and idiotic episode. >> that's really been the administrations line. these were rogue people. >> like remembering where you were when the space shuttle blew up. >> some type of inappropriate motivation. >> the e-mails and conduct that became public between david wildstein and bridgette kelly. >> throwing bridgette kelly under the bus, in addition to david wildstein. >> this strange, unnecessary and idiotic episode, reckless and perplexing episode. >> when you accept a position of leadership, it doesn't come with a guarantee of sunshine and rainbows. >> how many adjectives does it take to describe a bridge scandal? today, governor chris christie's press secretary went before the new jersey legislative panel

investigating the traffic problems in ft. lee. in short, the answer to that question is, a lot of adjecti s adjectives. >> strange, unnecessary and idiotic, abuse, shocking and disorienting. cavalier, reckless and perplexing episode. >> that was just in his opening statement. he asserts he nor the governor had any involvement what so ever in this whole, strange, idiotic perplexing episode. he got the first press inquiry on bridgegate on september 17th of last year, days after the lane closures ended. he detailed the response when he went to the key players in the saga starting the deputy chief of staff, bridgette kelly. >> she was kind of just back of the hand, dismissive, oh, it's nothing, you know, it's port authority stuff. >> it's, you know, ahh, port

authority stuff. and what port authority point man, david wildstein? >> he was very matter of fact, this is about traffic study. we have conducted a traffic study, no big deal. it's going to be short lived. >> if there is anything this has proved not to be, it is short lived. new information may give it more life yet. he told governor christy's chief council, charlie mckenna about david wildstein's assertion that bridgette kelly and bill step yen, both of them knew about the lane closures as they happened. in response, mckenna said -- >> he said, we are looking into this, you know, words to that effect. >> we are looking into this. governor christie's chief

council was looking into whether the senior aids knew about questionable lane closures. the governor's council was looking into the lane closures weeks, weeks, before governor christie made light of the whole thing at a press conference on december 2nd when he joked about realigning the traffic cones himself. why, at the very least, didn't more people in the governor's office take this mor seriously more quickly? druniak says it was colored by politics. >> there was a belief that this is being ginned up by two of the most, and again, no offense, please -- >> i understand. i won't hold you responsible for it. >> two of the parties of the legislature on the other side of the aisle. so, that had a role in the coloring and thinking of numerous people. >> you handled that quite well, by the way.

>> joining me now is editor-in-chief of maine justice and manning editor of the washington post politics section and author of the fix, chris cillizza. you have been doing exhaustive reporting on this scandal. i guess knowing what you know about the christie administration, does it sort of stretch the imagination that the governor's chief council was looking into his senior most aide, whether or not his senior most aides knew about a traffic scandal, i'll call it. the governor wouldn't know, nobody in that chain of command would have mentioned something to the governor. >> no, it doesn't seem credible. i mean, the interesting thing, i caught a bit of the testimony today and state nor was pressing on the fact he had this conversation with mckenna. mckenna was a prosecutor. he was a high ranking prosecutor

and kevin o'dowd as well, who is also in the office came from the office. they know what it means when someone talks about potentially illegal activities. the question is, you know, of course, the bridge closed in a way that abused power. a prosecutor who knows what is supposed to happen in a case like this would make a comment like that and christie wouldn't know. they are all sitting close together. they are very close. it's still completely unanswered questions. >> what do you make of this drip of information? some people say it's helpful to christie this is taking so long, a witness here, a witness there and it could go on for an untold or unspecified amount of time. is that a constant reminder of the scandal surrounding the new jersey state legislature helmed by chris christie. >> i don't know who the people are that say this is a good thing politically for him.

