louisiana voting anew to retain that state's long since overruled and totally unenforceable law that makes it illegal to be gay. just to make a point, they're keeping the law on the books. what a country. one big lovely confused country. ""weekends with alex witt"" stacks now. still searching. rescuers are looking for the mission this morning in what is being the missing -- rather, what is being called the deadliest accident ever on mt. everest. you'll hear what survivors saw. the south korean ferry accident. it's take jn on new tragic twists. delaying a decision. final word on the keystone xl pipeline will be left for another day. does this latest move give us a hint what the white house might do in the end. are there lines msnbc's tamron hall won't cross when interviewing guests? the answer in this week's office politics.

good morning, everyone. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." here's what's happening right now. new this morning a desperate search is on for three missing guides after the deadliest accident ever on mt. everest. at least 13 sherpas were killed after an ice avalanche and now we're getting a clearer idea what happened as disaster struck. more from nbc's chief foreign correspondent, richard engel. >> reporter: there was a time when bodies were left on everest. >> helicopter is landing. >> need more medical help. >> reporter: dozens of climbers voen toured up to the avalanche zone at 19,000 feet to search for victims, all sherpas from nepal. helicopters landed precariously on ledges of ice and hovered dropping long lines to hoist out the injured and dead. rescue workers straddled cables

as stretchers spun in the cold, thin air. the disaster struck as a few dozen sherpas walked here under huge walls of ice. the sherpas were carrying tents and food to foreign positions for forwarding mountaineers who have arrived for climbing season but as the sherpas advanced, chunks of ice crashed down on them. >> there's big pieces of ice as tall as five story buildings. >> ben jones is an alpine guide on everest. >> as the sun hits these big pieces of ice hanging on the mountain, they start moving a little bit. if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, we have tragic accidents. >> reporter: amazingly this man survived, bruised by the crushing ice ball. nbc news television crews were on site preparing for a documentary for the discovery channel. all nbc news employees are safe. since everest was first conquered six decades ago by he had muntd hillary and sher

sherpa tenza sergei, dozens have reached the summit. >> they most certainly are brave people. they're the most hard working, nice people i've ever met in my life. they just continue to do the job that they're asked to do. >> and that was nbc's richard engel reporting there. climbing plans are halted and while some climbers are leaving the mountain, hundreds are at the base camp. they are ready to take their chances. new reaction is pouring into the obama administration's move to await a long awaited review of the keystone xl pipe rylinep. it will carry from alberta canada to refineries on the gulf coast. kristen welker is at the white house. good day to you. what is behind the move, kristen. >> reporter: alex, good morning. the state department says it has delayed the decision due to a legal dispute that is currently

before the nebraska supreme court which would actually impact the route of the pipeline in that state. now legal experts say that means that this decision could be put off for a year after of course the mid term elections. as you know, this is an incredibly divisive issue so reaction was swift. it was strong. others are using it as a decision to criticize. 350.org said quote, it's disturbing he doesn't have the courage to dismiss it. his reaction, quote, this delay is shameful with tens of thousands of american jobs on the line and our allies in eastern europe looking for energy leadership from america. it's clear there's little this administration isn't willing to sacrifice for politics. democratic senator barbara boxer

called it the right call. she's the senate environment public works chair woman. as you can see, alex, a lot of reactions coming in. the state department currently in the middle of a 90-day review of this. they say that review will be ongoing. this is, as you said, a 1700 mile pipeline that would stretch from canada all the way down to texas. supporters say it could create as many as 20,000 jobs. some estimates put that even higher. others say it's much lower, close to 2,000. those that oppose the pipeline say it could do damage to the environment. we should say that a state department review found that that would not be the case. so the debate over the pipeline continues. continues to be robust, but the bottom line, alex, it appears as though a final decision likely won't come until after the mid term elections. alex. >> kristen welker, thank you very much from the white house for that. here's the question of the day for all of you. the keystone pipeline project, should it move forward or should

