of their sons and daughters to some far-off place in the world. >> what can be done to save those girls from these terrorists. we'll ask former uk gordon brown. what can be done to protect girls whose only crime is wanteding an education. it's primetime. let the midterm election season begin. control of the senate hanging in the balance. it's the beginning of our primary mission. which has been the mission all along. that is to make harry reid irrelevant. good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. there are reports of more girls that have been kidnapped in

nigeria. as the u.s. and great britain are beginning to mobilize an international rescue effort. congress paused tuesday for a moment of silence in honor of nigeria's stolen girls. >> in the end, this is an act of barbarity, and a test of our world and a test of our country. and we stand tonight in solidarity to find these girls. >> minnesota senator now joins me from capitol hill. senator, it has taken a long time to get the u.s. to respond. the explanation seems to be that nigeria was reluctant, cultural pride, and reluctance to have the u.s. come to the rescue, but couldn't we have been more forceful? >> well, obviously this is no time for cultural pride, with the president of nigeria, president jonathan, in my mind waiting too long to ask for international help. but it's my understanding, according to secretary kerry, our embassy was working with our government. and right now i'm focused,

andrea, on finding these girls. 276 girls kidnapped at gun point. their school had been closed down because of boko haram's actions, where they've shut down 200 schools, hacked boys to death. their name means western education is sinful. to think that they took thels girls, and all those parents could do is go into the forest on motorcycles with bows and arrows. that's what they did for weeks. finally this has come to the attention of the world. i'm glad that president obama has ordered surveillance, u.s. help in terms of hostage negotiators. we don't quite know what they will need. but the fact that we're even talking now about surveillance drones, i think, is very positive. because we have the equipment to help. and so do other countries in the world. as you know, the 20 women senators came together across party lines to call on the u.n. to declare boko haram as a terrorist organization. something our country has already done. >> we have that letter from the

senators. what will that -- what will that do? i know that the u.s., the state department has declared boko haram for years now a terror group. what difference will it make if the united nations joins the united states in this? >> this is the will of the world. this isn't just happening in nigeria. we're seeing all over the world that girls disappear, that girls are brought into sex trafficking, millions of girls working in brothels. i believe this should be a major part of our foreign policy. because if we can elevate and lift up these girls and women from these lives of being basically sold for sex, in this case the guy in charge of boko haram, saying he will sell them off for $12, we know that the country that lifts up girls and women that brings them into their democracy, that brings them into their economy, always does better. i see this as an act of pure

terrorism. as an act of barbarity. but also as something we need to make much more a focus of our own foreign policy in working with other countries. i just led a trip to mexico with cindy mccain, john mccain's wife on this. she's been an advocate on this. senator highcamp was also with us. we talked to the mexican authorities, attorney general and federal police, and they're really trying to get a handle on their problem and work with our country who has its own problems of sex trafficking rings. there are victims in our own country. >> the president was asked about this by al roker at the white house climate conference. this is what he had to say. >> we're going to do everything we can to provide assistance to them. the short-term goal is to help the international community and nigerian government as a team to do everything we can to recover these young ladies. >> now, we're told that the fbi

will eventually be sending hostage negotiators. africa is tasked to send in whatever is needed, whatever is requested. but it's still located in europe. we still have a lot of time, a lot of delay, it's been three weeks that these girls have been missing. >> the longer that time goes on, it's harder to find these girls. there are reports that we have not confirmed that some of these girls have been brought into other countries, cameroon. we need the countries on the borders to join with us. if the world can't stand up against taking 276 school girls out of their school when they were simply trying to get an education, do their final exams, i don't know what the u.n. means anymore. and i don't know what international law means anymore. so i view this as really a moral test, not only of our own government, but of how the world works together to condemn this kind of evil. >> senator, it seems to me the world mobilized an international

media in particular, some more than others, mobilized when the people were missing on the malaysian airliner. that was a tragedy. but it was clear after several weeks that the airliner and people were not going to be recovered alive. these are children who were taken from their school, studying for a physics exam. the best and brightest in their region of nigeria. the future leaders of their country. and it took us and the rest of the world this long to get involved? i mean, we were involved, i know, at the embassy level, but there were diplomatic nice tis, i'm suggesting, that were observed for far too long. >> i think this is just one example, andrea, as horrible as it is, of things that we are seeing all across the world. "the new york times" had an article based on a chinese proverb that women hold up half the sky. there are millions of girls that go missing. and it is time that the world reacts to this in a different way. and not just say, well, we don't

