it arrived after he moved out. and he never got it. but he's not worried. checking his credit report and score at experian.com allowed him to identify and better address the issue... ... and drive off into the sunset. experian . live credit confident.™ a chilling scene this sunday as divers reached that sunken ferry. we also now have a transcript of the crew's confusion and indecision that may have helped cause the tragedy. it will be the safest place on the planet. that is what the director of the boston marathon is saying. but will it? a live report a day before the big race tomorrow. bp is pulling out of the gulf exactly four years to the date after the huge explosion and oil spill. is the cleanup complete? in office politics, my colleague tamron hall declares our discussion life class, and church on this easter sunday. the reason coming up.

hello, everyone. it is high noon here in the east, 9:00 out west. if you're celebrating, a happy easter to all of you. divers in south korea have pulled more than a dozen bodies at the site of the sunken ferry ship. the death toll is above 50, with 240 still unaccounted for. the captain who remains in police custody initially ordered passengers to stay below the deck where they may have been trapped. nbc's bill nealy joins me from jindo, south korea, with the very latest. hi, bill. >> reporter: yes, alex, hello. after four days of frustration and failure, divers have now found several ways of getting into the sunken ship. the pace of this operation has quickened, and the death toll is rising. the divers, hup be dreads of them, are using axes to smash

through windows and get into the passenger area of this ship, really for the first time. they've established corridors, installing ropes to go back and forward with the bodies. for some of the relatives, that's a great relief. they really desperately want mare children out of the water. others are asking why wasn't this done days ago when there was a possibility that our children were still alive. many of those relatives, though, have lost patience. they left and went on a protest march, hoping to confront korean officials, and they were instead confronted by the police who blocked their path along the road. there were scuffles. the relatives were yelling and shouting at the police, why are you doing this? appealing for help, somebody, please help us. eventually their protest march was broken up. you know, for the parents, it is incredibly difficult. i've been to a gym today. every time a new body is recovered, the details of that body are flashed up on a large screen.

the height, the hair, a description, the clothing. those tiny details trigger deep emotions. there's anguish, screams from the floor, from the relatives. one woman told me, really, she said, i just want to die because my son is dead. but i have to stay alive for my daughter. another man saying, a lot of parents have now accepted their children are dead. they have now lost hope. as to how this disaster happened, one official said they're ruling out, almost ruled out the possibility that the ship hit a submerged rock. they're focusing instead on this young 24-year-old female junior officer who was steering the ship, prosecutors say, for the very first time through a short-cut, through treacherous waters, while the captain was in his cabin. here are the funerals that have been taking place today, including three 17-year-old students. it's no longer a search and

rescue operation, this is a recovery operation. it's a national tragedy. and for those parents who are still here, it is a long and painful wait. pack to you, alex. >> thank you very much for that report. let's go to politics. new reaction from both parties to the latest affordable care act milestone. 8 million health insurance signups and the impact it could have on the midterm elections. >> republicans are obsessed with taking away, and focused on doing everything they can to block president obama at every turn, even if it means hurting the middle class. while at the same time you have our candidate like mary landrieu who understand this is a law that's working for millions of people, and as we discover there are problems, we should work through them. >> you're making the argument -- >> it's clear that obama care is still the number one, number two, and number three issue going into this election. the democrats are running from

it, talking -- distancing themselves, talking about things -- they won't talk about the fact that they were the deciding vote, out there advocating that they want to implement it, they want to talk about how they can distance themselves from it. >> happy easter. do you get to celebrate later today, kristen? intense reaction from both sides. how is this all playing out today? >> reporter: it is, and happy easter to you as well, alex. i think you're hearing democrats, particularly those, the leading voices in the democratic party, like debby wasserman schultz calling on democrats to change their strategy when it comes to the president's health care law. earlier last week he came into the white house briefing room and held that news conference, when he encouraged democrats to esexually embrace his health care law now that 8 million people have signed up. i think that was part of the key message from debbie wasserman schultz today on "meet the press." you're starting to see this in some of the tough races.

where democrats aren't completely running away from obama care. but they're not completely embracing it either. david gregory made the point that gene jaheen in new hampshire in a radio interview said this, quote, i think there are important things about the affordable care act that are working and working very well. i think we need to fix the things that are not working. walking that very fine line, alex. you're seeing other democrats in tough races sort of walking that similar fine line. but republicans are not going to stop their all-out assault of the president's health care law. i think what will change, though, is p ares not calling for repeal in the same way. i think you'll hear them talk more about the ways in which they want to fix the law, because polls show appealing the law is not popular. >> kristen, another key issue i want to talk about is the obama administration's delay decision on the keystone xl pipeline. twitter and facebook, we put a

question out there yesterday, a huge response. i'm curious from your vantage point, how much of a response is it sparking? >> reporter: it's sparking an incredibly heated response. it's drawn hundreds of protesters outside of the white house at different points. they said it will hurt the environment even though we should point out that the state department's independent review found that it wouldn't have a significant impact on the environment. the obama administration has said that they delayed weighing on whether or not they were going to approve the pipeline because of a legal dispute currently before the nebraska supreme court. as you can imagine, as you well know, alex, republicans seized on that, accused the obama administration of just playing politics, trying to punt a thorny issue until after the midterm elections. but of course, punting that decision did box some democrats in. democrats who live in big oil-rich states. here's what debbie wasserman schultz had to say on this

earlier today. >> i think you have to continue to take a close look at it. the environmental concerns are legitimate. the economic concerns are legitimate. >> are you worried as a party chair that this shouldn't be resolved before the election, because of the potential impact it could have on vulnerable democrats? >> as a member of congress who represents hundreds of thousands of people in south florida, i want to make sure the right decision is arrived at and that the president makes that decision carefully and doesn't factor politics into his decision. >> so a diplomatic wasserman schultz. legal analysts have looked at this and said that it could be at least a year until that legal issue gets resolved in nebraska. so it could be quite some time before the obama administration makes that decision. >> okay. kristen at the white house, thank you so much. >> thank you. other political headlines, president obama heads to asia after canceling his scheduled visit last fall due to the government shutdown. he'll be holding bilateral

meetings with the japanese prime minister, and then to south korea with meetings with that nation's president. and saturday to kuala lumpur to discuss trade policy. let's go from there to boston. huge stepped-up security for tomorrow's marathon, which comes one year after last year's bombing. an act of terror that left three dead and more than 250 injured. this morning, texas congressman mike mccaul on homeland security weighed in on whether the city of boston is ready. >> i do believe it's very ramped up security-wise, cameras, personnel, canines, all sorts of bomb-detecting equipment. i do think it's well fortified, very difficult to penetrate that. >> the past year has been an emotional marathon as well. let's go to ron who's joining us from boston, and how security measures are going to keep them safe. ron, good day to you. >> reporter: hey, alex. good day to you. beautiful day for racing.