it be stopped? you can tell us why. talk to me on twitter. my handle is @alexwitt. we'll be receipting your tweets on the show. we have other political headlines to share. the national archives released the biggest batch of documents from the clinton administration. this includes 7500 files covering topics from health care to monica lewinsky. hillary clinton also participated in high level meetings. also president clinton's political footing after the lewinsky scandal. they're encouraging people with accounts to change their password in response of the heartbleed security flaw. there's no evidence the healthcare.gov website has been compromised. rough weather and choppy waters are not helping the divers in their desperate search for survivors aboard the sunk jennifer ri off the south korean coast. 32 people have been confirmed dead. more than 270 are still missing. the ferry's captain was arrested

today on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need. nbc's bill neely is joining me from south korea. what is the latest on the search and rescue efforts there? >> reporter: yes, good morning, alex. from a place of, well, deep frustration and sadness as the parents begin to feel that hopes of finding their children alive inside that ship are fading fast. they did, however, get to see and hear from -- in detail for the first time from the captain of the ship who is, of course, now under arrest and facing charges of criminal negligence. they heard him apologize to them and explain what he had done. he said he didn't order an early evacuation because he feared that some of the people in the life jackets might simply drift away on the sea because no rescue boats had arrived at the time. alongside him was the 26-year-old woman who was steering the ship at the time.

she was sobbing. and also the helmsmen who blame the steering gear. the captain was photographed abandoning his ship early. he was filmed arriving on shore. one of the first survivors to arrive on shore. he is 69 years old and he's now in custody. for relatives though, alex, it's very difficult. i've just come from a gym where many of them are staying, and while i was there one of the officials announced that two more bodies have been found, those of young girls with long, dark hair. as he said that, there were screams from the floor of the gym. they've also had to watch a video, an underwater camera, the hull of the ship. it was shown to partly show them how bad the visibility was. they've also given dna samples in order that the bodies that are brought on shore can be identified more easily. really incredibly difficult for them. the rescue operation, of course, goes on but in difficult conditions. the divers saw three more bodies

but weren't able to retrieve them. huge cranes are being brought in to lift the ship. this won't happen until the parents agree and the moment they don't agree one man telling me that we simply cling to our hope. we cannot give up hope that our children might still be alive and that the school where those children came from really poignant scenes. another candle lit vigil, not just for the children but for the popular vice principal who organized the trip, who was with the children and who survived but then sadly killed himself. please put all the blame on me, he said, in a suicide note. a really tragic story amidst so many tragic stories here in this heartbreaking disaster. alex. >> heartbreaking to be sure because so many of these students, 16, 17-year-old kids. and talk about the messages that they sent, bill. that's the stuff that just rips your heart out. they knew something was wrong and they were texting amidst the

disaster. >> they were texting and, again, the messages are so, so chokingly poignant. one little boy saying to his mother, you know, i just wanted to tell you, i love you, mom. and perhaps like any parent, she texted back saying, of course you do. why are you saying this to me now at this time. and the boy suggested that this might be his last message. again, another boy sending a message to his brother and his brother saying, just -- just stay strong and do what they tell you. and of course the tragedy is that these children did exactly what they were told, to stay put in their cabins, and that's what cost them their lives. and another little girl talking -- not little girl, i think she's 16 or 17, but texting her father and her father trying to encourage her to go to the top of the ship, but the girl saying, we can't. it's tilting too badly. yesterday at the school the

friends of all those children were also posting very poignant messages on post-it notes and pieces of paper and taping them to the windows of the classroom saying, you know, come home soon. we love you all. so this whole thing is absolutely heartbreaking, alex. >> bill neely, just an excruciating story to report and cover. thank you so much for doing that. we appreciate that. malaysia says the search for the missing malaysian airlines plane is at eight critical juncture. it's expected to finish scanning the narrowed zone within the next week. right now it is focusing on an area with a radius a little more than 6 miles wide. the "los angeles times" is making its own headlines this morning after a shooting threat forced a lockdown in its building. police swarmed the "l.a. times" building but they did not find a gun. the l.a.p.d. arrested a man believed to be in his 20s. the times reports that he worked for a company that rented space. the man said he had been depressed and he didn't mind

killing someone. he also reportedly handing one person a bag of bullets. the "l.a. times" have more reports a warning system gave mexico city's a minute's warning for the 7.2 quake. the epicenter was two miles a wampt acapulco got 30 seconds. california does not have this type of warning system yet. the u.s. geological survey needs $16 million a year to implement it. the president says the obamacare debate is over and he's winning. we're going to get reaction. and why is the price of coffee beans reaching a record high? the story in our big money headlines. their homes and save money. does it make sense to refinance right now? a lot of times we can lower the monthly payment, we can consolidate debt. we just want to make sure that you know your options, and we're here for you. we're not just number crunchers. i specialize in what i do and i care about my clients. from beginning, the middle and to the end, you're gonna talk to someone. not a machine.