know what happened. their parents sold them off. their parents, they had no money so they sold them off. senator mccain said that half of the women weren't there, the young girls weren't there. he asked why the officials why that was so. they said they were sold off to traffickers. these are things that we're seeing. i think this is even a bigger discussion than what we're seeing in nigeria. clearly we have the immediate need of helping them to find these girls. these are 15 to 18-year-old girls. and they are somewhere in that country, or somewhere near the border. and the world just has to bring together its resources and the u.n. has to condemn this action through the security council and declare boko haram as a terrorist organization. >> thank you so much for your leadership on this. >> thank you, andrea. more on the missing girls in nigeria. the uncle of one of the victims described his niece's ordeal as she escaped.

she spent time in the region and talked to one of the girls and her family. and has written about it for the "new yorker." and joins me now via skype. tell me what you learned by talking to this young woman, this student who escaped from the kidnappers. >> yes. well, i was able to learn from her, and also from another girl that i interviewed yesterday, about how exactly this kidnapping managed to happen. what boko haram did is dress themselves in military uniforms, which they've done before, and attacked the town. and then they go to the school -- it was at night, so they took them from their beds and put them in several trucks and took them to the forest. one of the girls i spoke to

yesterday was able to jump off the truck quite early and was able to make her way home. the other girl stayed in the truck until it reached one of boko haram's hideouts in the forest. from there she could begin to see what was beginning to happen between the girls and militants. the militants were forcing the girls to do things like cook and get water and clean and get firewood. and she was able to escape a few hours later. >> tell me, when she escaped, how did she describe the escape and what happened next to her? >> she described basically being in the camp for about two hours. and then pulling her friends close, and saying, let's just make a run for it. they began to run into the woods. she even noticed that one of the militants saw them running, but luckily they didn't come after her. and they reached a herdsman's camp in the woods and he allowed them to spend the night. the next day they were able to

get in touch with their families and make it back home. >> alexis, you know a lot about boko haram, you've been in the region. describe this group. because it's very hard for some americans to understand these terrorists who are so militant against the idea of western education. >> right. well, the group began over a decade ago by a radical islamist preach preacher named mohammed yusuf. his solution was to start -- or to rally, or to campaign for islamic state. and so he gained followers. and they began robbing banks, and attacking policemen, and becoming increasingly more militant as the years increased. and then after a security crackdown by the government, where the founder was killed, the group basically declared open jihad.

and for over five years has been joining thousands of northern nigerians. >> why do you think it's taken so long for the nigerian leader, the president, and the rest of the government to respond? this is a wealthy country. it's an oil-rich country. they welcome foreign investment. they've got the world economic forum in their capital today. why did it take so long to get to this region and find the girls? >> i think that the government looks the other way for a long time. i think it's then acknowledged the gravity and scale of the insurgency. that's why it's only been able to increase in size, and impact. and i think even with this mass school kidnapping, at first there was no urgency to rescue these girls. in fact, it seems as if the nigerian government has really been in denial about how serious this war is. if it really is a war, and it's

not winning the war. >> what do you think that the u.s. can do? we're told we're not sending in helicopters, not actually doing a rescue mission, but we're sending in advisers, and it will take time for them to get there. surveillance drones, perhaps other kinds of intelligence assistance. will that help? >> well, the u.s. has been providing money to the nigerian government for security a sis tabs for quite some time, $20 million as of last year. it's really going to depend on how the nigerian government takes this assistance and then uses it and translates it into conducting wise military operations to find these girls. the nigerian government has a huge military budget. but it's not translating to effective operations on the ground. it's important for the nigerian government to figure out why and do something about it. >> were there reports that you heard from villagers that there had been some warning before

this attack? >> yes. i spoke to quite a few residents of the town of chibak that they heard up to two hours before the attack that boko haram was coming. and they alerted the military, and the military showed up several years after the objection. >> well, that raises other questions about the nigerian government. we understand that president goodluck jonathan has also talked to david cameron today and has accepted british help. now the brits, the french and the u.s. are all offering help. the question is, how it's going to be utilized, as you point out, knowing the region so well. thank you very much alexis. appreciate your experience there. >> thank you. and in ukraine, is there a crack in putin's armor today? the russian president has now announced he's pulling back the 40,000 troops assembled near ukraine's border. it remains to be seen whether that actually happens. putin called for pro-russian separatists to delay their vote on some sort of independence in