i don't think they are right. what chris christie needs politically speaking is come out of this investigation as well as the parallel investigation tla is happening outside the state legislature. with it clear whether or not people think this -- this -- how could he not know, those sorts of thoughts, there is no direct link that he knew about this concurrently. remember in that famous and long press conference he gave, the key take away was, i did not know about it. i found out about it from the press reports. i had no knowledge of it previously. if that is undermined and whether it's undermined in a short period of time or a long period of time, that fundamentally ends his future prospects. if it is not, then he can go forward. i think he would rather have it end sooner rather than later. this constant, a witness here and a witness there keeps the story in the news and keeps us talking about it. i think he would be rather

moving on. >> mary, the other figure who is at this point, we have not heard much from him, but he is, in many ways the keeper of the keys, is david wildstein. to hear michael drewniak, he was credible when he explained the bridge lane closures as a traffic study, then it wasn't creditable when he said kelly knew about it. he told governor christie about the lane closures on the 11th. he's the missing link here, is he not? >> yes. we don't know his status with the u.s. attorney's office where he's been in talks about granting testimony and immunity. you know, obviously, the whole thing is so cartoonist, where do you begin. they were friends and he confided in him, according to the gibson-dunn report.

he cold christie on september 11th ceremonies about this. on one hand, he says i had no reason to suspect that the traffic study wasn't happening, but then he also called the lane closures essentially a bone headed move. so, the fact they did something so bone headed would suggest there is reason to doubt there was a traffic study. nobody's story hangs together. we haven't heard anything more from wildstein other than the initial release of the e-mails because he is still in legal jeopar jeopardy. >> chris, the other piece of this is the new york/new jersey rivalry. according to drewniak, he says it didn't garner much attention because of well-known bad blood between pat foye and david wildstein. now, at some point, governor cuomo, you know, has to worry about his folks being implicated

in this and the po littizization of this. i wonder how much you think this becomes an issue for the new york side of affairs. >> look, for a lot of people who not like me, didn't grow up in the northeast and grow up close to this, the idea there's a shared agency between new york and new jersey is in and of its amazing. you know, i think in general, anytime i feel like in aq political order, when there's a deep dive in a state legislative committee, it's a reason to be on guard, if you are a politician or someone who has ties to that. >> especially given fact andrew cuomo and chris christie mentioned a few months ago, 2016 contenders. >> and look, chris christie seems, if it is not shown, alex,

that he has direct knowledge of the lane closures, if his story is not proven to be incorrect, chris christie is running for president. andrew cuomo would like to be president some day, most people in elected office feel that way. i don't think it's as clear and present danger for cuomo at the moment as it is for chris christie. >> thank you both for your time and thoughts. >> thank you. after the break today, voters in nebraska and west virginia are casting their ballots in a pair of key primaries. races that are garnering a lot of attention and cash from the tea party. a preview of all that next on "now." 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. start building your confident retirement today. i live in a world oi am totally blind..

i've been blind since birth. i lost my sight to eye disease. i lost my sight in afghanistan. and it doesn't hold me back. but my blindness can affect my sleep patterns. i go through periods where it's hard to sleep at night, and stay awake during the day. but i learned that my struggle was with non-24. non-24 is a circadian rhythm disorder that affects up to 70% of people who are totally blind and can't perceive light. talk to your doctor about your symptoms, and learn about non-24 by calling 844-844-2424. that's 844-844-2424. or visit my24info.com. now i know that non-24 is real. and i'm not alone. it's time for a new day.

female narrator: the mattress price wars are on the mattress price wars are on at sleep train. we challenged the manufacturers to offer even lower prices. now it's posturepedic versus beautyrest with big savings of up to $400 off. serta icomfort and tempur-pedic go head-to-head with three years' interest-free financing. plus, free same-day delivery, set-up, and removal of your old set. when brands compete, you save. mattress price wars are on now at sleep train. ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

voters are heading to the polls today in nebraska and west virginia to select their party's candidate for congress. while democrats are in the game today, all eyes are on the gop. in west virginia senate primary, congresswoman shelly is expected to win. her fall showdown is likely to feature democrat natalie tenant. despite the fact tenant is from the other side of the aisle this is west virginia we are talking about. the election is the contest of who loves guns most and who hates the obama administration more. the marquee race is the republican contest in nebraska. that pits former bush official ben sassy against shane osbourne and banker sid dinsdale to

replace mike johanns. they believe the nation's capitol should be moved from washington, d.c. to the corn husker state and ran an ad on mitch mcconnell to quote, show some actual leadership. those controversial positions gave him an edge thanks to generous support from freedom works and the senate conservative fund as well as the good samaritans, ted cruz, sarah palin and mike lee. you know all those outside spending groups and national figure who is know so much about what nebraska really wants. coming up hours from now, the capital of capital punishment set to hold the eighth execution of the year. will governor perry do the right thing? we'll talk cruel and unusual punishment next. s pretty good. (whispering) yeah really good (whispering) yeah and for a family of 4 it's a $160 a month.

