tv Andrea Mitchell Reports MSNBC April 29, 2014 9:00am-10:01am PDT
9:00 am
big, big tornado. >> take this storm seriously now. >> right now on quts an dr"andrl report reports", back to back violent nights as another tornado outbreak rips through the south claiming 11 victims and leaving unbelievable destruction in its wake. already reeling today the south is again the target of another round of severe weather. >> you could hear it and all of a sudden there was just stuff pounding you, you know, just hitting you. >> this is my life and i worked so hard for and it's just -- laying there in pieces. so what do you do now? >> one-two punch. after the u.s. expands sanctions against russia, today europe is following suit but nothing so far as stopped scenes like this in donetsk where pro-russian militants attacked a pro-kiev unity rally. more today from my exclusive
9:01 am
interview with treasury secretary jack lew. >> these are very important sanctions. they are sanctions that will get their attention. >> war of words. secretary of state john kerry backtracks about using the a word apartheid to describe a future israeli state if the palestinians don't become a separate nation but admitting he chose the wrong word hasn't quieted his loudest critics. >> before any further harm is do to our national security interest and critical alliance with israel that john kerry should offer president obama his resignation. >> judgment day, what will be the cost for clippers owner donald sterling after making racist comments? we'll find out this afternoon. >> if nothing happened you can boycott in the offseason, not just the clippers b s but the w
9:02 am
league has to. if he's not thrown out, you have to do something. good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington. we're facing another day of storms. this is the latest look at the damage in mississippi. entire southeast was hit by more than 100 tornadoes in just two days. at least 28 people were killed during these storms and there is more dangerous weather ahead. residents in eastern mississippi and western alabama bracing for tornadoes. damaging winds and hail a total of eight states have been under a tornado watch today. our team has witnessed some of the worst weather and damage reporting from ravaged communities. >> this was a neighborhood. these were people's homes and now everything is just wiped out. >> we heard the tornado sirens going off in our hotel and told
9:03 am
everybody get out of their rooms and head to the ball room because there was a tornado barreling down on birmingham. luckily it dissipated but i've got to tell you it was frightening moments in all of my years doing this, never had that happen before. >> joining me now is gabe gutierrez live in vilonia and jeff from storm chasers incorporated and documented 800 tornadoes throughout his career. first to you, gabe, the situation in vilonia after what you went through yesterday. >> reporter: some states to the east brace for more potential severe weather today. here in arkansas we're getting preliminary reports from the national weather service that the tornado that tore through here on sunday night was a powerful ef-3, that's a tornado with winds of at least 136 miles per hour but the damage assessment is still ongoing. thankfully today we've seen the rain stay away and so friends and families and volunteers have been able to sift through the
9:04 am
rubble. we're here on aspen creek drive. you can see how powerful this tornado was. debris pretty much everywhere. aspen creek drive, this neighborhood had a lot of military families living here. we've been hearing their stories as we've been here since yesterday. spoke with michelle ma gee here a year and a half. and spoke with a man who lost a lot. his son was part of the arkansas air national guard and he told us on sunday his son, dan wasen, the second was in his home just down the block and with his wife and two young daughters, ages 5 and 7 years old. and he described to us how his son died shielding his daughters. >> he grabbed his family up, his wife grabbed sidney and they got into the hallway, the smallest hallway closest to the center of the house and laid down on top of them and covered them until the tornado hit and was gone.