eastern ukraine. the vote was planned for sunday. we have further details from donetsk. >> reporter: hey there, andrea. not for the first time president putin appears to be surprising the world now. there was a referendum planned for eastern ukraine here for some kind of independence. the president of russia is now calling for that to be delayed. multiple sources are telling us that here in the region, they will consider that request. meanwhile, russian news agencies are reporting saying that russian troops have been withdrawn from the border, though rather cryptically saying they will carry on conducting drills. there are other reports, too, that russia could support an election in ukraine. perhaps if the fighting stops. so we wait to see how much of this turns out to be based in reality, really substantial. but it appears a substantial change by russia.

andrea? >> thanks to you in donetsk. coming up next, barbara lee just back from havana, where she met with contractor alan gross. ups is a global company, but most of our employees live in the same communities that we serve. people here know that our operations have an impact locally. we're using more natural gas vehicles than ever before. the trucks are reliable, that's good for business. but they also reduce emissions, and that's good for everyone. it makes me feel very good about the future of our company. ♪ you wouldn't have it she any other way.our toes. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved

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havana this week -- or last week, visiting jailed contractor alan gross in prison. gross was sentenced to 15 years after being charged with crimes against the cuban state, for bringing in communication equipment, to deliver to jewish groups as part of a contract. congresswoman lee joins us. thank you for keeping a spotlight on this. i think you were with alan gross during the week when he was turning 63, if i'm correct, his birthd birthday, another birthday in prison. maybe i have the year wrong. but he was very morose, according to his statements communicated through his attorneys. >> thank you, andrea, for your voice, and keeping this in the public viewpoint. this is a very point case. i visited alan gross three times over the last four and a half years. and i can tell you one thing, a couple of things. first of all, alan has lost a lot of weight. but secondly, he's desperate. and he can't hang on much

longer, in terms of his emotional state. he did turn 65. and he has said, and statements have been made that he's going home either alive or in a body bag. and i think what's important to recognize, that he was doing work for the united states, the usa, our country, and our country has a responsibility to bring him home. having said that, we have to move forward and insist that there be negotiations with no preconditions. we met with our officials prior to leaving. we also met with cuban officials to make sure that we heard both sides correctly. and that is, they want to negotiate. they've been in conversations. but i don't believe they've been negotiating. the cuban government committed and said to us that they want to talk. they want negotiations with no preconditions. and that is so critical in terms of gaining alan's release. so we're communicating that back, once again, to our own country, that we want to see these negotiations with no

preconditions. because the time is now to do this. andrea, we were there -- and i'm very proud and pleased that congressman sam park from california, and congressman gregory minks from new york, all visited allen and concluded the same thing, that we had to get this on track. that we need to be the facilitators so we can move forward. make sure that all of those issues that are of concern to cuba and to the united states are put op the table. >> now, when you say no preconditions, you mean that you don't want the cubans to be demanding the release of some of their prisoners here? and you don't want the u.s. to demand any change in their policy? you want this to be negotiated as a stand-alone question? >> absolutely. that's the only way we can resolve this. that's the only way we can move the ball forward. hopefully the united states understands with four members of congress, once again, talking to the cubans, talking to our own

government, that we do believe there's been some form of miscommunication. people are having conversations, officials are, but they're not negotiating. we want to say very clearly that we believe that the cubans and the united states of america should sit down with no preconditions, and talk about all of the issues that will affect the release of alan gross. >> now, congresswoman, this is so hard for people to understand. he's been arrested, they say that he violated cuban law. there are very serious restrictions over what you can bring in. no one's ever explained to me the rationale behind this a.i.d. contract, so no blame there. but what was he doing bringing in satellite gear into cuba, which all of us know when we come into cuba, the restrictions

are very real? we all have to show our telephones and show every bit of equipment. and we do. we list everything. we write it all down. what were they doing? >> well, andrea, i can't go into the legal case. i don't think that needs to be discussed at this point. i do believe, though, that we need to look at what u.s.aid through the very recent program that was exposed as a result to the tweeting, and the usaid efforts to really, as ussaid says, relay the communication to the cuban people. the cuban people and the cuban government saw this as a method to further destabilize the country. so this is what we have to deal with. but the reason why we're having such difficulty is because we don't have better relations, and normal relations between our two countries. andrea, every public opinion poll has shown that the american public wants this embargo to

