>> nothing. >> that's good. that's very honest. >> i learned don't ride in an el cater with solange if she's pissed at you and be leery of giving brian sullivan an open mike. >> nicole, what did you learn? >> the angry middle has a new spokesman. >> what's up next, nicolle? >> chuck todd. >> good job. >> i passed. the midterm mayhem rolls on. today it's a fight on the right in nebraska. we're going to talk live to all three republicans that are duking it out for a seat in the u.s. senate as voters head to the polls. plus, a surprising and sad development in a north carolina house primary that was and still is too close to call. the democrat -- one of the democrats, keith crisco, died suddenly from a fall at his home. state officials are still counting ballots, though. his opponent, clay aiken, has temporarily suspended campaign

activity. also this morning, will the senate's share of women increase again after this midterm? if something incumbents hold on, then it could be another record total. much more in today's takeaway. good morning from washington. it's tuesday, may 13th, 2014. this is "the daily rundown," your 2014 campaign headquarters. we'll also talk to senator chris koonce about the hearing he's holding about how to help those kidnapped nigerian girls and what could have prevented it. if it's tuesday, somebody is voting somewhere and today the somewhere is in two states. senate races that we're probably not going to be talking about in late october, which is not good news for the democratic party. but we've got west virginia and nebraska on the docket today. west virginia hasn't elected a republican senator in more than 58 years. the gop has lost 21 consecutive senate contests in the mountain state but senator jay rockefeller's decision to retire is giving republicans one of their best opportunities to win a democratic open seat this

cycle. president obama won just 36% of the vote in west virginia in 2012 and republican congressman shelly is poised to win her primary. she's likely to go against natalie tenant, who's expected to easily win her primary. she is running a very disciplined campaign. she's avoided having to pander to the more conservative candidates of the party, including the tea party, and hasn't had to trash government, which frankly doesn't go over well on a state that depends on federal money like none other and has more things named after the late senator robert byrd than you could keep track of. she's posted campaign videos of herself making support for gun rights clear. earlier her campaign carefully downplayed michelle obama's statement that it was critical that she be elected and she recently told the charleston daily mirror, quite frankly, i don't think i have a whole lot

that i would be with the president on. but that hasn't helped her lose her underdog status. west virginia is one of several states, like arkansas and louisiana, where the democratic party is in danger of losing seats in socially conservative, but economically populous states where democrats have long been able to buck national trends. that same pressure is being felt further down the ballot where 19 term democratic incumbent nick rayhall will fight against republican state senator evan jenkins. first he has to get through a fairly tough primary against richard ojeda. there are seven nominations fighting for the nomination. the winner is likely to take on nick casey, who's expected to cruise to the nomination today. that's actually going to be a pretty competitive house race. moving on to today's marquee contest, it's the senate race in

nebraska. for the second straight cycle, democrats are basically not competing. you know, it wasn't that long ago that democrats held five of s six states. how about that. today in nebraska, david domino, known for his opposition to the keystone p keystone pipeline and larry marvin. a republican race for the ruby red state that's safe for republicans has become a struggle for the future of the gop and a must win for some tea party groups after a high profile defeat in north carolina and with candidates failing to catch on in places like georgia and kentucky. it's also become a proxy war between senate republican leader mitch mcconnell and the senate conservatives fund which has backed mcconnell's primary opponent, matt bevin. five republicans are competing to fill the seat. midland university president ben

sass, shane osborn have been locked in a bitter fight for months and that's allowed a third candidate, sid dinsdale to potentially rise up hoping the disgust over the negative ads will help a surge in the final days. osborn, the only candidate to hold statewide office, was an early favorites but sass won the support of the club for goerowt. senators cruz, lee, former alaska governor sarah palin have all campaigned for sass in the last month. >> he's running for the right reasons and i think he's going to be there joining ted cruz and mike lee and the good guys who know why they have been sent to the united states senate. >> but sasse also has some establishment support. he's picked up the endorsements of paul ryan, tom coburn, but he

had a public split with senator mcconnell, reportedly getting under mcconnell's skin that questioned the leadership during the health care fight in the fall. >> it is time for every republican in washington, starting with minority leader mitch mcconnell, to show some actual leadership on this issue by voluntarily giving up their health care subsidy. >> after sasse used his daughters in an ad against the health care law, there was this ad. >> he doesn't like obamacare, he's read it and he wants to find a way to destroy it and rebuild something that's successful. >> fact, ben sasse said obamacare is an important first step. then he dodged responsibility. >> can i put in now that i want a horse very badly? >> tell ben sasse, nebraska ans protect their families. they don't hide behind them. >> meanwhile sasse has vowed a

