and those individuals who are targeting others for their religion, for their race, but here we have an inclusive ceremony today that gives us hope, i believe, that most people are not like the suspect here in others who follow his beliefs. >> no. that's absolutely so. i mean, look, the vast majority of people out there don't have anything to do with this world view, with this ideology. i don't think that in any way the views of glen miller, frazier glen miller are related to the good people of kansas city and the area. i mean, the area has had problems with people with these

kinds of views, but they are in a tiny minority. so i think it's important for a community like overland park to come together as americans and people of different stripes to show what they're all about. >> as i mentioned this newly elected mayor of marionville which is not very far from overland park is quoted as saying in an interview that he agreed with some of the things that frazier glen cross had said in the interview. he says that i'm a friend of frazier miller helping to spread his warnings and he went on to say that the, quote, jew-run medical industry has succeeded in destroying the united states workforce. those were comments made by this mayor a decade ago. he was recently interviewed again and did not back away from those. he did, however, say that this man is accused of doing taking those three lives were wrong action, but nevertheless, here you have an elected leader of a

town near there who is uttering similar beliefs. >> it's absolutely incredible. i hardly know what to say about it. first of all, that the man was uncovered as having these views almost immediately after being elected on tuesday and then that he would stand up after the murder of three people and say that he essentially agrees with the views of glen miller. he also described the media and hollywood being run by jews and so on. i mean, let's be plain. these are fundamentally neo-nazy views and they're socialist views of the world. i guess the sad reality is there are -- there's a significant minority in that part of the country in particular which has seen a lot of anti-semitic groups operating in the last three decades that exists.

there are people who really do believe this and i think this should serve us as a reminder once again that these people like glen miller are not merely mentally ill outcasts who have nothing to do with the rest of society. there is actually a movement out there that some people really subscribe to, and this mayor seems to be, if not precisely a part of it, certainly a sympathizer. >> not to try to button this up and put a bow on everything and make it better. in contrast to the mayor's comments as he was quoted and the things that we've seen written by the suspect in this, the counter to that is the peace and love that we're seeing at this memorial. so when you think there are bad people who do awful things it is always refreshing and heartwarming when you see a crowd of people and right now eric holder is speaking to that audience there, remembering those victims and proving that hate does not consume all of us. so, mark, we greatly appreciate

you joining us today. thank you very much. >> thank you for having me. secretary of state john kerry will speak at any moment after meeting with the russian and ukrainian foreign ministers in geneva this has the u.s. plans new sanctions against russia. "time" magazine's michael crowley will join us plus this -- >> it is even more touching to me because i know that buying coffee directly from here is going to benefit everyone. >> that is grace hightower de niro empowering the people of rwanda especially women 20 years after the genocide, the u.n. now apologizes for ignoring hightower and the first lady of of rwanda will join me live and join our conversation. you can find me at tamron hall and my team at "news nation." i don't want to think about the alternative. i don't even know how to answer that. i mean, no one knows how long their money is going to last.

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>> it's been 20 years since the genocide in rwanda that took the lives of almost a million men,

women and children and yesterday, the diplomat who was president of the u.n. security council at the time gave a rare apology. >> i had the dreadful responsibility in april 1994 of presiding over a council which refused to recognize that genocide was being perpetrated against the tutsi in rwanda and failed in its responsibilities to reinforce the united nations peacekeeping mission in rwanda. >> former new zealand ambassador colin keating gave the apology at an open session of the united nations where they adopted a resolution calling all countries to prevent and fight against genocide. joining me is the first lady of rwanda, her excellency jeannette kagame and grace hightower. it's such an honor to be in the presence of both of you. your excellency, part of your

journey has been to empower your people and to help the orphans, the widows and the many who are left after the genocide. i know it it has to be heartwarming to have people like grace and others reach out and say we are there to help uplift this country. what is the challenge you face now? >> at the moment, of course, after inheriting such a devastated country where the infrastructure was totally destroyed, human and physical, everything was a priority, understandably and currently really what the country is trying to work on is to sustain the recovery that we've -- that we are experiencing now. we are seeing a constant growth of 8% for the past ten years now which is quite exciting and the challenge is to sustain these