end. how do you address the issues if you're not in the process of negotiating? this embargo has been in place for over 55 years. and until that is resolved, you're going to see all kinds of issues crop up that's really going to be very, very, i think dangerous for both countries. and so the recent twitter program is an example of usaid has done throughout the world, under the guise of democracy promotion. which, that's what our government does. but i think it's very important to understand that when people are engaged in this work, we have a responsibility and a duty to make sure that they're protected, and that they're not put at risk. and they're not in danger. the only way we can do this is to insist on negotiations with no preconditions so we can move both countries forward in a semblance of normalcy and peace. people in america, our citizens deserve the right to travel to cuba whenever they want, just

like they can travel to vietnam, and to china. >> thank you so much, congresswoman barbara lee. just back from cuba, i should point out. >> thank you. primaries in three states. voters in those states have cast the first votes in the midterm election season. what does this mean for november? >> i think it's a contrast between her adding taxes, adding regulations, while we're cutting taxes and reducing regulations. a very clear contrast for the voters in november. >> north carolina house speaker and senate nominee tom tillis making his case against kay hagan, the democrat this morning, on msnbc. the first political punch in a heavyweight fight that could determine which party holds the senate in 2015. i think he was talking to chuck todd. michael steele is an nbc analyst and former chairman of the republican national committee. mike, thank you very much. >> thank you.

>> we saw what happened in the last couple of cycles where tea party candidates, won primaries, and as a result some would say the democrats kept control of the senate. this result was a victory for the mainstream, mitt romney supported candidate in a three-way primary. >> right. absolutely it was. it was certainly a good example of how the establishment, the moneyed interest within the gop have learned how to triangulate against the tea party. and identify candidates, business oriented candidates, some with long records, some with short records, but with a solid record in the community. if they can take to the community and make a broader appeal. i think the test is two-fold now. sort of rubbing the base's nose in their success. there are more primaries obviously coming up, andrea, so you want to make sure you're bringing people into the fold,

not pushing them away. i think also as a setup for particularly north carolina, the democrats are going to have an interesting opportunity as opposed to nationalizing the race in north carolina, they will make it much more of a local race, because remember, you're talking about someone who was in the legislative leadership who has a long record in the state, particularly given some of the votes over the last few years with respect to voting rights and the like. >> with that long record, there are comments like this. let me show you what he said back in 2011, and how he explained it today with chuck todd on "the daily rundown." >> what we have to do is find a way to divide and conquer the people who run on assistance. we have to look at the woman who has cerebral palsy who needs help, and we should help. we need to get those votes to

look down at these people who choose to get into a condition that makes them dependent on the government, and say at some point you're on your own. >> government exists to help those who cannot help themselves. and those who can need to do everything that they possibly can to let us free up those resources so we can do better things for those who desperately need it. >> you're using the word conquer. it sounds like you were trying to split as if to say, you wanted to have somebody who was getting government assistance that you thought was legitimate, almost going after the penal that y -- the people who are not legitimate. >> yeah, i do. >> so that's clear, he seemed to be talking about dividing those who were poor from those who are sick, and have them fight each other for government services. >> right. that's the difference of 24 hours between a primary and a general election. and so you'll see that sort of moderation of tone now, heading into the general fall campaign,

which he has to do. again, you know, tom has a long record in the state of north carolina, in the legislature, as a leader. so there will be a lot more sound bytes like that. if he doesn't want to be in a position where he's defending more of those as opposed to moving the agenda forward for the gop in the state. >> quickly, what about georgia and kentucky coming up later this month? what are you seeing there? >> yeah, they're going to be very interesting battlegrounds. unlike north carolina, i think the tea party will hold a lot more -- have more room to play with there certainly. lindsay graham i don't think will have a problem getting back into play. but you still have the dynamic with the tea party that cannot be overlooked in the upcoming states, particularly in strongholds like georgia, where they can make a lot of uncomfortable noise if they want

to. >> always great to see you, michael steele. i think you're there with david axelrod. >> yeah, in chicago at the institute of politics. it's a lot of fun. >> say hey to david. >> i will. and it's election day in south africa, where voters are waiting in long lines at the polls. the first general election since the death of nelson mandela. many of the born free generation, those after the fall of apartheid, are casting their votes for the first time today. mandela's party has won all national elections over the past two decades, beginning with mandela's historic presidential victory we're looking at there in 1994. i missed you. ♪ oh... daddy. chevrolet and its dealers proudly support military appreciation month. with the industry's best military purchase program, for all that have served.