wish we were running this race today. i would almost put on my shorts, but i'll spare the people of boston that sight. this is the 118th boston marathon. this has been the longest, most painful year between marathons in the history of this great race, but suffice it to say, tomorrow is the big race finally. a crowded field of about 36,000 runners from the world's elite to first-timers is eager for ready, set, go. on saturday, a more casual pace. a 5k race that drew more than 10,000 runners. a tribute walk that brought out bombing survivors and wounded warriors moving in solidarity. >> a bunch of us that were injured over in iraq and afghanistan felt compelled to reach out to the people here. and let them know life is going to continue. >> i think v.j. is like having family here. he's been a huge part of our recovery. >> reporter: for many, monday's marathon is a chance to finish

what was started a year ago. >> i was still on the course. i was unable to finish. i made it to mile 25, where they stopped us. so i'm back this year to cross that finish line. >> reporter: an ethiopian is back to defend his title from 2015. and f-1 is last year's female champion. no matter who actually wins the $150,000 top prize in both divisions, many consider the city of boston the ultimate victor a year after tragedy. >> i want to thank you for your courage and resilience, and your strength, for all the different folks in front of me, whether you're first responders, survivors. thank you very much in making the city so strong. >> reporter: as you can imagine, security is going to be super tight tomorrow. 40 checkpoints along the race route tomorrow. folks are being discouraged from

bringing big items to the race course. leave them in the car or at home. marathon monday they call it here in the commonwealth, we're expecting 1 million-plus people to line the race here to cheer on the runners, alex. >> i dare you to put on your shorts and get out to run. it looks like a beautiful day. celebrations here in the u.s. and around the world as christians mark the easter holiday. pope francis gave the blessing in which he condemned the wastefulness in the world while so many go hungry. he also called for an end to the conflicts in syria, africa and ukraine. this is his second easter serving as pope. and the archbishop of canterbury talks about the suffering of people in conflict around the world. and of course, here in the u.s., a sunrise service was held at the lincoln memorial in washington. worshippers gathered on the steps and sang beautiful songs there, as you can hear for

yourself. the first family attended a service at the 19th street baptist church in washington, as they entered the church a small choir sang a rendition of "oh happy day." easter weather is looking beautiful along the east. talk about picture-perfect. highs in the 60s in new york and washington. in atlanta last night, pretty rough weather. strong winds were toppling several trees. but the skies are fortunately clear today. jen carfagno from the weather channel is here. >> parts of texas, could see severe weather across west texas from lubbock down to midland, maybe toward the abilene area. hail or damaging winds would be the main thing to watch. chicago, our warmest in four years. 77 degrees. indianapolis, our best easter sunday weather in about 15 years. overall, we're going to have

some much more mild temperatures. the southeast, warm temperatures with easter sunday as well, too. up to the 70s, and nearly 80 in a few spots for today. easter monday, 79 in nashville. tuesday forecast very mild, into the southeast. the northeast gets in on it as well. and temperatures going up to not just average, but even above average for a couple of folks up here. temperatures approaching 60 again in new york city. 60s in d.c. east monday, watch the d.c. forecast for the white house egg roll there on the lawn. temperatures will be about 70 and dry and nice and sunny. across the country, the main spots to watch for showers are just a couple of areas in the eastern, north and south carolina. the middle of the country, across west texas into western kansas and oklahoma. otherwise, the west coast looks nice and dry on this easter sunday. that's a look at your weather. >> for which we thaw. happy easter to you, jen. a man immortalized in a movie by denzel washington.

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president putin has a dream to restore the soviet union. and every day he goes further and further, and god knows where is his final destination. >> that was the ukrainian prime minister in an exclusive interview with "meet the press" this morning. democratic congressman gregory meeks, and financial services committee, welcome to you. thank you for taking time on this holiday. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> do you agree with the prime minister in terms of what he said? do you think president putin is trying to rebuild the soviet

union? >> i think president putin has an interest in the area. i don't think that, you know, whether he has a desire to rebuild the soviet union, that he can or he will. i think we are in a serious situation, and the best thing that could happen is a diplomatic solution, and absent that, i think that -- if that's his dream, it's a pipe dream. >> interestingly, "new york times" and "washington post" both stating that the u.s. is deploying troops for nato exercises in po lan and estonia. is this any sort of saber rattling? to be honest, it is just about 150 soldiers, a company, in each place. how do you interpret all that? >> there's messaging going back and forth. i think the president is clear that nothing is going to happen on the ground. as far as american troops. but i do think they're trying to cooperate with our nato allies, which is important.

because i think the ultimate weapon that we have is sanctions. and the only way that sanctions will work with russia, or anyone for that matter, is a mul multi-lateral way. we have to make sure we're continuing to work with our nato allies. if our nato allies want some maneuvering done on the ground with that, that's good, we're cooperating with them. and then if it comes to that point, we need our nato allies to be with us for sanctioning against russia, they will be with us. a lot that's going on, there's a lot of interconnectedness, between our allies and russia and the economy. once we do, a number of individuals are asking about us giving the stiffer sanctions, it's not only going to have an effect on the russian economy, it will have an effect on our nato allies. i think what you see is the cooperation between us and nato, as it should be, as we try to deal with this issue.

>> okay. representative meeks, we'll focus stateside here. the house is back in session next monday. the democrats will try to push for the senate's unemployment bill and the republicans say we're not going to vote on this bill until it includes some job creation measures. so how do you see this playing out? >> i see it playing out the republicans are playing games. every day, more and more americans, democrats, republicans, independents, are suffering because we have not extended unemployment insurance. the american people are going to see through it. the president had been trying to talk about employment. the unemployed americans, the president has been talking about doing an infrastructure bill. we can put americans back to work immediately. the republicans have refused to move forward. i think the republicans are playing games. they have gotten stuck on the affordable care act. and now over 8 million americans have signed up, and it looks like it's working. they don't know where else to go, because that's all they can say, the elections will be about aca, aca. aca is now working, americans

are getting benefits from it, they don't know what else to do. i think they're trying to, you know, make some smoke in the air some kind of way. but by the time november comes, the smoke will have cleared and the people will see who's bringing back america. >> is there any way in terms of this unemployment bill? almost 3 million americans affected by this. is there any way to get that passed and have another bill simultaneously going through? wouldn't that make sense? >> i'm absolutely there. we should just pass -- that should be something that's not a political issue. it should be something that's an american issue. because all americans are hurt by it. and we should be able to do -- i really had expected that we would have done it much earlier. we should have done it in january. we should have not allowed it to expire in the first place. >> yeah. you mentioned aca, aca, aca. if we wrantd to say that as many times as has been voted on by republicans to repeal that, we'd be in the 50s here.

do you think now more than 8 million people have signed up for this, that you're still going to be having votes in the house to repeal the affordable care act, obamacare? >> probably until at least the primary season is over. because the republicans still have -- they still have the tea party folks. what happens is, once they see where the american public is moving, then they've got to figure something else out, i would imagine. because i don't think that the aca is going to be the issue that it was back when it first was rolled out. the only reason of that is because of the poor rollout, not because of the substance of the bill. >> let's talk about what can only be called a holiday with the friday news dump, if you will. the white house now stalling the decision on the xl pipeline until probably 2015. the note is after the midterm elections. is this such a divisive issue, that among even average voters, they have to put this off? >> well, yeah, i think it's a

serious issue. especially given what we just talked about, in ukraine and the others. we now have more natural gas that we're starting to create, and we can export. whether we utilize it, in that regards or not, and whether the pipeline will be good in that regards, as far as energy is concerned. but also, we have concerns as to what environmentally damages could occur. therefore, you don't want to do anything in haste. you want to make sure that you're doing it the right way, because if in fact that you figure that we're selling more l & g, and that's a good thing, but in the long run we find that we are danging our own environment, because, you know, what caution i give is some of the same individuals that we want to help, and we should, they refuse to frac in their own areas, because of environmental concerns. so we want to resolve that, because we only have one earth.

we have to make sure that is protected. anything that we do there, let's not just do it in haste, because we think it's good for our economic concerns. let's make sure we do it and it's also good for our environmental concerns. both have to be looked at very critically, and weighed very carefully before we make a decision on that. >> a judicious answer, for which i thank you. >> my pleasure. office politics with tamron hall. why tamron called our conversation life class. [ male announcer ] ortho crime files. reckless seeding... ...failure to disappear. a backyard invasion. homeowner takes matters into his own hands. ♪ ortho weed b gon max. with the one-touch, continuous spray wand... kills weeds without harming innocent lawns. guaranteed. weeds killed. lawn restored. justice served. weed b gon max with the one-touch wand. get order. get ortho®.