clean campaign but outside groups have poured money into this race. on friday, osborn, who's behind in the polls asked to owe peas legal immigration and the number of guest workers in the u.s. all of the fighting between the two favorites has boosted the banker, sid dinsdale once considered a distant third and is a new target of attack ads from outside groups supporting sasse which tells you maybe something is going on here. remember deb fisher pulled off an upset after the two top contenders destroyed each other with negative ads. nebraska gop voters will pick a republican nominee to be their next governor. that race has also been nasty. it's led by pete ricketts and john burney. it's attracted big outside money, particularly for

ricketts, whose father is a well-known gop donor to republican causes and the owner of the chicago cubs. but it's a senate race that has a bunch of folks talking in washington. let's talk to all three candidates. we'll begin with sid dinsdale who joins me now on the phone. mr. dinsdale, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> so let's start with what kind of -- do you believe you're suddenly seeing a surge here in the last week because of the nastiness between osborn and sasse? >> you know, i never accepted that i wasn't right in the hunt, but political people seem to say that i'm surging. i think i've been in the hunt the whole way and feel really good about where we are. a lot of important endorsements across the state and a lot of talk about my campaign and i feel really good about where we're going here. >> you've been point blank on some issues, including the debt limit. you were asked about that and you just simply said the debt

limit isn't something to be playing politics with. can you elaborate? >> well, i was taken a little bit out of context, but spending is the issue and i hope we don't have to deal with the debt ceiling. spending is the problem with our united states budget. we've got to get the expenses under control and make some tough decisions to do that. >> so you would always vote to raise the debt ceiling? >> i look at each circumstance differently. i'd be hard pressed not to vote to raise the debt ceiling but i'd like to look in each circumstance. i don't want to be put in a corner or box on those deals. >> i'm going to leave it there. stay safe on the campaign trail. >> hey, i wanted to mention, you know, this race has a lot of washington, d.c., money coming in here and i hope nebraskans see what's going on. thanks for having me on. >> you've got it, mr. dinsdale, appreciate your time. i want to turn to shane osborn. mr. osborn, you're the only elected official in this race and yet it seems that so much of

the gop, that so many groups are rallying around your opponent, mr. sasse. why is that? >> well, it's clear his time out in d.c. has paid off in this race. but if you look at the conservative groups in nebraska, they are all rallying behind me. we've got a great grassroots campaign. we're the only one that's hit all 93 counties and that's going to pay off. believe it or not, i'm sure i'm the only person you've ever talked to that has strong government. i cut my budget 12%, reduced the staff over a quarter, brought transparency by putting our state budget online. those are things nebraskans want to see. smaller, more efficient government. more transparency. that's what nebraska voters will vote for today. >> now look, in this last week of this campaign you have made immigration a primary focus. you've signed this pledge with the group fair. i described it earlier. this would cap legal

immigration. so you really would shut down the borders in a way that a lot of people in washington aren't advocating. why is that? there are a lot of companies that would like some engineers and would like some other folks from asia to be allowed visas into this country. why are you against this? >> first and foremost, i differ from my opponents when i say i don't believe in amnesty and my other three opponents do, so that is a differentiator on this race. what my concern is, is the 20 plus million unemployed americans. why aren't we worried about them first. let's get those people back to work and then we can worry about those other things. hopefully we can grow this economy to the point that we do some day need to increase it, but today is not that day. so while i respect my opponents, i disagree with them strongly. i do not believe in amnesty for illegals. i served in the military, had foreign nationals in the back of my airplane that did several combat tours to earn their citizenship. the idea of giving it to

somebody that's come here illegally doesn't make sense. >> are you going to be comfortable supporting whoever the nominee is if it doesn't happen to be you? >> i've already publicly stated that, but it will be me. nebraskans will get out to vote. we'll keep working hard to represent nebraskans, not the washington, d.c., groups that have spent millions of dollars against me. >> please stay safe on the campaign trail. >> appreciate it. let's now go to ben sasse. we've gone in alphabetical order. former bush administration official and he of course had that high-profile dispute a little bit about senator mcconnell. mr. sasse, i want to start with that very question. if you are elected to the u.s. senate, are you going to support mitch mcconnell as the republican leader? >> you know, we've said from the beginning of this race that the voters in nebraska get to make their choice today and we don't deal with speculative stuff. but obviously i'm for better conservative ideas and more