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reversal of what we saw in 2010 and 2012. republican voters often picking the candidate that might be most aligned with their beliefs, the most conservative candidate, but certainly not the most electable candidate in the field. tillis was not the most electable candidate. but he was the speaker of the state house, raised the most money. i think it's important to remember, he not only got the most votes, the highest percentage, but he got more than 40%, which means he doesn't have to go into a runoff with a person running to his right in july. that runoff would have been. that's several more months of spending money, time, and everything else. now all of that focus goes to kay hagan. >> now, if we also look at georgia, you've got michelle nunn. let's talk about the newcomer to politics, a long experience in

volunteerism in georgia politics. obviously her father, obviously sam nunn. >> she's featuring george h.w. bush in her work with the points in light foundation. we've got eight more primaries to go. on the republican side, i think we don't know what's going to happen. that might be one of those primaries that actually goes to runoff. there's karen handle in that race. there's david purdue in that race. >> karen handle was controversial during the planned parenthood. >> she might be the dark horse in that race. some say she's getting momentum there. lots more to be written about how the tea party is actually faring. i think this north carolina race does show that this race is much stronger. >> let's talk about kentucky. the mitch mcconnell race. we'll play a little bit of the candidate challenging mcconnell.

>> i'm a stronger candidate for the general election. largely because she runs on four things. she runs on some variation of, she's young, she's new, she's a woman and she's not mitch mcconnell. all those are true enough. and all of those, while they're not substantive, they're good enough to beat mitch mcconnell. and while i cast do much about one of those four, although i'll try, i do say that, you know, at least relatively i'm also young and new, i'm also not mitch mcconnell. i think it's insulting that just because you're the same gender you'll vote for someone. that's a little presumptuous. >> so, he is saying that he is a better candidate potentially against allison grimes, because he's younger, and not mitch mcconnell. is that basically it? >> well, i would say not being

mitch mcconnell is actually a somewhat strong argument in a general election, because the race will ultimately be an open referendum on mitch mcconnell. you're seeing more establishment candidates get the better of it now. the best candidate, andrea, is the candidate who wins the primary. that's how we deal with politics. you can go back and reverse engineer it, i could have done this, that, or the other thing and we could have had a president steve forbes or mike bradley, but we don't have those. the better candidate is the candidate that wins. and i think in 13 days' time, in that republican primary in kentucky, that's going to be mitch mcconnell, not matt bevin. >> as you look at these primaries, again, the bottom line here is that the democrats have hung on to the senate because republicans have chosen the worst general election candidates in the last two cycles. this time they may have won their -- learned their lesson.

>> yeah, they've learned their lesson. they really very much engineered this and made sure that they had strong candidates in this race, and also expanded the playing field. so we'll see. >> thank you both so very much. coming up, is help finally on the way in the search for hundreds of kidnapped nigerian school girls. former uk prime minister gordon brown joins me next. the local call for action. john kerry on why the u.s. didn't move faster to join the rescue effort. we talked yesterday. >> why has it taken so long to mobilize an american effort? >> we have been in touch from day one. and our embassy has been engaged. and we have been engaged. but the government had its own set of strategies, if you will, in the beginning. ♪ (woman) this place has got really good chocolate shakes. (growls) (man) that's a good look for you.

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kidnappings is the right to education. boko haram, the terrorist group whose name loosely translates as western education is a sin, has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. former prime minister gordon brown for global education joins me now from abuja in nigeria's capital, where mr. brown just announced today a new safe schools initiative to protect the right to education. welcome. thank you so very much. tell me first about the safe school initiative, and how you think that this will help girls around the world, all children around the world. >> well, andrea, this is every family's nightmare. the nightmare that your child could be snatched from your school and taken into a forest area, and you may never see them again. and there are more than 200 mothers and fathers who don't know whether their children are sex slaves, they don't know whether they've been trafficked