what! get outta here! (whispering) i'm sorry are we still doing the whisper thing? or? (whispering) o! sorry! yes yes! (whispering) we'll take it. 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*? smoking with chantix. for 33 years i chose to keep smoking... ...because it was easier to smoke than it was to quit. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it's a non-nicotine pill.

chantix reduced the urge for me to smoke. it actually caught me by surprise. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away as some could be life threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. i did not know what it was like to be a non-smoker. but i do now. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. 12 years ago in 2002, the supreme court ruled the

execution of mentally disabled americans was unconstitutional. executing the mentally retarded -- despite this decision, tonight at 6:00 p.m. central time, the state of texas is planning to execute a plan that meets it criteria of the state classification of mental retardation. the man about to be executed is a convicted murderer and rapist. weeks ago, the lawyers discovered state prosecutors and other officials withheld evidence of his mental capacity. is state of texas failed to disclose two prior i.q. tests, one shoring a score of 68 and the other a score of 71. on average, 2% of americans like campbell, have an i.q. score below 70. earlier today, campbell's lawyers lost their appeal to

stay his execution over the state's secretcy. the new evidence on hand, the defense is arguing that campbell's i.q. is too low for execution, it does not comport with the 2002 supreme court ruling and is, therefore, a violation of the eighth amendment of the u.s. constitution. if texas goes through with this tonight. robert campbell would be the eighth inmate executed in texas this year and he would be the state's 516th execution from lethal injection, from lethal injection alone, since 1982. the most to take place in any state in the country. it is about 20 minutes after 4:00 p.m. on the east coast right now. unless the supreme court, the fifth circuit court or governor rick perry decide to stay the execution within the next 2:40, robert campable, a man with an

i.q. of 69 will be put to death. joining me is joy reed. thank you for joining me. >> anytime. >> so, i feel like we have been talking about death row inmates in a way we haven't for years, possibly, forever. i don't tend to hold out a lot of hope about rick perry doing the right thing, i tend to think as the writers at mother jones thinks, the tide is changing about, not just whether or not capital punishment is something we want to do, but the circumstances are flawed. this man, robert campbell has had a series of mishaps of justice that has befallen him that should give the governor pause, but the question is, will it? >> yeah. the thing is, there has been overall support for the death penalty. it's going down in popularity, but there's capital for

politicians. you saw some double and triple down even with the horrifically botched one, 43 minutes. there's a difficulty in galvanizing simp think for the defendants unless there's a suggestion they might be innocent like in georgia where you saw massive protests because of the question of innocence. when that's not on the table, i think the tide of political capital waves for the politicians. remember the execution years and years ago with bill clinton. in a red state, politics favor going through with it. >> it's amazing. i want to talk about our hunger for execution. advocates will say who cares about cruel and unusual. we are executing them and we should. that is on one hand. at the other, on the other hand rksz we know that there are advocates of justice. we know texas, alone, accounted for 40% of the nation's

executions. that is a strange badge to wear given how flawed the process in and around capital punishment is. i guess i wonder, when you look at the question of mental illness and how texas, for example, treats those with mental illness, they rank 46 out of 50 in terms of u.s. state that is spend money on mental illness. clearly, something is going wrong there. beyond that, prisons hold ten times more mental health patients than state hospitals. >> sort of cold efficiency texas carries out with the criminal justice system. juvenile justice to the death penalty is chilling. this is a state in 2000, executed seven people in 15 days. other states go to and consult or carry out executions. i think there's a blitheness with which texas has become the execution capital of the country. there isn't questioning of it