persuasion and getting to a majority so obviously i'm a team player and looking forward to support whoever our leader is. >> so if he's the leader -- so you're comfortable enough supporting mcconnell if he is the one that the conference puts up as the leader? >> absolutely. i mean the national media loves the idea of playing up this intra republican party kind of civil war stuff but it's just not what nebraskans are talking about on the ground. it's been pretty overblown on our race. we've got 93 counties in the state and 85 of them have county level farm bureau organizations. when they endorsed me two weeks ago, it's only the second time in nebraska history the farm bureau has endorsed. it is actually what's happening on the ground here. we have the momentum talking about the future of our kids. >> let me ask you, what's the first bill you plan to introduce if you're a united states senator? >> i'd love to co-sponsor a

constitutional amendment for term limits. i'm a really conservative guy. but the problems we face in washington aren't just the democrats are in charge but also that the kinds of republicans want washington to be in charge and i don't. i want to grow the private sector, reaffirm local communities in nebraska where governance is necessary and deliver at the state and local level. i would love to see term limits. >> are you planning to self term limit? >> no. i think when conservatives start to lay down our weapons first and liberals don't participate in the discussion, i don't think that's a prudent step. but i'd love to see much shorter terms for everybody in washington. >> all right. and you're comfortable supporting whoever wins this primary today, even if it's not yourself? >> oh, absolutely. again, i'm for more quality and more quality in the conservative movement. we need to win the next generation and we need to win the middle of the electorate. that starts by being for bigger

conservative ideas but also growing the movement. so absolutely. i want to see us get to 51, 52, 53 and be supporting republicans coming out of all of our races, including the governor's race and our state is really competitive. >> it is quite the finish line here for both primaries, mr. sasse. thank you for your time. please stay safe on the trail and hopefully we hear from you or whoever it is that ends up the nominee tomorrow morning. thanks for your time. still ahead on "the daily rundown" two breakaway regions in eastern ukraine looking to form a new republic or even possibly joining the russian federation. we'll have the latest from the ground next. plus, as the u.s. military dives into the search for the nearly 300 kidnapped school girls in nigeria, the question is what more can and should the united states government do in this situation? first a look ahead at today's planner. st. louis rams draft pick michael sam will talk to the press for the first time. that will generate quite a bit of news. president clinton is campaigning

in maryland, but of course you know what the big stuff is today. the big stuff is primary day. campaign headquarters for 2014 is right here on "the daily rundown." he g ets a ready for you alert the second his room is ready. so he knows exactly when he can prep for his presentation. and when steve is perfectly prepped, ya know what he brings? and that's how you'll increase market share. any questions? can i get an "a", steve? yes! three a's! amazing sales! he brings his a-game! la quinta inns and suites is ready for you, so you'll be ready for business. the ready for you alert, only at laquinta.com! la quinta! those little cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess.

side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial. he was a matted messiley in a small cage. ng day. so that was our first task, was getting him to wellness. without angie's list, i don't know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley. from contractors and doctors to dog sitters and landscapers, you can find it all on angie's list.

we found riley at the shelter, and found everything he needed at angie's list. join today at angieslist.com trwith secure wifie for your business. it also comes with public wifi for your customers. not so with internet from the phone company. i would email the phone company to inquire as to why they have shortchanged these customers. but that would require wifi. switch to comcast business internet and get two wifi networks included. comcast business built for business.

back now with the big headline overseas. pro-russian populations in eastern ukraine have declared their independence, but the international community says not so fast. in the wake of sunday's referendum, people in the regions of donetsk and luwansk are celebrating their plans to create a new republic called new russia. in addition to declaring their sovereignty, leaders in donetsk are now calling on the kremlin to protect them from what they

say is kiev, who is sending troops, and they would like the russians to send troops. russia hasn't reacted one way or the other but says the vote proves that there must be discussions about ukraine's future before the may 25th presidential election. ukraine's acting president called the independence vote a scam. something the white house agrees on. >> well, the so-called referendum are illegal under ukrainian law and a transparent attempt to create further division and disorder, so we do not recognize the results. you have seen the european union and other leaders say the same. >> a new poll is out today that tries to determine whether ukrainians want to secede or not. according to this cnn poll, 37% of those living in eastern ukraine favor an alliance with russia. 14% favor an alliance with the e.u. and 49% want no change. the pew research center found 18% wanting secession, 70%

claiming they wanted to stay united. this is not going to be the easiest place to poll. richard engel is in eastern ukraine and has a lot more on how this is playing out on the ground. >> reporter: good morning, chuck. just a few days after declaring independence here in eastern ukraine, today they are trying to show that they are independent. we are now in the center of the city of mariopol in southern eastern ukraine and here they are taking down the barricades set up in the center of the city. this is an act of defiance. these barricades were set up by the pro-russian community here to defend against the ukrainian government. at times the fighting has been very heavy here. this apc, this fighting vehicle, was from the ukrainian army. ukrainian troops came in, there was a major battle here and the ukrainian soldiers had to abandon this vehicle. the protesters took it over, set it on fire and it became part of this barricade. this too is now going away. this is about politics. the people here voted.