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the point is the repeal debate is and should be over. the affordable care act is working, and i know the american people don't want us spending

the next 2 1/2 years refighting the settled political battles of the last five years. president obama highlighting the 8 million people who have signed up for the health insurance under at fordable care act. joining me washington bureau chief of the chicago sun times lynn sweet and defense reporter lee munsel. welcome to you both. lynn, i'll begin with you. you heard the president saying the debate on repealing obamacare is over. is it? >> it's not. the november elections in many of these house districts, alex, and in some senate races is going to be to some extent at least about obamacare and there's nothing that the president can say that will switch this trajectory. it may change how the candidates talk about it, but you still have people who are getting these policies who may not -- who are still finding out if the service is as good as it was billed. you still have people who signed up for obamacare who had

canceled policies who may not be happy with the replacements. we do have that balanced out by all the people who get coverage. we've been through this, right? the people pre-existing conditions, the parents who keep their 26-year-old on, but the debate is not over, not with the mid-term election coming. >> lee who's with the "l.a. times", the president took repeated jabs at his republican critics who pledged to roll back the law showing a willingness to go on the political offensive on the subject. so how much is this a boost for the president? 8 million people have signed up even exceeding the expectations. what do you think the implications are for the mid terms? >> the implications for the mid terms will depend on where you are. places like massachusetts, various incumbent are being attacked on their support for the health care law. representative steven lynch came out yesterday on radio in massachusetts and said that his colleagues who had voted for the law in massachusetts are getting hit on that and he thought that they would end up losing seats

in the house and potentially the senate. so he was saying that that would be a big concern. >> yeah. and conversely, lynn, for all of those vulnerable democrats who distanced themselves from obamacare that are facing mid-term elections, those folks can face 8 million signups. that was in the fall. has enough time passed that you think they can now embrace this? >> well, they certainly don't have to run away from it, but there's a lot of positions somewhere in between, alex, that democrats could stake out and that is we can improve it, we could change it, open to revision, make some accommodations for business owners that have concerns and, in fact, the democrats have done this. they've changed the requirement dealing with reporting to the irs. and president obama has always said he was open to fixing it. what he's trying to do with the statement that he made at his hastily called press conference is try to mute republican call

to repeal and reinforce the message that this is settled law and it can be improved. it's a way to frame it that helps democrats frame it going into november. switching gears beginning with you, lee, the obama administration is delaying the vote on the keystone xl pipeline. politico is calling it a wrenching decision. what is the calculation here? >> at this point the delay pushes back a decision on the keystone pipeline that could put it past the november election. that's kind of an ideal situation for the white house. it doesn't necessarily push it past the november election but they don't want to be dealing with this at the same time as trying to protect vulnerable democrats and at the same time they don't want to endanger their base. they don't want to anger green or environmental activists so improving the pipeline would be difficult as far as building support among obama's base, but then on the other side, they

don't want to endanger some democrats like mark begitch in alaska and mary landrieu in louisiana, both of whom could be hurt because of their pro pipeline stances. >> speaking of senator begitch -- we have speaker boehner. i'm frankly appalled at the continued foot dragging by this administration on the keystone pipeline. today's announcement means we'll miss another construction season and another opportunity to create thousands of jobs across the country. so give me your interpretation on what this impact would be with the delay on democrats facing difficult races this november. >> it's a blessing, alex, simply a blessing. this is an issue that crosses -- that is -- attracts -- it's bipartisan. there are democrat and republican alliances for it and against it, but the -- as we've just discussed, it's a no-win for the white house when you're

talking about rallying democrats. there are interests that want it, interests that don't as we've discussed, and the delay is not as politically harmful as a decision would have been coming into november. so with the choice delayed you create less political damage, especially among the base democrats than if you had given a green light for the project. and there is just no way that i could have seen the administration going forward this close to november. >> okay. lynn sweet and lee munsel, laid yees, thank you so much. >> thank you. is the easter bunny cutting back? that's one of our big three money headlines. first from our partners with crazy stuff that they're doing with peeps.