inside of texas. i think the larger country can look at texas, but not really question. it's amazing to me we have never had a big, national conversation, do we want to be in this business. we look at the incompetence of oklahoma and say look at that or texas and the efficiency. we haven't had a national conversation of this isn't a business we want to be in with iran. >> that's executing broadly. when it comes to lethal injection, which is very much being litigated. judges in oklahoma tried to stay that execution and because of partisan pressure and political pressure, it overturned their own stay effectively. european drug makers and certain drug makers in the u.s. don't want to be in this business of lethal injections. on some level, i do not support capital punishment and applaud their decision for a more humane world. it's had unwitting side effect of making executions less humane

and more cruel and more unusual to the degree we are talking about firing squads. >> absolutely. we are having a situation where they are making the drugs unavailable and driving executions under ground. we have secret drug cocktails or the one drug they have used for a long time. it's a secret where they got it. the moral question, i think, is still on the table about whether to do it aall. to your point, the american people don't want to see it. they don't want to be a part of the cruelty of it, they just want it done. >> the vast majority of the people affected are poor and people of color. >> indeed. that's a whole other conversation. >> yes, it is. host of "the reid report," joy reid. you can catch "the rooet report" at 2:00 p.m. on msnbc. just ahead, president obama had kind words for speaker john

boehner today. i will tell you what they were, next. ♪

what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together reliably fast internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! we must have encountered a temporal vortex. further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system. only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before.

to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap.

today, president obama did his best to put immigration reform on the front burner huddling with over 40 law enforcement leaders at the white house in hopes of putting pressure on congress to do something, anything, this summer. >> we have this narrow window. the closer we get to the midterm elections the harder it is to get things done. we have a window of two, three months to get the ball rolling in the house of representatives. >> as the white house and congress and yes, even the american people know quite well by now, the fate of the nation's 11 million undocumented residents sits largely in the hands of the speaker of the house of representatives, john boehner. the president gave him a shoutout today, too. to their credit, i think speaker

boehner and other leaders believe immigration reform is the right thing, but they have to have a political space that allows them to get it through their caucus and get it done. >> for the troubled and tangent lman from ohio, a rhetorical nod may not be what he's looking for. but pressure to act in one form or another is all boehner is getting these days, even from the folks in his own party. here is chamber of commerce president tom donohue speaking yesterday. >> if the republicans don't do it, they shouldn't bother to run a candidate in 2016. i mean, think about that. >> yeah, yeah. >> think about who the voters are. >> in fact, the speaker himself was in texas yesterday, thinking about who the 2016 voters are and running straight into the hard, concrete wall of demographic reality. while in a state where the growing hispanic population threatened to one day turn texas blue.

unsurprisingly, in his remarks to the hispanic chamber of commerce in san antonio, he has an optimistic outlook of where things stand on reform. i do believe the vast majority of our members do want to deal with it openly, honestly and fairly. they do? a vast majority of his members want to deal with this? this is news to most people, but especially anyone who heard the speaker's assessment of his own members a few weeks ago. >> the appetite amongst my colleagues for doing this is not real good. this guy is back here with a camera. here is the attitude, oh, don't make me do this. oh, this is too hard. you should hear them. >> joining me now is washington bureau chief for buzz feed, john stanton. which is the more honest john as it were? the ohio john boehner or the san

antonio john boehner? >> yeah, i think the ohio john boehner. i think -- look, i think there are a lot of member who is would on some level like to take care of the issue to get it out of the way, but most of them would rather someone else do it, not them. i don't think there's been any real movement or work that's been done particularly on the republican side to push forward with a legislation. at best, platonic show like they are going through the motions. at this point, i don't see how he can pull together the votes he needs on the republican side to pass a bill. >> john, what was the news yesterday in politico thatbone cast i won't say doubt, but shadow of a doubt whether he's pick up the speaker's gavel. i'm running for re-election, i expect to be speaker, but i can't predict what would happen. i'm going to be 65 years old, i never thought i would live to be 60. it's morbid.