now the government, this new government that nobody recognizes except the people here and russia to a degree, this new government is trying to show it's in charge, it's independent, it wants to get the barricades gone and it wants to improve the lives of the people here. this is yet one more step that the people in southern and eastern ukraine are taking, chuck, to show that they're independent now and they want to live like a normal country. >> thank you, richard. it's going to be an interesting next couple of weeks. we'll see how the russians react today. first number in today's data bank, five. that's the number of days until graduation at smith college in massachusetts. the scheduled commencement speaker was christine lagarde who withdrew after students protested objecting to the policies of the imf. la guard is just the latest high-profile speaker to withdraw from a graduation speech after student protests. earlier this month former secretary of state condoleezza rice decided to cancel her

speech at rutgers at both students and university staff protested her involvement in the iraq war. ask yourself, isn't part of the college experience dealing with people you may disagree with and hearing from the other side? just throwing that out there. coming up, the shocking development in the too close to call north carolina congressional race that involves singer clay aiken. first, today's trivia question. how many consecutive years did georgia have two democratic senators? the first person to tweet the correct answer will get the on-air shoutout. the answer is coming up in three quick minutes. ♪ ♪fame, makes a man take things over♪ ♪fame, lets him loose, hard to swallow♪ ♪fame, puts you there where things are hollow♪ the evolution of luxury continues. the next generation 2015 escalade.

♪fame that would be my daughter -- hi dad. she's a dietitian. and back when i wasn't eating right, she got me drinking boost. it's got a great taste, and it helps give me the nutrition i was missing. helping me stay more like me. [ female announcer ] boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. grandpa! [ female announcer ] stay strong, stay active with boost. the numbers are impressive. over 400,000 new private sector jobs... making new york state number two in the nation in new private sector job creation... with 10 regional development strategies to fit your business needs. and now it's even better because they've introduced startup new york... with the state creating dozens of tax-free zones where businesses pay no taxes for ten years. become the next business to discover the new new york.

[ male announcer ] see if your business qualifies. ugh. heartburn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. you always get the lowest price book any flight or hotel and if you find it for less we'll match it

and give you fifty dollars back that's the expedia guarantee tigers, both of you. tigers? don't be modest. i see how you've been investing. setting long term goals. diversifying. dip! you got our attention. we did? of course. you're type e* well, i have been researching retirement strategies. well that's what type e*s do. welcome home. taking control of your retirement? e*trade gives you the tools and resources to get it right. are you type e*? north carolina congressional candidate clay aiken is suspending his campaign after his primary opponent was found dead from an apparent fall at his home yesterday afternoon. 71-year-old keith crisco, who was locked in a too close to call race for the democratic nomination for north carolina's second congressional seat.

now, aiken was leading crisco by fewer than 400 votes after last tuesday's election but crisco refused to concede until the absentee ballots were counted. aiken is suspending all campaign activities as we pray for his family and friends. crisco, by the way, was a long time democratic activist, public servant, been around the north carolina democratic party for years. and is getting some good obituaries about him this morning. they are worth reading in the north carolina papers. moving on today, there's a medal of honor ceremony. a 27-year-old will receive the nation's highest honor for valor this afternoon. he'll be the seventh living recipient of the medal of honor for actions in iraq or afghanistan. former sergeant kyle white was born and raised in seattle, washington. he enlisted in 2006 and deployed to afghanistan in 2007. with c company, second battalion, 303rd infantry regiment. sergeant white served as the platoon's radio telephone operator in some of the

roughest, most dangerous mountain terrain in northeast afghanistan. on november ni9th, a taliban foe killed six service members. sergeant white suffered a concussion but treated a fellow soldier's injuries and radioed for help. when the rescue helicopters arrived, white refused to be evacuated until all of the other wounded were flown to safety. after the rescue, white took his picture of the enemy round that struck the butt of his gun during the ambush. white says the photo reminds him how close he came to getting shot. white left active duty three years ago but has spoken openly about having posttraumatic stress disorder. he told jim miklaszewski he doesn't feel like a hero. >> no, i don't. to me the heroes are the guys i wear on my bracelet. it's got all their names on here. these are the guys that are the heros in my book. >> white is now an investment analyst living in charlotte, north carolina, but he still wears that bracelet with the names of his fellow soldiers who