9:05 am
and then until it was all over. his wife got up to look for sidney because i guess they kind of separated. and found her and then she was looking for laura, once she found her, she found her under a piece of carpet and pulled her out. then she went to look for her husband, my son, and found him and he was actually deceased. >> reporter: he gave his life for his daughters? >> yes, he did, trying to protect them. he's truly my hero. and i'm going to miss him greatly. >> reporter: dan wassen ii was 30 years old, just a heartbreaking story here, one of many we've been hearing. the town lost a lot. the $14 million new school set to open this fall, that was destroyed. power crews are out in full forgs here trying to restore power to the area. schools are obviously closed today but there's a lot of
9:06 am
activity here and the cleanup will continue for quite a while. >> gabe, it's unbearably heartbreaking what these people are going through. thank you for that testimony. and jeff, what are we going to see next? you have so much experience chasing these storms. is today the end of it or will this continue to be a fast-moving system? >> well, andrea, my condolences first to all of the families that lost loved ones and people hit by the tornadoes. today will be another day of tornado activity from birmingham back towards meridian and eastern jackson. moderate risk, not quite as bad as yesterday but we expect tornadoes and potentially damaging tornadoes today. >> what do you think is going to be the worst area? do you think -- arkansas and northern georgia out of the storm area now? >> it's not -- not northern georgia and not for alabama, moderate risk for northern and season tral alabama and southern
9:07 am
mississippi and southern alabama as well as parts of georgia. but tonight this afternoon as a front comes down this will be the final assault as far as this big upper wave. we'll have tornadoes again starting southeastern jackson and marching across southeast mississippi into western and southern alabama, again, this afternoon after 4:00. we're going to have a lot of tornadoes again today. >> jeff, thanks very much for being with us today. this morning treasury secretary jack lieu is testifying and said sanctions are taking an economic toll. lew said the u.s. is prepared to take additional steps if russia doesn't change its ways. it comes a day after i sat down and talked about the sanctions and criticism of them. >> some of the biggest industrialists in russia, people who are close to the president, some are the core economic interest of the country from oil and gas to banking and to military equipment. these are very important sanctions and sanctions that
9:08 am
will get their attention. i think that our goal is to move in a system attic way and careful way and way that gives them a chance to change policy and take a different course. our goal here is not to hurt the russian people, it's to get them to change their policy. and the goal will i think be realized if we continue to work at it step by step working with our allies to make sure that the pressure is not just from the united states but it's from the world community. >> with all due respect, critics in both democratic and republican circles in the senate, for instance, have said this isn't enough, that in fact it hasn't had an impact on putin and on his decisions, you still have all of the troops amassed on the boarder, he's done pulsig and probing exercises and taking effective control over eastern ukraine politically step by step to destabilize and to influence the elections. >> i think that sanctions are
9:09 am
doing what sanctions can do. they are affecting the russian economy. obviously we've made clear that we're prepared to take more steps should we need to but the idea is to go step by step and show a determination to keep doing more and frankly, even anticipation of sanctions hurts them. >> there's a lot of reporting that the u.s. and other countries have been investigating vladimir putin's finances for years and he could be worth $40 billion or some other number. are you going after companies and entities and allies because you think putin's money might be hidden in some of these companies? >> i'm not going to comment on what we do and don't know. obviously i don't discuss intelligence matters publicly. what i can say is what we have done is targeted interest we think at the heart of the economy, that get right into the circle of decision-making and get very close in terms of personal relationships. >> in a global economy, how much of a hit do you think the u.s.
9:10 am
economy long-term is going to have because of these sanctions and this turmoil continuing turmoil? >> we're going to do our best to manage the impact so that we do the least amount of harm we can to the global economy and to the u.s. economy. but as the president made clear when he announced the executive order, we have to understand that as we move through and put tougher and tougher sanctions in place, it could have an effect on the global economy. we can't -- we can't prevent some of that from happening and we have the determination to take the steps we need to because it is that important to send the message that it's unacceptable in the 21st century for one country to violate the sovereignty of another the way russia is doing. hopefully these measures will have the effect of having the russian government, president putin, change their policies. but we do have to be braced for their being some spillover. >> what is the trigger point
9:11 am
that would trigger tougher sanctions and would the u.s. move without the european allies if russia invades, crosses the border? >> i'm not going to get ahead of the decisions in fact before they develop. but i would observe that the actions taken today reflect the fact that the situation has gotten considerably more worrysome and troublesome, even though we haven't seen an invasion. so we're taking more and more action. we have many steps we can take. we're prepared to take those steps. i think the europeans have ind indicated if things continue, they are prepared to take more steps as well. there should be no illusion that this is done, unless russia changes its policy. >> thank you so much, secretary lew. thank you. >> good to be with you, andrea. >> meanwhile, today clippers owner donald sterling lost more sponsors. to say nothing of his reputation such as it was, if those racist
9:12 am
comments are true as charged, but what will the nba do to punish him? we'll discuss that coming up. ♪ ♪ no matter what kind of business you own, at&t business experts can help keep it running... seamlessly. so you can get back to what you love. when everyone and everything works together, business just sings.