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and we're here to help start yours. in today's three big headlines, bean counting. nancy cook who covers economic and domestic policy. thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> what does the nation's unemployment picture look like at the state level? >> sure. they just came out this week. there was a lot of good news in there. unemployment dropped in 21 states. 2/3 of states saw job gains but you still have this huge disparate across the country. you have places like north dakota that have a 2.6 unemployment rate and then you have a place like rhode island which has been hard hit by the recession and the aftermath and that still has an unemployment rate of 8%. so you see just these huge variations state by state. >> okay. let's go to a bean counting and

higher prices now for a couple of consumer favorites. >> yeah. well, they're my favorites. so the big issues that we may see that we're talking about today is coffee bean prices may go up and also the cost of chocolate may go up. and so the coffee bean prices may go up because brazil, where 1/3 of the coffee is produced in the world, has had a spade of very bad weather. it wiped out a bunch of the crop. so we're going to see more volatile swings in the coffee prices. in terms of the chocolate, it's just that consumption is really rising. places like china are starting to buy more and more chocolate, so it means as demand goes up for that, it means the price of chocolate may also rise in the coming year. and of course that affects easter candy potentially. >> it's also going to affect my wallet big time on both ends. >> me, too. >> speaking of cut backs, the easter bunny apparently cutting back, yeah? >> a little bit. there was a new study from the national retail federation that talked about how consumers are expected to spend slightly less

this easter. they're going to spend an average of $137 on things like clothes, groceries, eating out and easter can' candy, whereas year they spent $145. it's a modest decrease. it goes with what we've seen on consumer spending which has been modest. people have been slow to spend money even though we're five years out of the recession at this point. >> okay. hey, nancy cook, this was great having you on. come back in for the three big money headlines. >> any time. new perspective on what went wrong in mt. everest. i'll talk with a man who summited everest seven times next. ...we'll be here at lifelock doing our thing: you do your connect to public wi-fi thing protecting you in ways your credit card company alone can't.

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welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." new overnight, search teams have pulled a 13th body from the snow at the site of friday's deadly avalanche on mt. everest. rescuers are quickly working to find the three guides that are still missing. this is being called the deadliest day in the history of

the world's tallest peak. joining me now is someone who knows that peak all too well. ed biesters. he wrote "the mountain, my time on everest." thank you for being here. we appreciate your time. i know you've sum meted this mountain seven times. talk about this mountain, the popcorn field where it happened. >> it's directly above base camp and between base camp and camp one. it's the area of the glacier as it's sliding down the mountain at three feet per day. it's starting to break up and cause a jumble of giant towering pieces of ice. and it's slowly moving conveyor melt pieces of ice blocks. it takes three to six hours depending how fast you're moving. it's kind of one of those areas that you know something can happen. there's risk involved. and you've got to move through there as quickly as possible but as we saw on this incident, if

you're in the wrong place at the wrong time when one of these ice blocks decides to tumble over, you have tragedy and people die. >> yeah. ed, these avalanches, is there anything that man does, the fact that we're on this glacier, are we doing anything to make things less stable there? >> no. i mean, we're -- you know, if you look at the ice fall and you see people climbing in the ice fall, they're minuscule compared to this gigantic mass of ice. you can be there in the daytime, you can be there in the nighttime. the ice will do whatever it wants to do. the whole plan is to just move there very quickly and hope that nothing happens. >> this say plan that the sherpas know very well. they know it better than anyone. they've gone through it many times. they were certainly aware of the dangers, weren't they?