didn't survive. white's family and the soldier white saved plan to be at the medal of honor ceremony at the white house today. you can of course watch it live right here on msnbc at 3:00 eastern. if you've never seen one of these, i encourage you to do so. we'll be right back. [ barks ] [ chuckles ] i'd do anything to keep this guy happy and healthy. that's why i'm so excited about these new milk-bone brushing chews. whoa, i'm not the only one. it's a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. clinically proven as effective as brushing. ok, here you go. have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth? the twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line, even reaching the back teeth. they taste like a treat, but they clean like a toothbrush. nothing says you care like a milk-bone brushing chew. [ barks ] 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. ♪ could mean less waiting for things like security backups and file downloads you'd take that test, right? well, what are you waiting for? you could literally be done with the test by now. now you could have done it twice. this is awkward. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business.

typically if you think of water fights, you figure they're happening out west in places like california, arizona, nevada. but today we're focusing on a battle over water and our tdr look this week at the state of georgia and it's been going on in georgia for decades. it's actually a fight involving three different states over the water that flows south from lake lanier and lake altoona down through alabama, georgia and into the florida panhandle. the biggest fight is over the eastern acf basin that uses the flint and chattahoochee river. alabama and florida argue georgia and specifically metro atlanta take more than its fair share of that water. alabama says it's putting undue strain on its residents and

florida says it's endangering the seafood supply that's important in that state's industry. things have gotten so bad that last fall attorneys for the state of florida asked the u.s. supreme court to step in and decide how the water should be divvied up. u.s. solicitor general still has to decide if the court -- if they will argue this case in front of the court. the fight has also made its way to capitol hill. in january, alabama republican senator jeff sessions wrote a letter to the heads of the senate environmental committee complaining that atlanta's excessive water consumption was causing, quote, substantial harm to the environment and downstream communities in alabama and florida. now, the heart of this case is pretty simple. it's all about supply and demand. metro atlanta is the second fastest growing metro area in the country. between 2000 and 2010 the city added more than a million people. that's three times the population growth of the entire state of alabama. the report from the atlanta regional commission estimates another three million people will move to the metro area by 2040, but notes that uncertainty surrounding the water supply

represent a significant challenge to the city's future. joining me now is an award-winning author, charles fishman. he wrote the book on this literally, "the big thirst, secret life and turbulent future of water." as i noted, when we cover water issues nationally, we mostly focus on the fight basically between california internally, the fight with each other but also nevada -- >> colorado river. >> colorado river basin and all that stuff. but this issue in georgia, which is uniquely situated in a way that it doesn't have as much water supply as florida and alabama. >> well, it's interesting, georgia doesn't have a single natural lake and you said atlanta added a million people from 2000 to 2010. they added more than two million people from 1990 to 2010 and they didn't add one new drop of water to their water supply. so that's where -- that's where the stress comes from. >> right. >> and they sit at the top of a

river system that both florida and alabama rely on. that's the source of the fight which depose all the way back to 1990. >> so the federal government at some point is going to have to step in and deal with these water disputes i think all over. these obviously cross state lines. when things cross state lines they end up sitting in the federal government's lap. >> well, the federal government is not that well positioned to handle this. there was a long-running court case that was actually settled in atlanta's favor back in 2011 and then the supreme court refused to hear it in 2012. atlanta looked like they were going to lose and then at the last minute they won. florida sued last fall because they didn't think -- they don't want atlanta to have unlimited access to this water. >> so what are some of the -- so, you know, for instance i know that desal nation was something we thought savannah was going to move to. they were talking about it and

then it sort of stalled. is desalination, basically taking the atlantic ocean and turn it into drinking water, is that a reasonable solution? >> it works but it doesn't work in georgia. most of georgia's population doesn't live at the coast. >> we really only have savannah. >> there's actually a version of that, which is water reuse. the water -- nobody in atlanta uses water more than once. there's actually a new google server farm -- >> nobody in atlanta uses water more than once? >> they use it. >> they don't have any reuse? >> trivial. >> in the west it happens all the time. colorado, it's a big part what they do. >> central florida is a huge -- all the outdoor lawn watering in orange county, florida, around orlando is reuse. >> what's going on in georgia? why is that this not happening? >> it's not part of the culture and that's really the problem. the problem is -- i said in the book three years ago atlanta's focus on water has been rain