into other countries in africa, and perhaps some of them not even alive. and that's why we've got to do two things. we've got to give all the support that we can immediately for civilians and surveillance in particular, to see whether we can locate these girls. and i'm grateful to john kerry, secretary of state, for offering that facility to the country. but also, we've got to ensure that girls, particularly, can go to school without the fear that they're going to be kidnapped or ambushed or abducted. and that's why the business community in nigeria with us today have announced that they want to support an initiative that will make schools safer, and provide for guards at schools, provide for better equipment that would allow people to monitor what's going on in the school area. and therefore, these two things must go hand in hand. we've got to try and rescue these tragically lost girls, and that slogan that the parents chosen, bring back our girls, is in every corner of the world

now. we have to make sure that the millions of children go to school, that there is less fear attached to something that we normally take for granted. >> i am told that these schools have been closed, not only the school where these girls -- that the girls were attending, but all the schools in the region have been closed because of fear of the terrorists. so has boko haram won its evil purpose in denying an education to the children of this region? >> no, i don't think so. i think they've brought to a head in nigeria the damage and the turmoil and the terror that can be created. and i think the whole of the nigerian population is determined to stand up for these girls and their rights. and i think that boko haram has exposed itself with this heinous crime. and we know that nine children were taken from the schools only two days ago. we know also that about 150 people were massacred in the north of nigeria in the last few

days. and i think that the population of nigeria and the government of nigeria is aware that this cannot be allowed to continue. there is a huge public outcry. it's not just for parents and children, but across the whole of population. people want to say that we can assure girls and boys the education will be safe. they also want to get these girls back as quickly as possible. >> why did it take so long, when i kept pushing on the state department, and other -- my colleagues pushing on the white house and the pentagon, we were told that the nigerians were reluctant to accept the help, that it was an embarrassment, perhaps looking forward to the economic forum opening today, not wanting to admit that it needed western help. is this a cultural problem? or is there a political problem there? >> well, i've been pressing also for action for three weeks. and i've always thought that the technology that is necessary to locate the girls is something that only america and britain

and some of the other countries of the west could contribute to make this happen. but i think we've got to also recognize that this has been a very confused picture for many, many days. a lot of people did not know what had happened. this is a very remote area. some of the girls escaped, but didn't want to talk about what happened for fear of reprisals. i think the information that has been available to us has come only relatively late. but now i think the crucial thing is, with the resources america's now made available, and i do congratulate president obama and secretary of state kerry for taking this action. with britain now supporting it, teams coming to nigeria, let us see as quickly as possible if we can locate these girls. because it is a big group of 270. if they have not yet been dispersed, let us see what ke can do to not only locate them, but bring them back to safety. i think the nigerian population, of course, the whole of the world, is wanting to know that everything possible is now being

done for the safety of these girls. >> i know that you have been very deeply involved in your role as the u.n. envoy in protecting lala and getting the care she needed. she's doing interviews with us today and other networks. this is a bigger problem than just boko haram, isn't it? it's a global problem. girls' education is at risk. >> there is discrimination against girls in so many countries of the world. and this is a civil rights struggle of our times. it is on a parallel with a struggle that was fought by black people in the united states of america for their civil rights. girls are fighting for their rights. some extreme versions of religion are trying to say that girls should never go to school. parents are encouraged to put them into domestic service. early child marriage. and all these things, we have

got to get the message across that girls know themselves, recognizing, hearing what's happening in the rest of the world, that they must themselves have the right to education. i was in pakistan a few weeks ago and i heard 2,000 girls demanding their right to education. and they are no longer going to be cowed into submission. they're no longer going to say, if someone else decides for us, we'll let it happen. these girls are now demanding their rights and it's the duty of the world to support them. it's true in nigeria, in pakistan, afghanistan, yemen, in other parts of africa, and of course, it is true in india where there is too much early child marriage, preventing girls from having the potential that they have realized through education. >> gordon brown, thank you so much for your advocacy on this and for what sarah brown is doing as well. thank you for joining us here today. more coming up, more ahead right here on "andrea mitchell reports."

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carolina. >> you all excited? >> taking on senator kay hagan in november whichould decide who controls the united states senate. ukrainian forces killed five pro-russian separatists. it's called the greatest crisis to european security since the cold war. do you actually have evidence of a cover-up? >> i know folks like to use the word cover-up. >> it's not going to be a side show. >> i prefer to use the word evidence. >> there's not going to be a circus. >> what is your guilty pleasure? >> let's see. >> are there that many? >> i'm just trying to think of the "b" rated ones. right now, an elite u.s. i