9:13 am
have been there for america. fannhelping millions realize their dreams of homeownership. and when fannie mae and freddie mac needed help, america was there for them. today, fannie mae and freddie mac celebrate payment in full to taxpayers. together, we've created one of the greatest comebacks in our nation's history. so, let's preserve and strengthen fannie mae and freddie mac. because without them there really could be no place like home.
9:15 am
secretary kerry is backtracking today for something that was said at a tri lateral commission meeting last week and overheard. joining me now from the capitol for more about that is kelly ayotte who serves on the armed services committee. we're talking about senator -- secretary kerry, former senator, suggesting to the trilateral commission in a private meeting and now backtracking from it saying if israel does not go ahead and the peace process does
9:16 am
not go ahead and we know it's been seriously damaged in the last couple of weeks and the palestinian don't get their own state, israel would face a future that could be as an apart had nation, something he says he wish he would not have said if you can rewind the tape. i do not believe nor have i ever stated publicly and privately that israel is an apartheid state. anyone knows anything about me knows that is without a shred of doubt. one of your colleagues in particular, ted cruz, is calling for him to resign or cantor on the house side saying an apology is in order. what do you say? >> first of all, i think the comments were completely inappropriate by secretary kerry. they were wrong. he obviously issued a statement which i would view as an apology
9:17 am
but puts into context the bigger issue, the fact that if you look at where the israelis are recently with the announcement of hamas, you can understand how can israelis be put in this position where you have hamas that is a designated terrorist organization. if they are not willing to give up violence and willing to announce their actions that have attacked israel, i don't see how you can put the israelis in that position. so i think the secretary's comments were wrong. they were inappropriate. the apology is appropriate. but he also raised the expectations here with the peace process in a way that was unrealistic, particularly given what you see the most recent actions between hamas and fattah in the palestinian authority. >> is it better to not have tried at all? >> i appreciate that he has tried but he did create significant high profile expectations here and obviously the israelis made a good faith
9:18 am
effort with the release of some of the prisoners. that was not an easy decision to make by the prime minister. but now you have -- what the israelis do with hamas, a terrorist organization? and the recent announcement of the really of joining of fattah and hamas, how do you get into agreement with a terrorist organization not renounced violence and not said they will recognize a jewish state. >> secretary kerry also said i will not allow my commitment to israel to be questioned by anyone, particularly for partisan political purposes. i want to be crystal clear what i believe and don't believe. there's quite -- you're correct to characterize it as an apology. >> i think it was appropriate that he issued that statement and to acknowledge that the comments were inappropriate and at this point, obviously, to reaffirm his commitment to israel. >> what is your reaction on
9:19 am
ukraine, the other big foreign policy challenge that the president has been facing? you've got secretary lew, we had an interview we just aired defending sanctions saying taking it step by step is the way to go because it's important to stay coordinated with europe and not go beyond what europe is prepared to do. europe is under a lot of pressure from big business interests investing in russia. and that putin would try to drive a wedge between the united states and europe. >> andrea, i think it's far time for the administration to issue sectoral sanctions on the russian financial sector, energy sectors. let's look at the reaction to the russian stock market. it was actually up today and so the sanctions that the administration issue are not having a significant effect on putin's calculation at this point what more can we wait for russia to do. think about the agreement ten days ago with geneva, that has become a joke. the russians have not followed
9:20 am