dances, wishful thinking and litigation of the and that doesn't work. those three things don't get you any new water. >> it's interesting that you say it's not culturally there. you don't think of environmental groups having much political success in a state like georgia. is that sort of -- when you say the culture shall , is that whae referring to? >> no. georgia is not that densely populated. there's a big outdoor culture there, but there's no culture of paying attention to water because the water supply has been opulent. and i think that's actually the lesson from georgia for the rest of the country. what georgia actually needs, and florida and alabama too, is some local political leadership to say, you know what, we've been fighting -- just in the last five years they have spent $3 million on legal fees. >> on lawsuits against the state of florida, against alabama and tennessee also. they're trying to change the border. >> right. >> they're trying to change the border of georgia. >> how about sitting down in a serious fashion and saying, you know what, we're not going to

wait for the courts. we're not going to litigate. it's ten more years of lit dp s litigation you're looking at. let's sit down and hash this out ourselves. we can do that. every time there's an effort to actually sit down, one of the states thinks they're going to win in court and they sort of back off. and so that's -- georgia just won so there's no incentive. i wish somebody would sit down and say there's no new water in the supreme court. the supreme court doesn't have access to any water. let's fix this ourselves. >> it's interesting on this issue of water, we talk about there's always been a sort of running dark comedy joke that water is the future oil, right, where the great wars will be fought. >> the great battles. >> great battles in the next century will be fought over -- >> access. >> -- access to water. so georgia is a flash point right now. california is a flashpoint right now. >> texas. >> help me out. what's next? where do you think the next big thing will be? >> texas and california are number one and number two in the

country. they account for one in five people, both in year three of the worst drought in decades. so i think right now the whole west, one out of three people lives in drought this minute in this arc from oregon through texas. i think it's going to remake agriculture in california and across the plains. the lesson from georgia is wishful thinking doesn't work. covering your eyes and hoping it rains, that doesn't get you water. >> it's amazing how many policy proposals are in all of these states that have nothing to do with actual things that matter. >> that press on people every day. >> charles fishman, the book is "the big thirst." thank you for your perspective. >> thanks for having me. the next number in today's data bank is 194. that's the number of days since cory booker resigned as mayor of newark to serve in the u.s. senate. today voters head to the polls in new jersey's largest city to choose his successor. it's a nonpartisan election

between two democrats and two newark natives but that's about where their commonalities end. ras baraka has cast himself as the anti-booker candidate in the race. his opponent is civil rights attorney shevar jeffries. the election comes at a pivotal time for newark, which currently has its highest murder rate in 24 years. all right, our next number is three. that's the number of state election board members that rejected a claim that kansas senator pat roberts is not a resident of kansas. the unanimous ruling on monday means roberts will appear on the august 5th primary ballot. it is in response to objections following his residency following the "new york times" story that drew into question whether the senator resides in virginia or a barkolounger in kansas. you may have seen this report. karl rove is trying to explain comments he made about former secretary of state hillary clinton's health situation

following a blood clot in her brain. he allegedly said she had brain damage. the blood clot delayed clinton's testimony on the benghazi attack and rove's remark may be a way to raise new questions about clinton's health and the benghazi issue at the same time. just moments ago on his other employer's network, fox news, he said his remarks had been misreported. >> i didn't say she had brain damage. my point was, is that hillary clinton wants to run for president but she would not be human if this didn't enter in as a consideration. and my other point is, this will be an issue in the 2016 race, whether she likes it or not. >> there you heard it. up next, the u.s. military joins the search for the missing nigerian school girls. we'll talk to senator chris koonce who's on the senate foreign relations committee about that situation. the soup of the day comes from augusta, georgia, where today they're serving up lobster bisque at la maison. we'll be right back.

if you have a business idea, we have a personalized legal solution that's right for you. with easy step-by-step guidance, we're here to help you turn your dream into a reality. start your business today with legalzoom. who gets the allstate safe driving bonus check. rock beats scissors! [ chuckles ] wife beats rock. and with two checks a year, everyone wins. [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call 866-906-8500 now. [ dennis ] zach really loves his new camera. problem is...this isn't zach. it's a friend of a friend who was at zach's party and stole his camera. but zach's got it covered... with allstate renters insurance. [ female announcer ] protect your valuables for as low as $4 a month when you add renters insurance to your allstate auto policy. call 866-906-8500 now. what are you doing? we're switching car insurance. why? because these guys are the cheapest. why? good question. because a cut-rate price could mean cut-rate protection. you should listen to this guy.