and be less and less aid dependent. >> you heard the president speak at a state dinner, the president of rwanda and he said the country needs trade not aid and that's what inspired you to come in and help. tell me about your project. >> absolutely. when i heard president kagame speak i was so inspired about his remark, trade not aid and it was not something i had heard from other countries that are small and also considered third-world countries and i thought this is a breath of fresh air. this is wonderful. so i immediately researched and found that rwanda had -- one of their biggest resources was coffee and i said, okay, let me just find out what i can about coffee, but what really inspired me when i took the trip to rwanda and i saw the country and i met the people and they -- the

people of rwanda are just -- they are strong and they're gentle and kind and sincere and authentic and i owe that environment to the first lady and the president because, you know, everything comes down from the top and so i decided that i would create this coffee company called grace hightower and coffees of rwanda. i wanted it to be grace of rwanda, but unfortunately that name had been taken. >> they should have give 10 to me. >> i'm still fighting for it. i am, i haven't given up. and what i saw was that this country is arc paysing upmazing amazing product and that was a prerequisite for me before starting the company is that the product had to be of a certain quality and i found that. oh, my god, the quality is a hazing and it speaks for itself. we just needed to cause the

awareness and it was the most amazing experience in doing business with rwanda because it is so easy. it's -- i have to say the people are very forthcoming, doing business is very transparent, matter of fact. what you see is what it is. >> that is exceptional and it is so easy to do business like that, and i am so honored to be doing business with rwanda because it is a very progressive country, very forward thinking and first lady jeannette here has done amazing work with women and children, and i'm a woman's advocate. >> right. >> and children's advocate so it just -- the synergy is there. >> that's what i was going to ask you, here you are the wife of robert de niro, and with the first lady of rwanda. you have powerful men in your lives and your presence eclipses, dare i say, both of them. i met you the other night and a big part of your message is about empowerment and not only

for trade, but of women because we hear many times if a society does right by its women that society will thrive. for you, when you saw someone like grace say this is about a sustainable program that will empower the people and not make them dependent and how important was that to you? >> it's -- i must say that grace understood the priorities of rwanda, and again, she came in at the right time and even decided to intervene in transforming the industry in the country. coffee is the second foreign exchange, so i think what she's doing is tremendous and changing the lives of these women and giving back to the women empowerment. i think the country has understood this, but on the onset, given our history and the

things we do and the wives of all these people in prisons, the women were basically heading most of the households, so i think it was very smart on the part of our government to understand that this was the best way to make the return and give it to the right place. >> we know history is not forgotten and the scars are not forgotten and we must celebrate the future and the rebirth of your country. it's such an honor to meet you, your excellence. >> and grace, your coffee is delicious. >> that is not a plug. >> it's from rwanda. >> thank you so much. such an honor to be in the presence of such powerful and amazing women. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> absolutely. >> we have developing story that we're following as well and we continue to await a news conference from secretary of state john kerry following critical talks on the crisis in ukraine. the news conference is more than

two hours late now. secretary kerry has been meeting in geneva with sergey lavrov and ukraine's foreign minister. expectations for those talks are low, but it may be the best chance are for stopping a potential slide in ukraine. three pro-russian militants were killed overnight during an attempt to take over a national guard base on the black sea. the interior ministry said a mob of around 300 people armed with stun grenades and firebombs were involved in the bloodiest episode to date in the month-long unrest. vladimir putin called that bloodshed a grave crime. speaking in a televised call-in program today putin said he would not rule out sending russian troops into ukraine, and saying that russian forces in eastern ukraine is rubbish. they're repairing new sanctions against russia. >> we don't need a war. what we do need is a recognition that countries like ukraine can

have relationships with a whole range of their neighbors and it is not up to anybody whether it's russia or the united states or anybody else to make decisions for them. >> joining me now "time" magazine chief foreign affairs correspondent michael crowley. what are the expectations that may realistically come from secretary of state john kerry here in a few. >> the expectations were pretty low. the fact that this press conference has been delayed for so long is intriguing and suggests that they're trying to hammer something out, but going into it, i think there was a sense that, you know, vladimir putin has most of the cards here and as someone told me in my so story in "time" this week, we're hoping we can talk him into de-escalation with the threat of sanctions and if you look at the