>> yeah. everybody that goes to everest and climbs this particular route understands that this section of the mountain is one of the most dangerous parts of the mountain. and you basically accept that. and if you don't accept it, then obviously you're not going to be there, but it's one of those uncontrolled risks that you have to accept. >> yeah. and they were heading up there to do what's called fixing the ropes, right? they were getting up there to set basically the ropes that other climbers coming up next month, which is the primetime to climb everest. anything about the fact that they were climbing in april or no? >> no. april is the time when we have to fix the ropes, we have to carry loads of equipment to establish four other camps higher on the mountain. so april is the time when all of this work is being done to build the infrastructure so that other climbers can climb to the summit in may when that window of good weather comes. so right now is the heat of the

season. >> yeah. look, you've climbed this mountain seven times. you've got to have some harrowing stories as well. can you recall one of the most difficult times for you on mt. everest? >> yeah. for me it was in 1996. we were there making an imax film and that's the tragic season where eight people died high on the mountain, and two of them were my close friends leading other expe dish shuns. >> rob hall and scott fisher. >> rob hall and scott fisher. we got involved with the rescue. i know what these people are feeling now. you have decisions to make. you've got people to recover. you've got a memorial service to prop bli have at base camp, and then as a team you have to decide what do we want to do now? do we go home or do we continue with what we plan to do? >> ed, in 1996 didn't you join those that were trying to rescue as well? i mean, when that horrible storm hit high up on the mountain in

1996. >> yeah. we kind of watched things unfold. we were at camp two, and once we knew that something was going badly wrong up high we organized ourselves and climbed back up the mountain in the attempt of bringing down survivors. >> what are the challenges? i mean, you say you organized yourself. you tried to get up there to do something, but given the lack of oxygen, the confined space that's safe within which you can work, the loads, what all really can you do to help in a situation like that? >> you know, the reality of climbing these high mountains is above 20,000 feet, you can't do a helicopter rescue. it's people climbing up to rescue the people that need their -- you know, their lives saved and sometimes we simply can't get there fast enough. and in those cases people that are struggling and trying to survive high in the mountain die of hypoxia or exposure.

that's kind of the sad reality. the survivors though are needing assistance, so it's up to the people that are there to kind of say, it's not our priority to do what we came here to do, it's our priority now to go help others. and we're seeing that right now on everest as well. people are going out of their way to bring down, you know, bodies or look for surviving climbers as well. >> will there be an eighth summit attempt for you? >> you know, i don't know. i've been to everest 11 times and i always kind of say i think i'm good with everest. i've loved being there. it would have to be some intriguing reason for me to go back. i think i've done what i want to do on everest personally, but, you know, you never say never. >> can i just say from someone who has dreamed about being at the top of everest all of my life, just what is that like? >> you know, it is the pinnacle of achievement. you've climbed to the highest point on earth.

it's not easy. it's 29,000 feet. you have to train for that. you have to be mentally motivated. everything has to go right. when you get there and you're standing on that summit, you're looking down on every other mountain on earth, and it is this amazing feeling of personal accomplishment, and i think that's what people do when they climb these mountains. that's what they're looking for. >> and is it true, ed, that it's almost more difficult coming down? and if so, why is that? >> yeah, it is. you know, people assume that the going up part is the hardest part, and it is very difficult, but a lot of climbers use all of their energy and all of their resources focusing simply on getting to the summit, and i've sau always said that that's the halfway point. you still have to get down. on the descent people are tired and they've let down their emotional guard. in fact, that's where a lot of the accidents happen, on the

descent from the summit. you have to plan not only for going up but going down. it has to be a round trip. >> ed viesturs, thank you so much for your time. we appreciate it. >> thank you. to ukraine now where pro russian separatists are refusing to stand down despite the brokered deal between the u.s. and moscow. they will not lay down until the new ukrainian government dissolves. meanwhile, president vladimir putin said that some of the russian troops will receive state medals. join me from donetsk is jim maceda. jim, has anything changed in this week's talks? >> reporter: hi, alex. the militants still occupy all of the buildings. the police stations and city halls, they still control those as they did.