[ female announcer ] with allstate you get great protection and a great price, plus an agent! drivers who switched saved an average of $498 a year. call now and see how much you can save. just a few more ways allstate is changing car insurance for good. [ female announcer ] call an allstate agent just asfx: car unlock beep.te is changing car insurance for good. vo: david's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i use my citi thankyou card to get two times the points at the coffee shop. which will help me get to miami...and they'll be stuck at the cube farm. the citi thankyou preferred card. now earn two times the points on dining out with no annual fee. go to citi.com/thankyoucards. nowchoose one option fromith red lothe wood-fire grill,trios! one signature shrimp dish, and a pasta. all on one plate. three delicious choices. all for $15.99 for a limited time only! come sea food differently today!

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.

well, there are indications the nigerian government might negotiate with the terrorists that's claimed credit for kidnapping almost 300 school girls a month ago. u.s. intelligence experts are searching. this video released by boko haram released yesterday looking for clues to where the girls might be. the video appears to show some of the girls taken hostage. some of them are forced to speak on camera, condemning the christian faith and speaking about the muslim religion. we are not showing that footage because it appears to be obtained in a hostage situation. the white house revealed the u.s. is sending five state officials. the defense department is sending ten advisers and another seven advisers from u.s. africom. the fbi has sent four kidnapping experts. there's also the help from social media attracting international attention over the last two weeks. my next guest has been sounding

the alarm about boko haram for years. senator chris koonce described boko haram as a serious and growing threat back in 2012. the senator's office put together this chart showing how boko haram attacks had quadrupled from 2010 to 2011. the brookings institute reports boko haram burned down or destroyed 50 schools and killed at least two dozen teachers in recent years. the senator blames northeast nigeria's lower literacy rates on the terror group. now that boko haram has taken credit for this mass kidnapping, getting international attention, senator koonced scheduled a hearing. he said we need to make sure that our offers of assistance are not only welcomed but fully utilized. the question now is how can the u.s. government follow through. i'm joined now by democratic senator chris koonce of delaware. senator, good morning to you, sir. >> good morning, chuck. good to be with you. >> you, russ feingold who actually was in the senate and got voted out right before you

came in also was a guy that sounded the boko haram alarm as well. i guess i'm curious, why do you think the state department -- they seem to be the lone group that didn't want to put boko haram on the terrorist list when every other group, the intelligence community, you and among others in the united states senate were calling for this. boy, is this turning out to be a big mistake? >> well, chuck, i think it's important that all of us in the united states, policy leaders, business leaders, community leaders, elected officials be better informed about and pay more attention to the rising threat of jihadist activity in africa. i try to spread a positive message about africa, about the economic and development opportunities there, but we shouldn't take our eye off the ball in terms of the very real challenges of jihadist groups like boko haram. we could quibble over exactly why a decision was made two years ago to designate three of boko haram's leaders individually as terrorists rather than the group. at the end of the day, what i

think we need to do is to provide every possible assistance to nigeria so that we waste not one more day before these girls are safely returned to their families. >> nigeria has a history of negotiating with boko haram. they have given them prisoners before, they have paid them money in kidnappings. is this a classic case of what happens when you negotiate with terrorists, that they essentially continue to escalate, escalate and escalate? >> well, typically negotiating with terrorists, as you referenced, chuck, is not the right way to go. nigeria faced a long and brutal internal resistance movement in the delta region and they for many years fought insurgency in the delta that they ultimately negotiated to a successful resolution. but arguably that insurgency was bloodier and longer than it needed to be because the government paid ransom and negotiated. i think the same thing is playing out here in the northeast. one thing i do want to be careful about, though, is to make it clear that we do have, i think, legitimate concerns about

ensuring that the military response to boko haram is not heavy-handed, doesn't violate basic human rights. there is a difficult balance here, chuck, between respecting nigerian sovereignty and respecting their ability to make their own strategic decisions while also insisting on a vigorous search for these girls and respect for basic human rights. >> well, it's funny you bring this up because that was the next question i was going to go to, which is nigeria's response to boko haram have either been, to use a poor analogy here, too hot or too cold. they don't seem to strike the right balance. when they go after boko haram, the stories i've heard is if they hear a rumor that boko haram is in a village, they burn the entire village. how do you prevent nigeria's government from overreacting? >> well, the united states, chuck, has a number of years of experience now of fighting insurgencies in iraq and afghanistan. we and our allies have a lot of painful lessons learned about

how to work successfully with the local population, how to invest in both economic development and in political inclusion at the same time that you're fighting on the militant insur jgency. the hearing that i chaired two years ago focused on urging the nigerian government the reach out to, and include the traditional communities in the north na have been excluded and haven't seen the benefits of health care and political and economic opportunity. so when that reconciliation work, development work is not done, then a heavy handed military response is to be at risk of flaming the insurgency, and that may be largely what happened. >> what is the next immediate step that the united states government should do? >> well, i am sharing a hearing this tuesday of the african affairs subcommittee to hear the witnesses explain what is being done and to explore what can be and should be done, and we have to provide all of the assistance in terms of the isr, and the