remarks where he just made where he seems to refer to ukraine as being part of russia and saying that he doesn't think its independence or at least in the east is legitimate and suggested he's not backing down. so the expectations were low and it's interesting that it's taken kerry so long to come out and i'm curious to see what he'll have. >> we talk about long-term, short term here and what we also know with these sanctions and you know far better than i, regarding the long-term impact that could have globally on russia's economy and from all accounts, that is what the obama administration and some of the eu leaders who are not willing to be as forceful vocally for the public to know that they are also banking that sanctions will eventually further cripple russia's economy, thus bringing vladimir putin to a point of compromise here. >> well, that's the hope, but i think that there's frustration

in the west that what you're starting to see is an irrational actor. so how do you deal with someone who is just not following the same calculous that you would or that you would expect. in other words, putin is taking actions that do promise to bring a lot of damage to his economy over the long term and the saths that were levied on an economy that was not health toe begin with and if he keeps pushing there will be more sanctions that will do more damage and the consensus from the experts in washington is this will be very bad for russia and he's not getting that much out of it beyond a kind of macho pride, but that looks like that's what he wants is this macho pride and this assertion of russian strength. by the way, his popularity is soaring at home and that's not nothing and he's cracking down on dissent at home. that's not totally irrational and he's not following the path we would expect and that's an important thing to deal with. >> putin had a q and a session and one of the questions was from edward snowden.

>> yeah. that was very strange. like something out of a bad episode of kwoem homeland." nobody saw that coming. >> right. >> it's hard to know what to make of it. it seemed to me that snowden was challenging putin. snowden has been kritized by people saying he's in the arms of this thuggish, former kgb agent and this seemed to be an effort to ask a question of putin that he's been asking the government, are you surveilling your pop -- and he used language like government officials saying no, we have a system for this and the courts look at it and we do it in a very careful way and i put even less stock in that than i do in the early statements of u.s. government officials. i don't think you can take him at his word. >> it's a surprising moment. >> i have to ask, do you think it was an orchestrated movement. do we really believe that a random question from edward snowden was just presented there?

>> no. i don't think so. i don't think so. it's very strange and there are people who are suggesting already, you know, that this is a sign that snowden is cooperating with the russians as some of his critics have said that he's basically gone to the other side. i think it is hard to tell and we're trying to figure out exactly what happened. >> thank you very much, we're rolling with the punches there. we've got a lot going on and we're still waiting for an update from secretary kerry. thank you. >> thank you. up next, new ncaa should mean athletes will be fed while playing for their school. they are being fed now while playing for their schools, but one player indicated that he, on some nights would go hungry. we'll have the very latest on this development here. know what the experts at your ford dealer think? they think about tires. and what they've been through lately. polar vortexes, road construction, and gaping potholes. so with all that behind you,

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so i what will you grow? tri share your story at miraclegro.com. ed depend so i and it made the difference between hearing about my daughter's gym meet, and being there. yeah! nailed it! unlike the bargain brand, depend gives you new fit-flex®, our best protection. it's a smooth and comfortable fit with more lycra strands. hi sweetie! get your free sample at depend.com. in the wake of recent comments made by the national champion uconn husky star player shabbaz napier, the ncaa has

responded with a new food policy. you might recall napier saying he sometimes goes to bed hungry because he can't afford food. now amid the debate over whether college athletes should be paid the ncaa has decided to allow student athletes to receive unlimited meals and snacks. the coach of the team that lost to uconn in the national championship game, kentucky's john calipari talked about the issue yesterday morning on "morning joe". >> for four years i've been arguing about this food issue like limiting their food? am i making them fat? i have to get my guys fatter than your guys so i'm going to give them more food and if i'm going to have a bagel you can't have peanut butter and you're violating rules, but yesterday they came out with unfettered food which is a start. >> joining me now is sports illustrated assistant managing editor kennedy. so you had shabbaz make this

comment. >> yeah. >> he says, quote, we do go hungry at nights where he doesn't have enough money to get food and sometimes needed money, money he doesn't have. >> correct. >> now the ncaa has responded to this. what's -- what change have they made here? >> well, they -- it's a little bit unclear. it will officially be as itted, everyone expects next thursday, but the announcement is basically it allow athletes, scholarship and non-scholarship athletes to get food outside of the normal times and restrictions of a standard meal plan which they get and how that's going to be implement side a little unclear and the schools will have to figure that out. the dining hall closes at about 7:00 p.m. and they're not necessarily going to keep the dining hall open, right? so they'll have to figure out some way to provide access to meals and food and that will be sorted out and it's not clear