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>> reporter: alex, it's starting to feel like now or never, once again out here. they have a week right now where they are most intensely searching the area that they have a lot of hope for. it's the area they've been further refining every single day. those four sets of acoustic pings that the ocean shield detected last week. it's the one where they believed the plane to be. if they don't find it in the next five to seven days, they'll have to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new strategy. they're not clear right now whether or not they're going to continue using bluefin-21 or go another route entirely. right now it searched about halfway through a six-mile radius, about three miles through that right now. eight missions, op its eighth mission right now, scanning the ocean floor, creating a 3-d map. seven previous ones have been completed. unfortunately nothing of note has come up on those scans. they do say they're still hopeful they're in the right area. alex? >> katy tur, thank you so much for that. a new study on the outlook for economic prosperity in

america. the report making the conservative organization look at state policies that boost free enterprise. apartments.com ranking the best cities for new college graduates. factors are considered like employment opportunities, housing affordability and social life. number one salute goes out to alexa henderson, the history for the youngest person to leave the hospital with an artificial heart, allowing her to be home for easter and her 17th birthday. she's waiting for a heart transplant and we wish her all the best. those are your number ones here on "weekends with alex witt." hey. i'm ted and this is rudy.

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welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." the boxer whose wrongful murder conviction became the symbol of international justice died today of cancer. carter spent 19 years in prison

for three murders at a new jersey tavern in 1966. he was freed in 1985, when his convictions were set aside after years of public advocacy. his case was publicized in the movie "hurricane" starring denzel washington, and, of course, the song by bob dylan. he was 76. virginia is for lovers of politics. this past week, that meant republicans and democrats alike gathered deep in the pine woods of virginia. this year, the annual fish fry was a battleground for democratic senator mark warner and his republican challenger mike gillespie. we found out which way the crowd is leaning for one of the most critical races in the midterms. >> reporte . >> it's like a political pulse on the commonwealth of virginia. years ago, when the bird machine was in power, it was only white males here. and then in the '70s, ladies started coming. people of color.

and then it's all inclusive. >> how has the event changed? is it similar or changed a lot? >> it's gotten more politically correct. >> it looks like it's becoming bluer every day. >> parts of the elector at that too long republicans have allowed democrats to take for grant. my campaign won't do that. >> i realize i'm here as an endangered species. virginia democrat. >> joining me now is former democratic senate staffer, jimmy williams. and republican strategist and former newt gingrich spokesman nick tyler. >> happy easter. >> first of all, from what i understand, you both live in virginia, right? have either of you ever been to shad planking? come on. who's up first? >> no. i like shad, but i'm not going to go down to wherever that is. i can do that at home for free. >> the "washington post" has an interesting article here today about president obama's push to

get democrats as excited about midterms as republicans are. barring major democratic shifts, is that something of a fool's errand? >> well, look, the president has -- what does the president have left in the last two years of his term, the bully pulpit? either he's going to motivate people to get out and vote for people on the ballot, which he's not, or he's not. that's up to him. no one has the transportation abilities or the vocal abilities or the press abilities to actually go do that other than the president of the united states. so he has that weapon. the question is, will he use it, where is it welcome, is it welcome in louisiana with mary landrieu, probably not. is it welcome in colorado for mark udall? probably so. the president has to be very smart who he wants to motivate, and exactly when he wants to motivate them. you can't pull the trigger too early on these kinds of things. >> where is the difference, if there is any, about republican strategy in 2014 versus 2012?

>> the president was a lot less popular in 2014 than 2012. the obamacare is the big weight around his neck. first of all, jimmy's right, he's not getting a lot of invitations. especially what the bully pulpit would afford him, which is a powerful tool. i worked in a lot of different campaigns around the country, and obamacare is still upside down. the democrats don't want to remind people of obamacare, but they certainly aren't campai campaigning on obamacare, because it's a losing issue. >> do you agree? >> well, it's obamacare. we're calling it obamacare. he has to own it. all the democrats in the senate and house, they voted for it. so if they voted for it, they can't run away from it. i said this over and over again. if i'm mary landrieu, i'm going to run up and down the parrishs around new orleans and say, you can now go get health care, where many of you before could not go get it.

the republican governor, bobby jindal, said no on medicaid. so that means many of you won't get it even if in other states. she voted for it, she should own it and use it as a political tool to help turn out her base to get them to vote. she can't do it in the upper part of louisiana, that's a republican strong hold, but she can in the southern parrishs. if i'm her or kay hagan, i'll go to the college campuses and say, are you still on your parents' insurance? because you can. or you can sign up. that's what i would do if i were these candidates, absolutely. >> what seems to me, rick, 8 million people have signed up. you can't deny there is a level of success there. how long do you think republicans are going to continue in the house to try to repeal this? after 50-some odd failures trying to do that? >> compared to the rollout, it sounds like a success. unfortunately look the a the numbers more deally. that is almost 5 million people lost their insurance because of

obamacare. presumably those knenee needed insurance, now they have insurance that's a lot more expensive, that has much higher deductibles and in many cases cut their doctors and hospitals out. of those 8 million people, 5 million are probably upset about the coverage they have. in addition to that, we don't know how many of the people even made their first payment, because the administration won't release that information. i assume that's because most of those 8 million -- some of those 8 million people ultimately are not going to be covered. it's really a number right now that has no meaning. >> jimmy, quickly. >> we're not including the medicaid numbers. i couldn't get insurance because of my preexisting condition. when my cobra ran out. now i pay half as much. my premium is half as much as it is and my total out-of-pocket is $3,500 a year. it's a total success story for me in the commonwealth of virginia. >> one of the biggest stories this year, mcconnell versus

grimes. that was one of the most successful in the country. how do you think that's going to play with the state voters, rick? >> the success of obamacare, the relative success of obamacare? kentucky? >> yeah. >> probably less of an issue than in other states. ultimately, obamacare in my mind is a lead balloon. people have lost their doctors, separated from their doctors, and sometimes pediatricians, sometimes their doctors. again, jimmy's an unusual case. most of people's prem use have gone way up. >> i'm not sure i'm an unusual case. once the numbers bear out, i think they'll say i'm more of the majority than the minority. >> what do you think about kentucky? >> i think stu and cook say it's a tossup. mcconnell is in trouble in the state. i think that the voters of kentucky look at obamacare and go, okay, i might be republican, but guess what, i now have insurance, whereas i couldn't get it before because the democratic governor said we

could do it. that's a success story all across the state. he has to run against obamacare in a state where obamacare is a massive success. i'm not saying that as a partisan, i'm saying that as a cold hard fact. he's never in the state. they don't like him that much. he doesn't win by huge margins. he's in big trouble this time. >> thank you, guys. good to see you both. thank you. in today's office politics, my msnbc colleague and co-host tamron hall, you're going to hear the advice she got from the person who inspired her most in her life. and we'll nearly come to blows over where to find the best mexican food. but i asked her what's behind her job. >> it's a passion of mine, as is today, as is the case with msnbc. but it comes from a different spot. but the show is one hour long, news, magazine show. and i'm with family members who

have lost someone to a violent crime in many cases. and in some cases i end up talking to individuals who have committed some of the most awful things that you can imagine. and they're trying to convince me that they're innocent. it's easy to be behind an anchor desk and forget people. but i've been able to be in the homes of people, connected people who have gone through something similar to what my family's experienced. we start the show explaining that my own sister was a victim of a violent crime that's yet to be solved. and i did not plan on doing a show after my sister was murdered. never crossed my mind. i was in a conversation with the team over at discovery communications, and they wanted to do a show with me. i didn't know what it was going to be. we just wanted to work together. >> on the "today" show, you recently took part in the inspired by series. talk about who you spoke about. >> i spoke about my dad, clarence newton sr. he's the only dad i've ever really known. he's not my biological father.