ov oversurveillance and the int intelligence, and helping the nigerian military to appropriately track down and recover, to return safely to their families the more than 230 schoolgirls, but also to strategically refocus on the long long-term campaign against boko haram, and we have to engage chad and cameroon and the other countries that are adjacent there, and there are other countries who have been affected by the boko haram who frequently slips across the borders and causing the problems in the neighboring countries. >> and i was going the describe what is the ungoverned regions, and it is the same stories of the ungoverned regions between afghanistan and pack stap and served as -- pakistan and served as a safe haven there. and we will look forward to your hearing, senator coons. and now for 108 consecutive

years, we have had january of 1973 to 1991. and the winner to day is greg scanl scanlon. we will be right back. [ male announcer ] this is the age of knowing what you're made of. why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain. it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. if your doctor decides viagra is right for you, you can fill your prescription at your pharmacy. or, check out viagra home delivery, a convenient place to fill your prescription online

and have it shipped at no additional cost straight to your door. viagra home delivery. get started at viagra.com.

viagra home delivery. honestly, the off-season isn't i've got a lot to do. that's why i got my surface. it's great for watching game film and drawing up plays. it's got onenote, so i can stay on top of my to-do list, which has been absolutely absurd since the big game. with skype, it's just really easy to stay in touch with the kids i work with. alright, russell you are good to go! alright, fellas. alright, russ.

back to work! time for takeaway and as we mentioned earlier in the show, west virginia barring the unforeseen is likely to elect the first ever woman senator in the first year election, but it is not the state to braeak the glass ceiling. so how many states have yet to send a woman to the senate. well as you know 20 women serve in the chamber and as to date, 44 have sered in 26 states. but in 24 states no women elected here as you can see. look at this, big gaps where no women have served in the senate in the rust belt, and right here in the rocky mountain area, and that is more surprising considering that is where the

women got the right to vote. women have been appointed senator in 1922 and the first woman to serve is georgia's rebecca lattimore felton in a symbolic move elected to serve for 24 hours, but half of the states in the country have yet to elect the first senator, but after the midterms how many states will come off of the list? in west virginia, women nominees in the republican and the democratic parties, likely. and there could be a woman elected to replace mitch mcconnell from kentucky. and also, in iowa, there could be the hawkeye state's first woman, and there could be in georgia, the first woman elected and a few other places where there are women on the ballot the break the glass ceiling, but unlikely to get it. amy stevens, a republican, is running in north carolina. and nancy may sashgs and joyce dickerson is a democrat, but neither is likely to be the

nominees. and in tennessee, rebecca lennard is running for the second time, but again, that is not likely to happen. that is it for this edition of "daily rundown." your campaign headquarters. up next is chris jansing. bye-bye. i'm meteorologist bill karins and watching the heavy rain moving out of texas today, a it is going to drench areas from arkansas to louisiana, but the best chance of any flooding today is in east texas. we will see the storms early today from the areas of chicago right through the great lakes. and later this evening, we could see a few of the storms trying to dive down to washington, d.c. and the west coast, a heat wave develops for you. and when alan gets all powered up, ya know what happens? i think the numbers speak for themselves. i'm sold! he's a selling machine!

put it there. and there, and there, and there. la quinta inns & suites is ready for you, so you'll be ready for business. the ready for you alert, only a laquinta.com! la quinta!

ameriprise asked people a simple question: in retirement, will you outlive your money? uhhh. no, that can't happen. that's the thing, you don't know how long it has to last. everyone has retirement questions. so ameriprise created the exclusive.. confident retirement approach. now you and your ameripise advisor can get the real answers you need. well, knowing gives you confidence. start building your confident retirement today. ♪ (vo) oh. my. tongue. finally. (announcer) all-new friskies saucesations.

a taste experience like no other. in cheesy, creamy, homestyle, or garden sauce. friskies. feed the senses. bridgegate live. any moment we are expect ing in hear testimony are from chris christie's chief spokesman, but will the garden state budget be the bigger traffic jam on christie's road to 2016? going rove. the veteran gop strategist reportedly wonders if hillary clinton suffered a traumatic brain injury, and hillary's camp shoots back assuring dr. rove that she is 100%. and this image shows that ant ark ta ka's debate reignites with people like al gore and marco rubio blaming the koch brothers. and the nearly