if you go down the block to danetsk, you will see the same barricades you did last week. if you leave town and go into a number of occupied towns say an hour to two drive from here, it's the same number of pro russian check points along the way with their piles of tires and sand bags and armed militia men that you would have seen last week. there is one change to report, alex, it's that the militants haven't expanded their operations in the last couple of days. for the time being they seem to have kept the same number of check points, the same number of towns and buildings that they've seized. there seems to be a very pregnant pause right now on both sides. the pro russian militants and the government in kiev waiting to see what the other does next. meanwhile, those pro russian militants say it's willing, they're willing to pull out of their positions but only if what they call the illegal hunta back in kiev starting with the prime

minister and president resign first. behind all of this russia clearly influential is already pushing back against that deal that was signed with the kremlin saying yesterday that what it calls the neofascist militants in kiev must disarm first before the pro russians. so you see, until russia gives the signal to these militants here in eastern ukraine to change course, most of us think that this potentially explosive standoff is just going to continue. alex. >> we thank you for watching it minute by minute for us. thank you, jim maceda. let's turn to the hunt for malaysian flight 370. they say the robotics submarine should complete the newly narrowed search zone within a week. the blue fin's first six missions have come up empty. what does this say about the hopes to solving this mystery? now in the sixth week. i'm joined by greg fythe. welcome back to the program and good morning to you.

>> good morning. >> what do you make of today's update by the malaysian authorities? >> well, i think that, you know, there is some part of a sad reality here that they've covered a lot of territory. unfortunately, they're looking at another week of trying to scour that particular area, alex. whether or not that's going to actually produce anything, that's the $64 million question, if you will. and i think that that's why the malaysians are now in perth, to try and re-evaluate exactly what they're going to do as far as distribution of assets to try and find something related to this airplane. >> yeah. greg, why do malaysian officials say the next two days are critical? what's it about these two days? >> i think really it's -- it may be even more than that. it could have been a figure of speech. it could have been that they were just really focused on the fact that they are going to be in perth. they want to see what's going on firsthand and they really need to see some sort of progress because that's how they're going to gauge where they're going to go from here. there is a re-evaluation process

that needs to take place. we've got a lot of assets on station. really depending on how much effort they're going to put to the surface search versus the underwater search. >> greg, if blue fin 21 finds nothing, then what? >> that's a good question, alex. you know, they're going to have to re-evaluate, do they go back to where they were about a month ago and search that area? do they expand the current search area? i think a lot of it's going to have to do with what they see on the bottom of the ocean, if there is any kind of telltale sign from blue fin 21 that that is the area that they need to stay in and they just need to expand the area. that's the decision that they're really going to have to make. >> how do you see this ending, greg? do you have a sense? >> right now it's not going to end well, i think, for the families, only because i don't think we're going to get the closure that they want and that they need.

we may find some pieces of debris. i don't know if it's going to be in that particular area right now. i'm not really optimistic even though i try to be. you've got to be realistic. i'm not sure that the black boxes will be found, and even if they are, they aren't really going to tell us the story. and i know that the families are hinging a lot on that, especially by the questions they've been asking the malaysians lately. it's obvious that they've been well studied and counselled, but the question is, you know, will they get the answers they need for closure? we as technicians and investigators, we can pretty much figure it out with very scant pieces of data, but for them it's a different story. >> we always appreciate your answers. thank you so much. >> take care. in office politics, tamron hall answers whether there are lines she won't cross when she's covering politics. from brochus to business cards to banners. everything... except your client's attention. thousands of products added every day to staples.com,

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politics my msnbc co-host tamron hall is here. she shares a pastime passion of hers. first i began by asking the challenges of hosting two morning shows on two networks. >> msnbc show ""news nation"" is on at 11 a.m. eastern and we moved up the time so that i would be able to leave the "today" show and have a short window in between so that you don't hit a wall, to be honest with you. that's a long day and it's a day that certainly i'm happy to have because i love my job, but the window gives me about 55-minutes to prepare for the show. however, i start meeting with the "news nation" team -- i think i get my first e-mail from my executive producer around 5:30 in the morning. i'm kind of going back and forth. other than that, life hasn't changed. i still stay out late. i still hang out. i still do me, you know, the good stuff in life.