i have a biological father who's a wonderful person, but i was raised by my stepdad. and i love him tremendously. my dad, my stepdad passed away when i got here. my first year. it was devastating. i remember thinking, what will happen with my family. you know, i just thought, gosh, what will we do without my dad. and he inspired me in many ways. he told me i can do anything. my dad was in the army, pretty near 30 years, and he was the most compassionate, most understanding, and the most loving dad that a girl could have. i was very lucky. >> okay. favorite food? >> mexican food. >> favorite restaurant here in town? >> i am in search of a good mexican restaurant in new york. >> you have to go to l.a. for that. i'm just telling you. >> i don't know. >> l.a.? >> what? >> mexican food showdown. >> what? >> it's a date.

>> listen, baja fresh is what you guys probably do out in l.a. >> no. lucy's can tin a. is there a story that stands out to you as being the most important for either "today" or msnbc? >> there's not one story, alex. i tell people each day, you know, we can't create or make things, no matter how some try, we can't. and the thing that is such a blessing about the job is that we wake up each day to a different day. we follow the news. hopefully, in some cases, we expose things that can be life-changing. but you wake up one day and there's an event, you know, in the world that it's our responsibility to cover. so each day is a different day. i'm blessed to be connected to this. >> it's a privilege, isn't it. >> it is a privilege. >> i love giving people the information that i hope will allow them to just get through their days better. >> yeah, girl!

amen! this is life class with alex. >> this will air sunday. >> there we go. >> okay. yeah, i love that girl. catch "news nation" with tamron hall here on msnbc weekdays. the bp oil spill, the lasting impact after the worst environmental disaster in u.s. history. when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪ to help people clean better, and that he travels the world inventing amazing new cleaners, like his newest invention, liquid muscle, that lifts and cleans tough grease with less scrubbing.

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before swinging for a home run. [ crowd cheering ] good is choosing not to overshoot the moon, but to land right on it and do some experiments. ♪ so start your day off good with a coffee that's good cup after cup. maxwell house. ♪ good to the last drop this is what an environmental disaster looks like up close. for the first time we get to show you the source of the oil spill. this is the pipe, what's left of the oil well. this is 5,000 feet beneath the gulf of mexico. >> powerful images from "nightly news" back in 2010. today marks four years since the spill widely considered the worst offshore oil disaster in u.s. history. explosion at the bp-operated drilling rig deepwater horizon killed 11 workers and set off an uncontrolled oil gusher that lasted 87 days, spilling some 200 million gallons of oil into

the gulf. just this week bp announced it's ended its active cleanup along the louisiana coast. emma, welcome to you, as you mentioned this article, bp is ending its active cleanup along the louisiana coast. what exactly does that mean and what does the next phase entail? >> thanks for having me. bp announced on tuesday that the active cleanup was wrapping up. and they would be moving into the next phase of the cleanup, which will be more targeted, when new reports of oil pop up on the coast, they will send crews right away to respond to those reports. >> okay. and this is also being done elsewhere along the coastline. other states have already gone into this phase and meeting with success. have they had a lot of cleanup? >> yes, they've had more than 1,000 reports in the last year. since last summer. in florida, alabama, mississippi. and the crews go out and respond to those reports. the coast guard really emphasized this week that the cleanup is not over, they still

have a long way to go. >> what do you see some of the lasting impacts that these affected communities are still dealing with? >> bp said they spent $14 billion on the cleanup. so the last four years has been just a very intensive cleanup process. over 5 million barrels of oil spilled out in this explosion. so it's been a lot of hard work, and there's still more work to do. >> i'm curious where it stands now in terms of the leases in the gulf of mexico. they were banned back in 2012. what's the status today? >> recently, the epa and bp decided, they came to an agreement where they could explore new leases in the gulf coast. and that was a controversial decision. but the epa gave the go-ahead to do that. >> okay. thank you for the update there from emma. he avoided a 13-year prison sentence because of a clerical

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a missouri man is battling the legal system because he's now being forced to serve a prison sentence that should have started more than 13 years ago. mike anderson avoided prison previously because of a clerical error that caused the state of missouri to believe he was already in prison. and anderson's victim even believes anderson should not be in prison. >> i had the sense everything was okay. no matter what was going to happen, that everything was going to be okay. to this day, i still have it. >> it's very difficult for me to say, we can create an exception, and we can allow somebody who has found a way, whether it's by his own doing or otherwise, to not have to serve the sentence. >> msnbc legal analyst faith jenkins joins us now. this is really pretty unbelievable story.

just tell the viewers how it happened and where it stands right now with the appeal. >> in 2000, anderson was convicted of armed robbery after a trial. after he was convicted, he filed an appeal. while he was waiting for the appeal, he bonded out, i think it was $25,000 bond. so he was out in 2000. that appeal was dpd. he appealed to the missouri supreme court. he was out during that appeal. that was also denied. so at some point, a warrant was supposed to be issued, his bond was supposed to be revoked by the state. that didn't happen. then in 2004, he filed a writ of habeas corpus with the state of missouri and asked for them to set aside the verdict. the first line in the paper said he was out pending appeal. no one from the state noticed during this entire time. after 2004, he remained out. no one ever came looking for him. he didn't hide. he lived his life, just went on with his life waiting for someone to show up. no one ever did. >> we're showing pictures of his family. this is a man who's married, got

four kids. interestingly, the prosecutor is adhering to the line, if you do the crime, you've got to do the time. >> that's simply not the way our justice system works. our job is not to arbitrarily try to implement statutes and rules in terms of sentencing. you take into account every case your number one job is justice. when you try to do justice, you look at cases individually, and you look at the facts and the circumstances, and you decide what is justice in this case. clearly, 13, 14 years now have passed. this is a man who's self-rehabilitated essentially. he didn't go to prison, but he started his own business, got married, had four kids, became a contributing member of our society and our community. at some point, punishment doesn't need to be the priority, it's what's best for our society. taking this man away from his family, away from his community for the sake of putting him in

jail for a number of years isn't the right choice here. >> interestingly, his victim says, give the guy some slack here. he screwed up when he was younger, he says, but the fact is, he seems to have gotten his life together. what about the river front times in st. louis? the executive clemency is the clearest path to going home. it may be the longest shot. nixon has only used this power once, by contrast other governors commute sentences by the hundreds. he has petitioned the governor. >> i think it's an uphill battle here. he doesn't have the law on his side, but he has mercy on his side and hopefully someone will see that justice in this case is to allow this man to continue to live his life. even the attorney general, he came out and said that there's a way here that we need to consider all of the factors involved. this was not his mistake, it was the state's mistake. he has went on, and created this wonderful life for himself in his community. all of those things need to be taken into account. along with the seriousness of

the crime that he has committed. there are alternatives to incarceration. we implement those alternatives in many cases every day across this country. and this is probably one of those cases where they want to do that, more so than anything else. >> faith jenkins, thank you very much. >> thank you. on the mend, the minor league baseball player recovering after taking a 90-mile-an-hour fastball in the face. [announcer] if your dog can dream it, purina pro plan can help him achieve it. ♪ driving rock/metal music stops ♪music resumes music stops ♪music resumes [announcer] purina pro plan's bioavailable formulas deliver optimal nutrient absorption. [whistle] purina pro plan. nutrition that performs.