through at all and it is far time for the administration to issue hard hitting sectoral sanctions so that putin can calculate that his actions in eastern ukraine and crimea have a significant cost. >> senator kelly aayotte, thanks very much. >> thank you, andrea. nba commissioner silver will make his announcement. it was the miami heat that piled warm-ups showing jerseys turned inside-out in silent protest. adiddas announced it was suspending its partnership with the team. this is as the call for other team owners to go are louder. this is the title "you big dummy
9:21 am
wt, and eddie johnson, good to be talking with you today. >> my pleasure. >> some of the team owners have said that something has to be done. but then you've got mark cuban. let's hear what he had to say. >> what donald said was wrong. it was abhorrent and there's no place for racism in the nba. there's -- it's a very, very slippery slope. if it's about racism and we're ready to kick people out of the league, okay, then what about home phobia? what about somebody who doesn't like a particular religion? >> what is your reaction to mark cuban? is this an effort by the owners to push back against real punishment? >> well, i think they have to protect each other. we understand this. but you know, look, it is a slippery slope in terms of the legal ramifications of taking someone's ownership away from
9:22 am
them. i'm looking at the fact that i can't see any way donald sterling can continue to own the los angeles clippers. i just can't see it. he is dealing with the very people that he blasted and he had these obscene thoughts about in a tape, no way, no how he can continue to own the los angeles clippers. and i believe that commissioner silver is going to come down hard. i don't know how hard he can today but before this is over, i just cannot envision him being the owner of the los angeles clippers. >> in the nba, unlike in major league baseball, they can't take a team away. they can suspend but they don't have the really hard options for penalties that they do in some other sports. >> but it's not a lot of options but the players are unhappy. that means they are going to be disgruntled after this season and might want to be traded.
9:23 am
of the fans might decide not to come and sell out that arena that the clippers rarely did years ago with seeing sponsors step away from the l.a. clippers now. it's a lot of things that's happening that unfortunately is going to force his hand at this. i mean, this team is valued pretty high. i don't know how much he paid but i bet it was about 25 million when he purchased the team and now talking upwards of 500, 600 million. the pressures of what happens in the next few months will force him to consider selling the basketball club. that's the best thing he can do because it's not fair to the fans. don't think about just the players, the players can go somewhere else and have a chance to win a championship but the l.a. clipper fan base they have struggled and been the brunt of jokes forever and now they have a team to compete and possibly win a championship and they have to deal with this today? it's just unbelievable that this
9:24 am
occurrence happened. i feel sad for the fan base. >> and you've got game five tonight. some are calling for boycott. that's not fair to the players they have worked hard all season and played well to get to this point. they had a terrible game last night. so they've got a chance to recoup tonight. >> from a players standpoint, you have to adhere to the job description, go out and play, play for one another. they worked too hard for 82 games to all of a sudden decide to protest and not play. i think the fans should support the players, it's not the players they are mad at, they are upset with the owner and archaic thoughts. the players have laid it on the line for them all year long, they need to come and support them and hope they can beat the golden state warriors who are seizing an opportunity to win themselves. >> eddie johnson, thanks so much for being with us today. >> my pleasure. >> and make sure you tune in for live coverage of the nba announcement this afternoon,
9:25 am
2:00 eastern right here on msnbc. a package handler open fire inside a fed-exfacility injuring six people before turning the gun on himself. one other employee was injured trying to escape. police were called after shots were reported shortly before 6:00 a.m. prompting a lockdown of the facility. the seven victims were taken to area hospitals and two are in critical condition and required surgery. the gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and believe this was an isolated incident. i take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn. because you can't beat zero heartburn. woo hoo! [ male announcer ] prilosec otc is the number one doctor recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 8 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.