how that will work out. >> what's clear is this ongoing debate of the student athlete where they are an employee. these comments made by shabbaz were to point out that he is not able to get a job. doesn't have the money if the food hall is closed to go out and buy something as a result of the demands as a student athlete. i don't want to diminish this conversation over hunger and if someone says they're going to bed hungry that is a concern for anyone here, but does this distract from the larger issue that some of of these student athletes are discussing because what we do know is yes, he's gone to bed hungry, but he is still able to play. this is not the type of hunger we believe that many other people in the united states and other countries are facing. >> honestly, i don't think that shabbaz meant it quite that way. i actually reached out to him this morning and he decided he didn't want to talk anymore about this particular issue. this is just -- it's a small concession and the ncaa had been

looking at this for some time. it's been an issue around college sports for quite some time. it does open up some other issues, not that the ncaa has to be concerned with, but you will have some academic scholarship athletes, like a tuba player or a great science student who is working on a lab all day or whatever it might be and they have this meal plan restriction. so it's clearly making an exception for the student athlete, and i think it's a positive one for them, but it's a small step in terms of the larger picture, of course, and whether they should be paid and that whole issue. it's a smaller thing. >> all right, kostya, thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> my pleasure, tamron. this is the real mug shot of real housewives of atlanta cast member porsctia williams, she turned herself into police, after a co-star turned her in

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and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. grandpa! [ female announcer ] stay strong, stay active with boost. the search for malaysia airlines flight 370 tops our look at stories around the "news nation," ships and planes went out again thursday perhaps for the last time as authorities are close to calling off the massive air and sea search. it's day 43 and the search is completely under water. the unmanned sub completed the first full underwater mission and it is now planning its income dive. take a look at that dramatic video taken moments after a fire truck slammed into an l.a.-area restaurant. officials say the two trucks were on their way to a call when they collided and more than a

dozen people were taken to area hospitals and here it is, the mug shot of "real housewives of atlanta" star portia williams. she was charged with simple battery while taping a reunion special allegedly attacking fellow cast member kenya moore. portia williams was released on a $2,000 bond. the episode has not aired idyet but by all accounts it was a vicious end to that show there and obviously it wasn't fake because she's been arrested. so something happened. >> up next, sean "diddy" combs is facing backlash from students at howard university. they are angry that diddy will be a commencement speaker and receive an honorary degree even though he dropped out of howard. it's our news nation gut check. should he speak? should he not? plus this.

♪ some women power today on this show. audra mcdonald will join me live to talk about her brand new role on broadway. she'll tell me why she's playing the legendary singer and my favorite of all time billie holiday. audra is coming up next. [ male announcer ] nearly 7 million clients. how did edward jones get so big? let me just put this away. ♪ could you teach our kids that trick? [ male announcer ] by not acting that way. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. hey kevin...still eating chalk for hearburn?

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oh, boy. time now for the "news nation" gut check. sean combs is facing backlash after howard university announced that the rapper/businessman/mogul will speak at this year's commencement ceremony and receive an honorary doctor degree. some are upset because combs dropped out of howard in 1990 to pursue his music career, worked out well for him, by the way. he took to instagram to react to the honor, saying, "for one of the first times in my life, i am truly speechless. at howard u, i'm coming home," reference to one of his hit

songs what does your gut tell you? should diddy speak at howard's commencement ceremony, despite having dropped out of the university? for the record, the university sticking to its guns and say he will be there. well, five-time tony award-winning actress, audra mcdonald, is earning tremendous reviews for what many are calling the performance her career as she channels the legendary singer, billie holiday. ♪ here is a fruit for the crows to pluck ♪ ♪ for the rain to gather for the wind to suck ♪ >> lady day at emerson's bar and grill is inspired by a concert billie holiday gave in the final three months of her life. in poor health, inside a small, seedy, philadelphia ya bar. the "new york times" puts it, her plush soprano scaled down to

jazz soloist size, ms. mcdonald sings selections with sensitive musicianship and rich seams, a feeling that command rapt admiration. she is with us in studio. audra mcdonald, that reads as beautifully as your voice. i don't think that i've ever read something that matched in such a seamless way something so beautiful as your voice. >> oh, taron, thank you. thank you so much. >> is absolutely true. what inspired -- i know a lot about the backstory, everything about it i've read, for our audience, what was the connection with billie holiday? >> you know, she was such a pioneer. obviously, you know, one of the greatest voices of our generation, one of the greatest jazz artists of our generation but also for me, i was just so inspired by this woman who basically had this sort of dickensian life and how she, regardless of all the knocks, you know, still rose to the top, regardless of the fact that she was a star at a time when society was not treating african-americans well at all.