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hey there, everyone, welcome to "weekends with alex witt." here's what's happening. happy easter to those of you celebrating. that is grieving relatives who clashed with police today in jindo, south korea, because they were angry more was not done sooner to rescue the hundreds of passengers still unaccounted for in wednesday's sunken ferry disaster. newly released transcripts show a traffic service official called for the evacuation just minutes after the first distress call. quote, please go out and let the passengers wear life jackets and put on more clothing, the controller said. an unidentified ferry crew said, if they evacuate, will you be able to rescue them?

the death toll has risen to 58. 240 still missing. bill nealy joins me with the very latest. >> reporter: after four days of frustration and failure, divers have now found several ways to get into the passenger area of that sunken ship. so the pace of the operation here has quickened. that is will little comfort to the parents of so many missing children. you can hear the pain. the death toll rises, the anguish deepens. one by one, their children are being identified. their descriptions put on screen. height, hair, clothes. child 55, 56, both boys. my child was alive in the water, i had a text message, she screamsment but most parents now accept their children are probably dead. some have had enough, marching from the rescue center in

protest. these relatives are already angry at what they say are the delays in the rescue operation. and they've now been stopped from marching from what looks like a pretty heavy-handed police operation. there were scuffles as police blocked them. they wanted to confront korean officials looking for someone to blame for this disaster. please help us, she cries. someone help us. lee yung lost her 17-year-old son. the boats are coming ashore more often now, nearly every body, that of a 16 or 17-year-old. divers have now found five ways into the ship, breaking windows, and installing ropes, hundreds of them scouring the ship. but only one in six of those who disappeared have been recovered.

for the parents, this is a long and painful wait. as for how this disaster happened, one official says they almost ruled out the possibility that the ship hit a submerged rock. they're focusing instead on a very sharp turn by an inexperienced junior officer who prosecutors say was steering the ferry for the very first time. >> thank you, bill. to politics in news today. leaders from both parties outlining their strategies for the upcoming midterms. >> every election, it is critical that we turn our vote out. and i would, and will, match up our ground game and turnout operation, running circles around the republicans any day of the week. >> joe is running as far as he can away from the democratic party.

when it comes to federal races, it has shifted tremendously. >> i will say this -- >> kristen welker is at the white house for us. kristen, both parties are arguing about the impact of obamacare and what it will have on the midterm. what are they saying? >> reporter: sean spicer making it clear that republicans will continue to hammer away at the president's health care law in 2014, saying that it is still an issue that rallies the republican base. democrats, debbie wasserman schultz echoing what president said last week, that democrats shouldn't be defensive about the health care law, now that it has exceeded the 7 million enrollment by the first enrollment period. she said democrats should highlight what's working about the law. also, highlight what they would change about the law. and she underscored the democrats' strategy in 2014, which is going to be to target women voters as they try to hold

on to the senate. take a listen to a little bit more of what she and sean spicer had to say. >> there are millions of people who understand the benefits of the health care law. particularly, women who i've spoken to who are breast cancer patients, who no longer have to choose between the chemotherapy or -- >> you're arguing number of americans, this is the gallup poll, 54%, the numbers of people, and in the stories continue. this week we saw a number of widows in alabama lose their insurance because of the stories continue. >> while polls do show that the president's health care law is not incredibly popular, the idea of repealing it isn't popular either. i anticipate we will start to hear more and more republicans talk about how they might change the law, amend the law. this idea of repealing it might start to slip into the back drop as republicans try to win some key seats in 2014. >> looking ahead to this week,

the president's trip to asia later on, what's on the agenda? >> reporter: well, this is all a part of the obama administration's attempt to rebalance its relationship with asia, its pivot to asia, if you will. this is president obama making up for a trip he canceled in the fall due to the government shutdown. on the agenda on wednesday, he arrives in tokyo. this is an official state visit that will include a dinner with the prime minister, as well as a bilateral meeting. he's also going to visit some key historical sites there on thursday. he has that bilateral meeting with the japanese prime minister. then on friday he meets with the south korean president. he's also going to meet with business leaders in south korea. on saturday, he heads to kuala lumpur, malaysia, where he will have a town hall event at the university. he's not visiting china on this trip. a lot of people will be watching to see how often he actually mentions china. of course, the united states has

tried to be a counterweight to china in the region. he does have a trip scheduled to china in the coming months. >> kristen welker at the white house, thank you. boston is taking its security to new heights ahead of tomorrow's marathon. besides having police on the ground, boston will have eyes and ears everywhere, thanks to high technology. and noses on the ground thanks to a specialized canine unit. >> reporter: everyone is going to feel the extra security here tomorrow. racers can't bring backpacks on the course. spectators are told not to bring coolers. and to expect to go through metal detectors. there are 40 check points along the course of the race. law enforcement officials say the extra measures are as much about putting people at ease as they are about to security. the mobile command unit for the massachusetts state police was not brought in for last year's marathon, but it will be up and running tomorrow. >> we've had it upgraded, the technology is newer here, the capability is obviously better,

the communications are seamless. >> reporter: video from police helicopters and more than 100 security cameras all along the 26.2-mile route can be instantly accessed on screens or laptops. the center will help local, state and federal agencies coordinate 3,500 uniformed and plane clothes members of law enforcement. that's double last year's number. >> we're better prepared, better leaders because of our experience last year. >> reporter: since the attack, the boston police department has invested heavily in its bomb unit. chris connelly and his team have more people and equipment, including a new nimble robot, an 85-pound kevlar blast suits. >> 15 minutes. >> you just can't hold it up that long? >> reporter: five more bomb-sniffing dogs. good girl. on race day, betty and bronson will be part of a 45-dog team from around the region. >> we're going to be checking

crowds, checking packages, checking anything that comes in the area. >> reporter: law enforcement officials say they want to strike a balance between securing the race and having fun at the event. >> great marathon. it's near and dear to all bostonians. >> reporter: one thing that isn't going anywhere is the hugs and kisses they get from the women of wellsey college. the tradition lives on. they reiterate they can't completely secure the race, but they're actively encouraging people to come out and support the runners. i can tell you that the restaurants here are filled, the hotel rooms are filled. it's going to be quite a crowd here tomorrow. >> stephanie, thank you so much for that. celebrations here in the u.s. and around the world as christians celebrate the easter holiday. the pope gave his blessing in

which he condemned the immense wastefulness in the world while so many go hungry. he called for the end in the conflict in syria. worshippers gathered on the steps of the lincoln memorial. the weather on this easter sunday looks like it's going to spare any severe storms, thankfully. this is a band of activities from the heart of texas through the heart of wisconsin. there is a chance for strong thunderstorms in parts of kansas and texas. most of the west and eastern third of the country will be generally dry. temperatures will be pretty comfortable out west as they usually are. mild in the northeast and warm in the south. piece in georgia and carolinas had a soggy saturday, triggering flash flooding in parts of the state. our next guest said economic

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welcome back, everyone. today in ukraine, the crisis has turned deadly, despite calls for an easter truce. at least three people were killed near the eastern city of slavensk. this is the latest sign last week's talk in geneva have done little to ease the tensions. in an exclusive interview on "meet the press," the prime minister gave his take on vladimir putin's ambitions. >> president putin has a dream to restore the soviet union. and every day he goes further and further. and god knows where is his final destination. >> with me now in bremer.

ian, welcome. you were quoted in a recent interview saying this crisis is, quote, the most seismic geopolitical event since 9/11. is it really that critical, and if so, why? >> well, the united states doesn't have the kind of direct interests at play in ukraine itself, but when we talk about the disposition of russia, one of the world's larger economy toward the west or asia, a real pivot, one that will matter for a long term. this is a major country in play. it's very clear that the relationship with the west is broken. inexorably so. >> give me an idea of their economy. >> it is the eighth world economy. it will grow moderately. >> which is why you would think economic sanctions might have some effect, correct? to avoid recession in that country.