9:28 am
president obama is now flying home from a week-long trip to asia that produced very few positive headlines and was clearly overshadowed by the crisis in ukraine. before leaving manila he was asked how he would describe his foreign policy? is there an obama doctrine? >> you hit singles and doubles every once in a while we may be
9:29 am
able to hit a home run but we steadily advance the interest of the american people and our partnership with folks around the world. >> and that was even before the latest problem. the daily beast's explosive story about john kerry using the term apartheid in referencing israel. chris cillizza and susan page and josh rogan, policy correspondent and political correspondent for the daily beast. josh, first to you, the comments that secretary state made after all of this nine months trying to engineer this middle east negotiation and it collapsing pretty much around him this past week. let me play the audio, the audio of john kerry of that private meeting with the trilateral
9:30 am
commission. >> a u.n. teary state, winds up either being an apartheid state or second class citizens or it winds up being a state that -- >> it occurs to me this is not that different from some of the self-criticism of someone like ari sha veet who in the promise land has written if israel does not negotiate with the palestinians, it cannot continue to keep its soul if it remains an occupied state, it means to worry about demography and it's the use of the word apartheid that set the fires. >> you're right. he has warned that the time is short and he sees this as the last chance for the palestinians and israelis to make piece before the demographic skew in favor of the palestinians and warned other things may happen if a peace deal isn't reached such as a resumption of violence and sanctions movement.
9:31 am
this is what john kerry believes. he believes that the time is now to do this and israel faces exist ent shal threats if he doesn't make peace. he hasn't used the word apartheid before. he said in his nonapology apology he grets regrets using that word. he said he doesn't believe it is or intends to be an apartheid state. he is generally worried about this. in fairness to him, he has been working very hard to make a deal between the two parties. he claims he's a strong supporter of israel. i take him at his word. most israelis believe he has done a fairly good job in the private negotiations. but he made these comments and to some degree he's sticking by them and that has provoked outrage as you noted. >> it's democratic people -- democratic politicians as well, steve israel on the democratic side, barbara boxer, others who have criticized this. susan page, how much of a problem does this create?
9:32 am
>> nobody doubts that israel does risk becoming increasingly isolated in the world. but there are certain words that public officials learn they should never use. no one is hitler except hitler and apartheid is a very historic charged word you do not use to describe any situation, except the transition that south africa before its transition to democracy. so in of course it creates problems for him trying to make the point that of israel's risks in the word if with the end of these peace talks. that gets overwhelmed by controversy over the use of this very charged word. >> chris cillizza, john mccain was asked by our reporters on the hill about this, this is what he had to say. this is audio of john mccain. >> resign? whoa. that's a pretty high bar. >> so that's mccain responding, chris, to should john kerry
9:33 am
resign and laughing that off. >> and ted cruz just worth noting he was on the senate -- ted cruz no friend of john mccain or john kerry, on the senate floor yesterday calling on john kerry to resign and noting that he was one of a very small number of people who voted against john kerry's nomination as secretary of state. susan and josh right, this is not a great moment for john kerry. i cannot imagine him stepping aside in any way from this comment. he did and i think josh made this point very well, he did not apologize for the sort of tenor and tone but apologized for using the specific word apartheid, did not however say my views on this were wrong and he essentially sort of stood by the broad meaning and message of his remarks, really saying that one word was wrong or i should
9:34 am
have put it in a better context than i did. we certainly doesn't see this as a funds amountal threat to his well being at the state department. >> and josh, it does certainly reflect a frustration and a view by some in the foreign policy and state department as well that the israelis took the opportunity to focus on the hamas alliance with ma abbas but it was precipitated by israel not releasing the final group of prisoners and expanding settlements and abbas did what he did and israel seized on the opportunity to cancel negotiations. there is a lot of frustration among the people involved in this. >> sure, what i would say is john kerry in those same remarks last friday, placed blame equally on both israelis and palestinians for making a series of unhelpful moves in recent
9:35 am
weeks as the current peace process seemed to be failing. he places blame on both sides and says neither leader is at the point where they are willing to make tough choices necessary to achieve a peace deal. in the future because of things like this, demographic crisis and risks of violence and such, that the impetus and pressure on these leaders will increase. that's part of his warning. he's laying blame equally and palestinians lay blame mostly on the israelis and that's a debate for history. >> the state department released a statement that the trilateral commission had joe nooi from harvard and down here in the pentagon, has expressed dismay to kerry that he says a reporter sneaked into the room and with respect invited, putting that out there if you can respond to the criticism for the trilateral commission and the complaint to the state department. >> absolutely. first of all, i would never
9:36 am
comment on my sourcing, i don't think any reporter would. one, there's a principle here. reporters are not bound by agreements they are not a party to. people in this business know that. that's how we operate, right? secondly, you know, it's the job actually the responsibility of reporters to report for the public what the leaders are saying about important issues both in public and private. that's a public service. that's what we do. >> all right, josh rogin, set off quite a firestorm here. chris cillizza and susan page, thank you very much. coming up next, the white house announces a new task force to tackle a growing crisis on college campuses, sexual assaults up next.