65 is not that old. in terms of speakership, there's been a lot of prognosticating of whether or not giving up the gavel or the prospect of giving up the gavel might actually be, you know, gas in the tank as far as immigration reform. >> what you are seeing is john boehner, right now, is probably running for speaker and expecting to be speaker. you know, he's sort of leaving it open, as he does. he hasn't made up his mind, depends on how things go the next few months, if they win seats more than they have in the election, he stays. if they lose a few or stay put, he will probably stay. if they lose a lot of seats and get close to losing the majority, maybe you might see him retire, but, you know, it's clear to me he's got to the point where he's no longer going to back away now. like, things are not going so badly for republicans in the election cycle and on the hill that he's going to make the decision that i don't want to be around next year and deal with

this again. i'm going to go ahead and do immigration reform. >> the irony being, of course, things are so bad here that i might actually do something as opposed to things aren't so bad so i'll continue to stay here and do nothing. let me ask you about the white house strategy. every time the president i won't say gives a bear hug or blows a kiss to the house republican conference, the next scene, they fall through a door in the floor rhetorically speaking. what does the white house do to get republicans on its side or to change the thinking? is there anything republicans will listen to? if there is something the president likes, there's no way the gop is going to pass it. >> i think the republicans like to use the argument that oh, we don't trust him, he's done all these things without having the legal authority on obamacare. i think it's a red herring for them and gives them cover. i also think at the same time,

the president is embracing them a little bit and making them run away and gives democrats cover. they are coming under a lot of pressure from immigration organizations and members of the latino organization to try to get something done this year. it sort of helps them in the long term, if you are looking at 2016 to not have something get done and have it be blamed on the republicans. the further he can push them away, the better it is for democrats politically. >> right. there is the ultimate question, what would democrats accept if republicans wanted to play ball. buzz feed's john stanton, thank you as always, my friend. coming up, so much for rand paul's big, fat departure on voter id laws. did you think the gop was ready to come clean on voter suppression. rand's rewind is just ahead. we asked people a question,

how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪ if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. but with less energy, moodiness, and a low sex drive, i had to do something. i saw my doctor. a blood test showed it was low testosterone, not age.

we talked about axiron the only underarm low t treatment that can restore t levels to normal in about two weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer, worsening prostate symptoms, decreased sperm count, ankle, feet or body swelling, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing while sleeping and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. ask your doctor about axiron. the was a truly amazing day. without angie's list, i don't know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley. for over 18 years we've helped people

take care of the things that matter most. join today at angieslist.com 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. take it on the way you always have. live healthy and take one a day women's 50+. a complete multivitamin with 7 antioxidants to support cell health. age? who cares.

for the first time in a long time, the house gets something done and the senate misses the landing. why? why else? it's an election year. senator bernie sanders joins me coming up next. first, bertha has a cnbc wrap. >> another day, another record hot close for the dow jones industrial average. the dow gaining 20 points. s&p finished flat. the nasdaq lost nearly 14 points. earnings overall come in better than expected. tomorrow, we'll watch for earnings from retail power house macy's. that's it from cnbc. we're first in business worldwide. ye disease when i was. ye disease when i was. but i learned to live with my blindness a long time ago. so i don't let my blindness get in the way of doing the things i love. but sometimes it feels like my body

doesn't know the difference between day and night. i struggle to sleep at night, and stay awake during the day. i found out this is called non-24, a circadian rhythm disorder that affects up to 70 percent of people who are totally blind. talk to your doctor about your symptoms, and learn about the link between non-24 and blindness by calling 844-824-2424. that's 844-824-2424 or visit your24info.com today. don't let non-24 get in the way of your pursuit of happiness. 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.

this bill is being filibustered, obviously, by some of its own co-sponsors. this useless, mind boggling obstruction is what grinds the wheels of the senate to a

screeching halt. >> that was senate minority leader, harry reid delivering a speech yesterday. what got harry reid so angry? the answer involves the other usually functional house of representatives. in march, the house did something it almost never does, passed a piece of bipartisan legislation almost unanimously. it's designed to cut homeowner use, energy bills and carbon footprints. eric cantor had this to say at the time. >> we, in congress, can't do much about the cold weather, but we can enact sensible policy that is expand energy supplies and reduce costs. that's exactly what we are doing in the house this week. >> so far, so good. if eric cantor can put a gold star on a bill, then surely the

bill would have to pass through the upper chamber where reason and logic have not evaporated into thin air, right? wrong. as soon as it was kicked over, they buried it. including one that would have authorized the controversial and fill think keystone pipeline. why else? because it's an election year. a co-sponsor, gene shaheen is currently in a tight re-election bid against scott brown. and, even if, according to the authors, the bill might have helped 200,000 americans get a job, why do anything that might give a democrat a leg up? so, last night, after republicans refused to budge on their demands, they threatened to filibuster the bill that guaranteed the failure in a vote of 55-36. all but three republicans voted against it. joining me now from washington is vermont's independent senator, bernie sanders.