>> sure. economics is the thing we're driving the russians first and foremost, we would certainly feel that way. but it's clearly evident that's not the case. the ukrainians are a basket case and have been for a long time. the russians have been supporting them with an enormous amount of aid, gas subsidies. that amounts to $280 billion of cash going from russia to ukraine over the last 20 years. they haven't done that for their health, they haven't done that because they think it's a great place to invest, but they believe it's fundamentally their territory. the notion that the russia will back down to the west and let ukraine turn towards nato or the eu is completely -- it may make sense if you're an economist, the average russian, putin's approval ratings, over 80% now. >> you mentioned natural gas there. i want to look at some of the european nations and the way they depend on russia for that.

finland, 100% of its natural gas comes from russia. hungry, 80% to 85%. italy 29%. here's the question. can the gas be acquired elsewhere or does russia have real leverage here? >> they do have leverage. that's the reason the americans have backed down on escalation of sanctions over the past week, one of the reasons the americans wanted to negotiate in jegeneva. russian tanks were actually rolling into ukraine. most europeans did not want to see any further sanctions. some would oppose sanctions even with a russian invasion. and here we're not just talking about finland, we're talking about germany, which is a very significant economy. which has an enormous amount of trade and energy that comes from russia. the united states doesn't have much direct economic relationship with russia. it's much easier for us to talk tough here. >> in your "new york times" column that you wrote, you argue the u.s. should support more on supporting kiev and less on

punishing moscow. give me a sense of what the support should look like. >> it clearly means lots of high-level political engagement. it means direct economic support to help the ukrainians avoid a default, which is quite feasible. and it also is all sorts of non-military aid. i don't believe direct military aid to the ukrainians would help the ukrainians avoid the fragmentation. >> how about the fact that the u.s. is engaging in major-led exercises? do you think that sends a message of unanimity? >> if you're in the baltic states, and you view ukraine a direct threat to yourself, the nato needs to show the americans are there. the americans also need the nato allies to pay economically for their own defense, something that these european states have been reducing their defense expenditure over the last years. they clearly will have to

rethink that, and rethink it in a context that they themselves have just gotten out of recession in 2014. >> politically and economically, what do you see is happening if russia pushes into ukraine proper? >> i think that the russia relationship will pivot to asia in a very serious way. the russian parliament has just forgiven 90% of their debt to north korea, because they want to do further pipelines to the south. i think next month, when putin goes to beijing, they'll do a massive gas deal with the chinese. i think that european relations, and american relations economically will be at a dramatically lower level than they are right now. russian economy will be hurt. the urine economy will be hurt. and the americans will show another red line that they've been unable to follow through on. >> what do you think president putin really wants? you heard the ukrainian prime minister say he wants to cobble back the soviet union. what do you think he really

wants that's attainable? >> that's overstated by the ukrainian prime minister. i know why he's saying it, though, because he's losing his own country. so he needs to demonize putin as much as possible. but understand that russia is a country that's been in decline for 25 years now, politically, economically, socially, geographically, any way you can be in decline, the russians are in decline. for the russians, losing ukraine was one step too far. again, overwhelmingly the russian people believe that ukraine is a part of their country. gorbachev hates putin, but he supports southeast ukraine being part of russia. the russians are looking at ukraine right now and saying, this is an illegitimate government. this is our territory. we've been supporting it. the west is not going to be allowed to come in and take it over. and so they see it in zero sum terms. they intend to keep it. because it matters so much more to them than it does to the united states, they're likely to end up seeing it their way.

long term, this doesn't benefit the russian people or the russian economy. in fact it probably hastens their decline. u.s. sanctions aren't going to stop the russians going into ukraine. but it does matter to the russian economy, and over the long term their decline will be hastened by america's sanctions. it just won't get the outcome we want in ukraine. >> ian, excellent discussion, for which i thank you very much. >> thank you. a stunning new report on american children being forced into sex trafficking. the author of a new book talks about her nightmare and a warning for all parents to listen up, next. man: nice morning, scott? scott: aye, or... a mornin' of tiny voices crying out, "feed us"! man: i don't understand... scott: your grass, man! it's a living, breathing thing. it's hungry, and you've got to feed it with scotts turf builder. that a boy, mikey! two feedings now in the springtime strengthens and helps protect your lawn from future problems.

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which city you're in. nationwide, as many as 300,000 children are forced into prostitution and/or child pornography every year. increasingly it is middle class suburbs that are becoming hunting grounds for sex traffickers. joining me now, holly, a victim of sex trafficking. holly writes all about human prey, how america's youth are vulnerable to sex slavery. holly, thank you so much for being here and the candid nature of your book. >> sure. thanks for having me. >> you became a vocal advocate because you yourself are a survivor of child sex trafficking. share with me and our viewers briefly what happened to you. >> well, i was trafficked in 1992. so it was some time ago. it was the summer between 8th grade and 9th grade. lung many young teenagers i was struggling with depression, i was struggling with losing my friends in between that transition from middle school to high school. and i was struggling with my parents, like many girls and

boys are. so i met a man at the local mall. and we exchanged phone numbers. and he said things to me that made me feel really special, like i was too mature for high school, i was pretty enough to be a model. of course, i was self-conscious, low self-esteem. he made me feel better about myself. he also painted this glamorous lifestyle that he led. he said he traveled across the country. and he went into famous dance clubs and met famous people. and if i chose to run away, he could get me a fake i.d. and get me a job in the fashion or music industry. and get me into dance clubs. so i made this rash decision and i ran away. but within hours of running away, i was forced into prostitution in atlantic city, new jersey. >> wow. it's very interesting, because in your book, you write about anti-trafficking posters, and all the images and say they may be making it worse because they project blame on certain type of

victims. i often see pictures of little girls crying, some in pigtails, some holding teddy bears touting lost innocence. this was not me. by 8th grade middle school, i was sexually active and undisciplined. did this make me less of a victim? explain that, and why you feel the victims of sex trafficking are stigmatized for choosing to stay with traffickers. when the study finds they have no other options. >> the problem is, a lot of people who are really trying to do good, and raise awareness to this issue, they're using a lot of images that include battered children, chains, and ropes tied up -- their hands are tied up, they're screaming and crying. a lot of times that's not really an accurate depiction. it can make those victims who are lured a i way from home or have no other options feel less of a victim. for those who are just getting