9:37 am
marge: you know, there's a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious, and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. wife: mmmm husband: these are good! marge: the tasty side of fiber. from phillips. worst morning ever. [ angelic music plays ] ♪ toaster strudel! best morning ever! [ hans ] warm, flaky, gooey. toaster strudel!
9:39 am
[ hans ] warm, flaky, gooey. ameriprise asked people a simple question: can you keep your 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.
9:40 am
the white house has released recommendations from a task force trying to find ways to combat sexual assaults on college campuses. one in five women are victims of assaults at college. it's a problem lawmakers are fighting to reverse. lynndy aldridge joins me now. we're talking in many instances this is rape -- >> yes, absolutely. >> what is happening to women, mostly women across college campuses in our country. how will the guidelines -- let's talk about the guidelines and throw them on the scene. this is what the task force is initially recommending in its first meeting. anonymous campus climate surveys implementing prevention programs and providing training for school officials and giving victims a confidential place to seek support and making enforcement data public and accessible. are these going to be helpful? do they go far enough?
9:41 am
>> they going to be incredibly hopeful. we've been hoping for this conversation to get started for years. i think they are going to start that dialogue and i'm excited to have this opportunity for the conversation to get going. >> there's also a website we can show this it's not alone.gov, this is really important because many in states there are states i know that have to report statistics crime statistics to the state government but there are some that don't. >> yeah, i mean, it's -- there are various federal laws that require states as well as schools report crime statistics. i think this transparency that's going to be happening with the new website is going to be really helpful with states and other constituents and helping they are students and children figure out which schools to go to and what's the safest options. >> what about anonymity and counseling and young people that would make them first of all
9:42 am
understand their rights and understand the reporting obligations and to understand how to distinguish what happens on dates with a sexual assault, with unwanted sex? >> well, i think what we're finding is that victims really want to have -- they need to know more about the options before they make a choice. confidential reporting is what i'm frankly most excited about, they are letting victims kind of understand who on campus can they go to and what choices will they be making. the next step for schools to implement how to communicate to students so they have an informed choice about who they are going to report to. students make different choices in terms of why they report and if whether they want to stay silent or not. this is going to be a big step in helping students make the most informed choices they can. >> you've been an advocate for quite some time. it's graeat you're there and we'll follow up. thank you for being with us today. >> my pleasure, thank you. out west, we have a major
9:43 am
exciting news to report, tom brokaw's incomparable journalism lives in our news rooms every day and now putting itny writing. the brand-new nbc news facility in los angeles will be dedicated to our friend and colleague as the brokaw news center. the celebration will be a homecoming of sorts where tom started as a local anchorman in los angeles, later a correspondent for the network. the rest as we know, that's history. >> they give me a blue mustang with a radio telephone in it and fistful of airport tickets, go cover the world. it was a game changer and we became enormously attached to california and made it possible for me to go from here to washington and on to new york. this is very gratifying. for the first time in a long time my family is actually excited about my public recognition, mostly are kind of, okay, dad. >> to all of those asking as we congratulate tom, he's doing well and has been really strong and happy and surrounded by a
9:44 am
lot of love out there in l.a. today. for hearburn? yea. try alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heart burn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. alka-seltzer fruit chews. enjoy the relief! and i'm his mom at the dog park. the kids get trail mix, and here's what you get after a full day of chasing that cute little poodle from down the street. mm hmm delicious milo's kitchen chicken meatballs. they look homemade, which he likes almost as much as making new friends yes, i'll call her. aww, ladies' man. milo's kitchen. made in the usa with chicken or beef as the number one ingredient. the best treats come from the kitchen. we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action.