thank you for joining me. i feel like last night was a line in the sand in terms of the naked political calculation that eric cantor and the house republicans could pass an energy bill that could not make it through the senate for purely political gain. what did you make of the event that is unfolded last night? >> you are right. i think it's pathetic. this was a modest bill. this was supported by the chamber of commerce and other business groups. most of the provisions were voluntary. i had a stronger amendment that was not in the bill. this was a fairly modest amendment to do something everybody understands is a win/win situation. we waste enormous amounts of energy because we are not strong on energy efficiency and weatherization. that is the cheapest way to cut energy costs. but what happened here in the

senate, as you indicated, republicans filibuster and we got all of three republican votes. that tells me that politics are obviously trumps everything. the republicans are absolutely obstructionists and not concerned about passing serious legislation but only political advantage. >> let's talk about the keystone provision that was batted around. keystone has been a political football and continues to be. the senate republicans were asking for, you know, independent votes on it. that's fallen by the wayside. i wonder if you think the white house's decision to delay the ultimate decision, the ultimate approval of keystone until after the midterms exasperates the situation, whether it continues to create a football that can be tossed from side-to-side. >> look, i don't know the answer to that. this is what i do know, front

page new york times, signists warn of polar melt. a study came out about dire consequences for the united states and the world unless we cut greenhouse gas emissions and address the crisis of climate change. the keystone pipeline, if we pass that, this will be a signal to the entire world that we are not serious about moving away from fossil fuel and transforming our energy system into energy efficiency and sustainable energy. i have to say something else, alex, it is no great secret the koch brothers who make their money in fossil fuels and other energy companies spend huge amounts of money in elections. i think it is really, really sad that many of my republican colleagues are willing to sacrifice the future of the planet for their own kids and their grandchildren because big energy companies and the koch brothers are saying that they do

not want action on climate change, they are suggesting that climate change may not be the result of human activity. you had a smart guy, marco rubio, he's nobody's fool, getting up saying, i may be running for president. i do not believe that climate change is attached or caused by human activity, despite what the entire scientific community is saying. it is campaign contributions overriding the science on this. this is really a sad, sad situation. >> the ice sheets are falling apart and melting and congress is unable to pass the most benign of energy bills. thank you for your time and thoughts. >> thank you. joining me now is daryl hannah. thanks so much for joining me. you heard senator sanders there. here is -- >> the voice of clarity. >> exactly.

from your perspective, you know, i feel like we are talking more about climate change than we have in several election cycles. >> i think we have moved beyond the flat earth society phase. there's not many people who don't recognize this is something we are experiencing the ramifications of. >> do you think we are closer to actual action? there are people on capitol hill that seem unwilling to -- there are climate change deniers out there. we have literally the visuals of ice sheets in antarctica melting. >> the majority of the climate deniers out there and the majority of the inaction is directly related to the fact that there's vested interest, the wealthiest industry in the history of mankind, the oil industry does not want to change its practices. they don't want to be taxed for pollution. they don't want a price on carbon. they don't want to inhibit further expansion, extreme

extraction practices like mountain top removals, deep water drilling and things we actually, if we want to save ourselves and save this planet for future generations or do the best we can towards trying to do that, then we really have to move towards building the infrastructure for renewable energy, self-sufficient, domestic energy that really will offer jobs and security here at home. >> i feel like that context is right, if we want to save ourselves. it's actually up to ourselves if we want to save ourselves. there's an announcement today, the administration, this government is considering lifting the crude oil export ban in the u.s. which would make it easier to export oil in the keystone pipeline. >> this is where a lot of confusion is. i believe there's more people really do their research and understand what keystone is, it is an export pipeline.