exposure to sex trafficking through these images, they find it hard to see how a child who is out of options and in atlantic city is a victim of sex trafficking, or victim in any way. >> how long did it last for you? >> luckily, for me, i was only under the control of my traffickers for a couple of days. and i consider myself very fortunate. i've met survivors across the country who were under the control of their traffickers for days, weeks, months, and even years. >> what was it like when you got out of those few days? and you got back home? what was life like? >> it was very, very difficult, because not only did i not understand what had happened to me, my family didn't understand what happened. law enforcement, service providers. but i managed to see after my recovery, and i felt very stigmatized, very judged, very isolated. so i advocate for immediate

after-care for victims. and really, education among law enforcement, service providers, and the community, to better understand how to work with victims. >> can you leave us, holly, with something that that is the single most important thing we can do to help combat this scourge? it is a horrible problem, and we're now really at the height of it. versus any other time in history. >> i think it really boils down to communities. each community has to take care of -- and really rally up to prevent and help victims. prevent trafficking, and to help victims coming out of exploitive situations. it really starts in the communities. and we need to bolster whatever services are available. we need to create services that aren't yet available. and there's a lot of services that we can do that seem common, like mentoring. if you can mentor one child, then you're going to help

prevent exploitation happening to that one child. or if you don't have the time, please donate in another way. donate your skills, or money towards organizations that are helping vulnerable children and their families. >> author of "walking prey" holly, holly, a very candid interview. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. the courage of boston, how the city's recovered from last year's devastating attack. i'm going to talk with two pulitzer prize-winning reporters next. the reason so many people fear the fastball. how this hitter survived the scare of his baseball life. if uent. because a lot of people pour in a little extra. and that reduces their total loads. but with tide pods, one pac equals one load. so try tide pods, and pop in value.

little things, anyone can do. it steals your memories. your independence. insures support. a breakthrough. and sooner than you'd like... ...sooner than you think. ...you die from alzheimer's disease. ...we cure alzheimer's disease. every little click, call, or donation adds up to something big. alzheimer's association. the brains behind saving yours. welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." boston's come back from last year's marathon bombings prove the community's strength. security is getting reinforced to make sure runners, volunteers and spectators are safe. >> the good news is, since the last time, after we've done our reports and investigations on

what happened last time, is that now we're having full cooperation with the fbi, in terms of on the ground security, and so i feel confident. >> joining me to talk about boston's recovery are pulitzer prize winning reporters co-written the new book "long mile home: the epic hunt for justice." with a welcome to you both, before we get into the details of the book, i do want to ask you about the security, and the measures that have been put into place and how much you think they are set and ready to go for tomorrow. jen, i'll ask you first. >> sure. obviously, as you can imagine, there's been a lot of planning for this race tomorrow. i was just down at the finish line area this morning. it's a pretty remarkable scene. there's a lot of energy. and there will certainly be much stricter security tomorrow. there will be a lot more police and law enforcement out there. there will be a lot more restrictions on movement and on bags that people can bring in.

so i think there's mixed emotions. there's certainly a sense that we will be seeing this race turning out a little -- the atmosphere will be a little bit different, and people are a little bit of trepidation about that for tomorrow. >> the incidents earlier in the past week, where you had a couple of backpacks that were set aside, one left by a media group, one was somebody who was just intending to just, i don't know what, there's something wrong with him. but when you talk about that, clearly they caught them, but hast year would they have? >> you know, i don't know. this is one of the things that it's easy to look back and say we could have done this or we should have done this. it's not like security wasn't tight before this year. for years, especially since 9/11, they've had tons of police around. they've swept the area for bombs. they have done a lot of things in years past. but can you prevent two guys coming in, at the last minute, and dropping backpacks? i don't know. that goes to the heart of what the marathon is here. it's such a great open event

where you can really walk up to the edge of the course, or at least you could until this year. the trick this year is to try to maintain that balance between the necessary extra security and also maintaining that sort of magical openness that the race has always enjoyed. >> jenna, define for me the words boston strong. what's your interpretation of those words? >> it's been a rallying cry here since literally the first hours after the bombing last year. and it arose, i think, out of this shared sense that we have here of the marathon belonging to all of us in the city. you had a couple of college kids who started to print t-shirts almost immediately to raise money for the victims using that slogan. people have just embraced it. it's been a source of strength for some of the survivors who have been fighting their way back. it's still enduring. it's not going away. people seem to be hanging on to that. >> what do you think, scott, is special about boss ttonians and their perseverance?

>> as jenna said, this is in many ways is an attack on everyone. and especially for the people who lost loved ones and the people who were wounded. and the emotionally wounded. in a sense everybody was touched by this. i think that has inspired everyone to come together and to try to reclaim it. you saw the sense of defiance among the running community and law enforcement, and the average citizens from the moments that this happened. i think this weekend, you really feel that walking around the city of boston. everybody's in their running jackets. everyone's excited, the weather's great. i think there's a real effort this year to sort of take back what has always been ours. >> in a practical sense, jenna, this is not just any marathon. marathoners come from around the world to run in this one. the country's oldest marathon. from a commerce perspective, how important is it for the city to move forward? >> it's really important to reclaim it and bring back the crowds. and from every indication, we'll have bigger crowds here tomorrow

than we've maybe ever seen, both amongst the runners on the course, and the crowds that will line the course to cheer them on. i think there's a sense we've done that. if anything, that the terrible events of last year have brought new energy, and new resolve. at the same time i do think people are looking forward to both the ration, and also the day after the race when we can start to kind of get back to normalcy and move forward. >> it's been called, your book "long mile home." scott, why was it important to document this? >> the biggest of my time here in boston, we felt we wanted to sort of use the leverage that the "boston globe" coverage had and build it into something more lasting, more meaningful. we set out to find a few core people to focus the story around. the book follows five central characters. i hope if readers pick it up, they get a sense of what it was like to go through this on a

ground level from a variety of perspectives. there's so much to this story. it was really important to us to capture not just that awful week, that dramatic week, but everything that came after, which we're still talking about it today. those things will go on forever. >> you two won a pulitzer prize for your outstanding coverage of the marathon bombing, its aftermath, which we congratulate you, as well as this book. i'm readsing the review. it's a must-read. i cannot not have a copy of it. i look forward to reading it. that about will be a big day for you tomorrow as well. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you. surpassing the obamacare magic mark, will it change the course of the midterm elections. [ male announcer ] ortho crime files.