9:45 am
we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. and we're here to help start yours. turning dreamers into business owners. [is engineered for comfort.hing that goes into a lennox system like parts that create your perfect temperature and humidity or the parts that purify the air. together these parts can cut your heating and cooling bills in half. which is quite comforting. and here's the best part... call now to get up to 1,700 dollars back or special financing on select lennox home comfort systems. offer ends june 13th. plus download our free lennox mobile app with an energy-savings calculator. if your current system is 10 years or older,
9:46 am
start planning now. and take advantage of special financing. so call now to get up to 1,700 dollars back or special financing on select lennox home comfort systems. offer ends june 13th. and download our free lennox mobile app. lennox. innovation never felt so good. why relocating manufacturingpany to upstate new york? i tell people it's for the climate. the conditions in new york state are great for business. new york is ranked #2 in the nation for new private sector job creation. and now it's even better because they've introduced startup new york - dozens of tax-free zones where businesses pay no taxes for ten years. you'll get a warm welcome in the new new york. see if your business qualifies at startupny.com stick with innovation. stick with power. stick with technology. get the flexcare platinum
9:47 am
from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare for first time, 80% of high school students are graduating high school according to a new study from the america promise alliance. what are the key factors holding back the other 20%? nbc news education correspondent rehema ellis joins us now. this is progress and it's significant. and there's still a long way to go. what are some of the factors that you think are still holding back some kids and leaving them in what we call dropout factories, the same high schools that continually don't graduate students? >> according to the report that was put out, one of the things holding students back is race and income. we find that some of the lowest rates of graduation are occurring for those students who are african-american and
9:48 am
hispanic and those who are living in communities where they come from families that are low income families. one of the biggest things to happen in terms of the graduation rates, the numbers that have improved the most have been among african-american and hispanic students because to your point so many of these dropout factories have been closed over the last ten years. those dropout factories were identified as schools that graduated fewer than 60% of the students. getting rid of those increasing focus on students who were having trouble, designing programs that would make certain that students were getting the kind of courses they needed in order to graduate and take state exams, those kind of focused attention and programs on students has helped a lot. but there's still more to be done as people look behind the numbers to make sure certain the graduation rates indicate that they don't just have a diploma but career and college ready? >> exactly.
9:49 am
one of the points arne duncan was making when he spoke to the group yesterday with a that graduating from high school is not enough. all of the data show, even with all of the problems we have with colleges, that getting into college and graduating from college makes a live long difference in earning capability. no doubt about that. >> no one is dputing those statistics, there will be fewer jobs available for those with only a high school diploma or less than that. in order to get the college diploma, we have to make sure the high school diploma is worth the paper it's written on. we have a 40% of the students who enter college and need to have remedial courses in english and math and so many of them are not continuing on in their second year of college. even in community college, they are losing students after the first year because they have not entered college ready. so there has to be a lot of attention the experts are
9:50 am
saying, must continue to be focused on what is happening in high school and high school diploma really means something. >> and even though there's been an improvement among minority students, still the young men of color are at the bottom of that proportionately falling farther behind the other students who are improving. >> they really are. when you look at the numbers, we've seen that african-american students are graduating at about 76% of the rate of others. overall nationally an 80% graduation rate among i should say among hispanic students 76% but among african-american students graduating at the rate of only 68%. those are the overall numbers. when you get to school by school, sometimes those numbers aren't even as good as that. >> rehema ellis, thank you very much. and which story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next here on "andrea mitchell reports." ♪
9:53 am
i'm almost done. [ male announcer ] now you can pay your bill... ♪ ...manage your appointments... [ dog barks ] ...and check your connection status... ♪ ...anytime, anywhere. ♪ [ dog growls ] ♪ oh. so you're protesting? ♪ okay. [ male announcer ] introducing xfinity my account. available on any device.