and she suffered a lot because of that. >> how did you balance the troubled aspects of her life? we are around the same age. a lot of people remember billie holiday as portrayed by diana ross and the scene on the floor. >> yes. >> fighting the heroin addiction. >> yes. >> that ultimately consumed her. how did you balance that with reminding people that it was the music? >> well, you know, it's because, in the end, that's what billie holiday did, you know? in the end, you know, it was her music that survived. and she was someone who, even though she had to battle this terrible addiction as well as being an alcoholic, she would tell anybody who got close to her, don't do what i did. you stay away from these drugs. she was not ever once sold them, never tried to get anybody on them, tried to protect people as much as she could. >> some of my best weekends, i put in my billie holiday, the collection set and you just -- you evaporate into her world. >> absolutely. >> become consumed. of course, you won best actress tony award for "pore guy and

bess," i saw you on stage. one of the brightest stars on broadway. for a lot of african-americans, especially, they feel there's no place at the table in broadway, in the audience, some of the shows they feel don't relate. for a lot of performers, you've broken through the barriers and proven that there is a place at the table. but how do you inspire others? >> i do a lot of master classes, a lot of students in elementary, xhil and college. one of the things they say, especially african-american girls, i want to have a career just like yours and i'm trying to emulate you and i say be you, that's what's most special. you think you can do something, you say yes to yourself. plenty of people in the world that will say no to you as long as you always say yes to yourself. that is the most important advice i can give. >> your twitter page shows you that you support marriage equality, audra equality. i think we have your twitter page there and now features -- >> that's my daughter. my little girl. >> your little girl there it was important for you to be one of

the vocal voices behind the movement, behind the right for people to have their civil rights. >> absolutely. that's why i joined twitter in the first place, was after new york voted against having marriage equal knit our state, i was so upset. i joined twitter so i could rant. >> not so you could just show what you have for dinner? >> started as a rant out of anger, a sense of injustice. ever since, i have just been absolutely committed to that movement, the civil rights movement of our time. >> thank you so much, audra. always a pleasure. please, if you're in new york, could go by and see the show. such a littthrill. >> what is it they call, women's crush wednesday? goosebumps. women's crush wednesday. even though it's thursday that does it for this edition of "news nation." thanks for joining us. up next, "andrea mitchell reports." to keep my eye on her... but i didn't always watch out for myself. with so much noise about health care, i tuned it all out. with unitedhealthcare, i get information that matters... my individual health profile, not random statistics.

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that's why i got a new windows 2 in 1. it has exactly what i need for half of what i thought i'd pay. and i don't need to be online for it to work. it runs office, so i can do schedules and budgets and even menu changes. but it's fun, too -- with touch, and tons of great apps for stuff like music, 'cause a good playlist is good for business. i need the boss's signature for this. i'm the boss. ♪ honestly ♪ i wanna see you be brave right now on "andrea mitchell reports", bloodshed in ukraine, three pro-russian separatists reportedly killed in

violence. the carrot and the stick, the first negotiations between russia and ukraine brought together in geneva by the u.s. and europe. extended talks as in moscow, vladimir putin calls eastern ukraine new russia. thorn in the side. putin also showcases edward snowden in today's teleconference, letting snowden make a surprise appearance during a nationally televised q & a. >> so i'd like to ask you, does russia intercept, store or analyze in any way the communications of millions of individuals? >> we will bring you the answer. meanwhile, trapped, driving rain and wind hampered the desperate search today for 278 passengers, many of them deanag deanagers, still missing from that capsized south korean ferry. 18 people are confirmed dead. survivors describe the horror as they were blocked from escaping. this 18-year-old says i almost got trapped. if i was told that i should go outside coil,