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high, guys, thank you for joining me on this holiday. >> happy easter. >> same to you as well. let's first get to midterm madness. take a look at debbie wasserman schultz on the impact obamacare could have on the midterms. >> republicans are obsessed with taking away and focused on doing everything they can to block president obama at every turn, even if it means hurting the middle class. while at the same time, you have our candidates, our incumbents like mary landrieu who understand that this is a law that's working for millions of people, and as we discover, there are problems, we should work through them. >> you're making the argument -- >> so aaron, how do you see obamacare impacting democrats running this november? >> well, you know, the line from the administration, a lot of democrats right now, it's working. they're saying the enrollment numbers are good. they're pointing to the cbo estimate that shows the cost has been less than it was initially

projected to be. they're trying to change this debate from one that was about the flawed implementation, concerns about how this law is going to actually work out and trying to point out its finer qualities. you know, right now, politically, it's still a benefit for republicans. democrats have dried a number of different things. i think the new numbers finally give them something that they can really work with, when it comes to this political argument. but over the next seven months, are opinions going to change that much on this law? i'm not sure that's going to be the case. certainly, democrats are going to keep trying. >> let's take a listen to rnc communication director sean spicer today. >> it's clear that obamacare is still the number one, number two, and number three issue going into this election. the mary landrieu attitude is typical of the races from around this country. they won't talk about the fact that they were the deciding vote, that they were out there advocating for it, they're talking about how they can

distance themselves from it. >> do you agree with that, jason? >> yeah, look, you can't win about i running away from this, because everyone knows the democrats are responsible. the problem you have with a lot of democrats is they want to take credit for the good things in obamacare, but they don't want to actually say affordable care act. that is not a winning strategy. the democrats are going to have to own up to this bill, warts and all, and see what the consequences are in 2014. if you try to run away from it, next year it will drag you town. >> do you think, robert, that obamacare, the affordable care act, has it maybe turned a corner? >> i don't think we know yet, alex. the political reality is what we just talked about a few moments ago. the reality is, the young people that we think signed up, but we don't know how many actually signed up that are young people, are probably not going to come out in the midterm elections. historically they don't come out in the midterm elections. according to the recent polling data with cnn and gallup and so

forth, the vast majority of americans still do not know exactly what this bill does. they understand swhether or not they're choose their own doctor, or get a tax penalty. plus the reality is, and democrats know this better than anything else, there are hundreds of thousands of people out there that got rejection notices, and they like their health insurance, whether or not it was a good health insurance or not. what we don't know is whether or not there's going to be a political albatross come november. the polls suggest there will be, but we don't know yet. >> because you're saying we don't know yet, and i agree with you, do you think it's possible we may have turned a corner? could you have envisioned we would be here with 8 million people having signed up for the affordable care act, based on the botched rollout in october? you remember all the doom and gloom then. >> absolutely. i guess the devil's in the details. yes, we turned a corner.

the obama administration turned the corner in that millions of people signed up for that. but what we don't know yet is whether the millions of people will come out in the polling numbers. historically that will probably not happen. democrats are smart individuals. at least in the united states senate and united states congress. they realize at the end of the day, this is probably still a political liability as opposed to a political plus, regardless of how much you talk about it. >> we're going to move on to cattle battle. there's one nevada assemblywoman who appeared on friday defending rancher clivan bundy over the grazing fees there. the blm backed off when a crowd of bundy supporters showed up with firearms last weekend. here's part of that interview. >> we see the government trying to collect on the fee. what we've seen is 1,000 people -- >> if you owe the federal government money, do you want them coming to your house? pointing guns at your wife and children? is that okay with you? because it's definitely not okay with me, or okay with the

americans across the united states. >> is it okay with you if every rancher in the country stopped paying their grazing fees? >> no, it's not okay. i have to tell you -- are you w? great. lien the cows, the property. don't come with guns and expect the american people not to fire back. >> what do you think, jason? >> this is ridiculous. this is what's wrong with the right wing libertarian nonsense we hear. this is so laden if privilege and racial spur yor ti i can't think about it. you owe 20 years in taxes. pay up. if i owed property fees my apartment complex would take stuff from me. i can't stand that these individuals refuse to pay taxes. he went to court, kept losing. now he'll scream and pout that the government doesn't are have authority. if it was latinos,

african-americans with a bombing in philadelphia, none of this would be happening. they need to be quiet, pay taxes and let it end. this is offensive. >> it's interesting. bundy supporters criticize harry reid of nevada for call them domestic terrorists. he sayses bundy doesn't believe the american government is valid. what's your reaction to how this whole situation is playing out? >> this is an interesting philosophical debate we are having. whether or not the federal government has the responsibility, of course, to levy and collect taxes. i'm foended that the government would come with guns to threaten at the level they have. jason has a dwod point about paying taxes. we pay taxeses because that's what you do in a collective society. there is a separate conversation here. i think that's what the state senator was going at with chris is whether the government has the right and responsibility to come to someone's property with

such severity. that goes back to the federalist papers, the constitution and the separation of oh whether or not the federal government has the responsibility to come in with force. with all due respect to jason it's more detailed than he just mentioned. it goes back to a fundamental right about the role of the government in the constitution. >> you can't see jason but he's shaking his head. >> no. pay your taxes. the government will show up if you don't. this has nothing to do with the separation of rights from here and there. this is individuals breaking the law. if they continue the government has to pursue it. they are breaking the law on property owned by the public. >> if you want to make that argument there are millions of people who don't pay taxeses. >> and the government shows up at their home. >> with a gun? >> got a time-out. i have to take a commercial break. we'll have more on the other side. ht.

(son) ok. feather it out. (dad) all right. that's ok. (dad) put it in second, put it in second. (dad) slow it down. put the clutch in, break it, break it. (dad) just like i showed you. dad, you didn't show me, you showed him. dad, he's gonna wreck the car! (dad) he's not gonna wreck the car. (dad) no fighting in the road, please. (dad) put your blinker on. (son) you didn't even give me a chance! (dad) ok. (mom vo) we got the new subaru because nothing could break our old one. (dad) ok. (son) what the heck? let go of my seat! (mom vo) i hope the same goes for my husband. (dad) you guys are doing a great job. seriously. (announcer) love a car that lasts. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. ♪ you have to let me know [ female announcer ] when sweet and salty come together, the taste is irresistible. sweet and salty nut bars by nature valley. nature at its most delicious. then a little time to kick back. earn double hilton honors points with the 2x points package and be one step closer to a weekend break. doubletree by hilton. where the little things mean everything.

i'm a messy person. i don't like cleaning. i love my son, but he never cleans up. always leaves a trail of crumbs behind. you're going to have a problem with getting a wife. uh, yeah, i guess. [ laughs ] this is ridiculous. christopher glenn! [ doorbell rings ] what is that? swiffer sweep & trap. i think i can use this. it picks up everything. i like this. that's a lot of dirt. it's that easy! good job chris! i think a woman will probably come your way. [ both laugh ]

a minor league baseball player got his in the face with a 90 miles an hour fastball. a scary scene involving delano deshields. he got up on his own. the ball fractured his cheek but he'll be okay. let's go to the big three for the must reads. what's yours? >> eli sazlow as a great story about war veterans aid justing to life in the states. read it now on the home page. >> i miss it. robert, yours? >> how the obama administration is going back to the cold war playbook to the deal with vladimir putin. >> a great article about the armani after armor about somebody who provides high fashion clothes for at risk people. for a bullet proof tie or a blouse that will survive a bombing this is it.

>> i don't know where you get the this stuff. thank you very much. good to have you all. that's a wrap of the sunday edition of "weekends with alex witt." have a great day. if you're celebrating easter, enjoy. and that's epic, bro, we've forgotten just how good good is. good is setting a personal best before going for a world record. good is swinging to get on base before swinging for a home run. [ crowd cheering ] good is choosing not to overshoot the moon, but to land right on it and do some experiments. ♪ so start your day off good with a coffee that's good cup after cup. maxwell house. ♪ good to the last drop carsthey're why we innovate. they're who we protect. they're why we make life less complicated. it's about people.

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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. on this easter sunday, the president is confronted by a troubling question, just how far will russian president putin go in ukraine, and what can be done to stop him? this morning i have an exclusive interview with the prime minister of ukraine who warns that puttin is far from finished. >> president putin has a dream to restore the soviet union. >> should america send weapons to ukraine's outgunned military? i'll ask two key members of the senate foreign relations committee this morning. also, the high stakes politics in this midterm election year. health care and social issues. the author of a new book about the fight over gay marriage joins me to talk aut