>> what does me entail? >> mostly it entails eating. that's my faf rest pastime. everyone who follows me on twitter knows i'm a foodie. i love entertaining. i've been taking cooking classes for about two years now. do little dinner parties when i can. when i'm not feeling up to it, i go out to dinner. i have fun. >> that's good. do you view your role on "today" differently than you do your role on msnbc? >> no. they're both team sports. the msnbc is a solo anchor show. my team behind me are the co-hosts of the show. they're always in my ear. we create the show and he would build the show today. with the "today" show the team is right there. you see, you know, the co-hosts with me as well as the team behind the scene. you are an individual, obviously, but we're all better, i think, when we're part of a

team and i'm lucky to have two teams behind me. >> msnbc obviously does a lot of politics. >> yes. >> your show, "news nation," moves a lot beyond that as well. is that important to you? >> absolutely it is. i'm a journalist. you're a journalist. we're not pundants and that role is obviously important to the success of msnbc, but what's also important to msnbc is news. with our show, as with your show, we're able to combined the two worlds and because we're on early, your show is on early on the weekends, we're on earl live during the weekday, when people wake up they do, i believe, want a well-rounded show. >> totally agree. >> they want their politics because this is a place for politics, but they want to know what's happening in the day. >> are there lines you won't cross when you're covering politics? do you find that at all difficult? >> you know, i don't. i don't find it difficult because, again, you know, i've been on this planet for 40 something years. i've been a journalist over 20 years. i know my role as a journalist.

i know we can add perspective, which doesn't mean opinion. i do think sometimes people try to strap you with this that you're giving an opinion when it is -- and they know, point of expecting you, for example, to be rachel maddow. she has her lane and we have ours. we all exist successfully in those lanes. i don't feel that i struggle with it, but sometimes people want to put that label on us that we're opinion people and we're not. >> at noon eastern, we talk about the expectations on president obama and tell us about huerta too that pays tribute to an important part of her life. experts are looking at this al qaeda video, but what on the tape concerns them most? ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the nissan altima with nasa inspired zero gravity seats. ♪

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there are reports that a drone strike in yemen has killed al qaeda militants and at least three civilians. this comes days after a new al

qaeda video surfaced showing a large gathering of militants. it's believed to be shot in february or march and among those seen is the new al qaeda number two who says they must keep trying to bring down america. joining me now is former cia officer jack rice. with a welcome to you, i'd like to get your interpretation of this video. how do you see it? >> it really shows the difficulty that the west has here. the problem we have with al qaeda is that it's difficult to tell who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. there's an unstable government and with the prison break it establishes it makes it even more difficult. we don't have a platform to push from. we continue to use drone strikes, and we do, and yet at the same time, the more aggressive we are on using the drone strikes, the more civilians we take out at the same time that we take out those academy suspects. the more you drive into the hands of al qaeda and that's

really what we face. >> you mentioned the jailbreak among those on the video are believed to have gotten out. the timing here, that makes something you need to read into. do you see anything on that? >> not as of yet. that's the difficulty. i think what we're also seeing is their willingness to really get out will and try to push their stature. one of our problems on a worldwide basis is this is a home grown organization. yes, it is al qaeda, yes, they have connections, but their focus has been to destabilize the regime, seize control of their own. they have reached out only a couple times. so we continue to watch. but they do have capability. they do have intelligence. they do understand what they are doing. >> what about this new number two in al qaeda featuring so prominently on camera. does that surprise you? >> it does actually. when you consider the success that the west has had in targeting very specific individuals, frankly in yemen

itself, your willingness to put yourself in the cross hairs says a lot. it's either confidence or foolishness. you decide which. when you do this, you put your face, you put yourself on a map or at least a grid coordinate and the americans, in particular, are watching that coordinate. >> and this new number two is the head of the organization. it's one of the biggest threats to u.s. interests. do you believe it has the capability to attack here on american soil? >> they haven't done it as of yet, but there is a reach. fl is that connection with the horn of africa. we have seen aqap. we have seen them reach into the horn itself. i'm coming to you from minneapolis right now. minneapolis has one of the largest so monthly populations outside of the country itself, and there have been those connections. there have been reaching to this place. so there are very real concerns

in the united states. >> okay, jack rice, always appreciate your insights. that's a wrap of this hour. be sure to join me for a two-hour edition of the show. up next, another dive into the chris christie documents. u keepr lifestyle in retirement? 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. i try not to worry, but you worry. what happens when your paychecks stop? because everyone has retirement questions. ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. to get the real answers you need. start building your confident retirement today.

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get? a busy morning ahead with big chris christie news out of new jersey and with word of another grand jury investigation involving a 2016 prospect, rick perry in texas. also news this morning out of south korea where coast guard officials say three more bodies have been recovered bringing the death toll to 32 people. most are