9:54 am
which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? i think it's a sports story. chris cillizza is back with us. >> it's a culture story. >> what action they are going to take after these alleged comments by silver and you've got game five against the golden state warriors tonight in l.a., many are calling for a boycott because of the alleged comments by sterling. >> andrea, it's a huge story. it's a difficult story. i think the natural response for most people is let's get donald sterling out. it's harder than that. the nba constitution, which is a secret document, but we found out a lot of what was in it, does not as far as we know have a procedure to get rid of an owner short of that owner going bankrupt and not being able to pay the bills. this is a unique situation. obviously it's a sport in his
9:55 am
team heavily dominated by african-americans, the coach of his team, donald sterling's team, doc rivers is african-american. it puts everyone i think in a really difficult spot. look, i think the nba and adam silver would love if donald sterling went away right now. i don't know what his inclination is there it is harder to get rid of him than many people assume and that's a bad thing for the nba and not great for society. this is not the type of person anyone wants as a face of one of the 32 nba teams. >> chris, possibly because the warriors coach mark jackson said the fans should boycott. doc rivers issued a statement, i hope the staples center is pack and people are cheering -- this
9:56 am
is a mess. and it is again, shining a spotlight on the undercurrent of racism in society and all parts of society. it is something that these players are having to deal with just at the moment in their career when they were achieving something and potentially achieving something greater. we'll be watching and we'll carry it live at 2:00 here on msnbc. thank you so much. that does it for our edition of "andrea mitchell reports." follow the show online and on twitter. "ronan farrow daily" is next. as first lady of our church we have meetings. we have activities. and i couldn't do any of that. any time anything brushed up against this rash it would seem like it would set it on fire again. it was the worst pain i ever had.
9:57 am
this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location. during the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. at night and when it's cloudy, we use more natural gas. this ensures we can produce clean electricity whenever our customers need it. ♪
9:58 am
for $175 dollars a month? so our business can be on at&t's network yup. all five of you for $175. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line anytime for 15 bucks a month. low dues... great terms... let's close. new at&t mobile share value plans. our best value plans ever for business.
9:59 am
have been there for america. fannhelping millions realize their dreams of homeownership. and when fannie mae and freddie mac needed help, america was there for them. today, fannie mae and freddie mac celebrate payment in full to taxpayers. together, we've created one of the greatest comebacks in our nation's history. so, let's preserve and strengthen fannie mae and freddie mac. because without them there really could be no place like home. today a lot of big news and it all seems to come back to the word opportunity. secretary kerry is reminded we never miss an opportunity to plit size israel. new data reveals a gap in the opportunities afforded to m minorities and hotly anticipated nba news conference where the league has an opportunity to
10:00 am
prove it doesn't need racist in its startup line, or so help me i will turn this jersey inside-out. >> i got a massive tornado, 100 yards from it. >> day two of a tornado outbreak. >> 106 tornado reports, that's since sunday alone. >> it was one tornado after another that we were tracking going through one town after another. >> what will the league do? they need to suspend him indefinite indefinitely. >> feels like a plantation mentality in 2014. >> there's been more violence in eastern ukraine. dozens of pro russian separatists attacked them with batones and baseball bats. >> john kerry is backtracking after controversial comments about israel. kerry said if middle east peace is not achieved, israel could become an apartheid state. >> john kerry sul
90 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
MSNBC West Television Archive The Chin Grimes TV News Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on