that oil from the sands is intended for transport. the ceo inform canada admitted it himself. if we allow that pipeline to pass through our heartland which is suffering severe draught for a third of the nation's ranch and farmlands rk it's going to be a con due it of the dirtiest, dirtiest form of oil extraction on the planet. it puts out tons of methane and more co2, is incredibly water intentionive and they are planning on multiplying the mines times five. they don't have an avenue to get the oil out to export. >> there's a lot of talk about this administration sort of splits it baby, if you will on a lot of issues. so, they may approve keystone and release in june strict e.p.a. guidelines relating to existing coal plants. from your perspective, does that make it better? >> no, one does not offset the

other. you know, it's like, the whole notion of sort of offsets, i'm just going to pollute and make as big of a mess as i want then plant some trees. basically, let's not pollute. we can, we have the technology, we have the know how, we have the will of people that want to go to work to create the infrastructure to power us. keystone has nothing to do with that. keystone will raise our gas prices because the oil we are processing in oklahoma will be bypassed by keystone to go to the coast to be exported. so, you know, this whole thing has brought like the senator said, a big boom. it's a mess. you cannot do both things. that's one thing we have learned from the obama administration. you can't try to make everybody happy. if you want to be a leader, if

you really want to be a leader, you have to make decisions that may not be popular with some people. you can't make everyone happy. you have to make bold choices. i believe president obama, this is his decision, still. he needs to be a bold leader and say we are going to move into the future in the healthiest way possible to protect citizens. the federal government is not doing that. they are listening to the money that puts them in office, unfortunately. >> you have been at the front lines of this. you have been at the protests. >> to farmers and ranchers homes that have their land taken through eminent domain. >> are they the people that are going to convince the administration? >> they are trying. i was in washington, d.c., a week and a half ago with farmers, ranchers and alliance of first nations communities and native americans from canada down through texas through all the state that is the keystone is going to pass through. this was a group of

conservatives, liberals. >> bipartisan. >> totally bipartisan. water is not red or blue. the things we need to sustain ourselves is not republican or democrat. these people were solemnly and seriously and in a committed way saying no, we will not allow this to pass through our land. over 80,000 people signed a pledge of resistist ens if it gets approved. >> the delay, i don't think it was politically motivated to push it past the midterm elections. there was an actual inappropriate law that allowed it to pass through nebraska and allowed people's land to be taken through imminent domain. the delay was because -- >> well, it is an ongoing question. thank you so much for your thoughts.

it's great to see you. actress and environmental activist, thank you for your time. after the break, we have breaking news on the planned execution in texas. details on that are coming up next. for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap.

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. 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 have breaking news on the execution that was planned for later this evening in the state of texas. just molts ago, the fifth circuit court of appeals stayed the execution of a man named robert campbell on the grounds of mental capacity. lawyers found out the state of texas withheld i.q. tests showing their client on death row had an i.q. of around 69. that would qualify him as mentally retarded according to to state and he would be ineligible for the death penalty. because of the fifth circuit court's decision this afternoon, robert campbell will not be put to death by the state of texas at least tonight. that is all for now.

i will see you back here tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. eastern. "the ed show" is coming up next. good evening, americans and wol come to theed show in new york. i'm ready to go. let's get to work. >> we have a good, bipartisan bill. let's pass it. >> we know the shift to clean energy won't happen over night. >> i do not believe human activity is causing these dramatic changes to the climate. >> they are wasting everybody's time on a settled debate. >> the cleanest barrel of oil produced in north america. >> oil is oil. >> our future, i believe, is very much tied to energy. >> i do not believe the laws they propose we pass will do anything about it. >> the tar sands should not be

brought into this country. >> splitting at toms between oil that is almost identical is not producti productive. >> we have to make tough choices. >> pull out his pen and sign that. it's time to build it. >> it will destroy our economy. >> good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. what is your definition of a trap? now, up north, there are people that make a living by trapping and a lot of folks are against that. they just don't think it's fair to the animals. but a trap, when you trap a bear there's no exit. when you trap that animal, there's no exit. so, a trap is pretty conclusive. a trap is there's no other way out. what is your definition of a political trap? would that be